Cyber Knights: Flashpoint News

Mercs and Knights - another big update is coming to New Boston! With Update #219, we have added an all new new proc-gen objective, +15 new proc-gen combos tied to it, 7 new boss-level enemies to support it, reduced Light Armor protection by ~5%, split Hacking Drugs out from Combat Drugs officially, further improved the new game experience for controllers, and fixed a heaping pile of your F10s!

If you are enjoying the relentless pace of updates, content additions and bug smashing - please take a minute to leave a review. The 3 team members on gamedev are working hard to make all this happen, and we work for your reviews!

[h2]New Proc-Gen Objective: Hardened Target[/h2]

Recently, we've switched from trying to release a new map every week to adding new proc-gen objectives instead. New maps will still be coming, but we're less worried about the weekly drop schedule versus dropping a rapid fire set of new proc-gen objectives to completely blow out the variety of proc-gen combat.

With Update #219, we've released a new proc-gen objective - the Kill Hardened Target objective, in which you need infiltrate a location and hunt down a single powerful boss enemy. Unlike other Assassinate VIP missions, this Hardened Target is not going to run away - they are going to turn and fight along with their bodyguards. These missions bring a totally new type of challenge to the game whcih really shakes up the assassination formula in lots of ways.

The new Hardened Target objective is supported by 7 new types of powerful boss enemies spread across the factions: the corporate Sentinel Exec, the UltraTek 2X Raptor, the Warner-Braun Rook, the Brave Star Phalanx, the FSC Havoc Jackal, the Syndicate Bloodright and the Gang Street Kings. These enemies are boss-level power, with high HP, wide variety of powerful armor, carrying deadly weapons (including E-Rifles for some of the corp options), and a bevy of deadly Talents, depending on the faction in question - grenades, healing grenades, Full Auto, Overwatch, punishing debuffs and even Vita Shields (which block attacks like Aegis) for some of the corporate options.



We're excited in the new few weeks to expand the Hardened Target options to make more specific bosses for every faction, which will continue to punch up and vary the challenge across the mission set.

This new objective is now linked to 15 maps, which adds a total of +15 new proc-gen combos, bringing the game's total of combos (map X objective) to 189 - vastly exceeding the original goal of 80!

[h2]Light Armor Nerf[/h2]

This is a straight nerf - no glossy words will hide it. All Light Armor took a -5% Ballistic Protection hit and in many cases a larger hit to Kinetic Protection %. For Kinetic Protection, the new Light Armor progression sees Kinetic Protection fall behind Ballistic as the armors climb in Power Level, where they used to be in lock step (65% and 65% always).

This is a bit painful but is an important move to continue to push the correct balance between Light, Heavy and Stealth Armors and their different advantages and disadvantages. We'll be working on improving the Stealth Armor balance in the coming weeks as well to be sure they have a good place within the trio.

Going along with this, we've adjusted some of the armor that enemies have been wearing. There were certain series of enemies who stopped upgrading their armor very early, especially Snipers and the guards who start as patrollers on your maps making them too weak in the mid to late game.

[h2]Combat vs. Hacking Drugs[/h2]

For a long time, all the hacker-focused drugs were lumped under the Combat Drugs listing. As each category has grown, it has become more important to separate them both visually, in text and in the filter. With Update #219, we've split out a separate filter for Combat and Hacking Drugs in the market and all inventory screens.

[h2]Continued Controller Improvements[/h2]

We're continuing to gather feedback from controller players and work down the list of items to improve the flow and speed of play on Steam Deck and standalone controllers. With the last update, we rebuilt the New Game Knight screen to be far easier to use with a controller (removing the messy big scroll to replace it with tabbed sections) and now we've enabled LB and RB to move through those sections smoothly without having to use the D-Pad to go back to the tab list.

[h2]Long Tables + Out of Date Icons[/h2]
We've addressed a big issue with the really large tables - like Cold Storage - where sometimes when you scrolled a lot, the icons could start to get mixed up. You might think you're looking at a Scope Blueprint from the picture but when clicked you'd find an Armor Blueprint. This had to do with some of the grid caching we used to make these really long lists perform well but was pretty confusing for players. Now fixed! Thanks for all the F10s about this!

