In War Robots 4.3, we're doing a big Balance Update. Approaching this, we drew on some of your comments:

1. Powerful and slow robots don't feel strong enough
2. Some top-tier robots are too good at everything
3. Medium guns are significantly better than heavy guns
4. Battles in higher leagues are not varied enough

We have strived to fix each of these points in this update. The main changes are described in this four-minute video.

If you want to know absolutely everything about the rebalance, keep reading! The changes are categorized by the type of equipment that they affect.

Note: all numbers are for level 12 Mk1 robots and weapons.

Let's start with the changes in heavy robots.

Vanguard Robots

As of late, slow and powerful robots with heavy weaponry have lost their charm. Their defense no longer seems impenetrable, and the damage from a couple of heavy guns was not much more than medium ones. Low speed is just an inconvenience.

In this update, we want to once again make room on the battlefield for robots like Fury, Lancelot, and Bulwark. To this end, we're introducing the following changes:

1. We're increasing the mobility of a variety of heavy robots

Previously, robots' mobility was determined by their weight. But this was back when the only super mobile robots were Griffin and Rogatka. Since then, the game has evolved, and now a robot's mobility is determined not by its base speed, but by its additional abilities. In this situation, robots without abilities that provide additional mobility simply cannot keep up with the fight. And we want to fix that.

2. We're increasing the durability of a variety of robots, plus the strength of defensive items (Ecu and Ancile)

This will allow heavy robots to remain in the battle longer.

3. We're increasing the power of most heavy weaponry

The majority of robots with heavy weapons have a total of 1-2 heavy slots and low mobility. We are compensating for this with the damage that they can inflict on an opponent if the opponent risks a frontal attack.

We'll talk about the biggest changes in more detail.

Falcon

• HP 140000 → 155000
• Speed 45 → 50 km/h
• Medium slots on wings have been changed to heavy
• Standard weapons: 3x Thunder

This update is the perfect way to return Falcon to its original design and give it two more heavy slots.

Falcon offers a style of gameplay that is unique in War Robots. It comes with high risk and high reward. Its ability, in contrast to many other robots, makes it vulnerable, yet gives it great power. This robot is excellent for thrill-seekers.

Note: after the update, medium guns equipped on Falcon will end up in storage, and standard Thunders will appear in their place.

Bulwark

• HP 175000 → 190000
• Speed 40 → 45 km/h
• Phys. Shield 128000 → 153000
• Aegis 82000 → 114000
• Aegis Cooldown 33 sec. → 22 sec.

The changes to Bulwark look radical, but it was far from the best of the strong robots. The Aegis shield didn't turn out to be quite as effective as we expected. It defends against any type of damage, but this advantage is a double-edged sword. This shield even receives shots that would have flown by!

For Lancelot with Ancile incoming damage is distributed across two shields. In contrary, Aegis receives all the damage by itself and gets depleted too quickly. In addition, Ancile recovers continuously, but Aegis only recovers when it's off.

In view of this, we are increasing the durability of Aegis and decreasing its recovery time.

The remaining changes are related to the general theme of this update: increasing durability and mobility for vanguard robots.

Lancelot

• Ability Recharge 20 sec. → 14 sec.
• Center Shield 102000 → 143000 (combined durability 306000 → 347000)
• HP 170000 → 182000

Lancelot had issues with its special shield construction. It is divided into three independent plates, but the main damage is usually concentrated on the center one. As soon as that broke, the two remaining shields didn't provide very good defense. So we increased the durability of the center shield almost by half.

We increased Lancelot's mobility using not its base speed, but its ability recharge, in order to emphasize its nature.

Other Changes: Robots

• Carnаge HP 114000 → 121000, Shield 62000 → 74000
• Fury Speed 33 → 38 km/h
• Natasha Speed 33 → 36 km/h
• Rhino HP 172000 → 187000, Shield 241000 → 271000
• Fujin Shield 134000 → 152000

Other Changes: Heavy Weaponry and Shields

• Ember Damage 490 → 525
• Exodus Damage 4275 → 4690
• Dragoon Damage 8500 → 8750
• Redeemer Damage 8500 → 9675
• Avenger Damage 885 → 835
• Ecu Durability 178000 → 197000
• Ancile Durability 95000 → 109000

Universal Robots

Included in this category are Spectre, Haechi, and Bulgasari. They inflict a lot of damage and have good defense and mobility. We retained their characteristics, but now they must be put into action more carefully.

Spectre

• Speed 55 → 50 km/h
• Ability Recharge 18 sec. → 22 sec.
• Stealth Duration 5 sec. → 2 sec.

Spectre has 4 medium slots. This allows it to inflict a lot of damage while under stealth protection.

When used well, Spectre ought to be effective due to the element of surprise, not endless invisibility. We wanted to reduce the stealth duration so that Spectre must monitor the situation more carefully and evaluate whether it will be able to get away before jumping into a crowd.

Haechi

• HP 150000 → 143000
• Shield 68000 → 59000
• Ability Recharge 12 sec. → 15 sec.

By changing Haechi, we were motivated by similar considerations: to get the most out of this robot, the pilot must handle both its shield and its mobility masterfully.

