Star Citizen Alpha 4.10.3 hits the PTU for Wave 1 with the Vanduul Incursion missions in Nyx and the LBCO Skarnov rifle

The Vanduul are coming to Nyx, at least on the test server. Cloud Imperium opened Alpha 4.10.3 on the PTU on Friday, first to Evocati and then to Wave 1 later that night. The official patch notes list build 4.10.3-PTU.12999338 on a US-only PTU channel with long-term persistence enabled. This is the Intersec Defence Solutions mission pack we flagged in our Roadmap Roundup story, now playable.

New missions: Vanduul Incursion

Intersec Defence Solutions has opened a contract line against the Vanduul and the Shattered Blade clan. CIG says these fights take place in deep space rather than at existing locations, and you can expect “Blades, Glaives, Scythes, Stingers, and more.” In the live game most of the line will require finishing the Vanduul Tech Smugglers work for Welcome To Nyx first, but on the PTU every contract is open:

• Shattered Blade Raid (Rank 1): clear Shattered Blade forces out of auxiliary stations across the Nyx system.
• Retake Ship (Rank 2): board a vessel the Shattered Blade has seized and take it back.
• Vanduul Clan Extermination (Rank 4): survive escalating waves of Vanduul ships across three difficulty tiers.
• 3-Way Standoff (Rank 4): you, the Vanduul and the Shattered Blade all converge at once. “Everyone is a target, including you.”
• [redacted] Takedown (Rank 4 to 6): fight through waves until a [redacted] is drawn to the incursion site, across five difficulty tiers.
• Gather Vanduul Cryopod: recover cryopods from the field.

The higher tiers are “built for crews rather than solo pilots.” Completing them awards blueprints for a new energy rifle, two heavy armor sets, a flight suit and a set of new ship weapons. CIG has also scattered new space and FPS combat points of interest around Nyx, and added a second cryopod variant: red pods still hold living Vanduul, while the new tint marks a dead one. The dead pods are worth more and can be traded to Wikelo.

New FPS weapon: LBCO Skarnov rifle

Lightning Bolt Co. is back with a fully automatic DMR. Per the notes:

• Stats: 27 damage, 500 projectile velocity, 375 RPM, 30-round magazine, 0.25s aim-down-sights, fully automatic and single fire.
• Chain lightning: like other LBCO weapons, it leaves an electrified pulse on the target that “denotates and chains to other nearby targets.” Shark-CIG repeated that in a PTU feedback reply.
• Heat matters: designer Zac says it has “a really consistent but high vertical recoil profile,” and it overheats faster in hot environments and slower in cold ones.
• Where to find it on the PTU: Cubby Blast (Area18), Skutters (GrimHex), Conscientious Objects (Levski) and the Checkmate weapon shop.

Still unknown: CIG hasn’t given a live date. Open Hangar lists 4.10.3 as next to go live, with the Intersec pack the last unreleased Alpha 4.10 card, and the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo is set for November with no dates yet.

PPR take: Crew-sized Vanduul waves in open space, with blueprints worth chasing, is exactly the kind of group content Nyx has needed. If you’re in Wave 1, grab a few friends, test the top tiers and file those bug reports.