In his live first look at Star Citizen 4.3 PTU, Detox highlights the new Onyx facilities and investigation missions as promising additions but criticizes the underwhelming AI, technical bugs, and PvP threats in supposed PvE zones. While the update brings quality of life improvements and enriches the game’s narrative, it ultimately delivers a mixed experience that needs further refinement to fully realize its potential.
The video is a live first look at Star Citizen’s 4.3 PTU update, streamed by the content creator Detox. The patch, released late Friday, is described as a relatively small update focused mainly on quality of life improvements such as spawning into your hangar again—a feature last seen in patch 4.0. The main new content highlighted is the introduction of large Onyx facilities scattered across Stanton’s moons, which serve as hubs for new investigation missions tied to the ongoing Regen Crisis narrative. Detox approaches the patch with cautious optimism but notes that overall, it feels like a minor update compared to previous quarterly patches.
As Detox explores the Onyx facilities, he details the mission structure, which involves investigating decommissioned research sites tied to the story of Dr. Logan Jorrett and the mysterious worm-related experiments. The missions are primarily PvE-focused but are not strictly PvE zones, meaning players can encounter hostile NPCs as well as other players, leading to unpredictable PvP encounters. Throughout the stream, Detox encounters several hostile players who attack him, which he notes undermines the idea of these zones being safe PvE areas. He also points out some bugs and issues, including NPC behavior, mission instancing problems, and technical glitches like joystick malfunctions.
The atmosphere and design of the Onyx facilities receive praise for their immersive qualities, including detailed environments, music, and narrative elements. However, Detox criticizes the gameplay within these zones, particularly the AI, which he finds unchallenging and inconsistent. The NPC enemies often stand idle or behave rudimentarily, failing to provide the kind of tactical combat experience that would make the missions engaging. He stresses that while the content looks great and has potential, the lack of challenging and reliable AI diminishes the overall enjoyment and replayability of the new missions.
Technical issues also mar the experience, with Detox encountering crashes, mission bugs, and inventory glitches, such as problems equipping necessary tools for mission objectives. He highlights the frustration of these bugs, especially in a patch that is supposed to improve the game experience. Despite these setbacks, Detox remains hopeful that future updates will refine the content and address the stability and AI issues. He also discusses the broader challenges Star Citizen faces in balancing PvE and PvP content, noting that many players gravitate towards PvP due to the current lack of compelling PvE gameplay.
In conclusion, Detox’s first look at Star Citizen 4.3 PTU presents a mixed picture: the update introduces interesting new locations and narrative missions that enrich the game world, but these are hampered by underwhelming AI, technical problems, and persistent PvP risks in supposedly PvE areas. While the patch offers some quality of life improvements and new content to explore, it falls short of delivering a consistently engaging gameplay experience. Detox expresses his hope that future patches will build on this foundation, improving AI behavior, mission design, and overall stability to make Star Citizen’s ambitious vision more playable and enjoyable.