[h2]v1.9.141 - 3/1/2025[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen objective: Assassinate Hardened Target - find and kill boss protected by bodyguards
- 15 new maps available for Hardened Target, +15 total proc-gen combos
- 7 new powerful enemy boss types: Sentinel Exec, Braun Rook, UltraTek 2X Raptor, Syndicate Bloodright, Gang Street King, FSC Havoc Jackal, Star Phalanx
- Light Armor loses 5% Protection across the board, Kinetic Armor gain across Power Levels slows as well
- Improved armor values for some patrol and melee enemies who stopped scaling too early, street sniper armors values
- Fixed issue with Contacts not buying files that they should that started in #218
- Split Combat Drugs and Hacking Drugs filter in the inventory system so they are easier to see/shop
- Can now use LB/RB to move through tabs in New Game Knight screen - easier for controller/keyboard play
- Fixed issue where icons could get out of date (showing an armor but it was a scope) in large inventory tables
- Fixed case where character's character Hacking Drugs could not see their full details mid-mission in the character status hover
- Fixed missing text for killing enemy secondary objective

Knights and mercs, another balance, fix and improve update is dropping today between the weekly big hits of maps and proc-gen objectives and the upcoming big drop of the first Retirement storyline. Today we've got Update #218, which improves Hacker's Null Op Talent (at the cost of more points), adds the Buyer's Filter to Cold Storage ALL tab and fixes bugs with the filtering, fixes Cybersword Preempt Talent always Glancing Hit, rebuilds the New Game Knight screen for better keyboard/controller support, improves higher Power Level Stun Clubs, fixes 2 major story recruit issues where the recruit might end up "hung" and more! It is a big one - a heavy hitter - let's dig in!

If you are enjoying the relentless pace of improvements, please take a moment to leave a review. We are climbing on 700 now and excited for every milestone. Let's go!

[h2]Hacker's Null Op[/h2]

We've made a number of changes to improve the Hacker's Null Op Talent. There are a number of changes but the general direction is to make Null Op more powerful but also to increase the cost of its totally upgraded form. With its extra charge and higher Damage output, Null Op is a stronger competitor with Nuke, and has enough charges to be useful outside being saved specifically for spiking the CPU. But now, all in costs a total of 9 leveling points.

• Null Op recharge rate was reduced from 5 to 4. This is still too long to recharge during a single Hack but allows it to be likely ready for a second hack if you have one.
  
• To increase Null Ops value during a single hack, a new +1 Max Charge node has been added to its second line, which costs 2 points.
  
• To increase the immediate usefulness of a single Null Op charge, the base damage has gone up from 40 to 60.
  
• To increase the value of a fully upgraded charge of Null Op, the previous node dedicated to speeding up recharges has been converted to a +25% Dmg node and the other Damage boosting nodes are now +25% and +50%, bringing the total of a fully upgraded Null Op to 90-120 Dmg.
  

We've also fixed two icons in the left side of the Hacker's class tree that were showing that the upgrade node was for Strength when they were actually for Reaction.

[h2]2 Recruit Fixes[/h2]

We've fixed some lingering recruit issues that have been plaguing players games:

• You could refuse to help the UNA Hacker and find that they stick on your roster. This character will now correctly disappear.
  
• If you had a potential recruit who came from a story mission and end up Injured (looking at you, Rhino) there was a bug that let you put them into Treatment for their Injury which would later disqualify them from recruitment. This is now fixed! And if you had Rhino stuck in this state, she is now ready to recruit.
  

[h2]Buyer's Filter[/h2]

We've fixed a number of bugs with the Buyer's Filter where it wasn't always correctly filtering the right results or it wasn't showing all the eligible Contacts. In addition, we've added it to the Cold Storage ALL tab in case that is a place where you wanted to use it and for the future of Bulk Sell that may be most rapidly useful the ALL tab.

[h2]Stun Clubs[/h2]
All Stun Clubs at Power Level 3 and above have had their Power Slice special rules improved with better and better powers. This fixes an oddity where they got better at Power Level 2 but them dropped down again. Now there is a progression from 1 => 2 => 5 => 7, each break stepping up the Power Slice ability a bit.

[h2]Power Play Fixes[/h2]

When we rebuild the Limit Break UI in a recent update, something went bump in the text processor for Power Play offers. The offer was saying "Unknown" instead of the Contact's name. Thanks for all the F10s! Now fixed.

