The Thanatos has arrived, and is now en-route to the Hangars of eligible MechWarriors!
This patch marks the release of Rubellite Oasis, our first brand-new Map since the release of Grim Plexus in March of last year. Excluding Faction Play Siege Mode, Rubellite Oasis features full support for all other Quick Play and Faction Play Game Modes. Work on the upcoming City Map, slated for release early next year, is currently underway!
The 2017 Annual Rewards Program content is finally here! Five brand new variants are now en route to the Hangars of eligible MechWarriors, along with additional content for Active Players and MC purchasers. You still have until November 14th at 10AM PST/6PM UTC to qualify!
Rounding out the patch we have a large number of general fixes, including an improvement to the Domination Beacon balance on Crimson Strait, animation improvements for the Nova Cat and Uziel 'Mechs, and much more!
Read on for all the details of the November patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
This Event gives you a chance to earn up to a total of 150 random Loot Bags through qualifying matches, with even more Bags up for grabs if you own a Tournament Supporter pack or eligible pre-order packs.
You can earn 100 Loot Bags in Quick Play and 50 Loot Bags in Faction Play. You can track your match count progress through the Event Browser and Redeem your loot bags on this page.
When you have earned 150 Loot Bags (through Matches or Bonus Redeems) you will unlock the Grand Prize! which is a Pick a Prize Reward!
In addition, we have:
3 Faction Play Conflict events where the Inner Sphere Factions are in Conflict with other Inner Sphere Factions.
Davion vs Steiner
FRR vs Kurita
Marik vs Liao
4 Faction Play Conflict events Where the Clan Factions are in Conflict with other Clan Factions.
Clan Wolf vs Steel Vipers
Clan Wolf vs Diamond Shark
Ghost Bear vs Jade Falcon
Smoke Jaguar vs Nova Cat
This event will run for 11 days, so we hope you'll enjoy the time to earn those Trick or Treat 3 Loot Bags at your own pace!
The Civil War: Escalation 'Mechs have arrived, and are now en-route to the MechBays of eligible MechWarriors!
This patch contains a large number of gameplay-related fixes, adjustments, and improvements, including a Quirk pass on 9 'Mechs, balance adjustments for Medium-class Lasers, a fix for MRM firing rates, the restoration of persistent, friendly UAV markers, a number of community-requested feature improvements, and more.
The Special Events system is receiving a few key improvements in this patch, including the ability to toggle visibility of Faction Play Objectives for which you are specifically eligible, along with a potential fix for the issue that prevented the Event Browser from populating for certain players. If you continue to encounter this issue after applying the patch, please contact Support services at technical@mwomercs.com.
Rounding out the patch we have the release of three new Halloween Cockpit Items, the delivery of three additional Warhorns for WC 2017 Tournament Supporter Pack owners, and an array of miscellaneous improvements and fixes.
In other news, our three 2017 MechWarrior Online World Championship Finalists have been decided! The forces of EmpyreaL, EON Synergy, and 228th Black Watch will meet on-site and in person at Mech_Con 2017 on December 9th in Vancouver, BC to determine who among them will be crowned the 2017 MechWarrior Online World Champions. If you can't make it in person be sure to tune into the Mech_Con 2017 livestream to catch all the action!
One final note for this patch: due to the final-hour changes to the Nightstar arm orientation and the partial rollback of previously planned Laser changes, the expected downtime for this patch will run from 2 to 4 PM Pacific, rather than our usual time of 10AM. Apologies for any inconvenience!
In the meantime, read on for all the details of the October patch and we'll see you on the battlefield!
The Clan IIC Hero 'Mechs have arrived, and are now en-route to the MechBays of eligible MechWarriors!
The main feature of this patch is a brand new Special Events system integrated directly into your MechWarrior Online client, supporting both Quick Play and Faction Play Special Events and Conflicts! In addition to providing better support for special per-Faction Conflicts, this feature will serve to make our regular events more 'present' for players across both Quick Play and Faction Play, with progress tracking and criteria/reward information now provided in-game, rather than purely on the website. The majority of Event Rewards will now also be redeemable directly in-game, with an immediate turnaround on the injection of reward items into your account! Certain Event components however, such as Loot Bags, will continue to maintain a presence on the website.
This patch contains a large number of gameplay-related fixes, adjustments, and improvements, including a Quirk pass on 12 'Mechs, balance passes for an array of weapons, balance adjustments for Strategic Strike and Cool Shot Consumables, a 50% decrease to the neutrality duration of Conquest Capture Points, a fix for the Heat Containment Skill Tree Node, and fixes to the UAC double-tap mechanic.
