Release Date Confirmed
First things first:
The release date is determined and the DLC will launch August 16th, two years after the original release of Regiments.
War Paths
No less important is a first proper look at the procedurally-generated operations - the new mode called War Paths.
The idea of merging the free-form nature of the Skirmish modes with the deeper mechanics of the Operations mode has been floating around since before the release.
And the new War Paths mode is exactly: it allows you to fight through a string of generated battles with a Regiment of your choice while keeping all the defining systems of the fixed Operations and adding some more.
As a side note, the new mode assumes you already have some experience with said systems: free-form nature means the experience is far less curated, and depending on the settings, the difficulty curve can be steeper.
The setup screen allows you to customize the planned run significantly. You can select the length of the generated Operation, choose the opposing forces, set the starting conditions, and, of course, the familiar advanced rules. Opposing forces also determine which allies will fight on your side so that they fit the selected area of operations.
Most importantly, you decide on the Regiment you will use. All Regiments present in skirmish are available in War Paths. They will be automatically converted to the operations format.
The Main Body will remain largely the same. The platoon stacks will feature a limited unit count, and two supply platoons will be added to the roster (yes, you can be much more flexible with field resupply now).
Task Forces are adjusted more: platoons may be resized, their experience level changed, or their vehicles switched to older or newer models. The conversion process is randomized, so each playthrough will feature unique Task Forces.
Unlike Operations, which use a predetermined sequence of missions, War Paths stages are generated procedurally. Each Stage is set on a map chosen at random from a pool. The pool contains all the current skirmish maps, at least two completely new maps, and more than half a dozen variants of the existing maps (some playing almost like new ones).
Each Stage will feature a random mission objective:
- Attack
- Defense
- Meeting Engagement
- Raid
- Recon-in-Force
- Escort
- Interception
Some mission types also feature sub-variants for extra replayability.
All in all, we're aiming for a few hundred base combinations.
On top of that and as usual with the rest of the game modes, enemy force composition and positions, attack waves intervals, obstacle belts placement, patrols, preparation artillery barrages - are all generated on the fly, making each battle unique.
As a side note, War Paths use separate save slots to avoid competing for real estate with Operations.
The Regiment Management screen should be very familiar for those who've already played Operations.
The layout and functions available are largely the same: you spend Operational Authority to upgrade your Regiment, call in new Task Forces, and restore depleted platoons.
Tools of Change
What's new is the 'Courses of Action' menu to the right.
After a Stage is completed, you are presented with a choice of two following Stages and can select which one to proceed with. At this point, you can also spend a phase to rest and refit. Rest will restore some of the lost units and get a small number of supplies, but it will cost some of the Victory Points. You can rest only once at the start of a new Stage.
Between the phases of an active Stage, you may abandon your objective and retreat. A retreat may save your force from total defeat, but it comes at a steep cost in Victory Points, on top of whatever you didn't secure on the Stage itself.
Another addition is a new upgradeable parameter: Signal Intelligence. Higher levels allow you to gain progressively more information about enemy forces, starting from simple notifications about arriving enemy groups and progressing to near-real-time updates on the position of enemy groups on the map.
On the downside, Signal Intelligence capabilities degrade every few phases, requiring constant investment to maintain them—and higher levels are costly.
On top of the that, several new event cards have been added to mirror some of the unique capabilities in fixed Operations.
Event Art is work-in-progress
The Arsenal
That is the end of the short overview of the new War Paths mode!
To end on the high note, we present an almost* full summary of the units coming in the DLC!
Click to expand
*UK Paras and DDR LStR-40 didn't fit slightly
See you soon at the release line!
