This is part 2/2 for the Emerald Bear patch notes due to hitting the character limit allowed for these posts.
It includes:
- Faction balance changes
- Bugfixes
- New content, features & improvements
- Gameplay improvements
- Ability balance changes
Factions balance changes
US Forces
US Forces has been powerful in 1v1 and weak in larger team modes. These changes will be toning down the Easy Eight while improving underperforming units like Elite Infantry and support units. ¼-ton 4x4 Truck- Lethality for mid to far range increased by 10%
- Damaged aircraft no longer increases the recharge time of Air Support Center abilities.
- Double Sortie fuel cost decreased from 50 to 40.
- P-47 Dive bomb cost decreased from 90 to 70 munitions.
- P-47 Dive Bombs now deal +50% bonus damage to vehicles.
- P-47 Strafing Run cost decreased from 60 to 50 munitions.
- Bazookas reload and wind down adjusted for a rate of fire increase from 4.75/5.5 to 4.25/4.75 seconds.
- Health increased from 90 to 95.
- Now gains Shared Veterancy.
- Off-Map mortar barrage can now be used when suppressed.
- Engineer health increased from 80 to 85. This change does not impact health when upgraded to Assault Engineers.
- Area of effect damage distances significantly reduced from 1/1.5/5 to 0/0.5/5.
- Delayed fuse mid-range damage reduced from 33% to 25%.
- Delayed fuse radius increased from 4 to 5 (to better match the effect).
- Delayed Fuse Shells cooldown between shots increased from 0.75 to 1.5 seconds.
- Delayed Fuse Timer from 1.25 to 3 and now properly displays a timer.
- Manpower cost reduced from 240 to 220; does not affect the Airborne variant.
- Machine guns can no longer target aircraft.
- Direct-fire range increased from 45 to 50
- Fuel cost reduced from 50 to 40 fuel.
- Bunker-buster deals +100% bonus damage to emplacement.
- Frontal Armor increased from 195 to 240.
- Population decreased from 14 to 12.
- Scatter angle decreased from 9 to 5.
- Scatter distance scatter ratio decreased from 1 to 0.
- Cost decreased from 120 manpower and 15 fuel to 100 manpower and 10 fuel.
Armored Battlegroup
M4A3 Sherman Easy 8 The following change puts the Easy 8’s area of effect and accuracy on-par with the standard Sherman 76mm. This is meant to significantly reduce the E8’s power against infantry.- Accuracy increased from 0.075/0.0563/0.045 to 0.1/0.0563/0.047.
- Area of effect mid-range decreased from 2 to 0.75.
- Area of effect model limit decreased from 4 to 3.
- Area of effect radius increased from 4 to 4.5.
- Auto-fire and barrage fire-aim time decreased from 1 to 0.5.
- Fuel cost decreased from 50 to 45.
Special Operations Battlegroup
SSF Commandos- Bazooka reload and wind down adjusted for a rate of fire increase of 3.6/4.5 to 3.5/4 seconds.
- Population decreased from 10 to 9.
- SSF Commando health increased from 95 to 110.
- Rockets per barrage increased from 10 to 15
- Range increased from 70 to 80
- Rocket area of effect mid-range distance increased from 1.5 to 2
- Rocket area of effect far damage increased from 0.175 to 0.3
- Rockets now deal 50% deflection damage
Airborne Battlegroup
Carpet Bombing Run- Now drops 2 additional bombs per bomber; bombs dropped now fill the entire reticule correctly.
- Manpower cost reduced from 240 to 220.
- Recharge time increased from 30 to 75 seconds.
- Damage to buildings reduced by 75%.
- Damaged against infantry reduced by 75%.
- Delay before the 2nd plane attacks increased from 1 to 2.
- Rocket count from 6 to 5.
- ‘Cooked’ Frag Grenade fuse time decreased from 1.6 to 1.
- Bazooka reload and wind down adjusted for a rate of fire increase of 3.6/4.5 to 3.5/4 seconds.
- Carbine short-range lethality increased by 8%.
- M1919A6 Light machine gun mid-far lethality increased by 15%.
- Population decreased from 10 to 9.
- Cost decreased from 150 to 125 manpower.
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht has been overperforming and these changes are meant to tone down overall performance. To promote a more diverse gameplay, some units that have been underused have been improved. 221 Armored Car- Machine gun mid-far lethality increased by 10%.
- Sight increased from 35 to 45.
- Manpower cost decreased from 320 to 280.
- Bonus damage to aircraft decreased from +50% to -25%.
- Cost decreased from 360 manpower and 70 fuel to 320 manpower and 60 fuel.
