Once something changes in the game there is always a question: why did we do that?

That’s a totally valid one. For every change there are different layers of reasoning, and some of them have to be explained properly. So this time we approached patch notes differently. We decided to give an additional commentary for every single noteworthy change in the update to give you a better perspective on how the development goes.

For us this is a highly experimental format, and we want to know: does it work well for you? What could be improved? We need your opinions, so keep the feedback going!
Now to the update itself. 2.6 is huge at least for one reason: we are finally launching our new ranking mechanic — the League system.

 

Leagues

NEW RATING SCREEN SHOWS HOW GOOD YOU ARE COMPARED TO OTHER PLAYERS. YOU ALSO GET SIGNIFICANT REWARDS FOR CLIMBING UP ON THE LADDER

• LEAGUE SCREEN IS NOW IN PLACE
• MISSIONS ARE REPLACED WITH LEAGUES (FEB 28TH)

Developer commentary

Few weeks ago we explained what we were aiming for with the new matchmaking system. League system is the cornerstone of said system, and now it is finally going online.

To get a better idea of how the system works watch this video.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/aK8A--8iMJ

Even though matchmaking changes have proven to be quite controversial, we decided to stick with it for now. The introduction of Leagues is only the first step on the way to making the game more fair and competitive.

With the new League interface you can see explicitly which bracket you’re playing in and what kind of opponents the game picks for you. It should eliminate most questions about the inner workings of the system, since everything is on display now.

It is a big change and we’re keeping a close eye on it, so keep us informed on how your experience is so far.

What is coming up next? First and foremost, we understand the demand for more niche playstyles: non-competitive modes and other things that don’t entirely click with the League philosophy are definitely on our radar. For this spring we’re preparing a large-scale update that will bring many new things to the table. Stay tuned!

Oh, and by the way: we are getting rid of “Best player of the day” type of missions on February 28th (Android). Everything that they were supposed to do (acknowledgement and bonuses for high in-game performance) Leagues should accomplish much better now.

 

In-game news

LATEST WAR ROBOTS NEWS ARE NOW SHOWN IN THE GAME

Developer commentary

War Robots is constantly moving forward, and we want to keep you informed on everything that happens in the game. Our brand new News screen should help us with that.

We have tons of great things prepared for you, and this is the place where you can be first to learn about them.

Patch notes, upcoming events and content announcements, featured youtubers, bloggers and streamers — everything might appear there.

 

Balance changes: Ancile

ENERGY SHIELDS ARE NOW MORE DIFFICULT TO DESTROY, BUT TAKE LONGER TO RECOVER

• BUGFIX: ENERGY SHIELDS USED TO RECEIVE DOUBLE DAMAGE FROM ALL SOURCES — NOW FIXED
• SHIELD’S REGENERATION RATE: 5% → 3%
• SHIELD REACTIVATION THRESHOLD: 10% → 20% HP

Developer commentary

Energy shields were supposed to be most effective against focused bursts of damage. However, for the commitment you had to make for picking Ancile, you did not receive much in exchange: you basically drop a whole heavy gun for a negligible chunk of survivability. So Ancile quickly slid into obscurity. Until now.

The resurgence of bursty missile weapons (think Aphids and Tridents) turned out as a good occasion to put energy shields back into the ecosystem. We buffed Ancile in 2.5, and people started to utilize it to a great success.

But as players started to use energy shields consciously, it became apparent that these always receive double damage. Always. From every source imaginable (aside from energy weapons which bypass barriers, of course). It was an old bug, but as energy shields were non-factor for most times it seemed like a norm.

Now we fixed it.

The bugfix effectively doubled all energy shields’ durability. That alone could make them downright oppressive, so we had to tone them down. Just cutting their durability in half would do the job, but we took it as an opportunity to shift the Ancile stats a bit. Why? Here is the reason.

With the old-new Ancile you could not even think about your surroundings to stay effective: the shield was coming back fast enough, sometimes making you basically immune against certain types of weapons. So we left the durability intact but cut the shield recovery speed to give you a window for counterattack against the Ancile-covered opponent. That means players using Ancile will now be able to withstand much more damage head-on, but they’ll have to be more mindful of landscape to get a chance of restoring an HP advantage behind the cover.

Aside of few hijinks here and there we are satisfied with new energy shields’ performance. Many obscure builds became viable, and that helped to build more diversity in playstyles. Of course some compositions went tad overboard (looking at you Ancilots), but for now we have to see how they will perform in the longer run.

 

Balance changes: Fujin

ENERGY SHIELDS ARE NOW MORE DIFFICULT TO DESTROY, BUT TAKE LONGER TO RECOVER

• BUGFIX: ENERGY SHIELDS USED TO RECEIVE DOUBLE DAMAGE FROM ALL SOURCES — NOW FIXED
• SHIELD’S REGENERATION RATE: 5% → 3%
• SHIELD REACTIVATION THRESHOLD: 10% → 20% HP

Developer commentary

Fujin’s energy shield was buffed in 2.5 just like Ancile. So here is not too much to add: everything that was said about Ancile shield applies to Fujin’s.

 

Balance changes: Carnage

ENERGY SHIELDS ARE NOW MORE DIFFICULT TO DESTROY, BUT TAKE LONGER TO RECOVER

• EVERY FIX HAS A CONSEQUENCE: ENERGY SHIELDS USED TO RECEIVE DOUBLE DAMAGE FROM ALL SOURCES — NOW FIXED

Developer commentary

And here comes collateral damage. Even though Carnage wasn’t buffed in 2.5 along with other forms of Ancile shield, it was affected by the same bug: its barrier was destroyed twice faster than intended.

What does it mean? Smile — your Carnage is better now!

 

Consistency fix: weapon progression

DAMAGE INCREASE RATE PER LEVEL IS NOW CONSTANT FOR ALL WEAPONS

• DAMAGE INCREASE PER LEVEL: EVERY WEAPON NOW GETS EXACTLY 9,(89019)% DAMAGE BONUS FOR EVERY LEVEL UP

Developer commentary

Not a big deal, just bringing more consistency. Prior to 2.6 every weapon had a fluctuating rate of damage increase. Now it is constant.

Most weapons have received a tiny damage buff on certain levels, but overall this change shouldn’t change much other than making our balance sheets cleaner and easier to maintain.

 

Bugfixes

• FIXED A BUG CAUSING ANCILE TO RECEIVE DOUBLE DAMAGE (SEE ABOVE)
• FIXED A BUG CAUSING ENERGY SHIELD REGENERATION RATE NOT TO BE PROPERLY INDICATED IN THE COMBAT INTERFACE
• CAMERA SHOULDN’T RANDOMLY CHANGE INTO FIRST PERSON VIEW ANYMORE
• FIXED SOME OTHER MINOR BUGS