[h2]v1.9.139 - 2/26/2025[/h2]
- Better upgrade path for Hacker's Null Op Talent - better starting damage, higher peak, extra Charge for 2 pts, recharge rate starts at 4
- Added Buyers Filter to the ALL tab within Cold Storage for easier use
- Fixed issues with Buyers Filter and Accounts/Blueprints/Files not always showing correct results
- Fixed Cybersword Preempt Talent always scoring a Glancing Hit and therefore also never scoring Critical Hit
- Split New Game Knight screen into separate sections instead of one long scroll for better keyboard/controller use
- Reduce extraneous dialog repeated at extraction zone in hack only missions
- Improved progression of special Power Slice abilities for all Stun Clubs
- Fixed issue with Rhino Sniper Recruit possibly ending up on your Roster unable to recruit (now can recruit)
- Fixed issue where UNA Hacker Recruit could possibly hang around after being rejected (now disappears)
- Fixed old bug that allowed you to put Injured Recruits into Treatment which would break their recruiting cycle afterwards
- Fixed a bug that was preventing Blueprints from being offered more regularly as mission secondary objective rewards
- Fixed issue with Recoil display when previewing attack, game was showing the average result which is confusing
- Fixed bug with inability to select scrollbar in Victory/Defeat screen with keyboard/controller
- Fixed some Power Play offers showing Contact name as "Unknown"
- Fixed issue with Rook Prototype Weapons services selling level 8 E-Rifle at Level 7 service
- Fixed issue with 2 Hacker nodes showing as Strength on the tree when they were really Reaction
- Fixed bug where movement alerts for getting shot by Overwatch might not show if you started crouched behind cover
- Fixed white boxes appearing in timeline history for some items

Tonight we are issue a big patch to fix bugs, Snipers in T-Pose and the most recent batch of F10s! Thanks for your patience with game issues, we're working hard to resolve everything, polish and improve.

If you find and F10 a bug, we will work hard to make sure it doesn't last long! And if it does take a while, no F10 is thrown away until it is fixed. We will get them all eventualy :D

Thanks to everyone who left a review after the last 2 big updates with the new loadout system and the new proc-gen objectives.

All right - here we go, patch land!

[h2]Sniper T-Pose[/h2]
In all cases, friendly and enemy snipers were spending their idle time in a very rigid T-pose. This was due to some animation corruption during the last build and it is now resolved.

We also fixed a bug where some missions like Dead Drop Hit that intend to add a sniper to a level at a certain point would just add a regular enemy soldier.

[h2]Timeline Stuck[/h2]
We had an absolute flood of 10s about a bug that could cause your timeline to suddenly jump and then become non-responsive. This was a bug caused by when a Contact had a Limit Break that offered a Power Play storyline. We've now fixed this - apologies to everyone stuck waiting on this.

[h2]New Proc-Gen Objective[/h2]
We've fixed a few issues with the new proc-gen Infiltrate and Download objective:

• If your mission was made before the overnight hotfix, you might not get paid for the files you download. Hopefully everyone is getting paid now, the fix is in this update as well.
  
• On the River Street Bridge mission map, no extraction points were appearing. Now they will.
  
• Pushed Infiltrate and Download up to Power Level 5+ for improved progression placement for the new objective.
  

[h2]Other Mission Fixes[/h2]
We fixed a number of other issues across a wide set of maps. We fixed a pretty widespread issue where matrix terminals might end up with an SCU not linked to any security devices. This only fixes missions created after this patch, so you might still see it in the short term.

We've also fixed a number of missions that had the Hacking tag but didn't have a matrix terminaly - mostly Assassinate VIP missions. And finally, we've fixed a number of places where incoming reinforcements didn't make sense (in the "open field") or where they spun in place after appearing or didn't move at all.

[h2]v1.9.133 - 2/23/2025[/h2]
- Fixed bug with merc and enemy snipers being stuck in T-Pose
- Fixed issue in timeline where a Contact Limit Break could cause all buttons to stop working
- Bumped Infiltrate and Download proc-gen type up to Team Power Level 5+
- Fixed bugs in River Street Bridge not having extraction point for new Infiltrate and Download mission objective
- Fixed issue with Sniper in Dead Drop Hit coming out as a standard soldiers
- Fixed dialog at end of Ricksham Drips Power Play incorrectly referencing Rook Prototype weapons
- Fixed optional hacking tag accidentally assigned to some Assassination proc-gen maps
- Fixed reported issues with frozen reinforcements or reinforcements spinning in place on some spawn points
- Fixed reported issues with some Matrix SCU nodes having no security devices connected

Mercs and Knights - we have a big one hitting the streets tonight in New Boston! A new proc-gen objective has been added along with +15 new proc-gen combos tied to it, we've rebalanced the enemy spawning sets across every faction and the entire game, tweaked the speed of storyline starting at the beginning of the game to give just a little more breathing room, now allow the results of minting a File Set to add +20% influence, improved the Limit Break UI and more!

