Who killed Max Bashki?
Change the course of Dirty Bomb history over the next five weeks, as you join the newest Merc Aimee on her quest for vengeance. Read on for all the dirt!
New Merc - Aimee
A lightning quick Sniper savant with a taste for chic and a chip on her shoulder, Aimee delivers disruption en route for her team. Her Snitch device contains a neural disruptor that softens up Mercs as it Spots them, letting the entire team join her in bidding her opponents adieu.
Rogue en Vogue Event
Rogue en Vogue is a five week event, where you and the Dirty Bomb community determine the culprit that ruined Aimee’s short-lived stint in the fashion world.
Exclusive Trinkets and Loadout Cards will be available to buy using a brand new currency just for the event, including a Limited Edition Loadout Card for the Culprit once they’ve been determined.
For the full rundown, along with a comic that sets the scene, check out the full Rogue en Vogue Update site.
New Badges
With this update we’ve added several new Badges, largely focused outside of pure combat proficiency: rewarding the good use of Support abilities, playing the Objectives and shutting down Killing Sprees. Overall Badge tallies and information on how to earn each Badge can now be seen in the Profile section of the main menu.
Steam Achievements
We’re also introducing some initial Steam Achievements, focused for the moment on rewarding new players starting out their Dirty Bomb career. If the current list seems sparse, don’t fret: We’ll be looking to add a more diverse range of Steam Achievements in future updates.
Queue times in Matchmaking
Estimated queue time functionality has been added to the matchmaking interface, as well as information on the best time to play for your given region.
Full Team Queue in Ranked play
We’re bringing back the ability to party up with 4 Friends and join the Ranked Queue. Teams of 5 will only be matched against other Teams of 5, so queue times may be longer than when alone or with a single friend.
Combined Aus/Asia region for Ranked play
To improve queue times, we’re introducing a combined Asia/Australia region for Ranked play, with servers hosted in Singapore. Private Matches will still have access to the separate regions.
Increased Credit Bonus in Ranked play
To further encourage Ranked play, we’ve increased the rate at which credits are earned during Ranked matches to double that of Casual play, instead of the previous 50% bonus.
New Audio Reverb system
A new system for managing reverb in the game has been implemented, providing a more immersive experience and improved performance. For more details, check out this forum post.
Balance
With Aimee’s arrival in London, we’ve taken the chance to take a look at mobility and sniping. As such, we’ve tweaked the Sniper Rifles to allow for faster movement and more responsive play in general.
Our overarching goal with the following changes is to remove some random elements to allow for a higher skill-ceiling, while also avoiding making particular weapons too powerful in the right hands:
All Sniper Rifles
- Removed all scope-sway while moving, making it easier to aim on the move
- Removed random cross-hair offset adjustment that occurred as players were scoping-in
PDP-70
- Reduced rate of fire to 164RPM (from 180RPM)
- Increased recoil by ~10%
- Increased hip-fire spread by ~50%
Grandeur SR
- Reduced rate of fire to 180RPM (from 200RPM)
- Reduced hip-fire spread by ~10%
MoA SNPR-1
- Increased hip-fire spread by ~50%
FEL-IX
- Increased hip-fire spread by ~50%
Other Changes
Gameplay
- Added team coloring to Ammo Stations
- Reworked Healing Station behavior to address certain situations where health would not be restored
- Reduced Ranked demotion buffers so players can be demoted by losing ~2 games in a row after a promotion, instead of ~3
- Reduced the collision box of the Proximity Mine to more closely match the model
User Interface
- Added the option for Classic Team HUD in the Game Options menu
- Progress percentage is now shown when hovering over Ranked progress bar
- Improved performance of in-game Voting popups
Audio
- Added additional environmental audio such as fire in Bridge and gas in Terminal and Underground
- Added audio for purchasing Trinkets
Visual Effects
- Optimized Airstrike explosion and Orbital Laser effects
Notable Bug Fixes
- Fixed bug where dismissed Missions would sometimes not refill
- Fixed bug where two Health Packs, Ammo Packs or Proximity Mines could be thrown at the same time
- Fixed bug where removed or destroyed items were still highlighted by Bomb Squad
- Fixed bug where Redeye’s Smoke could block the effects of Health Stations, Healing Pulses and Concussion Grenades
- Fixed bug where it was difficult to repair the Generator on the second Objective in Trainyard
- Fixed bug where XP totals could extend beyond the Merc boxes in the Profile Stats screen
- Fixed bug where Sniper Rifle scopes could have a slight reddish tint
- Fixed bug where Equipment Cases gained by levelling up could not be quick-opened
- Fixed bug where Healing Station visual effects could persist if the Station was Scrambled by a Concussion Grenade
- Fixed bug where Ranked icons in the End-Game review were using the Pre-Season variants
- Fixed bug where Assist and Finish Assist XP wasn’t being correctly awarded
- Fixed bug where Merc dialogue would repeat while Trading Up or Trading In