FBC: Firebreak News

[p]We are currently working on patch 1.3, which will be released early next week, to enhance the overall game experience. We will publish a blog post about the contents of the patch when it's released. We are already working on the patch following that, which is targeted for release later in July.  [/p][p]More is coming beyond that; we’ll talk about that in the coming weeks. But right now, we want to discuss one of the changes we are implementing alongside next week's patch. [/p][p]Changes to Perk Economy [/p][p]Perks are a central part of FBC: Firebreak’s Crisis Kit system. They let you specialize, adapt, and experiment with different combat strategies. [/p][p]We’re updating the Perk economy in the 1.3 patch to make progression smoother, more rewarding, and better paced. The goal is to help players reach their builds faster, experiment more freely, and make more meaningful choices with their Crisis Kits. [/p][p]We’re taking a moment to break down how perks work and what’s changing in our next patch to make the system even more rewarding and flexible. [/p][p]What Are Perks? [/p][p]Perks are passive abilities that twist or enhance your gameplay in ways both strategic and surprising. Want to give every bullet a small chance to deal electric damage? Go for it. Prefer the ability to “shake off” conditions like fire or radiation by jumping up and down? That’s in the toolbox, too…and yes, we know, we need to do a better job in telling you things like this are possible in our game. [/p][p]Right now, there are nearly 50 unique Perks available in the game for you to experiment with. [/p][p]Unlocking and Upgrading [/p][p]To get access to more Perks, you’ll need to raise your Firebreaker Rank. That’s your overall career progression and it’s visible in the main menu below your character. [/p][p]Once unlocked, you can buy and upgrade perks using two currencies gained from playing the Jobs: [/p]

• [p]Lost Assets (your general upgrade currency, which you can find during Jobs from Shelters and around the level. They have a yellow glow around them) [/p]

• [p]Research Samples (a job-specific currency found in Jobs where Corruption is turned on. The Corrupted Items drop these once neutralized, but you can also find them around the level in rare quantities) [/p]

[p]Each Perk can be upgraded from level I (basic effect), to level II (stronger effect), and up to level III (strongest effect that also radiates to nearby allies through the Resonance System). [/p][p]Resonance: Teamwork Makes You Stronger [/p][p]The Resonance System allows fully upgraded Perks (level III) to benefit nearby teammates. This means that by sticking close to your squad, you can tap into each other’s loadouts, whether you’re the one with the boost or simply standing near someone who is. Through Resonance, you share level II effect.[/p][p]It’s our way of closing the gap between seasoned players and newer Firebreakers. Just being part of a team gives you a leg up. [/p][p]Also worth noting: your personal Resonance Shield, which protects you from damage, only recharges when you're near at least one teammate and recharges even faster when you're close to both. [/p][p]Building Your Loadout [/p][p]As you level up your Crisis Kits, you unlock more Perk Slots - up to nine in total. How you fill those is entirely up to you. We have noticed there’s a lot of confusion about upgrading a perk in the Research menu, and then ensuring it is active in your Loadout. [/p]

• [p]A level I perk takes one slot [/p]

• [p]A level II perk takes two slots [/p]

• [p]A level III perk takes three slots [/p]

[p]That means you can run three maxed-out Perks and share the effects with your teammates or mix it up with nine different level I Perks for variety. You can always choose to equip a Perk at a lower level, saving slots for something else. It’s a flexible system that rewards creativity and experimentation. [/p][p]What’s Changing Soon? [/p][p]Some Perk sets will become cheaper across all levels, while others will go up in cost.  [/p][p]The overall time to unlock everything will remain about the same, but you’ll gain access to the resonance system across a wider range of perks much earlier. [/p][p]Heads-up: If you’ve had your eye on any high-level Perks, now might be a good time to unlock them before the new prices go into effect. [/p][p]Full patch notes will be published next week, but the goal is clear: more agency, more variety, and more ways to make your Firebreaker your own.  [/p][p][/p][p]The FBC: Firebreak Team [/p]

[p]As of last night, we have surpassed 1 million players in FBC: Firebreak. This is a significant milestone, so thank you for playing from all of us at Remedy.[/p][p]We know there is still a lot of work ahead of us, and we are super-motivated about it. We have a lot of exciting things cooking for Firebreak players! More about that soon.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Patch notes [/p][p]Known issues list here: [/p][p]https://steamcommunity.com/app/2272540/discussions/0/500576489694044746/[/p][p]Blog post discussing the wider changes to the game here: [/p][p][dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/p][p]PlayStation 5: 1.002.000 
Xbox Series X|S: 1.2.0.0  
PC: 1.2.0 
Windows PC: 1.2.0.0 [/p][p][/p][p]Overview [/p][p]We have overhauled core systems to make progression faster and more rewarding. Economy changes improve how you earn and spend currencies; the Requisition store now separates gear from cosmetics, and Job progression has been restructured to allow players to play full Jobs (all three zones) more quickly.  [/p][p]On top of that, there are many visible and under-the-hood improvements to the game included in this patch. [/p][p]Read our extensive blog post about what is included in this patch and what improvements we are looking at bringing to the game in the near term. [/p][p] [/p][p]Economy Changes [/p]

