Some of the most important changes in this update are about time: How fast can you get to the front line, how long does it take Snake poison to kill...
and, yes, it's also been a very, very long time since the last patch. I really would have loved to work more on on Tooth and Tail (and also play more), but life made me focus on entirely different things. Huge thanks to everyone who is here despite the radio silence from my side!
I am incredibly happy to still see some new players who just picked up the game, as well as others with >1000h and counting; a community that keeps discussing balance changes, making skins and mods, organizing, streaming or competing in tournaments (like that Championship we just wrapped up).
Plenty of reasons for more updates... now, quickly back to the actual patch notes:
Multiplayer Balance Changes
Toad: 9 HP (from 8).
Mole: Commander can burrow to Mole Warrens. 1 DPS against units (from 2), but still 6 DPS against structures. Can simultaneously hit a unit and a structure on the same tile. Moles aggro from their individual position, not from the rally point.
Skunk: 32 HP (from 30 HP).
Chameleon: 34 HP (from 33).
Snake: 1.5 DPS (from 1), for 10s (from 20s), resulting in 15 damage per tag (from 20). 30 HP (from 32 HP).
Boar: Explosion on death reduced to 12 damage (from 20).
All Tier 3: Build time increased to 50s each warren and unit (from 45s).
Formation: Made sure high tier and long range units find tiles more easily (other units move away).
Barbed Wire: Regenerates health (like other structures). Cannot be attacked by any unit (but suffers aoe damage). Takes the same damage it deals to enemies (from 1/2 the damage it deals).
Land Mine: Invincible to Boar Flamethrower.
Reveal: Commanders can uncloak enemies in a 2 tile radius when standing still (previously 1 tile radius, i.e. 3x3 area). Also the sound is a bit more subtle.
Players on the Pocketwatch Discord server or those who watched the tournament probably already know these changes, because most of them were used in the latest tournament and were widely considered an improvement over the last patch.
Improved Control
Focus Fire: All structures that are blocking movement (i.e. Gristmill, Campfire, MG, Arty) are easier to target (even when enemy units are next to them).
Pig: Unit movement can no longer be blocked by Pigs.
UI and QoL
Turkish localization improved, now also using the usual font style.
Matchboard (Discord) reactivated.
Default name and sorting changed for replays, displaying the newest on top (custom names starting with letters will even be higher up).
Changes of deck size in unranked/offline lobbies are registered properly.
Better Layout of deck selection screens with more or less than 6 available options per tier. (Currently only in mods.)
Automatically update mods and maps before playing them.
No crash when leaving a modded lobby while a unit with mod-only graphics is selected.
Observer name display fixed.
Linux Fix
Some Linux distros could no longer start the game (due to an issue related to their glibc version) - this seems to be fixed, now. I could only do minimal testing, so please tell me if you still experience trouble starting the game. <3
Community News
The 2025 Championship just ended, and once again it was an amazing event. Roughly 50 players competed on a mod that already contained most balance changes of this patch. We've seen underdogs beat giants, sometimes with novel decks and strategies. Most of the games have been casted - and the truly amazing grand finals can be watched on Tooth and Tail TV.
Go and watch if you have not seen them yet - or grab a flag and test those changes yourself!
(Also: Delthius mentioned he's preparing another tournament for March...)
See you soon!
Eel