October brought the largest set of gameplay changes since launch. This post covers everything that changed after the September 29 combat visuals update.
Match rewards
Defeating a boss now gives 40 XP to every pilot who damaged it, not only to the pilot who landed the final shot. Damage on any segment of the Abyss Centipede counts.
In PVE Defense, every pilot still flying when a boss wave is cleared (every fifth wave) earns 20 XP.
Finishing a Survival round or a Team War match grants 50 XP for a win and 15 XP otherwise. Pilots who were destroyed and stayed to watch the result receive it too. When a PVE base falls, everyone in the match receives 15 XP.
The result screen now shows the XP you earned and your progress to the next level. Guests see a reminder that signing in keeps the XP they earn.
New players can choose Play Now on the welcome screen to jump straight into a match; the tutorial stays one tap away. The unfinished campaign is no longer listed among the single-player modes while it is in development.
Survival rounds
Survival is now round based. Every pilot starts with 2,000 gold, the round opens after a 15-second countdown, and the last pilot alive wins.
The safe zone holds for 30 seconds and then shrinks over the rest of the five-minute round. Ships and modules outside it take increasing damage.
You get one early respawn while the safe zone is still larger than half its starting size. After that, a destroyed pilot spectates until the next round starts automatically.
Skills and flight controls
Run-time stat upgrades are retired. The docked side panel is now a skills sheet.
Giant Shield raises an 800 HP dome around your ship that blocks incoming fire from outside and drains over time.
Dash surges forward at double top speed for three seconds.
Deploy Turret throws a folding turret onto the field. You can keep two at once; a third replaces the oldest.
Choose Normal or Advanced flight controls in Settings. Normal steers toward the direction you choose with fast turning and no reverse. Advanced gives direct forward, reverse and turning control with a 20% higher top speed. Every new game starts in Normal, and you can switch during play.
Stations and bases
Service stations are now armed team towers with 1,500 HP and a roof turret. A destroyed station stays down for the round and throws its occupants clear.
Leaving any dock grants five seconds of protection, and pilots inside a station are warned when it is under attack.
The base core doubles as a dock. A claw clamps your hull and pulls it in through a side intake, and it only takes ships heading straight at its centre, so crossing the base no longer swallows you.
Ancient Mothership
The Ancient Mothership has been rebuilt as a round carrier with sixteen launch lanes, a central reactor, drive bells and laser batteries. Its attacks and drone roles are unchanged, and it is much cheaper to draw in busy boss fights.
The new carrier hull
Live mini canvas: these units use the same appearance renderer as the game.
Sound, menus and community
Combat and feedback sounds have been redesigned with consistent sound palettes for weapons, explosions, hits and interface cues.
The menu has a new silver machinery look and now scales with your window, so nothing overlaps on small or wide screens.
Match chat is available in every multiplayer mode, with a team channel where it applies. Chat is kept for 30 days so player reports can be reviewed.
The site now asks for your privacy choices, accounts include a 14+ age check, and the privacy policy is available in Korean and English.
Performance
The game downloads about a quarter less data and prepares its audio in the background while you are in the menu, so pressing Play responds faster.
Boss fights, turret-heavy bases and busy HUD moments render with less work, and the game servers spend less time on simulation and network updates.