War Robots: Frontiers News

These are the patch notes for the War Robots: Frontiers build available following a period of maintenance on March 2, 2023. Update your game to the latest version and start playing in Early Access!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

NEW CONTENT

• Added two new Robots:
  • Fenrir: Builds with Fenrir torsos can sacrifice half of their current durability to gain increased speed as well as “repair vampirism” that will restore both durability and armor for a percentage of damage dealt. 
  • Harpy: Its signature ability features a new mechanic, allowing your robot to ignite targets and deal damage over time following each successful hit. It also inflicts a burning area effect on the map that sets enemy robots on fire.

• Added two new weapons:
  • Fowler: Shotguns that gain improved bullet spread when charged by holding down the ‘Fire’ button.
  • Lighter: Flamethrowers that inflict a burn effect on the target as well as the map in addition to dealing direct damage.

• Added two new abilities:
  • Blast Wave: Flings enemy robots back from the target area while also dealing limited damage.
  • Dazzle: Disrupts the targeting systems of the enemy robot, making aiming impossible for your opponent for several seconds.

PLAYER PROGRESSION

• Updated contents of the Store and level rewards.
• Added account levels up to Level 60. Level rewards above Level 50 contain item blueprints from this update.

NEW FEATURE: SQUADS

• The first iteration of Squads allows the formation of teams of up to six players by sharing Squad Codes. The player who creates the Squad can share the code outside of the game. Other players can join by entering the code in the Squad window on their end. A Squad can include players from different platforms. Find teammates and share your Squad Codes on the official War Robots: Frontiers Discord: http://wr.app/FrontiersDiscord

NEW FEATURE: PING WHEEL

• By default, the ping wheel can be activated by pressing the center mouse button (or mouse wheel). It contains a number of preset communication options for coordinating actions within teams.

NEW GAME MODE: ELIMINATION

• In the combat-focused Elimination Mode, the team that has the most robots left by the end of the match wins. A match can end early if a team loses all its robots. Beacons serve as deployment areas but do not bring any victory points.

QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

• Updated translations in all available languages.
• Alpha Robots have been renamed Titans for ease of reference. “Alpha” will be the name of the first Titan available to the player.
• Updated action tips and descriptions in the Tutorial.
• Increased Smart Ping visibility distance.
• Improved accuracy for beacon pings.
• Updated UI in Hangar and on the Matchmaking screen.
• Replaced the Unequip option in Constructor with an empty slot selection for Chassis, Torso, Shoulders, Weapons, and Abilities.
• Reduced kill camera duration from 10s to 5s.
• Further reduced the performance toll of Instant Reload and Infinite Ammo abilities and their visual effects.

GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS

• Added deployment protection when deploying in home areas. Robots under deployment protection will take significantly less damage. Additionally, in Beacon Rush, Robots will get a bonus to weapon damage for a short time following the home deployment. In Elimination, Robots will get a temporary bonus to movement speed. The bonus does not work when deploying on captured beacons. The deployment protection will make spawn raids a less viable tactic for the opposing teams.

MAP IMPROVEMENTS

• Improved visuals on Crash Site, Mont, and Tutorial maps.
• Added cooldown indication to the Drill structure on Mont.
• Added visual feedback when hitting the Drill target areas on Mont.
• Deployment on beacon “B” on Mont is no longer possible when the Drill is active. This will prevent players from losing Robots instantly upon deployment.

MOVEMENT AND GRAVITY IMPROVEMENTS

• Fixed a number of walking animation bugs. More animation tweaks are scheduled for future updates.
• Fixed Robots bouncing off of obstacles upon collision.
• Applied a more advanced formula for calculating walk speed. The speed modifiers are now applied correctly between different chassis types.
• Adjusted speed modifiers from map terrain. Robots now lose less speed when walking up a steep slope.
• Adjusted flight dynamics. The new formula better conveys the feel of the size and weight of a Robot.
• Adjusted central camera position and camera dynamics for a better field of view.
• Rebalanced fuel consumption of jetpack moves. Robots now consume less fuel in the Jump phase.
• Significantly improved horizontal controllability in the Flight phase.
• The dynamics of a Dash now differ to a greater extent between chassis with different base speeds.

BALANCE CHANGES

• Railgun: Charge time reduced from 1.75s to 1s; damage reduced from 5,400 to 3,800 per shot.
• Gozer: Maximum charge increased from 50 to 60 units; reload time reduced from 4s to 1.5s.
• Shocktrain: Damage increased from 4,200 to 5,000 per shot.
• Transfusion: Ability no longer reacts to Scatter projectiles.

