Mar. 23, 2022 - Arsenal Continued (PTS Update)

We continue to build out and polish the Arsenal Update. Most of what will land in this update has made it to PTS between the last update and this one, with a handful of pieces still remaining. The feedback on the forums and reddit has been useful, and we'll continue to keep an eye on it as we polish for release.

--

Basilisk Weapons
This portion of the update was missed in the last update: Factions are receiving new empire specific "Basilisk" (jack-of-all-trades) top gun options. VS/NC/TR Main Battle Tanks will receive these weapons by default, and the Sunderer, ANT, and Harasser will be capable of unlocking them as well.

• N30 Trawler (New Conglomerate) - A slow firing, 30mm heavy machine gun.
• M18 Palisade (Terran Republic) - A heavy machine gun that increases rate of fire over time.
• V42 Pariah (Vanu Sovereignty) - A stable, rapid fire plasma platform.

The above weapons will be missing bits of polish (camera position, icons, audio, and the turret model in the VS' case,) but the use cases for these weapons can now be tested.


VS Heat Weapons
Quick note on VS heat weapons: We're monitoring the chatter regarding these weapons, and we'd like to see how each weapon performs on Live before making and kneejerk decisions that compromise the design intent. The Darkstar and Eclipse in particular seem like the weapons that could end up most underwhelming, based on observations. This is something we can easily address after watching their performance under realistic circumstances.


Attachment Changes
BX Adapter

• Adapter firemode now consumes two rounds per shot.
• Updated attachment description with more detail.

Dev Note: These changes build upon what was released in the last PTS push, reeling in some of that overwhelming damage potential.


Implant Changes
Experimental Stims

• Now passively allows you to equip 1 additional stim (Resto Kit, Medkit, or Infradine) on top of its previous benefits.

Weapon Changes
SG-ARX Rutheford (NSO Shotgun)

• Magazine is now visible during a reload.
• Magazine size from 3 to 4.
• Ammunition capacity from 60 to 28. (Back in line with the HSG-400.)
• Hipfire now uses a normal spread and projectile velocity in line with the HSG-400.
• Now fires a single explosive round while aiming down sights, dealing 250 direct damage and 350 indirect damage.

Dev Note: With these changes, the Rutherford becomes a usable pump action shotgun from the hip that transforms into a Thumper alternative while aiming.

U-ARX Dirac (NSO Pistol)

• Now has a 3.4x optic equipped by default.
• Projectile velocity from 350 to 550.
• Minimum damage from 125 to 143.

Dev Note: The changes here more effectively push the idea of a precise pistol that can function over range.

The Brawler (NC Shotgun)
These changes were missing from the last PTS push.

• Magazine size from 8 to 10.
• Ammunition capacity from 56 to 70.
• Short reload speed from 2.1sec. 2.6sec.
• Long reload speed from 3.22sec. to 3.6sec.

Dev Note: Expansion of magazine size with a small reload bump blends the Mauler and Sweeper's proficiencies. These changes take place on top of the sweeping shotgun changes mentioned in the last PTS update.

Darkstar (VS Assault Rifle)

• Now has access to Lashing Ammunition.
• Removed Heavy Mags, as this attachment does nothing on this weapon.

Dev Note: Lashing Ammo on the Corvus and Darkstar are using incorrect projectile velocities. This will be fixed in the next build.

Eclipse VE3A (VS Carbine)

• Now has the intended built-in laser sight.
• Max damage range from 15m to 10m.

Dev Note: These changes were mentioned in last week's patch notes, but weren't yet implemented.

NC6S Gauss SAW S (NC LMG)

• Damage model from 167@10m-125@75mm to 200@10m-167@85m.
• Refire rate from 104ms to 126ms.
• Hipfire walk/stand/move starting CoF values increased by 0.25, on par with NC6 Gauss SAW.
• Hipfire crouchwalk starting CoF increased by 0.5, to be on par with NC6 Gauss SAW.
• ADS walk/stand starting CoF from 0.03 to 0.00, to be on par with the NC6 Gauss SAW.
• Projectile velocity from 630 to 580.
• Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.12 to 0.14
• ADS CoF bloom from 0.06 to 0.07
• Audio still needs to be updated to match new firing speed.

Dev Note: With there being as many flavors of 167 damage model weapons in the NC arsenal as there are, these changes provide a second 200 damage model option for LMGs. The Gauss SAW S mainly takes a small hit to refire rate and mag size for a faster reload and slightly more controllability.

NC9 A-TROSS (NC Assault Rifle)

• Refire rate from 128ms to 126ms.

Dev Note: Small adjustment pushes the refire rate to 5% slower than the Reaper DMR, instead of the 7%ish it was at before.

Gauss Rifle S (NC Assault Rifle)

• Short reload from 2.1sec. to 1.85sec.
• Long reload from 2.8sec. to 2.5sec.

Dev Note: Small change to give the S variant more visible benefits when compared to the standard Gauss Rifle.

AF-8 Railjack (NC Sniper Rifle)

• Projectiles now pierce through infantry targets, with no limit.

Dev Note: This is long overdue, given the theming of the weapon.

T1S Cycler (TR Assault Rifle)

• Long reload from 3.65sec. to 3.25sec.

Dev Note: Same as above, small change that provides a clearer differences when compared to the default Cycler.

