EVE Patch day survival guide
Patch day survival guide
Patch day can be a trying time for everyone concerned. Patches often contain code changes that are not visible to the average player and in some cases, changes to network code that can not be fully tested on the Singularity test server. In this article, we'll examine ways to minimize the inconvenience that patch day can bring to the playerbase.
Understand patching
As mentioned before, patching is not as simple as it might seem. Tranquility is a very complex server cluster and there are scenarios which can not be anticipated by testing on Singularity, despite our best efforts. As much as we try to minimize any disruptions to your gaming experience, there's always the possibilty of an extended downtime or of some unforeseen bug popping up.
Be prepared
Before patch day, start a long skill on your character if you are concerned with possible loss of skill training time. Should there be difficulties in patch deployment, you will at least be using the time to train skills. Lost skill training time is not reimbursed by customer support.
Read the patch notes
The patch notes contain invaluable information about the contents of the patch. This includes information on changes to the user interface, ship and weapon specifications, new ships and modules and more. By reading the patch notes, you ensure that you are aware of ingame opportunities that might otherwise pass you by and of dangers which might otherwise take you by surprise. Losses that could have been avoided by studying the patch notes are not eligible for reimbursement by customer support. Also check Known Issues for problems that may have appeared after the patch deployment, some bugs can sadly not be discovered during normal testing due to the complexity of the game.
Don't panic
If you log in and find all your assets gone, your character nude and a pack of Amarrians reading your mail, don't panic! Check the forums, the ingame Help channel, known issues and the patch notes to see if there is a reasonable explanation for the problem, or barring that, a workaround or fix available. As previously mentioned, things can go wrong when patching and chances are that the issue is already being addressed or that it's purely cosmetic. In which case you should...
Clear your cache
Changes to the database can result in your cache becoming corrupt or outdated. Deleting your cache folder is a reliable way to be sure that this is not the case. Clearing your cache can also improve game performance, as the cache can become rather bloated with time. Remember to save your settings folder, if you want to save your ingame bookmark folders. You can find instructions on how to clear your cache here.
Petition responsibly
If you run into a problem which you believe needs the attention of support staff, please check the news and the forums, as well as the ingame Help channel, to see if it's a known issue. In many cases, you can report issues and find solutions to your problems without filing a petition.
Please do not file multiple petitions about the same issue. The GMs are swamped with emails and petitions every patch day and each has to be processed, so multiple petitions will result in slower service and longer answering times. Remember that although we will do everything we can to help you, not all issues can be addressed by the GMs and some temporary clusterwide problems will have to be hotfixed by the developers.
