Skillshot City News

[p]This version adds a bunch of new challenges that not only test your player skills, but also teaches you how to use the skills in the game too!

Each challenge has the following format:

1) You must play a specific class
2) You must use a specific skill (specially chosen to combo with that class)
3) You must win at least 9 trophies in the match (basically come 1st or 2nd)

If you win while using the required class/skill combo you'll complete the challenge and see numbers go up. You can also claim the reward, which is either ACID, Magnets, or the premium currency Uranium.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]JUICY REWARDS (48 daily challenges worth of ACID)[/h3][p]There are 24 challenges available for free, and 80 if you have the Deluxe DLC. But even for free to play players, these rewards are quite nice. It will take a long time to win all of these challenges so I wanted the grind to be worth it. Just in the 24 free challenges you can claim:
[/p][p]+400 uranium
+4 magnets
+2400 acid[/p][p][/p][p]You can convert that 400 uranium into 12,000 acid, or 14400 acid total, which is what you'd get from completing 48 daily challenges (or 10 full days of grinding the 5 dailys per day). Hopefully this is a good incentive for people to grind these challenges, because...[/p][p][/p][h3]THE REAL REWARDS ARE THE LESSONS YOU LEARN ALONG THE WAY[/h3][p]I mostly added this system to teach new players some of the many synergies in Skillshot City. [/p][p][/p][p]This is a complex game and it's a bit overwhelming for a new player. Where to start? How to make a good build? What should I equip? These challenges now provide a guide. [/p][p][/p][p]Each challenge has been chosen to require you to win with a strong synergy, and also has a useful tip explaining how to use it. You can read through these challenges, even the ones in the DLC section, and get ideas on how to improve your builds. Look for your favorite class and see what skills are suggested to combo with it, and then read the tip for how to pull off the combo.[/p][p][/p][p]The challenge grid starts with some basic and obvious synergies, but also includes more advanced ones too. There are even challenges which require 2 skills instead of a class and a skill. Some examples:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Self Repair (skill) + Mirror Image (skills) TIP: Cast Self Repair first, then immediately cast Mirror Image after. Your clone will spawn with Self Repair activated, allowing you to get double healing.[/p][p]
Sniper (class) + Shrapnel (skill): TIP: Sniper throws an extra grenade, and Shrapnel makes grenades deal extra damage.[/p][p][/p][p]Scavenger (class) + Medical Supplies (skills): TIP: Scavenger drops a bunch of loot once you collect 50 pieces of it. Medical Supplies heals your for each bit of loot you pick up, making your nearly invulnernable when the 50 bits of loot drop out of you.[/p][p][/p][p]Assault (class) + Hypnotic Army (skill) TIP: Hypnotic Army lets you bring civs into a fight with you. When they die Assault's perk makes each one of them drop a free health kit.[/p][p]

[/p][p][/p][p]I've made a few hotfixes to the game over the last month. I've updated the in-game changelog feature but not offically posted about them here on Steam. Here are some of the bigger changes if you haven't played in the last few weeks:

\[MAJORISH CHANGES][/p]

