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Welcome to the Sparks Update! We’ve got the eponymous new medic, Sparks, the extension of the Trade-Up System to Cobalt rarity, numerous UI improvements and some brand new bundles in the store just waiting for your attention. Get all the details below and Play Dirty!
New Merc: Sparks
Sparks is a qualified doctor, and has the papers to prove it. But then she also has the papers to prove she’s at least five other people, including a pilot, an attorney-at-law, and a California Highway Patrol officer named Jeff. The point is, she has friends in high and low places, which helps her get her hands on cutting-edge medical tech like the REVIVR. Killing and reviving people under gunfire is by no means the worst job she’s had. Just ask Jeff.
Primary Ability: Revive Gun
Sparks’ signature ability is this special hunk of advanced medical tech called the REVIVR. You could ask what REVIVR stands for, but what really matters is what it does: Fires a highly charged projectile which, if it strikes an Incapacitated ally, will revive them with an amount of health dependant on the REVIVR’s charge level.
Of course, its still a gun, and its Sparks’ best weapon. Hitting an enemy with the REVIVR will deal heavy damage, again dependant on how much the weapon’s been charged up. The REVIVR won’t fire if you don’t charge it up a bit, and if it’s used too often, or holds a full charge for too long, it will overheat and become useless until it can cool down, but that’s a small price to pay to be able to Revive your teammates without worrying about getting your own head shot off!
Secondary Ability: Small Health Packs
Sparks’ method of healing her still-living allies are the Health Packs, throwable and picked up just like the ones Sawbonez uses, but don’t think they’re the same. While Sawbonez’s Large Health Packs will restore a large amount of health over time, and get stopped the moment your patient takes damage, Sparks’ Health Packs will immediately and always restore 35 Health when picked up, 45 Health if caught on the fly, making them far more powerful when picked up under fire, more than enough to turn the tide of a close firefight.
Loadout Details
As with all Mercs, Sparks has a set of Loadout Cards, featuring a variety of augments and the following weapons.
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Each of her Bronze Loadout Cards can be purchased directly for 17,500 Credits or $3.49 USD, or all of them in a bundle for 100,000 Credits or $19.99 USD. As with all Mercs, every current combination of weapons and augments available for Sparks is available as a Bronze Card.
Daily Credit Bonuses Doubled
In the previous update we introduced Daily Credit Bonuses, and now we are doubling how many Credits these award you. So now instead of 250 Credits, you’ll be swimming in 500 and recruiting the Mercs you want in your Squad even faster.
Minimum Level Servers
We have now introduced minimum level servers, which means you can now more consistently play against enemies of a similar level to you. You can find these servers by using the browser, or by using ‘Quick Join’, as it will prioritise you to join those servers first.
Cobalt Trade-Up
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Trade-Up has been extended to Cobalt Cards! No longer will unwanted Gold Cards be there to clutter up your inventory, as you’ll now be able to trade them in for a Cobalt Card of the Merc of your choice. Each Cobalt Card you Trade-Up to will cost you 6 Gold Cards and 10,000 Credits, so best to wait until you have a steady supply of both before you Trade Up.
New Bundles on Sale
We’re introducing three new Merc Bundles for you to help you fill out your Squad for a hefty discount! Check them out below and find all three of them in the Shop under the Bundles section!
Please note: You will be able to purchase a bundle even if you have any or all of the Mercs within the bundle already unlocked. Be careful, and please spend your money wisely.
Explosives Bundle
The Explosives Bundle is here, featuring three Mercs highly skilled at blowing anything and everything into orbit! Containing unlocks for Fletcher, Fragger, Nader and two Elite Cases thrown in to boot, this bundle has a value of $40, but will only set you back $19.99 USD (or local equivalent)!
Deployable Bundle
Say hello to the Deployable Bundle, which is all about our Mercs that bring their own fun to the party! Featuring Bushwhacker, Proxy and Sawbonez, along with a pair of Elite Cases, you’ll be able to grab this $32 bundle for only $15.99 USD (or local equivalent)!
Sharpshooter Bundle
And finally, here’s the Sharpshooter bundle, with three Mercs who are all about picking their shots just right. With Arty, Kira, Vasilli and two Elite Cases as well, this bundle has a value of $32, but can be purchased for only $15.99 USD (or local equivalent)!
Terminal Improvement
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The Attackers spawn on Terminal has been something we’ve looked at for quite some time and we have now made a few changes to see how the play out. These changes are:
- Removed MG at top of the stairs that overlooks the street
- De-cluttered several interiors
- Relocated the Ammo cache
These should relieve some of the pressure defenders are able to use to their advantage.
Ammo Cache Locations
A number of Ammo Caches have been moved or removed from the game. Some were too advantageous to key combat spaces - We want players to have to take a detour when using them to prevent defending objectives too effectively.
Balance Changes
Bushwhacker
-Reduced Turret health to 120hp from 140
Kira
-Reduced Ammo-station health to 120hp from 140
-Increased Orbital Strike cooldown to 50s from 45
Dreiss AR
-Increased reload time to 2.2s from 2.0
Tølen Machine Pistol
-Reduced reload time to 1.7s from 1.8
Empire-9
-Reduced reload time to 1.7s from 1.8
Other Changes
User Interface
-Users can now set a maximum game size when using ‘Quick Join’
-Added ‘Fire Mode’ to weapon info when viewing Loadout Cards
-Added drop chances to Case descriptions for different rarities
-Increased the Case opening animation to include 30 cards (was 15) to more accurately represent drop chances
-Increased speed of various page transitions
-Updated crosshair hit-indicator appearance
-Improved matchmaking “Accept” dialog
-Help-up progress indicator now includes player names
-Reworked the tutorial level end review screen
Levels
-Updated ambient lighting on Underground
-Numerous collision fixes on Underground & Terminal
-Removed some visual clutter from Bridge and Terminal
-The EV on Bridge now moves at a fixed speed regardless of the number of escorting players
Art
-Removed or reduced reds in various environment props to minimize confusion
Animation
-Updated BR-16 animation set to include all body-types
-Updated the Minigun firing shake and camera animations
-Updated frontend male animations
Gameplay
-Reduced minimum revive health to 30hp across the board from 40hp
-Revived players now spend a second getting-up before they can move
Notable Bug Fixes
-Leaving a competitive match after accepting will now always incur a minor penalty
-Fixed ‘Quick Join’ failing and server browser pings not being displayed after playing a match on some systems
