Hello, hello!
We hope you are well, commander. In today’s DevBlog, we wanted to shine a light on three miscellaneous updates coming to WARNO hot on the heels of the BRUNE milestone (released last week).
Before diving in, a quick word about Army General. For those who really really want to know when to expect this new mode, the simple answer is: “It’s done when it’s done.” Make no mistake, we are working very hard to get the campaigns out to you as soon as possible. As a matter of fact, we’ll be able to tell you much more about Army General in next week’s DevBlog! Until then, hang tight!
So what’s coming to WARNO?
Rank Reboot
First up is a Rank Reboot. We will reboot the leaderboards and start several rounds of testing to see the best possible ranked format before WARNO’s official release out of Early Access. What can you expect?
Map Pool Improvement
We will select a pool of six maps. Limiting the number of maps gives novice players - or those returning after a while - the advantage that they will not have to relearn all the maps. Depending on the season, we change the map pool to make the experience more interesting and diverse.
Our first pick should include:
- Airport Duel
- Vertigo Duel
- Two Lakes Duel
- Black Forest Duel
- Black Forest
- Death Row
Balancing
Our current plan is to aim for Ranked Seasons lasting six to eight weeks. The shorter seasons will allow us to check the meta for each season. This gives us a good indication to analyze online game strategies and ensure that none becomes too overpowered or dominant. All for the best possible mix of playstyles. We will fine-tune the gameplay with each Ranked season.
New Trait: Tandem
No, this new trait doesn’t refer to a tandem bicycle beloved by the Dutch but rather to tandem-charged HEAT rounds. The introduction of reactive armor in the late 1970s and '80s, designed to defeat standard HEAT rounds and missiles, saw the development of new types of warheads. These were specifically created to deal with reactive armor by using two separate charges. Tandem-warheads’ first charge would detonate the reactive bricks, while a second one would punch through the resulting hole and explode on the (hopefully exposed and much weakened) steel armor.
As you might know, we introduced the new ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) trait, applicable to vehicles equipped with these bricks. This trait grants units featuring reactive armor a +2 HP bonus. However, when targeted by a shell or round (either tank rounds, infantry rocket launchers, or missiles) with the Tandem trait, ERA-traited vehicles will be dealt +1 damage. This represents the tandem-charges grinding through the reactive bricks. Mind you, the Tandem trait doesn’t undo reactive armor but destroys part of it on successful hits. Against non-ERA vehicles, the same rounds will perform as regular HEAT.
Next to retrofitting the new Tandem trait to existing ammunition, we will also introduce a new one: the TOW-2A. This new round will be used on the (refurbished) Bradley M2A2 and M3A2 (see further below).
Updated weapons
- Panzerfaust 3
- RPG-7VR
- RPG-27
- RPG-29
- 9K121 Vikhr
- 9M113 Konkurs-M
- ... and the new TOW-2A
As exemplified in the list above, the Soviets were not only much bigger implementers of ERA on their armored vehicles but also users of tandem-charge weapons compared to NATO. For being major reactive armor users, they believed NATO would do the same. In reality, only a very few NATO tanks (right now, only one present in-game, the AMX-30 BRENUS) used reactive armor. Of course, if you pit Soviet-made vehicles against each other though, the ERA bricks and tandem-charge rounds would fly around your ears.
Meanwhile, NATO only belatedly developed tandem charges. The ones in-game will likely see plenty of use against ERA-clad Soviet main battle tanks.
The Return of the Bradley
Did they ever leave? No! But after our BRUNE milestone, in which we introduced the reworked and expanded Bradley series, we have replaced the M2A2 Bradley IFV with the new but identical state-wise M2A1.
This means that the M2A2 will be updated in-game as the jacked-up IFV it was, with not only a major armor upgrade giving it more resilience to infantry AT weapons but also the ability to fire the newest TOW-2A tandem-warhead charge missile (see above for more details).
The M2A2 was still a rarity in 1989 compared to other models. Only around 10% of the Bradley fleet deployed in Europe featured this specific model. Some say up to 20% of the 3rd Armored Division were M2A2. As a result, we have retrofitted this particular Bradley model to the 3rd Armored Division (but not the 24th Infantry Division) and only as a transport to the FIRE TEAM LEADERS and a single “combat” FIRE TEAM. We will also take the opportunity to introduce a new M2A2 BRADLEY LDR., replacing one of the two cards of M2A1 BRADLEY LDR.
Another, even rarer variant than the M2A2 in 1989 was the M3A2 BRADLEY CFV. This model contained the same upgrades as the M2A1 (so, armor and ATGM). This recon variant of the American IFV will be featured only in the 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. In this division, one of two cards of M3A1 will be replaced with the M3A2.
Until next week
That’s all for this week. Tune in again next week! Let us know what you think.
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.
