All PC servers will be offline for the following update, May 04, at 6:00am PT (3:00pm CEST). Downtime is expected to last up to two hours. --
Notes on Network Issues
Connery Latency Issues: As of 10:30pm PT, May. 02, we have made revisions to the network infrastructure surrounding the Connery server. The goal with these changes are to, at minimum, cross certain factors off our list during the investigation into Connery's latency problems. The best case scenario would be that the changes resolve the current issues.
We'd like to encourage folks to play on Connery tonight (and post update) and send CS report tickets for issues if they continue to occur (https://help.daybreakgames.com/hc/en-us/requests/new). As a reminder, we're looking for your character name, server, time of incident, ISP, and PC specs.
G15 errors: As of this update, all gateways will have received the modifications discussed in the recent dev letter. The G15 issues continue to be investigated, but they should be less frequent overall, and keep impacted players out of the game for less time as well.
Codex System and Main Navigation
In this release, we've made a variety of updates to the UI, including an all-new Codex System that acts as an in-game wiki for mechanics, lore, and other useful knowledge. This new screen is accessible from the "hamburger menu" dropdown in the top-right corner.
The Main Navigation menu has also received a number of changes to modernize the look. The top right corner houses boosts, currency, and settings options, while the top left shows your player-card, experience to next level, and directive score. Additionally, the directive score can be clicked on to send you right to the Directives page (without going through Missions or Campaign,) and clicking elsewhere on the player-card will send you to the My Character screen where you can customize your profile banner, title, and more.
VS Directive Weapon Adjustments
Updates to usability here bridge the gap between what felt off about the first pass, and how we'd like these weapons to perform overall. Heat weapons don't use traditional short/long reloads, and only use their overheat value for a reload (this is an unresolved issue with all heat weapons with a manual reload,) and we've brought the directive weapon overheat values in line with those weapons' short reloads.
Darkstar (VS Assault Rifle)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 2.2sec. to 1.75sec.
Shots until overheat from 24 to 27.
Eclipse VE3A (VS Carbine)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 2.28sec. to 1.65sec.
Shots until overheat from 24 to 27.
The Immortal (VS Sidearm)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 1.75sec. to 1.45sec.
Shots before overheat from 14 to 16.
Revenant (VS Scout Rifle)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 2.6sec. to 2sec.
Shots before overheat from 16 to 18.
Fixed an issue with the audio playing the "low ammo warning" when firing.
Parsec VX3-A (VS Sniper Rifle)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 5.575sec. to 3.86sec.
Chaos (VS Shotgun)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 3.22sec. to 2.1sec.
Shots before overheat from 6 to 7
Skorpios (VS SMG)
Reload/Overheat penalty remains at 1.74sec.
Shots before overheat from 20 to 25.
Dev Note: To replace some of the built-in function of the previous Vented Power Core, it's been given minor mag size benefit despite the heat standardization, and kept the added recoil penalty from Vented Power Core in exchange.
Betelgeuse 54-A (VS LMG)
Reload/Overheat penalty from 3.44 to 3sec.
Shots before overheat from 40 to 45.
Dev Note: Realistically, the Betelgeuse didn't need any buffs, and this change is only to bring back a portion of its "LMG high-mag" feel, that was remarked on as missing by players. It may receive drawbacks in other areas in the future.
Explosive Ammunition
Explosive Ammunition now has a standardized effect, impacting the following TR weapons: HBR-1 Dragoon, DMR-99, and HSR-1
Now converts 125 direct damage into 100 explosive damage over 2 meters for all affected weapons.
Minimum blast damage from 1 to 25.
Bonus friendly-fire damage reduction from 75% to 50%. This effect stacks multiplicatively with the baseline 50% damage reduction applied to all non-squad friendly fire.
Explosive Ammunition now has new impact effect visuals.
Dev Note: Previously, Explosive Ammunition dropped the Dragoon's 334 direct damage to 250, and added 75 splash over 2 meters (it was stated incorrectly as 1.5 meters in the tooltip.) For non-Dragoon weapons, the effect was the same, effectively boosting the damage of those weapons to silly levels.
Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions
Added a setting option that can disable melee weapons from being auto-wielded when the melee key is held down.
Same-faction targets no longer appear in the firing lanes in VR Training, but still appear out in the field.
Defectors can no longer hit themselves when firing through the Seraph Shield.
Added underbarrels to many weapons that were intended to receive them during the Arsenal Update.
Tactical Grenades/Mines now show "Assists to Next" instead of "Kills to Next" and are capable of earning assist ribbons.
The Oshur "Underwater Travel" directive no longer shows numbers that exceeds the display, and instead counts to 5000 hectometers (100 meters per 1 point.)
ANTs with the Deliverer Module equipped now earn spawn experience.
The A2-20 HCG for the NSO ANT can now unlock the Ammunition Capacity cert line.
Chimera CT2-20 HCG barrels now animate when firing.
Fixed audio and FX issues related to the HCG.
Holding down the afterburner key while your energy is regenerating will once again apply boost when you gain enough energy.
You should no longer be able to achieve infinite afterburners.
You can once again see afterburner FX from Interceptors deployed by the Bastion Fleet Carrier.
Fortify implant now provides the 20% small arms resistance as described, and no longer protects from sniper rifles.
