Combat Update now on Live!

Servers will be down starting at 11am PT for 4 hours.

Preseason 6

With the rollout of the Combat Update, Preseason 6 begins.  There is all-new scoring for Solos, Duos, and Fives.  All leaderboards and Top 10s have been cleared for the new season – good luck getting to Royalty this season!

Gunplay & Gameplay Improvements

Weapons have all been re-tuned and improved so that they behave and feel more like their real-world counterparts and have a distinct and important role in the game.  Overall, bullets now move at a more believable speed and with a flatter trajectory; though bullets still begin to drop over long distances. Rifle rounds fly fastest and flattest while pistol rounds hit hard up close but lose power over distance.

• Throwables no longer have to “reload” before they can be thrown.  Hold aim (default: right mouse button) to see an Aim Arc to line up your throw, or tap left-click for a quick throw.  Your character will slow down while lining up a throw.
• The bleed mechanic has been simplified so that there are now three bleeding states (previously, there were five).  The UI is now consistent with the system, showing three blood icons to indicate Minor, Moderate, and Major bleeding.  It’ll take one bandage to heal each bleed marker or a First Aid Kit to heal all three.
• Free-look functionality (Default: Left Alt) has been added to the Parachute.  The look sensitivity can be adjusted with the Vehicle Camera Sensitivity slider.
• Movement controls have been fine-tuned to be more responsive and better connected to the in-game actions of your character.  Running, turning, throwing, and strafing animations have all been improved.
• A new reticle has been added that blooms as recoil increases.  Aiming down sights will bring the reticle down to a smaller size to demonstrate accuracy, while holding down fire of an automatic weapon will show how recoil increases over time.  The old reticle can be used via the “Reticle Style” option in Settings.
• Shots now leave a light trail behind them so that you can see the bullet trajectory.  This can also be disabled in Settings.
• New hitmarkers have been added to the shotgun to show how many of the pellets landed.
• You can now move while looting.  

Weapons Improvements 

• New Weapon: Hellfire 4-6 Submachine Gun
  • Lightweight and highly effective in close-quarters combat.
  • Fully automatic, fires its 30-round magazine in approximately two seconds.



• The R380 has been removed from the game. Its skin will be made available for the M1911.


• AR-15 and AK-47 have been rebuilt with new models, improved animations and better muzzle effects.  Other guns will be improved similarly in the future.


• All weapons have had recoil, cone of fire, and reset time tuned to improve overall feel as well as help reinforce their intended ranges. 

Weapons Tuning

AR-15

• Role: Long-range versatile - low recoil and high accuracy.
• Damage per shot: 22.5 (decreased from 25)
• Headshot modifier: x4.5
• Projectile speed: 800 meters per second (up from 375)
• Bleed applied per shot: 1
• Fire Rate: Semi-automatic
• Notes: Recoil now includes vertical movement

AK-47

• Role: Mid-range versatile – high recoil and high damage.
• Damage per shot: 30
• Headshot modifier: x4
• Projectile speed: 625 meters per second (up from 375)
• Bleed applied per shot: 2
• Fire Rate: Automatic, slightly increased.

Hellfire 4-6

• Role: Close-range versatile – highest fire rate
• Damage per shot: 15
• Headshot modifier: x4
• Projectile speed: 500 m/s
• Bleed applied per shot: 1
• Fire Rate: Automatic, very fast.

Shotgun

• Role: Close-range specialist – capable of one-shot kills
• Damage per pellet: 12 pellets fired, doing 4.0 - 9.1 damage each, depending on distance.
• Headshot modifier: Between x1.0 and x2.7, depending on distance.
• Projectile speed: 250 meters per second
• Bleed applied per pellet: ¼ (per pellet)
• Fire Rate: Pump action, slightly decreased.
• Note: Shotgun damage decreases over distance.  It will inflict max damage at point blank and begin to decrease beyond 8 meters.  It will inflict minimum damage at ranges of 13m and above.

.308 Hunting Rifle

• Role: Long-range specialist – capable of one-shot kills
• Damage per shot: 65
• Headshot modifier: x4
• Projectile speed: 1000 meters per second (up from 659)
• Bleed applied per shot: 3
• Fire Rate: Bolt action
• Notes: Scope sway & hold breath mechanics have been removed.  Bypasses the 50% bleed reduction that body armor provides.  Also increased zoom from 4x to 8x.

