Z1: Battle Royale
Server Maintenance - March 8th
Skull Store Items - New Items & Removing Old Items
See these items above? On March 14, those items will be removed from the Skull Store and placed into the vault. Brand new items will be coming to the Skull Store on the same day, with new ones to follow each week until April 18!
Launch Day Producer's Letter
Today marks a momentous milestone for the team, our players, and the game -- H1Z1 has officially launched out of Early Access!
H1Z1 has come a long way since we first released it three years ago. It was a unique project at Daybreak, which started with a small group of developers who were given a mission to “make something fun”. Over time, that mission evolved into one of Steam’s best-selling titles of 2017 and put Battle Royale games on the map. H1Z1 is the fast-paced, competitive battle royale game it is today because of you, our players. And, with 3 Invitationals, 3 Showdowns, 2 Elite Series stops, 1 nationally broadcasted tournament, and a Pro League, you all have also helped to establish a new esports genre.
So, what does launching out of Early Access really mean? The core game has reached a place that we’re really happy with – it’s stable, the combat feels good, and this update includes the final pieces of the puzzle for our version of battle royale. However, launching out of Early Access doesn’t mean that development stops. Far from it. H1Z1 has a bright future ahead and we’ll continue refining the game and adding new features to bring you the best H1Z1 experience possible.
More about the future later. Let’s get down to what today brings!
First, a BRAND NEW GAME MODE! This was one hard secret to keep, but we are excited to bring you Auto Royale™, a new team-based, vehicular battle royale game mode. We’ve seen how entertaining driving around can be in H1Z1, so we decided to run with the idea and have a little fun. In Auto Royale, we lock you and your teammates into a vehicle, launch you into the map with up to 29 other teams and watch the mayhem unfold. During development, the team had a lot of fun adding new elements to the game specific to Auto Royale that help fuel the vehicular chaos, including the new ARV military-style vehicle, a light machine gun, landmines, corrosive gas, jumps (double jump!), ramps, oil slicks and so much more. Auto Royale is now available in beta and we can’t wait for you to try it out. More details about Auto Royale here too!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qH1uhHPzMCE
Second, we’ve added a ton a new features and polish to the core game, including a scoring overhaul that rewards consistency, Tactical Deployment, visibility updates, and more.
No more Preseasons! Today is the beginning of Season 1 and with it an all-new scoring system that rewards consistency, which even includes the potential for de-rank. Don’t worry though, because while a handful of below-average games may bring down the overall ranking, it will never remove a player from the highest level of placement rewards achieved. This is intended to allow players to play how they wish in order to rank up, and always know how far away they are from the next tier.
The goal was to make our current system more friendly and intuitive for all playstyles, not just the need for a 15-bomb in order to rank up. Your core Top 10 games will still carry a heavy amount of weight, but we’ve added a few modifiers specifically around average placement and average kills. This will let current players to keep playing the way they have, but also allow those players that place well but rarely get more than a few kills a game to still rank up and improve (or vice versa).
Another feature that many of you have helped us test is Tactical Deployment, the ability to select which sector you will parachute into at the start of the map. Each individual zone can be selected while waiting in Fort Destiny, and a supporting heatmap will pop up indicating where other players have selected to spawn. Whether you want to drop with the masses, or pick a quiet corner like the Dam, that option is now yours. In team games, the team leader will select the general spawn quadrant. If no selection is made, a player (or team) will be dropped randomly somewhere near the safe zone.
We’ve also overhauled the in-game UI to match the style of the rest of the game and make things easier for everyone. Some of the larger additions are a mini-map in the lower right corner (turn it off or switch corners if you wish), a more organized settings menu for adjusting on the fly, and an easier to use inventory menu. These updates should allow all players to understand their current situation and settings much quicker at a glance, and we wanted to ensure that the new design maintains the muscle memory acquired through thousands of hours of playtime.
Playing H1Z1 just got even more rewarding - you can now earn the NEW Victory Crate for winning and Skull rewards for placing well in different match types! Click the image above to see how you can earn exclusive new skins through gameplay, leveling up, and the Skull Store.