• [p]Upgrade currencies (Lost Assets and Research Samples) are now visually highlighted in the Jobs to make them easier to spot.  [/p]

• [p]All unlockable costs have been rebalanced to better match actual player currency earnings.  [/p]

• [p]Players will now earn and spend Lost Assets at a healthier pace, enabling smoother progression and gear unlocks. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Job Progression & Clearance Levels [/p]

• [p]New players now start at Clearance Level 3 (CL3) for the first Job, Hot Fix. [/p]

• [p]Players can still choose to play at CL1 or CL2, but it's no longer a requirement [/p]

• [p]To unlock the next Job, you must complete a full three-zone run at CL3. [/p]

• [p]Completing a Job at CL3 also unlocks the Corruption modifier for that Job. [/p]

• [p]These changes provide faster access to full Job experiences and improve matchmaking and onboarding. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Requisitions  [/p]

• [p]The Operational Requisition has been split into two categories: [/p]

• [p]Essentials: Weapons, gear, Improvised Devices, Altered Augments. [/p]

• [p]Expressions: Cosmetic unlocks, like sprays and armor sets. [/p]

• [p]You no longer need to unlock unrelated items (e.g., gloves) to access key gear like weapons or augments. [/p]

• [p]Overall, gear progression is now significantly faster and more focused. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Balancing [/p]

• [p]Decreased the time it takes to build the BOOMbox and Swivel Cannon [/p]

• [p]Increased Hiss Trooper health and stagger threshold [/p]

• [p]The Fix Kit’s Wrench now does damage at every Tier [/p]

• [p]Increased the health pool of Powerful Enemies (the ones with names) [/p]

• [p]The Stapler Corrupted Item is now less elusive and easier to follow [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Audio [/p]

• [p]Fixed missing third-person perspective sound effects for Shock enemies that were not being played properly [/p]

• [p]Fixed music transition issues when moving from the Main Menu to gameplay [/p]

• [p]Shield recharge sound effects are now properly audible, with a new implementation for out-of-range scenarios [/p]

• [p]Fixed a bug preventing harmful condition sounds from other players (such as fire effects) from being heard properly [/p]

• [p]Added a sound effect when exiting weapon or grenade selection in Loadout menu, and added transition sounds for lobby Quick Kit selection [/p]

[p] [/p][p]User Interface [/p]

• [p]Fixed Crisis Kit XP level indicators in the Results screen display [/p]

• [p]Fixed player reputation overlapping XP progress in the post-match results screen [/p]

• [p]Fixed a crash issue when inspecting weapons in the Loadout menu [/p]

• [p]Fixed a misleading error message shown when the host leaves or disbands a party. It now correctly indicates that the party was disbanded[/p]

• [p]You can now ping ziplines [/p]

• [p]Temporary change: Removing the active Perks list from the top right of the in-game HUD due to performance issues (We will fix this urgently and bring the Perk list back) [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Gameplay & Performance [/p]

• [p]Fixed an issue with the Humidifier where the water level changing was only visible to the player who placed the Humidifier [/p]

• [p]Enhanced DualSense haptic feedback in different parts of the Main and other Menus [/p]

• [p]Jump Kit Impactor Tool can now be charged while sprinting. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Visuals and Rendering [/p]

• [p]Performance improvements [/p]

• [p]Entering or exiting a teammate’s Resonance Shield range no longer triggers blue screen flashes. [/p]

• [p]Added a glowing highlight to Lost Assets and Research Samples to make them more attractive [/p]

• [p]Improved blood visual effects [/p]

• [p]Implemented distance fade for distortion effects inside fans [/p]

• [p]Freezer Duty – Added a ramp to the top of one of the buildings in Zone 2 so that Hiss can now get there. Sorry. [/p]

• [p]Ground Control – Fixed a wall in Zone 2 so players can no longer see through it [/p]

• [p]Updated various props and environmental elements [/p]