Magnum

• Role: Powerful pistol - packs a huge punch
• Damage per shot: 45 (increased from 30)
• Headshot modifier: x2.5
• Projectile speed: 350 meters per second (down from 375)
• Bleed applied per shot: 2
• Fire rate: Semi-automatic, slowest pistol
• Notes: Bypasses the 50% bleed reduction that body armor provides.

M1911

• Role: Versatile pistol - good in many situations
• Damage per shot: 27.5 (increased from 25)
• Headshot modifier: x4
• Projectile speed: 300 meters per second (down from 375)
• Bleed applied per shot: 1
• Fire rate: Semi-automatic
• Notes: Increased magazine size to 10 rounds, up from 7.

M9

• Role: Run and gun pistol - large magazine and low recoil
• Damage per shot: 18
• Headshot modifier: x5
• Projectile speed: 400 meters per second (up from 375)
• Bleed applied per shot: 1
• Fire rate: Semi-automatic, fastest pistol
• Notes: Increased magazine size to 17 rounds, up from 15.

New Camera Options

Two new camera options have been added to the game; Dynamic and Static.  These are both over-the-shoulder cameras that give you a much clearer connection to your character and line of sight to your target.  Static will be the default option, and you can choose between the two new cameras, and the classic live camera, in Settings.

• The Dynamic camera will pull in tight in buildings for a better view of interior spaces and will move back to when running forward to provide a better view of your character.  It will also shift over a bit to the side when aiming down sights to give you the clearest possible view of your target.
• The Static camera is also side-shifted like the Dynamic camera but does not move at all.
• With both the Static and Dynamic cameras, you can swap which shoulder the camera is on during gameplay, default key: left control.
• A new icon has been added to the HUD to indicate when your shot is blocked.  With an over-the-shoulder camera, you may be able to put your crosshair on a target that you can’t actually hit because an object is in between the barrel of your gun and the target. The shot-block icon can be disabled in settings.

Gameplay UI Improvements

• There is now a ‘Play Again’ button on the end screen for Solos games.  Clicking it will put you right back into the queue for another match without ever having to return to the Main Menu.  The “Stay Together” flow is still in place for Team Games.
• There is now a rotating compass centered at the top of the screen that is much easier to use than the previous directional indicators, which have been removed.  
• Exact locations of players and their teammates are now shown on the map.  The red box that indicates the grid location has been removed.  Grid coordinates that display on the HUD can now be hidden in Settings.
• Players and their teammates can now place a marker on the map by clicking on it.  Use this to call out destinations or targets for your teammates!
• Multiple players can now simultaneously interact with lootable containers such as player loot bags and vehicle inventory.
• Loot bags can now be looted from proximity by opening Inventory while standing next to them.
• Medical items and throwable items now stack in the loadout slot instead of having 1 item in the loadout and the rest stacked in the inventory.
• Shift-dragging a stack of items now defaults to half of the stack.
• Overall inventory performance should be improved.  Proximity items should update faster, dragging items from slot to slot should be crisper, and large stacks of items should no longer cause performance issues.
• The diagnostic HUD is now enabled by default.  This is massively helpful when it’s turned on when we are sent videos of lag, desync, etc.  It can still be disabled (default: N) however we ask that if you are streaming or recording to leave this on to help us identify issues when videos are sent our way.
• Speaker indicators on the HUD now include player tier and identify group members.
• Muting and unmuting players can now be done by looking at a player and pressing Control+T (this can be rebound in Keybindings).  Muted players are now shown in the voice speakers list, but with a ‘muted’ icon and do not contribute to voice ducking.

Vehicles

• All passengers can now use the vehicle inventory, even while it’s in motion.
• ATVs no longer require a key or hotwiring to start.
• ATVs no longer spawn with keys or biofuel.
• ATVs have had their downforce increased in order to achieve better high speed stability
• Doubled the number of ATVs that spawn in The Arena.
• Raised the spawn caps for off-roaders, pickup trucks, and police cars by 17%.  This is to make sure that the new POIs are properly populated with drivable vehicles.
• Improved the vehicle flip function to prevent “overflip” and be much more consistent.
• Vehicles will no longer give the “cannot exit” message when parked in tight spaces like garages. Instead, the player will exit the car from the nearest available door.
• We’ve adjusted the Pickup Truck to be a bit less bouncy when going over rough terrain to help compensate for the additional top speed that was added last patch.
• Cruise Control is now in the Keybindings menu and can be rebound.