- MP40 Submachine gun mid-range lethality decreased by ~15%.
- MP40 Submachine gun near lethality decreased by 5%.
- Long-range accuracy from 0.045 to 0.04.
- Long-range accuracy reduced by 12%.
- Suppression against suppressed targets from 0.5 to 0.35.
- Suppression applied to other squads increased from 88% to 93%.
- Machine Gun burst length reduced by 15% at mid and far.
- Machine Gun can no longer target aircraft.
- Machine Gun far accuracy reduced from 45% to 33%.
- Point-blank Blast area of effect limit decreased from 4 to 3.
Luftwaffe Battlegroup
Luftwaffe Strafing Run- Command Point cost decreased from 2 to 1.
- Cost reduced from 75 to 50 munitions.
British Forces
The Training Center changes impacted the British Forces more than anticipated. To adjust, some core units are gaining increased performance and the Training Center will now be available from the start. We are planning to continue making further improvements to the British in the future. 17-pounder Anti-tank Gun- Weapon range increased from 70 to 80.
- 20mm AA gun cost reduced from 75 to 60 munitions.
- Machine gun can no longer target aircraft.
- Bazooka reload and wind down adjusted for a rate of fire increase of 3.6/4.5 to 3.5/4 seconds.
- Bren Weapon lethality increased by 4-6%.
- Lethality at all ranges increased by 3%.
- Population decreased from 8 to 7.
- Fog of War scatter increased from 1.25 to 2.5.
- Ready-aim time reduced from 2 to 0.5.
- Rotation rate increased from 25 to 45.
- Scatter max decreased from 15 to 6.
- Self-repair ability speed increased from 0.66 to 1.2.
- Stuart Utility package cost reduced from 60 to 40 munitions.
- Now immediately available at the start of the game and does not need to be purchased.
- Training upgrade experience for infantry, team weapons, and light vehicles increased from 500 to 800.
- Training upgrade experience for medium and heavy vehicles increased from 500 to 1250.
- Mid and far range lethality increased by 5/7.5%.
Air and Sea Battlegroup
Commandos- ‘Cooked’ Mills Bomb fuse time decreased from 1.6 to 1.
- Now use unique Lee Enfields that have increased accuracy and damage over the standard Infantry Section at all ranges.
- +31% increased lethality at short-range, +34% at mid-range, +20% at long-range.
- Now drops 2 additional bombs per bomber; bombs dropped will now fill the entire reticule correctly.
- Munitions cost increased from 110 to 150.
- Command Point cost decreased from 2 to 1.
- Now provides a 25% discount on built Resource caches to the player by Royal Engineers or those built directly on territory points.
- Field Infirmaries cost decreased from 200 manpower to 150.
Deutsches Afrikakorps
The DAK is receiving adjustments to address key weaknesses in early game options. This is meant to open options for different styles of play. 8 Rad Armored Car- Scatter angle and Scatter max increased from 2 to 3.5.
- Cost decreases from 280 to 260.
- Now gains shared veterancy.
- Cost decreased from 200 manpower and 150 fuel to 100 manpower and 75 fuel.
- Requires only the Panzerarmee Kommand to be purchased.
- Tiger fuel cost increased from 180 fuel to 240 fuel.
- Grenade Assault cost decreased from 45 to 35 munitions.
- Now triggers on the 250-mortar half-track, 254 Reconnaissance Tractor, and the Walking Stuka Halftrack
- Fire-aim time increased from 0.125 to 1.
- Ready-aim time from 0.125 to 0.25/5.
- Reload time increased from 2.125 to 2.5/2.75.
- Bonus damage to aircraft decreased from +50% to -25%.
- Weapon range increased from 40 to 45.
- Barrage recharge times decreased from 30 to 20.
- Long-range accuracy reduced by 12%.
- Base Lethality at mid and long-range increased by 10%.
- Combined-Arms accuracy bonus decreased from +30% to +20%.
- MG42 LMG accuracy increased by 10%.
- Machine gun burst length duration multiplier from 1/0.95/0.7 to 1/0.8/0.6.
- Machine gun can no longer target aircraft.
- Machine gun far accuracy from 45% to 33%.
- S-Mines Launcher now deals significantly less damage to infantry but now will suppress and pin them.
- Rockets now deal 40% deflection damage.
Italian Infantry Battlegroup
Booby Traps- Increased health on the booby trap from 20 to 140.
- Now uses the demo charge model.
- Reinforcement cost from 40 to 35.
- SMG moving burst increased from 35% to 100%.
Italian Combined Arms Battlegroup
Semovente 75/18 Assault Gun- Barrage recharge time decreased from 90 to 45 seconds.
- Barrage reload decreased from 3.5/4 to 3 seconds.
- Ready-aim delay on HEAT Shell ability removed.
- Bonus damage to vehicles decreased from +225% to +200%.
- Damage increased from 10 to 15.
Armored Support Battlegroup
Vehicle Awareness- Command Point cost increased from 1 to 2.
BUGFIXES
- Fixed a low chance for the game to crash while hovering over the minimap icon of a squad that is currently in combat.
- Fixed a memory leak in the reflection system that resulted in the leaking of speech data. Players should see a more stable experience match over match.
- Fixed a synchronization issue in the replay launch argument where if the teams were uneven or there were unused slots in the match, errors could occur - units not spawning from production buildings or friendly teams showing as enemy.
Audio
- Added Barb Wire cut sounds effects.
- Added Naval Blockade siren sounds effects.
- Added Propaganda bomb sound effects.
- Added sound effects to Custom Game context menus.
- Fixed Navy Bombardment sounds effects to adjust with volume settings.
- Updated audio treatment for the War Cry ability; the sound effect can now be heard by all factions when active.
Art/Animation
- Large explosions are now more likely to rend infantry and small explosions are more likely to create ragdolls.
- Churchill Black Prince's right-side treads are now playing the correct animation.
- Deutsches Afrikakorps Tank Traps now use the same model and stats as the Wehrmacht version.
- Five pounder crew no longer t-poses when aiming at extreme angles.
- Fixed an animation issue when infantry entered the Deutsches Afrikakorps 2.5-Tonne Medical Truck.
- Fixed an issue where the infantry were incorrectly positioned inside the Deutsches Afrikakorps 250 Light Carrier.
- Fixed numerous issues with floating objects when destroyed.
- Fixed the Wehrmacht Command Panzer IV coaxial Machine Gun visual effects not being hooked up correctly.
- Heavy Mortar Teams animations now sync up to the barrage timing.
- Improved Half-track animations and soldier positioning.
- Improved idle and driving poses on the Kettenkrad crew.
- Improved missing terrain details.
- Improved the visibility of visual effects when points are captured.
- Increased Tanks/Vehicles particle visual effects when an engine is critically hit.
- Reduced camera clipping through the terrain on several maps.
- Reduced cloud density to improve visuals on the Foggia map.
- Resource cache improvements now properly play construction animation.
- Corrected some of the wrong pintle mounted weapons.
- The pivot animations of loader and gunner are now matching the tracking fire angle.
- US Hellcat tarps will now match their cosmetic themes.
- Weapons will no longer float when the unit is hit by explosive type weapons.
Dynamic Italian Campaign
- Adjusted firing cone range of campaign map howitzer emplacements to better match the ranges of its bombardment ability.
- Commander XP is now correctly awarded for off-map abilities.
- Consistency work done on all Campaign Company's active ability icons/titles/descriptions in the RTS to better match what was described in the Company unlock page.
- Enabled the ability to save during our Gela tutorial so players can take additional time to complete it without being reset.
- Fixed a camera issue in the intro mission Gela where the camera could get locked at one of the map borders.
- Fixed a rare issue on the campaign map where transport ships could complete the “Assist the damaged destroyer” objective.
- Fixed an issue that made it difficult to click on some of the towns in the Italian Dynamic Campaign.
- Fixed an issue to prevent emplacements on the campaign map from shooting through mountains.
- Fixed an issue where British Armored Company Crusader AA tanks would not benefit from suppression when upgraded with the 'Rapid-Fire' campaign ability.
- Fixed an issue where saves sometimes failed to load if the save was made while the American recon aircraft ability was in use.
- Fixed an issue where the “Repair damaged equipment” objective would be completed during the enemy turn.
- Fixed an issue where the sniper could use their Medkit ability when uninjured.
- Fixed an issue where the US Airborne and Spec Ops support ability passives were selectable in the campaign.
- Fixed Assassinate Baumann target being killable without completing the mission.
- Fixed attack and load commands not working correctly when issued from a company that was already within another city/town. Units automatically unload from the city and go to attack the enemy.
- Fixed British Forces owned capture points flying the Wehrmacht flag instead of the British Forces flag in Italy.
- Fixed detachments dying the moment they are purchased if they were purchased while inside the enemy's emplacement cone of fire.
- Fixed excessive fog in the Italian Dynamic Campaign when the camera zooms out while paused.
- Fixed Partisan capture ability not removing capture resistance pip when used on capture point with just 1 pip while having Valenti Local Relations upgrade.
- Fixed Partisan Explosives ability not dealing any damage.
- Fixed stance change being available while having no action points.
- Fixed the US Airborne company in the campaign being able to requisition the M3 Armored Car before unlocking it.
- In the Gela tutorial mission, the retreat command for the first objective should no longer fail.
- Save & Load is now accessible in the Gela & Calabria prologue to the Italy Campaign.
- Standardized tooltip description and help text for the Company support ability passives.
- Updating consistency for the Italian campaign map and the Italian campaign map tutorial objective transitions. Voice over and banners now follow a predictable pattern.
- Updating consistency for the tutorial mission objective transitions. Voice over and banners now follow a predictable pattern.
North African Operation
- Improvements in convoy movement and behavior in the Desert Village Ambush mission.
Gameplay
- Adjusted collisions so buildings cannot be built too close to rocks.
- Adjusted resource points and Heavy Machine Gun Base Bunkers on skirmish maps so that units capturing the point do not get shot at.
- Airborne Company Heavy Machine Gun Paradrop ability can now be used in the Fog of War.
- Brummbar sight decreased from 50 to 35 as intended.
- Certain variants of the CWT truck no longer fall through bridges as if the bridges weren't there.
- Cleared rubble from various building entrances on (6) Mignano Summit to enable better access and reduce pathfinding issues.
- CMP 15cwt Anti-Air Trucks can now Prioritize Aircraft.
- Evaluated Italian buildings to ensure they hold an appropriate number of squads.
- Fixed ability cancellation timing exploit that allowed the first shot of an ability to still go off, even after both the ability cost and recharge have been refunded.
- Fixed an issue where Deutsches Afrikakorps reinforcing the 88 used a different crew rather than those found upon the unit spawning.
- Fixed an issue where 2.5-tonne Utility Trucks did not have a veterancy ability; they now use the Field Supplies ability found on the medical variant.
- Fixed an issue where builder units would run on the spot and not complete construction.
- Fixed an issue where cancelling the Destroy Obstacles ability would cause the ability to go on cooldown.
- Fixed an issue where certain units could cause their primary weapon to permanently swap to a barrage weapon.
- Fixed an issue where Engineers that were affected by the Assault Engineer upgrade would not get extra health.
- Fixed an issue where Panzerjager Squads did not have the Prioritize Vehicle ability.
- Fixed an issue where paratroops would freeze in midair when reacting to explosions.
- Fixed an issue where Pioneers did not get their construction bouses from veterancy.
- Fixed an issue where Precision Shot and Precision Barrage were affected by Indian Artillery's Artillery Saturation ability.
- Fixed an issue where Sherman Dozer Delayed Fuze did not have a delay before detonating.
- Fixed an issue where Smoke Canisters on the Stuka could trigger the cooldown on the unit's barrages.
- Fixed an issue where specific non-garrisonable structures stated they could be garrisoned.
- Fixed an issue where Stosstruppen Shock Assault bonuses did not stack with other modifiers such as veterancy.
- Fixed an issue where team weapons could get destroyed when receiving explosive damage in a structure.
- Fixed an issue where the Deutsches Afrikakorps Flak 88 could only be reinforced up to a maximum of 4 models rather than 6 after being recrewed.
- Fixed an issue where the 254 Reconnaissance Tractor was not affected by Emergency Repair Kits.
- Fixed an issue where the Bazooka team's White Phosphorous rocket would refund its cost.
- Fixed an issue where the M1 Anti-Tank Gun and Pak 38 needed to accelerate and decelerate like a vehicle.
- Fixed an issue where the Mortar Half-tracks Smoke Barrage and Self-Repair abilities overlapped.
- Fixed an issue where the Pathfinder Icon was used on the Recon Group for the M8 Scott's upgrade path, not the Scout Icon.
- Fixed an issue where the Received Accuracy bonus from the Training Center would not apply to reinforced infantry entities.
- Fixed an issue where the Scout Squad's utility package used a different icon in the build queue.
- Fixed an issue where the Semovente HEAT Shell could create an invisible smoke cloud.
- Fixed an issue where the StuG D could not rotate when using the Firing Positions ability.
- Fixed an issue where the White Phosphorous Rocket could instantly destroy destructible objects like bridges.
- Fixed an issue where there was no requirement text for paradrop abilities when attempting to paradrop units over unsuitable terrain.
- Fixed an issue where there was no UI reticle when deploying M31 Recovery Vehicles or the Mechanized Assault Group from the German Breakthrough Battlegroup.
- Fixed an issue where units cannot vault after picking up a team weapon.
- Fixed an issue which allowed mortar barrage abilities to be used while pinned.
- Fixed collision on wooden fences to prevent units from clipping through them.
- Fixed inconsistent setup time for mortar crews.
