[Announcement] Planned balance changes

Hello!

Today we would like to share with you a full list of balance changes that are currently planned for the next major update along with the new season. At the end of the week, we will launch a special test server so you can try out these changes and share your feedback and impressions.

Please note that the in-game text strings and descriptions will not be updated on the test server. All relevant information is presented in this news.

We remind you that all the new features described in this news are not final and may be changed before they are introduced into the game or may not be implemented into the game at all. You can learn more about all the planned changes on the special test server!
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[h2]Movement parts[/h2]
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Interaction of hovers with other movement parts

• Now the flight altitude of hovers is reduced when there are other movement parts used together with them.
  
• Mechanical legs are now included in a separate group of “the highest” movement parts (not including rotors) when recalculating tonnage.
  

Comment: with both adjustments, the cars with mechanical legs will get extra tonnage from mounted hovers only if they are low enough above the surface (and not in any case, as it has always been the case with a combination of legs and hovers). This way, we would like to make sure that the tonnage of all vehicles is provided by their main movement parts.

[h3]Changes in controls of tracks, Rolling-based movement parts and augers[/h3]

For all tracks, rolling-based movement parts and augers:

• Reduced friction parameters.
  
• Increased maneuverability of vehicles with these movement parts.
  
• Changed the speed of rotation on the spot.
  
• Added the ability to quickly switch to rotation on these movement parts (previously it was only available after the vehicle had come to a complete stop). To do this, you need to completely release the gas key and press only the turn key.
  
• Improved suspension.
  

[h3]Wheel PS[/h3]

Now the PS of all wheels from “common” to “special” rarities is:

• Common light — 40
  
• Common medium — 50
  
• Rare light — 60
  
• Rare medium — 70
  
• Rare heavy — 80
  
• Special light — 80
  
• Special medium — 90
  
• Special heavy — 100
  

Comment: the power scores of the wheels were brought to a single format to simplify their further balancing and to exclude illogical situations (such as the same PS value of the “rare” “Large wheel” and the “special” “Double wheel”).
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[h2]Structural parts[/h2]
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Updated the parameters of resistance to various types of damage for structural parts:

[h3]Resistances according to damage types[/h3]

Comment: lightweight parts now have the best durability to mass ratio. The “heavier” the faction parts are, the lower this ratio is. We’d like to correct this situation in an indirect way, because the same ratio can either severely weaken vehicles with primarily lightweight parts, or conversely, greatly strengthen heavy builds.
Now, the “heavier” the faction, the higher the damage resistance values of its parts. This way, lightweight parts have a good ratio of durability (and bonus to cabin durability) to mass and approximately the same survivability against different types of damage. Heavy parts, on the other hand, have a lower durability to mass ratio, but will be a better choice against different types of damage.
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[h2]Changes in parameters of parts and co-drivers[/h2]
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[h3]Lupara[/h3]

• Damage reduced by 15%.
  

Comment: the efficiency of this weapon is too high for its PS indicator. The shotgun was almost identical to the “Sledgehammer” in terms of damage dealt.

[h3]“Ammo pack” and “Expanded ammo pack”[/h3]

• Now ammo packs don’t increase the amount of fuel in the boosters. With the next update, it can be done using a special module.
  

[h3]Icarus VII[/h3]

• Increased inertia when turning.
  
• Speed reduced from 90 to 85 km/h.
  

[h3]Icarus IV[/h3]

• Increased inertia when turning.
  

Comment: the increase in inertia should reduce turning sharpness and make a vehicle with hovers more difficult to control. Reducing the speed of “Icarus VII” is aimed at making other “epic” movement parts more competitive against them.

[h3]Gerrida I[/h3]

• Speed reduced from 70 to 65 km/h.
  
• Reduced surface grip. Now the car with these legs has become easier to push.
  
• Increased inertia when turning.
  
• Durability reduced from 450 to 410 pts.
  

Comment: “Gerridas” have completely replaced the other legs and are currently the strongest movement parts. These changes, as well as corrections to the interaction of legs and hovers on the same car, should help correct the situation and bring the effectiveness of those legs up to the expected level.

[h3]ML 200[/h3]

• Durability increased from 750 to 790 pts.
  

[h3]Bigram[/h3]

• Durability increased from 600 to 660.
  
• Added 25% resistance to explosive damage.
  

Comment: relative to the already mentioned “Gerridas”, “ML 200” and “Bigram” demonstrated rather low own survivability and were more often destroyed in battles, which we aim to correct.

[h3]Atom[/h3]

• Power penalty reduced from 17% to 15%.
  

Comment: the change is a small bonus to the changes to the control physics of a number of movement parts described above.

[h3]Bigfoot[/h3]

• Durability increased from 565 to 730 pts.
  
• Mass increased from 280 to 350 kg.
  

