2020

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April update: “Outfit Wars Alpha Cycle 2”

Outfit Wars – Alpha Cycle 2

Welcome to Outfit Wars, Alpha Cycle 2. This cycle’s schedule is listed below, and some major updates to this cycle’s ruleset are listed below that.

Outfit Wars – Alpha Cycle 2 Ruleset

We have made major revisions to how Outfit Wars functions both from a ruleset perspective, and a technological standpoint. The Alpha Cycle 2 schedule is listed further down in these notes.

Phasing Revisited

Outfit Wars now uses three separate Qualification Phases that take place over three days and have Rest Periods in between them. The new flow is as follows:

• Enlistment → Qualifier 1 → Rest 1 → Qualifier 2 → Rest 2 → Qualifier 3 → Preparation Phase → Combat Phase → Off Season

Qualifiers will be available for a limited number of hours on each Qualifier day to emphasize participation during times of high population. These changes are intended to create intense sessions of focused play leading up to the Outfit Wars matchup, while avoiding player burnout in the process.

Offset Match Start Times

Match start times will now be offset by 30 minutes for Alpha Cycle 2, and we’ll be starting with Gold → Silver → Bronze. This order and timing may change in the future based on feedback.

Scoring

We’ve removed the emphasis on base ownership over time, and refocused our scoring on the combat taking place instead. Instead of gaining a static value either by capturing a base, or owning it as its resources tick up, the eligible score of the top-10 players in your Outfit is now combined to reward you with Outfit Wars score on a successful capture or defense.

Capturing

• Participating in a base capture will award attackers (of all participating outfits) score upon capture.
• Capturing a base can earn up to 250 Outfit Wars score (this is the equivalent of 25,000 combined score, anything above this is discarded.)

Defending

• Participating in a base defense will award defenders (of all participating outfits) score upon a successful base defense.
• Defending a base can earn up to 100 Outfit Wars score (this is equivalent of 10,000 combined score, anything above this is discarded.).

Bastion Fleet Carrier

• Spawning a Bastion for your Outfit immediately grants you 1000 Outfit Wars score during a Qualify phase.
• Destroying a Bastion weakpoint now awards all opposing Outfits that have at least one member within 500 meters with 100 Outfit Wars score if done during an active Qualify phase.

Desolation

• Outfit members who aren’t flagged with the “Outfit War Eligible” privilege will no longer be allowed to access Desolation.
• When the Desolation alert ends, the victorious players currently in the zone receive the “Warrior” title. Dev Note: Victorious players from the 1st cycle of Outfit Wars will be granted this title before cycle 2 begins.
• Increased the Desolation alert point maximum from 500 to 750.

Misc. Outfit Wars related Fixes

• Fixed an issue with the Outfit War HUD notification showing prematurely.
• Fixed an issue where Outfit Wars HUD notification wouldn’t appear when the war ended.
• You will no longer receive a prompt to join the Outfit War after the match has ended.

Outfit Base Capture and Resource Gain

• The TAB battle scoreboard now only tallies score that contributes to a base capture, and ignores exempt experience types.
• The minimum score required to award resources when a base is captured reduced from 3000 to 1000.

Misc. Fixes, Changes, and Additions

• Spitfire and Auxiliary Spitfire Turrets can no longer be stacked on one another, and the minimum placement distance has been increased slightly.
• Hardlight Canopies should be less likely to be culled during times of high server load.
• Fixed an issue where Bastions could be damaged without attacking the hardpoints.
• Flail and Glaive IPC are affected by AI Modules once again.
• Scrolling on the Outfit Management page no longer applies to both the focus and the pane behind it.

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April update: “Tactical Improvements”

Tactical Slot and Merit Assets

We have added a new loadout slot to all players. This slot now houses Merit Reward deployables, and in the future may house other limited, tactical equipment.

