Hello Dreadnought fans,

PC Update 1.11 is getting ready to launch and, it will again feature a nice load of balancing changes. While the last balancing updates revolved around a single change(like the Corvette nerf that happened with PC 1.9.5 and the Tactical Cruiser rebalancing of PC 1.10) this one is different. Instead of one single theme, PC Update 1.11 we will have three balancing themes!

The first one brings more variety to Tier III ships. Second, there are some necessary changes to mines. We mentioned before that there are a couple of modules that we are not particularly happy with and mines belong in this category. As it turns out, for some classes mines worked really well while for other classes these modules were often ignored by the players (because they made little sense there). We know from the game data and player feedback there were some mine modules that seemed to make a lot of sense on paper but did not deliver in the real world because they were not fun to use or did not bring results comparable to other modules.





The third theme is our general reaction to player feedback. For example, we made a couple of changes to the Artillery Cruisers that are solely based on the feedback on PC Update 1.10. Now let’s step into the details!

Theme 1: More variety for Tier III ships

We are adding a couple of new modules and weapons to Tier III ships and want to make one thing clear from the beginning: This will not affect the number of modules that need to be researched in order to reach the next ship. The number of researched modules, necessary to unlock the next ship was derived from the game design mathematics that had been established prior to update 1.10. This led to a situation where for Tier I to III our players had to unlock all available modules to research the next ship.

That’s not ideal and we want to give our players a little more choice and not force them to research the entire tech-tree. Therefore we decided to add more modules and weapons to Tier III. We were not concerned about Tier I and II because the research costs are not that high in these Tiers. With the cost going up though when you reach Tier III, we felt we should give you more choice. So we picked the weapons and modules from tier IV that were the most popular and adjusted them in a way, that they fit into the Tier III line-ups. This way we will expose more interesting items to you earlier in the game. These new modules and weapons have the same behavior and effects as their higher tier counterparts but their stats have been adjusted to match Tier III ships.

PC 1.11 introduces “Secondary Loadouts” which will allow you to create two individual ship loadouts for each ship in your fleet. You can then switch between these loadouts during the battle to adapt to the enemy fleet. However, for this feature to make sense in Tier III you’ll need some variety of modules to choose from which is another reason why we added more modules to that Tier. We think that this, the higher module choice and the removal of the fixed research path (our players can now research and equip modules in any order they like) will make the Tier III gameplay a much more rewarding experience for you.

Theme 2: Mines

The original idea for mines was to create a module that would restrict enemy movement. The problem with the mines up until now was, that they did not spread out far enough to fulfill that task. A minefield gave the impression of a grapevine which resulted in situations where a single Dreadnought could pass through them clearing the entire field which defeated its purpose. We did not want mines to be overcome that easily – especially if the clearing ship was not even destroyed in the process (which was often the case for Dreadnoughts). To achieve this, we made a few changes to the way mines work. They will now spread out further when being deployed. Mines will remain active longer after the ship that laid them has been destroyed and their health has been buffed, which will make them withstand a pulse, for example. Some mines now also have a higher effect and are triggered faster.



We also adjusted the Corvette mines that were often used like unguided bombs - which was not intended - to act more like actual mines. Another thing we changed are the mines that are planted by bombers. Of all Dreadnought modules, the bombers were your least favorite – especially when compared to fighters and interceptors. What bombers are doing is placing mines in an area of their owner’s choice and unfortunately, these mines were really not that good. Therefore we buffed these mines quite a bit and are hoping that this will increase the bombers’ popularity.

Theme 3: Player Feedback

The third theme is balance changes based on community feedback. One thing particularly stood out in this regard: Artillery Cruisers. These ships moved up the food chain after game update 1.9.5 and 1.10 and are now highly popular. However, many of you now consider them too powerful and asked for a nerf. We took a good look at them and decided, that especially their defensive modules and the mine catapult needed some changes.

Right now the mine catapult is so powerful, a well-placed shot can take out an entire command ship at once. We think that this is just too much. Artillery Cruisers also feature highly effective disruptor beams that enable an experienced player to cover and protect their entire team. These two modules at the Artillery Cruisers’ disposal made them into extremely versatile vehicles, that were becoming just a bit too versatile.

