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This page offers both new and returning players instructions to access the ships for the Invictus 2025 May Free Fly event.
Free to Fly Dates: May 15th to 27th 2025
The event starts at approximately 16:00 UTC (9 AM Pacific)
Ships Available to Fly from the following manufacturers:
Greycat, Aegis - 15th to 16th
Origin, RSI, Argo - 17th to 18th
CNOU, MISC, Mirai - 19th to 20th
Crusader, Tumbril - 21st to 22nd
Anvil - 23rd to 24th
Drake - 25th
Event Finale - 26th to 27th
View the massive Full List of Ships Event Schedule (Official)
How to use this guide
- What Is Invictus Launch Week?
- Important Information For New Players
- What Kind Of Performance and Stability Can I Expect?
- Expo Dates by Manufacturer
- Getting To the Expo
- Capital Ship Tour (Idris)
- What Else Is There To Do In Star Citizen?
- How Not To Die Of Thirst or Hunger At The Expo
- Will Star Citizen Ever Be Released?
- Sources For This Guide
What Is Invictus Launch Week?
Invictus Launch Week is an in-game military ship expo that takes place inside the Star Citizen game universe every year. Parallel to this event run ship sales on the RSI website where many military ships will be for sale. The in-game event offers players the chance to try ships by different manufacturers on different days during the free flly event. Each year the location of the expo changes and this year it is held at two locations in Area 18 on ArcCorp. This year features an interactable tour of the Idris frigate which is parked atop the North-IO building. The other exhibits are at Bevic Convention Center. There are also other special things to do in game during the event.
What is new this year?
- Idris tour fully explorable
- New events during the expo / free fly
- Increased player caps per shard (up to 700 players)
- Pyro System
Important Information For New Players (Don't have an account)
Before starting your Star Citizen adventure it can be good to consider game requirements and other details. Here are the 5 steps to get you up and flying in no time!
1 - Before you create an account make sure to have a referral code
2 - Check your system requirements before you download
3 - Download the game
4 - Star Citizen Alpha Player Guide - How To Play
5 - New player checklist
1 - Create An Account - Use A Referral Code!
Creating your account is your first step into the Star Citizen universe. Using a referral code grants you an extra 5000 UEC (in game credits when the game is released) if you decide to purchase the game (not required for the free fly).
Creating an account is free (whether you buy the game or not).
By clicking on the following link you will go directly to the official account creation page and the referral code will already be filled in (if you do not already have one):
Use this referral code: STAR-TP53-FCKS
2 - Check the system requirements
To get the most out of your Free Fly event you will want to make sure your computer can handle Star Citizen. It is an advanced MMO universe under construction therefore the system requirements are quite steep. Even if your computer can handle other games Star Citizen can be very demanding on system resources.
Important Notice: Star Citizen is constantly growing and these specs will be out of date so do your own research always.
Star Citizen aims to push the boundaries of what is technically possible in a 3D virtual universe. As such it requires as good a gaming PC as you can get your hands on.
For a premium experience you will want as close to or better than the following specs:
| Operating System | Windows 11 (or 10) |
| CPU | Late generation fast cores |
| GPU | 12GB+ VRAM |
| RAM | 32GB+ |
| Storage | 2TB SSD or NVME / M.2 |
| Internet | Broadband |
| Screen Resolution | 4K |
Check your system
If you want to see what average framerates you might get also visit the official Telemetry Page.
3 - Download Star Citizen
Download the game - robertsspaceindustries.com/download
Enjoy the Star Citizen Free Fly!
4. Alpha Player Guide - How To Play
Roberts Space Industries offer an official Getting Started Guide.
First Steps
Select Persistent Universe. The other game modes are instant action.
Character Creation
After you have selected a destination if it is the first time you are logging into the Universe you will be prompted with the Character Creation Screen.
Select Starting Location
The next screen you will be presented with is the Space Port selection screen. Here you will choose which port you wish to start at.
Select Stanton System - ArcCorp to set your starting spawn location to the same planet as the Invictus Launch Week Expo.
