Wassup Fighters!
We’re gearing up heading into our next update! Including a complete rebalance of all our main weapons, various maps now have additional game modes, the exciting debut of the minimap,, nifty tweaks to environmental hazards, and a boatload of content to keep you on your toes!
Get your reading spectacles on, let’s take a look at what’s coming up:
Maps & Modes
Maps with different game modes in Customs
In Custom Games you can now select more game modes for existing maps. Like having a TDM match on Mutherlode, or King of the Hill at Hakone Temple. Try them out, have fun, and experiment.
Here is the list of new options available:
King of the Hill (KOTH):
- Muertigo
Team Deathmatch (TDM):
- Hakone Temple
- MütherLode
- Kitsune
Conquest:
- MütherLode
Payload:
- Seaporch
- Hakone Temple
Capture the Flag (CTF):
- Seaporch
- MütherLode
Minimap
It’s finally making a debut! We are rolling out minimap to ease the on-map navigation and help you tactical geniuses make faster decisions. We want to do much more with the minimap in the future, and we’ll be closely listening to your feedback, so stay tuned for more!
Environmental hazard changes
- Poison barrels now cover a wider area and have a smaller height
- They also have enhanced visuals
- Damage changes: 80 DPS on the edges of clouds and 110 DPS in the middle
- Overall balancing of barrel spawn timing
Update to Ultimate weapons and bonuses
From now on Ultimate weapons and super bonuses like Mega Health will spawn on maps within special boxes, so it’s not that easy to just run around and pick it, you’ll have to put some effort to extract the desired drop. It’s available on all maps except the Holdout for now.
Weapons
Most of the weapons were significantly changed in terms of balance, damage, elemental effects, etc. It’s an entirely new weapon meta now.
Balance changes
- After enemy elimination they don’t drop ammo anymore, but instead health pickups
- Adjusted the number of on-map pickups
- Arx can’t immediately transform back from the robot form, there is a 2 seconds countdown now
Sound update
- Louder sound effects when you start sprinting
- New sound for uplifter on maps like ChowDown and Seaporch
- New sounds for healing stations
- New ambient sound on Holdout map
- New sounds for Arx ability transformations
- New music at the end of the match to indicate battle outcome
- Sound effect added for weapon equipment action in menus and in battle
- Overall sounds tuning and adjustments
- Added special sound for Assists in the battle
- Updated fighters’ voiceovers in Loadout
- Added voiceovers for heroes during match search
UI Changes
- You can now open dedicated action tooltips for quick actions by clicking on players’ nicknames in the chat instead of opening the full profile every time
- Updated Custom Lobby screen with visual improvements and some preparations for upcoming features
- The font is now bigger and text position adjusted for weapon names in HUD weapon block
- New look and adjusted size for the buttons in the bottom navigation bar
- New visuals for gamepad thumbsticks
Animations and visual improvements
Visual Destruction
From now on we will add more destructible elements to our maps, so they can reflect the damage done during the fights. The first for today is MütherLode, so expect to destroy the GeoTech logo, throw some wood around, and add a bit more chaos to the fights.
Among other changes:
- New animations on post-battle Nominations screen
- Improved lighting for ability effects
- New weapon elemental effects
- Mice are now running on the floors of Kitsune Den, Underfoot, MütherLode, and Hakone Temple
- Better quality Arx mech rocket launcher for Web version
Other Changes
- Removed duplicated bindings from Keyboard controls
- W is the new default button for Stamina Ability. Alt is kept as a secondary option
- You can aim with your crosshair visible while in the countdown stage before the match starts
- When a new custom lobby is created, easy bots are now selected by default
- You can now change your nickname for free in the Settings menu, Accounts section
- The Account Linking button is added to the Main Screen
- Various performance improvements and optimizations
Bug Fixes
- Fixed how the disintegration effect looks after fighter elimination
- If the sound is disabled for the game, there will be no audio in the intro video for the Web version
- Kill counters are back in weapon tooltips
Phew, it's been a hustle, but take a gander at what we've cooked up for you in SquadBlast! Tons of cool stuff added and improvements made with a huge amount still in the pipeline, so until then, enjoy the update and we’ll catch you real soon!
Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/squadblast
Update 0.9.8.1
MINOR UPDATE 1:
- Fixed potential z-fighting glitch
- New lockpick icons in the Shop
- Map approaching announcements on loading
- Ping colors like in Web
MINOR UPDATE 2:
WEAPON BALANCE CHANGES:
- Dynonova damage decreased from 80 to 40
- Polestar damage decreased from 95 to 80
- RL-88 damage decreased from 80 to 75
- Hellion damage increased from 20% to 32% from opponents max health
- Shox33 electric cloud now deals damage to turrets
KING OF THE HILL CHANGES:
- Moonshine Run: Score limit reduced by 20%, time decreased from 12 mins to 8 mins
- Hakone Temple: Score limit reduced by 20%, time decreased from 12 mins to 8 mins
- Underfoot: Score limit reduced by 50%, time decreased from 12 mins to 10 mins
- Seaporch: No scoring changes, time decreased from 12 mins to 10 mins
- Holdout: No scoring changes, time decreased from 12 mins to 10 mins
OTHER CHANGES:
- Items from boxes can now be picked up mid-air and pick up timing changed from 1s to 0.75s
- Fixed camera angle on Moonshine Run and Kitsune Den being too low
- Sign added for payload spawn on Kitsune Den - Various VFX fixes and updates
Update 0.9.8.3
Introducing the new weapon, The Ratcatcher!
Ratcatcher uses a new type of shells that create suspended areas of poison on impact that linger around for a short period of time, perfect for creating areas of denial and cutting off access to your enemies. Be warned though, the poison will work on you the same way it will work on enemies, so be careful.
Created by Bobby Jack to get rid of pests in UltraHorse Complex ventilation system, this shotgun somehow made it's way onto the battlefield for squads to use and get rid of a different kind of pest problem - the fighting back kind…
BALANCE CHANGES:
- Hantu now regenerates 10% of his HP per second while invisible
- Ratcatcher projectile damage reduced
MATCHMAKING:
- Conquest mode has been added to the rotation
- Conquest will only support player sizes of 3v3 and 4v4
SOUND CHANGES:
- New ability sounds for Hantu, Laika, Paavo and Sonny
- Turret spawn sound now added
OTHER CHANGES:
- New boxes added in the tutorial with drop items
- Poison effects have been improved
- Chat filter improvements and updates
This update will be making its way to you all shortly, so no need to break a sweat if you haven’t got it straight away – you'll have it in your hands before you know it!
Let us know what you think of the changes and have a fabulous spooky season ahead!
Update 0.9.8.4
THE NEW ASSAULT RIFLE, HOMEWRECKER!
This bad boy is a beast of a weapon, but it's got a little quirk – it takes its sweet time to rev up to full firing speed. The trick is to keep that barrel spinning for maximum effectiveness. It's a bit of a slow starter, but once it's rolling, it's a force to be reckoned with.
MAPS:
- Conquest mode is now available on Mutherlode in both matchmaking and custom games
- Beast mode collision size fixed on Mutherlode
FIGHTERS:
- Hantu’s ability removes all elemental effects
- Laika now has a defeat MVP animation
UI CHANGES:
- Added targets to your next level
- Player title has been removed
- Added seasonal valor
- Added EXP icons
OTHER CHANGES:
- Improvements to animation and visual effects
Give us the lowdown on what you think about these changes by sharing your thoughts and we’ll catch you in the next update!