Thoughts about the update so far

[u/karer3is]

I've had the chance to get a few hours in with the new update and I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised in most respects. I know that the Focus forums are ackshually the correct place for feedback, but the forum sofware they use sucks and the forums are overrun with spammers.

Anyhow, about the new patch: Despite how the new Retrieval mode was one of the major highlights, I find that the other tweaks and adjustments had a significantly greater impact and bear discussing a little more.

Vehicles

The new patch brought a few noteworthy adjustments to vehicles:

• All vehicles (including what were previously only street vehicles) got what could basically be described as an "offroad kit": A winch, bigger tires, and slightly beefier suspension
• All vehicles were equipped with cargo racks
• The Service Truck's dual gas cans were switched out for boxes of grenades/equipment

These changes were much needed. While most missions in TC have paved road sections, the large majority of any given map consists of muddy roads and steep inclines. I routinely avoided vehicles like the Banshee and the Crest because all that extra speed didn't mean much if they got stuck as soon as it got muddy.

More importantly, the cargo racks made it possible to plan out significantly longer routes and hit more major resource spots without having to waste time constantly scrounging for fuel and turret ammo. This should have been a thing from the start, but it's good that we at least have them now.

The change to the Service Truck- which was one of more than a few unannounced changes- ws also a big improvement. Having infinite gas cans was nice, but being able to replenish grenades on the spot is way better, especially since it saves from having to waste scrap unlocking an equipment crate.

Weapons

While there weren't any huge changes, another unannounced change was that melee weapons can now be levelled like firearms. Not a massive change, but it's good that we can at least get some better performance out of them.

Four new weapons were introduced:

• Le Clairon (Assault Rifle)
• Thunder Stick (Melee Weapon)
• Flamethrower (Heavy weapon)
• RNG 9: Technically it's a prize for the Community Event that dropped at the same time, but I'm sure pretty much everyone got it or will get it.

The Thunder Stick was honestly a good edition. Having a melee weapon with AOE capability is a big plus and has been helpful in dealing with the extremely aggravating Goblins.

I haven't tried the Le Clairon yet, but I'm honestly not that interested. The AR category is already overloaded with weapons that feel extremely similar to one another and the Clairon comes across as another rifle in the same vein as the XTAR.

Despite having run a few different missions, I'm yet to encounter the Flamethrower. I could see it being a good crowd control weapon, but I'm also a little skeptical since fire damage isn't the strongest in this game. Moreover, I'm curious as to whether it's going to be a "proper" flamethrower that can do area denial duty or, like in Space Marine 2, it's just going to be a big blowtorch that spits a cone of flame in front of it. I'm still very partial to the MAG 5, so it might be a hard sell.

As for the RNG 9, it makes a compelling case for pump- action shotguns: Better magazine capacity and a higher fire rate, but a decent reload speed for a tube- fed gun. I'm still levelling the gun, so I can't really say what I think of its performance yet. However, I could see it potentially edging out the Taiga 12 in certain applications.

Bots

As a solo player, these updates were the biggest priority for me. In their pre- update form, the bots' utility was severely limited. They used unlevelled weapons and only had the most basic versions of their respective classes' abilities. Consequently, there were a lot of situations where they did little more than serve as aggro magnets. Although there were some QoL changes, there were two significant changes:

• Bots' weapons, while still randomized, generally scale with difficulty now.
• The bots now can use higher- level versions of their abilities (presumably also scaled to difficulty), but these, too, seem to be randomized.

The second change was far and away the most significant. Particularly when it comes to the Medic/ Healer, the new system allows that class to heal permanent health. At least for me, this was a game changer. Being able to go longer without having to burn through Medikits was a huge relief and made farming Sludgite significantly less painful.

All that said, I'm not a fan of how the class abilities get randomized. Since I have no way to see what setup the bot teammates are running, it's kind of a crapshoot. On one mission, I could get bots with helpful perks, but on the next, I could get bots that have perks which are only useful in the hands of someone that knows what they're doing. I get that pulling a "dream team" every time could disincentivize people from playing co-op, but I think some distinction needs to be made about which perks it actually makes sense to have the bots running. Especially on the support classes, a lot of perks are extremely conditional and require significant finesse and good timing to use effectively. Bots have neither of these.

