Warp Scramblers and Warp Disruptors aim to disrupt the warp drive of a locked target to try and prevent it from warping away. If a ships warp drive is disabled because of such modules or a warp disruption field, it is "scrambled", or "pointed". While the main effect of Scramblers and Disruptors is identical, they differ in some key points:
- Warp Scramblers will disable Micro Warp Drives as well as Micro Jump Drives of the target they are used on, in addition to offering a higher warp disruption strength compared to Warp Disruptors.
- Warp Disruptors will only disrupt the ships warp drive and have no effect on Micro Warp Drives or Micro Jump Drives. They also have a lower warp disruption strength than warp scramblers, but they allow warp disruption at a longer optimal range than warp scramblers.
A ships warp drive is successfully scrambled when the combined Warp Disruption Strength of all active warp scrambler or warp disruptor modules used against the ship surpass its warp core strength. Unless otherwise specified in their traits, ships have a base warp core strength of 0. The Warp Core can be strengthened further through Warp Core Stabilizers, at the cost of targeting range and targeting speed.
A successful warp scrambling has the following effects on the scrambled ship:
- The ship will no longer react to warp commands for as long as it remains scrambled. Any active warp commands when the scrambling starts will cancel immediately. This includes any attempt of an emergency warp after a disconnect (however, the return warp after reconnecting can not be prevented).
- If the ship also has a jump drive, it will be disabled as well and jumping to cynosural fields will not be possible.
- Capital ships, such as Dreadnoughts, Carriers, Supercarriers, Titans and Capital Industrial Ships will not be able to use Stargates while warp scrambled. Sub-Capital ships as well as Freighters can still use gates even if they are scrambled.
- Docking or Tethering at Upwell Structures will not be possible for any warp scrambled ship.
Warp Disruption Fields
Warp Disruption Fields (also called “Bubbles”) create a spherical effect around their origin point which prevents or alters a ship’s ability to warp.
Warp Disruption Fields have the following effects:
- Ships within the field cannot activate warp
- Capital ship jump drives will not work within the field
- Ships whose warp trajectory intersects with a field will have their progress stopped at or dragged to the edge of the field
Note that the point at which a ship exits warp is determined when the command for warp is given. Any warp disruption fields activating after a ship is given the command for warp will not affect that ship.
The red Warp Disruption Fields in this illustration show where a warp will be affected, dragging the warping ship to the edge of the field.
As the warp exit point is determined with the warp command, a warp disruption field becoming active after the warp command has already been given has no effect on that warp, only commands given after activation of the disruption field will be affected by it.
Warp Disruption Fields can be produced by:
- Mobile Small/Medium/Large Warp Disruptors, a personal deployable structure:
- an Interdictor using an Interdiction Sphere Launcher with Warp Disrupt Probes:
- a Heavy Interdictor with a Warp Disruption Field Generator equipped and active:
Warp Disruption Fields of any kind cannot be used in High or Low Security space. However, Heavy Interdictors may use a Focused Warp Disruption Script or Focused Warp Scrambling Script in their Warp Disruption Field Generator to turn it into a targeted Warp Disruptor/Scrambler with infinite Warp Disruption strength instead. With the script, the generator loses the area of effect, but gains the respective effects of a targeted Warp Scrambler or Warp Disruptor as described above, as well as the ability to use the module in High and Low Security space.
Shuttles are immune to Warp Disruption Fields and will not be affected by them at all.
The following ships can fit Interdiction Nullifiers which provide temporary immunity to the effects of warp disrupt probes and mobile warp disruptors:
- Interceptors
- Blockade Runners
- Deep Space Transports
- Strategic Cruisers
- Victorieux Luxury Yachts
- Covert Ops
- Industrials
However, fitting a Burst Jammer or a Higgs Anchor will disable the interdiction nullification provided by the Interdiction Nullifier.