Footwear

We’ve done a tuning pass on all footwear in the game to make sure they have distinct and useful roles depending on the situation.  Shoes found in the world will auto-equip if a lesser type of shoe is currently equipped, and can now be salvaged into useful crafting materials.  Details below.

Quiet Shoes

• Found: Starting item
• Footstep volume: lowest
• Can now be shredded for 2 scraps of cloth
• 5% sprint speed bonus (increased from 2%)
• 25% falling damage reduction (increased from 5%)
• 30 inventory space

Sturdy Shoes

• Found: Looted from the world
• Footstep volume: highest
• Can now be salvaged for 2 composite fabric
• 12% sprint speed bonus (increased from 7%)
• 90% falling damage reduction (increased from 65%)
• 200 inventory space

Fast Shoes

• Found: Looted from the world
• Footstep volume: moderate
• Can now be salvaged for 2 composite fabric
• 16% sprint speed bonus
• 15% falling damage reduction
• 200 inventory space

Barefoot

• Found: Only used if player removes footwear
• Footstep volume: light
• No bonuses to speed or falling damage

The Arena

New Points of Interest

• New POI: Harris County Fairgrounds in E5 – these abandoned fairgrounds feature a quick-changing mix of long to short range combat.
• New POI: CWP Water Treatment Authority in C6 – this spot offers good protection and visibility of the surrounding area, making it a great spot to dig in and fortify.
• New POI: East Valley Shopping Center in I7 – large shopping center that offers loot to be grabbed on the move.
• New POI: CWP Utilities Compound 62 in F4 – an electrical utility area which has been fortified and used as a hold-out by survivors during The Outbreak, offering cover and a great view of the surrounding area.
• New POI: Sunny Pines in G3 – the former trailer park has expanded to a community of trailers, houses, warehouses, and a church spreads across the hills.  

World Improvements

• Added Leaderboards back into Fort Destiny
• Reduced the number of explosive barrels that spawn in the world
• Reduced explosive barrel damage so that single explosions will no longer kill full health players
• Adjusted the spawn logic so that multiple explosive barrels will not spawn next to each other
• Increased the time to reach the safe zone for the first two gas phases
• Old rocks have been removed and replaced with new, varied rock formations. These new rocks have more accurate collision for more precise combat gameplay.
• Tents now flatten when shot
• Blue mail boxes, newspaper boxes, cement trash cans, fire hydrants, woodpiles, and playground slides are all now destructible
• Updated ground visuals to look more visually appealing
• Updated lighting and ambient occlusion to give the world better visual quality
• In Training, weapons and ammo will respawn if they have been partially looted (e.g. only the ammo boxes were looted, but not the weapon).

New Skirmish: Weapon Roulette 

• This is a standard BR mode except that all players in the match start with the same *random* gun in hand and infinite ammo for that weapon.
• No other guns or ammo are spawned in the map to loot, but you’ll still need to scavenge for other supplies
• At certain population thresholds as the match advances, all players will have their current weapon removed and we’ll randomly select a new weapon that will be granted out to all remaining players.
• When the weapon switch process begins, an audio effect and a system message will play to help alert players that in 5 seconds, their weapons will be removed
• When the weapons are removed, all players will get another message saying everyone will get a new weapon in 5 seconds
• When the weapon is added to everyone, they’ll get a message saying that everyone now hasand its go time again
• This process repeats as the population in the match is reduced

Hosted Games

A number of key updates to Hosted Games will improve the experience that Hosts have running games and their communities have playing them.

• Support for Duos and Fives
• A new Admin Panel UI to make using commands easier
• New Admin commands including Broadcast, Summon, and Pause Toxic Gas
• Spectate improvements including a new “Versus” system that displays a HUD for the targeted player and up to two other engaged players.
• Hosts and Moderators will not automatically switch to Spectate mode after dying in a match.

