Good afternoon my friends! Today we have for you some exciting news and media on 2.3.
Let's get started!
Shield Combat ChangesMost of you have already played 2.2 and previous versions (If you haven't... What are you waiting for!
Download Now!). In 2.2 the shield is mostly useful against ranged weapons and some of the smaller melee weapons. Altogether, it needed some improvement and that's exactly what we've given it in 2.3!
For starters, bashing has been improved. We've added the ability to charge the bash for better timing and damage. In addition to the charge, the shield's hit-detection has been changed to an arc-based system like the other weapons. What this means is when the player bashes with the shield, anyone single player within the arc of the bash will be stunned! Bashing can also cause a player to drop a chest they are carrying.
A health meter has also been added to shields. Shields now block all damage from both melee and ranged weapons, taking the damage instead of the player. When the health runs out, the shield is disabled until fixed. Any damage done to the shield can be repaired by grabbing an armor pickup.
Skirmisher Changes and AdditionsThe Skirmisher is undergoing some changes to make him better in melee situations. The pistol's accuracy has been reduced, while the damage has been increased. This means that the pistol will still be a viable weapon, though it won't be as easy to "kite" enemies around the map.
A new ability has also been added to the Skirmisher's arsenal to make him better at dodging. This new ability is the double-jump! When a Skirmisher jumps, he will be able to perform a second jump mid-air. This will not give him much extra height, but is very effective for dodging since he can change direction mid-air!
Gestir Progress and InformationThe Gestir is in his final testing stages, most of his abilities have been implemented and his langseax is now in-game.
The spear has a cool new feature called "Defensive mode". When defensive mode is activated with alternate attack, the Gestir gains attack damage and push-back, but loses speed. It can be very effective in some situations, though should be used sparingly.
Currently, the Gestir's special is a spear charge. Because it's similar to the Huscarl's special, we hope to change the Huscarl's in a future release.
Blunderbuss Push-BackThe captain's Blunderbuss is now equipped with a little extra bang. The enemy is pushed back by the blast of the gun, the power of the push depends on their range. This helps the captain in melee situations and can be extremely satisfying when fighting by a cliff.
Particle Effects and PickupsA few new particle effects have been added including the flame on the captain's special and an effect on the special bar to help the user know when it is full.
In the screen shot you also get a glimpse at the new pickups. Instead of team-specific ammo and armor, all pick-ups are now global like the health.
The health pickups now restore a small fraction of health instantly, and the rest regenerates over time.
Another cool particle effect added to the game is the weapon glow. Enemy weapons will glow when they are at full-charge, warning you to back-off instead of trying to block. Fully charged weapons can penetrate your block, so it's much better to try to dodge instead.
Chest SpecialOne of our favorite new changes is the ability to activate a chest special. When your special meter is full and you're carrying a chest, you can now unleash a burst of speed to get away from enemies faster. This comes in very handy in many situations and adds an additional level of strategy to the booty game-mode.
That's all for now, be sure to keep an eye out on our
forums for more information! You should also join our
Official Game Group for special events and updates! Players in our
Official Game Group will also have a cool scoreboard tag when 2.3 comes out to make them that much better than anyone not in the group!
Comments
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great job guys, cant wait for the release!!!
Though, I think the glow of the full charged weapons looks a bit too shiny.
And give us more pictures of teh gestir!
Langseax and shield are looking great!
Love the improvement of the gestir since the last time i saw him.
Keep up the good work!
The health pickups now restore a small fraction of health instantly, and the rest regenerates over time.
The shield bash can now knock a chest from an enemy's hand.
I had to ask this too...
Good work Devs, looking forward to 2.3 even more.
I'm working on the animations for that now actually. Once the shield breaks, the sword should act like the other 1-handed swords.
But the particle effect of the fully charged weapons looks a bit too flashy, but it probably is meant to be that eye catching.
I really like the chest special, and the Gestir looks great!
I'm now quite curious about the scoreboard, with one big question:
Will the teams be shown verticly (like TF2), or horizontaly (like it is now)?
btw hello PVK forums, I've been playing the game a while now but never got round to registering here, so I thought now would be as good a time as any
Can't wait to shield bash(Finally, you added a realistic function to the shield) some chest carries!
Better start playing tf2 before 2.3 release to get ready.