GRAPHICAL IMPROVEMENTS

• Updated visual effects for the Flashback ability.
• Added visual feedback when at full charge on Railgun weapons.
• Added animations on Punisher weapons.
• Added animations of torn wire on damaged Robots.

SOUND IMPROVEMENTS

• Added unique sounds for Titan steps.

BUGS FIXED

• Fixed Scatter not registering hits on the Drill target areas on Mont.
• Fixed Vortex displaying fewer missiles than there are missile slots on the weapon model.
• Fixed Robot outline flickering excessively in Hangar and during the match.
• Fixed the Drill dealing damage through the floor on Mont.
• Fixed the TAB scoreboard being available in the battle results window. If the scoreboard remains open at the end of the match, it will now automatically close as soon as the match concludes.
• Fixed the issue preventing players from reconnecting into the match after a crash.
• Fixed the issue preventing certain characters from being displayed in Tutorial descriptions in Turkish.
• Fixed the last target not dropping when hit in Tutorial.
• Fixed Sticky Sensor (Titan) sounds not playing on ability use.
• Fixed Retribution (Ares) laser beams going off on each click of the mouse button, while ignoring the ability timers.
• Fixed the ammo widget of the first spectated player remaining on the screen when switching to the next player in Spectator mode.
• Fixed the scroll bar not following the selected pilot in the Pilot menu. Now the selected pilot will always remain on the screen.
• Fixed Loki displaying incorrect damage indication colors after its decoy hologram is destroyed.
• Fixed the issue allowing vision through Smoke Wall at certain angles. Now Smoke Wall obscures vision completely.

War Robots: Frontiers servers are scheduled to enter maintenance at the following time:

• Maintenance Time: 2/03/2023 at 08:00 UTC
• Estimated Downtime: 2 hours

The game servers will be inaccessible during this time. Keep an eye on our official social channels and Discord for further updates, and to find out when War Robots: Frontiers servers are live again.

Thank you for your patience!

When War Robots: Frontiers is released globally, we plan on having three game modes for players to dive into. Right now, we are focusing on developing and adjusting Beacon Rush, Elimination, and Team Deathmatch. Read on for an overview of their rulesets and the concept behind each mode.

As of the time of publishing, Team Deathmatch is still in development and the final versions of both Team Deathmatch and Elimination will probably look very different at release. Be sure to tell us what you think of these early visions of the two modes so that we can make them even more exciting further down the road!
[h2]BEACON RUSH[/h2]
Beacon Rush offers the purest WRF experience by combining tactics of territory control and almost ceaseless Robot action. You win by filling your territory control bar faster than your opponents by capturing and holding beacons. At the same time, those beacons serve as beachheads for deploying Robots closer to—-or farther away from—-enemy lines.

The ability to deploy on beacons makes team movements less predictable. You rarely know where your opponent will strike next, so situational awareness and constant movement are key to successful play in Beacon Rush. Additionally, having multiple deployment areas to choose from helps you better play to the strengths of your build. Close-range brawlers can dive straight into the action, snipers can start from a safer distance, and fast-moving beacon-runners are always in demand, as they are the ones grabbing the best drop spots for the team. This is a very dynamic game mode where every Robot build can triumph.


To reinforce the dynamic nature of Beacon Rush, victory points are only added when your team holds more beacons than the enemy. There are five beacons on the map, so a brawl over the central one will be expected at the beginning of almost every match. Beacon Rush is no place for stalemates.

Your Titan is your ultimate weapon. To deploy it in Beacon Rush, you need to accumulate Titan Charge by destroying enemy Robots and capturing beacons. Unlike the other two modes, Beacon Rush allows replacing your currently active Robot with a Titan when you stand on an ally-controlled beacon. If you choose to deploy a Titan, your Robot will be transported away and instantly repaired. You can then deploy with that Robot again when and if your Titan goes down.
[h2]ELIMINATION[/h2]
In Elimination, you focus on destroying enemy Robots. Territory control isn’t essential to this mode. For now, the mode still has beacons that you can capture and use as drop spots, but they do not bring you any victory points. A team wins if it has more Robots than the opposing team when the match ends. A match will end early if all the Robots of one team are destroyed.

The main difference between a classic Team Deathmatch in other shooters and War Robots: Frontiers is that Elimination encourages you to play safe. There’s no need to go on the offensive and rake up kills. Hunt down one or two lightly armored foes, take the lead, and turtle up until the end of the match—this can be a viable tactic. Moreover, when the enemy team realizes they now have fewer robots than you, they will have to take action. Time plays against them and all you need to do is to survive the onslaught. Of course, it will never be that simple. Elimination is a mode with lots of turning points.


