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Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance News

Dev Diary - A look at the upcoming update

Welcome back to the Resistance!

It is time for an information dump on some upcoming updates and new content for the game. Check out information on the soon to be released Army Management Screen for Skirmish and Multiplayer, as well as some new bits of information on the upcoming Conquest Mode and some player questions answered too.

Skirmish and Multiplayer Army Management Update
It’s the Mid 2020’s, when in Terminator: Dark Fate, we are told that the Machines will rise up. Are we now entering the period of Machine Rule? Is the world on the brink yet? Well, one thing we are on the brink of is the new update for the game, that sees army customisation for Skirmish and Multiplayer introduced.

Next week, we are releasing the new Army Management tool for Skirmish and Multiplayer games. This allows you to create new army presets, customising units and squads that can then be used either in Single Player Skirmish, or when you go head to head with other players.

The new Army Management tool has the same customisation seen in the main campaign, allowing you to add new weapons, armor and engine upgrades to vehicles, and to add additional weapons and abilities to infantry units.

Customised units become ‘presets’ within your army roster, that can be called during reinforcement. There is a set amount of ‘preset points’ within each army to balance the amount of customised units you can field, keeping the balance of armies fair.

Either duplicate an existing Army set up and customise that duplicated version, or create a new customised army from scratch.

Each new customised unit has its own new points cost. So, crank up a unit to the max, it may become twice as expensive as its base unit. For example, in the images below, there are 2 sets of Rangers units. The first is the default, that costs 800 points, the second, a rangers squad with an additional Laser Sniper Rifle and a full suite of additional abilities (Bullet Rain, Powerlifter, Marathon Runner, Chameleon and EMP Devices) that costs 2180 points.
So there is a direct balance between cost and enhanced abilities.
But it does allow you to hone various units to maximise their battlefield potential.





Each new preset can be called just once during a battle, but quickly duplicating presets in the Army Management Screen allows multiple versions of a unit to be easily created.

And fear not, the base, default version of a unit can be called upon during reinforcement as many times as you wish, so running out of unit types if you haven’t created multiple presets of each won’t happen.

The Movement also is improved with this new Army Management screen as it now allows you to pre-set up tractor and trailer combinations, so trying to hurriedly link up a tractor and trailer during a multiplayer game is no longer an issue. The example below shows a customised Tractor Truck, with a Heavy Platform already connected (an additional 400 points for the additional Mounted Minigun and Junk Armor on the customised Truck preset) Selecting the Tractor or Truck would automatically select the connected unit too.



It is also possible to set up passengers within presets, so if your tactic is to deploy troops quickly using vehicles you can pre-load them into vehicles to quickly call them up.

We have found that this new Army Management system opens a whole new dimension to Skirmish and Multiplayer, allowing a much more varied array of vehicles and units at your disposal and we are really interested in seeing some of the custom armies that you create.

Some Visions from the Future!
The next big release on the horizon is the new Conquest Mode. I wanted to drop some more nuggets of information about it here, so here are 3 new facts about it:

1) There is a new helicopter appearing in the Conquest Mode. Although not a troop carrier, it will be cheaper and have a full range of strike capabilities.

2) The United Federation of Marauders will emerge as a new united faction. Those disparate marauder gangs will band together, to become an even greater threat to the Resistance's existence.

3) The Cartel playing both sides? If you play your cards right, you may be able to have Cartel Templars join your Resistance, if you can overthrow some local Cartel factions.

Finally for this diary, I asked the community (on discord) for some questions that they wanted answers, so here are some that I randomly took:

Community Questions:
These questions were posed by players on the official Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance discord channel. Why not join, and you can ask me directly.

How will the tech from Galveston affect the Resistance soldier equipment and vehicle customization, can the dev sneak peak a bit of info about it?
is there a change we go to Europe and Asia and does legion have any present there
(from discord user: NQIMNyannn)

The plan is that in the Campaign DLC, there will be new enhancements, abilities and units that will be directly influenced by the tech gained at Galveston (the end of the first campaign). We are looking at enhanced humans, and the first use of humans attempting to harness the Legion tech discovered there on their vehicles.

Release date on Conquest DLC? (from discord user: Diabolos)

I can’t give the official date at the moment as release windows can change, but the current plan is to have it released during Summer 2025. There will also be a Closed Beta released prior to release so if you watch out for announcements, you may be able to get an early look at it in progress.