Underwater Weapons category has been renamed to Amphibious Rifles and Amphibious Sidearms, where applicable.
The Brawler's Extended Magazine no longer conflicts with optics.
Viridian Genetics Lab's Ammunition Tower now provides ammunition.
Concussion Mines no longer causes a second placed mine to remove the first.
Exodus Flotilla Cannons no longer fire upon allied NSO Flash and Javelins.
Fixed various underbarrel related issues.
Adrenaline Shield's upgrade descriptions no longer differ from the ability's actual description.
Hey there, folks. With the summer months right around the corner, I wanted to revisit the roadmap with an eye to what's currently in development, and what you'll see in the next leg of PS2's development.
But first, let's take a moment to talk about a couple hurdles we've been dealing with since roughly around the time of the Arsenal Update.
G15 errors: Over the past few weeks, we've added loads of logging, pored over code submissions, and continue to search for the source of our G15 issues. A G15 is the error you see when you can't connect through your "gateway" to the server. This is not something that's wrong with your computer or connection. The only "fix" is to wait for a while and try again later. However, we do have a bandaid in place that should cut down on G15 issues substantially, by shutting down broken gateways after enough connections get stuck on it.
Network issues: For players who make use of the Deutsche Telekom ISP (primarily Cobalt/Miller players,) we've made some routing changes late last week that should have resolved the major connection issues through that ISP. For Connery players experiencing high latency, we're still trying to track down where the impact is. To that end, please submit tickets to CS using the following information when latency issues take place: https://help.daybreakgames.com/hc/en-us/categories/204228447-PLANETSIDE-2 We need your character name, server, time of incident, ISP, and PC specs, if you can provide them. There have been relatively few players doing this at this point, despite it being helpful to resolve these issues.
As a side note, resolving the above issues and developing the roadmap are done in parallel. The team members devoted to one are not actively developing the other. Thought that was worth mentioning, given some of the discourse I've seen surrounding these events.
Roadmap Progress
Speaking of the roadmap, let's check back in on how things are going. The roadmap, as we move into the second leg of our 2022 ambitions.
Year's Beginning
For our first leg of the roadmap, we delivered on most of what we set out to do, with the new Codex and Main Nav Menu updates making their way Live on May 4th. We've taken onboard a fair amount of feedback during that time, like surfacing the logout button separately from the collapsible menu, and cleaning up the membership promotion area, among others. The Codex has also been fleshed out a fair amount, and is now a good jumping off point for future additions. We'll be sending this latest round of updates to PTS later this week. Updated Main Nav menu and Codex.
Outfit Wars on Nexus
From here, we start moving into summer-ish, where we'll see the return of Outfit Wars in a new 1v1 format on the continent of Nexus. More to follow on these changes once we're closer.
Water Combat and Naval Vehicle
While we're not wholly decided on the scope of the underwater combat yet, we'll be making efforts to expand that. The goals would be to add more depth (hah) to water gameplay by giving players reasons to use the water, ways to defend themselves, and make it a bit easier to traverse while still retaining the feel. We'll be introducing our first proper naval vessel as a part of that, which we'll talk about more in the near future.
Revisiting Squads
As was mentioned in the original roadmap dev post, we'd like to introduce "Garrison Squads" that allow players to form temporary, local area groups automatically when attacking or defending regions, and take a pass on the squad finder and surrounding squad functionality as a whole.
Item Gifting
Being able to gift DBC-purchasable items to your friends is something that's been requested over the years, and we're currently working to get this implemented. It might not land with the 19-year PlanetSide Legacy update in May, but that's the timetable we're shooting for.
Off-roading
There's plenty going on that you won't find in the roadmap as well.
For example, the next update will incorporate some player feedback into the Trident Relays, giving defenders the ability to reach the top of the dome to deal with attacker vehicle spawns. We've also been consistently adding quality of life improvements to the updates thus far, with a couple more on the way. You'll soon be able to disable auto-knife wielding as an option, and disable a multitude of HUD indicators (something that's been asked for for a long time.) New ramps that lead to the top of the Trident Relays.
When the PlanetSide Legacy event arrives, some killer new cosmetics will make their way to the Depot, as well as all new empire-specific Anti-Materiel Rifles to diversify your arsenal a bit. All new Anti-Materiel Rifles, one for each faction.
Overall, I've been happy to see the renewed excitement surrounding the Arsenal Update, and the Roadmap items we've got planned. We'll continue to build, refine, and expand as we move through the year. Thanks for the continued support, everyone.
All PC servers will be offline for the following update, Apr. 05, at 6:00am PT (3:00pm CEST). Downtime is expected to last up to two hours.
--
Notes on Server/Client Performance
Periodic Hitching: Hitching should be resolved with this update's downtime. With last week's repeated rolling zone restarts, the expectation is that we introduced a mismatch between data on certain environments that was causing the hitching. (Side note: This issue has nothing to do with the nanite timer, as some have theorized.)
G15 errors: We're currently experiencing intermittent issues with gateways getting into a bad state. Sometimes a gateway will stop letting traffic through, which means that certain people won't be able to reach the server (resulting in the G15 error.) Those bad gateways need to be restarted manually after a problem is identified. We've added additional logging to the Live environment that will help us diagnose the cause of these gateway collapses. We're trying to stay on top of these problems as best as our current resources allow, but we can look for a more permanent fix once the data comes in.