Hosts will receive an e-mail with additional detailed information.  Think you have what it takes to be a Host?  Follow the instructions and complete the application here

General

• Ping lock has been improved so that it picks a more appropriate home region based on your actual geographic location. 
• Improved anti-cheat systems including heightened game client security.
• Increased the initial parachute spawn area by 25% so that players are a bit more spread out as the game begins.
• Games are now limited to 150 players per match.  This helps with overall game balance as well as making sure that games are starting as quickly as possible.
• The gas phases have been tuned and now include the ability to be skipped entirely based on remaining population.
• Slightly lowered the probability that a match will end in a city.
• The volume of the starting Main Menu music has been decreased.
• Molotovs now deal damage to explosive barrels.  Approximately 5 seconds of fire will cause the barrel to explode.
• Molotovs initial damage now applies to vehicles
• Molotov and grenade visual and audio effects now play at 300 meters (increased from 65).
• Explosive arrows now do more damage against vehicles.
• Fire arrows now do damage to players who are in vehicles.
• Fire arrow burn damage is no longer extinguished by entering a vehicle.
• Fire arrow initial damage has been increased to match that of regular arrows.

Bug Fixes

• Players should no longer be killed by the environment when parachuting on or near vehicles.
• Players should no longer fall out of their parachute.
• Players should no longer experience loading screens after exiting a vehicle.
• Footsteps should be far more consistent and reliable. 
• Shots fired by other players should never incorrectly be silent.
• Fixed a rare issue that could cause players to be killed by the gas before the first gas phase.
• The gas ring will no longer expand or change unexpectedly during the last gas phase.
• The second to last kill in team games should always count towards the kill score.
• Explosive damage is now applied much more consistently despite objects being in the way that do not provide complete cover.
• Gas grenade damage no longer stacks. 
• Fixed a crash that could occur when loading into a fives match with teammates from the previous game.
• End screens should properly show even if the last players teammates all disconnected.
• Machetes and axes now properly break glass.
• Gas grenades no longer cause biofuel to explode.
• Stun grenades now have a sound effect when picked up.
• Armor icon will now show up properly after looting armor from proximity.
• Group Tier text is once again present for Royalty One players on the end screens.
• Group Tier now specifies Duos or Fives depending on the game mode.
• The last player on a team will no longer briefly see the option to Spectate after dying.
• Menu items should no longer disappear after backing out from the Top 10 screen.
• Dying while interacting with a loot bag will no longer prevent other players from looting it.
• ‘Recently Played With’ UI now populates properly
• Wooden arrows now correctly cause bleeding.
• Various text and Steam inventory bug fixes.

Known Issues

There are some known issues in this build that the team is working on fixing.  We plan on hot-fixing them out to Live as soon as they are confirmed fixed internally.

• Framerate may be slightly lower for certain machine specs in certain areas of The Arena.  The team is working on a hotfix that will correct this as soon as possible.
• Aiming down sights while peeking from cover with the Static or Dynamic Cameras can cause the aim-point to occasionally drift.  This is fixed on the Classic Camera and we are working on a fix for the offset cameras.
• Other players occasionally do not play the throwing animation.
• Sprinting with a Shotgun equipped can cause inconsistent footstep sound effects.
• Players are unable to see tracer rounds fired from other players at certain angles.
• Tracers are delayed for shots that are fired right as a prone animation begins or ends.
• Tracers and glowing skin effects show through smoke from smoke grenades at certain angles.
• Priming a throwable while entering a vehicle will cause it to be immediately thrown upon exiting the vehicle.
• Swapping reticles in-game (from Dynamic to Classic, or visa-versa) will not take effect unless you switch to First Person (default: T) and back.  Occasionally, both reticles can display.
• The world may not render in immediately when parachuting into the first match of a play session.
• The weapon stocks of the AK-47 and AR-15 slightly clip into and through the character model.
• When spectating a player who goes into first person, their weapon does not currently show.
• Hoodies and parkas do not show up when first equipped by a character wearing armor.
• The reticle slightly moves when punching.
• In game sound effects can occasionally be heard while on the Main Menu after exiting a game.
• Rarely, the end screens may show up on the Main Menu.
• Spectated players name can occasionally be missing in Duos.