Axon TD: Uprising News

We're just under two weeks out from Version 1.1, which contains:

• PvP
  
• Profile
  
• Skins
  

Today, we're giving you a quick preview of the latter two!

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[h2]Profile[/h2]
Turns out the devs lack any stats! We're just ghosts.

Need more stats in your life? Behold, for we have all the stats! Your level is in the top-left corner, which is based on the number of Achievements you've completed.

On the bottom are three tabs. This one is the Game Stats tab. Next to it is your Achievements, which is the same menu as before, just bundled into the Profile. And the last tab is...

[h2]Skins[/h2]
Unlocking is done per Defense, as opposed to per skin.

Every Defense in the game now has 3 Skins! Don't want all-yellow MegaCorp Defenses? Now mix and match per Defense at will!

For every 2 Achievements you achieve, you get an Unlock Point. Select a Defense, and you'll have all the Skin options for that Defense! There is no pay-to-unlock for Skins.

Here's a couple examples:


[h2]Public Alpha[/h2]
Reminder, you can check out everything in 1.1 early, as soon as right now! We've updated the Alpha a considerable amount in the past weeks, refining PvP Mode, doing final balance tweaks, and more! To try it out:

• Right-click Axon TD: Uprising in your game library
  
• Select Properties
  
• Select Betas
  
• From the Beta Participation dropdown menu, select "alpha - Public testing"
  
• You'll then have access to the Version 1.1.alphas!

Let us know what you think of it on our Discord in the #axon-alpha channel.

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[h2]Release Date[/h2]
We're almost there! Version 1.1 releases on Friday, January 24th! Look forward to a video overview with our patch notes as well.

[h2]Version 1.1[/h2]
First up, release date is moving from December to January 24th. However, included in this update will be:

• PvP Mode
  
• Player Profile
  
• Skins
  • These will be unlocked through in-game means, not paid

It's got its own banner!

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[h2]How PvP Works[/h2]

[h3]Loadout[/h3]
The first thing you'll do in PvP is choose your Loadout. You choose 3 Starting Defenses and 2 Overloads. Note, you can't see what your opponent chooses.

• Also, your starting Defenses are Bans. Hypothetically, you and the other player can select the same Defenses, but if you don't, those Defenses will never show up for your opponent throughout the game.

The Lobby looks a little different...

[h3]Maps[/h3]
The mode currently has three map "layouts". That is, each layout has some degree of randomness:

Procedurally generated maps? In Axon TD?

[h3]Sending Axons[/h3]
Like Survival, you'll unlock Defenses over time, though it's a bit expedited, as you'll unlock Defense Upgrades at a faster rate. Maze your side, connect to Generators... and Send Axons. It's a new button on your UI.

It's a tech tree for Axons! Are those Bosses at the end?

How it works is, as you send Axons, two things will happen:

• Every two of the same Axon you send will Upgrade it. The cost is raised by 5 Credits, but it gains Armor, or Mk 2, and eventually even Shields.
  
• Send enough of one Axon in a tree, and you'll Unlock the next tier of Axons in that branch.
  

There's also a default wave order. If you don't send anything, this will spawn. But if you do Send Axons, it'll get mixed into the wave order.


[h3]Other Notes[/h3]
We're still working on improving the UI so it tells you these things, but some things to consider:

• End-of-wave Rewards are mostly identical.
  • The Defense Upgrades may be different, but you and the opponent are given the same New Defense choice, Tech choice, and same distribution of Credits/Adds/Power.
    
• You get Credits back for Axons you send when they're destroyed.
  • However, you don't get the Credits back when they leak.
    
• Each life you lose gives you a Free Send. These won't progress the Axon Tech Tree, but you can send something back without cost!
  
• Some Defenses cost less in PvP than other modes. This should help make most builds viable!
  

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[h2]PvP Alpha[/h2]
To try out the PvP Mode, follow these steps:

• Right-click Axon TD: Uprising in your game library
  
• Select Properties
  
• Select Betas
  
• From the Beta Participation dropdown menu, select "alpha - Public testing"
  
• You'll then have access to the Version 1.1.alphas!

Let us know what you think of it on our Discord in the #axon-alpha channel. We'll be posting up patch notes soon. You'll also be able to find people to play against in there, so hop on in!

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That's it for today's preview! As we get closer to Version 1.1's release, expect to see a couple more previews detailing other aspects of the patch. In the meantime, we hope you'll try out the alpha, and let us know what you think of the PvP Mode!

