Hailing all War Commanders! This is Young Russell speaking, the Design Lead on War Commander.

This message is to keep you informed as to upcoming operations that you will be asked to assist with. 

The Nightmare ends soon, and a new age of War Commander begins. Arc 2 is coming , and with it comes some major changes. Buffs to Arc 1 units, Event Structure changes, and Damage Type balancing changes are on the precipice of deployment.

First, Arc 2 is here. In the past, when we have gone to a new arc/series/generation, it has been tied to a large bump in power, making recent units feel pale in comparison. Obviously this is unfair to people who have worked hard to unlock these units, only for them to become weakened within a few months. To alleviate this issue, we are bumping the power of Arc 1 units (and some others). You worked hard for these units, and we want you to be able to use them. See the release notes for full details, but expect to see a health and damage increase on:

  • Legendary Lancer / Galahad

  • Legendary Humvee / Ramirez

  • Legendary Oni / Yamato

  • Legendary Sea Ram / Seymour

  • Legendary Scorcher / Vesuvius

  • Legendary Tortoise / Rize

  • Matchlocke

  • Moonskater / Marina

  • Orbiter / Mojave

  • Bombard / Foxhound

  • Pioneer / Kodiak

  • Goliath / Kabuto

  • Crozier / Ferrula

  • Siren / Orpheus

  • Firefly / Pele

  • R1 Mantis

  • Meteor Storm

  • Warrior

  • Metatron

  • Macedon

  • Bloodfang

For those worried about Base Defense, we are coinciding this power change with a further bump to building health. 

Alongside the above changes we’ll be making the following adjustments to our event structure:

Basic Training:

These are Holdout style bases meant for new and returning players and will payout a small amount of XP on victory. For a bigger payout, keep an eye out for XP crates that randomly appear in battle!

Incursions: 

A set of three bases with a set bonus, these are meant to be hit by the newest unit and will be locked to that unit’s faction.

Tactical Strikes:

While not specifically locked to any faction, these powerful bases are meant to be tackled by the previous month’s unit. There are 2 bases, which can be hit in any order and award a set bonus on completion. In addition, Tactical Strike bases will contain a High Value Target, which will attempt to flee the battle shortly after it begins. Kill this target to increase your XP payout in successfully completing the base.

Completing both the Tactical Strikes and Incursion sets will award an additional XP payout.

Proving Grounds:

Lastly, the Proving Grounds are a Unique Unit only track, consisting of bronze, silver and gold bases. The further you progress through this set, the greater the reward chest you receive when you reset it. This chest pays out event XP boosts.

In addition to these changes, faction units will now require tokens to upgrade instead of time. Some of the unit tech will come out after the event, in Shadow Ops. For those concerned about the story/mission track removal, the story will now be told across the incursion and tactical strike bases. In terms of cadence changes, we will now rotate through all the factions, while spending longer with each rogue faction. 

Finally, the last major change is to our damage type system. We know our game is complex, with thousands of tech effects, multipliers for unit type, buildings, walls, damage types, damage tech, etc, so we are simplifying the core system. Moving forward, we will have 3 damage types and 3 armor types. All you need to remember is:

  • AREA damage does 2x damage to LIGHT armor

  • SUSTAIN damage does 2x damage to MEDIUM armor

  • BURST damage does 2x damage to HEAVY armor

As you can see, FIRE and ENERGY have been removed. Every weapon in the game that did either of those damage types has been converted to one of the 3 damage types. 

  • Weapons that used to be energy have been given a 25% Flat Damage Reduction Piercing.

  • Weapons that used to be fire have been given a 2x damage boost against Zombies and Buildings. 

  • Weapon tech has also been removed, meaning you don’t need to worry about thorium armor/ solar damage etc.

As always we greatly value your feedback and urge you to submit it through the proper discord channels if you catch something you think we missed. We always collect feedback as we progress and endeavor to make adjustments if needed.

I also want to thank you for feedback on Bloodfang. In testing, we massively enjoyed using him, and obviously we played it too safe with him. His post launch buff means he will be useful for much longer. Your feedback in discord in general has been extremely helpful, often inspiring the direction changes we take. 

Before the transmission ends, I should warn you. December is coming, and the forecast predicts snow. Prepare yourself for a very merry KIXMAS, and I’ll be in touch soon.

Stay vigilant, Commanders. The Sector may be in peril now, but with your keen eye and tactical mind, the future is secure. Young Russell out.