Connery Server Latency: We're aware of extremely high latency for players connecting to Connery from Asia and Australia. This may be due to routing issues from those environments. It would be extremely helpful if you could submit tickets to CS through this portal: https://help.daybreakgames.com/hc/en-us/categories/204228447-PLANETSIDE-2
We need your character name, server, the time of the incident, ISP, and PC specs if possible. CS will work with you if they need more specific information beyond that point. We realize there is a lot of friction associated with this process, but if we can find the exact jumps where these slowdowns occur, we can work with network providers to try to circumvent these problem areas. Fixing this issue for one person tends to fix it for many people, so thank you in advance for those of you submitting tickets.
High-Pop Performance Issues: We continue to investigate how we can make the high-pop server performance better, but the analysis done until this point mainly points to it being something we need to address from a gameplay side. Reintroducing the spawn priority system has certainly increased the performance overhead, and we're looking at ways to make that less cost intensive. (As a refresher: We initially disabled this system with Oshur's release, but using the more efficient pre-2019 spawn system garnered a lot of negative feedback on non-Oshur continents.) Alternatively, we can reduce the maximum populations on a continent, as performance tends to really starts feel a negative impact 750ish players, but that's probably the least favorable bullet we have in the chamber, as it doesn't truly solve problems when players are all clumped up in the same location. Long story short, we're not ignoring these issues, there just aren't great answers at the moment.
Double Experience Weekend Two, Electric Boogaloo
Because our last double experience weekend was riddled with server issues, we're going to run another one this weekend. The hope is that we have performance issues hammered out by then.
Double experience for ALL players will take place Apr. 08, 09, and 10.
Balance Adjustments
Semi-auto shotguns now use the same Slug Ammunition as automatic shotguns, changing their damage from 600-400 to 475-300.
19A Fortuna, CB-ARX Newton, TRAC-Shot, Eclipse VE3A now all have access to Soft Point Ammunition.
Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions
Compensators for the Eclipse VE3A, TRAC-Shot, and 19A Fortuna now operate as expected.
NSO's HCG turrets no longer have view model issues in first person while looking up.
Heavy Magazine attachment no longer prevents rail attachments from being equipped on weapons that were affected by this bug.
Heavy Magazine attachment no longer increases the magazine size of underbarrel grenade launchers.
Compensator's attachment description has been updated, and properly conveys the increased hipfire penalty.
NS-45P Pilot now has compensator and flash suppressor like it's base weapon counterpart.
Havoc Mines no longer show the tactical grenade indicator above them.
Mines added in the last update no longer stick to surfaces.
Updated the cert line description of Nano-armor Cloaking.
EMP, Flash, Concussion, and Havoc grenades now all grant assist experience.
Equipping a laser sight on the "Treasured" LA1 Anchor no longer conflicts with barrel attachments.
MG-A1 Arbalest now has proper barrel attachment models.
Earning a Flashbang Mine medal no longer also grants a Flashbang Grenade medal.
The My Stats page have had the missing grenades added to it.
In my view, PlanetSide 2 has always been a game about possibility. With a wealth of playstyles, from boots on the ground infantry, to armored vehicle specialists, to elite fighter pilots, and supportive construction specialists, we make an effort to ensure that every player who sets foot in this game has a niche to call their own. Sadly, one segment of the playerbase has gone underserved for the entirety of the game's almost 10 years of life. We'd like to change that. Players who prefer non-combat roles, or are staunch supporters of pacifism amidst the battleworn landscapes, should finally be granted a well-deserved reprieve from the war on Auraxis.
When this update rolls around, we will be taking our first steps toward introducing the serene art of fishing to PlanetSide 2.
Making Preparations
While on Sanctuary, speak to Representative Nalla to apply for the Auraxis Anglers Society, and unlock the NS NanoCaster tactical slot item.
Auraxis Anglers Society
The Auraxis Anglers Society operates on a "capture and document" policy, where participants compete to acquire NFTs (new fish targets) that have yet to be tagged. Before you become a full fledged member, Nalla will ask you to prove your worth with various fishing-related tasks in the form of the new Gone Fishing directive line.
Taking the Bait
The NanoCaster can be used on any body of water to scan and document fish native to that environment.
Right-click will toss the NanoBobber into the body of water. The NanoBobber will attempt to lure aquatic creatures to the device. When the NanoBobber receives a "hit," left-click to "capture" that fish.
Permits and Competition
Upon completing the Gone Fishing directive, you will gain the ability to fish on certain continents during the appropriate seasons, provided your permits are paid for and up to date.
All continents have unique fish to discover, and fish size and weight leaderboards will be made available in the Sanctuary during each season.
Wen fishing?
We hope you're all excited as we are for this highly requested feature, and want to make sure we take the time to get it right.
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @planetside2, and be on the lookout for updates that may possibly discuss the implementation of this feature in some timeline.
With this massive update, we've re-tuned many weapons, added more than 800 weapon attachments, revisited aspects of vehicle and infantry balance, and added new equipment that will expand your combat capabilities. Brace yourself for some very, very long patch notes.
