Patch Tuesday! Now, about that CDU

It’s Patch day over at MechWarrior Online (2nd patch of the month, and they did confirm we’ll at least get a small patch on the 30th, as they try and get as much in as possible for Launch in September).

Today’s patch gives us the C-Bill versions of the Victor (and a corresponding sale on Camo patterns for them), a new Champion ‘Mech (The Atlas-RS (C)), graphical bug fixes, the new heat scale (overheating has also been tweaked to start causing damage at 100% heat, not 120% – which makes more sense to me), buff to SRM damage (back to the 2.0 they are in table top), crosshair shake has been reduced further, and you can now pick what map you drop on for the proving grounds.

Not a ton of stuff in today’s patch, but the new Heat Scale (to minimize those 6 PPC alpha strikes) is worth the patch alone…  Get patched.. and get in the game!

Doesn’t look like we’re getting a Creative Director Update this month, and the PGI folks have been strangely silent when asked about it (previous CDUs have hit by the 4th of the month).  But, since we’re on patch 2 of the month.. it’s pretty safe to say a CDU at this point wouldn’t provide any information, since everything has pretty much been patched in already.

Full patch notes after the break.  Or, click here to read them on the MWO site.

Patch Notes July 16th, 2013

Open Beta Update #21

Upcoming Patch – Tuesday July 16th @ 10AM – 1PM PDT

Patch Number:  1.2.231

Change Log

UPDATE

Greetings MechWarriors

Top 10 Awesome things in this patch.  #inmyopinion

Number 10. Visual bug Fixes – Bye Bye Flickering terrain!  #thatisbetter

Number 9. Performance Improvements!  We’ve been hard at work optimizing the code so 12 v 12 won’t hurt your frames as much. #cantwaitfor12vs12

Number 8.  The Victor is available for C-bills now!  Those with mech bays and fat C-bill accounts are recommended to purchase this ‘Mech immediately.  #greatmech

Number 7.  Victor Customization – Now that you own a Victor, it’s time to customize your mech. I recommend Buccaneer! #lookinggood

Number 6.  The Atlas Champion is on sale. Stacking XP boosts from a Champion ‘Mech and a Premium Account can get you all the XP  you need to Elite this mech. #getthosemodules

Number 5. Jump jet crosshair shake frequency has been reduced.  #nomotionsick

Number 4. Testing Ground Map Selection – Finally you can pick which map you’re testing your mech in! #choices

Number 3.  Streak SRM Targeting – This is pretty in depth so you may want to Read how it works in the patch notes #hitallthethings

Number 2.  SRM Damage buff – I can figuratively hear you cheering!  #brawlingahoy

And the Number 1 awesome thing in this patch.

Heat Scaling  – I’m not going to spoil this but go you should read up how it works in the patch notes.  #gamechanger

There you have it MechWarriors!

See you on the battlefield!

Matt Newman

Content

New ‘Mechs

Victor VTR-9K

– Tonnage:  80
– Engine:  320
– Top Speed:  64.8 kph
– Max Engine Rating:  385
– Torso Movement:
– 90 degrees to each side.
– 20 degrees up and down.
– Arm Movement:
– 20 degrees to each side.
– 30 degrees up and down.
– Armor:  400 (Standard)
– Internal Structure:  Endo-Steel
– Weapons & Equipment:
– Left Arm:  Medium Pulse Laser x2
– Left Torso:  SRM 4, CASE
– Right Torso:  CASE
– Right Arm:  Gauss Rifle
– Hardpoints:
– Left Arm:  3 Energy
– Left Torso:  2 Missile
– Right Torso:  1 AMS
– Right Arm:  1 Ballistic
– Heat Sinks:  15 Single
– Jump Jets:  4 (6 Max)
– ECM Capable?:  No
– Module Slots:  2

Victor VTR-9B

– Tonnage:  80
– Engine:  320
– Top Speed:  64.8 kph
– Max Engine Rating:  385
– Torso Movement:
– 90 degrees to each side.
– 20 degrees up and down.
– Arm Movement:
– 10 degrees to each side.
– 30 degrees up and down.
– Armor:  368 (Standard)
– Internal Structure:  Standard
– Weapons & Equipment:
– Left Arm:  Medium Laser x2
– Left Torso:  SRM 4
– Right Arm:  AC/20
– Hardpoints:
– Left Arm:  2 Energy
– Left Torso:  2 Missile
– Right Torso:  1 AMS
– Right Arm:  3 Ballistic
– Heat Sinks:  15 Single
– Jump Jets:  4 (4 Max)
– ECM Capable?:  No
– Module Slots:  2

