Eximius 1.0.7 Update - May 12th, 2021

This major update features an exciting new content drop plus many community-driven ideas as well as major bug fixes that has been reported for some time.
We've finally released the revamped classic downtown, the first map to be featured in the Early Access is now completely revamped with new art assets and extended play area.
Be sure to check it out.

[h2]New PVP / Team Skirmish Map ( Downtown )[/h2]
As we have teased previously, the very first map of Eximius during alpha/prototype phase is finally making a return, after an extensive major revamp.



Several areas and Victory Point locations in Express Victory underwent an overhaul. After the recent Zenzo Tournament, we engaged with top level players and community members on some critical balance issue of this map, mostly being the Resource & Victory Points being favored to South team. Changing these locations also creates more dynamic play in certain part of the map and reducing dead zones. We've also added elevated defensible high ground for North side of the base as well.



[h2]UI/UX Improvements[/h2]
Today's update also includes 3 major UI/UX improvements.

1. Highly requested Toggle mode for sprint , crouch and aim down sight (ADS) has been implemented. This can be turned on/off in Settings->Controls
   
2. Armory improvements has been added. You can now drag/drop your Primary Weapons and swap their slots. This addresses a huge issue highlighted by the community that sometimes weapons slots will be swapped after getting into a Battlesuit.
   
3. On the RTS side, to prevent button clutter, some Unit Commands will only appear when Units of the same group is selected. This helps the buttons to stay in a more predictable position.
   

[h2]Community Driven Fixes[/h2]

On the area of fixes, we would like to highlight the Suggestion Bot that we've recently created to help us sort through the community's ideas. This bot will gather your suggestion and organize them in a discord bot, allowing developers to sift through and separate salty complains and constructive suggestions. But rest assured, they're all weighted similarly for considerations.


One example is a recent suggestion was to give the Officers the ability to have your Squad defend an area. This has been implemented through a Hunker-Down Squad Command. Using this Command allows you to get your Squad to temporary not follow you, while defending the area.



If you would like to be part of the discussion, everyone is welcomed. Remember to head on to our Discord

[h2]Minor Upgrades to AI Commander[/h2]
We are continuously making improvements to the Commander AI. We noted some blind spots that made the AI performed in a less than ideal manner. Now, AXR AI Commanders will now lockdown resource points and GSF AI Commanders will now upgrade Power Plants when possible. Some improvements were also made in regards to the Build Order. Expect them to perform better.

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]
3 Major balance changes are coming into play.

[h3]Emergency Shield Pack[/h3]

The most contentious equipment in the 'Zenzo Eternal' tournament has been bought to highlight. While we want to maintain a special position of this equipment, the Emergency Shield Pack (ESP) has been deemed too valuable even with the increased cost.

Adjustment has been made after some discussion with community. With this new update, the ESP has been tuned to half the use duration and most importantly, at the end of use, the user will be without a shield for 5 seconds. This effectively means that ESP can only be used at the edge of the frontline where you're 3-4 seconds away from a safe friendly area. If you over-extend, you will still be punished if an enemy chases you down while your ESP is on. After this change, we will continue to assess to see if the ESP remains in good position.



[h3]IronGuard Knight[/h3]

Knight Ironguard is going through an improvement as well. As per discussion with community, it is deemed that Knight is still in a less than ideal position as a Tier 3 infantry. In this update, we decided to give it a stronger anti-armor role. When targeting enemy Vehicles/Structures, Knight will fire a single powerful Anti-Armor shot. This secondary shot is automatically used without any additional actions needed.

Take note that despite this, Laser Knight is still significantly better in dealing with enemy Armor

[h3]Scout vs Marines[/h3]
This has been a longstanding issue of whether Scouts are better than Marines in many situations. Despite having more HP and higher DPS, marines has constantly been defeated by the same number of scouts. We have found that the issue is in the engagement range. Having the advantage of firing first means the Scout can often flinch the Marine before their weapon can be drawn. This causes a further delay before Marines can return fire.
We have now increased the Marines engagement range to be similar to Scouts. However, despite this Scouts may still have a slight advantage at longer distance due to better weapon spread.

[h3] Ace Vanguard changes [/h3]
Another longstanding issue since launch. Many players have used Ace Vanguard Eagle Strike to illegally access many supposedly inaccessible areas. This has caused many issues like collision glitches, exiting the map and creating other unfair advantages. We tried blocking access to those areas, but it ended up being too much work and we couldn't beat the 'creative' power of gamers.

In this update, Ace Vanguard Eagle Striking into an illegal area will perform a return flight to the original location. Apart from this, nothing else will change. Illegal areas are defined as areas that cannot be accessed by a regular infantry.

Release Notes for 12th May 2021


Gameplay
- Added Hunker Down Squad Command. When issued, Squad will hold the target area until another Command is issued.
- Ace Vanguard now has return flight (bounce back) when Eagle Striking illegal areas
- Knight Ironguard will automatically fire an additional AT round at Enemy Structures or Vehicles every 5s

Levels
- Added new PVP Map, Downtown
- Updated Resource Points and Victory Points location in Express
- Added access to 2nd floor of Edison Building near Victory Point B in Express

UI/UX
- Added Toggle/Hold Mode for Sprint, Crouch and Aim Down Sight. Can be turned On/Off in Settings -> Controls
- Field Support Heal, Healing Beacon and all Weapon Crew Deployment Commands will now show when multi-selected and if all Units have the same Commands
- Players can now swap their Primary Weapons order by dragging and dropping them in the Armory/MULE
- Added "Assign" smart command for Officer and Weapon Crew/Specialist Strike Team (right click to instant assign)

Animation
- Updated PZ9 Animation for AXR Officer, Aegis and Berserker

AI
- AXR AI Commander can now lock down Resources
- GSF AI commander can now upgrades Power Plants
- Improved build order of some AI Commander

Balances Changes
- Player Interaction with Field Support to Resupply Ammo duration is reduced to 1s from 3s
- AXR Shockwave Gun Cost is increased to 900WC from 650WC
- AXR AEG Grenade number of usage decreased to 2 from 3
- Siege Vanguard Repair Tool health regeneration increased to 80 from 50 per shot
- AXR Emergency Shield Pack duration is decreased to 3.5s from 7 secs. At the end of the duration, Player's Shield and Shield Regeneration will be disabled for another 5s
- GSF Marine Engagement Range increased to 65m from 50m

Bug Fixes
- Fixed Field Support automatically healing nearby Guardian Trooper when out of combat
- Fixed Healing Beacon being able to heal Guardian Trooper
- Fixed Ace Drones being assignable by AI Commander
- Fixed MULE & IFV Hitbox
- Fixed Primary Weapons Slots being swapped after Player equipped a Battlesuit
- Fixed Primary Weapons Slots being swapped after Player purchased a new Primary Weapon
- Fixed AI-controlled MULE being able to lock down Victory Points
- Fixed AI Officers sometimes being stuck in Movement Loops
- Fixed M34 Hellspawn Flamethrower from firing sideways sometimes
- Fixed Officers and World Events on Minimap blocking RTS Players from Hovering over Capture Points
- Fixed Targeted Strike not usable in PVE Missions
- Fixed XM45 Mag Package disruption sound not being removed from the target after duration ends
- Fixed GSF Armor Division AI Commander sometimes not researching upgrades

Misc
- Updated Sigma Ocular Firing SFX Audio Attenuation (shouldn't be too loud at a distance)