Breachway News

Hi everyone,
The Shield Equipment Refactor update is now live!

As mentioned in the preview, this patch includes a run reset, because it changes a core equipment family in a way that would make old run data inconsistent.

This update is the first in a longer series of equipment redesign + balance passes we’ll be rolling out over the next months. The goal is to make more cards viable picks, tighten the power spread inside each equipment family, and (most importantly) increase build variety. Between these revamps, we’ll focus on bug fixes, performance, and stability.

[h3]What changed[/h3]

• Shield cards reworked + rebalanced
  
• Most Shield cards have been adjusted. In general:
  
• Higher cooldowns on many high-impact shield effects
  
• Cost changes to better match each card’s role
  
• Clearer separation between shield identities (reliable / scaling / risky / late-game)
  

Shield equipment progression changes

• Shield equipment now goes up to Mk.II only (this will be the standard once an equipment family gets its redesign pass).
  
• Shield equipment now comes in different power levels / tiers.
  
• Shield equipment can be upgraded up to 6 card slots max
  

(In rare late-game cases, 8-slot shield equipment can still appear.)

Shield equipment rarity added
Barrier Shield — Common
Burst + Pulse — Uncommon
Charged + Cerberus — Rare
And as you progress, drop rates shift (e.g. Charged/Cerberus become more common toward the end of Sector 3).

New shield equipment added

Charged Shield: A late-game defensive system focused on shield duration and stability — less RNG, more consistency, and stronger long-fight reliability.
Cerberus Shield: A late-game shield that keeps you alive by manipulating Heat. It rewards risky play and smart Heat management — it’s powerful, but it’s not “safe.”

Equipment level differences:
Charged Shield and Cerberus Shield are intended as late-game shields, so they start at Tier 3 (i.e. +2 levels compared to Barrier). That means they start “behind” in slot progression, but their cards are stronger and more specialized.

Starting equipment updates to better reflect the new identities:

• Marauder now starts with Burst Shield
  
• Avalanche now starts with Charged Shield
  
• Firebrand now starts with Cerberus Shield
  

[h2]Full patch notes[/h2]

[expand]
Barrier Shield Mk.I
- Barrier (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 6 SP.
- Auto-Shield (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 5
Gain 4 SP. Draw 1 card.
- Rampart (Tactical) — Cost: 4E 2M | CD: 6
Gain 10 SP and 1 Duration.
- Reserve Shield (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 4 | Deplete
Gain 6 SP.
- Tactical Defense (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 4 SP +2 SP for each Tactical card played this turn.
- Barricade (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 4 SP +1 SP for each active Energy Production.

Mk.II
- Barrier+ (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 8 SP.
- Auto-Shield+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 4
Gain 4 SP. Draw 1 card. If you draw a Tactical card, gain +2 SP.
- Rampart+ (Tactical) — Cost: 4E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 12 SP and 1 Duration.
- Reserve Shield+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 4 | Deplete
Gain 6 SP. Shield cards cost -1E this turn.
- Tactical Defense+ (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 2E 2M | CD: 6
Gain 3 SP +3 SP for each Tactical card played this turn.
- Barricade+ (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 7
Gain 2 SP +2 SP for each active Energy Production.


Pulse Shield Token Card
- Pulse Shield (Tactical, Token) — Cost: 1E | CD: 4 | Deplete
Gain 4 SP.

Mk.I
- Recursive Pulse (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 4
Gain 4 SP. Add 1 Pulse Shield to your draw pile.
- Palisade (Support) — Cost: 2M | CD: 5
Add 2 Pulse Shield cards to your hand.
- Layered Defense (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 6
Gain 2 SP +2 SP for each Shield card in your draw pile.
- Shield Cycle (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 5
Gain 4 SP. Return a random Shield card from your cooldown pile to your draw pile.
- Battlement (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 6 SP. Until unshielded, whenever you play a Tactical card, gain +1 SP.
- Backup Shields (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 4M | CD: 7
When you end your turn unshielded, add 1 Pulse Shield to your draw pile.

Mk.II
- Recursive Pulse+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 5
Gain 4 SP. Add 2 Pulse Shield cards to your draw pile.
- Palisade+ (Support) — Cost: 3M | CD: 6
Add 3 Pulse Shield cards to your hand. Any cards you can’t hold are added to your draw pile.
- Layered Defense+ (Tactical) — Cost: 4E | CD: 6
Gain 2 SP +2 SP for each Shield card in your hand and draw pile.
- Shield Cycle+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 4 SP. Return a random Shield card from your cooldown pile to your hand.
- Battlement+ (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3E 2M | CD: 7
Gain 6 SP. Until unshielded, whenever you play a Tactical card, gain +2 SP.
- Backup Shields+ (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 5M | CD: 8
When you start your turn unshielded, add 1 Temp Slot and 1 Pulse Shield to your hand.
- Repel (Tactical, Rare) — Cost: 4E | CD: 6
Play 1 Pulse Shield card for every Attack in the enemy’s hand.
- Pulse Cascade (Tactical, Rare) — Cost: 4E | CD: 6 | Expel
Gain 2 SP +2 SP for every Shield card played this combat.