[h3]General[/h3]

• Made some tweaks to the camera in the Campaign overworld map.
  
• Increased the camera pan speed.
  

[h3]UI[/h3]

• The tower you currently have selected to build will now flash in the build bar at the bottom of your screen.
  
• Made the grid just slightly more visible.
  

[h3]Audio[/h3]

• Adjusted volume on Network towers and fixed their attenuation.
  

[h3]Fixes[/h3]

• Fixed an issue where Axons would stay cloaked for the duration of the EMP applied to them.
  
• Fixed an issue where loading a checkpoint in a solo co-op game would reset the game options.
  
• Fixed an issue with the Vex near Exit Tech that would cause it to reset on loading checkpoints.
  
• Fixed an issue where Axon Factory and Plasmathrower Damage-over-time fields were not being properly cleared due to an interaction with Purger.
  
• Fixed an issue with Reverser reversing again when updating the path after being lifted by Lifter.
  
• Fixed an issue where some achievements were not retroactively checking their conditions for completion.
  
• Fixed an issue with the "Non-optional" achievement not visually tracking progress properly in the achievements menu.
  
• Fixed an issue in the Map Editor where Traps and Mines could break the path upon loading the map.
  
• Fixed an issue where Purger would break Nanite Nest's functionality.
  
• Fixed an issue where Command Link wasn't applying its range bonus to Electron Launcher.
  
• Fixed an issue where Command Link U1 would count unconnected towers when applying its range buff.
  
• Fixed an issue with the Pulseray U1 calculation, resulting in an erroneous attack speed cap.
  
• Fixed an issue where Arc Reactor wasn't applying the bounce range increase from its global upgrade.
  
• Fixed an issue where Blockers were still counting towards Orbital Cannon's global upgrade.
  
• Fixed the Meta Tech "Conservative" not working at all.
  
• Fixed an issue where you could not place down Blockers if your Credits were below 0(shouldn't happen in the first place).
  
• Fixed the Radiation Cloud Tech missing an icon.
  
• Fixed an error when Axons are destroyed.
  
• Fixed an error when placing down Axon Factory on an invalid node.
  

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FYI, expect to see a post from us soon updating you on the state of PvP and its intended release date.

[h2]Fixes & Improvements[/h2]

• The Co-op Menu can now be used to access Co-op Campaign. Alternatively, you can still access it the original way through the Campaign menu.
  
• M36 in the Campaign no longer requires Hard Difficulty to achieve its optional objective.
  
• Added a SFX for Lobby Ready. This also triggers in-game in Co-op for the first person to hit Play.
  
• Added a SFX for Lobby Countdown Beep.
  
• Added a SFX for activating a Preplaced Tower.
  
• Added a subtle SFX for transitioning between screens.
  

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Also, we've become aware of an issue affecting our NA & EU servers, preventing some people from playing online. We're still trying to track down the actual issue and fix it; in the meantime, if you are one of these people, try switching to one of the other regions. We apologize for the inconvenience, and hopefully, we'll have it fixed soon!

[h2]Campaign[/h2]

• Nerfed waves 4 and 6 in mission "Connections".
  
• Nerfed waves 9 through 12 in mission "Interstellar Comms Array".
  

[h2]Survival[/h2]

• Added a warning pop-up for starting a new game when you have a saved checkpoint.
  

[h2]Audio[/h2]

• Fixed ambience and audio attenuation levels when zoomed out.
  

[h2]Fixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue where loading a checkpoint with an upgrade Pre-placed Defenses causing an error.
  
• Fixed an issue where upgrading a pre-placed Defenses would remove their pre-placed indicator.
  
• Fixed an issue where Orbital Cannon's Global Upgrade was granting bonus damage from Blockers.
  
• Fixed a display error where Network would appear to recieve attack speed and damage buffs from other sources.
  
• Fixed Backtrack and Radiation Cloud not being available in the Map Editor loadout menu.
  
• Fixed a visual issue where Mines and Traps would appear to be "hovering" in the Map Editor.
  
• Fixed an issue where Mine and Traps blocked the path in the Map Editor.
  
• Fixed a potential issue with Avenger and Linked Squadron causing an error when leaking.
  
• Fixed an issue with some of the optional objectives in Campaign not counting properly towards the achievements.
  
• Fixed an issue where the third cutscene's subtitles were missing.
  
• Fixed an issue where the initial difficulty selection in the campaign was missing tooltips.
  
• Fixed a tooltip error where AoE was listed in seconds.