Beta Patch 3 is out (11 October 2026). It reworks affinity, adds a new rarity and changes how the war lanes work. The full summary is on the Beta Patch 3 page; the main points:
- War lanes have build-rating limits now. Cloud Wake takes ships from 0 to 10,000 BR and The Gallows from 10,000 to 100,000 BR. The Gallows runs at breach tier 5, with bigger pirate wings and a Warhost that answers when a War Party loses half its ships.
- Every extraction train docks at a hub. Trains no longer run from one breach into another. To depart to a tier you have to clear the tier below it, and extracting from the war lanes doesn't count.
- Level-5 affinity choices in every tree. Armor, Drone, Missile, Shield and Turret now ask you to pick one perk at level 5, and the pick is permanent for that ship. Ships that already had the points have no level-5 perk until you choose one in the affinity panel. Drone Bay Expansion and Extra Tubes are gone, and Marksman and Brawler are halved.
- New rarity: Heretical. A Gullveig brand (Pyre, Penance or Vigil) turns an identified Prototype module heretical: it gains a special and one modifier becomes a penalty. Brands drop in breach tier 5 and up.
- Fixed module keys. Turrets sit on Tab, then Q, E, R and 1 to 9. Drag a module onto a key to move it; each ship keeps its own layout. Existing layouts reset once.
- Drones: Afterburner is a toggle, mining drones carry 32 units, and smoke knocks drones out and makes them lootable.
- Death: Lucky Cigarettes keeps the module it's attached to when your ship is destroyed. Ptah Crucible no longer rerolls Faction-quality items.
The answers, starter guide and codex have been updated for this patch. If you spot something out of date, use "Report as outdated" on the answer, or reply here.
Related answers: What is Heretical rarity?, How do I unlock higher breach tiers?, How do I extract? It keeps sending me back in., Where is it safe? Can I avoid PvP?, How do drones work?