One of the most contentious details of the game discussed post 1.0 was the invincibility on the PCX Core Extractor objectives. We have tackled this from two sides with this update:
Your units will no longer try to attack invincible enemies. This means mainly that the objective buildings will no longer draw the fire of your units when trying to finish the level.
This is further supported by the protection now having a 10 second delay before it kicks back in, making it a lot easier to manage stragglers wandering in range.
Most of the rest of the update is concerned with quality of life changes, like a brightness setting and bugs that have been reported by multiple people.
As I am writing this I am setting up a build that will allow me to do full runs to test the next specialist:
The Berzerker
So I hope you are ready to get some nasty critical hit combos going and maybe get some melee runs in in preparation.
I also wanted to ask how the recent changes have affected your gameplay. I saw that some of you were not on board with the recent balance patch, especially the turret changes.
I have not yet checked back in with the data, but definitely wanted to get your anecdotal experience on this as well. So how have your turret focused runs been going? Did I do Castle dirty or is it still feeling like a viable choice?
Read the full patch notes below.
GENERAL CHANGES:
Destroy Core Extractor Objective: added a 10 sec delay to the invincibility when PCX combatants are around. Aim is to make the cleanup phase on these less fiddly, please let us know if it feels better this way.
Player units now ignore invincible enemies (like Core Extractors with PCX units nearby) as auto attack targets.
Added skip button to hack reward screen.
If engineer dies during level-finished-animation it does not count as life loss.
Changed obstacle bush spawns, so they can never be dead ends. Added a Notification, clearer description and visual effects to make more clear what is going on.
Another stab at my fog nemesis in Auburn Borealis: seems like I found the fix. So if you still experience the dense fog on the Nightfall Borealis Biome, know that it will be fixed very soon. Thanks to everyone who shared info on this. Since I can not reproduce this on my machines, I literally would not have been able to fix this without your help.
SETTINGS:
New brightness setting (under “Visuals”)
BUGFIXES:
Show heat unlocked message only after having beat ascension 15 (and not 14)
Show correct ascension / heat level in run stats string on run results screen
Fixed and improved visual effect for Castle Healing beam extension
Fixed Scythe Boss variant win condition for heat levels.
Improved previous fix for Timeouter headless.
Reward map: show glow effect in progression indicator for stage 1
Fixed issues where PCX Bug Tank Factory could rotate weirdly.
Robo Medic & Blockade Tank: fixed not being able to shoot while moving
Be sure to reset time speed to default when starting Ascension 15 end sequence
BALANCE:
Adjusted spawn rate of obstacles that can spawn new fields.
Heavy MG Tank: cost 480 → 500; additional cooldown reduction on turbo 30 → 20%
Heavy MG Tank Factory: cost 1400 → 1600; max Capacity 3 → 4
Robo Medic: production Duration 30 → 26; max Health 60 → 75; attack Cooldown 2 → 1,4
Robo Medic Factory: cost 340 → 370; max Capacity 4 → 5