NSO Legacy Outfits
When NSO went free to play (and received a revamped arsenal, new vehicles, and the ability to permanently align with a home faction,) in summer of last year, we mentioned allowing existing NSO outfits to migrate their members to a home faction, instead of having to disband and reform the outfit. This functionality has finally arrived, and the handful of legacy NSO outfits that are still holding on can properly migrate to a separate faction. NSO players without active memberships will remain in Freelancer status (functionality fixed in this update,) and will not be booted from their existing Outfit if membership lapses. Leaders of legacy NSO Outfits can now permanently align their Outfit to a home faction by speaking to Emerson on Sanctuary. This is a one-time transaction that will cause all the current members in our Outfit to move to the selected faction. Members who are online will need to relog (or re-zone into Sanctuary) for their home faction to be updated proper.
Black Market
In celebration of the Arsenal Update, FL-34 and SPRK-33 got some new digs on Sanctuary. You can visit them in the same spot they've been holding down, but now with a totally new look. Additionally...
All Black Market weapons are now purchasable with Daybreak Cash, as an alternative to the normal A7 currency costs.
A new "Black Market" directive can be found in the Specialty directive tree. Progress through this tree by showing your expertise with Black Market weapons.
New to the Black Market: SPRK-33's Stomper - This heavily modified Thumper fires anti-vehicle sabot rounds capable of shredding enemy armor over moderate distances.
The new Black Market directive, with new banner and Punisher variant rewards.
New Faction-specific Mines
Tactical mine options have been added to each faction to add more defensive layers during point defense.
Flashbang Mine (VS only)
Vanu Sovereignty Infiltrators and Engineers now have access to the new Flashbang Mine.
Flashbang Mines blind enemies within 12m when triggered.
EMP Mine (NC only)
New Conglomerate Infiltrators and Engineers now have access to the new EMP Mine.
EMP Mines deplete shields and scramble the HUD of infantry within 12m, as well as destroy or disable deployables caught in the blast.
Concussion Mine (TR only)
Terran Republic Infiltrators and Engineers now have access to the new Concussion Mine.
Concussion Mines slow and disorient enemies within 12m when triggered.
Havoc Mine (NSO only)
NSO Infiltrators and Engineers now have access to the new Havoc Mine.
Havoc Mines prevent repairs of mechanical targets within a 12m radius when triggered.
These mines only trigger when vehicles or MAX units come within range (or are destroyed.)
New Class-specific Grenades
Cleansing Grenade (Combat Medic only)
Combat Medics now have access to the new Cleansing Grenade.
Cleansing Grenades detonate on impact, removing most status effects and healing 100hp/sec. for 3sec.
Havoc Grenade (Heavy Assault only)
Heavy Assault now have access to the new Havoc Grenade.
Havoc Grenades detonate on impact in an 8m radius, preventing repairs for 6sec.
Timed EMP (Infiltrator only)
Infiltrators now have access to the new Timed EMP grenade.
Timed EMPs detonate after 3 seconds in a 10m radius, depleting shields and scrambling the HUD.
Impulse Grenade (Light Assault only)
Light Assault now have access to the new Impulse Grenade.
Impulse Grenades detonate on impact in a 5m radius, knocking back enemies or yourself.
When used on enemies, the knockback is less extreme than when used to propel yourself.
Grenade Balance and UI
General
A new HUD grenade warning indicator has been added for offensive tactical grenades like Flash and Concussion Grenades.
Detonation visuals for EMP, Flash, and Concussion Grenades have been updated.
Targets who are Flashed or Concussed now display small debuff visuals.
Concussion Grenade
Effective radius from 12m to 10m.
Flash/Quick-Det Flash Grenade
Effective radius from 12m to 10m.
EMP Grenade
Effective radius from 15m to 10m. (Dev Note: You should still have no problem hitting spawn beacons.)
Nanite Healing Grenade
Renamed to Nano-Regen Grenade.
Healing over time from 150hp/sec. to 175hp/sec.
New Vehicle Top Guns
New empire-specific "Basilisk" (jack-of-all-trades) top gun options have made their way to the game. These new weapons have statistical variations that set them apart from the common pool Basilisk, and will be available on multiple vehicles. The Prowler, Vanguard, and Magrider will receive these new weapons as a part of the default equipment, and the Sunderer, ANT, and Harasser will be capable of unlocking them as an option.
N30 Trawler (New Conglomerate) The Trawler is a slow firing, 30mm heavy machine gun that dishes out heavy damage over short distances.
M18 Palisade (Terran Republic) The M18 Palisade increases rate of fire over the first second, unleashing a barrage of machine gun rounds from its large magazine.
V42 Pariah (Vanu Sovereignty) The Pariah is a stable, rapid fire plasma platform that offers consistent high-caliber damage over even long-range engagements.
Vehicle Adjustments
General
Tank shell tracers have received new visuals.
Reload Speed Certification Lines
The reload speed certification lines for main cannons, noseguns, ESF wing mounts, Liberator bellyguns, and Flash weapons have been standardized at 5/7/8.5/9.5/10% reload speed.
The reload speed certification lines for top guns, air vehicle non-nosegun (and non-bellygun) weapons have been standardized at 10/14/17/19/20% reload speed.