• [p]All players have been given a starter flask for each class that gives 4 rares, 2 epics and 1 legendary skill that was specifically chosen to synergize with that class (and indeed appears in this new synergy challenge grid).[/p]
• [p]Added QoL features like a "CLAIM ALL" button on modifiers level ups, and made the flask opening animation instant (unless you're about to get a legendary).[/p]
• [p]Fixed various bugs and crashes for Chinese peeps.[/p]
• [p]If you join a game mid-match, the auto skill picker will now try prioritize skills you like, instead of pure random.[/p]
• [p]Clicking JOIN GAME on someone's name via the friends page will try to put you into their squad, instead of merely just joining their server.[/p]
• [p]Servers that have lots of high level players in them now give out slightly more trophies at the end of the match[/p]
• [p]Random skills mode now lets you equip the top 2 slots of your build. The bottom 6 slots are still randomized. So you still have SOME control over your build, but not as much as constructed mode.[/p]
• [p]Added 20 new gun skins. Rainbow gun skins! These are added after the silver and golden ones, ranging from 105 to 200 combined class levels. Basically you can adjust the colour of the gun and the glow with a slider.[/p]
• [p]Streamlined magnets. They now give exactly 500 DNA every time, and never hit rarities. The exception for this is Magnetic Flask, which always hits rarities. This works out to slightly more DNA given per magnet on average, and is far more reliable.[/p]
• [p]Warmup round is now throwing knives only![/p]
• [p]The free login bonus in the shop now gives 2x more acid[/p]
• [p]There are now 5 instead of 4 free daily challenges. And each one gives 300 instead of 250 acid (900 instead of 750 for DLC).[/p]
• [p]The 6th bonus daily challenge now gives 3x values instead of 2x value. 3,000 acid for 100 uranium, instead of 4,000 for 200.[/p]
• [p]We can now spend our syringes directly and instantly on any skill you want by holding ALT in-game. You no longer need to shop around at vendors until you randomly see the one you like.[/p]
• [p]Balanced a lot of guns and skills[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]And these are the rest of the changes that just went live today:[/p][p][/p][p]\[GAMEPLAY CHANGES][/p][p]- Constructed mode (non-random skill build) can now reroll the draft twice instead of just once. It costs $1000 each time.[/p][p]- Vendor bullet speed upgrades are back to +15/30/45% speed instead of +10/20/30% speed[/p][p]- Players who join the game late come in with slightly less XP than before[/p][p]- Shotgun range is 30 instead of 28, Shotguns speed is 100 instead of 85[/p][p]- Reduced recoil experienced while shifting slightly, especially for rifles and machine guns[/p][p]- The hitbox of shifting enemies is slightly larger, as it's too annoying to hit people zigzagging all over the place (especially with high netcode)[/p][p][/p][p]\[SKILL CHANGES][/p][p]- Critical Rage now also triggers against gangsters[/p][p]- Phase Drifting does slightly more damage[/p][p]- Proximity Rounds trigger radius is smaller[/p][p]- Mana Shield duration is now 3s instead of 2.5s, but it gives slightly less protection[/p][p]- Killer Cooldowns mutation restores a bit less health against players (same vs civs though)[/p][p]- Gunslinger reload speed is a bit faster[/p][p]- Illicit Income has slightly higher ROF per wanted level[/p][p]- Fixed a bug with Armed Robbery's mutation not dropping enough vendor upgrades[/p][p]- Manic Mechanic's fire rate mutation goes back to +40% isntead of +30%[/p]

[p]Hey all, pretty spicy change here:

- We can now INSTANTLY spend our syringes as soon as we earn them, simply by holding ALT and clicking the button in the skill draft. You no longer need to shop around at vendors.
[/p][p]Note, I put out a patch yesterday which was a bit broken. This version fixes it. I'm reposting yesterday's changelog here, with a few tweaks.
[/p][p]Have fun![/p][p]bencelot


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\[SKILL DRAFT CHANGES][/p][p]Vendors no longer sell mutations. Instead we spend our syringes in the skill draft.[/p][p]Mutating now always costs 1 syringe instead of 1/2/2/2/2.[/p][p]Instead of getting 1 syringe on score 5/10/15/20/25/30/35/40/45/50/55/etc you get 1 syringe at score 10/20/30/40/50/60/etc.[/p][p]A new indicator is shown next to your syringes up the top right saying "Next Syringe: X/20 Score"[/p][p]Syringe Supply modifier now drops 1 instead of 2 syringes. Drug Stash modifier has a 20% instead of 50% chance of syringes.[/p][p]Slowed down the levelling curve. 7500xp now reaches level 10 instead of level 12.[/p][p]Level 10 is now when scoring stops, not level 12. This makes for cleaner maths.[/p][p]We now get +3 score per level instead of +2, capped at 30 (enough for your 3rd syringe mutation).[/p][p]Level 10 is now when you get your 5th skill, not level 12. Cleaner milestone.[/p][p]In constructed build mode (not using random skills), the 3rd skill slot no longer appears when you hit levels 5 and 6.[/p][p]Instead, you can reroll on these levels so you can see another skill from your build. This costs money, but is instant.[/p][p]Rerolling on levels 5 and 6 now costs $3000 instead of $1000 (it's still $1000 if you do random class mode).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[GENERAL CHANGES][/p][p]There are now 5 instead of 4 free daily challenges. And each one gives 300 instead of 250 acid (900 instead of 750 for DLC).[/p][p]The 6th bonus daily challenge now gives 3x values instead of 2x value. 3,000 acid for 100 uranium, instead of 4,000 for 200.[/p][p]Weekly challenges now require 4/8/12/16/20 dailys to complete instead of 3/6/9/12/15 (as we have 1 extra per day)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[GAMEPLAY CHANGES][/p][p]Heart crates once again fall every 30s instead of every 60s[/p][p]Heart crates stop landing after -2:00 into overtime[/p][p]Fixed a bug with heart crates not being destroyed on the client[/p][p]Random Class modes gives 5% less cash and XP for all amounts[/p][p]Removed the infinitely explorable overtime thing in survival mode between rounds[/p][p]Vendor upgrade costs now scaled based on the total amount purchased: 6/9/15/18/21/24/27/30k/etc[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]\[CLASS CHANGES][/p][p]Caster's skill upgrades are now -33% instead of -50% the cost, but apply to all upgrades, not just skill-ones[/p]