Development doesn’t stop at launch. Still to come this year is the release of Z1 Remastered and much more. Of course, our team is always working on keeping the game fair, banning cheaters as we find them and updating our anti-cheat tools so everyone can enjoy their game. Fair play is an important aspect of the game, and that focus will also never stop.
Our work on overall optimization, which includes FPS improvements, remains a top priority as well. We’ve adjusted how trees appear in the world (leading to more FPS), and also set an alternative time of day to provide better colorization and visibility of other players. The effort for higher FPS will continue with each update as we move forward.
Again, we want to thank you, our fans and players across the globe who have been with us from the beginning and for continuing to play the game over the years, seeing us through even the bumpy roads along the way. To show our appreciation, we will be giving away these exclusive “H1Z1 Evolution” shirts on our Twitter page, with details to follow. You’ll also get one in-game to show off.
Everything above has been a culmination of our three-year journey, so buckle up and get ready to put the pedal to the metal! I’ll see you in game. - Anthony Castoro
Welcome To Season One!
Starting with Preseason One, we set out to make H1Z1 as competitive and rewarding as possible. We added Team Scoring for Duos and Fives to continue that trend. With each Preseason we shook up the point values and Tier distribution numbers and made future decisions based on previous Preseason data. We gave out rewards for end of season placement and players were fully sporting their accomplishments in-game.
Now that we're leaving Early Access, it's time to put Preseasons behind us and get started on the culmination of all that work: Season One!
Season One comes with a new way of evaluating overall player performance. During the Preseasons, Royalty was solely achieved by a player's ability to get high kill games and nothing else. This lead to player behavior of jumping into a match, getting as many kills and possible and not caring about anything else. The new scoring system starting in Season One rewards players who can get kills AND place well consistently. We find that the skill to accomplish both a high kill and high placement game is really what separates the top players from the rest.
The formula we're using to generate your overall score comes from taking your 10 best matches as a base, and then we apply a modifier to it based on your average kills per match and average match placement for the season. The important thing to note here is that if you perform poorly over and over again, you can find yourself sinking into a lower Tier.
Along with this new system comes a new reward structure in the form of the Victory Crate - you can read all about that right here.
We're continuing the tradition of rewarding players at the end of every season based on what Tier they landed in. Here's what you can expect out of Season One:
We want to thank all the players that joined us on the ride through Early Access and the various Preseasons. The feedback and data you were able to provide during that time was invaluable. And now, without any further ado…welcome to Season One!
Win a Match, Get Rewarded!
Playing H1Z1 just got even more rewarding - you can now earn the NEW Victory Crate for winning and Skull rewards for placing well in different match types! Read on below to see how you can earn exclusive new skins through gameplay, leveling up, and the Skull Store.
How To Get Victory Crates
There are a few ways to get your hands on the Victory Crate:
All Victory Crates come already unlocked and ready to open!
What's Inside
The Victory Crate contains an all-new slew of untradable and unmarketable items. With over 75 never-before-seen skins, here are just a few to look forward to:
As mentioned, while you can’t trade or market the items out of the Victory Crate, you will be able to scrap them for the usual amounts based on their rarity level. The items in the Victory Crate may change over time (did somebody say animated weapons?), so keep an eye out as we make additional announcements.
Skull Rewards
Don't quite make it to 1st place? You'll still earn a certain number of Skulls depending on your placement and the match type:
What did you score out of your first Victory Crate? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter!
Legendary Unique Giveaway!
H1Z1 has launched on PC and we’re doing something special where all of our players have a chance at earning something truly unique.
We’re giving away TWO Legendary Unique items. These are the first of this rarity, and there will only be one of each item in existence, never to be given out again! In case you were wondering, they can be traded.
How do you get a chance to win each of these items? Players earn entries from items acquired in eligible crates, and the better quality item, the MORE entries earned:
Items acquired by trade or the marketplace do not grant entries.
Giveaway 1: Midnight Helmet
To qualify for the Legendary Unique Midnight Helmet (name subject to change), players must gain entries from opening the Mayhem Crate, and only the Mayhem Crate. Don’t forgot to earn your free Silver Mayhem Crate in the next several days by playing three rounds of Auto Royale!