Rounding out the patch we have the addition of Kill Counters to all Objective-based game modes, improvements to the walk and run animation cycles for the Mad Cat MK II chassis, the introduction of Clan Diamond Shark as a playable Faction, fixes for a number of long-standing issues such as random cockpit shake, taking damage while still inside a DropShip, braking when accessing the Scoreboard while Throttle Decay is active, and much more!
Read on for all the details of the September patch and we'll see you on the battlefield!
The latest wave of Clan Hero 'Mechs have arrived, and are now en-route to MechBays of eligible MechWarriors. With the arrival of these nine Clan Heroes, all Clan OmniMechs currently in-game now have at least one Hero variant. This patch also sees the release of distinct C-Bill variants for each of these nine Clan chassis. Along with these releases we've taken this opportunity to run a Quirk pass on specific variants of these Clan chassis, and have additionally updated these 'Mechs to support the visual display of all the new Clan tech released in our July patch.
With Incursion released in April, the Skill Tree and major balance adjustments in May, Competitive Mode and the Energy rebalance in June, and the new tech and timeline in July, August is a fairly light patch compared to recent months. Beyond the new Clan variants the main highlights of this patch for most will likely be a number of fixes and improvements throughout the game, such as a fix for two long-standing Faction Play DropShip issues, a fix for the impact of the Enhanced RAC/UAC Skill Node on RAC performance, improvements for the Uziel hitboxes, a fix for the long-standing issue of game objective audio continuing to trigger after the match has concluded, and more. This patch also features a handful of improvements to the Private Match Spectator Tool as we approach the Semi-Finals phase of the MechWarrior Online World Championship Tournament in September.
We'd like to take a moment here to acknowledge the feedback we've received regarding the animation of the Mad Cat MK II and Uziel 'Mechs since their release in July. Both of these 'Mechs will be undergoing an additional animation pass to address the reported issues; unfortunately, at this time we can't provide a solid ETA for when those adjustments will be made. We will attempt to get these 'Mechs addressed as soon as possible.
We'd like to apologize to all Mad Cat and Uziel pilots for the issues with animation quality present upon their initial release, and for the delay of their improvement.
In the meantime, read on for all the details of the August patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
A new era is finally upon us. Quartermasters throughout the Clan and Inner Sphere territories are deploying shipments of an array of new equipment and weaponry, while rumors of additional Clan forces arriving from beyond the Periphery are swirling throughout the Inner Sphere.
Due to their length, we're going to break from tradition a bit and dispense with the usual intro summary for these patch notes. So without further delay, let's get into what's arriving in our upcoming July 18th patch!
Timeline Advancement
New Technology Update Inner Sphere and Clan
New Weapons and Visual Retrofitting
Civil War 'Mechs
Gameplay
Skill Tree
Ballistics
Energy
Competitive Mode
New Cockpit Items, Titles and Badges, and Decals
Other Fixes and Changes!
The latest wave of Inner Sphere Resistance Hero 'Mechs have arrived, and are now en-route to MechBays of eligible MechWarriors. With the arrival of these Heroes all Inner Sphere chassis currently in-game now have at least one Hero variant.
This patch sees the release of our all-new 8v8 Competitive Mode! Featuring Competitive Leaderboards, Team Registration and Management features, Map banning, detailed statistics and standings, and more, this all-new Competitive Play area will enable players to form Teams for ranked combat in competitive Conquest matches. The release of this new Competitive Mode also marks the beginning of the Qualifying Phase of the 2017 MechWarrior Online World Championships.
Check out the Competitive Mode section of these Notes for all the details!
The recently-released Incursion Game Mode has been refitted and introduced for Faction Play in this patch. This patch also sees the introduction of weighted randomness to the Tug of War bar; a specific Game Mode may still be weighted to a distinct phase of the Tug of War, but matches will now have a random chance of running any of the other eligible Game Modes.
On the gameplay and balance side, this patch brings with it a significant Energy weapon balance pass, along with minor adjustments to AMS and LRM 5 weaponry. The focus of this Energy pass is twofold: provide better role definition between the different Energy weapon types, and most importantly, foster a better baseline balance between Inner Sphere and Clan Energy weapons. A complete rundown of these changes can be found in the Gameplay section of these Patch notes.
93 new Decals and 25 new Supply Caches are arriving in this patch. This batch of Decals includes the five remaining timeline-appropriate Clan Decals, an assortment of new Shapes, and a large collection of new Word Decals. These new Words can be easily combined to form distinct combinations like Clan Death Dealer, SRM Boom Stick, Frontline Breaker, etc.
As of this patch, Premium Time is no longer required for accessing any aspect of the Private Lobby feature! Tonnage rules, Match Time, Time of Day, View Mode, and Full Team settings are now available to all.