As a first step, we reduced the range of the disruptor beams and also reduced the effect of the mine catapult. We will now evaluate the “Artys” and will make additional changes if necessary.

Another ship class that we made changes to that were based on community feedback is the Light Tactical Cruiser. These are very special ships that are very popular right now but we feel that they lack a core principle. Light Tacticals make an effective countermeasure to Corvettes but the way they are used makes them more like a Corvette trap than a Corvette hunter. We wanted to give these ships a more aggressive profile and enable them to actively hunt Corvettes. In order to achieve this, we increased their speed. They can now follow Corvettes longer and have a bigger window of opportunity to shoot them down. Destroyer speeds have not been touched because these ships are already in a good spot and are not supposed to hunt Corvettes anyway.

As a closing note: Our policy is to not change everything at once. Things, that you think should have been changed with this update might get changed in the next one, please be patient. However, it does not hurt to remind us of the things that you think we need to take a look at. Balancing will always be an ongoing effort and while we know we’ll never make everybody happy, we sure can try.

Now let’s have a look at the complete balancing changes:





New Modules in Tier III

Reasons explained in the introduction.

Destroyer

Added Storm Missiles III



Added Weapon Amplifier III



Corvette

Added Scrambler Mines III



Added Immelmann Maneuver III



Dreadnought

Added Tartarus Missile III



Added Offensive Lockdown III



Artillery Cruiser

Added Stasis Autobeams III



Added Proximity Mines III



Tactical Cruiser

Added Overclock Module III



Added Stasis Beam III





New Secondary Weapons in Tier III

Reasons explained in the introduction.

Destroyer



Added Light Particle Turrets III



Corvette

Added Plasma Turrets III



Dreadnought

Added Heavy Flak Turrets III



Artillery Cruiser

Added Machine Gun Turrets III



Tactical Cruiser

Added Light Machine Guns III





Mines (All ships and tiers)

Reasons explained in the introduction.

Projectile Max Travel Distance increased from 500m to 700m



Determines how far away you can set up a minefield

Projectile Max Range increased from 500m to 700m



Determines how far the individual mines of a minefield spread out

Mine trigger delay reduced from 0.5s to 0.1s



Determines how soon after activation a mine detonates





This does not apply to the Mines from Mine Catapult

Mine Lifetime after Owner Death increased from 5s to 10s



This does not apply to the Mines from Mine Catapult.

Mine Health increased from 500 to 750 (This does not apply to Tactical Cruiser Mines)











Dreadnought

Health

Tier III Dreadnoughts had very low HP compared to Tier IV and since Tier II has been removed from veteran matches the Tier IIIs can now be made to hold their own against a Tier IV. That’s why we buffed them a little.

Tier III Light Dreadnought HP increased from 36000 to 38000



Tier III Medium Dreadnought HP increased from 45000 to 48000



Bombers - Mines (All Tiers)

Reasons are explained in the introduction.

Mine Activation Radius increased from 100m to 240m



Tier IV

Mine Damage Radius increased from 140m to 400m



Mine Damage increased from 1000 to 2000



Mine Scramble Duration increased from 0.5 to 2



Tier V

Mine Damage Radius increased from 170m to 400m



Mine Damage increased from 1200 to 3000



Mine Scramble Duration increased from 1 to 2



Plasma Broadsides (All Tiers)

According to your feedback these were outclassed by Ballistic Broadside which has a higher range and shorter cooldown. We made the Plasma Broadside hit harder to put them in the same ballpark as the Ballistic broadside.

Tier II Plasma Broadside projectile damage increased from 975 to 1000



Tier III Plasma Broadside projectile damage increased from 960 to 1000



Tier V Plasma Broadside projectile damage increased from 900 to 1000



Tractor Beam (All Tiers)

The combination of Tractor Beams with a Plasma Broadside makes an interesting and rewarding combo. We buffed the tractor beams a little to motivate you to try that one.

