Game Update: March 7th, 2023
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UPDATE 0.16.0 IS HERE!
We’re releasing the next Soft Launch update of Star Wars: Hunters, 0.16.0! We’ve been hard at work to make sure this update is jam packed with both exciting new features and crucial improvements for a smoother, more engaging gameplay experience. Read below to discover everything this update has to offer!
WHAT’S NEW
NEW MAP: MOS ESPA WAYSTATION
There’s a brand new Squad Brawl Map to explore, inspired by the heart of Tatooine's capital: Mos Espa Waystation!
Players will encounter this map both within our updated Tutorial as well as within Squad Brawl. Keep your eyes peeled for some lively droids, iconic vehicles, indigenous creatures, and some hidden surprises around every corner of this winding market labyrinth.
EXPANDING SOFT LAUNCH
We are excited to announce we’re now expanding our soft launch to include Austria, Norway, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and Italy. With these, we will be adding German and Italian language support. Welcome to The Arena!
DAILY LOGIN CALENDAR REWARDS
Introducing the New player Daily Login Calendar. Log in daily to claim amazing rewards like Hunters, Crystals, Avatars, Credits and much more!
In addition, there are themed event calendars to run alongside their respective events. Play daily and reap the rewards!
These calendars will roll out for players in the coming weeks.
NEW COSMETICS
There’s an astonishing 64 new cosmetics coming in this update, including:
48 Costumes and Weapon Wraps
10 Victory Poses
6 Avatars
HUNTERS UPDATES
ABILITY VARIANT REWORK
The Ability Variant system has undergone an exciting rework that will allow for more varied playstyles and matches.
Ability Variants now offer the player two unique leveling tracks for each ability. Each Variant track can be upgraded by leveling up their Hunter Fame to gain Ability Points. The Variant tracks offer added customization for changing and adapting a Hunter's gameplay and will provide players with long term progression rewards for each Hunter.
All old variants will be removed and replaced with the brand new system.
Please note this feature may not be immediately visible on release. All Variants will be disabled until the feature is pushed to be live, shortly after the release.
HUNTER FAME TRACK REWORK
Hunter Fame Tracks now have 20 levels instead of 25.
Any Hunter at or over level 20 will now be at max level while Hunters at or below level 19 will remain at their current level.
All earned cosmetics will be kept, however earned ability variants are no longer necessary with our new and improved ability system. Fame rewards for Match Wins or as Event rewards are also adjusted to this scaling and player level is not affected as part of this change.
BALANCING OVERHAUL
Widespread weapon, ability and ultimate balance changes to all Hunters aimed at speeding up combat.
RESPONSIVENESS IMPROVEMENTS
To improve responsiveness during combat, we’ve made a number of changes, including:
All melee Hunters' movement speed in combat increased significantly.
All ranged Hunters now lower their weapon more quickly upon releasing manual fire input.
Decreased time before enabling other abilities when using:
Vex's Missile Launcher
Zaina's Bacta Bomb and Time Bomb
Sentinel's Barrel Slam
Several Hunter abilities can now be manually canceled or interrupted by other abilities, including:
J-3DI's Deflecting Stance
Grozz's Stampede
Sentinel's Suppressing Fire
Skora's Adrenaline Boost
J-3DI's Overhead Strike is now much faster, and hits upon landing if used in mid-air
J-3DI's melee attack now hits earlier in the animation
Updated Zaina's grenade throw animations with new, more responsive ones
Rieve's Vicious Leap no longer takes away camera control when used without an enemy target
Time to enter Slingshot’s Rollout reduced
More reliable responsiveness to Ability Buttons
GROZZ
Grozz’s Frenzy ability has been replaced with a brand new ability, Upheaval.
Upheaval: Grozz slams the ground, rupturing the ground in a segmented line to throw up rocks and debris. This damages enemies, launches them upwards and slows them for a short duration.
SPROCKET
Sprocket's ability kit has been updated. Sprocket's Blaster Turret has been moved to his Ultimate ability and has been rebalanced to be much more powerful and impactful.
To lean into Sprocket's kit of supporting and empowering the team he now has a Drone Defense ability, which applies a damage reduction effect to Sprocket and his allies.