Rounding out the patch we have optimizations to the sound caching system and in-game Turrets, the addition of a central path for both Teams on HPG Manifold, the ability to re-assign Group Leadership, and a small number of other additions and fixes.
Read on for all the details of the June patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
The Javelin has arrived, and is now en-route to the MechBays of eligible MechWarriors. Built around a blend of mobility and firepower, the Javelin was originally designed as a mobile scout with enough firepower to deter or punish pursuit. Over its 300 years of active service within the military's of the Inner Sphere, the Javelin has gained a reputation as a premier ambush and strike 'Mech.
After a number of iterations, delays, and Public Test Sessions, the all-new Skill Tree is finally arriving in this patch, offering pilots greater control over how their 'Mechs are optimized according to their Loadout and desired role. The Skill Tree section of these Patch Notes is quite extensive, so we'll save you a bit of reading in the intro here. Check out the associated section for all the details!
A number of gameplay-related tweaks are also featured in this patch, such as the decoupling of agility-related stats from your equipped Engine size (otherwise known as 'engine desync'). With the release of engine desync in this patch, 'Mech agility stats are now determined by the overall tonnage of the chassis itself, not the size of its equipped Engine. It is important to note however that the Speed of your 'Mech will not be impacted by this; speed remains tied with Engine size. For full details on this change and its impacts, check out the associated sub-section of these notes.
In addition to the usual 'Mech-related Decals, seven of the original Clans are also receiving emblem and word Decals in this patch. We'd like to thank all Clan pilots for their patience waiting for these long-requested Decals. We'd also like to note that Decals for the five remaining Clans active in the current timeline are already complete and will be released this June, along with the missing word Decal for Clan Star Adder.
As part of the Skill Tree release, the Cadet Bonus 25 Achievement will now provide the player with 48,000 GXP in addition to the existing reward for that Achievement of 200,000 C-Bills. This GXP reward has also been retroactively provided to all players who have already achieved Cadet Bonus 25 at the time of this patch.
Rounding out the patch we have the MC release of all Clan Wave 1 Hero 'Mechs, missile weapon retrofits for the Quickdraw and Victor 'Mechs to provide them with accurate weapon visuals according to Loadout, and a small number of general fixes and changes.
We would also like to alert everyone that the downtime required during this patch window will be longer than normal to perform some necessary database work as part of the player account transfer process into the new Skill Tree. We are expecting this patch downtime to last ~3 hours in total.
Follow the link for all the details of the May patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
The Roughneck has arrived, and is now en-route to the MechBays of eligible MechWarriors. Pulled from the ranks of Achernar IndustrialMech designs and retrofitted for a combat role at the height of the Clan Invasion, the Roughneck is an example of desperate ingenuity in the face of a devastating opponent. The Roughneck is the first 'Mech designed from the ground-up by Piranha Games and Alex Iglesias; we hope you dig this brand new addition to the family of 'Mechs in the BattleTech and MechWarrior franchise.
The all-new Incursion Game Mode has arrived! To secure victory players must ensure the integrity of their Team Base, contending for essential Fuel Cell Supply Points to power key Support Towers for use in the fight against the Enemy forces and their Base.
The chat system is receiving an upgrade in this patch with the introduction of a new 'floating' chat system. This will enable you to continue chatting with friends and unit-mates across the majority of main menu systems.
This patch features a number of Gameplay tweaks and adjustments, including the addition of sector designations for commands issued from the Command Wheel and BattleGrid, adjustments to certain Match Score contributors, improvements to the Domination Game Mode for Alpine Peaks, and more.
Rounding out the patch we have a handful of 'Mech fixes, all-new Loading Screens, new Colours, and additional items.
Read on for all the details for the April patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
The Supernova has arrived, and is now en-route to the MechBays of eligible MechWarriors.
Development priorities continue to remain focused toward the upcoming release of the new Skill Tree (now set for March), the Incursion Game Mode, and an array of additional Faction Play improvements. As a result, February follows January as a relatively light month in terms of patch content. Of particular note are a significant number of interface-related fixes and improvements, along with the introduction of an auto-renewal option for Mercenary Contracts within Faction Play.
In other news our first phase of the Skill Tree Public Test Session is complete, and work is underway on the next update to the Skill Tree PTS build based on your feedback. You can check out the latest news on what's in store for the next PTS update here, with a more detailed rundown on all the changes set to arrive with the next PTS update.
We'd also like to point out that we will be performing some backend maintenance during the downtime period for this patch, and as a result the total downtime period may extend up to 2 hours in length. That said, we'll try to make it as quick as possible.
In the meantime, read on for all the details of our February patch, and we'll see you on the battlefield!
