Full patch notes for our FINAL Public Test Server update before The Shattered Warpgate is ready for Live deployment!
The Shattered Warpgate (PTS Update 4)
We mentioned in previous PTS updates that The Shattered Warpgate would be coming to Live once we've gotten it into a good state. Thanks to all of your feedback over the multiple PTS publishes, we feel that we're very near that mark. The last leg of this journey will be to give you unfettered access to our new Campaign's first chapter. More details on that below... but before that, some important PTS information:
- While on PTS, you'll find an interactable object next to the new campaign vendor on Sanctuary handing out FREE STUFF. Interacting with this holographic Flash will provide you with currency and certain campaign items for testing purposes. Some of the items granted will not be available during the first Chapter of Campaign 01.
- All Missions, including new "Training" missions geared toward new characters, will be available for testing when the pre-requisites are met.
- Esamir (and all continents) will be unlocked 100% of the time for this testing.
- Crafting of Orbital Strikes will be disabled for the PTS publish.
This weekend the following playtest schedule is in effect:
- Sept. 26, 2020 - 10am PT / 7pm CEST
- Sept. 26, 2020 - 2pm PT / 11pm CEST
The goal for these playtests will be to gather feedback and bug reports on the first Campaign, as well as the Training Missions added to the mission pool. Beyond these playtests, we encourage you to run through the Campaigns and available Missions at your own pace.
Campaigns
With The Shattered Warpgate update, we introduce our first-ever "Campaign" to the game.
The story of The Shattered Warpgate centers around the detonation of a Warpgate in northeastern Esamir. Nanite Systems spearheads the investigation into the mysteries surrounding the event, and enlists the help of soldiers across all empires to help return stability to the land.
What's a Campaign?
- A Campaign is a multi-staged progression of the in-game world that takes place over several Chapters.
- Participating in a Campaign will unlock lore-driven story missions that explore the evolving war on Auraxis, and the minds of those behind it.
- Campaigns and their Chapters are specifically crafted to be completed without an extensive time commitment; and the events therein are meant to exist alongside the normal day-to-day gameplay of the world.
What's a Chapter?
- Chapters are time-locked segments of a Campaign, and cannot be repeated, or participated in if you miss out.
- Each Chapter tells a separate portion of the overarching story, and the world continues to evolve with each Chapter.
Unlocking the Campaign
The certification cost of a Campaigns scales with Battle Rank, and players with an active membership gain access automatically.
- BR 1-10 = 500 Certs
- BR 11-20 = 750 Certs
- BR 21-30 = 1000 Certs
- BR 31-40 = 1500 Certs
- BR 41-50 = 2000 Certs
- BR 51-60 = 2500 Certs
- BR 61-70 = 3000 Certs
- BR 71-80 = 3500 Certs
- BR 81-90 = 4000 Certs
- BR 91-100 = 4500 Certs
- BR 101+ = 5000 Certs (Including players who have ASP.)
We hope you'll find The Shattered Warpgate a welcome change of pace that will cement elements of the existing lore while continuing to create new stories for all to enjoy.
Known issues on PTS: We're continuing to refine some elements of these missions, so please submit feedback and bug reports. In addition, strings are not currently localized for all languages, and you will see broken strings until the localization pass is complete.
Mission Changes
New missions available for characters of BR15 and lower. These missions have low requirements and greater-than-average rewards intended to propel lower level players while educating them more about the game.
- Training: Base Capture - Earn capture point contribution and participate in a base capture.
- Training: Generator Sabotage - Overload a generator.
- Training: Instant Action - Use Join Combat, kill an enemy.
- Training: Man the Guns - Travel over distance as a vehicle gunner, earn kills or assists against enemies as a vehicle gunner.
- Training: Message Courier - Pull a Harasser and deliver messages to allied bases.
- Training: Infiltrator - Earn recon experience, hack enemy terminals/turrets, kill an enemy.
- Training: Light Assault - Travel over a distance, damage enemies while airborne, kill an enemy.
- Training: Combat Medic - Heal allies, revive allies, kill an enemy.
- Training: Engineer - Repair allies, resupply allies, kill an enemy.
- Training: Heavy Assault - Damage enemy vehicles, absorb damage with your shield, kill an enemy.
Additional missions have been added for players greater than BR15.
- Plant False Data - Travel to an enemy base and plant a virus in an exposed terminal.
- Recover Lost Intel - Recover intel from an enemy base and return it to an allied Warpgate.
Adjustments have been made to the following missions.
- Supply Convoy - Has received some cleanup, and convoy vehicles now have a special convoy hologram visual attached to them.
- Surveying the Land - Updated interactable visuals and other misc. cleanup.
Environment
- Esamir's Map - The map of Esamir has been updated to include the new terrain.
- Esamir Storm - The storm now displays its precise area of effect on the map at any zoom level.
- Mani Processing Plant - Added Sunderer garage east of the base, converted base to a one-point capture, moved northeastern building closer to the Tower.
- Excavion DS-01E - You can no longer hide beneath the shield in the center.
- Snowshear Fort - This base has received additional cover.
- The Crown - Players will no longer see capture point "D" on the map or HUD.
- Lettuce of Indar - All of the lettuce racks on Indar have been returned to their rightful place, including Biolabs and Ceres Hydroponics.
Known environment issues:
- Kill planes beneath the water in the northeast are currently inoperable in most places and will be fixed in a later update.
- Tapp Waystation and Untapped Reservoir will receive hardspawns and vehicle pads in a later update.
- Jord Amp Station has a floating shield on the second floor.
Vehicles
Liberator
- Aircraft nosegun resistance (type 8) from 80 to 83.
- A2A lockon resistance (type 45) from -100 to -75.
Dev Note: These changes walk back some of the vulnerability to noseguns given in the last PTS update. A2A lockon missiles, like Tomcats, will now retain the same shots to kill as on Live despite the health pool change in the previous PTS update.
ESF
- Wyrm minimum damage from 250 to 275.
Dev Note: These changes result in a slight boost to the effectiveness of this weapon at extreme distances.
Galaxy and Bastion
- A2A lockon resistance (type 45) from -125 to -100.
Dev Note: For the Galaxy, this is a small change in the realm of being able to survive one extra Tomcat lockon missile, but with a typical repair convoy, this small change should pay dividends for overall survivability. For the Bastion, the goal is to to reduce some of the extreme value lockons currently have against the weakpoints, though these changes don't dethrone the weapon by any means.
Infantry
MAX
- Burster indirect (flak explosion) damage from 25 to 28.
Dev Note: Burster MAX should feel slightly less impotent now when dealing with aircraft.
Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions
- Empire Strength now operates solely based on the percentage of territory captured, and whether or not there is a link to an enemy Warpgate. Numbers will likely receive tuning prior to release.
- Esamir default lattice has more even starter territory distribution.
- Representative Ayla now has an updated character model.
- Adjusted Representative Foster's idle animations.
- Added voice lines to some of the NPCs in Sanctuary.
- There is a new horn available for the Colossus in the Depot.
- Observer camera can no longer capture vehicle capture points.
- Reduced the quickest respawn time available by 3 seconds.
- Re-enabled the "Exit Tutorial" button in the tutorial.
- Cleaned up various mission/update related strings.
- Lightning Grenade detonations no longer sometimes deal damage indoors.
- Decals on the Armadillo Sunderer cosmetic are no longer tiny.
- Esamir's A7 Datanode locations have been redone.
- Esamir storm will no longer display on incorrect continents when viewing the map screen.
- Removed various leftover painfields on Esamir.
- Tutorial zone's map no longer shows as "Locked."
- Selecting Koltyr on the World Map no longer shows broken image.