Hey all, small patch this week. The biggest change is this:

Zombies no longer lose their max shield when they revive. This makes kills earned as a zombie matter far more now, because when you kill enemies and they drop shield drops, you get to keep them after reviving. You now only lose shield when you die, not when you revive.

Have fun!
bencelot


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[GAMEPLAY CHANGES]
Max shield is now 60% instead of 40% (3 kills instead of 2)

Zombies no longer lose their collected max shield when they revive

When zombies revive, they respawn with exactly 50% health and shield

The heart drops during overtime now land at -0:30, -1:30, -2:30, -3:30

Players move 5% faster

Skill Healing vendor upgrades now give +10/20/30% instead of +15/30/45%

Skill duration/size/speed vendor upgrades now give +15/30/45% instead of +20/40/60%

Chemicals now cost $8000 instead of $6000

Added a new chemical called Supply Beacon. Supply beacon lets you summon a supply drop to your location with a 30s timer. The passive gives you +20% cash from loot on the ground



[SKILL CHANGES]
Beefcake's mutation now gives +2/4/6/8 isntead of +3/6/9/12 max hp per upgrade purchased. Raw max hp ranges from 16 to 72 instead of 20 to 90 max hp.

Manic Mechanic's mutation now gives +40% instead of +50% rate of fire

Automatic Armor cooldown now ranges from 15s to 8s (instead of fixed at 10s). Duration is 1.5 instead of 2.0s.

Revenge Rockets now fire back at gangsters and cops. The mutation gives 40/80/120/160% new rockets instead of 25/50/75/100%

Rambulance healing now ranges from 3 to 13.5 instead of 4 to 18 hp/s

Proximity Rounds trigger range vs gangsters reduced to 35/70/105/140 instead of 50/100/150/200m

Regeneration healing begins 1.5s after combat instead of 1s.

Boots of Travel speed begins after 1.5s instead of 1.0s. Move speed is now +16% to +72% instead of +14% to +63%

Stimpacks healing now ranges from 3 to 10 instead of 3 to 13.5. Stimpacks mutation health kit chance ranges from 8 to 32% isntead of 7 to 28%

Mana Shield duration is now 2s instead of 2.5s after casting a skill

Charged Shot mutation healing is now 20/40/60/80 instead of 15/30/45/60

Energy Vortex cooldown is now 2s faster

Hypnotic Army cooldown is now 2s faster, and max followers is +1 larger

Assassinate no longer prioritizes players with higher bounties, allowing it to instead focus on closer enemies

Hey all, a fairly small patch today but with some interesting changes from observing new people play:

1) Heavy class no longer drops health kits, but instead can recharge its shield to 100% in XP Pools. This makes it actually act like a heavy tanky boi, instead of more of an "agility" character where you need to grab the kits. Easier for new players to understand, and interesting mechanics of holding space near XP Pools.

2) In squads mode, players missions are now shared with allies.

Have fun!
bencelot


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[GAMEPLAY CHANGES]
- Civilian mission progression is now shared with allies in squads mode. The requirements are higher with more people

- There is +1 extra heart drop at each minute before overtime.

- It once again requires 3 kills instead of 2 to get the 3rd skill at levels 5 and 6

- Damage health kits now give +30 instead of +20 hp



[CLASS CHANGES]
- Assault reload speed is now +100% instead of +70%

- Sniper range is now +15% instead of +10%

- Heavy's first perk is changed. It now is called "Over Shield": Standing in XP Pools will overheal your shield up to 100% of max health. Your normal max shield is also +20% larger.



[SKILL CHANGES]
- Frenzy's ally buff radius is 50% larger

- Shift Supply's mutation speed boost now lasts 2s instead of 1s

- Armed Robbery will always drop at least one cash pile (if nothing else drops and not on cooldown)

- Mirror Image clone health reduced by 4%



[MODIFIER CHANGES]
- The Risky Traders modifier has been removed, and now replaced with Heavy's old medkits perk.

