EVE Online Crimson Harvest Returns, CSM 21 Candidates Named

Halloween in space shouldn't make much sense.

EVE Online takes place across a sprawling galaxy where nobody shares a calendar, a climate, or a reason to carve pumpkins. None of that has stopped CCP's sandbox from marking the season anyway. Crimson Harvest, the game's spooky annual event, is back, and it runs from now until November 3rd. In the same week, the next election for the Council of Stellar Management has moved forward, with the list of eligible candidates now published.

So capsuleers have two things to think about this month: which side to fight for, and who to vote for.

Pick a side

The basic setup of Crimson Harvest will be familiar to anyone who played it in earlier years. Players choose to join one of two factions, the Blood Raiders or the Order of St. Tetrimon. That choice decides which rewards track you progress along as you complete event content.

Most of the activities are returning ones. Hollow outbreak sites are back, along with base combat sites, hacking sites, and wormholes. That makes for a decent spread, mixing straightforward combat with the more careful work of hacking, and the gamble of wormhole space.

The new addition this year is the Criterion of Fitness sites. These have to be unlocked first, and they come with timed challenges. Clear one within the limit and you get extra rewards on top of the usual haul. It's a small twist, but it gives the event something of a speedrun flavour that the older sites don't have.

What's on offer

The rewards are where most players will make up their minds about how much time to put in. Both factions have their own ship skins, so your allegiance shows up on your hull. There are also consumables that grant boosts, SKINR components for players who like to customise their ships' looks, and a broad selection of blueprints.

The top prize is a blueprint for the Akoman, an attack battlecruiser. That sits at the very end of the rewards track, so it's aimed squarely at the players willing to grind the event out. CCP has posted the full breakdown of activities and rewards on the official EVE Online website for anyone who wants to plan their route before undocking.

Seasonal events like this are common across multiplayer games in October. GTA Online's Halloween events run through the whole month, for example. But in EVE, where other players can and will blow you up, a holiday event is never quite as cosy as it sounds.

CSM 21: the campaign begins

Away from the event, EVE's political calendar is moving too. The Council of Stellar Management, usually shortened to CSM, is a council elected by players that represents the community in discussions with CCP about the game's direction. This will be the 21st council.

With the candidate list now online, the campaign period has started. Candidates have until October 21st to make their case. Voting then opens on October 22nd and closes on November 3rd, the same day Crimson Harvest ends.

That overlap is handy. Players who are logging in for the event anyway have an easy reminder to look over the candidates before ballots open.

The Bigger Picture

For most EVE players, Crimson Harvest is the lighter half of this news. It's a returning event with mostly returning content, and the Criterion of Fitness sites are the only real new mechanic. That suggests CCP sees Crimson Harvest as a reliable seasonal fixture rather than a place for big experiments. That isn't a bad thing. Familiar events give returning players an easy way back in, and the Akoman blueprint gives dedicated players a clear target. It is worth watching whether the timed challenges get a positive reaction, because that could shape how future EVE events are built.

The CSM election may matter more in the long run. EVE is in the middle of technical changes, including the move to Python 3 that will see agents forget idle pilots. Changes like that tend to affect long-time and returning players in very specific ways, and a council that understands those players could be useful when they come up for discussion with CCP.

The bigger question is turnout. Player councils only carry weight if players actually vote. Running the ballot alongside a popular seasonal event may help, but that remains to be seen. Anyone who cares about where New Eden goes next has until November 3rd to make their pick, while dodging gankers in the meantime.