Tactical Slot Deployables

Tactical Slot deployables will now be able to be restocked with Merit from the loadout screen after purchasing an initial schematic from the Outfit Quartermaster on Sanctuary.

• Flash XS-1 is now located in the Tactical Slot.
• Caltrop has been added as a Merit Reward item. These deployables are for outdoor use only, and can be placed to help hinder the movement of enemy vehicles.
• Hardlight Canopy has been added as a Merit Reward item. Provides small, circular cover to protect infantry against airborne assaults.
• Auxiliary Spitfire has been added as a Merit Reward item. Places a single-use Spitfire Turret that mimics the functionality of the Engineer version.
• Cortium Bomb has been added as a Merit Reward item. Deploys a large explosive device that deals high damage over a wide area, particularly to construction objects. This bomb can be defused.

Outfit Resources

• Outfits now require a minimum participation score (combined between members) of 3000 before receiving base capture resource rewards.
• Outfits who capture the base now receive their first tick of resources over time immediately.

World Map

• Multiple instances of the same zone will now associate a number with each one. For example: Sanctuary 1, and Sanctuary 2.
• The targeting reticle when selecting Sanctuary on the World Map is less obstructive now.

Koltyr

The island of Koltyr has now become an instanced playspace that will become available under certain conditions.

• During times of high server population, Koltyr will become available to accommodate the population overflow.
• Likewise, during times of very low server population, Koltyr will become available to provide a more focused playspace.
• Capturing 66% territory on Koltyr will trigger a 30-minute Meltdown alert, after which the continent will lock.
• Unlike Meltdown events on full continents, Koltyr does not provide rewards on completion, but will increased experience gain by 25% for the duration of the event.
• War Assets are not available for use on Koltyr.

Sanctuary

• Various visual improvements and art cleanup.
• Warpgate Terminals have been added to the lower levels of Sanctuary.
• The Join Combat prompt no longer appears in Sanctuary.

Outfit Armory

• Outfits now have access to the “Bastion” permission type, and all Bastion-related components now use this permission instead of Expedition permissions.
• Overclocking assets can no longer be done by players who do not posses the correct permissions.

War Assets

We’ve made our first round of adjustments to War Assets to make them more accessible to Outfits, and adjusted pricing based on their relative desirability in-game:
Steel Rain

• When Steel Rain is activated, a swirling maelstrom now appears above the location, visually indicating the drop zone.
• Polystellarite cost from 5 to 0.
• Synthium cost from 50 to 25.

Orbital Strike

• Maximum held count from 3 to 2.
• Polystellarite cost from 3 to 5.

Citadel Shield

• Weight from 75 to 50.
• Auraxium from 100 to 75.
• Polystellarite cost from 3 to 0.

ANVIL (Light)

• Auraxium cost from 20 to 15.
• Synthium cost from 2 to 0.

ANVIL (Medium)

• Auraxium cost from 50 to 25.
• Synthium cost from 10 to 3.

ANVIL (Heavy)

• Auraxium cost from 100 to 75.
• Synthium cost from 25 to 10.

Expeditions

Length of each expedition has been cut in half.

• Expedition (Short) from 24 hours to 12 hours.
• Expedition (Medium) from 48 hours to 24 hours.
• Expedition (Long) from 72 hours to 36 hours.

Bastion Crafting Adjustments

Each piece of the Bastion now crafts in 6 hours, opposed to 12 prior.
Pieces of the Bastion must now be crafted in the following order.

1. Hull Reconstitution
2. Support Systems
3. Rearm and Refuel
4. Response Vehicles

Dev Note: The intention of these changes are to create a buffer of time where resources won’t feel “wasted” if they’re not going directly toward funding a Bastion. This does slow the rate at which a Bastion can be pulled for those outfits who can easily harvest resources, and we can readjust again in the future if Bastions appear too infrequently on the battlefield.

