Skillshot City News

Hey all!

This patch introduces a new cosmetic progression system for late game players - Premium Modifiers.

Once you reach level 100, you can spend Enriched Shards in the shop to buy a new flask called the Premium Modifer Flask. Like all flasks, these give DNA, which means you can now use Enriched Shards to level up your skills and get more legendaries. Previously, many players were sitting on a bunch of Enriched Shards that they literally couldn't spend at all. So now that's fixed.

But even cooler, these new flasks also randomly upgrade one of your round modifiers to "Premium" status. Premium modifiers look cooler and will track your highest kill streak while using them. A bit like StatTrak from Counter Strike. Then when you win a round, that kill streak is shown off on your victory screen! Also, Premium modifiers can go up to 100 instead of 50 trophies, which lets you reach higher and higher victory screen cosmetics (including 2 new ones added this version!).

There are also 3 brand new legendary modifiers in the game. So spend your shards and see if you can grab one!

Have fun,
bencelot

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[SHOP MODIFIER CHANGES]
- The modifiers in the shop now rotate on a daily basis instead of weekly, always showing something you don't yet own.

- The modifiers in the shop can now be rare or epic too. It's not just legendaries.

- Rare modifiers cost 1000 enriched shards, epics cost 1500, and legendaries now cost 2000.

- Legendary Flasks still have duplicate protection, but now have +5% instead of +10% chance of a legendary modifier drop.

- The shop now sells a new type of flask called "Premium Modifier Flask".

- These come in common, rare, epic and lege forms, costing 300/400/500/600 enriched shards each (or 150/200/250/300 uranium).

- Opening one of these gives you DNA as usual, but also guarantees that you upgrade a random modifier of that rarity to premium status!

- Premium modifiers are cosmetic only. They can go up to 100 (instead of 50) trophies. They also track and show your highest kill streak.

- There are 2 new victory screen cosmetic effects for when you reach 3500 and 4000 total trophies: At 3500 your Premium modifers show on fire, and at 4000 your highest every achieved rank shows above your name.



[NEW LEGENDARY MODIFIERS]
- CLEAN KILL: Gain +3% gun damage when you kill an enemy and still have over 90% health.

- RANDOM MUTATION: Everyone mutates a random skill at the start of next round.

- STONKS GO UP: Every minute, your unspent cash will increase by +20% (capped at $100,000).

Hey all!

This patch makes it harder to revive, especially during overtime. This is because zombies no longer drop a heart piece when you kill them. To compensate, heart crates give 6 instead of 4 pieces, and if you die as a zombie you no longer lose a piece.

This change mostly impacts the overtime phase, where after the final heart crates land at -2:00, it will now become impossible to revive. This is a big change! But I think a needed one. The old system let overtime drag on too long, sometimes up to 4 minutes, which is just too much time for zombies to spend constantly chasing after hearts. It's healthier to have overtime end quicker so we can all move onto the next round. And now it's all the more important to survive during overtime, cause you might not get to come back!

Have fun,
bencelot

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[GENERAL CHANGES]
- The ACID Pass now lasts for 30 days instead of 15, and gives you a rainbow username in all areas of the game.

- The ACID Pass gives 50k ACID total instead of 40k.



[GAMEPLAY CHANGES]
- Zombies no longer drop 1 heart fragment when killed

- Heart crates contain 6 instead of 4 heart pieces

- As a zombie, you no longer lose 1 heart on death

- Rare crates no longer drop hearts

- When zombies respawn in overtime, they are less likely to spawn at the very center of the map (this only happens after -2:00 now)

- Knife has 2m instead of 1.5m range, but 50 instead of 60 damage

- XP Pools are more numerous and your shared XP Pool amount gains 30% faster

- XP Pools now cap out at 400/600/800 instead of 300/600/900 xp, making them drain faster in round 1

- Reduced screen shake a bit and zoomed the camera out a tad



[SKILL CHANGES]
- Armed Robbery no longer drops hearts

- Frenzy now correctly buffs allies (it was bugged before)

Hey all!

Just a small balance update based on more of your survey data and discord feedback. For example, in the survey people said cars were too hard to take down, so now all 4 explosive types deal a lot more car damage.