Tier II Duration increased from 12s to 15s



Tier III Duration increased from 15s to 18s



Tier IV Duration increased from 15s to 20s



Tier V Duration increased from 15s to 20s





Destroyer

Health

Tier III Heavy Destroyer HP increased from 36000 to 38000



Destroyer - Protean Autoguns (All Tiers)

Tier I Projectile Damage increased from 270 to 430



Tier II Projectile Damage increased from 175 to 280



Tier III Projectile Damage increased from 190 to 305



Tier IV Projectile Damage increased from 150 to 240



Tier V Projectile Damage increased from 150 to 280





Corvette

Autoguns

Tier V Duration increased (and standardized) from 16s to 20s



Heavy Torpedo

According to your feedback this one is outclassed by the Weaponbreaker Torpedo so we buffed it a little.



Tier I Cooldown reduced from 55s to 45s



Tier II Cooldown reduced from 50s to 40s



Tier III Cooldown reduced from 45s to 35s



Tier IV Cooldown reduced from 43s to 30s



Tier V Cooldown reduced from 40s to 25s



Scrambler Mines (All Tiers)

The Corvette mines were acting more like unguided bombs that could be dropped all together on a single ship beneath the Corvette. These changes (and the general changes to the mines) should make them behave more like actual mines.

Mine Damage increased from 800 to 1200



Mine Activation Radius increased from 160m to 240m



Mine Damage Radius increased from 200m to 400m



Light Proximity Mines (All Tiers)

Mine Activation Radius increased from 160m to 240m



Mine Damage Radius increased from 200m to 400m





Artillery Cruiser

All Autobeams (All Tiers)

A good Artillery Cruiser captain can defend an entire fleet using these autobeams. That’s not intended so we decided to cut the range.

Range reduced from 2000m to 1500m



Mine Catapult (All Tiers)

In experienced hands the mine catapult was very OP and in need of a nerf!

Mine Activation Radius increased from 200m to 440m



Mine Damage Radius increased from 240m to 480m



Mine Trigger Time increased from 0.5s to 1s



Tier IV Mine Damage reduced from 7500 to 5000



Tier V Mine Damage reduced from 6000 to 3750



Proximity Mines (All Tiers)

According to your feedback the Proximity and Stasis Mines are a little OP so we decided to double the cooldown.

Mine Activation Radius increased from 200m to 440m



Tier III Mine Cooldown increased from 6s to 12s



Tier IV Mine Cooldown increased from 5s to 10s



Tier V Mine Cooldown increased from 4s to 8s



Stasis Mines (All tiers)

Mine Activation Radius increased from 200m to 440m



Mine Damage Radius increased from 240m to 480m



Tier III Mine Cooldown increased from 6s to 12s



Tier IV Mine Cooldown increased from 5s to 10s



Tier V Mine Cooldown increased from 4s to 8s





Tactical Cruiser

Overclock Module

Tier V Cooldown reduced from 45s to 40s



Tractor Beam Pod

That’s a very interesting module that was not living up to its full potential and was therefore not very popular. We now decided to make this module spawn two pods. This might be a little bit too much but we want to check it out anyway. These pods demand some teamwork but used properly, they are highly effective and can be great fun.

Maximum Active Pods increased from 1 to 2



Tier III Cooldown reduced from 80s to 65s



Tier IV Cooldown reduced from 75s to 60s



Tier V Cooldown reduced from 70s to 55s



Speed (Light Tactical Cruiser only)

Reasons are explained in the introduction.

Tier III Light Tactical Cruiser Forward Force increased from 47000 to 67000 (42% increase)



Tier III Light Tactical Cruiser Reverse Force increased from 45000 to 65000 (44% increase)

Tier IV Light Tactical Cruiser Forward Force increased from 45000 to 65000 (44% increase)



Tier IV Light Tactical Cruiser Reverse Force increased from 45000 to 65000 (44% increase)

Tier V Light Tactical Cruiser Forward Force increased from 45000 to 65000 (44% increase)



Tier V Light Tactical Cruiser Reverse Force increased from 45000 to 65000 (44% increase)

Please leave your comments and opinions in the "PC GAME UPDATE 1.11 BALANCING SPOTLIGHT - FEEDBACK THREAD" right here in our forums! This thread is the reason why we're sharing the changes ahead of the actual release.