Weapons with no magazine size option are an exception to the above, and remain at the 10% reload speed cap (Halberd and Gatekeeper, as examples.)
Dev Note: In many, but not all cases, this is a buff to the reload speed cert line, with bigger gains at lower levels to increase accessibility to newer players.
Chimera The changes here help compensate for the Chimera being a larger target, and give the non-Satyr main cannons more presence on the battlefield.
General
Chimera Health from 5000 to 5500
CT-135 (Chimera Main Cannon)
Direct damage from 550 to 600
Reload speed from 2.5sec. to 2.25sec.
CT-150 Cyclops (Chimera Main Cannon)
Direct damage from 800 to 900
HCG-20 (Chimera Forward Turret)
Projectile velocity from 550 to 650
Max damage range from 10m to 50m
Min damage range from 100m to 250m
Min damage from 167 to 143
Refire rate from 150ms to 171ms
Now has an Extended Magazine certification line.
Dev Note: Since the Chimera already had a unique "Basilisk" weapon, it's received some adjustments to set it apart. These weapons are now unlockable on the Harasser/ANT/Sunderer as well.
Valkyrie Changes below help move the Valkyrie a bit further away from piñata territory by increasing its overall movement capabilities and its anti-vehicle effectiveness with non-VLG weaponry.
General
Increased forward speed by roughly 25kph.
Increased downward thrust speed.
Increased forward and rise acceleration.
Increased braking capabilities.
Tank shell resist from -65 to -80
Wyvern
Damage resist type from 28 (Armor Piercing Chaingun) to 4 (Heavy Machine Gun)
Minimum damage from 143 to 150
Minimum damage range from 100m to 200m
Reserve ammunition from 300 to 480
Pelter Rocket Pods
Reload speed from 3.5sec. to 2.25sec.
Direct damage from 125 to 145
Reserve ammunition from 100 to 200
Hellion G20
Magazine size from 60 to 90
Reserve ammunition from 450 to 720
Sunderer
Deploy Shield now uses hex shield visuals to show when it's active.
Basilisk (top guns) refire rate from 171ms to 150ms
Dev Note: The refire changes revert a long-standing adjustment that left Sunderer Basilisks less powerful than vehicles with only a single top gun. Reverting this renews the possibility of battle bus tactics.
ANT
Added Deliverer Module as a defensive slot option.
Deliverer Module passively dispenses ammunition to nearby vehicles, and acts as a global spawn point while deployed. Additionally, The Deliverer Module allows Squad Members to spawn directly into the vehicle.
Galaxy
Added the Lodestar Module as as defensive slot option.
Lodestar module now allows the Galaxy to deploy into a global spawn point, with a defensive shield layer and attached equipment terminals.
Infantry Suit, Ability, and Implant Changes
Nanoweave Armor (Suit Slot)
Rank 1 Nanoweave now reduces Sniper Rifle (resist type 20) damage received by 20%, instead of Small Arms (resist type 2).
No longer reduces movement speed.
Dev Note: As part of the ongoing experiments with Nanoweave, we're pulling off the movement speed reduction and moving the resistances of sniper rifles into their own category that can be contested by this armor. Sniper Rifles traditionally have a low skill floor for the bodyshot damage they put out (yet feel bad when they're not given enough bodyshot damage, Daimyo being a good example.) Pushing more of the focus subtly toward headshots through this method is something we'd like to explore.
Adrenaline Shield (Heavy Assault Ability)
Reduced the energy return on kill from 31/35/38/41/44% to 15/18/21/23/25%.
Dev Note: Returning a couple hundred effective health after winning a firefight has more value than we were balancing against with previous numbers, the changes here reduce the effectiveness of Adrenaline Shield to make more room for alternatives.
Nano-Armor Cloaking (Infiltrator Ability)
Removed the 100 extra shield provided by Nano-Armor Cloaking.
The damage reduction from Nano-Armor Cloak is now 35% at all ranks, instead of just the last one.
Dev Note: Removing the extra 100 shield helps create more consistency surrounding weapons that should be able to one-shot an infiltrator (the Commissioner with a headshot, for example,) while ensuring, similar to Resist Shield, that the ability is active to receive benefits.
Symbiote (Implant)
Healing provided by Symbiote's activation from 50 to 125.
Added visual FX when healing is triggered.
Damage taken while already at full health no longer triggers the healing effect, and thus the cooldown.
Dev Note: This bug above effectively broke the implant in the majority of situations you'd find yourself needing it to trigger, and we've increased the health return to a more noticeable amount as well.
Experimental Stims
Now passively allows you to equip 1 additional stim (Restoration Kit, Medical Kit, or Infradine) on top of its previous benefits.
Broad Weapon Changes This update includes many sweeping changes that will broadly impact the balance of certain weapon archetypes. The areas below will be broken down into groups to make it easier to digest.
Directive Weapons
Enabled attachment customization on all applicable directive reward weapons.
Directive weapons can now be used with the Advanced Specialization Program.
Dev Note: The changes above allow for customization of the weapons you've spent hundreds of hours working toward, and also factor into the subsequent balance adjustments that are made in each faction's weapon balance sections further down.
Sniper Rifles
Anti-infantry sniper rifles now use a separate Sniper Rifle resistance (type 20).
