It’s been a few months since an update has been put out. This latest update focuses most heavily on vehicles, large scale combat, and zerg organisms. It is the result of additional playtest at higher level play with vehicles.
General Changes
*Major* The game’s range increments have been changed to be larger. This is to make more weapons applicable in vehicle-scale combat. Medium range is now 30, long range 60, distant 120, and remote 300. Short range is unchanged.
-Fillable Character has been updated to include space for energy shields.
-The Burning trait no longer gives the drastic debuff that penalizes attacks, skill checks, and defenses
-The Melting trait no longer gives a penalty to DR. Its also had its damage reduced to 10, but now has the piercing trait.
-The Jaded talent now prevents the character from gaining a negative morale when they roll a natural 1. This makes Jaded characters slightly more viable and reliable.
-Piercing Damage is now listed as a damage type.
-Additional clarifications regarding the Legion-of-Ones restoration servitors. Healing biological targets requires spending a healing threshold, and you cannot heal a vehicle while piloting it.
-Many editing and typo fixes
Vehicle Changes
-The siege tank now only requires 1 full-round action to change between modes. It no longer supports a co-pilot, as intended.
-Additional clarifications on stabilizing with regeneration once a zerg goes into the dying condition.
-Vikings now transform more quickly and the rules for their transportation is simpler
-Clarifications were made to the following vehicle systems: Advanced Thrusters, Navigation System, Treads, Target Guidance System.
-The Thermal Lance of the Colossus received three changes: it gained hailfire 1, counts as a line for mass damage and dealing half damage on miss, and now sweeps 20 squares instead of 10.
-The Cyclone’s Tornado Battery has been reduced to Hailfire (2), and it now requires target locks in order to attack
-Clarified that a vehicle does not have to perform its mandatory move action at the beginning of turn (see Move actions for vehicles)
-Doubled the base penetration of the following rockets and missiles: Combat Missile Battery, Destroyer Missile Battery, Torpedo Battery, Lexington Rocket Battery, Backlash Rocket Battery, Anti-matter Missile Battery, and Cluster Missile Battery.
-The Crucio Siege tank increased its Siege Mode penetration to 50. The Arclite Siege Tanks gained 25 penetration in siege mode.
-All of the Thor’s weapons now have double penetration values. The Thor’s Cannon weapon also gain +2 burst area.
Zerg Changes
*Major* The Zerg Ferocity trait, that gave bonus damage and penetration based a zerg’s level, has been removed. In its place, all zerg and primal zerg weapon profiles have been overhauled. They have received some damage, but almost all weapons have received increased range and accuracy. The Scaling Penetration (X) trait now determines their penetration for weapons. Also, many weapons that previously possessed low accuracy hailfire attacks, have lost hailfire and been give vastly improved accuracy and attack speed. That makes powerful zerg do more reliable damage, instead of rare hits of instant-kill burst damage.
-The Surge of Activity psionic power is now restricted to zerg
-The Bilemaw archetype now gives +5 damage to the melting trait
-Array of Limbs now effects Kaiser Blades
-The Volatile Bio-Cannon, an infested terran evolution in Monsters of Koprulu, has received +5 penetration, +1 accuracy, and +10 damage.
-The Contaminate evolution power gained increased accuracy versus toughness at Advanced and Master levels of Infestation
-The Zergling had too few spent characteristic points, and should be much more threatening now