Are you planning on adding different types of environment? maybe a map with snow or a mission in the ocean with ships? (from discord user: krankSIE)

Well, we have mentioned that the new Campaign planned for the end of the year will see Church and the Resistance head up in to Canada. Expect some more extreme environments, and how would Legion units perform in snow?

Will there be other nation / remnants of, or factions not yet seen? (from discord user: Nikita)

The plan is to introduce some elements of other nations in future campaigns. Hopefully I can drop some more information on this in later info dumps.

So, prepare for the new Army Management Screen update that will be available next week (currently playable on an Open Beta branch on Steam) and I will see you on the future battlefield!

Good luck.

What’s in store for 2025

Welcome to the Resistance!

It has been a year since we released Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance and I wanted to touch on the year just gone, and the year ahead of us. First off, I would like to give a personal thank you to all the players who joined us on the journey. It’s been great seeing your feedback and thoughts. This feedback helps us shape the game as we move forward.

2024 - Legion Arrived
So, we released the game on 21st February 2024. The last year saw new Skirmish and Multiplayer modes added (Assault, Scavenger, Domination) as well as a number of new maps. We also brought a new campaign Map into the fold, letting us find out a little more about Kondo’s wife.
The year ended with the release of “We Are Legion”, the new campaign DLC that saw the story continue but from the perspective of the Machines. We were truly happy with the response that the DLC got, and it was great fun seeing people's reaction to the story and where it went.



2025 - Legion Rises
So, in the Dark Fate movie, Grace tells Dani that Legion arises in the mid 20’s. So, get ready everybody because we’re almost there. But what have we got planned for the game for 2025. We have officially released this year's Roadmap and I want to explain a few of the new features, DLC’s and updates that we will be releasing this year. But, just to outline, many of these are still going through phases of development, so please don’t send the killbots after me if anything I say is changed in the final releases.

Early 2025 RTS Fest Demo
Let’s start with the past. We released a demo earlier this year in January for the Steam RTS Fest. This demo included 1 mission from the main game, and the first mission from the new “We Are Legion” DLC that was released in December 2024. The demo also included the ability to join multiplayer games, with the hope that we’d get a few people fighting each other online.
We have been trying to highlight the multiplayer in the game, but we honestly do find, due to the game being primarily a single player campaign and so with the majority of players playing the campaign, that with the pool of players looking for multiplayer games at any point means that the MP lobbies often seem empty. Multiplayer is something that we continue in trying to improve, as the multiplayer gameplay is such fun for players who want to go head to head. There are groups on Discord and Steam that regularly play Multiplayer, so if you are interested, see if you can hunt them down.

SPRING 2025 Multiplayer and Skirmish update
The next update that is coming this Spring will include new functionality for Skirmish and Multiplayer. One new feature the team is adding is customisation elements to the Reinforcement functionality. This allows you to create your own unit and army presets, alter available units and generally much more freedom in the setup of reinforcements within both Skirmish and Multiplayer. This takes some of the new functionality that was seen in the last DLC and expands on it.

SUMMER 2025 New paid content: Conquest Mode DLC
There have been many requests for the addition of a more ‘sandbox’, less linear option. Something a bit more open ended. Well, Summer will see a new mode available, that will allow players to continue to build the Resistance on a Strategic Map, with various sectors and locations under the control of different factions (mainly the threat of Legion).
Each faction will be attempting to take or defend sectors alongside the player's faction, and it is up to the player to manage their army, and choose which sectors and territories to attack, and which to defend where necessary. We will see returning factions like the Integrators, the Movement and the Cartel. And there will always be the Marauders that will swoop in on isolated sectors.
There will be options to recruit units from the other factions, not Legion, of course.
Various mission types will appear on different areas, such as Assault, Defence and Domination, but also some other specific missions like Rescue or Assassination.
The new Conquest Mode will tie into the current game story, occurring after the events of the “We Are Legion” DLC. So, with Church out recruiting elsewhere, it is up to you to control the Resistance.



Free Content Drop
Although the features to be added here are still being finalized, the team are wanting to add a few extra modes to some of the maps in Skirmish and Multiplayer modes. For example, extending the Scavenger Mode that is only currently available on the Abiquiu map to a few more maps, as well as adding the much requested ‘Endless Mode’ for Skirmish and Multiplayer. Endless Mode games will continue until all zones have been captured by one side (no time limit).
Please keep watching for further information on this content drop, as the actual final content is still in discussion and planning, so may change.

WINTER 2025 New paid content: Story Campaign DLC
Last year we released the Story Campaign DLC “We Are Legion”, following on from the base games campaign but playing from the perspective of Legion. This year, we release the next Story Campaign that will continue the story further. We finished “We Are Legion” with Church heading North to continue recruiting factions and people into the Resistance.