The relentless pace of updates will not stop during Early Access. If you are enjoying the game and/or the updates, please take a moment to leave a review!

[h2]New Infiltrate and Download Proc-Gen Objective[/h2]

For a long time, we've been focusing on the weekly map release. We have now more than doubled the catalog of available proc-gen maps, much to the benefit of the game's depth of content. We are going to continue to add new maps, but we're going to shift some of our time and focus in a new direction - to proc-gen objectives.

With Update #217, we've released a new proc-gen objective - the Infiltrate and Download File Set objective, in which you need infiltrate a location and work on finding from 3 to 4 Files that are resident in matrix hosts on the premises. These missions are definitely a new type of challenge and as they are just harder, they only show up at Power Level 4+.

This new objective is now linked to 15 maps, which adds a total of +15 new proc-gen combos, bringing the game's total of combos (map X objective) to 174.

While we will be doing map releases, they may start to slip from the weekly goal for a while, as we have 5 other new objective types to roll into the game and we'll be hammering through those over the next 5 weeks.

[h2]Enemy Variety Improvements[/h2]
With Update #217, we've adjusted all of the reinforcement spawning groups in the game as well as some of the starting spawn groups. This has gone along with a consolidation and refinement of the underlying enemy catalog, which is going to help us add more enemy variety in more places more easily. In addition, the underlying improvement is going to allow us to add more fine-grained scaling to the enemy catalogs, where specific enemies can start appearing only after certain Power Levels, which will be important for balancing hard-hitting enemies, enemy Turrets and the upcoming drones as well.

This set of changes will have the biggest impact on reinforcement groups, which have a much wider and more pleasing range of variety for all factions. There are also a few levels - like Haven Smokeout and Loophole Heist - that have also benefited from better starting enemy variety due to the changes.

Along with this change, we've added a new Brave Star sniper known as a Star Longshot. More enemy types will now be easier to add, so we expect bringing a few more on in the next few weeks to keep increasing variety.

[h2]Story Speed Tweaked[/h2]

With Update #217, we've completed a minor rebalance to the speed at which story gets started out of the gate in the game. This does not affect the pacing of Syndicate Debts, but affects the pacing of all the other follow-only story event types (proc-gen, proc-gen legwork, vignettes, recruit offers).

The first change was to push the threshold for any story to start proc'ing back by 1 entire day, from 9.5 days to 10.5 days. It is small, but in the compressed timeline of the early game, it makes a difference. The second was to change how the other types of stories were calculating their starting chance to proc every Turn, which was based on Turn 0 instead of the story start point of 9.5 days, meaning all of the stories were very likely to immediately fire at 9.5 days.

Finally, we've made minor 5% adjustments to the speed at which new vignettes and recruit offers will roll up a new story.

All in all, these are minor changes, and we're going to be very careful with adjustments to story pacing to make sure we're always homing in closer and closer to the perfect pace.

[h2]File Set Mints Grant +20% Influence[/h2]

While Blueprints and Accounts have both offered ways to grant Influence to your Contacts, there has not been a path through Files. With Update #217, we've updated the rules around the File Sets - any File that is minted from a File Set will now add +20% Influence to any Contact who purchases it. This gives extra motivation to collect and mint File Sets at any Rarity.

[h2]Limit Break UI Upgrade[/h2]

We're excited to push an updated Limit Break UI for both Contacts and Characters. This helps the character pop so it's really clear who you are looking at. In addition, you can now hover over the Contact name and details at the top of the windows to get the full hover with all of their Trust, Services and more - which can be a big help in making your choice. We're working on getting a similar hover wired up for mercs too.

[h2]Security Tally Visible in HUD[/h2]

The last update included a bug where the tallies in the HUD disappeared and were replaced with a blue and yellow bar. We have fixed the bug and the individual tally marks are back.