Mauler Cannons

• Now have a unique model.
• No longer deal damage or impulse through one-way collision (like spawn room shields.)
• Maximum Blast Damage from 1250 to 1000
• Blast damage resistance type from 9 (Tank Mine) to 23 (Air to Ground Warhead)

Dev Note: These changes should create a better window of survivability for vehicles aware of an incoming barrage, and allows for certain defensive slots (like Flanker Armor) to help mitigate these attacks.

Misc. Bastion Changes

• Bastions now generate Power Projection score while over VS territory.
• Bastion Uplink Terminal has been renamed “Command Terminal,” and has new UI visuals.
• Seats 3 – 6 no longer show empty ammo pools in the HUD seating chart.
• Added a missing panel to the starboard side of the Bastion.

Black Market

New items have been added to the Black Market vendors. We will not be rotating the old items out of the store in this update.

Infradine (Utility Slot)
This single-use Infradine injector will allow the soldier to view heat signatures as if they were using an infrared scope. Lasts up to 20 seconds.
This consumable is restocked using A7.

NS-30 Tranquility (Common Pool Battle Rifle)
Heavy modification has reclassified this NS-30 Vandal as a “non-lethal rifle,” capable of firing concussive smart-slugs that slow enemy infantry on impact. While less powerful than the original, the Tranquility boasts higher projectile velocities, and remains suppressed at all times.

Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions

• Included in this update are optimizations to server performance based on bottlenecks discovered during times of high population.
• Remedied some inconsistencies with construction resistances across a variety of structures.
• Construction objects beneath a Skyshield will now greatly reduce the damage taken from an Orbital Strike, but will not protect the Skyshield Module itself.
• Fixed an issue where players were using construction turrets in their debuffed state while entering them while an AI Module was active.
• Concussion Grenades’ turning speed reduction now scales on distance from the blast, similar to the blurred screen visuals.
• Fixed and issue with MG-HBR1 Dragoon (TR Battle Rifle) not playing firing audio under certain conditions.
• MG-AR1 Arbalest (TR Assault Rifle) now has updated audio.
• Clicking the Outfit button as a player without an Outfit will now bring you to the Outfit Search page initially.
• Underbarrel Grenade launchers should no longer have large animation hitches during a reload.
• Repair Ribbons once again count toward directive progress.
• Wielded knives no longer flip in the hand while leaving a sprint. (Note: There still remains an issue where knives will flip in hand after a weapon swap.)
• Switching weapons while reloading pump action shotguns no longer causes you reload other weapons with the pump action’s animations.
• BR15 cert refund no longer prompts players to “Leave Koltyr.”
• Fixed an issue where Outfits couldn’t set Outfit Decals.
• Desolation has received a beautification pass on the bases, capture points, and surrounding terrain.
• Revenant Implant can now be crafted, and has been added to the Implant Pack drop table.
• Removed the “Broadcast” tab from the Social menu.
• M96 Mjolnir (NC Top Gun) first person camera fixed for both the Vanguard and Harasser.
• SR-200 (NSO Sniper Rifle) no longer has animation hitches when aiming down sights with optics less than 6x.
• Players now regenerate Nanites on Desolation.
• Mayhem Auraxium tier directive now uses the correct tier icon.

March 25th update

Server Performance

Alongside the Emerald server hardware upgrade, this update introduces several optimizations for all servers, and works to resolve performance issues related to recent updates. We will continue making improvements and resolving critical issues as they arrive.

Desolation

Terrain, base flow, and Desolation visuals have received significant updates, and should continue to be considered work in progress.