Comment: the change is designed to increase the rather low survivability of the wheels. We significantly increase the durability of the “Bigfoots” in exchange for making them noticeably heavier. We’d like the “heavy” and large wheel to be durable and playable on more than just fast cars.

[h3]Omni[/h3]

• PS increased from 250 to 300.
  

Comment: the reason for increasing the Power score is that the efficiency of movement parts is too high in battles at 4000 — 7000 PS.

[h3]Small track[/h3]

• Speed increased from 90 to 95 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 12% to 9%.
  

[h3]Reinforced track[/h3]

• Maximum speed increased from 75 to 80 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 22% to 17%.
  

[h3]Sleipnir[/h3]

• Speed increased from 80 to 85 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 20% to 15%.
  

[h3]Armoured track[/h3]

• Speed increased from 65 to 70 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 40% to 30%.
  

[h3]Tank track[/h3]

• Maximum speed increased from 60 to 65 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 55% to 42%.
  

[h3]Goliath[/h3]

• Maximum speed increased from 55 to 60 km/h.
  
• Power penalty reduced from 70% to 55%.
  

Comment on all tracks: it’s the least popular class of movement parts. The change is additional to the aforementioned physics and control changes, which are designed to increase the dynamics of tracks.

[h3]Catalina[/h3]

• Reduces the damage of all mounted weapons by 15% (instead of 17% previously).
  
• As damage is dealt with any weapon, the weapon’s maximum damage increases by 7% (instead of 8% previously).
  
• The perk’s effect stacks no more than once every 4.5 sec. (instead of 4 sec. previously).
  

Comment: high efficiency and versatility of the perk. Now the damage of the weapon will be higher than before, but only up to the moment when 3 “stacks” of the perk are accumulated (up to the moment when the bonus is summarized 3 times). After that, the overall damage will be lower relative to what it was before the change. Also, the bonus damage accumulation will take a little longer.

[h3]Blight[/h3]

• The perk now also adds 0.5% to the parts heat level from flame weapons.
  
• The distance required to charge the perk reduced from 500 to 300 m.
  
• Perk damage bonus reduced from 35% to 20%.
  

Comment: with this change, we would like to remove the cabin’s status as a non-alternative cabin for flamethrowers (largely due to its high bonus to fire damage). In return, the perk now additionally increases the heating of parts. Please note that “0.5% to heating level” means that if a flamethrower heats a part by 0.5% for a single infliction of damage, it will heat it by 1% in the same amount of time under the effect of the “Blight” perk.
We have also increased the damage of flamethrowers so that their damage remains the same when affected by the cabin’s perk.

[h3]Cerberus[/h3]

• Added perk: while the cabin's built-in melee weapon is active, the damage of the other saws mounted on the car is increased by 25%.
  

Comment: before the change, the cabin actually didn’t have its own perk. With this change to “Cerberus”, we would like to increase its demand, which has remained low for a long time.

[h3]Icebox[/h3]

• Increased the damage bonus for weapons with limited aiming angles from 15 to 20%.
  
• Added a 40% bonus to the rotation speed of such weapons.
  

Comment: the cabin’s demand among the player is low. Increasing the rotation speed will make playing with weapons with limited aiming angles more comfortable.

[h3]Huginn[/h3]

• Power reduced by 9%.
  
• Mass increased from 2202 to 2720 kg.
  
• Mass limit increased from 17000 to 17600 kg.
  

Comment: previous parameters of the “Huginn” allowed to build vehicles on its base that were too mobile and durable for relatively low PS indicators.

[h3]Yokai[/h3]

• Damage increased by 12%.
  

Comment: in the current realities, “Yokai” loses to other epic weapons. Increasing the damage will increase its attractiveness and effectiveness.

[h3]Quasar[/h3]

• Added hit damage (65pts.) and 50% penetration ability.
  
• Durability increased from 535 to 578 pts.
  

Comment: adding hit damage will help ensure consistency in damage dealt and increase the effectiveness of the plasma cannon.

[h3]Acari[/h3]

• The effect of the perk now deals damage only to structural parts.
  
• Damage increased from 0.6% to 1.2%.
  
• The durability of the part, after which damage stops being dealt, has been reduced from 25% to 10%.
  

Comment: “Acari” is an extremely effective weapon and it’s fairly simple to use. After the changes, the ballista will remain effective against strong vehicles in terms of armour weakening, but will no longer affect their “important” parts (cabin, modules, movement parts, weapons).

[h3]Pyre[/h3]

• Reduced the optimal distance to 200 m.
  

Comment: this change should reduce the effectiveness of the rocket launcher in modes with armoured aircraft, where battles take place at long distances. It was announced before the “Rise of the machines” update, but was postponed due to technical reasons.

[h3]Remedy[/h3]

• Damage increased by 13%.
  

Comment: the damage of flamethrowers has been increased due to changes applied to the “Blight” cabin.