[p]Update from the FBC: Firebreak team [/p][p][/p][p]It’s been exciting (and nerve-wracking) to see our first multiplayer game out in the wild. Launching FBC: Firebreak is a significant milestone for us, not just because it’s our first online co-op game, but because we’ve self-published it as well. Several things have gone well. Clearly, not everything has. [/p][p]We’ve been reading all the reviews, comments, and feedback from the community across social platforms, Discord, and our Steam forums, as well as the analytics we are getting. It’s clear there are features that need to improve. And they will improve. Thank you for the feedback. We hear you loudly and clearly. Please keep the feedback coming. [/p][p]We are improving some features starting now. While we can improve some features today and in the near term, some others will take longer and require more thinking from us. We will keep you informed every step of the way. [/p][p]But you’re not here for platitudes. You want to know how we will improve your player experience in FBC: Firebreak, so let’s get into it. [/p][p]Here are some of the things we are looking to address, and some are already available in the patch coming out at the same time as this blog post. (For the full patch notes, you can go here:) [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink] [/p][p] [/p][p]Improving the First Hour Experience [/p][p]The game's first hours do not provide a great experience due to a combination of things.  [/p][p]Some of this is down to a lack of onboarding (more about that in a bit), explaining the game’s systems, how to take advantage of the tools at your disposal, and a lack of clarity as to what to do in the Jobs and how to do the work effectively.  [/p][p]In addition, the power fantasy isn’t great in the first hours of the game as starting (tier 1) weapons feel weak, and unlocking higher-tier weapons requires a bit too much grinding. [/p][p]We can see from the data and are seeing feedback that players who stick around and unlock more powerful tier 3 weapons and Perks, playing on higher Threat levels and Full three zone Job runs, are having a better time.  [/p][p]It’s getting to that point, which is proving to be a struggle for many players. We are not naïve and think this is all there is to it, but getting you to the fun faster, giving you the nice toys quicker, is critical. We are making changes in today’s patch to improve the progression.  [/p][p]So, about all that… [/p][p] [/p][p]Better Onboarding and User-interface Clarity [/p][p]Right now, we throw you into the deep end with little explanation on a variety of things from the systems in the game to what you are doing in the Jobs to status effects. [/p][p]We’re working on better communicating the synergies between Crisis Kits and giving players much better information on what to do in the Jobs and how to be more effective in doing the work that Firebreakers must do.  [/p][p]This includes better readability on things like harmful conditions, like being on fire, and the flashing blue effect, which indicates that you entered or exited the range of your crewmates to have Resonance and a shared shield. Objective markers are not clear enough or don’t give a good enough idea of what to do. Lost Assets is an example of a critical thing that is too easy to miss. The latter issue has been improved in today’s patch. [/p][p]We are taking a look at all of this, and have ideas on how to improve, but will need a bit of time to properly plan and execute. [/p][p] [/p][p]Making Jobs Easier to Access [/p][p]Our current progression flow is that new players must play the first Zone of each Job, which was meant to gradually onboard you to the Job. This clearly isn’t working. It is neither tutorializing players, helping matchmaking, nor players' perception of the full extent of the Jobs. We can see that when players experience the entire Job, more fun is had. [/p][p]So, we will give players much easier access to the full Jobs. [/p][p]We are changing the following in today’s patch: [/p]

• [p]You are no longer required to play the first two Clearance Levels of each Job.  [/p]

• [p]New players start their experience with a full three-zone Hot Fix Job run (Clearance Level 3). [/p]

• [p]Completing the full Job unlocks the next full Job, and so on. [/p]

• [p]Completing a full Job also unlocks the Corruption option for that Job. [/p]

[p] [/p][p]Speeding Up Progression and Gear Unlocks [/p][p]We hear you: the grind is too slow. You want to try different builds, equip stronger weapons, use Altered Augments and experiment with Perks. Right now, getting to that takes too long.  [/p][p]There are a few things at play here: [/p][p]According to our data, a whopping 90% of our players have never picked up a single Lost Asset (the currency used to unlock items from Requisitions and Perks) during missions, because they’re too easy to miss (they can be found in Shelters and in random locations in the levels, and they are dropped when defeating a Powerful Enemy).  [/p][p]The upgrade economy was balanced with players finding a good amount of Lost Assets currency during Jobs, but as the currency (the folders on the ground) does not particularly stand out from the environments, players completely ignore them and are thus earning Lost Assets roughly 3x slower than hoped. [/p][p]Then, players do not earn Lost Assets unless they finish a job. If you exit a job midway or disconnect, you'll get nothing. That’s frustrating. We are looking into what we could do about this, but there are no changes to announce yet. [/p][p]All of that leads to players being unable to unlock new Perks or better gear from the Operational Requisitions at a pace that feels good and prepares you for higher Threat (difficulty) Levels. [/p][p]We are addressing this in a few ways in today’s patch. [/p]

• [p]Lost Assets and Research Samples are now clearly visually highlighted, making it harder to miss them [/p]

• [p]Rebalancing the cost of all unlockables [/p]

• [p]We have split the Operational Requisitions into two:  [/p]

• [p]All cosmetics (sprays, armor sets) are placed in a new Requisitions page called “Expressions”.  [/p]

• [p]Operational Requisitions is renamed to “Essentials” and as the name implies, contains weapons, gear, and equipment. [/p]

• [p]Making essentials like Altered Augments, Improvised Devices, and powerful weapons easier to access. [/p]

• [p]The end result of these changes is that you can unlock and buy gear significantly faster than before. No more needing to unlock gloves just to get to a better revolver. [/p]

[p][/p][p]What’s next? [/p][p]Today’s patch is just the beginning. These are some of the most immediate changes, but we are actively discussing and planning broader improvements to the game based on what we are hearing and seeing. [/p][p]We’ll continue listening, improving, and evolving the game together with our community.  [/p][p]More updates soon. [/p][p][/p][p]The FBC: Firebreak Team [/p]