Burst Shield Mk.I
- Flash Shield (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
Gain 6 SP. Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Shield Surge (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
If unshielded, gain 6 SP. Otherwise, gain 3 SP.
- Hasty Defense (Tactical) — Cost: 1M | CD: 6
Lose 3 Hull. Gain 9 SP.
- Flare (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
Gain 4 SP. Apply 1 Blind to the enemy.
- Raise Shield (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3E | CD: 6
Gain 10 SP. Can only be played if unshielded.
- Impact Absorption (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 4M | CD: 7
On turn end, gain 2 SP for each Hull damage you took this turn from your own cards (max 6). Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.

Mk.II
- Flash Shield+ (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 9 SP. Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Shield Surge+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
If unshielded, gain 6 SP and return this card to your draw pile. Otherwise, gain 4 SP.
- Hasty Defense+ (Tactical) — Cost: 1M | CD: 6
Lose 3 Hull. Gain 9 SP. If unshielded, gain 12 SP instead.
- Flare+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
Gain 4 SP. Apply 2 Blind to the enemy.
- Raise Shield+ (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3E | CD: 6
Gain 12 SP if unshielded, otherwise gain 6 SP.
- Harden Shield (Tactical, Uncommon) — Cost: 3M | CD: 6
Double your current Shield Points. Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Impact Absorption+ (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 5M | CD: 8
On turn end, gain 3 SP for each Hull damage you took this turn from your own cards (max 9). Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Power Conduit (Support, Rare) — Cost: 3M | CD: 7
Consume all Shield Points. Gain +1 damage on your next Attack for every 3 SP consumed.


Charged Shield Mk.I
- Charged Barrier (Tactical) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 8 SP. If your Duration is 0, gain 1 Duration.
- Bolster (Tactical) — Cost: 1E 1M | CD: 4 | Deplete
If you are shielded, gain 1 Duration and 2 SP. Otherwise, gain 6 SP.
- Shield Strain (Tactical) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 12 SP and 1 Duration. Increase the cooldown of the next 2 cards you play by 2.
- Shield Amplifier (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 8 SP. Requires active shields.
- Leverage (Tactical) — Cost: 2E | CD: 6
Gain 4 SP +2 SP for each Duration you have. Remove 1 Duration.
- Reinforce (Support, Uncommon) — Cost: 3M | CD: 7 | Void
Gain 1 Duration for every 6 Shield Points you have.
- Shield Stream (Rare) — Cost: 4E 2M | CD: 6 | Deplete
For the next 2 turns, gain 3 SP and 1 Duration at the start of each turn.

Mk.II
- Charged Barrier+ (Tactical) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 8 SP and 1 Duration.
- Bolster+ (Tactical) — Cost: 1E 1M | CD: 6
If you are shielded, gain 1 Duration and 2 SP. Otherwise, gain 6 SP and Deplete.
- Shield Strain+ (Tactical) — Cost: 3E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 12 SP and 2 Duration. Increase the cooldown of the next 2 cards you play by 2.
- Shield Amplifier+ (Tactical) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 12 SP. Requires active shields.
- Leverage+ (Tactical) — Cost: 2E 1M | CD: 6
Gain 4 SP +3 SP for each Duration you have. Remove 1 Duration.
- Reinforce+ (Support, Uncommon) — Cost: 3M | CD: 7 | Void
Gain 1 Duration for every 5 Shield Points you have.
- Avert Decay (Support, Uncommon) — Cost: 4M | CD: 7
On turn end, if at 0 Duration, lose 4 SP and gain 1 Duration.
- Shield Stream+ (Rare) — Cost: 4E 2M | CD: 6 | Deplete
For the next 3 turns, gain 3 SP and 1 Duration at the start of each turn.


Cerberus Shield Mk.I
- Heat Buffer (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
Gain 3 SP +1 SP for each Heat Tolerance you have. Sustain 1 Heat.
- Thermal Barrier (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 6
Gain 9 SP. Sustain 3 Heat.
- Thermalization (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 6
Gain 12 SP. Until you lose all Shield Points, whenever you lose 3 SP to enemy attacks, gain 1 Heat (max 3 Heat per turn).
- Hotfix (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 8 SP if overheated, otherwise gain 4 SP.
- Plasma Field (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5 | Deplete
Gain 4 SP +1 SP for each Heat. Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Insulation Field (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 4M | CD: 7
While shielded, your Heat Tolerance is increased by 1 for every 6 SP you have (max +6).
- Endothermic Reaction (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 4M | CD: 8
While this effect is active, your Heat Tolerance is reduced by 1. Whenever Heat is dissipated, gain 1 SP for each Heat dissipated.