Giveaway 2: Sunset Helmet
To qualify for the Legendary Unique Sunset Helmet (name subject to change), players will gain entries from items acquired in the following eligible crates:
As an added bonus for players that have been with us since before launch, any crates you’ve opened PREVIOUSLY, that are included as eligible crates for this promotion, will retroactively give you entries into the Sunset Helmet giveaway. These entries have automatically been counted for your account.
The Ground Rules
NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. THIS PROMOTION IS SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. You must have an active account in good standing and you must log into H1Z1 between Wednesday, February 28th @ 6:00 AM PST through Wednesday, March 14th @ 11:59 PM PST in order to be eligible. This promotion is sponsored by Daybreak Game Company LLC (Daybreak Games). Each eligible account will receive an amount of entries based on the rarity of items from crates as described above. Chances of winning depend on the total number of eligible entries. Entries will count even if an item is traded away, but entries will only be granted based on items obtained directly by opening a crate.
Game Update: Auto Royale, Season One, Match Rewards & More!
Servers will be coming down for an update with an extended maintenance beginning at 2PM PST tomorrow, Tuesday Feb 27th. The downtime is expected to last until approximately 6AM PST on Wednesday Feb 28th.
What’s up everybody!
The time has come for our next major update to hit our Live servers and what’s an update without all the good details provided by patch notes. We’ve got a bunch of information below but keep an eye out for our Producers Letter that will have even more insight, information, and maybe even something special. We’ll also be releasing more information soon on our next crate, the Mayhem Crate, so keep an eye out for that too.
We would like to take a quick moment and thank everyone, once again, for all of the feedback provided by the community while this build was on the Test Server. Working with you all to make sure we hit the key beats of every update has become a way of life for us on the H1Z1 team and we’re looking forward to continuing this with you in the future.
See you in the pit,
Carto
Player Spawn Selection
Players can now select the quadrant of the map they’d like to spawn in while in Fort Destiny. Want to get right into the action? Spawn in Pleasant Valley. Want to take your time to loot up in peace? Try out the Dam!
New Scoring Model
We are moving away from a high kill top 10 scoring model and we have implemented one that focuses on 3 different segments:
Once the modifiers have been applied a user will be given their ranking. This new system will challenge the player to play more conservative and be more consistent in their play but will still require them to see kills just not as aggressively as the current live scoring model. In the new system, players can de-rank, however rewards will be earned based on the highest rank achieved for a season.
Combat Adjustments
Based on feedback we’ve received since our last update, we’ve fine-tuned some of the most used weapons in the game to make them feel a bit smoother, however none of these changes will impact timing or muscle memory. Reset timing for tap shooting has been preserved.
AR-15:
AK-47:
Shotgun:
Armor / Bleeding Mechanics
Grenade Adjustments
Healing Adjustments
Movement Adjustments
Match Rewards
It’s been far too long that players haven’t been rewarded for just playing H1Z1 and it’s time for that to change. With this update we’re reintroducing Match Rewards back into the game.
The Victory Crate contains over 75 brand new skins that are untradeable and unmarketable, but scrap for the same amount as skins from paid crates of equal rarity.
Winning isn’t the only way for you to get your hands on some of these new skins, you can opt to do a bit of grinding and you can buy them from the Skull Store for 7,500 Skulls each. You can also earn 2 Victory Crates by completing the Tutorial Challenges if you wish.
Account Leveling
We’ve taken a pass on the Account Leveling system as it needed some love. The old system gave a crate every 5 levels and the process didn’t feel as rewarding as it could have.
Visibility
We’ve seen a ton of feedback around visibility and lighting in the Arena so we’ve made some adjustments to help increase visibility at all ranges.
Gameplay & UI Updates
Bug Fixes
Top 10 Royalty Showdown Moments
You’re Coming With Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPOBS1noDQA
Semi Sneak Attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ0lRCqB2xA
On Fire Comeback!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrAmTjoHieA
An Explosive End
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RekOzggiYR0
Roadkill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvbF38z21qk
I’m On Fire… Oops
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJR-aAmO93g
Surprise!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePrbVi1yTIA
Kobe!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5dXu0t2aCg
Narrowly Escaping Death
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8bGQkj2cl0
Not Safe Anywhere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbVMexDmu0c
Which was your favorite moment from the #H1Z1Showdown? Share it with us on Twitter!