You can use your Titan in Elimination, but unlike Beacon Rush, you can only deploy it when your previous Robot is destroyed. There’s no saving a badly damaged Robot in Elimination unless your team brought something for armor repairs.
[h2]TEAM DEATHMATCH[/h2]
When Team Deathmatch goes online, it will be the only mode that focuses exclusively on kill count. Your goal is to reach the kill limit faster than your opponent or to have more kills when time is up.

In Team Deathmatch, destroyed Robots simply go on cooldown rather than getting locked until the end of the match. This means that if you play your hand well, you will be able to run two or three same builds for the entire match. It’s a ceaseless string of intense shootouts which will test your aiming and timing skills to the limit.


We are experimenting with different objectives, different match goals, and things like alternating attack and defense modes. We're even looking into destructible fortifications and whatnot—-but that's a conversation for another time. Right now, we are laser-focused on nailing down the very basics of War Robot fighting on a massive scale. Expect more news on that front soon!

War Robots: Frontiers servers are scheduled to enter maintenance at the following time:

• Maintenance Time: 21/02/2023 at 08:00 UTC
• Estimated Downtime: 0.5 hours

The game servers will be inaccessible during this time. Keep an eye on our official social channels and Discord for further updates, and to find out when War Robots: Frontiers servers are live again.

Thank you for your patience!

Welcome to QNET, the interplanetary information and utility network. What can I help you with today?
[h2]QUERY:>>WHAT IS TORTUGA?[/h2]
An autonomous spaceport, known for its unaffiliated corporate status and unregulated approach to warpgate services. 
[h2]QUERY:>>WHO BUILT TORTUGA? [/h2]
The spaceport’s origins are a matter of dispute, as records are incomplete or suspected forgeries. The lack of continuity within Tortuga governance makes it impossible to verify documents. Speculation on the funding agent of the spaceport ranges from the short-lived mini-corp, Wilson Armaments, to criminal organizations such as Family Savare, to political movements like Miners’ Front. Some have posited one or more of the three legacy corporations financed the construction of Tortuga [disputed: see community tab].
[h2]QUERY:>>WHAT RESOURCES DOES TORTUGA HAVE? [/h2]
As a man-made spaceport, Tortuga has no natural resources. 
[h2]QUERY:>>WHAT UTILITY DOES TORTUGA HAVE?[/h2]
Regarded as ‘the Gateway to the Wild Ten,’ Tortuga is one of the only cost-effective waypoints between colonized space and contested zones. The spaceport’s warpgate successfully links the Wild Ten to the larger galaxy, allowing for corporate freight, mercenary units, and settlers to reach the outermost portions of known space. 
[h2]QUERY:>>WHO LIVES ON TORTUGA? [/h2]
The total resident number is unknown, as is the yearly visitor total. It can be assumed settlers on their way to the Wild Ten account for the majority of migrants. In recent times, a high volume of mercenaries have used Tortuga as a stop, leading to the emergence of corporate ‘union halls’ on the spaceport. Essentially recruitment offices, the union halls compete for any mercenaries arriving on Tortuga without a contract. Robot mechanics and salespeople, notably The Lace, also maintain semi-permanent residences on Tortuga. These resources are crucial for transient mercenary units.
[h2]QUERY:>>WHY HASN’T A CORPORATION TAKEN CONTROL OF TORTUGA?[/h2]
I’m sorry, but this question violates QNET’s neutrality guidelines. Consider rephrasing. 
[h2]QUERY:>>WHAT IS TORTUGA’S LEGAL STATUS?[/h2]
Neither a contested space nor a protected asset, Tortuga enjoys a unique position outside the corporate superstructure. Of the three corporations, only FreeCon officially recognizes Tortuga and internal documents refer to it as ‘independent / tolerated.’ 
[h2]QUERY:>>WHO RUNS TORTUGA?[/h2]
Running off a modified version of the Settlers’ Bill of Rights, Tortuga is a direct democracy and citizens have no proxies within the government. However, there is some dispute as to how many full-time residents Tortuga has and what qualifies someone for citizen status. The number may be as low as ten. Some have suggested that a democracy that small is a junta by another name. Other critics posit that Tortuga does not qualify as a democracy or even a government and is more accurately referred to as a ‘house society’ or ‘non-kinship tribal holding.’ Since Tortuga’s earliest days, there has been a theory that the actual leadership lies above the show-democracy and has never been revealed to the public.

Tales From The Wild Ten is a series composed by writer Patrick Kindlon. Stay tuned as the saga continues in War Robots: Frontiers, and catch up on the story with Old Wars Never End, Kate and Varangian, and Corporate Empires.