Hey, brawlers! I know you’re all so excited for the Knockout City™ launch coming up on May 21, but I promise you no one is as freaking hyped as I am. I’m Jeremy Russo, the Game Director for Knockout City, and I just can’t wait for you all to experience the cool new features and gameplay that’ll be available on day one. So, in the meantime, I asked if I could share a look at the biggest new items we’re dropping, starting with the best of them all: Crews!
CREW UP!
From the beginning, we designed Knockout City for groups of friends playing together. You know, those folks you crammed onto dorm room couches with; the friends you fought over controllers with in your parents’ basement; the online friends you stayed up waaaay too late with, all the while saying, “Just one more game, one more game….” Those friends.
We wanted to create spaces in-game for you and your friends to meet up and hang out. This is why, in addition to the focus on teamwork mechanics, we have built-in features to let you kick back together, like the Hideout “lobby” area, cross-play on all platforms, and the ability to join a friend at any time and spectate the rest of their match. It was really important for us to provide a structured way to connect with your friends (and make new ones) that went way beyond a simple clan tag.
Introducing: CREWS. With up to 32 Crewmates, each with their own unique style, Crews earn a variety of Crew-only cosmetics while making a name for themselves as they play together and progress together every season. The brawler who first creates the Crew is the Crew Captain. The Crew Captain names the Crew, picks its starting look, and starts inviting other players to join. Brawlers can only be in one Crew at a time, but anyone in the Crew can ask new Crewmates, whether they’re existing friends or just great teammates you happen to meet in a match. Friends can also send a request to join the Crew if they start getting jealous and want in on the action. The Crew Captain can rename the Crew at any time, kick out jerkwads if needed, and promote another Crewmate to Crew Captain if they ever want to give up the wheel and take a backseat. Speaking of cars….
RIDE IN STYLE
You still riding into each match in that red convertible? Why not try pink? Or camo? Or SHARK??
That’s right! If you’re in a Crew, skid onto the scene together in style in your own hovering Crew Vehicle. Unlock higher-rarity rides for some crazy paint jobs, holograms, and more. Get a closer look and really feel that engine purr in the Hideout. If you find yourself on a team of brawlers from different Crews, one of your Crew Vehicles will be chosen at random. But don’t worry: there are more ways to represent your Crew everywhere you go.
In the Match Setup and Match Results screens, your name is always accompanied by your Crew Name and your Crew Banner. The Crew Banner serves as the background to your Player Card. So if you find yourself up against a team who all sports the same Crew Banner, you better be at the top of your game, because that means they are all in a Crew together and are gonna be putting that teamwork to good use.
And lastly, there’s the Crew Logo. You know that KO City hologram on the back of your jacket? Well, if you’re in a Crew, that gets swapped out for your Crew’s own personal Crew Logo. The Crew Logo consists of a front piece and a back piece, and they can be mixed and matched with all other Crew Logos to create something that best represents your Crew. Whether you’re riding into battle together or alone, wear your Crew Logo with pride and show ‘em all what you’re made of!
Here’s the cool part of all this: every Crew cosmetic you unlock goes into your own personal inventory to take with you should you decide to form your own Crew or leave to join a different one. Even though only the Crew Captain can choose which Crew Vehicle, Crew Banner, and Crew Logo to equip, they get to choose from a shared Crew inventory! That means ANY Vehicle, Banner, or Logo unlocked by any Crewmate can be equipped to the full Crew. The bigger your Crew, the more options that’ll be available to equip.
So just how the heck do you get all this cool stuff?
PLAY TOGETHER, PROGRESS TOGETHER
The first thing you’re gonna want to do when Knockout City launches (other than completing all the Training programs for a quick 500 Holobux) is start putting together your Crew. That’s because as soon as Season 1 kicks off shortly after launch day, Crews will get exclusive access to Weekly Crew Contracts.
Think of this almost like a free social “Battle Pass.” Each week, Crews are randomly assigned six Crew Contracts to complete before the end of the week. Crew Contracts are similar to regular Contracts (in-game challenges), but they need the Crew to work together. Some require Crewmates to play on a team together and perform specific actions, like nailing some Ultimate Throw KOs. Others can be completed asynchronously by Crewmates chipping in throughout the week in their own time, like racking up 1,000 KOs. These range in difficulty, so even small Crews have a fair shot at completing them. Still, the bigger your Crew, the easier it’ll be to knock out even the hardest Crew Contracts and earn all the rewards.
Before we talk about rewards, know this: when a Crew unlocks a reward, EVERY member of that Crew earns that reward if they logged into the game that week. Even if you TRIED to contribute to a Crew Contract but just couldn’t help make any progress, or if you logged in near the end of the week after it was already completed, you’ll STILL get the reward for any Contract your Crew completed. No matter what your situation is, your Crew has always got your back.
SHOW ME THE REWARDS
Okay, so about those rewards…. First, each of the six Weekly Crew Contracts gets you a ton of XP, so being in a Crew is also a great way to boost your Street Rank progression and start earning some higher-rarity cosmetics. Also, each week, there are two exclusive Crew cosmetics that can only be earned that week. Unlock the first by completing any two Weekly Crew Contracts, and get the second by finishing up four of ‘em. Completing all six Contracts rewards you with a 5% Crew XP boost, effective immediately for the rest of the Season. Crew XP Boosts give you bonus Match XP for every match you complete with at least one other Crewmate on your team. XP Boosts stack up, so if you killed six Crew Contracts a week for eight weeks, you’d be rocking a 40% Crew XP Boost by the end of the Season. There are ways to increase this XP boost even more, but that’s a topic for another day.
So, that’s Crews! It’s a lot to take in, I know, but we really wanted you and your friends to have something meaningful to do together every week and elevate your teamwork in matches for a real sense of camaraderie throughout each Season. Now let’s get to all the new gameplay you’ll be jumping into with your Crewmates on launch day!
FRESH NEW GAMEPLAY
Everything I’m about to tell you is new gameplay added to everything you already saw in the betas. So along with Sniper Ball, Knockout Roundabout, Diamond Dash, and every other ball, map, and playlist you’ve seen, here’s what you can expect to see in the mix at launch.
“MULTI BALL!” When you hear that announcement echo through the streets of Knockout City, you know chaos is coming your way. This is three balls in one, giving you several choices in your next attack. Maybe you’ll pass one to each of your teammates to instantly arm your whole team. Or perhaps you’ll try a series of trick shots to throw off your opponent… Curve LEFT, Curve RIGHT, LOB! Or you could charge up your shot and rapidly throw all three at each member of the opposing team… or all at one poor soul who’s gotta try to catch or dodge them all! These aren’t impossible to catch, though, so get to practicing your rapid catches, and you’ll end up with three balls at your feet to zing back in their faces!
I’d love to tell you all about our new map, Galaxy Burger, but instead, why don’t I just show it to you? Consider this your formal invitation to check out our out-of-this-world map live on JonSandman’s Twitch channel today at 4 p.m. EST / 3 p.m. CST / 1 p.m. PST. Jon will be playing live with the devs from Velan Studios as we show off this cosmic-themed burger joint, the Crew mechanics, and our new playlist, Party Team KO (where you’ll also get to see Multi Ball in all its glory).
Which leads me to the next item: Playlists. When you see the “Party” moniker added to a playlist, that means you won’t find any Basic Balls. Instead, every ball that spawns is a Special Ball. Ever wonder what Rooftop Rumble would be like with ALL Cage Balls? Or how about epic sniper battles while riding atop cars in Knockout Roundabout with ALL Sniper Balls? Try not to get dizzy and barf as curve shots whirl around you in Galaxy Burger with ALL Multi Balls. Sometimes you’ll even get ALL Special Balls as the loadout, so get ready to use a Moon Ball to avoid a Bomb Ball explosion targeted at your Caged teammate! Party Team KO is a wild ride, but it’s also a great way to learn the ins and outs of the different Special Balls. Play becomes strategic in totally new ways after the shock of seeing that many Special Balls active at once finally wears off.
GET READY
As I hope you can tell, everything you’ve seen so far in the betas has just been the tip of the iceberg of what is coming your way in Knockout City. There’s still tons of gameplay variety, new social experiences to open up with your Crew, and so much more to come in Season 1 and to announce over the next few weeks. Knockout City releases May 21.
Knockout City is also available with an EA Play*subscription from day one.
Stay tuned for more announcements, join the Discord to talk to other excited dodgebrawlers, follow us on Twitter for more news, and start debating with your friends about what you’re gonna call your Crew.
(To my friends: “Team FEAR,” right? Yes, I’m right.)