SLINGSHOT
Slingshot's Ultimate ability, Rocket Stomp has been reworked to deal more reliable damage and slow with numerous, smaller bounces.
GAMEPLAY UPDATES
HUNTER PROFILE
We’ve overhauled the Hunter profile screen, to improve the readability and conciseness of the screen, and present Hunters in a more compelling way.
UPDATED TUTORIAL
An updated tutorial has been added to the start of the game to help teach players the base mechanics of Star Wars: Hunters and introduce them to new iconic characters. New players will experience this tutorial at the beginning and current players can access it from the Game Mode Select menu.
NEW SCORE FEATURE AND BADGE UPDATES
A new Score feature has been added in matches that reward players for their skill and prowess in matches. Players will earn more Hunter Fame at the end of matches, based on the Score accumulated in a match.
In addition, the following changes have been made:
Many new Badges have been added to celebrate and reward player accomplishments in matches
Updated Badge positioning, animation and UI in matches
Earned Score, Badges and related Hunter Fame rewards have an updated display in the Match Rewards screen
GAME MODE SELECT
We’ve improved the mode selection experience to be easier to use and provide more information to our players about the different mode types.
HUNTER SELECTION AND PRE-MATCH IMPROVEMENTS
We've made some large changes to the way players load into a match and how they pick their Hunter.
In the new Hunter selection:
Players will now select their Hunters from a larger, more accessible grid
Selection is performed simultaneously with the other members of their squad
After an initial 3 second window, players will have 20 seconds to select their Hunter
If all players in the match have selected their Hunter, the timer will reduce to start the match sooner
With the new Hunter selection changes, Intro Animations are no longer played and are being removed from the game (more information below).
There are additional changes to the pre-match experience aimed at creating a smoother and more informational flow, including an estimated wait time and Mode Guides to explain match objectives.
We've also added a short, 8 second preparation phase to the start of each match, ensuring all players can set off at the same time, and allow players to ready themselves for the imminent battle.
INTRO ANIMATION REMOVAL
With the overall changes made upon entering a match, Intro Animations are no longer part of the Hunter selection experience and are being removed from the game.
With this update, the Intro Animation section will no longer be available from the Hunter Profile and they will not appear as rewards anywhere in the game. For more information about this decision please check our FAQ here.
POST-MATCH IMPROVEMENTS
We’ve completely revamped the post-match experience to be clearer and more engaging, including more details around badges. Players will now also be able to clearly see their upcoming Player Level and Hunter Fame rewards, and both claim and equip rewards they unlocked during the match
DUNE SEA OUTPOST BALANCING
Improved balancing and player flow of Dune Sea Outpost through a layout overhaul of paths in and around the map center.
HUNTER TOKEN REMOVAL
From 0.16.0 onwards, there will be no way to earn additional Hunter Tokens. However, players will still be able to spend any previously earned Hunter Tokens. Hunters will remain purchasable with Hunter Tokens, and any missing tokens can be substituted with Crystals.
For more information about this decision please check our FAQ here.
ADDITIONAL IMPROVEMENTS
VISUAL, AUDIO AND PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS
Each Hunter will now display an animated sequence upon being unlocked, including key information about them
Various visual improvements for aim, damage, and health status
Improved readability of ally silhouettes through terrain
Added indicators to mark where recently eliminated allies were defeated
New 'Interface' tab in the Settings screen
Easy exit button added to the Training Grounds
Improved response to device temperature changes
Performance improvements for across all device tiers
Improved sound effects in various areas of the game
Audio optimisations for improved performance and reduced file size
BUG FIXES AND OTHER IMPROVEMENTS
Players should now correctly receive Verification Codes when signing in with an existing account via email
Fallen Hunters now reliably disappear upon respawn
Fixed several issues that could cause a game crash in the Training Grounds
Huttball guide text now correctly states the number of goals needed to win a match
Fixed an issue where Zaina could not use other abilities immediately after using “Sticky Bomb”
Correct the aim and range on Rieve’s “Ruthless Pursuit” ability so it no longer targets opponents that are not near
Fixed some issues causing Sentinel’s Ultimate not to recharge
Ally health bars should now remain visible to Support Hunters after respawn
Fixed an issue with the Back button displaying incorrectly on some iOS devices
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