Obsidian Entertainment and My.com are proud to introduce the first preview of the newest addition to Armored Warfare - Update 0.19, featuring the long-awaited Balance 2.0 overhaul.
Balance 2.0 is a global change of most major Armored Warfare mechanisms with the goal of improving all aspects of gameplay. The list of changes is massive – for more information, please visit our Balance 2.0 portal page.
Update 0.19 is also bringing a new Global Operations map, two new PvE missions and a large number of tree gap-filling vehicles, making it the biggest Armored Warfare update to date. Learn more about the upcoming vehicles in this article.
Update 0.19 main features include:
- Balance 2.0
- Barren Divide Global Operations Map
- Canyon PvP Map
- Raiding Party PvE Mission
- Watchdog PvE Mission
- Skirmish Feature
Apart from the abovementioned features, a number of game corrections will be implemented as well.
New Features
Balance 2.0
Balance 2.0 is a catch-all for a set of changes coming to Armored Warfare in Update 0.19 that are necessary to solve the challenges facing high Tier gameplay, and to alleviate the power creep between tiers throughout the game. Another major part of Balance 2.0 is the reevaluation of every core gameplay mechanic, including damage mechanics, class abilities, retrofits, upgrades, and crew skills, with the purpose of ensuring these mechanics are working cohesively to deliver balanced and exciting gameplay as we intend.
Learn more about Balance 2.0 in our dedicated portal section.
New Global Operations map "Barren Divide"
This 1800x1800 map is loosely based off the Caucasus featuring light rolling terrains, small bits of rolling terrain, bordering an urban area decimated by conflict.
During this mission, the Lions of Nequiel have invaded a rural region decimating the city, and taking control of all transportation, a local refinery and setup a militarized presence in the area. Another faction called TRF has taken control of the region, removing the hostile factions and utilizing the resources, even arming citizens to fight back but hasn't done anything to reestablish a safe zone for any non-combatants.
You are trying to take control from TRF to restore order to the citizens in a lawful manner. Hostile forces still remain and are trying to use the scuffle between ISD and TRF to re-establish their presence.
New PvP map "Canyon"
In the decimated world of Armored Warfare, working chemical plants are harder and harder to come by. Two forces clash over one such installation deep in the Mojave Desert.
The past has not been kind to this chemical plant. Toxic spills cover the area and many sections of the factory are damaged by fighting. It, however, still remains one of the most valuable targets in the area.
New PvE mission "Raiding Party"
You have been tasked with infiltrating a rare earth mining facility that has been overrun by the notorious military contractors known as Lang Qun. It is imperative that you prevent the facility from opening, since it would otherwise provide your enemy with a large supply of valuable new resources.
To accomplish your objective, your guerrilla raiding party must sabotage the facility, destroy several of the mine's entrances, cut the enemy off from their prospective supply, then make a quick escape before your adversary can stop you!
New PvE mission "Watchdog"
You were tasked with aiding a local city besieged by long range bombardments. Though it has been under fire for over a week, the local military resistance has been successful in slowing down enemy advancements thus far - but with enemy forces now lying in wait on the border and the local resistance's resources running out, it's only a matter of time before there's a major push.
If the city falls to a large-scale invasion, the surrounding regions will suffer a similar fate soon thereafter. Stop the encroaching forces and drive them out for good!
Skirmish Feature
One of the most common issues encountered by PvP players is the lack of game population to assemble proper 15v15 battles during the less populated hours. To address this issue, we have prepared - along with the other changes, mentioned in Balance 2.0 section - the Skirmish feature. In situations where the matchmaker cannot create teams larger than 5v5 in a timely manner, players will now be placed into a new 3v3 to 5v5 Skirmish match on smaller Skirmish versions of the following maps:
- Cold Strike
- Cerberus
- Reactor
- Pipelines
These matches use standard PvP rules.
Full list of changes will be available as the update nears its release. We hope you will enjoy these new features and see you on the battlefield!
