Hello, hello!
We hope you are well. WARNO’s recent official launch out of Early Access has been the crown of years of hard work, but the Eugen team is not resting on their laurels.
Behind the scenes, we are busy fixing bugs, checking technical issues, updating texts, and tackling a whole bunch of other under-the-hood tinkering.
One of the most pressing problems was, of course, getting the deluxe version of WARNO Gold online as soon as possible. And we finally pulled it off!
Check it out!
WARNO Gold and Expansion Pass
Having had some difficulties getting WARNO Gold online. In order to adhere to new Valve guidelines, we added an Expansion Pass next to our deluxe bundle.
Which means:
- Expansion Pass features future access to 4 DLCs (the NORTHAG and SOUTHAG expansions, plus Nemesis: Air Assault and Nemesis #2).
- WARNO Gold features the “vanilla” base game, plus Expansion Pass plus Digital Guides.
If you already own parts of this bundle, these items will be automatically discounted from the bundle! For all owners of WARNO, there will be a special discount.
WARNO Gold
So what’s this hullabaloo about WARNO Gold?
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/42053/WARNO__Gold_Edition/
Exactly the same content as the “vanilla” edition, plus:
- Digital Guides containing 2 e-books with almost 200 pages in total! - WARNO's Timeline and Designer's Notes respectively on Army General, Operations plus an in-depth Divisions overview.
- WARNO's Timeline goes deep into “how it came to pass,” painting a frighteningly realistic picture of World War III erupting at the end stages of the Cold War.
- Army General gives not only you detailed insights into our five campaigns but also how we set out to create them. A great sneak peek into WARNO’s development.
- Operations give you an in-depth view of how we designed Operations, the scripted scenarios on specific noteworthy battles in our war scenario, and how they are best played!
- Divisions. An exhaustive list of all WARNO ”Vanilla” and ”Gold” Divisions including historical tidbits, arsenal and unit descriptions, advantages and disadvantages, and how to deploy each battlegroup’s armed forces.
- Pre-Order of the future NORTHAG expansion which will include:
- 2 new Army General campaigns, 4 Operations, 10 new Divisions including new nations such as NATO’s Belgium, the Netherlands and Warsaw Pact’s Poland.
- This DLC will be priced at $24.99 / 24,99€ on release.
- Pre-Order of the future SOUTHAG expansion, bringing:
- 2 new Army General campaigns, 4 Operations, 10 new Divisions including new nations such as NATO’s Canada, Spain and Warsaw Pact’s Czechoslavakia.
- This DLC will likewise be priced at $24.99 / 24,99€ on release.
- Two Nemesis DLCs:
- This will be the first two WARNO Nemesis DLC, a popular mini-DLC series concept we introduced in Steel Division2. The idea behind the Nemesis DLC is that every once in a while, we give the community the option of which set of divisions should be developed next. We typically present three different pairs, after which you will vote on your preferred option!
- Like Steel Division 2, the first Nemesis DLC will be predetermined (to be developed quicker). Nemesis: Air Assault will feature two new air assault divisions: the iconic U.S. 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and the Afghanistan War veterans of the Soviet 56-ya OG Desantno-Shturmovaya Brigada.
- The second Nemesis #2 DLC will be the first DLC to be voted on by the community, as described above.
- A Nemesis DLC will be priced at $4.99 / 4,99€.
WARNO Ranked Highlights
We wanted to give you an insight into how WARNO Ranked has changed from its Early Access days to its official Season 1.
No surprise here, but WARNO’s Ranked “Pre-Season” has come to an end. First, we wanted to thank all the players for their valuable feedback and commitment to be the absolute best on the competitive battlefields of WARNO’s World War III. Many a daring commander has stepped into the Ranked arena to prove their mettle, some more successful than others.
Thanks to all of you playing Ranked while WARNO was in Early Access, we managed to improve and beef up our ranking system. But there is more: through all the battles, we saw some rather impressive members of the community ruling supreme (in their own unique way). Let’s do a big shout-out to some of our talented commanders:
- Fortitude Fence: With a very distinctive aerial opening game, this player has established himself as the true specialist of the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment.
- avrg blob enjoyer: The nickname doesn't lie; this commander excels with NATO’s 5. Panzerdivision and has demonstrated a remarkable mastery of the strategy in which quantity has a quality of its own.
- StoBez: A versatile player who has made a fine comeback at the end of the Pre-Season.
Honorable Mentions
- Tmanplays: stayed in the Top 10 even when playing with less-powerful divisions - and did so in extraordinarily good spirits.
- Yukipaw: Winner of the "live-lav-love-1" tournament organized by the WarYes community. This commander has beaten several top players in the current Top 3. Congrats!
Ranked Meta-Analysis
So, which division came out on top in WARNO’s Pre-Season Ranked? The meta was dominated by the fast and agile paratrooper divisions, in particular NATO’s French 11e Division Parachutiste and the American 82nd Airborne Division. These battlegroups offered a gameplay that was straightforward and rapid, based around the Forward Deployment mechanic, allowing players to advance fast and far, set up quickly, and resist long enough to win. Not the most inspiring of strategies.
In WARNO’s Season 1 Ranked we remedied this by making some corrections to the gameplay and underlying map design. WARNO is a game about combined arms, including mechanized warfare, and we wanted the heavier divisions such as the American 3rd Armored Division or the Soviet 79-ya Gv. Tank. to have a better fighting chance. However, we didn’t want an overpowering “tank meta” that isn’t always fun.
Game design is an exercise of juggling systems and finding the right nuanced balance!
Looking Ahead
Season 1 is only the beginning. Keep sending your feedback and suggestions, as many more improvements will come to WARNO Ranked Season 2 and beyond. In the meantime, join the competitive fun and see who can claim themselves to be the top commander in WARNO Ranked. May the best strategies triumph!
New competitive WARNO Tournaments
Talking about being competitive: SD League is back! There are two major WARNO tournaments coming up in June and July. Check out all the details below.
WARNO League Super Tournament 1.0
This tournament will kick off two weeks after WARNO’s release on the 1st and 2nd of June. The format will be a 2-day Single Elimination Tournament filled with intense, fast-paced action. Sign-up info and rules can be found on this dedicated page.
WARNO League SEASON 1
Based on the well-tested Steel Division 2 League, this long-form tournament will be open to all players of any skill level. Up to 64 players will be put into four skill levels, allowing us to organize fair matches for everyone. More information, including a sign-up form can be found here.
Let’s go to war!
That’s it for this week’s DevBlog. We’ll keep you up to date with all the latest happenings as soon as they hit the ground. Be sure to tune in next week as we’ll start diving into the new Nemesis DLC, Nemesis: Air Assault.
Join the 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.
