Hello, Metal Gladiators
A new patch has been released today, bringing the Ranked Mode and the renewed Gamepad support.
General
- The time to be flagged as AFK during a match was reduced from 5 minutes to 2 minutes.
- Any customized commands will be restored to default configuration after today’s update. Please make sure to check your controls before joining a match.
Stargazer
- Stargazer has received a cursor aim, developed to improve her gameplay with gamepads. This cursor will also be available when playing with keyboard/mouse.
Ranked Mode
Overview
Competition has reached the next level. The new mode adds a new matchmaking, in which the matches played are accounted for an individual player score. This score is used to rank each player under a Division. The divisions are:
- Bronze Division
- Silver Division
- Gold Division
- Heavy Metal Division
Bronze, Silver and Gold divisions have 5 subdivisions, from V (five) to I (one). For example, after the 10 placement matches, an account may start at Bronze III (bronze three), and then progress to Bronze II, Bronze I, and then is promoted to Silver V, where it shall keep progressing until reaching Gold I.
The Bronze, Silver and Gold Divisions encompasses 1.000 ranking points, and each sub-division encompasses 200 points. The Heavy Metal Division is a special tier for the top 10 players from Gold I division.
At the end of each season, players will receive exclusive rewards according to the highest Division reached within the season. The higher the Division, the better are the rewards.
How does it work?
The Ranked mode is located under the Play button on the main menu. Click on it and then choose “Ranked Mode”.
The ranked matches have some unique properties:
- Only accounts with more than 5 matches (custom matches doesn’t count) played can join the ranked queue;
- There can be only 4x4 matches;
- It will be available on a specific time in each region: Europe, North America, and South America;
- Only solo players or duo groups can join the Ranked queue;
- The Ranked matches will be played on Metal God Arena or Temple of Sacrifice.
- The ranking points are global, which means that a player from European servers (or from any other region) can play matches during the periods in which the Ranked queue is available in other regions. However, keep in mind that communicating with players from other regions can be difficult, and the ping in different regions may vary, and this can affect the match result.
Upon taking part in a ranked match for the first time, the first 10 matches will be “placement matches”. This means each player will play 10 matches until being effectively placed in a division.
During the placement matches, the player will be labeled as “Not ranked”.
Ranked Mode Schedule
The Ranked mode will be available during specific periods, on each region, as follows:
North America Region
- Monday~Friday: from 00h to 03h UTC-0
- Saturday~Sunday: from 20h to 02h UTC-0
South America Region
- Monday~Friday: from 22h to 01h UTC-0
- Saturday~Sunday: from 18h to 00h UTC-0
Europe Region
- Monday~Friday: from 16h to 19h UTC-0
- Saturday~Sunday: from 12h to 18h UTC-0
Players can check the schedule for each day by clicking on the Schedule button on the Ranked mode menu.
Ranked Mode Seasons
The Ranked Mode is held on seasons, and each season will last for a few months. Here’s the schedule for season 1:
- Season 1: From July 24th to December 10th
Rewards
There are two different rules used to deliver the rewards on each season:
- The first rule applies to players who will receive rewards of the Bronze, Silver, and Gold divisions. These players receive the reward based on the highest division reached within the season. In other words, a player that reached Gold Division, but ended the season under Silver Division, will receive the Gold Division rewards.
- The second rule applies to players in the Heavy Metal Division. They will only receive the reward of that division in case they end the season in it, otherwise, they receive the Gold Division reward.
Bronze Division Rewards:
- Spray: Bronze Badge
- Emote: Bronze Badge
Silver Division Rewards:
- Spray: Silver Badge
- Emote: Silver Badge
- Wildfire’s Special Model 1
Gold Division Rewards:
- Spray: Gold Badge
- Emote: Gold Badge
- Wildfire’s Special Model 1
Heavy Metal Division Rewards:
- Spray: Heavy Metal Badge
- Emote: Heavy Metal Badge
- Wildfire’s Special Model 2
Gamepad
The gamepad support has returned, much more polished and improved for the game. Play the way you want!
Overview
- Usually, gamepads counts with two directional sticks. The left stick is used to accelerate and move your machine to a direction. The right stick is used to command your cursor and aim certain weapons, such as Peacemaker’s weapon 1 and Stargazer’s weapons.
- The left and right bumpers and triggers are the default buttons for the weapons. Right bumper and trigger are weapon 1 and 2, respectively. Left bumper and triggers are weapon 3 and 4, respectively.
- The button B (for Xbox) or O (PS4) are used to activate the grabber to grab/release the bomb, and also launch the bomb.
- The button X (for Xbox) or ⬜ (PS4) are used to activate the reverse.
Gamepad Options
- On the commands menu, the key binds for each button can be customized for both keyboard/mouse and gamepad.
- It is possible to customize the right stick behavior, such as sensitivity and maximum distance for camera movement. It’s also possible to set the cursor always to move back to the center of the machine when you release it, or to be static in a direction.
Supported controllers
Any gamepad will run normally on HMM, however, some specific models have official support, which means that the game interface icons will adjust according to the model used. Currently, the controllers for Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS4 have this feature.
Other models will display the interface icons from Xbox 360.
Partial support on the menus
Currently, the gamepad has only partial support on the game menus. You can join the Casual mode queue by pressing A (Xbox) or X (PS4) on the main menu until you get into the queue.
The navigation on the Shop and Metal Pass are not yet supported.
Balance
Icebringer
- The machine can’t be pushed by enemies when using its weapon 3.
Vulture
- The Special Weapon has been updated: The blades are no longer shot at once, now they are shot sequentially.
Known Issues
General
- Sometimes the screen may flash/freeze for a few seconds while joining the queue on Casual Mode, Ranked Mode or Custom Matches.
Commands
- The “Restore Default” button is restoring commands for both Keyboard/Mouse and Gamepad at the same time.
Gamepad
- Players are unable to use Gamepad on Spectator Mode.
Stargazer
- Mouse cursor aim appears during replays.
- Players should not be able to use Emotes while attached to another player in a match. Currently, the Emote is not displayed, but its sound is activated, and it may enter on cooldown.