[h3]FHT-3 Flock[/h3]

• Durability reduced from 105 to 41 pts.
  
• Added 65% resistance to explosive damage.
  
• Ammunition increased from 50 to 70 pts.
  
• Active range increased from 9 to 12 m.
  

Comment: It’s no secret that “Flock” was more often used not for its intended purpose, but as a good option for armouring a vehicle. With these changes we increase its effectiveness against homing rockets, but remove its “armour” status, for which this part was not intended in the first place.

[h3]Thyrsus[/h3]

• Damage increased by 8%.
  
• The number of charges increased from 7 to 10.
  

[h3]AA Gun-4 Starfall[/h3]

• Damage increased by 10%.
  
• Durability increased from 608 to 652 pts.
  

Comment: the changes to “Thyrsus” and “Starfall” are being made due to their lack of effectiveness compared to other weapons of legendary rarity.

[h3]B12 Dove[/h3]

• Energy drain reduced from 7 to 6 pts.
  
• PS reduced from 2800 to 2400.
  
• Damage increased by 25%.
  

Comment: initially, the minelayer was a rather highly specialized weapon that should not be effective at all times, but even in the situations for which it was designed, its performance left much to be desired.

[h3]RA-1 Heather[/h3]

• Cooldown increased from 10 to 16 sec.
  
• Projectile speed reduced by 10%.
  

Comment: “Heather” is significantly more effective than “Mandrake”, which is its closest analogue of the same rarity.

[h3]Mandrake[/h3]

• Reloading time reduced from 1 sec. to 0.3 sec
  

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Comment: this will improve the usability of “Mandrake”. Reloading now takes the same amount of time as when using “Heather”.

[h3]Assembler[/h3]

• Charging time reduced from 2 sec. to 1 sec.
  
• Reloading time increased from 0.2 sec. to 1.45 sec.
  

Comment: the changes will make playing with “Assembler” more comfortable and, at the same time, will not affect its damage per second.

[h3]Pulsar[/h3]

• Added hit damage (78 pts.) and 50% penetration ability.
  
• Durability increased from 693 to 748 pts.
  

Comment: these changes are similar to the changes for “Quasar”.

[h3]Hurricane[/h3]

• Optimal range reduced to 200 m.
  

Comment: similar to the changes to “Pyre”.

[h3]Draco[/h3]

• Damage increased by 13%.
  

Comment: the damage of flamethrowers has been increased due to changes applied to the “Blight” cabin.

[h3]Yokozuna[/h3]

• Speed increased from 65 to 67 km/h.
  
• Mass reduced from 4500 to 3500 kg.
  

Comment: “Yokozuna” is far from the most popular legendary cabins. With these changes we develop its original idea as a cabin for durable and relatively fast heavy vehicles.

[h3]Firebug[/h3]

• Damage increased by 13%.
  

Comment: the damage of flamethrowers has been increased due to changes applied to the “Blight” cabin.

[h3]Co-driver “Grizzly”[/h3]

• The talent is now activated after 2 hits to the cabin (instead of 3 hits to any parts of the vehicle previously).
  
• The effect lasts 6 sec. (instead of 4 sec. previously).
  

Comment: the talent of “Grizzly” is the most effective and easily used among all other talents of the co-drivers. The changes have 2 goals: to make the talent more specialized and suitable for vehicles with not fully armoured cabins, and to give the enemy a chance to prevent their opponent from activating the talent of “Grizzly”.
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[h2]How to get to the test server?[/h2]
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If you have already participated in testing on a special server, then it will be enough to start the Launcher from the folder with the test client and wait for the update to complete.

• Create a new folder for the game on your hard drive.
  
• Download the Launcher from this link. The file name should not contain numbers indicating that the file is a duplicate. Please note that you should launch the file that does not contain any digits (1), (2), etc. in its name. If, when starting the installed launcher, you get to the live game servers, you need to delete all downloaded launchers from the download folder and try again.
  
• Start the Launcher and install the game to the folder you created (for example: D:\Public test\Crossout).
  
• After the installation is complete, start the Launcher and enter the game with your username and password.
  
• The whole progress of your main account will be transferred to the main server (including parts in storage and levels of reputation in factions).
  
• After logging into the server, to transfer progress from your account, press the “Esc” key and select “Copy account data”.
  
• Please note the schedule of the test server:
  
  • Friday, January 26, 2024 from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT time)
  • Saturday, January 27, 2024 from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT time)
  • Sunday, January 28, 2024 from 13:00 to 19:00 (GMT time)
• Any progress you make on the test server will not be transferred to the live game servers (INCLUDING ATTEMPTS TO BUY PACKS).
  

After testing the changes, we invite you to leave your constructive feedback on the planned rework in the comments to this news.
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The public test server is intended only for testing of the upcoming update, and may not accommodate all players without exception. However, absolutely anyone can join the server, as long as there are free spots.
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