PART 1 by Alexander Garden in [ Patch Notes ] on, Mar 12, 2016 12:02 AM UTC Upcoming Patch - March 15th 2016 from 10AM – 1PM PDT Patch Number: 1.4.58.0 Patch Size: ~7 GB Greetings MechWarriors, Starting with the release of the Marauder last year, we have had the immense pleasure of reintroducing some of the most iconic and classic BattleMechs in BattleTech history back into the world of modern MechWarrior. As of this patch the Archer is once again stomping onto the battlegrounds of the Inner Sphere, rounding out a lance of Classic Inner Sphere Heavies already comprised of the Marauder, Warhammer, and Rifleman. One of the primary motivators for the introduction of the Map and Game Mode voting system in last years November 3rd patch was to allow for the addition of new Game Modes to MechWarrior Online, without splitting the matchmaking pool. This patch now sees the release of Domination, the first new Game Mode for Quick Play in MWO since the introduction of Skirmish back in 2013. Full details regarding the rules of Domination can be found in the dedicated section later in these patch notes. This patch also sees the release of Grim Plexus, a new map for Quick Play Game Modes. Thematically based on the Grim Portico map from Faction Play, pilots can expect long sight-lines and widely accessible terrain with copious hiding spots and ambush points. The size and character of the map can be most closely compared to Tourmaline Desert. A new assortment of Champion 'Mechs have been added to the game based on player-recommended loadouts, and with their introduction the stock of available Trial 'Mechs have also been updated. As a result of these new Trial 'Mechs, the default Faction Play DropDecks have also been updated. If you follow our Instagram you may have already caught an early glimpse at this new addition, but this patch sees the official release of a brand new Pilot Model. Future plans are to introduce a female model for selection, distinct uniforms for Clan and Inner Sphere, and the ability to customize color channels. With over 60 unique 'Mech chassis now available in-game, and over 200 distinct variants, texture resolutions have varied chassis-to-chassis, most often in accordance with the physical size of the 'Mech. Some of our more recent and larger 'Mechs were thus released with a maximum texture resolution of 2048x2048 (2k). With these high resolution 'Mech textures starting to appear more often on the battlefield, the lower resolution textures found on many of our older 'Mechs started to become more apparent. To help bring all 'Mechs up to the same visual standard, this patch includes a game-wide normalization of a maximum texture resolution of 2048x2048 for all 'Mechs in the game. Your personal Texture Quality settings will still determine your in-game texture fidelity, but this sweeping upgrade will have visual benefits at every level. As a result of this upgrade, and due to an overall adjustment in the way texture files are structured behind-the-scenes, this patch will be significantly larger than our usual patches, weighing in just under 7GB. We apologize for any frustration this patch size may cause, but we believe the end result will be worth it. Finally, this patch also features spawn location changes for Alpine Peaks, changes to the Conquest Game Mode, improvements to the visual feedback for the status of Flamer heat generation, changes to the Map and Game Mode voting screen, the addition of a Server Status marquee to the front-end menu's, a fix for a long-standing Warhorn audio issue, the introduction of a penalty system for Team Kills and Team Damage, and much more. Read on for all the details, and we'll see you on the battlefield! - The MechWarrior Team Change Log New Map (Quick Play) Grim Plexus Veterans of the ongoing war for control of the Inner Sphere in the Faction Play Game Mode will have the benefit of experience fighting among the monolithic towers of bismuth that impose over this battlefield. Grim Plexus combines long sight-lines and widely accessible terrain with copious hiding spots and ambush points in a vast and wildly undulating hilltop, fringed with a labyrinth of tall crystals. The size and character of the map can be most closely compared to Tourmaline Desert. Dynamic Time of Day There is no dynamic time of day sequence for this map. Breakable Objects There are no breakable environmental objects on this map. Single-spawn DropShip Drop Zones (3 Drop Zones per team) Players will drop onto Grim Plexus from one of the three DropShip drop zones for their side. The DropShips will leave the battlefield once they have unloaded their 'Mechs. New Game Mode (Quick Play) Domination The primary goal of Domination is to claim control of the central Communications Beacon. Each team will start a game of Domination with a team countdown timer set at three minutes. To complete the objective and emerge victorious your team must hold the Comms Beacon for a total duration of three minutes throughout the course of the match. The first team to reach 0:00 will be the victor. To initiate the countdown of your teams timer, three conditions must be met: At least one member of your team must stand uncontested within a 400m radius around the Comms Beacon. This team member must not be taking fire from the enemy. There must be no enemy 'Mechs present within the 400m radius around the Comms Beacon. Once all three conditions are met the Comms Beacon will enter the tracking phase; it is this tracking phase that runs down your timer. If you lose active control of the Comms Beacon by failing to meet any of the three conditions, the