Steel Swarm: APOCALYPSE News

[h3]Visual & Environment Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Fixed sun and shadow architecture position and rotation on the Xorm side.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted floating texts shown when XBTs take damage.[/p]

[h3]User Interface (UI/UX)[/h3]

• [p]Added tooltips to drones.[/p]
• [p]Added tooltips to stat screen titles.[/p]
• [p]Improved UX for opening/closing client UIs.[/p]
• [p]Disabled camera pan in some UI screens.[/p]
• [p]Regen value is now visible on the HP bar.[/p]
• [p]The “Open Box” button is now disabled while searching for a game.[/p]

[h3]Gameplay & Mechanics[/h3]

• [p]Fixed hero stat UI issue where CCDef engine was showing Att Energy.[/p]
• [p]Vulcan bullets now reduce XBT defenses with each hit.[/p]
• [p]Increased Obelisk ultimate cooldown from 60 to 90 seconds.[/p]
• [p]Announcement is now sent to both ally and enemy teams when Mantis is killed.[/p]
• [p]Fixed assist rewards not accounting for level 1–5 Xalium reduction.[/p]
• [p]Fixed mission crashes on the server.[/p]
• [p]Fixed leaderboard query issues.[/p]

[h3]Ping & Communication System[/h3]

• [p]Removed the “hold” requirement for the ping system.[/p]

[h3]Portal & Gear[/h3]

• [p]For ally portal teleport gear, if no portal is selected, a specific warning text now appears on the cast bar.[/p]

[p]SSA TEAM[/p]

[h3]Free Rotation:[/h3]

• [p]Insolence, Queen, Panther, Sphinx, Firefly, Obelisk Obelisk is a brand new XBT, and we’re adding it straight to Free Rotation. Don’t miss your chance to try it out![/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Improvements & New Features[/h3]

• [p]Updated Skill Indicators
  Visual templates for skill range and area-of-effect indicators have been refreshed.[/p]
• [p]New Gear: Lifeguard
  Blocks any single instance of damage over 5000.[/p]
• [p]New Buff Visual Effects[/p]
  • [p]Mantis Buff[/p]
  • [p]Fear[/p]
  • [p]Corrosion[/p]
  • [p]Freedom Fighter Ultimate
    All now have unique visual effects (VFX).[/p]
• [p]XBT Roles in Hero Selection
  Hero selection screen now displays XBT roles.[/p]
• [p]Tooltips for Upgrades and Gears
  Detailed tooltips added for all upgrades and gear items.[/p]
• [p]Launcher Updates[/p]
  • [p]Party friend cards reduced to 2[/p]
  • [p]Ranked leaderboard added to the launcher[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]System & Performance Updates[/h3]

• [p]Tutorial is no longer mandatory at level 1[/p]
• [p]Overall performance improvements applied[/p]
• [p]Fixed post-processing issues on the practice map[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where stunned buffs showed both "stunned" and "disarmed" VFX[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Balance Changes[/h3]

• [p]XP & Xalium Rewards Based on Enemy Hero Level:[/p]
  • [p]Level 1: gain 1/5 of XP and Xalium[/p]
  • [p]Level 2: gain 1/4[/p]
  • [p]Level 3: gain 1/3[/p]
  • [p]Level 4: gain 1/2[/p]
  • [p]Level 5 or higher: gain full XP and Xalium[/p]
• [p]Ironclad Nerf:[/p]
  • [p]Bullet AOE radius: 1.6 → 1.5[/p]
  • [p]Line Formation bonus radius: 1.25 → 1.2[/p]
• [p]Vulcan Buff:[/p]
  • [p]Aura radius increased from 10 → 15.6[/p]
  • [p]Improved detection of invisible units[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue causing some Vulcans to deal reduced damage to heroes[/p]

[hr][/hr][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Fixed tooltips not appearing at certain resolutions[/p]
• [p]Fixed gear activation issues in some edge cases[/p]
• [p]Fixed bug where active buffs on heroes were not visible[/p]
• [p]XBTs are now untargetable while in base[/p]
• [p]Enemy XBTs take 5000 damage every 0.5 seconds when inside player base
  [/p]

[p]SSA TEAM[/p]

[p]Team communication just got easier and faster.[/p][p]Players can now send 6 different types of pings in real time:[/p][p]You can ping directly on the minimap, on the battlefield, or on top of allies with a single click.[/p][p]All pings will appear clearly on both the minimap and the main map.[/p][p]Additionally, the content of each ping will automatically be posted in the chat window.[/p][p]Pings are visible only to teammates, ensuring tactical information stays private.[/p][p]Jump into the game and try out the new system![/p][p]SSA Team
[dynamiclink][/dynamiclink][/p]

[p][/p][p]A new force of destruction joins the battlefield.[/p][p]Steel Swarm: Apocalypse welcomes its most ruthless XBT yet Obelisk.[/p][p]He is the first Geist.[/p][p]He made the first contract.[/p][p]He executed the first massacre.[/p][p][/p][p]🜂 Obelisk is here. Prepare for impact.[/p][p]This brutal tank-class XBT is designed to dominate territory and break formations. Obelisk isn’t just another unit he’s a front-line obliterator.[/p][p]Key Features:[/p]

• [p]Heavy artillery firepower to control the battlefield[/p]
• [p]Disruptive abilities that can tilt the balance of team fights[/p]
• [p]A ruthless style of play for those who embrace aggression[/p]

[p]Watch Obelisk in action the reveal trailer is now live.[/p][p]And remember… the void has a voice now.[/p][p]SSA Team[/p]

[h3]The Rank System has been added to the game[/h3][h3]Rank Tiers:[/h3]

1. [p]Rookie – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
2. [p]Pilot – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
3. [p]Captain – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
4. [p]Elite – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
5. [p]Ace – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
6. [p]Hero – I · II · III · IV · V[/p]
7. [p]Conqueror +[/p]

[h3]New XBT: Obelisk has entered the battlefield[/h3][h3]Hero Info Panel has been added you can now view your stats:[/h3]

• [p]Can be opened via top avatars, stats panel avatars, or your own avatar[/p]
• [p]You can view visible enemy XBT info[/p]
• [p]In-game, hovering over your character icon will display your stats in the info panel[/p]

[h3]Skill Info Panel has also been added[/h3]

• [p]You can only view your own skills[/p]

[h3]Fixes & Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where some XBTs were visible when they shouldn’t be[/p]
• [p]Fixed incorrect range template caused by a talent on Khan[/p]
• [p]Minimum value for calculated attack and defense power during hit tests is now set to 0[/p]
• [p]Sphinx Talent 1A’s E skill now grants 5% speed buff instead of 20%[/p]
• [p]A driving mode toggle key has been added (KBM): Press Shift + M to switch between Tank Mode and Assisted Drive[/p]
• [p]In-game ping keybinds have been added to the launcher settings[/p]

[h3]Bots & Gameplay[/h3]

• [p]Easy and Medium bots now play slightly worse for better balance[/p]

[h3]Audio Updates[/h3]

• [p]Added Fireburst and Xalium Bullet VFX sounds for Insolence Roland skin[/p]
• [p]Added SFX for skin selection in the hero selection screen[/p]
• [p]New hit SFX when a player is hit[/p]
• [p]New hit SFX when a unit is hit[/p]
• [p]New backstab SFX added[/p]

[h3]Visual Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Death post-process effects improved[/p]
• [p]Khan post-process effects improved[/p]
• [p]New post-process effect added for when the player takes damage[/p]

[p]SSA TEAM[/p]