Victor VTR-9S

– Tonnage:  80
– Engine:  320
– Top Speed:  64.8 kph
– Max Engine Rating:  385
– Torso Movement:
– 90 degrees to each side.
– 20 degrees up and down.
– Arm Movement:
– 10 degrees to each side.
– 30 degrees up and down.
– Armor:  336 (Standard)
– Internal Structure:  Standard
– Weapons & Equipment:
– Left Arm:  Medium Laser x2
– Left Torso:  SRM 6
– Right Arm:  AC/20
– Hardpoints:
– Left Arm:  2 Energy
– Left Torso:  3 Missile
– Right Torso:  1 AMS
– Right Arm:  2 Ballistic
– Heat Sinks:  15 Single
– Jump Jets:  4 (4 Max)
– ECM Capable?:  No
– Module Slots:  2

New Champion Mech

Atlas AS7-RS(C)

– Tonnage:  100
– Engine:  325
– Top Speed:  52.6 kph
– Max Engine Rating:  360
– Torso Movement:
– 80 degrees to each side.
– 16 degrees up and down.
– Arm Movement:
– 40 degrees to each side.
– 30 degrees up and down.
– Armor:  608 (Standard)
– Internal Structure:  Endo-Steel
– Weapons & Equipment:
– Left Arm:  Medium Laser x2, AMS
– Left Torso:  LRM 15 w/ Artemis IV FCS x2
– Right Torso:  Gauss Rifle
– Right Arm:  Medium Laser x2
– Hardpoints:
– Left Arm:  2 Energy, 1 AMS
– Left Torso:  2 Missile
– Right Torso:  1 Ballistic
– Right Arm:  2 Energy
– Heat Sinks:  13 Double
– Jump Jets:  0 (0 Max)
– ECM Capable?:  No
– Module Slots:  2
– 10% XP Bonus

Gameplay

Heat Scale Addition

Heat scale has been added to certain weapon systems.  This is a heat penalty applied to weapons that are fired in an Alpha Strike manner.  The following chart shows the MAXIMUM number of that weapon type that you can fire at the same time with no heat penalty.

Weapon System    Max No-Heat Penalty Alpha    Scale Multiplier
PPC    2    7.0
ERPPC    2    4.5
ML    6    1.0
LL    2    2.8
AC/20    1    24.0
SRM2    4    1
SRM4    4    1
SRM6    3    1
LRM15    2    2.8
SSRM    4    1.0

Maximum Heat Threshold

You will now take internal damage at 100+% heat.  Reduced from 120%

SRM Damage Buff

SRM damage increased from 1.5 to 2.0

(Note: This is for SRMs only, not SSRMs)

Streak Missile Changes

Streak missiles will now target limbs more directly instead of near the joints. There are now 7 distinct locations a streak can target, the locations have been placed in the arms, legs, and left/right/center torso. The current weighting for a mech with all it’s components is as follows:

Component    %
Left Arm    15
Right Arm    15
Left Leg    15
Right Leg    15
Left Torso    12
Right Torso    12
Center Torso    16
TOTAL    100

As arms become destroyed, the weighting will be rebalanced proportionally. For example, if the right arm and or left arm of a target has been destroyed, the new weighting will be as follows:

Component    %    Component    %
Left Arm    18    (Left Arm)    0
(Right Arm)    0    (Right Arm)    0
Left Leg    18    Left Leg    24
Right Leg    18    Right Leg    24
Left Torso    13.8    Left Torso    15.6
Right Torso    13.8    Right Torso    15.6
Center Torso    18.4    Center Torso    20.8
TOTAL    100    TOTAL    100

Some other notes on the new streaks:

– Legs that are destroyed will still be targeted by streaks.
– If an arm is initially targeted but is destroyed before the streak connects, it will auto target the neighbouring torso piece instead.

Bug Fixes

– Improved terrain flickering on all maps.
– Fixed an issue where users who used a Saitek x52 joystick experienced dead zones.
– Fixed an issue when chain firing AC 5 where the fourth shot would be delayed even though users should have been able to fire.
– Artillery Strike and Airstrike will cause the camera to shake when ‘Mech takes damage.
– If a user is zooming, in thermal vision or night vision while power down in testing grounds, the camera will reset to default.
– More optimization to bandwidth.
– Fixed an issue were Streaks rockets would appear to ‘orbit’ on client machines.

General

– Now clicking on “Testing Grounds” in the mode select menu will bring up a dialog that allows users to select what level they wish to play.
– Reduced cross-hair shake frequency while jump-jetting
– Certain cockpit items will now animate when you power down/power up your ‘Mech.
– Catapult Founder has a new pattern, with this pattern comes the ability to color it as well.

We thank you for your patience and we look forward to seeing you on the battlefield!

The MechWarrior® Online™ Team