tracking phase will cease and your timer will stop counting down. To indicate whether your team satisfies the conditions necessary to initiate tracking there are 3 new HUD indicators: When all 3 of these indicators are green your team's timer will begin to count down. Each team also has control over two Mobile Field Bases, which can be destroyed by enemy forces. Destroying an MFB will result in a 15-second penalty being added to your opponents timer. Timers cannot exceed 3:00 in duration, so destroying an MFB while the match is already well underway will maximize the potential advantage gained from destroying them. In the event that the match timer runs out before either team can bring their team timer to zero, the team with the lowest duration of time remaining on their timer will win the match. New 'Mech Pictured variant: ARC-5S with standard Loadout and a customized House Davion Pattern Archer (Heavy) First produced in 2474, the Archer was designed as a long-range fire-support BattleMech that would harass an enemy at range while also causing significant damage in the process. It brought a successful mix of paired Doombud LRM 20s with a bevy of Diverse Optics medium lasers as backup weaponry for close-in work. The Archer was not only a mainstay of the Star League Defense Force, but most of the Successor States produced a variety of variants, building on the impressive original platform. Release date for MC: June 7th 2016 Release date for C-Bills: July 5th 2016 Loadout details and discussion of this 'Mech can be found in a dedicated post here. New Cockpit Items • Green Beer (Standing Item): 500 MC • Easter Egg in a Basket (Standing Item): 500 MC Along with their complementary delivery to eligible Archer Pack owners, the following four Cockpit Items are also now available for purchase in-game: • Phoenix Silver (Archer Hanging Item): 750 MC • Phoenix Silver (Archer Standing Item): 500 MC • Phoenix Silver (Archer Warhorn): 750 MC • Phantom (Archer Early Adopter Hanging Item): 750 MC New Badges and Titles Archer Standard Pack (and Collector Pack) The Bolt Archer Collector Pack The Bowman These Titles and Badges are only available through their associatedArcher Pack. The Collector Pack comes with both. 'Mechs Now Available for MC Marauder • MAD-3R: 2,640 MC • MAD-5D: 4,370 MC • MAD-5M: 4,315 MC • MAD-BH2: 5,625 MC 'Mechs Now Available for C-Bills Orion IIC • ON1-IIC: 7,694,819 C-Bills • ON1-IIC-A: 7,849,879 C-Bills • ON1-IIC-B: 11,265,639 C-Bills • ON1-IIC-C: 11,286,759 C-Bills New Mastery Bundles Available Five new Mastery Bundles have been added to the in-game store and the online Gift Store. Locust Mastery Bundle Price: 3,185 MC • LCT-3M w/ Mech Bay • LCT-PB Pirates' Bane w/ Mech Bay • LCT-1E [C] w/ Mech Bay • 30 Days of Active Premium Time Commando Mastery Bundle Price: 3,810 MC • COM-2D w/ Mech Bay • COM-TDK The Death's Knell w/ Mech Bay • COM-1D [C] w/ Mech Bay • 30 Days of Active Premium Time • Commando Statue Standing Cockpit Item Vindicator Mastery Bundle Price: 4,990 MC • VND-1X w/ Mech Bay • VND-1SIB St. Ives' Blues w/ Mech Bay • VND-1AA [C] w/ Mech Bay • 30 Days of Active Premium Time Awesome Mastery Bundle Price: 9,285 MC • AWS-8Q w/ Mech Bay • AWS-PB Pretty Baby w/ Mech Bay • AWS-9M [C] w/ Mech Bay • 30 Days of Active Premium Time • Awesome Statue Standing Cockpit Item Battlemaster Mastery Bundle Price: 8,705 MC • BLR-1S w/ Mech Bay • BLR-1GHE Hellslinger w/ Mech Bay • BLR-2C [C] w/ Mech Bay • 30 Days of Active Premium Time New Champion 'Mechs • Locust LCT-1E [C]• Vindicator VND-1AA [C] • Battlemaster BLR-2C [C] • Awesome AWS-9M [C] • Commando COM-1D [C] • Mist Lynx MLX-Prime [C] • Shadow Cat SHC-Prime [C] • Ebon Jaguar EBJ-Prime [C] • Warhawk WHK-C [C] Loadout details for these new Champion 'Mechs can be found in a dedicated post here. New Trial 'Mechs The following 'Mechs now comprise the current stock of available Trial 'Mechs. New additions to the stock of Trial 'Mechs are in italics. Inner Sphere Lights • Locust LCT-1E [C] • Commando COM-1D [C] Inner Sphere Mediums • Vindicator VND-1AA [C] • Trebuchet TBT-7M [C] Inner Sphere Heavies • Orion ON1-K [C] • JagerMech JM6-A [C] Inner Sphere Assaults • Awesome AWS-9M [C] • Battlemaster BLR-2C [C] Clan Lights • Mist Lynx MLX-Prime [C] • Arctic Cheetah ACH-Prime [C] Clan Mediums • Shadow Cat SHC-Prime [C] • Stormcrow SCR-Prime [C] Clan Heavies • Ebon Jaguar EBJ-Prime [C] • Timber Wolf TBR-C [C] Clan Assaults • Warhawk WHK-C [C] • Dire Wolf DWF-W [C] New Default Faction Play DropDecks To reflect the above changes to the stock of available Trial 'Mechs, the default Faction Play DropDecks for Inner Sphere and Clan forces are now as follows: Inner Sphere • Commando COM-1D [C] • Trebuchet TBT-7M [C] • Orion ON1-K [C] • Battlemaster BLR-2C [C] Clan • Mist Lynx MLX-Prime [C] • Shadow Cat SHC-Prime [C] • Ebon Jaguar EBJ-Prime [C] • Dire Wolf DWF-W [C] The total tonnage for both of the above default DropDecks is 235 tonnes. The order of 'Mechs in the default DropDeck in your Faction Play screen may not necessarily reflect the exact order listed above (the Trebuchet might be placed before the Commando, for example). This will only occur if you have previously modified your Faction Play DropDeck. If your existing DropDeck contained one or more of the previous Trial 'Mechs they will be replaced with one of the new Trial 'Mechs. As a result your DropDeck might no longer fall within the Minimum/Maximum Tonnage Requirements, and will need to be manually adjusted before you can launch a Faction Play match. SOURCE: http://mwomercs.com/news/2016/03/1498-patch-notes-1458-15mar2016