• Major revisions to terrain have been made, including additional cover in open fields.
• A unique, new capture point building now surrounds each capture point.
• Combat flow near and within each capture point has received major revisions.
• Desolation Obelisk has received a new model and FX.
• Desolation Obelisks now glow faction colors when captured.
• At the end of the Outfit War, skybox now changes, continent now locks, and rewards are doled out.
• The victorious outfit in an Outfit War now receives a free Bastion Fleet Carrier (this reward is mostly a placeholder that will be changed later.)
• Warpgate regions now properly prohibit enemy players.
• Warpgate bases now have a Desolation Cortium Silo, which is stocked at the start of the match with 75,000 Cortium.
• Cortium held within Cortium Silos will not decay over time while on Desolation.
• Desolation Cortium Silo will recharge nearby construction objects and terminals.
• Airpads now have an icon on the map.
• Fixed the fake, uncapturable capture point marker that could appear beneath the ground at the center of the map.
• New ambient audio has been added to Desolation.
• Fixed LOD ranges on Desolation Command Centers.
• Desolation 2d map has received new visuals.

Construction Costs

In line with the changes to Desolation, construction costs have been rebalanced, and apply to both Desolation terminals and Construction terminals.

Cortium Costs below:

• Flash: 100 to 50
• Javelin: 200 to 100
• Harasser: 300 to Same
• ANT: 400 to Same
• Sunderer: 400 to Same
• Lightning: 700 to 300
• MBT: NA to 500 – Only applies to Desolation Command Center terminals.
• ESF: 700 to 400
• Valkyrie: 500 to 300
• Liberator: NA to 500 – Only applies to Desolation Command Center terminals.
• Galaxy: NA to 750 – Only applies to Desolation Command Center terminals.

Bastion

• The Bastion’s deployment terminal now has a unique new visual.
• Fixed an issue where Bastions could be instantly destroyed by physics collisions.
• Drop pods should no longer get stuck inside Bastion collision.
• Fixed visible texture seam on top of some Bastion turrets.
• Glaive IPC can no longer deal damage directly to the Bastion (but may still damage its hardpoints.)

Outfit Armory

• Introduced additional logging, and speculative fixes for various issues related to War Asset crafting.
• Outfit decal no longer disappears when crafting War Assets.

Misc. Changes, Fixes, Additions

• Fixed an issue that would prevent Instant Action from functioning.
• Fixed additional instances where Critical Chain implant’s effects could last indefinitely.
• Players will no longer be knocked back from MAX abilities in Sanctuary.
• NSO empire emblem on HUD now updates properly when switching continents.
• Render distance setting now saves properly for all languages.
• Character select screen now displays the correct number of characters on the account.
• Added visual FX to the Observer Drone in Sanctuary.
• Salvaged Platinum Compound Helmet now displays the particle FX correctly on female characters.
• Sanctuary received an improved 2d map.
• Outfit decal no longer disappears when crafting War Assets.

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March 11, 2020 – Escalation (PC Mega-Update)

 

Welcome to Escalation

We’re excited to bring to you one of the largest updates in PlanetSide 2’s seven-year history. If you’re new to the game, or are a returning veteran, we welcome you to the fight for Auraxis. Outfits (or guilds/clans in other games) are an important part of the game’s ecosystem, as they help acclimate new players to this grueling, endless war, and empower the strategic gameplay that sets PlanetSide 2 apart from other shooters. With the Escalation update, we sought to elevate Outfits and the communities that surround them by offering a new metagame atop the day-to-day war on Auraxis, a new system of Outfit armaments that we will continue to expand upon in the future, and a competitive space for Outfits who are driven to prove themselves the best on their server. With that said, let’s go through the new features and content available with Escalation.

 

Bastion Fleet Carrier

An Empire’s might and determination, symbolized in metal and voiced through cannon fire. The Bastion Fleet Carrier descends from orbit, ready to wage war across the battlefields of Auraxis.

With enough resources and time, any Outfit can now craft and call planetside this massive warship.

• This fleet carrier comes equipped with shipboard turrets, command-based artillery systems, an interceptor launch platform, and can act as a spawn point for your entire Outfit.
• A singular Captain commands this warship over the continent, maneuvering to protect its weakpoints and project its power.
• Bastions require significant Outfit coordination and investment to call in, and each Empire can only field one at any given time.
• Additionally, Bastions contribute to Empire Strength while deployed over contested territory.

