I'm sure I must have read the answer to this question somewhere earlier, but for the life of me I can't find it. I'm curious to know: what benefits are given to a UIT pilot who decides to join either the Serco or the Itani military? I thought I read something about earning rank or military recognition in the /100 chat channel, but I can't find anything about it elsewhere.

I know Serco and Itani players benefit from the Deneb conflict by earning the right to blockade the other nation's wormhole (Ukari or Edras, right?), and benefit from the CtC contest by earning the right to purchase Neutron MkIII blasters, but - do UIT players get to share in those benefits? For example, if a UIT pilot signs up to fight with the Itani military and takes part in CtC to bring Serco xith to Itani manufacturers, does that UIT pilot get the right to buy Neut MkIII blasters?

I've been playing for almost two months so I feel like this is something I should know but I can't seem to find where it's all laid out and made clear. Thanks in advance for enlightening a newb-ish pilot.

I'm guessing most of the framework for ranks and badges is there but the devs haven't gotten to it yet because of more important stuff. I'm going to assume it will ease capship access, grant permits for specials guns and other goodies.

All of this stuff is in the pipe right now there's no reason to join unless you want to participate in the border skirmishes.

And AFAIK as a uit you can go to whoever wins ctc nations space and buy mk3 there, or you can just ask anyone to buy them for you since they're hella cheap/light

I am not absolutely certain, but I don't believe UIT can purchase Neut MkIII from any station at all, ever. Our only options are, AFAIK, buying them from other players, looting them from convoys, and picking them up as weapon drops.

As for benefits of joining the military, it allows you to do Border Skirmish missions, which are an interesting change of pace. They're similar to Hive Skirmishes in that you have a set of counters, one for each side, which decrement when a ship dies. But unlike Hive Skirmishes, there are capships as well, and those count for a larger number of deaths ("souls"). A Trident is worth 20, other ships are worth more. The battles are also longer both in terms of the counters starting higher and because there aren't a bunch of retarded collectors and mining ships sitting in the middle of the fight waiting for people to mow them down. And, of course, there is the potential for human players in the enemy team.

Yeah the border skirmishes are lots of fun. Especially the large ones when you get a whole mess of players on both sides of the fight.

Thanks for the info; too bad the military rank structure isn't in place, it could add a great role-playing element.