The holidays have arrived in New Eden and volatile ice storms are now popping up in game as CCP launches the annual Winter Nexus event. The event was heralded a day early when CCP changed the background of the character select screen from a dark scene… we’re in space, it is almost always dark unless something is exploding… to the glaze of white of a volatile ice storm, something some of my fellow cave dwellers likened to being flash banged.
Winter Nexus 2025
It certain was a bright white. But then again, that is kind of the theme of the event. Volatile ice storms are video card and eye straining patches of white that make many parts of the UI… made to be visible against the dark background of space… difficult to discern. How far away from that thing am I? I cannot read the UI.
Anyway, it is here and it brings with it all the usual items plus a couple of new ones.
For openers, visible on the bright white background, are the expected login rewards.
Winter Nexus 2025 Login Rewards
There are 34 days of rewards that include boosters, SKINs, SKINR elements, reward crates, and skill points.
The big skill point payoff is on day 26, so you can miss a few days and still get there. If you get all the skill point drops on your Omega account that will total up to 325,000 skill points. That drops to 75,000 on an Alpha account.
But, as always, if you upgrade to Omega during the event you can go back and claim all missed prizes… if they are worth it to you.
Then there are the in-game events, which include exploration sites, combat sites, and ice mining sites, each with their own set of goals. That can be found in The Agency under encounters.
Winter Nexus 2025 – The Agency
In addition, there is a new part of the event with InterBus rewarding capsuleers for destroying Logistical Automated Delivery (LADS) vessels, a nod to the mischievous Yoiul Lads of old.
You remember this crew, right?
I have not done this new aspect of the event, but CCP describes LADs in the patch notes as:
- Roam exclusively within Volatile Ice Storm systems.
- Locate them using combat probes—make sure InterBus Yoiul LADs are enabled in your overview.
- Destroying them yields Verity Cryo Tech, an item used to unlock enhanced versions of event content and increase rewards.
Collecting points for the event will let you claim prizes as you progress.
The Winter Nexus Challenge Rewards
There are some SKINS, boosters, and other elements. Even 25 PLEX at 420 points, which I am sure somebody thought was funny. Nothing at 67 CCP? Or is that joke not stale enough yet?
But if you get all the way to 1,050 points you will get a crate with a blueprint copy for the Perseverance ice-mining destroyer, a variant of the Pioneer mining destroyer that came out with the Catalyst expansion back in November.
All of this takes place exclusively in Volatile Ice Storms, which can be found easily enough by selecting the right filter on the new 2D map.
Winter Nexus Storms across New Eden
Have I mentioned lately how much I like that the map is now in its own resizable floating window? I sure do like that aspect of it.
In addition to the in-game events, CCP has Twitch drops going on throughout the event, sales in the web and in-game store, and probably a few other things.
I am curious to see if they will pop in a surprise stretch goal during the event as they did during the Crimson Harvest.
Anyway, I like the Winter Nexus if only because it is a chill event… both literally and figuratively I guess… compared to the Crimson Harvest. There is still some competition for sites, but if you can find a quiet corner with an ice mining site you can park your Endurance in there and mine away while doing something else… like writing a blog post about the event.
Me mining ice for prizes
And, when you’re done writing you can get that second account on and over in the same system hunting down data sites. I made it past 500 points on the first night, which considering the opening day rush, was pretty good.
The event runs through until downtime on January 12, 2026… so get your stuff done by January 11th.
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