Posted 05 April 2016 - 03:29 PM

Looking back at March we saw the release of the Archer , our fourth Classic IS ‘Mech, and the completion of the famous Alpha Lance. We also saw a HUGE patch with probably the largest patch notes ever! Although the April patch notes may be a contender for that title, thanks to Faction Play Phase 3…

I think the size of the March patch was another positive sign that the single patch per month cycle is working well for MWO so far, but as I’ve said we’re going to continue evaluating the practical benefit of that cycle moving forward.

Without further delay let's discuss some of the items coming in the April 19th patch:

Launch of Faction Play Phase 3

The patch notes and website will contain all of the details and information in time for patch day, but suffice it to say that Faction Play just doubled in size and depth, if not more. Gather all your friends, jump in, and give it a full test run. We will be actively monitoring your responses, and are prepared to triage any bugs or problems that come up.

Weapon tuning

PPCs, ERPPCs and Clan ERPPCs have received increases to their projectile speed, and their base heat generation has been reduced. While the changes may seem slight on paper, they should have enough effect in-game to change the actual and perceived viability of these weapon systems.

The cluster spread on all LB-X autocannons has been reduced to focus LB-X damage a little better.

Mech Quirks pass

The patch notes will have all the specifics, but a number of variants are going to see some positive Quirk changes in this patch.

Initial tournament cockpit items

th, and you’ll receive the following items when you pick one up: We put together a Tournament Supporter pack for players wanting to show their support for the upcoming World Championships . The Pack will go up on the Gift Store on April 19, and you’ll receive the following items when you pick one up:

- Hanging Cockpit Item: Tournament Medallion

- Standing Cockpit Item: Overlord Dropship

- Warhorn Mounted Cockpit Item: Globe

- Special Badge

- Special Title: "The Patron"

For the duration of the tournament, you’ll also get a 10% XP boost in all games that reward XP (ie. any non-private match game).You don’t need to equip anything or do anything special to get the boost; simply buying the package initiates the XP booster for your account. The XP boost expires at midnight on December the 3rd.

Domination game mode map adjustments

A pass at the spawn and capture point locations for the Domination game mode has been performed. Timing and object placement has been addressed for both teams on each of the maps.

Slight alterations to the Private Match test maps

Variations in height have been added to Maps 1v1, 2v2, and 4v4A. Cover points/objects have also been broken down and adjusted according to feedback as well. 4v4B has had their spawn points grouped into lances since the FFA spawns were too far apart. FFA is still not going to be implemented for this map but may appear later as we look at the road to Solaris.

Premium Time reward boost

If you do not have Active Premium Time, but you’ve just completed an exceptional match and wish you could have boosted the rewards from it, you’ll now be able to spend 100 50 MC to boost your rewards as if you had PT running.

Zoom and Vision mode made client side

Zoom and vision mode activation will no longer be hit with a delay if you’re running at a high ping.

Voice detection threshold removed from VOIP

The original implementation of TeamSpeak for our in-game VoIP had a volume threshold for receiving your mic input, on top of the push to talk system. This threshold sometimes led to unexpected behavior as it didn’t always match with your actual mic levels, making it seem like VoIP wasn’t functional. We’ve taken out this threshold, so now you just need to hit push-to-talk to be picked up for VoIP input.

As usual look to the patch notes for a lot more detail and the listing of general bug fixes.

I look forward to playing Faction Play Phase 3 with all of you. Thanks for playing.

Zoom level is still up to the server, so people aren’t going to be able to hack in a 100x zoom or anything like that. Activating Zoom (and toggling vision modes) will now just be much snappier.