Level Zero: Extraction News

Greetings, Mercs and Those Who Lurk in Shadows,

We're excited to roll out something new—our experimental Solo Queue mode!

[h3]🛠️ PATCH NOTES & WHAT’S IN STORE 🛠️[/h3]

[h3]General Changes[/h3]

• 📌 New Experimental Solo Queue Mode: You can now choose between Solo or Squad when queuing up for a map.
  
• 📌 Solo mode is a 9v1 challenge on the same maps.
  
• 📌 Squad mode stays the same, but solo players queuing up in squads will now earn a 30% currency bonus when extracting.
  
• 📌 Fill in mode from squad play is temporarily removed.
  

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We’d love to hear your feedback on this new feature to help us fine-tune the balance and make it the best it can be.
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[h3]Weekend Event[/h3]

• 📌 During this weekend, enjoy a +30% XP boost on both alien and merc accounts.
  

[h3]Merc Changes[/h3]

• Replaced Nail gun with a Fox Five pistol in the starting kit.
  
• New players will now get extraction tools for the Research Facility map on their first 5 matches.
  
• Improved the movement for mercs - we’ve identified and were able to fix character twitches that could happen when going in/out of sprint or suddenly stopping.
  
• Added report cheat button on merc’s death screen (prior to final screen).
  
• Melee weapons won’t instakill players without knocking them first.
  
• Improved visibility of player’s level on their dog tags.
  
• Fixed an issue with the Backup Power Device contract - it should now spawn properly.
  

[h3]Alien Changes[/h3]

• Egg Traps can now be placed near mercs, but take 3 seconds to “activate” before it can be triggered.
  
• If one of the aliens leaves the game or is disconnected, the other aliens respawn timer is reduced by 50%.
  
• Fixed most of the cases where aliens were getting light damage through walls.
  
• Increased radius at which aliens can charge from wires.
  
• Corrected visual and actual light damage zones to be the same size, so aliens can better see when they’ll start getting damage from merc’s light sources.
  
• Added a feedback sound when the alien's energy is drained while under the effect of light in invisibility.
  

[h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• Fixed several previously bugged Steam achievements.
  
• Added unique sounds for solo elevator doors on Caves of Turion.
  
• Added unique sounds to warehouse internal room doors on Research Facility.
  
• Increased volume of warehouse door siren on Caves of Turion.
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that allowed aliens to place eggs on the ceiling in certain areas, including the ice corridor in the Research Facility.
  
• Fixed an issue with flash drive disappearing from the map when it’s carrier has been killed.
  
• Fixed an issue with aliens getting the burning sound stuck when turning invisible.
  
• Fixed an issue with aliens getting visual effects of burn stuck on character after stopping getting the light damage.
  
• Fixed an issue where aliens could spawn with active invisibility skill.
  
• Fixed an issue preventing mutants in warehouses to spit with acid.
  
• Minor tooltip fixes for medkit stations.
  

Please restart and update your game.

Thanks for sticking with us and for all your support. Have a great weekend!

Much love,
Lexarion & Doghowl Games

[h2]// INCOMING MESSAGE //[/h2]

The event end date/time is Monday, September 2nd, 21:00 CET / 12 pm PDT / 3 pm EDT.

For those who want some hints on where to find the bird statues, we've left images with clues below. Good luck.

[h3]RESEARCH FACILITY[/h3]

[h3]CAVES OF TURION[/h3]



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[h3]Merc Changes[/h3]

• Flashlight running out of battery now has visual feedback on UI;
  
• Dog tags now also store the nickname of the owner's killer;
  
• Added the amount of reputation that an item will grant when sold to the item’s tooltip;
  
• Increased reputation gains for all sorts of items and contracts by around 50%;
  
• Reduced the cost of Caves of Turion extraction tools (Grappling Hook and Big Drill Card) by around 90% (reverted change from the last week).
  