Have fun,
bencelot

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[GENERAL CHANGES]
- The Deluxe DLC icon now shows next to your name and health bar in-game



[GAMEPLAY CHANGES]
- Grenades now spawn in warmup mode, and bots can use them

- Fixed a bug where you couldn't reroll if you fully maxed out a skill with a syringe

- You can now see landed heart and supply crates at all distances across the map (previously they faded out after 200m)

- Made the Assassin Dagger Dance sound louder

- Assassin's upgrades increase by +15% instead of +10% per dagger dance kill

- Caster's cooldown speed boost is +20% instead of +30%

- All 4 explosive types deal more damage to vehicles. Flashbangs go from 0 to 100, Molotovs from 90 to 300, Grenades from 300 to 480, Bazookas from 420 to 525

- The circle shrinks a bit faster during overtime

- Players who join a game mid-match in round 3 spawn with a random tier 3 gun



[SKILL CHANGES]
- Made Critical Rage drop damage kits closer to the user, not the enemy

- Force Field has 50hp less health

- Rambulance has slightly less seeking and armor

- Hypnotic Army has a larger capture range

- Shrapnel goes up to +200% instead of +150% damage

- Spike Trap's duration is now 10 instead of 12s

- Illicit Income gives +50% more cash and XP at base levels (not including wanted levels)

[p]Despite being a solo dev, I've always viewed this game as a team effort. [/p][p][/p][p]So many amazing ideas have come from the community, and I'm super grateful for the help. But there's always been this one big problem - I only heard from the most active players and the small percentage of people who joined the discord. [/p][p][/p][p]But Skillshot City is played by newbies and lurkers too! So that's why a month ago, I added an in-game survey. It appears on the main menu, and you get to answer 1 randomly selected question after every match. Doing so gives you +100 ACID, and gives me that sweet, sweeeet feedback. It also shows the results so you can see what others think too![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Harder Zombie Revivals[/h3][p]The image below shows that in general, players find zombie revivals pretty nicely balanced, with most people saying the difficulty to revive feels about right. But there it is still a clear preference for making them harder, as shown the by middle bar being longer than the bottom one in the image below. So I've made players spawn a bit further away from the heart crates to balance this.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]More Supply Drops[/h3][p]Another change is that a new wave of supply drops now spawns at the start of each round. So there are 2 waves now instead of 1. Here's how the results look in my backend data, where I can filter the information to account for recency and player level etc.
[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]More Skill Points[/h3][p]I've also increased the amount of skill points we earn each game. Much more XP now drops on the ground, I made the leveling curve faster, and the supply drops mentioned above will also help achieve this. I only put this question up yesterday so the sample size is small (35 votes so far). But players clearly want more skill points, so I can confidently buff this.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]More Survey Questions[/h3][p]There are many other questions like this. Most of them suggest the game is in a good spot. For example, players are happy with the Time to Kill, Matchmaking Difficulty, and Match Duration:

[/p][p]But I'd love to get even more survey ideas! So if there's a question you think would be neat to appear in this in-game survey, please let me know in the comments and I might add it![/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]The main thing I've been focusing on for the last few months is youtube. It's the best way to reach more players and fill up our servers. So I'm making youtube videos that tell a short 30s story about the game's mechanics, teaching game design, or explaining some broken combo in a fun way. [/p][p][/p][p]For example, this recent video got 600k views and explains the zombie revival mechanic:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Or this video, showing a sneaky way to FLY in the game (this is still possible, but kinda pointless):[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]Or this one, explaining the game design concept of "flow" and why I added XP Pools:[/p][previewyoutube][/previewyoutube][p][/p][p]There's still a lot to learn about how to go viral, but it's going well so far! The newer videos are getting more views on average, and the channel crossed over 2 million views just before new years eve, earning 500,000 views in a single day. Quite a nice Christmas gift! [/p][p][/p][p]As a result, we're seeing more players download the game and fill up our servers, The average player count is the highest it's been in years, and the plan is to get it a lot higher once I really figure out how to go viral.[/p][p][/p][p] You can check out all the shorts at this link here (don't forget to smash that subscribe button!): [dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p][p][/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 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: [/p][p][/p][p]\[MAJORISH CHANGES][/p]