[p][/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p]Same game, new name. Gene Shift Auto has been renamed to Skillshot City! [/p][p][/p][p]I'll explain why below, but first want to reassure everyone that you'll keep all of your account progress. This is simply a name change, but the game itself is the same (apart from some spicy gameplay tweaks mentioned below). If you want to read why the name was changed and what it means for the future of this game, read on. Otherwise, skip to the changelog below to see the gameplay changes.[/p][p][/p][h2]Check out the New Trailer[/h2][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][h2]Why the Name Change?[/h2][p]The main reason for the new name is to align the name with the gameplay, and attract the right kind of players. Players who'll enjoy the high skill PvP combat that the game now features in 2025.

The original name was chosen because Gene Shift Auto sounded a lot like Grand Theft Auto. This game does after all have cops, missions, cars, gangsters and more - and whenever I'd post the game online the most upvoted comment was always, without fail, something like "omg, this game looks just like GTA2!". So I took that as a good sign that GTA was the main selling point and something to base the name on.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]However, after the game went F2P in 2022, this changed. Far more players started playing the game, and with these new players I got far more feedback. I got to observe what the much larger F2P playerbase actually cared about, and it wasn't the GTA stuff. The main thing players talk about now is the skills. The feedback is always about the skills. The combos, the synergies. What their skill build should be. What's broken, what needs a buff, how to improve the skill drafting system, etc.[/p][p][/p][p]It became clear to me that while GTA2 makes for great screenshots and gets lots of comments online, it's not what actually keeps players in the game. Cops and missions are fun, but they're not where the replayabilty lies. They are simply a source of XP for what the game is really about - the skills. It no longer make senses to attract GTA2 fans if they're going to have "seen it all" after a few matches.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Instead, we want a name that attracts high-skill PvP fans. Fans who like creating combos, getting flashy kills, mastering their build, and outplaying enemies. This is where the replayability of the game lies - not the cops and missions. This is what keeps you playing 100+ matches as you unlock and discover thousands of new and broken combos.[/p][p][/p][p]And so, the name is now Skillshot City! This new name clearly has strong PvP vibes it attracgt PvP gamers. It puts a focus on the skills and the flashy skillshots you often use to win! [/p][p][/p][p]This will attract more PvP gamers who would actually love this game, if they had only known to check it out in the first place. Now they will. We'll fill up our servers with fresh competition and get new voices in our community. Ultimately, this will get us more players, and help prepare the game for the v1.0 release.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]What's Next?[/h2][p]The main focus now going forward is preparing for the big v1.0 release. After many years in Early Access, Skillshot City is a complete game that delivers hundreds of hours of fun for the right kind of gamer - the kind of gamer we will now be attracting. So my focus will be contacting streamers, the press, preparing marketing assets, and so on. [/p][p][/p][p]I want to make the game as fun as possible, and the single best way to do that now is to just get us more players. More hype, fuller servers, more voices in the community, etc. This name change is the first step towards this, but I'll be spending the next few months really ramping up the exposure of the game. So now would be a great time to hop online and get involved in this new growing community![/p][p][/p][p]Happy skillshotting!
bencelot.[/p][p] [/p][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Full Changelog[/h2][p][/p][p]