MG-HBR1 Dragoon (TR Scout Rifle)

• Heavy Magazine from 2 to 3 rounds.
• Magazine size from 8 to 10.
• Ammunition capacity from 96 to 110.

Dev Note: General usability buff to this weapon.

VX29 Polaris, EM1, T16 Rhino (VS/NC/TR LMGs)

• Maximum ADS CoF to 1.2 in most states.

Dev Note: Major buff that moves these support LMGs in the direction of the Naginata and Promise while aiming down sights, without being quite as accurate as either.

TRAP-M1 (TR Sniper Rifle)

• Maximum damage from 184 to 200.
• Maximum damage range from 15m to 50m.
• Minimum damage range from 85m to 250m.
• 2-round Burst
  • Vertical recoil from 0.4 to 0.2
• 3-round Burst
  • First shot multiplier from 0.8 to 0.75
  • Vertical recoil from 0.5 to 0.4

Dev Note: The above changes should make this weapon far more usable than it has been previously, as we start treating it more like a semi-auto sniper rifle, and less like an awkward scout rifle.

Gauss SPR/99SV/SR-100 (NC/TR/NSO Sniper Rifles)

• Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.6
• ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
• Max damage from 400 to 450.

Dev Note: These changes, and a handful mentioned below, make the progression from scout rifle to semi-auto sniper a bit more apparent, and semi-auto snipers in general become a bit more useful.

VA39 Spectre (VS Sniper Rifle)

• Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.6
• ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
• Max damage from 400 to 450.
• Min damage from 260 to 280.

KSR-35/Impetus (NC/TR Sniper Rifles)

• Max damage range from 10m to 15m
• ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
• ADS CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.2

SR-L75 (NSO Sniper Rifle)

• ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
• ADS CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.2

Phantom VA23 (VS Sniper Rifle)

• ADS starting CoF while moving from 0.55 to 0.25
• ADS CoF bloom from 0.8 to 0.2
• Max damage range from 8m to 15m
• Min damage from 260 to 280

Nyx VX31, AF-A7 Shadow, HSR-1 (VS/NC/TR Scout Rifles)

• ADS CoF bloom from 0.3 to 0.1

NC6A GODSAW (NC LMG)

• Now has access to Smart Feeder.
• Now has access to Compensator.

NS-AM7 Archer (Common Pool Anti-Materiel Rifle)

• Maximum direct damage from 400 to 450.
• Minimum direct damage from 200 to 250.
• Headshot multiplier from 2x to 2.4x.

Dev Note: The benefits here push the Archer into a much stronger position against vehicles and MAX units, and allows for more consistent one-shot kill potential against infantry with a headshot.

NS-AM8 Shortbow (Black Market Anti-Materiel Rifle)

• Maximum direct damage from 400 to 450.
• Headshot multiplier from 2x to 2.4x.
• Magazine size from 3 to 4.
• Ammo capacity from 36 to 32.

Dev Note: The Shortbow becomes much more usable after these changes, reeling in some of the tradeoffs it made for its close-range optics and hipfire.

Extended Magazines
Replaced placeholder extended mag values for many weapons with proper values. There may still be some loose weapons that need addressed, however.

Artemis VX26 (VS Scout Rifle)

• Extended Magazine from double to 6.

Eidolon VE33 (VS Scout Rifle)

• Extended Magazine from double to 10.

AMR-66 (TR Scout Rifle)

• Extended Magazine from 3 to 10.

HSR-1 (TR Scout Rifle)

• Heavy Magazine from 2 to 3.

Warden (NC Scout Rifle)

• Extended magazine from 3 to 10.

AF-18 Stalker (NC Scout Rifle)

• Extended Magazine from 3 to 6.

Nyx VX31 (VS Scout Rifle)

• Heavy Magazine from 5 rounds to 3 rounds.

SOAS-20 (TR Scout Rifle)

• Heavy Magazine converted to Extended Magazine.
• Extended Magazine now grants 6 extra rounds.

Mag-Scatter (NC Sidearm)

• Extended Magazine from 4 to 2.
• Added Flechette Ammunition attachment.

Cerberus (VS Sidearm)

• Cerberus Ammunition can now be unlocked.
• Extended Magazine from 4 to 3.

T1A Unity (TR Assault Rifle)

• Removed Extended Mags (but still has Heavy Mags, as intended.)

AR-ARX Maxwell (NSO Assault Rifle)

• Removed Extended Mags (but still has Heavy Mags, as intended.)

Misc. Changes, Fixes, and Additions

• Fixed an issue with Sniper Rifle resistance not being applied to certain objects.
• TEST SERVER: U-ARX Dirac can now be unlocked from the Auraxium Weapons Cache.
• AF-20 Conscript renamed to AF-20 Rogue.
• The new Black Market directive now has Tier 4 rewards.
• TR weapons no longer have a missing HVA icon.
• Auraxium C4 and Tank Mines now use the correct detonation FX.
• Deliverer and Lodestar modules now recognize no-deploy zones.
• New faction-specific mines use proper colors while held.
• The T7-P Mini-Chaingun (TR Heavy Weapon) magazine is no longer invisible.
• Updated VS/NC/TR directive pistol icons to remove the suppressor.
• The Executive (NC Sidearm) no longer plays suppressed audio while unsuppressed.
• The President (TR Sidearm) no longer has a visible suppressor until attached.
• Updated NSO underbarrel grenade launcher models with a different placeholder, though animations remain broken in this update.