• [p]Syringes are no longer awarded when overtime begins, but instead are awarded after getting 3 kills per round. This makes hunting kills early each round more meaningful[/p]
• [p]Cops have significantly more damage, smarter AI, and are more aggressive[/p]
• [p]The kill streak mechanic is now shown below you health bar. It now goes up to 10x isntead of 5x. The cash you get from a kill is $100 x killstreak (so the first one gives $100, then $200, up to a max of $1,000)[/p]
• [p]F2P players can now complete the final 60 challenges in each grid (but still need the DLC to claim them).[/p]
• [p]Vendors now always drop a double damage drop when killed, but they deal more damage[/p]
• [p]Completing a KILL FRENZY mission now also gives you 60 seconds of Frenzy at +50% ROF[/p]
• [p]At max wanted level, a helicopter now follows you around to shoot missiles at you[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]And these are the rest of the changes that just went live today:[/p][p][/p][p]\[GENERAL CHANGES][/p][p]- Globally muted players no longer see the in-game chat[/p][p]- The Deluxe DLC now includes 10 bonus legendary flasks. Existing Deluxe owners have had this added to their accounts.[/p][p]- Slightly more ACID is dropped from crates in-game[/p][p][/p][p]\[GAMEPLAY CHANGES][/p][p]- A new wave of supply drops now spawn at the start of each round[/p][p]- Rounds have 3:30 minutes before overtime begins instead of 4:00[/p][p]- Crate Race modifier gives +5 points for rare crates[/p][p]- More XP drops as loot in the map[/p][p]- An extra gangster camp spawns in the map[/p][p]- The leveling curve is slightly faster in-game[/p][p]- Double Damage drops no longer spawn randomly in combat[/p][p]- Vehicles regenerate health a bit slower[/p][p]- Slightly less time required to climb wanted levels[/p][p]- Guns take slightly longer to reload[/p][p]- Casting Frenzy no longer overwrites the Frenzy effect from Kill Frenzy missions[/p][p]- Fixed a bug with Mirror Image not showing a golden health bar for people with the Starter Pack[/p][p]- Impact Zone modifier has a +35% instead of +50% explosion size[/p][p]- Caster's cooldowns are +30% instead of +50% faster[/p][p]- Scavenger's shifts restore +50% instead of +33% faster[/p][p][/p][p]\[SKILL CHANGES][/p][p]- Self Repair cooldown is 2s longer and mutation moves a tad slower[/p][p]- Radiate cooldown is 2s longer[/p][p]- Mirror Image cooldown is 2s longer and the clones are a bit weaker[/p][p]- Shift Supply's shifting range is a tad longer[/p][p]- Shift Attack's damage lasts 0.7 instead of 1.0s[/p][p]- Proximity Rounds has a slightly larger trigger radius (50 vs 40m)[/p][p]- Force Fields get +50 more health across all levels[/p][p]- Critical Rage is easier to use because the double damage drop lands closer to you[/p][p]- Blade Fury slashing DPS is higher, ranging from 30 to 110 instead of 40 to 80[/p][p]- Shockwave cooldown is now 2s longer[/p][p]- Charged Shot's bullets have a slightly larger hitbox[/p][p]- Armed Robbery can be triggered every 30s instead of every 40s[/p][p]- Hypnotic Army has a slightly larger range[/p][p]- Fire Storm mutation drops more molotovs, especially at lower rarities[/p][p]- Invisibility low damage duration is 0.5 instead of 1.0s, and it's mutation gains damage a tad faster[/p][p]- Energy Vortex has a slightly larger range at lower levels[/p][p]- Phase Drifting's healing range on the mutation is a tad larger[/p][p]- Clip Magnet has a bit more seeking[/p][p]- Spike Trap's spike duration is now 12 instead of 8s[/p]

Hey all!

Mostly a small balance patch. The most important things are cops are quite a bit harder now. And killing enemies is more rewarding. You get 2x as much XP per player kill, and also there's a new kill streak shown under the health bar. You get more cash per kill in the streak $100, then $200, then $300, up to a 10x streak of $1000 per kill. Stay alive!

Also, big thanks to everyone who's particpated in the survey so far! It's super useful. Especially to hear what the quiet majority of players enjoy or not. I'm posting screenshots of the results in discord if you're curious what others have voted for.

Have fun!
bencelot

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[GENERAL CHANGES]
Holding the space bar when opening flasks in a queue will pause the timer, letting you see what you got

Added a cool new victory screen cosmetic for the Legendary pack, and a visual in the flask animation page that shows how it affects your rarities



[GAMEPLAY CHANGES]
At wanted level 5, a helicopter now shows up to shoot missiles at you

Cops are now more accurate and are more aggressive

Normal cops now have 50 instead of 40 health, and special forces have 100 instead of 50 health

The time between wanted level 1 and wanted level 2 is 50% (aka you hit wanted 2 much sooner)

XP fills slightly slower in XP Pools, because..

Killing enemy players now gives 100xp instead of 50xp

The kill streak mechanic is now shown below you health bar. It now goes up to 10x isntead of 5x. The cash you get from a kill is $100 x killstreak (so the first one gives $100, then $200, up to a max of $1,000)

Health Stimulant chemical now restores +20 hp/s instead of +10 hp/s

Supply Beacon chemical now can carry 2 charges instead of 1



[SKILL CHANGES]
XRay Vision can now reveal enemy invisible targets

Bouncing Bullet's mutation seeking is reduced a bit, and the skill does slightly less damage

Invis has a 1.0s low damage penalty instead of 0.5s

Blade Fury has reduced slashing damage

Phase Drifting does a bit less damage at max speed

Assassinate gives slightly more farm per kill

Skill Shots gets slightly more move speed from the mutation per charge



[CLASS CHANGES]
Criminal's gang now gets 2 instead of 3 followers (to compensate for the cops being stronger)

Criminal has a 3% instead of 2% chance to spawn a gangster

Assassin gains +10% upgrade power per kill instead of +15%

Assault now gets +20% bullet speed instead of +30%