Being struck by a sniper rifle now has more prominent audio.
Dev Note: The damage values for this new resistance are equivalent to small arms. This change will allow us to do is modify the bodyshot damage output from Nanoweave, as mentioned above.
Power Knives
Activated knife damage from 1050 to 900
Dev Note: Power knives consistently kill with two shots to the body or one shot to the head. This change is meant to dampen the effectiveness of specific setups, and give players more time to react to the burst of damage when the user can't land a headshot.
Sidearms
Most sidearms now have their ADS CoF bloom set to half of their hipfire CoF bloom. Weapons impacted by this are noted further down.
Dev Note: This is a subtle change that technically extends effective range, but won't be noticeable in most cases. More realistically, this change is closer to housekeeping.
Select Fire Modes
Select fire modes that aren't an important part of the weapon's capabilities have been removed.
Dev Note: There are many weapons in the game that don't make use of their select-fire functionality, and realistically, it wouldn't make sense to try to tune all of that extra baggage to be useful. Removing the burst/semi-auto modes on weapons that don't lean on them will help streamline the weapon quality overall. Examples of weapons that make good use of alternate firemodes are the TRAP-M1, SABR-13, TS2 Inquisitor, LA3 Desperado, Phaseshift VX-S, etc.
Shotguns
Starting CoF for all shotguns is now 0.15 in all non-jumping/sprinting/falling movement states.
Pellet spread values while aiming and firing from the hip have been standardized using the wider hipfire values.
Cone of fire now blooms per shot by 0.3 from the hip, and 0.15 while aiming.
Dev Note: The above changes aim to reduce the inconsistency and frustration of using these weapons, which was mainly caused by cone of fire spread stacked on top of the pellet spread. These changes are important when the new attachments and updated attachments come into play.
Attachment Changes
More than 800 new weapon attachments have been added, allowing for much more customizability. Those changes and additions can be found here, in quite possibly the most anxiety inducing way imaginable: https://imgur.com/a/zBKaoBw
Slug Ammunition Slug ammo now comes in 3 flavors with different damage ranges with independent hipfire cone of fire values. It's intended for semi-auto shotguns to be the most desirable to use with slug ammo, where others have steeper tradeoffs.
650-500 damage, pump shotguns.
600-400 damage, semi-auto shotguns.
475-300 damage, auto-shotguns.
Underbarrels
Shortened the firemode switch timer for underbarrels from 0.8sec. to 0.4sec.
Weapon equip time penalty for having an underbarrel equipped has been standardized at 0.25sec.
(The above changes do not affect integrated underbarrels, like the one on the Punisher.)
Dev Note: The changes here are meant to reduce some of the clunkiness of Underbarrels in general.
Compensator
Increased Compensator's vertical recoil reduction from 15% to 30%.
Decreased Compensator's hipfire cone of fire penalty from 20% to 15%.
Dev Note: Compensators tend to be used less as players learn to control vertical recoil. These changes push the attachment closer to relevance for more setups and skill levels.
Forward Grips
Advanced Forward Grips have all been converted to Forward Grips.
The equip time penalty for these grips have been standardized to 0.15sec. across all weapons.
Dev Note: Advanced Forward Grips were previously given to weapons who already had top-tier horizontal recoil models, and the benefits of a grip far outweigh the drawbacks.
Laser Sights
Advanced Laser Sights have all been converted to Laser Sights.
Dev Note: Like above, Advanced Laser Sights were typically given out to weapons that already had top-tier hipfire cone of fire, only furthering balance discrepancies. Unlike most attachments, laser sights don't have a real drawback beyond opportunity cost.
Comfort Grip
Penalty now increases vertical recoil by 20%, instead of increasing hipfire cone of fire by this amount.
Most Shotguns, Sniper Rifles, and Scout Rifles now use Comfort Grips, instead of Forward Grips.
Dev Note: Traditional Forward Grips offered no functional benefits to slow firing semi-auto weapons, so swapping them for Comfort Grips (which reduce the equip and unequip time of a weapon,) can be interpreted as a buff in almost all cases.
Mobile Prediction Laser
An MPL now reduces vertical and horizontal recoil by 60% when fired from the hip, instead of reducing hipfire pellet spread.
Dev Note: With the changes to cone of fire for shotguns, all shotgun laser sights have been converted to MPLs so that the attachment remains a relevant option for certain setups.
Disruptor Ammunition
Now reduces total per-shot damage by 20% at all ranges, and strips maximum shield energy on hit, instead of a flat value.
The amount of shield and energy stripped varies from weapon to weapon, this is unchanged.
Dev Note: Overall this results in a buff to any weapon using Disruptor Ammunition, and further increases its effectiveness against enemies with higher-than-typical shield pools.
New Weapon Attachments
Heavy Barrel
Reduces cone of fire bloom by 20% while aiming down sights.
Reduces aim down sights movement speed by 20%.
Short Barrel
Reduces cone of fire bloom by 40% when firing from the hip.
Increases vertical recoil by 20% while aiming down sights.
Angled Forward Grip
Reduces first shot recoil by 60%.
Increases overall horizontal recoil by 10%.
Flechette Ammunition
Triples maximum and minimum damage falloff ranges, but reduces the number of pellets fired (weapon dependent.)
