We hope you've all had a productive week of heists and headshots. As always, we're listening closely to all your feedback, and want to thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!
Today, we're excited to talk to you a bit about what we have in store for our upcoming update, coming early June!
Assassinations
A big topic we keep seeing is assassinations. We've heard a lot of varied opinions, but one thing they all seem to have in common is that it doesn't feel good that they can be exceedingly difficult to interrupt. So we're changing that.
In the next update, assassinations can be interrupted if the person assassinating takes enough damage.
For example, any direct melee attacks, all Robin arrows, and close to mid range Marianne bolts will deal enough damage to interrupt an assassination in progress. The basic rule is that the damage has to pass a certain threshold in order to interrupt. For AoE attacks and Marianne's bolts this won't always be the case. Marianne bolts will exceed the damage threshold (and interrupt) at close to mid range, but the damage falls off at a distance and could require more shots in that case. The same goes for AoE from explosions and heavy/sprint attacks. An interrupted takedown will deal no damage.
Another detail to note is that assassinations all have different times to complete at the moment, with Marianne's being the shortest, which we think suits her playstyle.
We look forward to following your feedback closely once this change is applied in the next update.
More changes in Update 1.4
Other upcoming changes include further improvements to matchmaking, as well as the post-match flow. After each match, players will now be moved to the Hideout automatically, allowing you to change your loadout between games, and overall creating a smoother matchmaking experience.
We've also decided to remove the display of each player's overall level in the lobby, as this was causing some people to leave a game when they saw high level players, even if it was not particularly indicative of player skill or the quality of the matchmaking system. In fact, player level is not used whatsoever in the matchmaking calculations, since we use what’s called the trueskill system.
Looking at our data, we know that in the vast majority of matches (over 90%) the matchmaking is correctly matching teams of similar scores and skills with each other, and this is something we will keep working on improving. The takeaway here is that player level is not the correct measure of effective matchmaking.
There are a lot more changes and fixes coming in the next update, all of which we'll display in the patchnotes when the update goes live. We can't wait!
Mountain Map
We're almost ready to release our first big piece of post-launch content: The Mountain map! We're currently targeting mid-June for release.
Crossplay
We're aware of the requests for crossplay invites, but it's important to note that this is a month-long endeavor that would eat into time that could be spent on a larger number of impactful improvements and changes. We're weighing options and seeing if it's a possibility, but please be aware that if it's added, it won't be in the very near future. We'll keep you updated on this.
Grab the Gold Weekend Event
Burn this note after reading. Pass on the knowledge.
Dot not be fooled. The State lies.
The legends live, this we now know to be true. Do not be fooled by the mangled bodies strung up on the walls each day. If it were them, the stories would have stopped. The State is bloodied and their guards dwindle. But the wounded beast is the most dangerous, and the Sheriff yet stalks the ramparts.
Events are in motion. A great heist approaches. Stay away from the keep, and take care what you say, and to whom. Keep an eye on the treeline and you may catch a glimpse. Like wraiths in the night, moonlight glinting from ready steel, they slip past us without a word or look.
Are they really so different from us, I wonder.
Burn this note. Pass it on:
The State lies.
- A Friend
Another weekend event returns! With the guards thinned out, the time to strike has come. The goal is to steal 100 000 000 gold from the State before May 31. Every Outlaw that plays over the weekend will receive a share of the gold stolen. On Tuesday June 1 we reveal whether this great heist has been a success.
Keep an eye on our Twitter account on Saturday and Sunday for updates on your progress!
