Steel Shepherd (1.4.0), our latest and largest update this year, will be available for Company of Heroes 3 on PC on Tuesday, December 5th. We are also releasing the Hammer and Shield Pack alongside the Steel Shepherd update. Steel Shepherd includes an improved front end design and main menu, new multiplayer maps, single player and multiplayer balance updates, Replays and a new replay HUD, and much more.
With Hammer & Shield, you can look forward to new Battlegroups for the US Forces – Advanced Infantry - and the Wehrmacht – Italian Coastal, the Air & Sea Company for the single player Italian Dynamic Campaign, and a premium cosmetic packages.
Please keep in mind that this update summary does not include everything new in Steel Shepherd, so be sure to read the complete patch notes or watch the developer preview livestream here.
New Content and Features
Maps
Steel Shepherd will see the introduction of two new maps to Automatch, Co-op vs A.I., Skirmish and Custom game modes.
Villa Fiore 1V1
Villa Fiore is a quaint, unspoiled map set in the vineyards of rural Italy. It consists of two distinct areas: the Hilltop Villa, where players can engage in close-quarters combat and navigate through inner courtyards, and the Rural Outskirts, which offer easy mobility in and around hamlets, stables, farms, and different territories.
Day 101 2V2
'Day 101' was created through our Map Making 101 video series and underwent additional polishing and balancing. It features distinct areas including the combat-filled outskirts of a northern city, open farmlands divided by a shallow river where players must create their own cover, and a narrow passage with low-ground in the south that offers strategic flanking opportunities.
Replay System with Caster HUD
We're rolling out our official Replay system, along with a fresh new HUD. Replays will feature the functionality players are used to from Company of Heroes 2, along with some brand-new features, as well as some nice quality of life improvements.
Hammer and Shield
If you own the PC Premium Edition of Company of Heroes 3, everything included with Hammer & Shield will be unlocked on your account on December 5th.
Everyone else can get Hammer & Shield from the Steam Store or companyofheroes.com.
The Multiplayer Battlegroups available in Hammer and Shield can alternatively be unlocked for 10,000 Merits each directly from the in-game store. Earning merit is now a better experience thanks to the revamp and upgrades to the Challenges system.
Content included:
Two new Battlegroups
The Wehrmacht Italian Coastal Battlegroup and US Forces Advanced Infantry Battlegroup for Multiplayer, Co-op and Single Player Skirmish.
Single Player Campaign Company
For solo strategists, an all-new British Forces Air & Sea Campaign Company allows you to tackle the Italian Campaign with bold combined arms tactics that synergize particularly well with the free Campaign Map overhaul arriving in Steel Shepherd.
Cosmetic Bundle
In addition, Hammer & Shield also includes four Premium Cosmetic packs, equipping each army with new cosmetics for select units.
Features & Improvements
Main Menu and Front-End Redesign
Our new User Interface is here to level up your experience. We've given almost every menu in the game a fresh coat of paint. We feel this will be an impactful change that will greatly enhance player experience by improving immersion and gameplay flow.
First-Time Player Experience Redesign
Our team has made exciting updates to the Italian Dynamic Campaign! We've revamped the first mission, Gela, and the Campaign Map tutorial, Calabria, to give new players a better head start. You can expect better explosions, more personal dialogue, and improved gameplay.
Challenges
We've made improvements to the Challenges system, making it more player-focused and easier to complete. We've addressed bugs to ensure a better and more engaging experience overall. Players can now enjoy Challenges that align with their preferred playstyle without overly changing their gameplay. Challenges will now also auto-redeem when you meet their criteria after completing a match, so you won’t miss out on any Merit.
Art Updates
We've made significant improvements to the graphics, with better rendering, including improved ambient occlusion, atmospheric fog, bloom, and tone mapping. We've also upgraded the fog of war blending and lighting on all maps. These improvements will make the game feel more cinematic and immersive, while also improving unit readability.
Quality of Life Changes
The team has also made various quality-of-life changes, such as allowing players to load into the game immediately after finding a match in the Quick match lobby. This should minimize queue and match dodging. In addition, we've added hand-drawn bespoke minimap images to all Multiplayer Maps to improve the clarity of major features and increased the size of the Tactical Map.
Multiplayer Balance Changes
We made significant balance changes for multiplayer, with a strong emphasis on expanding strategic options. We improved faction mechanics, battle groups, and boosted the effectiveness of underutilized units. Join us tomorrow (Dec 5th) on Twitch as our Design team will be covering these changes and reviewing the patch notes in greater detail.
Bug Fixes
As with every update, we also have several bug fixes coming to all areas of the game.
These include:
- Art & Animation
- Audio
- Essence Editor
- Gameplay
- Maps
- Performance (crashes)
- Single player – Italian Dynamic Campaign and North African Operation
- User Interface & User Experience (UI/UX)
Get ready for Steel Shepherd, which is releasing tomorrow on PC at 10am PT! We are looking forward to hearing your feedback and seeing you dig in to all the changes coming in this update. Be sure to jump into our official forums or Discord to discuss the update with other players and to leave us your thoughts. To tide you over in the meantime, be sure to check out our Steel Shepherd Deep Dive with the Development team!