[h2]v1.9.127 - #217: New Proc-Gen Objective and Enemy/Story Rebalance - 2/21/2025[/h2]
- Added new proc-gen objective: Infiltrate and Hack where you hit a facility, reach terminals and search for files
- 15 new maps available for Infiltrate and Download, +15 total proc-gen combos
- Any File minted by a File Set will add +20% Influence to the Contact who purchases it if sold
- Improved and rebuilt enemy reinforcement groups to have more variety, arrive with more specialists
- Improved difficulty of Haven Smokeout mission with better spawning variety
- Added a Star Longshot sniper enemy to the Brave Star faction (lightly armored, fast-moving sniper)
- Adjusted pacing of early game story, pumping the breaks a little (~10%) on speed of start and speed of events
- Improved secondary objective goals for Turns and Sec Level on certain levels where they were still too low
- Upgraded Hype/Stress/Influence/Exposure Limit Break pop-up
- Fixed issue where the Security Tally bar became a big colored bar without tallies

Knights and mercs, we've got Update #216 arriving on the New Boston streets this morning. This one is dedicated to the new Loadout system, which allows you to rapidly save your merc's equipment setup and then swap your equipment to another loadout (making big or small changes) or share that equipment set with another merc altogether. We dive into the details below and have included a demonstration video too!

We wanted to send out a big thanks to everyone playing, posting and sharing ideas for how to improve Cyber Knights: Flashpoint during Early Access. Your input goes into updates! Also, a special thanks to everyone who left a review this week.

[h2]New Loadout System[/h2]
[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
A loadout is a snapshot save of the current equipment that your merc is carrying - their weapon, the mods on those weapons, their armor, and their items. You can now save this Loadout so that you can swap back to it rapidly.

When you save a loadout, you create an equipment record separate from your merc. This is important as it means that (1) changing your merc's equipment afterward does not modify the loadout unless you save your loadout again and overwrite it and (2) you can use this loadout to rapidly swap another merc to that equipment set.


Once you have a saved loadout, any other merc can swap their loadout to that new equipment set. This means they will take the equipment required for that loadout (weapons, mods, armor, and items) from any other merc who is holding them to complete the equipment set. For items and weapon mods, the preference is to pull these off the shelf whenever possible (avoiding taking things from other mercs) but in the case that something does have to be taken, you'll get a list of what will be taken from whom at the bottom of the swap loadout screen.

Here are some common use cases we've seen being used in testing:

• Swapping weapons for a single merc - one merc who keeps the same armor and items but swaps guns between mission types (e.g. close-range vs long, quiet vs loud).
  
• Sharing same equipment between 2 mercs - with only one set of "best Vanguard gear" you are swapping that gear back and forth between your two Vanguards.
  
• Stealth / Combat Mods and Items - one merc keeps their weapons and armor between mission types but uses different items and weapon mods.
  
• Item Only Swapping - your merc's weapons, mods, and armor all stay the same but you are swapping between a Dazzler and a Liquefier versus two explosive grenades
  

As loadouts are tightly tied to the equipment in your current playthrough, they are not shared between saved games.

[h2]All Equipment Details in Mission Deploy[/h2]

You can now see all of your equipment details for your team directly in mission deployment with helpful hovers. You can also quickly swap loadouts without leaving that screen, allowing you to make last-minute equipment adjustments without jumping to the roster. Still, you can jump out to the roster if you need to as usual, but we'd love for you to be able to do most of your tweaking right there.

[h2]Loadout Confirmation[/h2]

There is a warning every time you're going to swap into a loadout - to remind you that you are going to make some changes to your EQ and there is no easy undo. If this warning is too much, you can disable it in options.

[h2]Fixed Stress Limit Break Negative Trait Text[/h2]
We fixed a display only bug where the game text was stating that a Stress Limit Break reduced your negative Trait by 1 level when instead it increased it by one level.

[h2]End of Game Screen[/h2]
In preparation for Retirement and Career Stats, we've now added an official end of game screen. You'll see this game if you try to load a game that has a dead Knight. It is completely empty at the moment, but you can click through to reach the safehouse and see your entire team in detail and use any library functions (saving appearance or training builds) that you'd like.

[h2]1.9.125 - #216: Loadout Supreme - 2/20/2025[/h2]
- Added new loadout system - save and swap rapidly between loadouts on any merc
- Loadouts are a definition of all your current Weapons, Weapon Mods, Armor and Items - loadouts only changed when Saving
- Improved mission deployment screen to show full loadout, allow swapping of loadouts on mission deployment screen
- Loadouts can be used to swap as much (all your EQ) or as little (add/remove Silencer) as you want
- Fixed incorrect level in Stress Limit Break display when negative Traits get worse, improved display for Wounds specifically
- Fixed incorrect icons in timeline for events sometimes
- New empty Game Over screen if you load a game with a dead Knight, in preparation for retirement / career stats