KCAP Ammunition (Terran Republic only)
Reduces headshot damage by 50%.
Increases legshot damage by 20% and removes the legshot damage penalty.
Dev Note: The accessibility of bonus damage through legshots might be too powerful, so we might move a different direction based on feedback.
Manticore Ammunition (Vanu Sovereignty only)
Reduces infantry movement speed by 20% for 2 seconds on impact, reduces projectile velocity while equipped by 40%.
Cerberus Ammunition (Vanu Sovereignty only)
Causes the weapon to fire a 3-pellet spread horizontally from the hip, and vertically while ADS.
Vanu Sovereignty Weapons
Equinox VE2 (VS Assault Rifle)
Hipfire Cone of Fire reduced by 0.25 in most movement states.
Movement speed while aiming from 0.5x to 0.75x.
Dev Note: These changes carve a niche for the Equinox as a more mobile weapons platform, in addition to the wide attachment variety.
CME (VS Assault Rifle)
Recoil angle from 17/18 to 0
Horizontal recoil from 0.22 to 0.18
Horizontal recoil tolerance from 0.5 to 0.2
Dev Note: Removed much of the random deviation from this accuracy-focused weapon, elevating it to one of the most accurate assault rifles in the game.
Equinox VE2 Burst (VS Assault Rifle)
Renamed to Pulsar Burst.
Dev Note: The Equinox VE2 Burst is actually a burst-variant of the Pulsar VS1. Changing the naming convention to resolve this literally unplayable bug.
VX29 Polaris (VS LMG)
Maximum ADS CoF to 1.2 in most states.
Dev Note: Major buff that moves this support LMG in the direction of the Naginata and Promise while aiming down sights, without being quite as accurate as either.
VA39 Spectre (VS Sniper Rifle)
Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.6
ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
Max damage from 400 to 450
Min damage from 260 to 280
Dev Note: These changes make the progression from scout rifle to semi-auto sniper a bit more apparent as semi-auto snipers in general are made more useful.
Phantom VA23 (VS Sniper Rifle)
ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
ADS CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.2
Max damage range from 8m to 15m
Min damage from 260 to 280
Nyx VX31 (VS Scout Rifle)
ADS CoF bloom from 0.3 to 0.1
Eidolon VE33 (VS Scout Rifle)
Long reload from 3.4sec. to 2.6sec.
Short reload from 2.5sec. to 2.0sec.
Underbarrel ammo restock cooldown from 5sec. to 2.5sec.
Parallax VX3 (VS Sniper Rifle)
Short reload from 4.72sec. to 3.86sec.
Long reload from 6.575sec. to 5sec.
Solstice SF (VS Carbine)
Renamed to: Prominence VE4
Hipfire minimum cone of fire values reduced by 0.25 across the board.
Orion VS54 (VS LMG)
ADS CoF bloom from 0.04 to 0.05
Beamer VS3 (VS Sidearm)
CoF bloom while ADS from 0.12 to 0.06
Cerberus (VS Sidearm)
Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.18 to 0.16
ADS CoF bloom from 0.18 to 0.08
Manticore SX40 (VS Sidearm)
ADS CoF bloom from 0.14 to 0.07
Spiker (VS Sidearm)
Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.15 to 0.12
ADS CoF bloom from 0.1 to 0.06
VS Directive Weapons
We've moved to a new formula for VS' heat-based weapons that are based on a non-heat based weapon. Adding a heat mechanic to a weapon now (in most cases) reduces the magazine size by 20% of the base weapon, heat recovery delay is now based on damage per magazine, heat bleed-off is based on a percentage of the long-reload of a weapon, and overheat penalties are now equivalent to the base weapon's long reload speed.
Additionally, reloading these weapons only makes use of their overheat penalties, instead of short and long reload times, and isn't affected by reload speed modifiers through implants or suit slots. This is a bug we caught too late into development to correct, and will need to be amended in a later update. Lastly, the changes below are very strict and will likely need tuning. We can take these weapons in a couple of different directions, but will need to observe Live conditions before choosing which path to take.
Betelgeuse 54-A (VS LMG)
Aim down sights CoF bloom from 0.04 to 0.05
Consecutive shots before overheat from 50 to 40.
Overheat penalty from 3.28sec. to 3.444sec.
Heat recovery delay from 0.5sec. to 0.572sec.
Heat ammo recovery from 10 rounds per second to 9.28 rounds per second.
Dev Note: This weapon mostly receives usability nerfs, but has been indirectly brought in line with cross-faction alternatives through attachment selection.
Darkstar (VS Assault Rifle)
Now has access to the Underbarrel Cure Grenade Launcher by default.
Can now engage a manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat from 30 to 24.
Overheat penalty from 1.75sec. to 2.2sec.
Heat recovery delay from 0.5sec. to 0.343sec.
Heat ammo recovery from 17.1 rounds per second to 8.74 rounds per second.
Dev Note: This weapon's innate forward grip benefits can be stacked with an attachable forward grip as an option.
Eclipse VE3A (VS Carbine)
Now has access to the Underbarrel Impulse Grenade Launcher by default.
Can now engage a manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat from 30 to 24.
Overheat penalty from 1.65sec. to 2.28sec.