[GAMEPLAY CHANGES][/p][p]- Heart drops now come every 60s instead of every 30s.[/p][p][/p][p]- There is +1 heart drop during overtime.[/p][p][/p][p]- Hearts give 10/20/30xp based on the round.[/p][p][/p][p]- Players with high kill streaks now drop extra cash when killed. This now goes up to a 20x streak, which will drop $10,000.[/p][p][/p][p]- Slightly more gangsters spawn in the map.[/p][p][/p][p]- Gangsters now explode in a larger radius (now the same size as explosive crates).[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][CLASS CHANGES][/p][p]- As a scientist, every vendor is guaranteed to sell chemicals if you don't yet own a chemical.[/p][p][/p][p]- Scavenger's copy coin no longer duplicates Syringes.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][SKILL BUFFS][/p][p]- Asssassinate slightly prioritizes players with high bounties.[/p][p][/p][p]- The skill duration tag now applies to Combo Killer's mutation, allowing for even longer infinite shifting.[/p][p][/p][p]- Mirror Image's clone health is now a percentage of your max health, ranging from 20 to 34%.[/p][p][/p][p]- Shift Attack's mutation now restores more ammo per shift, ranging from 8 to 32% instead of 6 to 24%.[/p][p]- Frenzy cooldown is 1s faster.[/p][p][/p][p]- Automatic Armor recharges every 10 instead of 12 seconds.[/p][p][/p][p]- Smoke Bomb's mutation doesn't throw health kits quite as far away, making them easier for the owner to collect.[/p][p][/p][p]- Shift Supply mutation reworked. It no longer restores shifts when you touch jump pads or XP Pools. Instead: Shift Supply now boosts your move speed for 1s after shifting, by +8/16/24/32%[/p][p][/p][p]- Beefcake now gives 10 to 90 max hp instead of 8 to 72 max hp, but it makes you even larger.[/p][p][/p][p]- Falling Inferno molotov duration boost is now +3/6/9/12 instead of +2/4/6/8.[/p][p][/p][p]- Force Field's mutation now gives +12/24/36/48 damage instead of +10/20/30/40.[/p][p][/p][p]- Gunslinger's reload speed is now +20-90% instead of +10-45%.[/p][p][/p][p]- Manic Mechanic now also gives +10-45 xp per car destroyed[/p][p][/p][p]- Flying Dagger now has +6 range and speed[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][SKILL NERFS][/p][p]- Blade Fury slashing DPS now scales based on level, ranging from 50 to 120 (instead of fixed at 100 hp/s).[/p][p][/p][p]- Venom Shot mutation healing now ranges from 20 to 80% instead of 25 to 100%.[/p][p][/p][p]- Clip Magnet now takes 6s longer to fully charge up a clip (the mutation however is unaffected).[/p][p][/p][p]- Energy Vortex cooldown is 1s slower.[/p][p][/p][p]- Mana Shield duration after casting skills is now 2.5 instead of 3.0s.[/p][p][/p][p]- Toxic Blood's mutation now ranges from 8 to 32 hp/s instead of 10 to 40hp/s.[/p][p][/p][p]- Flaming Bullets no longer has the duration tag on it (just gets too busted especially with the mutation).[/p][p][/p][p]- Proxmity Rounds now deal +7 instead of +8 damage per shot.[/p][p][/p][p]- Laser Scope's extra range is now 2/4/6/8 instead of 3/6/9/12.[/p][p][/p][p]- Phase Drifting's healing mutation is now 8-32 instead of 10-40 hp/s.[/p][p][/p][p]- Shockwave cooldown is now 2s longer.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][MODIFIER CHANGES][/p][p]- Skill Reloader modifier has been replaced with a new modifier called: Drug Stash. Capturing gangster loot has a 50% chance to give +1 bonus syringe.[/p][p][/p][p]- Healing Pools now restores 50 instead of 40 hp/s inside XP pools[/p][p][/p][p]- Impact Zone now gives +40% instead of +33% blast size to explosives[/p][p][/p][p]- Mega Missions now gives 4x instead of 3x for the first mission of the match[/p][p][/p][p]- Shell Shot now gives shotguns +70% instead of +50% range[/p][p][/p][p]- Air Supplies drops even more loot[/p][p][/p][p]- Bob Boxman has a 50% chance to spawn civs inside crates[/p][p][/p][p]- Bombflation drops 5 instead of 3 of that grenade type for killing a cop[/p][p][/p][p]- Cluster Cars fires out 6 instead of 4 bazookas when destroying cars[/p][p][/p][p]- Broken Barrier changed slightly. Players now respawn with 40% barrier, but they don't regenerate.[/p][p][/p][p]- King of the Pool has even fewer XP Pools[/p][p][/p][p]- Rest & Reload now gives +100% reload speed when standing still instead of +50%[/p][p][/p][p]- Skill Scan reveals enemies for 10s instead of 5s after using a skill[/p][p][/p][p]- Augmentation gives +5 instead of +4% gun DMG when buying upgrades[/p][p][/p][p]- Bomb Rush boosts your move speed for 15s instead of 10s[/p][p][/p][p]- Chemical Chaos spawns 2x more chemicals in the map[/p][p][/p][p]- Damage Drops now makes vendors drop 2 instead of 1 double damage loot[/p][p][/p][p]- Life Guards now spawn a gangster next to EVERY XP pool instead of only half of them[/p][p][/p][p]- Shield Steal now restores 35% instead of 30% of damage done to enemies[/p][p][/p][p]- 360 No Scopes now gives +36 instead of +25 damage per shot[/p][p][/p][p]- Hide & Heal gives 3s instead of 2s of invisibility[/p][p][/p][p]- Open Wounds now slows now regen above 50% instead of 60% health[/p][p][/p][p]- Sonic Boom makes you travel 10x instead of 6x further when shifting[/p]