Mk.II
- Heat Buffer+ (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 2 SP for each Heat Tolerance you have. Sustain 1 Heat.
- Thermal Barrier+ (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 3E | CD: 5
Gain 12 SP. Sustain 3 Heat.
- Thermalization+ (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 3E | CD: 6
Gain 16 SP. Until unshielded, whenever you lose 3 SP to enemy attacks, gain 1 Heat (max 4 Heat per turn).
- Hotfix+ (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 5
Gain 8 SP if overheated, otherwise gain 4 SP.
- Plasma Field+ (Tactical, Common) — Cost: 2E | CD: 6 | Deplete
Gain 2 SP for each Heat you have. Lose all Shield Points at the start of your next turn.
- Insulation Field+ (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 7M | CD: 8
While shielded, your Heat Tolerance is increased by 2 for every 6 SP you have (max +6).
- Endothermic Reaction+ (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 6M | CD: 8
While this effect is active, your Heat Dissipation is reduced by 1 (min 0). Whenever Heat is dissipated, gain 2 SP for each Heat dissipated.
- Radiant Barrier (Support, Uncommon, Upgrade) — Cost: 4M | CD: 7
On turn end, if you are overheated, gain 4 SP.
[/expand]

[h3]Feedback wanted[/h3]
Shield builds touch a lot of the game’s pacing, so we’d love to hear:

• Which shield line feels strongest/weakest by sector
  
• Whether any specific cards feel like auto-picks or dead picks
  
• How the new starting shields feel for Marauder/Avalanche/Firebrand
  

Thanks for playing and for helping us shape Breachway o7

Edgeflow Studio

Hi everyone,
We have a big patch coming up (including a run reset), so we wanted to share a preview before it goes live on Friday at 10:00 CET.

As the name suggests, this update is focused on a full Shield equipment redesign + balance pass.
This sort of redesign and rebalance will be applied to all equipment families over the course of the next months, making sure most cards are relevant picks, and the power level of cards is more equal, leading to higher build variety.
In between equipment revamps, we will focus on fixing bugs and improving the game's performance and stability.

What changed
We’ve tweaked most Shield cards as part of this pass. In general, many Shield cards now have higher cooldowns and adjusted costs to better match their power and role.
Shield equipment now goes up to Mk.II only (this will be the standard for any equipment once it receives its redesign/balance pass).
Equipment now comes in different power levels.
Shield equipment can be upgraded up to 6 card slots max — however, 8-slot Shield equipment can still appear as a rare late-game drop in some cases.

We’ve added shield equipment rarity:

• Barrier Shield is Common
• Burst and Pulse are Uncommon
• Charged and Cerberus are Rare

This also shifts with later sectors (for example, Charged and Cerberus become more common toward the end of Sector 3).

And that brings us to…

We have added the Charged Shield and the Cerberus Shield equipment!

Some of our older players may remember them from long ago, but for those who don’t:

Charged Shield focuses on shield duration — it reduces variance and RNG, and is built to guarantee a steadier shielded state.

Cerberus Shield lets you survive by manipulating Heat, and rewards risky play.

Equipment level differences

The Charged Shield and Cerberus are intended as late-game shields, so they start at Tier 3 (i.e. +2 levels compared to the Barrier Shield).

That means a T3 Charged will have the same card slot + subsystem progression as a T1 Barrier (it starts “behind” by two tiers), but its cards are more powerful and more specialized.

The Pulse and Burst shields start at Tier 2, and their cards are (on average) stronger than Barrier in the right circumstances.

It's been a while but added some new card art for the new shield cards, here are some of them:


Starting equipment updates

• The Marauder now starts with the Burst Shield
• The Avalanche now starts with the Charged Shield
• The Firebrand now starts with the Cerberus Shield

Detailed card changes will follow in the main patch announcement.

If you want to explore what this patch has to offer, it’s live right now on the Experimental Branch.

We’re looking forward to getting this patch in your hands and hearing feedback!

Edgeflow Studio

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Patch notes:

• Fixed a bug that could result in a crash to desktop on entering a hangar in sector 3
  
• Added some fallbacks for the tutorial end, as the tutorial end node wasn't being properly populated for some people
  
• Increased cross-cut's cooldown to its intended value of 6
  
• Updated Chinese localization , fixing some translation issues
  
• Fixed an issue that could result in missile subsystems not being properly populated in sector 3
  

This patch will not reset run progress.
Happy holidays

Edgeflow Studio

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