Happy New Year everyone! In the first Dev Diary of 2025, we will give an overview of weapon types and weapon stats in MENACE, as these are key elements of how the game plays and what the player has to consider when making his decisions before and during the battle.
Squad Weapons and Special Weapons
In MENACE, there are two fundamentally different types of weapons: "squad weapons" and “special weapons.”
Equipping a squad weapon will outfit each individual element of a squad with a copy of this weapon. Supply costs are multiplied accordingly, making a bigger squad more expensive to equip. Squad weapons are regular infantry small arms ranging from shotguns and submachine guns over assault rifles to battle rifles and the like.
As the name suggests, special weapons fulfill more specialized roles upon equipping a special weapon; a single element of the squad exchanges its squad weapon for that special weapon.
Special weapons are generally speaking more cumbersome, specialized, and powerful than squad weapons. Examples would range from rocket launchers over mortars and machine guns to sniper rifles. Oftentimes, a squad will have to deploy and be stationary in order to use heavy weapons.
Ammunition
Of course, ammunition plays an integral role in any simulation of modern combat. Considering the level of abstraction and the scope of action in MENACE, it’s not feasible to count bullets on all individual soldiers in the game.
That's why we decided to go for a hybrid approach. Squad weapons will have unlimited ammo, while special weapons have limited ammo. The same goes for vehicles where a vehicle might have an MG with unlimited ammo and a rocket launcher with just two shots.
That way, we ensure that no unit ever becomes useless (when completely out of ammo) while still making the management of ammo an important part of your strategy.
Of course, ammo can be replenished by various means mid-combat, or the ammo capacity can be increased by certain accessories.
Weapon Skills
All weapons are used through “skills” which they grant to the unit that is wielding it. Most weapon skills are straight-up “attacks”, but there might be some utility to them as well.
As a rule of thumb, squad weapons tend only to have one skill, while special weapons may have multiple. An example would be a mortar that can shoot explosives or smoke grenades.
When using an “attack” skill, each individual element in a unit equipped with the corresponding weapon will fire an amount of shots at the target according to the weapon's fire rate.
Hence, a bigger squad will deliver a lot more shots with their squad weapons than a small squad or a squad that has already taken casualties.
On the other hand, the effectiveness of the squad's special weapon remains pretty much unaffected, even when the squad is smaller.
Weapon Stats
- Trade Value: Like all items, weapons can be traded on the black market. The value of a weapon is mostly based on its rarity.
- Range: This is the maximum range in tiles this weapon can fire, but bear in mind that some attacks might land on or suppress adjacent tiles, effectively increasing their range.
- Hit Point Damage: The base amount of damage one shot of this weapon deals when not stopped by armor or modified in other ways.
- Armor Damage: The amount of damage an armor takes when stopping one shot of this weapon.
- Armor Penetration: This value will be compared with the armor value of the target to calculate the chance to penetrate. A penetration value that is equal to or higher than the armor value will always penetrate.
- Suppression: When a shot hits a target unit, this is the amount of suppression that will be applied per shot. A reduced amount will be applied for shots that miss the unit but hit its tile, and a further reduced amount will be applied when hitting an adjacent tile.
- Elements Hit: The maximum amount of elements in a targeted unit that can be killed by one shot of this weapon. This stat is important to prevent single-shot high-damage attacks from killing multiple elements in one shot.
- Fire Rate: The number of shots the weapon fires with one attack (skill use). Each shot will be calculated individually. If this is a squad weapon, each element of the squad equipped with this weapon will fire the stated amount of shots.
Dropoffs
Dropoffs are an integral part of how weapons work in MENACE.
Just like in reality, shots at long distances will be harder to land and will lose kinetic energy on the way to their target. That’s why we have a bunch of variables affected by drop-offs. First of all, accuracy tends to be reduced over distance.
As all weapons are manufactured to fulfill different roles, this may vary a lot depending on the individual weapon. For example, a submachine gun will be a lot less accurate over long distances than a sniper rifle. At the same time, the sniper rifle will have reduced accuracy in close combat situations.
There is what we call an “ideal range” for each weapon, reflecting its purpose on the battlefield.
Secondly, kinetic weapons will lose force over a distance. This affects damage, armor damage, and armor penetration. This is why distance from the enemy alone protects your squads and increases the effectiveness of your armor.
Of course, there are exceptions to this rule, as weapons work in a lot of different ways. A rocket launcher, for example, will not deal less damage over distance because its primary source of damage is its explosive warhead, not its kinetic energy.
Engage, Explore, and Stay Informed
You can find us on Discord, BlueSky, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Reddit for discussions, updates, and feedback. You can also subscribe to our monthly MENACE newsletter on our website — just scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.
If you missed the previous Dev Diaries, they’re still available.
Dev Diary #2 provided an overview of the strategic part of the game, including the Starmap, operational upgrades (OCIs), and the armory, where you manage and promote your squads.
Dev Diary #3 shifted focus to tactical combat, covering topics like alternating turn orders, unit composition, and how biomes and chunks shape the battlefield. Together, they offer a detailed look at the mechanics that define MENACE and the decisions that await you as a commander.
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515196772511907867
https://steamcommunity.com/games/2432860/announcements/detail/515196931452961302
Dev Diary #5: Next Friday
In next week’s Dev Diary, we’ll delve into the details of squad leaders, their stats, and how equipment slots influence their roles. This will begin a closer look at how squads are structured and adapted for different challenges.