Javelin: The Next Merc


(Pinflux) #1

Javelin, the latest Merc in the Dirty Bomb roster, is releasing on the 22nd of August alongside Casual Matchmaking, the reworked Dome, and Merc pricing changes.

Following on from Turtle’s deployment to the streets of London, a new Merc is catching the eye of Jackal and the CDA; A Norwegian weapons tester with a giant rocket launcher on her back and a love of Lutefisk.

Javelin offers her explosive arsenal to take down strong defensive positions in the blink of an eye, and her experimental backpack automatically generates extra rounds for her ammo starved allies.

To give you an insight into Javelin, her abilities, her character and her design, we sat down with Game Designer c4Te and Lead of Art Nerd1princess to discuss some of the finer details.

Javelin’s Impact

The first thing many players will notice about Javelin is the arrival of a long-requested addition to Dirty Bomb’s arsenal; a rocket launcher.

c: “The rocket launcher actually has two different modes; we have a guided mode that is a nod to other, modern games but then we also have a standard fire mode that just goes straight forward as a fast rocket, a nod to old school shooters."

The danger of introducing such a powerful new weapon into a game like Dirty Bomb is balancing it against the existing Mercs, weapons and abilities, giving the existing pool enough tools to counter Javelin’s abilities and strengths.

c: “We’ve given Javelin a warm up time on her rocket launcher, giving people the chance to kill her before she fires, or the chance to evade and hide… Turtle is also a very strong counter to her, or, as with all other electronics in Dirty Bomb, we have Phantom, who’s EMP disables the guided mode on the rocket – causing people using it to fire their rockets off against the wall.”

One of the things we were keen to include were counters and plays for skilled players. It’s possible to shoot down Javelin’s rockets if you’re fast enough, just as its possible to direct your rockets around a Turtle shield to destroy the generator and the players behind it.

Javelin has been tasked by Scandinavian tech startup Ghostclip to field test their new and experimental rapid ammunition technology, letting her shine when played in a supporting role.

c: “Like our other field supports she’s strong at destroying objectives, but she’s also a really good pool for ammo. However, compared to others that have to place ammo packs, she just needs to walk around and as others come close to her they get ammunition.”

Javelin’s Concept and Design

Javelin has been tasked by Scandinavian tech startup Ghostclip to field test their new and experimental rapid ammunition technology, her design departing slightly from some of our more traditional Merc templates. As the flow of the Dirty Bomb team becomes more skilled and efficient as it scales up, players will begin to see more intricate designs.

Nerd1princess: "Hopefully it’s noticeable to players just how different Javelin is to the other Mercs. We’re trying to push the art, details and the tech forward, and trying to make her very readable in terms of appearance and functionality… We’ve been working a lot on how we design characters, both from a functionality vs appearance perspective, but we’re also trying to push the tech as much as possible.

Taking care of every single detail on a Merc’s body, not just their weaponry, but anatomy details as well. Javelin has a very detailed, high poly sculpture, so hopefully everyone will appreciate things like skin details and hair style which is a great cosmetic addition for Javelin."

While it’s important for each of our Mercs to be unique in both character and design, it’s also crucial that they fit into the world of Dirty Bomb, and are coherent with the lore.

N: “Javelin is an explosives specialist and she has a strong military background. She’s a very tough girl… with a unique mix of strength and abilities. She’s also an interesting character visually, and quite different from the other female characters.”

As with anything in game development, honing the development process of new Mercs and other content is not always easy.

N: “There are always obstacles in development! Nothing goes smoothly or as planned, but at the same time that’s a lot of fun. We’ve been very reactive in terms of issues and problems, we’re making things better, faster and becoming more efficient”

c: “So far our testers are having loads of fun playing with her. We’re incredibly excited to let the rest of the community get their hands on her.”

N: “I hope she’ll be well received. And I hope players will notice all of the attention to detail: anatomy, hairstyle, clothing - every single piece of clothing has been precisely designed!”

Javelin will be available in Dirty Bomb from Tuesday 22nd August. What do you think of her design and abilities?


(DB Genome editor) #2

I wish there was something in her backstory to explain that big padded right arm. It doesn’t look like armor, and in any case why would she have armor only on one arm (the least exposed one when she shoulders a weapon on top of that) but leave her torso exposed?

Also, the axe preview says “Default Skin”, will this be the first melee weapon to change skin with the loadouts? And if so will the others follow?


(imLegal) #3

Fucking sweet. From what i’ve read and seen, I know for a fact i’m gonna like using Javelin a lot.