Calling your Bastion

• Outfits craft multiple pieces of their Bastion in the Outfit Armory using resources they’ve secured through combat (those topics are covered further down.)
• When enough time and resources are invested, authorized Outfit members will be able to use the Bastion Uplink Terminal located at every Warpgate to call down their Bastion.

Manning your Stations

• Using the F1 – F10 keys, you can select your seating on the Bastion.
• The first seat is the Captain’s, and seats 2 – 10 are turrets, and additional seats are for passengers. Bastions can hold a total of 48 players at any time.
• The Captain uses waypoints on the map (or mini-map) to move the Bastion around the map, and order its artillery barrage. Captain must maintain this seat in order to continue issuing commands.
• There are two types of mannable turrets aboard the Bastion currently. One is an anti-air/multi-purpose gatling, and the second is an air to ground cannon.
• Any player who ejects from the Bastion will be mounted in an Interceptor class fighter with a unique loadout and built-in ejection seat.

Taking it Down

• Each Bastion has eight weakpoints located around the ship. Any anti-vehicle weaponry can damage these weak points.
• Weak points cannot be repaired, but do have a regenerating shield layer that comprises a quarter of their total health pool.
• When all weakpoints are destroyed, the Bastion will self destruct in a glorious fashion.

 

War Assets and the Outfit Armory

We’ve retooled the Outfit page, and centered it in the middle of the Nav bar. If you aren’t a part of an Outfit, you can still click this button and be brought to the Outfit finder. If you are in an Outfit, we’ve got some new goodies to show you.

Ever wanted to call in some vehicle support from orbit? Outfits are now equipped with new tools to impact the flow of battle, offer more strategic control, and add depth and variety to every soldier’s gameplay experience.

These War Assets are crafted on the new the Outfit Armory page using resources your Outfit has secured through battle. Some example assets include:

• Steel Rain: Deploy your entire squad in a coordinated drop pod assault anywhere on the map.
• Citadel Shield: A massive projectile-blocking bubble shield encases the area, providing room to advance, or defense against an incoming assault.
• A.N.V.I.L.: Airdrop a vehicle of your choosing to reinforce your defenses, or mobilize your allies.
• Orbital Satellite Uplink: Call for an Orbital Strike at your target location to crack an enemy armor column.

War Assets take time and resources to craft, and Outfit leaders will have the ability to grant privileges to their Outfit members to craft and/or deploy these Assets and turn the tides of battle!  In addition, we’ve given Outfits the ability to control which ranks are allowed to craft and use different assets of different types, and we’ve added three new customizeable ranks for added control.

 

Securing Outfit Resources

On the map screen, players will see new Outfit-based resources associated with each territory. These resources come in three rarities, Auraxium (common,) Synthium (uncommon,) Polystellarite (rare.)

Capturing a base will always yield an amount of Auraxium, while claiming it for your Outfit will provide the resource ticks shown on the map every 5 minutes.

Claiming territory for your Outfit is important, as it keeps your resources stocked, and is also amplified when starting or winning the Meltdown continent alert.

• When a Meltdown alert triggers, the faction that started the alert will receive an immediate 5x tick of resources from bases they own.
• When a Meltdown alert ends, the faction that won the alert will receive an immediate 5x tick of resources from bases they own.
• Unstable Meltdown alerts do the same, but with only a 2x tick of resources from bases owned.
• At the end of the alert, all outfit ownership is wiped.

In addition, Expeditions can be crafted in the Outfit Armory that, for a small investment and some time, reward you with resources of a higher rarity.

Expeditions must be claimed in the Nascent Expeditions office on Sanctuary.

Sanctuary

Nanite Systems welcomes you to Sanctuary, a neutral home for the war weary, a place of trade, and a staging point for future exploration and expansion. While in Sanctuary, all factions and allegiances are able to occupy the same space. Weapon use, and damage in general, is disabled in this zone.

Areas

Sanctuary launches with two main areas, the Atrium, and Central Operations.

• The Atrium is a spacious area with a view of Auraxis and beyond. It also houses marketplace vendors and various services.
• Upstairs, Central Operations is run by Nanite Systems employees to coordinate the various day to day workings of the Sanctuary satellite.

Marketplace

Various vendors and representatives can be found on board Sanctuary.

Purchase Rare Weapons and Equipment.

In the shop to the left, players can find SPRK-33, a vendor that deals in the new A7 currency.
Throughout the world, players will occasionally find loose data that, once decrypted, can be collected for A7.
Participating in a Meltdown Alert will also give players A7 based on how much time they’ve spent in the Alert. The victorious faction receives more, so fight your hardest.

Trade Outfit Resources and claim completed Expeditions.

In the center shop, players will find a Nascent Expeditions Rep. and an Expedition Coordinator that both deal with Outfit Resources.
The Nascent Rep. allows for the trading of Outfit Resource types, converting them to greater or lesser rarities for a cost.
The Expedition Coordinator will debrief Outfits who have completed Expeditions, rewarding them with Outfit Resources.

Join an Outfit and purchase Outfit Equipment, Cosmetics, and Boosts.

In the shop on the right, players will find an Outfit Recruiter and an Outfit Quartermaster that uses Loyalty and Merit to offer equipment to players in Outfits.

While in an Outfit, each player now gains Loyalty by capturing and defending bases with their Outfit members (a reasonable force of enemies are required at these bases in order to count toward progress.)

Loyalty acts similarly to Battle Rank, in that it increases over time, and isn’t spent like a currency. The higher the Loyalty Rank of a player, the more Outfit Quartermaster items they’ll have access to. Loyalty decays slowly over time, so be sure to keep showing up for Ops Night.

Alongside Outfit Loyalty, Merit is earned in much the same way. Capturing and Defending bases with your Outfit provides Merit, a currency that can then be exchanged with the Outfit Quartermaster for boosts, equipment, and cosmetics.

 

Outfit Wars

In recent months, a small, short-lived wormhole had begun periodically appearing near the planet of Auraxis. Over time, the timing and placement became somewhat predictable, enticing Empires to venture through with expeditionary forces, eager to explore or claim what was hidden beyond.

Outfits now have access to a new competitive environment taking place on a new zone called Desolation. Desolation is amidst an asteroid belt harboring ancient Vanu obelisks, far from the war on Auraxis.

Each cycle allows Outfits to enlist, qualify, prepare, and compete once per month in a three-way skirmish hosting the most influential Outfits.

 

Enlist

• During the Enlistment phase, players are given the opportunity to opt-in to the Qualification phase, where scoring will take place.
• Enlistment requires a modest resource investment to fund your trip through the wormhole.

Qualify

• When the qualify phase begins, all enlisted Outfits will then scramble to capture and claim territory to earn points on the scoreboard.
• The outfits with the highest scores from each faction will be pitted against one another during the competition.
• There are three brackets (gold, silver, bronze,) which means that, at most, up to 9 outfits (top 3 from each faction,) may participate in the war.

Prepare

• The prepare phase gives Outfits an opportunity to rally their members, and a finally chance to craft more War Assets to take with them for the trip to Desolation.

Compete (War)

• When the war phase begins, players can join the Desolation zone by opening the Outfit Wars UI window in the Outfit Menu, or by going to the World Map screen.
• An Alert will then trigger on Desolation where Outfits attempt to capture and control as much territory as possible, which earns them points over time.
• The Outfit with the most points at the end of the Alert (or the first to 500 points,) wins additional resources, rewards, and glory for their Empire.

