Alpha 4.10.3 arrived on the Public Test Universe (PTU) on October 23, 2026, as build 12999338, open to Wave 1 testers on US servers. It is a smaller patch than 4.10.2 but it adds something the Nyx system has been missing: a proper combat mission line against the Vanduul. Intersec Defence Solutions has opened contracts that send pilots and ground teams into deep space to fight the Vanduul and the Shattered Blade clan, with blueprints for new weapons and armor as the top-tier rewards.
The patch also introduces the LBCO Skarnov, a fully automatic energy rifle, and a second type of Vanduul cryopod that can be traded to Wikelo. CIG’s testing focus is stability, bug fixes and long term persistence between PTU builds, and it said in its October 26 weekly post that more waves will open soon.
Vanduul Incursion: the new Intersec contract line
The new contracts are fought in deep space rather than at existing locations, and CIG describes them as pitting experienced players against the most aggressive force in the system. Expect to meet Vanduul Blades, Glaives, Scythes and Stingers. On the live servers most of the line will only unlock after you complete the Vanduul Tech Smugglers work for the Welcome To Nyx contracts; on the PTU every contract is available immediately so testers can get at all of it.
The contract line ranks up from solo-friendly raids to multi-crew survival fights. The higher difficulty tiers are built for crews rather than solo pilots, so if you are testing alone, start at the bottom.
- Shattered Blade Raid (Rank 1): clear Shattered Blade forces out of auxiliary stations scattered across Nyx
- Retake Ship (Rank 2): board a vessel the Shattered Blade has taken and take it back
- Vanduul Clan Extermination (Rank 4): hold out against escalating waves of Vanduul ships across three difficulty tiers
- 3-Way Standoff (Rank 4): you, the Vanduul and the Shattered Blade all arrive at once and everyone is a target
- A redacted Takedown (Rank 4 to 6): fight through waves of Vanduul until something large is drawn to the incursion site, across five difficulty tiers
- Gather Vanduul Cryopod: recover cryopods from the field
New locations, dead cryopods and blueprint rewards
To support the missions, 4.10.3 places new space and FPS combat points of interest throughout the Nyx system. It also adds a second cryopod variant. The existing red pods hold living Vanduul; the new tint marks a dead one. Dead pods are the more valuable of the two and can be traded to Wikelo, the collector who already takes Vanduul pods and other oddities.
Completing the harder tiers awards blueprints rather than finished items: a new energy rifle, two new heavy armor sets, a new flight suit and a set of new ship weapons. Blueprints feed the crafting system, so you make the gear yourself once you have the recipe.
LBCO Skarnov rifle
The Skarnov is the first new weapon from Lightning Bolt Co. in a while, and it behaves like the company’s other energy weapons: each hit leaves an electrified pulse that detonates and chains to nearby targets, which punishes enemies standing close together. CIG describes it as a fully automatic designated marksman rifle with consistent but high vertical recoil, so a skilled shooter can bring down heavily armored targets quickly, with overheating as the trade-off.
Heat is affected by where you fight. Hot environments make the rifle overheat faster and cold environments let heat build more slowly. For the PTU phase the rifle and its ammunition are stocked at Cubby Blast in Area18, Skutters at GrimHex, Conscientious Objects at Levski and the weapon shop at Checkmate, so testers do not have to earn it before giving feedback.
- Fire modes: fully automatic and single shot
- Damage 27, projectile velocity 500, 375 rounds per minute
- 30-round magazine, 0.25 second aim-down-sight time, average weight
- Electrical jump range 5 m, maximum jump range 3 m as listed in the notes
Where this sits on the roadmap
The October 21 Roadmap Roundup added a card called Intersec Defence Solutions Mission Pack and set it to Committed. It describes an expansion of Intersec’s contracts in Nyx centered on the growing Vanduul threat, with new blueprints to earn, which is exactly what 4.10.3 is testing. The same roundup marked the Character Customization Update (Brows) card as released in 4.10.2.
There is no live release date yet. Wave 1 is the first and smallest PTU group; CIG’s weekly post on October 26 thanked early testers and said more waves will open up soon, which is the normal path from PTU to LIVE.
What this means for new players
Nothing in 4.10.3 changes what to buy. The Vanduul contracts are aimed at experienced players and the top tiers need a crew, so a new pilot on the live servers will meet them later, after working through the Welcome To Nyx contracts. If you have Wave 1 PTU access and want to help, the free Skarnov in the PTU shops is the easiest thing to test; otherwise wait for the patch to reach LIVE, where everything above Rank 1 will take some reputation to unlock. Our Star Citizen referral code guide explains how the 50,000 UEC signup bonus works and how to apply code STAR-6WPK-3K56 before you enlist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not yet. As of October 27, 2026 it is on the PTU for Wave 1 testers on US servers, with more waves to follow. CIG has not given a live date.
A Vanduul Incursion mission line in Nyx from Intersec Defence Solutions, new combat locations, dead Vanduul cryopods that Wikelo buys, blueprint rewards for new armor, a flight suit and ship weapons, and the LBCO Skarnov energy rifle.
On the live servers most of the line requires completing the Vanduul Tech Smugglers work for Welcome To Nyx first. On the PTU all contracts are open for testing.
Cubby Blast in Area18, Skutters in GrimHex, Conscientious Objects in Levski and the weapon shop at Checkmate, for the PTU phase only.
Source: [Wave 1] Star Citizen Alpha 4.10.3 PTU Patch Notes 12999338. Details come from CIG’s Alpha 4.10.3 PTU Wave 1 patch notes on Spectrum, the Roadmap Roundup of October 21, 2026, and This Week in Star Citizen for October 26.