- Fixed an issue that would cause mortar crews to sometimes get stuck on setup.
- Fixed player not losing the capture point when choosing to retreat from the battle.
- Grenadier Med Kit regeneration set to restore 8 HP per second for 10 seconds during its duration.
- Guastatori can now build resource caches.
- Hellcat now uses a direct-fire line rather than an arcing projectile.
- Improved pathfinding to allow infantry units to use the stairs behind hospitals.
- Increased speed of Stuka bomb, fixed lingering bomb visual effects trail, and increased ground crater.
- Improved the A.I.'s early game capture point order when on a team. Bugs were causing the A.I. to excessively prioritize VPs and fuel at the start of the game, these have been fixed.
- The A.I.'s preference for capture points that are closer to its base than its teammates' bases has been increased.
- Fixed an issue where the A.I. would sometimes send 2 squads to capture a single safe neutral point early in the game. They will now only send 1 squad for safe early game captures.
- Issuing multiple repair commands on the same target will no longer restart the repair.
- M1 Anti-Tank Gun Focused Sight ability now has a 10 second delay between toggling the ability on and off.
- M3 Grant Medium Tank Prioritize Vehicle ability now functions correctly.
- Pack Howitzer smoke barrage no longer shares a cooldown with other barrages.
- Semovente now properly gains reload bonuses for veterancy.
- Smoke clouds deployed by a player no longer trigger mines.
- Team weapons no longer tear down when pinned.
- Text for the Crusader's Heroic Charge is now standardized between when the ability is triggered and it's passive.
- The Deutsches Afrikakorps's Flak 88 Truck and the British 17 Pounder trucks give consistent population that matches their cost, once acquiring and upon death.
- The A.I. is no longer capable of ignoring the boundary lines of the skirmish map to move their units outside of the playable space.
- Units should no longer get stuck when retreating from Passenger Train Cars.
- Units should now be easier to select with and without box selection.
- Updated HQ bunkers to prevent enemy access without drawing fire.
- Using Smoke canisters while Point-blank ability is active shouldn't result in infinite grenades anymore.
UI/UX
- A buff indicator will now appear over the 3-Inch Mortar team when the Zero-In veterancy ability is triggered.
- Assault Package for the Grenadiers now uses the correct icon when it is in the upgrade queue.
- Controls profile text now properly aligns in all languages.
- Fixed a naming issue with the Paratrooper Grenade ability.
- Fixed a ping message visual effect for friendly players.
- Fixed a tool-tip issue where the text 'NOT' would appear when attempting to build base structures too close to other buildings.
- Fixed a UI issue where several British tanks did not have portraits or UI when selected during the Desert Raid Mission.
- Fixed a UI issue with the Panzer Armee auto-build ability.
- Fixed an issue where the Deutsches Afrikakorps passive Self-Repair used a healing icon rather than a repair icon.
- Fixed an issue where ability requirement text is sometimes blank.
- Fixed an issue where Airborne Spirit displayed the wrong buff icon.
- Fixed an issue where British Heavy Machine Guns and Mortars showed the incorrect mini-map icon.
- Fixed an issue where the Flak emplacement did not display the text for veterancy awards.
- Fixed an issue where the Guastatori Demo Charge displayed a placeholder image when selected.
- Fixed an issue where the M29 Weasel with Towed 57mm Anti-tank call-in tooltip was incorrect and stated the weapon was unmanned.
- Fixed an issue where the Recovery Half-track's Salvage and Rapid Advance ability icons overlapped.
- Fixed an issue where the Stuart Ace was missing its portrait in the victory splash screen.
- Fixed an issue where the Stuart's Mark target displayed double requirements.
- Fixed an issue where Wehrmacht team weapons had incorrect portraits and text when de-crewed.
- Fixed missing and inconsistent key names in View and Remap Controls tab.
- Fixed Refresh button in Browse Custom Games Lobby.
- Fixed the missing portrait on the 25-Pounder.
- Improved the Command Tanks coordinate ability tooltip.
- Improved the majority of in-game tips to correct the disparity between functionality and ability. Tooltips now also provide greater clarity across the board.
- Improved unit production prerequisites not being properly displayed/communicated.
- Made the Exclusive Control Groups setting enabled by default.
- Self-Repair and Smoke barrage on the 250 Mortar Half-track no longer overlap with each other.
- The mouse cursor will now show the build icon when placing a new construction or hovering over a partly built construction.
- Updated the design for the team-weapon set-up bar.
- Updated visual style of action bars that appear on the decorator.
- Players can now toggle the tab navigation on and off from the Settings screen's Accessibility's General section.