Empire Strength and Continent Meta

To accommodate a more map-driven metagame, we’ve stepped away from the mid-continent events system, and made some changes to how Empire Strength is gained as the continent progresses. We may return with a replacement for events in the future, depending on how the Live gameplay turns out, but we’d want something more conducive to the map-based objectives of the game before doing so.

• Mid-continent events (Aerial Anomalies, Maximum Pressure, etc,) have been removed.
• Territory control of 41% now awards 5 Empire Strength.
• Territory control of 44% provides an additional 5 Empire Strength, and this effect also occurs at 48%, 52%, 56% and 60% territory.
• While a Bastion Fleet Carrier is hovering over contested territory, the faction will earn progress toward unlocking 15 Empire Strength. This process takes roughly 17 minutes to complete, and progress made toward this objective is not depleted when the Bastion is destroyed.
• Eisa Tech Plant (Esamir) Empire Strength benefit from 30 to 25.
• The Ascent (Amerish) Empire Strength benefit from 15 to 25.
• The Crown (Indar) Empire Strength benefit from 15 to 25.

Misc. Fixes, Changes, and Additions

• Critical Chain will no longer stack indefinitely.
• MAX units now correctly produce footstep audio.
• Javelin NEST launcher has new firing audio.
• Biolabs have thawed out, and are climate controlled once again.
• Cloaked infantry/vehicles can no longer capture control points.
• Bullet impact particles should now play when shooting grass.
• Smoke trail on the Falcon projectile should no longer glow bright white at night.
• Muzzleflash smoke on infantry weapons has been toned down.
• Toned down smoke on various vehicle related effects.
• Bullet shell casings have been scaled down.
• Muzzleflashes on MAX weapons should appear on the muzzle of the gun on High and Ultra settings.
• Blowing dust particles on Indar will now only play on high settings and have reduced scale and opacity.
• Lights should no longer stay on for several seconds after bullet impacts and explosions expire.
• Personal shield bullet impact particles should no longer obstruct your view in first person.
• Burning DoT effect has been optimized.
• Facility capture FX have been optimized.
• Jetpack particles should no longer trigger in first person view.
• Smoke particles on the Medic Shield Recharging Field have had their brightness reduced.
• Added hover-over tooltips for all currency types on the loadout screen, showing how to gain them, and their maximum values.
• Optimized the HUD health elements to reduce framerate spikes.
• The Flail now uses the correct icon.
• Fixed blue squares incorrectly appearing on the map and minimap for multiple Amp Stations across all continents.
• The Tutorial has been disabled.
• Fixed a physics crash that was the most frequent crash on Live.
• Loosened up on continent faction balance restrictions a bit, as they were originally tuned for smaller player counts.

January 15, 2020 – Empire Strength (PC Game Update)

• Continent Rotation and Empire Strength
  Territory now matters at all times, as each empire gains strength when key facilities are captured, and when continent events are won.
  When a faction reaches 100 Empire Strength or more, a Meltdown alert fires off (provided no other events are currently active,) and the victorious faction will lock the continent.
  Gaining/losing Empire Strength is as follows:
  • Maintaining a link to an enemy Warpgate is worth 50 strength, (both is 100 strength.)
  • Maintaining ownership of the center base is worth 15 strength (or 30 on Esamir).
  • Maintaining ownership of a major facility is worth 15 strength (or 20 on Esamir).
  • Each continent-event win is worth 10 strength, and is the only permanent form of Empire Strength.
  • Cutoff territories do not contribute to Empire Strength.
• Prior to this change, continents were standardized at 3 continent events (like Aerial Anomalies, Maximum Pressure, Gaining Ground,) before requiring 41% territory control from a single faction in order to trigger an end-of-continent Meltdown alert. With this update, factions can force continents to turn over more quickly by completing strategic map goals, and continent event wins will progress players toward the final battle over a continent.
• Koltyr
  • Koltyr has been disabled for the time being, and will be re-introduced as a standard combat zone at a later date.