I was hoping they’d put her on sale with an Obsidian skin like they did with Turtle but it’s whatever, i’m getting her regardless.


(Reddeadcap) #4

@Djiesse said:
I wish there was something in her backstory to explain that big padded right arm. It doesn’t look like armor, and in any case why would she have armor only on one arm (the least exposed one when she shoulders a weapon on top of that) but leave her torso exposed?

I believe it’s a bit of an exo-skeleton, maybe to help her hold her launcher?

Maybe her actual arm, under the armor is heavily injured, except for the hand and she wears it like a robotic cast/support

I can see the dedication that the art team has for characters, and I know that Dirty bomb is set 10 years into the future, I adore her ability, I adore her design and I sure as hell love that axe and rifle of hers but I don’t get the hair and the backpack.

The hair looks like someone typed “viking hair” and just looked at the cast of the tv show “Vikings” and went with that. It’s not bad by any means but it just looks weird imho, and I do adore asymmetrical hair, it just seems exaggerated.

Finally the backpack, I don’t get it. It’s just meant to look like a viking shield on her back, whats with the ammo belts to the codpiece?

She could’ve had that company logo square on her chest/abdomen and wore a near futuristic open skeletal backpack that has visible ammo racks/boxes on it and it would’ve been more understandable, like how Stoker, Arty and Skyhammer have ammo visible on them, even straps to support it could’ve also been bandoleers.

I don’t understand why She would passively provide ammo, either, seems like a training wheels like trait because fire supports players ignore people asking for ammo to be dropped or don’t move their stations around.


(Oxayotl) #5

Woah, so now there is a viking merc with an actual axe and a rocket launcher in Dirty Bomb ?!?!?
(Also I love how some mercs have rocket launchers, others have suits that makes them invisible, others have literal satellite laser that will insta-kill anyone, and some have… grenades! Health packs! Molotov cocktails!
Yet somehow they end up on relatively similar power level…

@Djiesse said:
Also, the axe preview says “Default Skin”, will this be the first melee weapon to change skin with the loadouts? And if so will the others follow?

In case you missed it, the current Obsidian skin for Phantom comes with a change of appearance for the katana.


(bgyoshi) #6

This looks so ridiculously OP lmao


(TheStrangerous) #7

@Djiesse said:
I wish there was something in her backstory to explain that big padded right arm. It doesn’t look like armor, and in any case why would she have armor only on one arm (the least exposed one when she shoulders a weapon on top of that) but leave her torso exposed?

Oh, we all do know, exactly what we’re thinking…


(OwynTyler) #8

So you gave Fragger a better aiming for explosive and an ammo station along with new pretty face and call it ok? :expressionless:


(LIGHT_BAGHEERA) #9

oh I’m in love, super excited for her, love her design and all, absolutely amazing <3


(Shenaynays) #10

still no infomation about that primary weapon…


(J.H4MRSON) #11

@Shenaynays Judging from the video itself. Her primary is probally a some sort of SCAR-H “battle rifle” due to it’s appearance and seemingly slow rate-of-fire of the weapon.
I could be wrong though. But ya’know, the only time will tell.


(Shenaynays) #12

@j.H4MRSON ik but damage, ammo and things like that, it seems like it should have a pretty high damage threshold but that would make her be dumb powerful


(J.H4MRSON) #13

@Shenaynays The ammo capacity of the weapon should be around 20 rounds in the magazine to compensate for the high dmg threshold. Also the ammo pool of the weapon can be like blishlok or maybe lower to balance things off, and due to the fact that she can generate ammo by herself.

But. All of this is still a speculation of myself. Can’t confirm anything yet. We just gonna have to wait and see for ourself.


(Hardikr100) #14

if there is are 2 modes does the “E” button toggle them?


(Max Plite) #15

@Hardikr100 I think it will be LMB and RMB for firemodes cause honestly aiming down with this would be useless and RMB is faster than switching.


(TuCaNn96) #16

I hope that as much detail in the merc does not drop the rate of fps but congratulations to all very good work. :slight_smile: 10/10 :slight_smile: . I was expecting a lot of the rocket launcher! :wink:


(Sithas) #17

I´m way more excited about the axe than the rocket launcher. There is something oddly satisfying about slamming a axe in somebody´s face… must be a side effect of playing too much skyrim.


(CommonGuy) #18

I just wonder if she will be able to give herself ammo.


(Grave_Knight) #19

I hate this because now I can’t tell people to shut up about Javelin, she’s not coming.


(breezyizdefiant) #20

this is amazing looking :slight_smile: