Hello commander.
Get ready for another… surprise update by the Eugen team!
That’s right, the moment has come for another WARNO milestone, and guess what, it's available now! Let’s welcome to the stage the MACDONALD milestone. What kind of goodies can you expect from this update? A new British-focused Operation, for instance, plus the new Ranked-optimized Duel maps, a new variant of Airport, and more!
As always, we’ll start off with a historical primer. For you commanders itching to know all the juicy gameplay and update deets right now, best to scroll down further.
But for those of you with a bit more patience, let’s begin!
Macdonald’s Historical Namesake
Ah, Napoleonic history. Why does it matter to our Cold War aficionados playing WARNO? Well, it’s a Eugen tradition to name our milestones after a whole series of famous (and not so famous) French military commanders from the Napoleonic wars. With the latest update, it is the turn for the rather British-sounding (plot twist, he is not) Etienne Macdonald.
Macdonald has often been described as “honest”, in comparison with some of the other more looting or art-stealing French marshals. A loyal but very stern marshal, he took good care of his men, even though he was a strict disciplinarian, and there was little fun and diversion to be had under his command. Enlisted before the French Revolution, Macdonald rose in ranks during those tumultuous years. By 1800, he was a top lieutenant in General Moreau’s employ, who was a direct competitor to the ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte. As history has made it pretty clear, Moreau lost the political battle, which subsequently left Macdonald out of service.
This changed in 1809, when Austria declared war on France, with Napoleon and most of the Grande Armée campaigning in Spain. A new army in Germany needed to be raised double quick. To help command this force, Macdonald was brought back. With impressive battlefield successes, first in Italy and later in Austria, especially during the Battle of Wagram, Macdonald received the prestigious “dignity” of Marshal bestowed in the field - the only one of its kind.
Our commander continued with further service in Spain, campaigns in Germany - where he had to swim across the Elster River near Leipzig after the bridge had been blown up too early - and in 1814, in France proper. An intensely loyal man, he remained at the side of Napoleon until the latter officialy relieved him of his oath, when he went in exile. Having then pledged allegiance to the new French king, Macdonald, true to his word as he was, took up arms against his former commander-in-chief when Napoléon returned in 1815.
Even so, the troops under Macdonald’s command, when he tried to rouse them into action against Napoleon, “politely” refused. Instead of arresting Macdonald, he was asked by his subordinates to leave, which he did, joining the French king in exile. After Napoleon’s second defeat, Macdonald was restored to the military, where he served the Bourbon king until his retirement, dying of old age in 1840.
Milestone Macdonald Features
We leave for our summer break with a milestone (MORTIER), and we are back with a new milestone (MACDONALD). What more could you ask for? Well, what’s inside the latest WARNO update, of course! Without further ado.
Milestone Macdonald features:
- The new British Operation: Hold Until Relieved.
- New Ranked-play optimized Duel variants of existing maps:
- Black Forest Duel.
- Vertigo Duel.
- A new 3vs3 variant of the Airport map.
Operation Hold Until Relieved
We have one new Operation for you, the British-focused Hold Until Relieved. In this scripted single-player mission, the British Army on the Rhine (BAOR), on the boundary between CENTAG and NORTHAG, is fighting a determined rearguard battle against the invading Warsaw Pact. For reinforcements to come from staging points further west, time needs to be bought on the battlefield.
Forward-deployed elements of the British I Corps are hard-pressed as the Warsaw Pact takes Kassel and then nearby Warburg. The British 33 Armoured Brigade at Paderborn, part of the 3rd Armoured Division, deploys as quickly as possible. A screening battalion from the Queen’s Own Highlanders, dug in behind the Diemel River, has been badly mauled but continues holding the line.
In Hold Until Relieved, the player takes control of a small tank detachment from the Blues & Royals regiment, equipped with the heavy-hitting and armored Challenger tanks. They are sent to the Diemel River to reinforce the infantry and defend against a renewed offensive by the Soviet VDV’s 35th Guards Air Assault Brigade.
With very limited forces, you need to beat back a VDV attack on your positions while trying to keep as many units as possible alive. If you succeed, some additional reinforcements become available with the Operation entering its next stage. In this latter part of the battle, every man is expected to do their duty as you aim to destroy a Soviet FOB on the opposite bank of the Diemel.
More Duel maps
The previous milestone already featured the first of its kind, but now get ready for three more Duel maps. These are variants of existing maps specifically designed for Ranked 1vs1 play. The frontline is all yours to manage while you attack and defend smaller command zones. The new milestone MACDONALD features two new Duel maps: Black Forest and Vertigo.
Black Forest Duel
This new version sees players fight their way through very dense West German forests. If the opponent establishes a foothold in the sawmill area, you might want to reassign troops to capture the central town and industrial zones instead. Keep pushing to reach the valuable and easily defendable terrain.
Vertigo Duel
This Duel map features a wide frontline hard to defend (and to attack). Players can position their forces on the farms and forests to guard their flanks. Both sides need to use logistics and recon smartly to win this particular battlefield.
And even more maps
A healthy dose of Duel Ranked play doesn’t mean we have forgotten our other multiplayer modes. Milestone MACDONALD features a brand-new Destruction variant of Airport. This variant has massive Command Zones, fit for intense and savage fights, while still allowing for sneaky flanking attacks to get around your opponent’s units.
Massive gameplay patch, part one!
Get ready, this is one of our biggest gameplay patches yet! We've been working on it all summer to bring it to you now. However, this patch will be delivered in 2 parts to give us more time but also to take into account your feedback!
Here are the elements:
Ready now:
- Global adjustment of SMG/AR/BR/LMG/MMG/HMG
- HMG penetration implemented
- Global buff of explosions to be more in line with their area of effect
- Global adjustment of ground and ground-to-air autocannons
- Improved aircraft maneuverability and flight autonomy
- Global adjustment of aircraft guns
- Overall adjustment of aircraft HE bombs
- Overall adjustment of MORTARS/HOWITZERS/MLRS
- Adjustment of unarmed recons to enhance their usefulness
Scheduled for the next patch:
- Adjustment of successive shot correction and shot dispersion for all weapons
- Distinction between helicopter and aircraft armor to make it more realistic and better balanced
- Complete rework of clusters with clarified UI explanation
- Complete rework of the vet system, with 4 chevrons accessible mainly via commanders
- Application of the same logic to the special forces vet system
- Adjustment of the cohesion system
- Adjustment of the cover offered by buildings/forests
- Adjustment of all ATGMs (realistic and better
- balanced reload time)
- Adjustment of all optics (improved vision)
- Generalization of traits to offer more explanations to players
- Adjustment of multiple traits (Shock, GSR, Reservist...)
In addition to this, you'll find over 300 prices and availabilities modified and adjusted, and divisions revised and improved in terms of personality.
We are back in action
That’s all for today. With milestone MACDONALD’s release, consider the Eugen team back in action. Many more cool things are coming WARNO’s way, so don’t forget to check in and read our DevBlog when they drop.
You can always join the passionate WARNO community. Check the latest news on the Steam News page or visit the Steam Forums. Get together with other players on either the excellent Discord server, Reddit page, YouTube or our Instagram.
See you on the battlefield, commander!