The new Story Campaign will continue from there, playing as Church and the Resistance.
Without giving too much away, expect to see the next evolution of the Legion Rev. If you have seen the movie ‘Terminator: Dark Fate’, you will have seen the Rev 7’s in action fighting against Grace in the ‘future flashback’. Blades and speed. Don’t let them get close because they will slice up your infantry.
The technology discovered at Galveston will also start to be integrated into the Resistance, with Augmented soldier tech starting to become available for your troops or integrated into vehicles.
We are also going to be heading north, heading up into Canada to face a new threat there from Legion.
More information about the new Story Campaign will drop in the run up to its release, so do watch out for further updates.

And that will be some of the game's highlights of 2025. There will be more intel about what is coming dropped in the coming months, and I am always available to answer questions on the official Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance Discord channel.

2025. Is this the year that the future becomes the reality?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839950/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3227830/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance_We_are_Legion/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/39687/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance_Complete/

A new demo is available now

The Steam RTS Fest has begun and you can now play a new demo for Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance. It will be available for a week.

You can do so simply by visiting the Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance Steam page and clicking on the Download button.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839950/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance/

[h2]What the demo contains[/h2]

In this demo, you’ll experience the tutorial of the single-player campaign, trying to survive in Atlanta one month after Judgment Day.

You will also be able to play as the Machines in the first mission from the new campaign DLC “We Are Legion”, bringing Machine firepower to a human settlement. Just choose ‘CAMPAIGN’ and select the ‘SWITCH TO DLC’ option.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3227830/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance_We_are_Legion/

We are also excited to give you a chance of playing against other players in a Multiplayer Map. Select Multiplayer from the base game menu, choose your nearest server, and JOIN or CREATE a game to fight against other players. There is a 1v1 and 2v2 option available.

Have fun.

Update 1.05.1088 - MP Stability, bug fixess, DLC balance update

Hey everybody - There is a new Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance update that has just gone live (this had been in Open Beta, now it is LIVE!!).
This update includes a number of bug fixes, multiplayer stability improvements, as well as a number of balance and cost updates on the WE ARE LEGION DLC...

The full list of fixes are:
v1.05.1088

General fixes:
- Fixed several rare random crashes (including in multiplayer).
- Added new loading screens.
- Minor UI fixes.
- Reduced spawn cost of Movement's Dozer and Main tractor in multiplayer and skirmishes.
- Reduced spawn cost of "Iroquois" Heli in multiplayer and skirmishes.
- Reduced supply consumption value of "Iroquois" Heli in campaign.
- The accuracy of the Movement platform guns has been increased so that when deployed they are a little more accurate than similar weapons on Founder vehicles.

We are Legion DLC fixes:
- Tweaked achievement conditions ("No Hide" and "Re-Use" achievements).
- Minor missions scripts tweaks.
- Increased the blueprint limit before the 7th mission to 70,000 and added additional command points for research before the 6th and 7th missions.

Have fun soldiers!

We are Legion DLC has landed

We Are Legion, the first DLC for Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance, is now available for download.

v1.05.1083 – 10th December 2024
  • We Are Legion DLC available
  • Reworked the highlighting system for selected buildings. Added display of entrances/exits.
  • Added the ability to adjust the volume of squad voices in the sound settings.
  • Added a mute button for background messages.
  • Added a Suspended state indicator (after EMP) of a unit next to its icon.
  • Fixed a bug due to which glass in buildings could be impenetrable for small arms.
  • Fixed a rare bug with losing a mission if Doc's car was evacuated before Doc himself.
  • Small balance changes in skirmishes and multiplayer.
  • Minor fixes to known AI issues in skirmishes and multiplayer maps.


This story-driven expansion continues where the base game left off, expanding on its storyline. But don't worry if you haven't played the base game—this DLC is designed to be accessible to all players.

We Are Legion plunges players back into the heart of the conflict, putting them in command of Legion, the relentless machine army bent on dominating a shattered world. Step into the boots of Legion and experience the chilling thrill of leading a mechanical force on a mission of total annihilation.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Remember to join us for Slitherine Next event December 10th at 6:00 PM CET.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

To celebrate the launch of the DLC, all the Terminator: Dark Fate - Defiance franchise is discounted up to 30%.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1839950/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3227830/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance_We_are_Legion/

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/39687/Terminator_Dark_Fate__Defiance_Complete/