IMPORTANT: Please note that because the convention center and Idris are located at Area 18 on ArcCorp the game's graphic performance will be as bad as possible. The advantage of selecting Area 18 as your starting location is that you are close to the expo. The downside is that every time you spawn at your home location during the event, you will probably have very bad frame rates and possible stuttering, and game and server crashes. There are two ways to improve the starting experience to avoid bad performance at your home location. One is by choosing another starting location and then travelling to the expo. Another way is to start at Area 18 but as soon as you are able to leave travel elsewhere and set your regeneration imprint facility there instead.
5. New player checklist
Please check the following items before your free fly:
- You have set up an account and used the referral code
- You have checked the system requirements (and have 120GB free on SSD)
- You have downloaded the game (https://robertsspaceindustries.com/download)
- You have researched which points of interest you intend to visit
- You have a suitable webcam (30fps to 60fps) for FOIP - Optional
- You have a Joystick or Gamepad - Optional
What kind of performance to expect?
Expect several major issues:
- Server instability - You could be unable to enter the servers due to high demand
- Join Queues - You could be waiting in queues to join servers
- Game crashes - Star Citizen is not a fully released game and you may experience game crashes
- Bad frame rates - With potentially 700 players visiting an Idris at Area 18 this year, the FPS at peak times should be very poor
- Lots of bugs - While Invictus is expected to be more playable than any previous event, Star Citizen is still an alpha product under heavy development
Having set the expectation for poor performance also keep in mind that the recent optimizations to the game mean it is still expected to run much better than any previous in-game expo has even though this year has up to 700 players in a shard (last year's expo had just 100 players per shard).
Expo Dates by Manufacturer
Full List of Ships Event Schedule (Official)
Every two days one or more ship manufacturers will exhibit a selection of their ships (With the exception of Drake Interplanetary). These ships can be rented for free for 48 hours at the expo hall.
Dates and Exhibitors:
May 15th to 16th - Greycat, Aegis
May 17th to 18th - Origin, RSI, Argo
May 19th to 20th - CNOU, MISC, Mirai
May 21st to 22nd - Crusader, Tumbril
May 23rd to 24th - Anvil
May 25th - Drake
May 26th to 27th - Event Finale
Getting To the Expo
If you set your starting location to ArcCorp Area 18 you are already at the city for the expo. If you set your starting location anywhere besides ArcCorp you will need to fly to ArcCorp or have someone take you.
This year there are two locations that are of interest for the Expo and both are at Area 18. One location is the Idris tour which is located at the Area 18 Plaza which is very close to the starting habs (habitations). The other location is for the exhibition halls that change on the mentioned dates.
Important expo locations:
- Idris Tour - Area 18 Plaza - North IO Tower Rooftop
- Exhibition Halls - Bevic Convention Center - Area 18
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Capital Ship Tour (Idris)
To see the Idris Frigate capital class ship you will need to get to Area 18 Plaza. If you have selected ArcCorp as your starting location this should be near the hab area where you load in.
Take the elevator down and walk along the alley to the main square. If you look up from the ground floor of the Area 18 Plaza you should see the Idris above you.
Head to the North I/O Tower building (the tallest building in the square) to head up to the rooftop for the tour.
What Else Is There To Do In Star Citizen
Star Citizen Alpha 4.1.1 offers more than ever before while still being far from the completed vision. The game currently offers players the ability to play the game how they want and there is no role or class. Players can do many things such as mining, salvaging, combat, bounty hunting and more than ever before. There are still lots of issues with performance as bugs but there is a lot to do now in Star Citizen and much more is planned and upcoming.
The Free Fly is your opportunity to try out almost everything Star Citizen has to offer today for free and for a limited time.
How Not To Die Of Thirst and Hunger at the Convention
No. You can't drink with your helmet on. You can find kiosks that sell food and drinks at the exhibition. Make sure to unequip your helmet before attempting to drink or eat.
Will Star Citizen Ever Be Released?
Yes! Also, Squadron 42 (the single player) is set to release next year possibly this time for real. Star Citizen 1.0 is the version of the game that will be considered the end of Alpha development and the start of the game. What is planned for Star Citizen Alpha 1.0 is still being defined but some of the features are already set and being worked towards. View the official Star Citizen Roadmap.
Sources
Full Manufacturer Schedule For The Event (Official)
Invictus 2025 FAQ (Official (Spectrum)
Invictus 2955 Launch Week Countdown (Official)
Event Schedule (Official - Spectrum)