Mechabellum News

Fixed a lagging issue caused by the memory recycling strategy.
Fixed a data error related to [Elite Recruitment].

[h2]4-Player Brawl[/h2]

• Players who achieve 1st place in 4-Player Brawl will receive a minimum of 8 MMR and 600 Combat Power, regardless of other players' MMR.
  
• Players who achieve 2nd place in 4-Player Brawl will receive a minimum of 4 MMR and 600 Combat Power, regardless of other players' MMR.
  

[h2]Balance Adjustments[/h2]
Patch 1.3 introduced changes that significantly impacted game balance. After analyzing data from Patch 1.3, we decided to make the following adjustments:
[h3]Hound[/h3]

• HP increased from 846 to 897 (+6%).
  

Developer’s Note: Hounds currently have a slightly lower win rate compared to other units. This minor HP boost aims to improve their survivability.

• [Incendiary Bomb] cost decreased from 300 to 200, and now will lock onto the target.
  

Developer’s Note: Hounds currently are underutilized in non-agro formation. This buff to [Incendiary Bomb] aims to increase their viability in non-agro scenarios.

[h3]Arclight[/h3]

• [Charged Shot] cost increased from 150 to 250.
  
• [Electromagnetic Shot] cost increased from 200 to 300.
  
• HP increased from 4414 to 4635 (+5%).
  

Developer’s Note: The addition of the Hounds expanded the anti-swarm roster, allowing us to adjust Arclight's role a little bit. After the change, Arclight remains one of the best anti-swarm choices, but it will be less cost-efficient in other roles.

[h3]Tarantula[/h3]

• EXP required for rank-up increased by 11%.
  
• [Armor Enhancement] HP bonus increased from 35% to 40%.
  
• [High-Explosive Ammo] cost increased from 200 to 300.
  

Developer’s Note: Tarantula openings are still too strong, and its [High-Explosive Ammo] has one of the highest win rates and pick rates in the game. These changes aim to bring down Tarantual to other units' level.

[h3]Steel Ball[/h3]

• EXP required for rank-up increased by 11%.
  

Developer’s Note: After the introduction of Hounds, the win rate of Steel Ball openings has consistently exceeded other strategies. To address this, we increased the EXP required for Steel Ball rank-up, aiming to bring their win rate down to the average level.

[h3]Sabertooth[/h3]

• [Missile Interceptor] interception efficiency increased by 20%.
  

[h3]Raiden[/h3]

• [Chain] now prioritizes units within 25 meters of the target. Units beyond 25 meters (up to 60 meters) are only chained if no closer targets exist.
  
• HP increased from 15888 to 17476 (+10%).
  

Developer’s Note: Previously, [Chain] often randomly hit backline units far behind the primary target. This change will make [Chain] less random.

[h3]Initial Units[/h3]
Based on recent win rate and pick rate data, we have adjusted HP bonus for the following openings:

• Stormcaller Hound Opening: HP bonus increased from 0 to 300.
  
• Mustang Hound Opening: HP bonus increased from 0 to 500.
  
• Mustang Crawler Opening: HP bonus increased from 300 to 400.
  
• Sledgehammer Hound Opening: HP bonus increased from 0 to 100.
  
• Sabertooth Fang Opening: HP bonus increased from 0 to 100.
  
• Mustang Marksman Opening removed.
  

[h3]Specialists[/h3]

• [Sabertooth Specialist] changed to: Decreases Sabertooth’s Tech Upgrade cost by 50. Get 1 Rank 1 Sabertooth on Round 3.
  
• [Fire Badger Specialist] changed to: Increases Fire Badger’s range by 10. Get 1 Rank 1 Fire Badger on Round 3.
  

Developer’s Note: Last week’s adjustments to the [Sabertooth Specialist] and [Fire Badger Specialist] lacked sufficient testing and data support. After further analysis and testing this week, we decided to change them again. These changes remove their early-game power spike while enhancing their mid-game strength and increasing their uniqueness. We are sorry about these back-to-back changes. Future balance changes will be approached with greater caution.

[h3]Unit Reinforcements (Unit Drops)[/h3]

• Hounds will no longer exceed Rank 3 in Unit Reinforcement.
  
• Rhino will have lower ranks in Unit Reinforcement.
  

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

• Fixed multiple display issues.
  
• Fixed a data error caused by War Factories.
  

[h2]4-Player Brawl[/h2]

• Players can now skip unit reinforcement to receive 50 supplies.
  Developer's note: Unit reinforcement aims to give players more opportunities to shift their builds. The skip button ensures that players can keep doing what they are doing if they do not want to shift their builds.
  
• There are bosses in the center of the map in rounds 7-9 now.
  

[h2]Balanced Adjustments[/h2]
We have not yet collected enough data on Patch 1.3, so the balance adjustment this time is relatively small.
[h3]Specialist[/h3]

• [Sabertooth Specialist] Adjusted to: Get 1 Rank 1 Sabertooth for free on round 1.
  
• [Fire Badger Specialist] Adjusted to: Get 1 Rank 1 Fire Badge for free on round 1.
  Developer's note: Due to the unlock cost reduction of many units, the Sabretooth Specialist and Fire Badger Specialist have become weaker. This adjustment will bring them to a similar level as the Quick Supply Specialist. We will continue to monitor these two Specialists and may make further adjustments in the future.
  

[h3]Hound[/h3]

• The range of the [Incendiary Bomb] increased by 40, but now the [Range Enhancement] Tech will no longer increase the range of the [Incendiary Bomb].
  

[h2]Bugfixes[/h2]

• Fixed an issue that caused data errors in 4-Player Brawl.
  