Bulgasari

• HP 190000 → 175000
• Shield 304000 → 217000

The durability of Bulgasari's shield is comparable with Lancelot with much greater mobility. We originally did not intend for the side shield to work for defending and shooting at the same time, but Bulgasari pilots started to get around this limitation by choosing weapons with instant damage (Orkan, Shocktrain).

We want Bulgasari to retain its defensive potential, but in doing so, it can't recklessly push forward through concentrated fire. We are weakening its shield to place greater emphasis on skillful maneuvering.

"Assassin" Robots

This category includes Mercury and Hellburner. These robots require special skill: although their strength isn't obvious, in capable hands they can create chaos in enemy ranks. In the update, we wanted to highlight this by strengthening their abilities.

• Mercury Stealth duration 3 sec. → 5 sec., ability damage 44750 → 53250, ability recharge 18 sec. → 15 sec.
• Hellburner Ability Damage 51750 → 59750

In addition, Mercury's stealth duration was not long enough. In contrast to its brothers Spectre and Inquisitor, Mercury must end its flight early. This reduces the time that its stealth is active while simultaneously leaving it defenseless in the middle of enemies.

Mercury simply did not have the ability to hide, so we strengthened its stealth.

Medium Weapons

To crush heavy Lancelots on your own, you need heavy guns... at least, that's how it was always intended. But recently medium guns had also begun to handle this job fairly well, including through Spectre, Haechi, and Bulgasari.

With these changes, medium guns are still effective, but not enough to instantly dispose of any opponent in an equal battle. When battling heavy robots, you'll need either special skill or the help of your partners.

Shocktrain and Scourge

• Shocktrain Damage 2215 → 1920, Bounce Range 150 → 100m
• Scourge Damage 5040 → 4725

First, we are decreasing the stats of Shocktrain and Scourge. Until now, they have completely dominated high-level builds thanks to their universality, high damage, and minimal risk when used.

Shocktrain is an especially interesting case. By design, this is a weapon of mass destruction, but until now it was too good on its own, even without considering the damage from chain lightning.

Orkan and Taran

• Orkan delay between shots 0.1 sec. → 0.12 sec., damage 1890 → 1670
• Taran damage 2560 → 2250

Orkan and Taran have long been among the most popular guns in the game, but that's no surprise: they inflict a whole lot of damage very quickly. We wanted using both these guns to require more skill and a better assessment of the situation on the battlefield.

But although we are weakening them, the changes are not as radical as they may seem.

For example:

• In one fire, Orkan launches 38 missiles (taking reloading-on-the-go into account)

38 missiles х 1890 damage х 4 guns = 287000 damage

That's enough to destroy the following in 3 seconds:

• 1.5 Fury
• 1.25 Leo
• 3 Schutze

(add ignoring physical shields to this!)

After the update, 4 Orkan will inflict 253000 damage in 4.5 seconds. This will still be enough to kill Leo or Fury (but only 2.5 Schutze). But now you'll have to aim more accurately, and they'll have a little more time to react.

There's also good news: this all means nothing if you don't seize the moment to attack an enemy who's been left defenseless.

Support Weapons

Longer-range weapons — both Molots, Pulsar, Tempest, and Nashorn — inflict more damage so they can make a more meaningful contribution to the fight from a safe distance and support teammates.

• Molot damage 704 → 775
• Molot T damage 1070 → 1175
• Tempest damage 1710 → 1940
• Nashorn damage 10038 → 11545
• Pulsar damage 1385 → 1550

Ballista and Arbalest

• Arbalest damage 6960 → 5400, reload time 10 sec. → 5 sec.
• Ballista damage 10000 → 7800, reload time 10 sec. → 5 sec.

For a while, Ballista and Arbalest occupied a position between Gekko and Trebuchet without the advantages of either one. Now we're bringing these guns closer to the Kang Dae, which has a proven track record. The damage per shot has been reduced, but the guns shoot significantly more often.

Close-Range Weapons

Shotguns for medium slots have one problem: the robots that they are suited for either don't get close to the target quickly enough, or don't survive long enough. To compensate for this, we are increasing the damage of the medium guns Corona and Storm.

• Storm damage 9712 → 10680
• Corona damage 7700 → 8850

The light guns Spark, Gust, and Shredder have been rebalanced to make them well-matched alternatives.

• Gust damage 5500 → 4725
• Spark damage 3400 → 3850
• Shredder damage 935 → 1005

Lock-down shotguns have become more powerful. Their numbers look scary, but actually they have an unusual shooting profile, and it's more difficult to use them to get the most out of them.

• Halo damage 5500 → 6050
• Glory damage 18150 → 19650

Other Changes

Robots

• Hover HP 175000 → 190000, Speed 50 → 60
• Weyland HP 200000 → 235000, Speed 42 → 45, Repair 1150 → 1425
• Mender HP 140000 → 155000, Repair 51000 → 55500

Weapons

• Magnum damage 2040 → 2460
• Pinata damage 1460 → 1335
• Aphid damage 19040 → 18100
• Vortex damage 28440 → 32700     
• Hydra delay between shots 0.8 sec. → 1.1 sec.

***

Did you read this all the way to the end? Amazing!

And now, go try out the new balance in action — and tell us about your experiences. We will be closely monitoring the updated equipment and fine-tuning stats according to your feedback and our statistics.

See you on the battlefield!