The Alliance Tournament XXII finals are two weeks away, and this week r/Eve started picking apart the two ships that will be handed to the best teams. A thread titled "Full stats for this year's AT ships - Herald and Penitence" (r/Eve thread, gallery) shares the numbers, and the author's verdict is blunt: both hulls "look completely OP".
That is one player's reading, not a balance verdict. But the official numbers are public, so let's look at them.
When the finals happen
According to the official tournament page, the finals take place on 31 October and 1 November 2026. The preliminaries are already over: they ran over three weekends (29–30 August, 5–6 September and 12–13 September), in a Swiss-style format of seven rounds per team. The announcement of 28 August says 58 teams signed up and that the top 16 in the standings advance to the finals.
Matches are broadcast on the Fenris Creations Twitch channel. Viewers can use Twitch channel points to predict winners and exchange them for SKINs, and Twitch Drops are available during broadcast weekends.
The two prize ships
The Amarr Empire sponsors this year's tournament. Per the prize announcement of 10 August, the prizes are two new hulls, the Herald and the Penitence, with 140 of each distributed among the top 16 teams. The champions receive 40 of each. That announcement also says engineers were still finalizing the design and that bonuses "may change", so check the final values in game.
Herald, an electronic attack frigate based on the Sentinel:
Slots: 2 high, 5 mid, 5 low; 2 turret hardpoints, no launchers; 60 m³ drone bay.
Role bonuses: 50% cap warfare resistance, 50% lower microwarpdrive signature penalty, can fit Assault Damage Controls.
Amarr Frigate bonuses (per level): 20% small energy turret optimal range, 40% small energy turret damage, 5% rate of fire.
Electronic Attack Ships: 12.5% weapon disruptor effectiveness and 5% faster capacitor recharge. Assault Frigates: 4% to all armor resistances.
Penitence, a combat recon cruiser based on the Curse with heavy interdictor tackling tech:
Slots: 5 high, 6 mid, 7 low; 4 launcher and 2 turret hardpoints; 300 m³ drone bay.
Role bonuses: cannot be detected by directional scanners, can fit a Warp Disruption Field Generator and a Cynosural Field Generator, 20% to all armor resistances.
Recon Ships: 50% optimal range and 30% falloff on energy neutralizers and nosferatu, 40% more drain amount. Heavy Interdiction Cruisers: 10% bubble range.
Amarr Cruiser: 10% weapon disruptor effectiveness, 25% drone hitpoints and damage.
The r/Eve author compares the Herald's speed to the Raiju and says it beats the Wolf, and points to the Penitence's power grid, agility and neut bonuses over the Curse. Those comparisons come from the thread, not from an official source, and the post's author is the only voice quoted here.
Prize distribution
For each hull: 40 to the winner of the grand finals, 20 to the runner-up, 16 for third, 12 for fourth, 8 each for fifth and sixth, 6 each for seventh and eighth, 4 each for ninth to twelfth and 2 each for thirteenth to sixteenth. Every match win, preliminaries included, also awards an Amarr Victory SKIN. The winning pilots' names will be etched on the physical trophy displayed at Fanfest.
Rules worth knowing
Teams of up to ten pilots must stay at or under a 200-point limit. Per the tournament page, a team may field at most three ships of the same hull, and two for battleships; battleships may fit at most one armor plate or two shield extenders; the "Avalanche Ban" from the Anger Games is adopted, the Cenotaph is banned, and the Zarmazd is limited to a single mutadaptive repair module. The full ruleset is on the official rules page.
What to watch
With the teams already set, the interesting question is whether the Herald and Penitence stay in the form shown in August, and how much of the community's alarm survives contact with the 200-point limit. We will follow the finals.
Also this week: CSM voting is the other date on the calendar; see our CSM 21 candidates article.