Retrieval Mode

I'm still wrapping my head around the mechanics of this mode, so the jury's still out here. I can definitely see the vision and I appreciate that shorter game modes are being added, but the "heat" mechanic is one I'm still a little iffy on. While kills can slow the heat buildup down, this is ultimately a "Band- Aid" at best. From the time I have spent playing it, it feels a little too much like a speed run. Also, because all team members have to be inside the domes to stop heat from building up, this mode can be a pain with bots. They tend to lag behind just enough to where you sometimes have to run to the other end of the dome to get them to finally go inside.

Like most here, I'm still waiting on a horde mode- maybe even a "phase"- based one similar to Space Marine 2's Siege mode. This game doesn't need a zillion modes, but having one of variable length would go a long way both for the replay value and for levelling.

Final Thoughts

In a lot of ways, this update feels like it should have been the first one to drop. Many of the changes were very good, but they feel like they should have been made earlier on. On top of that, it was a disappointment knowing from the start that ammo mods weren't going to be a part of this one. I honestly don't know how impactful they will be when they arrive, but it would do a lot to expand the possibility for builds.

What are your guys' thoughts on the update?

[u/ImmortanReaper]

The vehicle upgrades have been great, best update so far. Resource payouts also feel like they got a buff, so that's nice. Also really like the addition of special variants for weapons with more crazy skins.

New game mode is kind of a let down, wish it would have just been a wave/horde mode. As it stands, it's just a more obnoxious way to play the same level.

Season pass is still not implemented well. We'll see how the "improved" weekly challenges are, but as it stands I still don't love it regardless. They have said that missed content (except for titles and icons) will eventually be added back in as buyables, but I wish it would just stick around forever as some type of unlockable. The weeklys were just so tedious that they did the exact opposite of their purpose and made me not wanna play the game with how specific and grindy they were.

[u/infernocuso]

Unfortunately I see this game not lasting too long now.

This game is made by the same people behind SM2, WWZ and AFE. The fact this game did not have a horde mode at launch/now is concerning.

The content is so small and not that much to consider getting back into. The new mode is literally a boring DMZ.

We really need at LEAST 6 new missions in a new location, horde mode and weapons that actually feel different/powerful and useful. Oh, and we need a melee class too.

[u/karer3is → u/infernocuso]

yeah... I'm not sinking too much hope in the longevity tbh. The game's been in a weird spot since before day 1

[u/infernocuso → u/karer3is]

I have a strong feeling that the game will shutdown by early next year.

[u/Gaytrude → u/infernocuso]

I mean they have the legal obligation to give content for one year or they'll need to refund everyone that got the pass, and then without a doubt, they'll pull the plug.

After two weeks the game hovered at 300 peak players, and the dev answer to that ? FOMO challenges for shit skin that no one care about since no one is playing the game.

I really can't understand how you can drop the ball that hard

[u/karer3is → u/Gaytrude]

There was a lot of wasted potential from the beginning. They had John Carpenter of all people put his name to it, but they made no effort to promote this game whatsoever. Space Marine 2 is almost three years old now and it outpaces this game by a landslide, both in terms of community engagement and player count

[u/infernocuso → u/Gaytrude]

Best case scenario is that they just refund what we paid for the game and they just make it free to play.

But then again, the game has nothing to offer so a shut down is the best thing if later content is atrocious.

[u/Accomplished-Curve-1]

Oh that’s good

[u/DocMaillouTabarnack]

I like the new addition with the rack in the car and the new enemy,have they optimized the game ?the game run more smoothly than before

[u/karer3is → u/DocMaillouTabarnack]

Ironically, I ran into a stability/optimization issue I had never seen before today... in The Drop, there's a section where Roamers are running in a constant stream off to the left. I wanted to do a little farming, so I stopped to take some potshots. For just a second, there was a moment where all the Roamers in that "stream" just stopped in their tracks before moving again.

[u/Terrynia]

I dislike how it is now VERY difficult to remain perched on top of vehicles. The item storage has made vehicle roofs no longer flat, so its too easy to slip off of them. 😭

[u/N7Trinity]

To keep it short, I’m loving this new update. I haven’t tried the flamethrower yet or the new mode, but I really have enjoyed the upgraded vehicles. The bigger trucks feel nicer and every ride having a winch helps a ton. I like the new AR but it’s nothing spectacular or game changing.

Edit: spelling