[h3]Alien Changes[/h3]

• EMP duration now depends on the number of humans affected similar to Scream Wave. Duration is 3/5/7 seconds, charge reduction is 30/40/50% of battery based on the number of targets hit (1/2/3+);
  
• Aliens on Caves of Turion have more energy when spawning;
  
• Improved visual feedback on UI when using skills or when aliens are unable to use skills due to GCD/stagger/not enough energy;
  
• Added an option to change Alien Vision to Toggle in settings.
  

[h3]Other Changes[/h3]

• Preparations for the Weekend Event;
  

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that caused an unexpected short delay when shooting with pistols;
  
• Flamethrowers can no longer be put in safe slots;
  
• Fixed an issue where Aliens on Caves of Turion could not see the Elevator being called through Alien Vision;
  
• Fixed several server crashes;
  
• Fixed several client-based crashes related to monsters and UI;
  
• Fixed an issue with flashtrap sound missing;
  
• Fixed an issue where visual feedback for healing through first aid kits would be missing.
  

Please restart and update your game.
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The next patch, which will include more fixes, balance adjustments, and new anti-cheat measures, is planned for next week.

Have a great weekend!

[h3]Hey, community,[/h3]

We recognize the current cheater problem, and I'm not going to lie—it's not great right now. That's why our team is mobilizing all forces to deal with it.

• 📌We're putting in some serious work to beef up our anti-cheat system. First, we'll be rolling out a feature that will ban offenders automatically.
  
• 📌We've also got some sneaky tricks up our sleeves to catch cheaters in the act. I can't spill the details, but you should definitely notice the difference once we've implemented them.
  
• 📌Last but not least, we're cooking up a more extensive, complex solution that should make a real impact. We can't reveal everything just yet but expect to see these changes drop within a week or two.
  

Meanwhile, please report offenders to us in-game or on our Discord—we will make sure to eliminate them right away.

The next patch is due for release this Friday or early next week. We'll see if we can squeeze in some of the aforementioned improvements in it.

Thanks for your support,
Antishyr & Doghowl

Just wanted to remind you all that the 10% launch discount is ending tomorrow at 19:00 CET / 10 am PT / 1 pm ET. Make sure to pick the game up before then:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1456940/Level_Zero_Extraction/

DLC and Deluxe/Ultimate editions are also discounted.
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Since the Early Access launch, we've put out a couple of patches that addressed outstanding issues and were meant to improve critical aspects of LZE, ranging from balance and economy to movement to UI.


Let's go over the most significant changes/additions so far:

• Numerous balance changes for both classes based on player feedback and data. We are grateful to you for sharing your thoughts with us.
  
• Merc movement Improvements
  
• Max stash size increased
  
• General environment fixes: Improved camera shake and sound feedback
  
• Bug and crash fixes
  
• New weapons available for barter & purchase from traders: M4F1, RD-707, Malyuk
  
• New cosmetic skins
  
• We've held two weekend REP events where you could search for a unique item. We're set to organize those every weekend.
  

Now, let's talk about our development plans for the near future, specifically—for the next few weeks:

• Introduction of a separate mode explicitly designed for solo players. This mode will allow them to participate in matches without competing against teams, providing a more balanced and fair experience.
  
• Introduction of a reward system for mercenaries for eliminating aliens in the game.
  
• Introduction of Mutations for aliens, allowing them to adapt to different situations in the game.
  
• Ability to select the desired region for matchmaking to minimize latency and improve connection quality.
  
• Review and adjustment of melee weapon characteristics to improve game balance.
  
• Special rewards for solo players participating in trio mode.
  
• Introduction of changes and additions to make it easier for new players to get into the game.
  
• Improving the anti-cheat and anti-fraud system.
  
• An update for the item switching system in the game to make it smoother and more responsive. Players often seem to encounter issues where switching weapons or using items feels "clunky" (awkward, delayed), which can detract from the experience. We're inclined to address that.
  

Last but not least, work on our third map, Space Station, is in full swing. It is planned to be bigger than the two current maps—Research Facility and Caves of Turion—and to feature more open space areas. Here are more WIP screen grabs of the level.


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We appreciate your support, everybody. As always, we will see you soon.

Cheers,
Doghowl


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