Heat recovery delay from 0.5sec. to 0.343sec.
Reduced max-damage range from 15m to 10m.
Heat ammo recovery from 17.55 rounds per second to 8.42 rounds per second.
Dev Note: The new integrated Impulse Underbarrel will allow Light Assaults to propel themselves around the battlefield with ease, and can be swapped out for a variety of other rail attachment options. Kept the integrated laser sight in exchange for a hit to projectile velocity.
The Immortal (VS Sidearm)
Is now a heat-based weapon with manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat 14.
Overheat penalty set to 1.75sec.
Heat recovery delay set to 0.233sec.
Heat ammo recovers 6.4 rounds per second.
Removed integrated Suppressor.
Dev Note: Aside from the heat mechanic changes, this weapon receives innate Soft Point Ammo to further its maximum damage range.
Revenant (VS Scout Rifle)
Is now a heat-based weapon with manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat 16.
Overheat penalty set to 2.6sec.
Heat recovery delay set to 0.35sec.
Heat ammo recovers 3.76 rounds per second.
Dev Note: Attachment options here are expanded to include Manticore Ammunition.
Parsec VX3-A (VS Sniper Rifle)
Is now a heat-based weapon with manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat 4.
Overheat penalty set to 5.575sec.
Heat recovery delay set to 1.83sec.
Heat ammo recovers 0.9 rounds per second.
Max damage from 750@10m to 700@10m
Min damage from 400@325m to 450@325m
Dev Note: Minimum damage is increased to further the one-shot kill range, on top of the heat mechanic addition.
Chaos (VS Shotgun)
Is now a heat-based weapon with manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat 6.
Overheat penalty set to 3.22sec.
Heat recovery delay 0.36sec.
Heat ammo recovers 1.49 rounds per second.
Dev Note: No changes here beyond the heat mechanic and sweeping shotgun changes.
Skorpios (VS SMG)
Is now a heat-based weapon with manual reload.
Consecutive shots before overheat set to 20.
Overheat penalty set to 1.74sec.
Heat recovery delay set to 0.28sec.
Heat ammo recovers 5.72 rounds per second.
Dev Note: Removed the long-range integrated attachments for this weapon in exchange for a built-in Vented Power Core.
New Conglomerate Weapons
Jackhammer (NC Heavy Weapon)
Hipfire and ADS cone of fire standardized to 0.15 in most movement states.
Burst-fire mode no longer has hidden damage falloff over range.
Laser Sight converted to MPL.
Dev Note: Considerable buff to the Jackhammer's ability to reliably output damage, and carries over some of the sweeping shotgun changes were needed.
NC6S Gauss SAW S (NC LMG)
Max damage from 167@10m to 200@10m
Min damage from 125@75m to 167@85m
Refire rate from 104ms to 126ms
Hipfire walk/stand/move starting CoF values increased by 0.25 (on par with the NC6 Gauss SAW.)
Hipfire crouchwalk starting CoF increased by 0.5 (on par with the NC6 Gauss SAW.)
ADS walk/stand starting CoF from 0.03 to 0.00 (on par with the NC6 Gauss SAW.)
Projectile velocity from 630 to 580
Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.12 to 0.14
ADS CoF bloom from 0.06 to 0.07
Dev Note: With there being as many flavors of 167 damage model weapons in the NC arsenal as there are, these changes provide a second 200 damage model option for LMGs. The Gauss SAW S mainly takes a small hit to refire rate and mag size for a faster reload and slightly more controllability.
EM1 (NC LMG)
Maximum ADS CoF to 1.2 in most states.
Dev Note: Major buff that moves this support LMG in the direction of the Naginata and Promise while aiming down sights, without being quite as accurate as either.
Gauss Compact Burst (NC Carbine)
Renamed AF-20 Rogue.
Dev Note: Gauss Compact Burst is actually a variant of the standard "Mercenary" carbine, and this naming convention fixes that.
Gauss Compact S (NC Carbine)
Renamed NC2 Gauss Compact.
Dev Note: Similar thread here, the Gauss Compact S was a variant of the Mercenary, but without the "Select Fire" attributes, it's been renamed to something more fitting its nature.
MGR-C1 Charger (NC Carbine)
When "uncharged" this weapon no longer drops to a 143 damage model, and instead scales back rate of fire.
Refire rate when uncharged from 92ms to 100ms
Dev Note: This is a significant buff to the weapon, as a 600rpm model (100ms refire) is near top-tier for the 167 damage category. This change also does away with shots to kill discrepancies that can be tied to bouncing between two damage models.
NC9 A-TROSS (NC Assault Rifle)
Refire rate from 128ms to 126ms
Dev Note: Small adjustment pushes the refire rate to 5% slower than the Reaper DMR, instead of the 7%ish it was at before.
Gauss Rifle S (NC Assault Rifle)
Short reload from 2.1sec. to 1.85sec.
Long reload from 2.8sec. to 2.5sec.
Dev Note: Small change to give the S variant more visible benefits when compared to the standard Gauss Rifle.
AF-8 Railjack (NC Sniper Rifle)
Projectiles now pierce through infantry targets, with no limit.
Dev Note: This is long overdue, given the theming of the weapon. ....
To view the rest of the patch notes, head on over to our website!
