You don’t -have- to engage with AX, all the other stuff is still there, but you do have to pay a bit more attention to the galmap because crossing Thargoid space will get you hyperdicted.

The AX meta has changed a bit, the new human gear and guns are actually pretty good, we have enhanced AX missiles and multis that are faster and hit harder than the old ones. It kinda lowers the bar for entry a little bit; the new multis will pop a scout in like 30 seconds. Human gear is necessary for some sites because Spires, Titans and Orthrus put out anti-guardian fields. We also have a couple of AX stabilisers that allow mounting more than four experimental weapons, and caustic sinks that work like heatsinks but get rid of caustic. We have a new AX scanner that works at longer ranges and allows subtargeting hearts with multis and missiles. Orthrus are actually pretty easy to kill since they don’t have hearts or offensive weapons, just a shutdown field and caustic trail. They’re also worth a cold 40mil each. Scythes and Glaives will absolutely wreck your shit. They have less health than interceptors but they’re fast, maneuverable and hit hard.

AXI run regular events on a Friday, lately they’ve been focussing on spire sites because they’re loaded with Orthrus and easy money. I think I made a couple billion in the last couple weeks just by tagging Orthrus before they pop.