Fixed an issue where some players were unable to use the matchmaking button.
Fixed a data error caused by [Elite Recruitment].
Fixed a data error caused by [Fire Extinguisher].

Dear Commanders, Update 1.3 is finally here! This update introduces a new unit and a new Tournament type, along with significant adjustments to the 4-Player Brawl mechanics. Additionally, we've implemented major balance adjustments. This update will be carried out at 10:30 AM on February 20, 2025, UTC time. At that time, the server will undergo update maintenance for approximately 4 hours.
[h2]New Unit: Hound[/h2]

Hounds are mechanical dogs that move in packs, specializing in fighting other light units at medium range. They can even clear acid and fire on the ground if equipped with the right Tech.

Developer's Note: The introduction of Hound marks the first addition of a 100-supply chaff unit in the past seven years of Mechabellum development. Hound is likely to create ripple effects in the game's unit counter dynamics. We will anticipate additional adjustments to Hound over the coming weeks.

[h2]New Tournament Mode: 2v2 Tournament[/h2]

The new 2v2 tournament will allow players to team up and compete in tournaments. The 2v2 tournaments are held every Sunday with 16 players per group (8 teams).

[h2]4-Player Brawl Changes[/h2]
Due to the expansion of the development team, we now have enough resources to develop more content for the 4-Player Brawl mode. The following changes are the first step in a series of adjustments for the 4-Player Brawl mode.

• Now in 4-Player Brawl players can choose two reinforcements per round, one for equipment, unit modification, or battlefield powers, and one for unit reinforcements.
  
• Now destroying units belonging to the leading player will earn extra points and supplies.
  
• The Boss units of rounds 3 and 6 will now start off from the center of the map.
  
• Boss units in rounds 7-10 were removed.
  
• Another [Inefficient Recovery] has been added to the Research Center.
  
• The [Redeployment] originally in the R&D Center is now usable by default.
  Developer's Note: The goal of these adjustments is to provide players with more means of board transition in later rounds, increase build variety, and at the same time reduce the pressure of leading players created by Boss units while making it easier for other players to catch up.
  

[h2]Balance Adjustments[/h2]
[h3]Unlock cost adjustment[/h3]

• Sledgehammer's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Steel Ball's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Stormcaller's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Tarantula's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Mustang's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Sabertooth's unlock cost decreased from 50 to 0.
  
• Wraith's unlock cost decreased from 100 to 50.
  
• Scorpion's unlock cost decreased from 100 to 50.
  Developer's note: The unlocking cost of all units that can appear at the beginning of the game has been adjusted to 0, which will greatly increase strategy varieties of the early rounds. These changes will likely bring big challenges to the balance of the game. We don't know the exact impact of these changes on the balance yet, but we will likely continue to make balance adjustments in the coming weeks.
  

[h3]Fortress[/h3]

• The production quantity for every batch decreased from 12 to 10, and the production interval increased from 30 seconds to 32 seconds.
  Developer's note: Fortress' [Fang Production] was relatively strong in the last patch, so we have slightly nerfed it.
  

[h3]Vulcan[/h3]

• ATK increased from 88 to 90 (2% increase).
  Developer's Note: Vulcan has a lower win rate compared to other giants. By increasing Vulcan's ATK, We hope to provide players with more options to fight against light units.
  

[h3]Rhino[/h3]

• ATK increased from 3297 to 3560 (8% increase).
  Developer's Note: Unlike most other ground units that cost 200 supplies, Rhino still has an unlock cost of 50 supplies. We hope to slightly improve Rhino's situation through a small ATK increase.
  

[h3]Overlord[/h3]

• The HP of Overlord's missiles has increased by 10%.
  Developer's Note: This adjustment will help Overlord to perform better against missile interceptions.
  

[h3]Hacker[/h3]

• The price of [Barrier] has increased from 300 to 400, and the HP of the shield has decreased from 20,000 per level to 16,000 per level.
  

[h3]Wraith[/h3]

• The price of [Degeneration Beam] has dropped from 250 to 200.
  

[h3]Tarantula[/h3]

• The EXP required for rank-up has increased by 23%.
  
• ATK decreased from 550 to 534 (3% decrease).
  Developer's note: In the last patch, Tarantula were quite strong, especially those that reached level 2 or above early on, and they even performed pretty well against high-HP enemies. These adjustments aim to slow down Tarantula's rank-up speed while also weakening its performance against high-HP enemies.
  

[h3]Raiden[/h3]

• The price of [Fork] has dropped from 250 to 200.
  

[h3]War Factory[/h3]

• The price of [Armor Enhancement] has been increased from 100 to 200.
  

[h3]Phantom Ray[/h3]

• [Stealth Cloak] now will not dodge bullets fired by enemies before Phantom Ray becomes invisible.
  

[h3]Initial Unit[/h3]

• Steel Ball and Arclight opening's HP bonus decreased from 400 to 100.
  
• Tarantula and Fang opening's HP bonus decreased from 200 to 0.
  

[h3]Variant[/h3]

• [Mass-Produced Fortress]'s ATK and HP reduction increased from 30% to 40%.
  
• [Improved Tarantula] no longer increases ATK, and now increases movement speed by 3 instead of 5.
  
• [Extended Range Phantom Ray] now increases range by 30 instead of 20.
  

[h3]Other[/h3]

• [Elite Recruitment] will now increase the rank of all units that can be purchased by 1.
  
• Now matches in the lobby will be ordered by MMR by default.
  

The 1.3 update contains a lot of content and will have a huge impact on the balance. According to our plan, we will release several small patches in the coming weeks to tweak the balance further. Commanders, thank you for the continued support, and we hope that everyone can remain patient during the upcoming adjustments.