Introducing the Coral Viper (1.6.0) update for PC, available for Company of Heroes 3 on Tuesday, April 2nd. Prepare for a series of notable improvements, including the introduction of new Battlegroups, new maps, refined vehicle pathfinding, and strategic balance adjustments.
In addition to these improvements, players can look forward to new features such as the vote to surrender option, automatch cooldowns, mission selection, and the debut of the Accolades system.
This update represents a change in gameplay dynamics by incorporating new elements and improving existing features.
New Battlegroups
British Forces - Australian Defense
Defensive battlegroup designed around the exploits of the Australian 9th Division in North Africa. Despite being made of entirely volunteer infantry, this division was the first Allied army to successfully repel Germany's Blitzkrieg tactics, notably at Tobruk and El Alamein.
- Light Infantry
- Defensive Emplacements
- Economy Boost
- Anti-Tank
Deutsche Afrikakorps - Battlefield Espionage
Conceal your force's movement to plunder resources from your enemy and strike where they are weakest. Establish ambush operations and force the enemy to be cautious of where your army might be.
- Economy Manipulation
- Area Disruption
- Ambush Gameplay
- Stolen Equipment
New Features
Our team continues to work to improve the multiplayer experience, and the introduction of Vote to Surrender and Automatch Cooldown is the next step in that ongoing process.
Vote to Surrender
The preferred way for players to now leave an automatch game is to use the Vote to Surrender system. This will be available in both Quick Match and Coop vs AI. Voting to surrender becomes available at the 5th-minute mark, with a requirement of over 50% positive votes. If a vote succeeds, the initiating team is issued a loss. If the vote fails, Vote to Surrender goes on cooldown for 90-seconds. Players will still be able to complete challenges and achievements, however, we are also introducing an automatch cooldown to deter quitting.
Automatch Cooldown
A new feature, Automatch Cooldown, is being introduced for the first time in the CoH franchise to discourage players from quitting team games without using the surrender option. The penalty applies to automatch game modes (Quick Match & Coop vs AI) and is shared across modes. Quitting at any point in a match without using Vote to Surrender can garner a cooldown. The system incorporates a built-in grace buffer for occasional crashes or disconnects, and cooldowns are based on incremental and exponential thresholds, extending with repeated quitting. This means cooldowns will be minimal at first but can quickly ramp up in severity. Parties with a member under cooldown share the penalty. This system is designed with flexibility in mind, so we will adjust cooldowns based on our data and player feedback. At the end of the day, this system is meant to discourage players from repeatedly abandoning games, while not penalizing players that occasionally have a disconnect or need to quickly close the game to deal with something in their real life.
Mission Select
Mission Select lets players explore the individual single-player missions within the Italian Dynamic Campaign and North African Operation, offering the option to revisit specific scenarios at will. Flexibility is in your hands – select missions instantly without the need for unlocking them, and play through them in the provided sequence or handpick your favorites. Choose your preferred difficulty level and, for Italian Campaign missions, decide between the British and US Forces to align with your thematic choice. Experience a soft progression system, gaining additional abilities and unlocks as you progress deeper into each set of missions. This new feature provides players with more autonomy, allowing them to tailor their gaming experience according to their preferences.
Accolades
We aim to offer players new progression goals, thus introducing long-term challenges that remain accessible forever. Each faction now features its own Accolades series, fostering an incentive for players to diversify and familiarize themselves with distinct faction playstyles. These challenges provide a continuous pursuit, showcasing faction-specific nuances and teaching certain mechanics. Accolades need to be completed in order, and will offer several rewards, including Merit and new Profile customization options.
Daily & Weekly Challenges
Several adjustments have been made to the Challenges system.
- For players that complete all daily and weekly Challenges, there is now more Merit overall every week.
- An extra 30 Merit singleplayer daily challenge has been introduced to provide more opportunities for players to engage in daily missions.
- One of the weekly challenges will now be a Single Player expert challenge.
- The remaining weekly challenges have had their Merit increased for those players that may choose to not engage with singleplayer missions.
Maps
Our team has once again worked closely with several community map makers to overhaul and update their creations to get them ready for the official CoH3 map pool.
Operation Eindhoven (2v2) by Spanky
Spanky has revitalized the most popular 2v2 map in CoH2, Operation Eindhoven.
"Operation Eindhoven has been a challenging first project because of the new worldbuilder tool that we got but also a fun learning experience overall. I wanted Op Eindhoven to be as true to the original as It could be and with all the new assets to play around with, it has been a pleasure to re-create this iconic 2v2 map from CoH2. Relic took note of this effort and contacted me which led me to working with Will aka "MonolithicBacon" to bring Op Eindhoven to CoH3 automatch and I have to say we as a community are very fortunate to have him as our lead map designer. What a Legend!" - Spanky
Gothic Line (3v3) by Tobeh
Tobeh's Gothic Line, a runner-up in Greyshot’s 4v4 map making competition, underwent redesigns for better competitive play.
“Gothic Line started as a chokepoint map featuring a wall of fortifications on a hill, with the focus being on destroying the walls to open up avenues of attack. Feedback led to me making more paths up the hill and through the walls, and then Will gave me some great advice, including how to improve the cover and help people approach the center line.” - Tobeh
Oasis Depot (4v4) by Springare
Springare's Oasis Depot, winner of Greyshot’s 4v4 map making competition, saw extensive reworks for competitive play. Major adjustments were made to urban areas to enhance flow, while map-wide pathfinding improvements, especially in forested regions, were implemented.
"Having had the opportunity to work with Will and Relic has been an amazing experience. Will is an incredible designer, and I have learned so much from our discussions. This type of collaboration with the community is truly commendable, and I hope more people will have the opportunity to participate in it." - Springare
Multiplayer Balance Changes
As with all updates, we have included various balance adjustments and fixes with the goal of encouraging strategic diversity. You can learn more by tuning into our Balance Discussion with the team tomorrow at 9am PT on Twitch, or by reviewing the full patch notes releasing at the same time.
The Coral Viper Update is releasing tomorrow for PC on Steam at 10am PT! Be sure to jump into our official forums or Discord to discuss the update, find others to play with, and to leave us your thoughts.