In this latest edition of Designer's Notes, we'll go into detail about the balancing changes that'll come with the Y10S2 update and give you some insight into the reasons behind them.

BALANCING MATRIX AND TOP OPERATOR BANS

WIN DELTA VS. PRESENCE

OPERATOR BAN RATE

OPERATOR BALANCING

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BLACKBEARD

We've been closely monitoring Blackbeard since the Y9S4 release, and we would like to share some details about his performance. One of our concerns with Blackbeard on release was to deliver a Shield Operator with good offensive capabilities but without being the deadliest Operator in town. After the remaster, Blackbeard's Kill Death Ratio has dropped around 25% to 0.9. This makes him sit slightly higher than Blitz at 0.8, meaning both shield Operators sit in the low bracket for Attackers' K/D.

Another important metric to consider is his impact in the team's success and compositions. He is a popular operator, but is average when it comes to win rate. His ban rate has been rising since release, being higher on PC than on Console.

We are not releasing any substantial change for Blackbeard this season, but we will update his shield with some quality of life changes. This decision is based on the shared data analysis and the fact that a new Ban System is releasing this season; we want to see how his ban rate adapts to the new system before we take any action.

In this update we've added a tinted layer to the outside of the glass that should help Blackbeard's enemies to read faster and from farther if he is aiming down sight or not. We've also improved the glass movement audio to make it easier to hear if Blackbeard is aiming down sight or not.

We will keep a close eye on Blackbeard's performance and his adaptation to the new Ban System and prepare future changes if needed.

H.U.L.L. ADAPTABLE SHIELD

• Added tint to outside glass
• Made improvements to glass audio

CLASH

Clash's shield and taser combination can be quite frustrating to play against. Her ability to damage enemies while being heavily protected makes her difficult to challenge, especially since the taser also slows you down and the main counter is at melee range. Additionally, playing as Clash is not particularly engaging for many players, as her current mechanics do not offer a satisfying or interesting gaming experience.

We have focused on three main pillars with this update:

• Enhanced Movement: We are giving her more freedom of movement with her shield. She won't require any special site setup to move around while still being protected. The shield will dynamically adapt to her needs, making her more versatile and agile.

• Shield as a Gadget: Clash will be able to anchor her shield on the ground, allowing her to play around it without needing to rely on allies. This change provides her with more independence and flexibility in positioning. She can still use the taser against enemies facing the deployed shield, so she can slow down enemies on one side while managing another angle or capitalizing on the effect by herself. This adds a strategic layer, enabling her to control multiple areas simultaneously and offer support to her team without having to be in the frontline.

• Fairness: The taser will no longer deal damage, ensuring that Clash cannot kill an enemy while being fully protected by the shield. This aligns her more closely with other Ballistic Shields, maintaining the principle that you cannot be lethal if you cannot receive lethal damage. The intensity of the slowdown effect will also vary based on the enemy's movement direction. Enemies running away from Clash will experience less slowdown, preventing Clash from punishing attackers that don't want to face her.

Overall, these adjustments will make Clash a more engaging and interactive operator, enhancing her role as a versatile support player who can control key areas and disrupt enemy strategies. We believe the new Clash will be more enjoyable to play, both as and against her.

BASE STATS

• Movement: Can sprint, crouch, vault, and dash through barricades, but the shield will collapse automatically while performing those actions.

• Free Look: Is available while having the shield equipped.

CCE SHIELD MK2

• Deploy: The CCE Shield MK2 can be deployed. Can be picked up again.

• Vulnerabilities when deployed:

  • The shield can be destroyed with explosives.
  • Anyone can bash through the shield to destroy it.
  • The Taser Battery can be destroyed by a Kludge Drone. The shield will stay intact, but the Taser cannot be used anymore.

TASER

• Activation: Can be toggled on and off using the Switch Ability Button. When the shield is not equipped Clash will use a Remote Controller to do so.

• Electricity: Doesn't deal damage.

• Slowdown: The intensity depends on the movement direction (stronger towards Clash).

• Battery: Increased to 10 seconds (from 5).

• Area: Wider area of effect (Changed from a box to a cone).

LOADOUT

• Gadgets: Removed Deployable Shield.

SLEDGE

Sledge will be able to disrupt enemies equipped with a Ballistic Shield by knocking them back with his Hammer. This will remove their protection and expose them, providing an opportunity for him or his teammates to take them down.

He will become a real menace for Clash, as he can use the Impact EMP Grenade to shut down her taser, allowing him to close the gap faster and hit her with the Hammer.

BREACHING HAMMER

• Ballistic Shields: Hitting a Ballistic Shield will knock back the operator.

JACKAL

We believe that the most frustrating aspect of Jackal's ability is the time he can keep you pinged with relatively low effort. Scanning a hottest/red set of footprints, even though sometimes dangerous, allows him to track the enemy for almost half a minute without putting in any additional effort or being in any kind of danger. To address this issue, we have decided to reduce the outcome of a scan to always result in a single ping. This means that scanning a set of footprints will give you the precise position of the enemy, but it will last as long as a regular red ping. Keep in mind that the scanned set will be erased when the scan is completed, so Jackal will be trading precise location for the ability to actively track the target until he reaches its last known location.

However, we want to enhance his ability to actively track targets, as we believe this is his real strength and the one that better balances the risk and reward. Therefore, we have increased the duration of the coldest/blue footprints. These prints will now be between 60-120 seconds old, so they do not provide a lot of information but will help him to get on track faster. Remember that footprints are not generated during the Preparation Phase, so defenders are free to move around and prepare the site for the assault without being punished. Even if a defender is late returning to the site and gets scanned, they will only get pinged once, and all their footprints will be deleted from the map.

We will monitor this change very closely and make adjustments if needed.

EYENOX MODEL III

• Resources: Increased to 5 (from 3).

HUNTER MARK

• Pings: Reduced to always 1 (from 2-5).

• Debuff: Removed.

FOOTPRINTS

• Coldest (blue): Duration increased to 120 seconds (from 90).

JAGER

Both Jager and Wamai serve the same role in denying projectiles, but their different methods should ideally compliment various strategies and playstyles. Feeling forced to choose one over the other based on the specific projectiles you expect to face, rather than on your overall strategy, doesn't seem correct. Therefore, we are normalizing the list of interactions so that both detect the same projectiles.

Furthermore, this rule made the game more complicated to understand for newcomers, as they needed to learn specific interactions between operators instead of a generic rule. This approach is more sustainable in the long run and makes the game more user-friendly.

ACTIVE DEFENSE SYSTEM

• Capitao's Incendiary and Micro Smoke Bolts are detected and destroyed.

• Gridlock's Trax Stingers are detected and destroyed.

THUNDERBIRD

Despite the recent enhancements to the Kóna Stations, the potential risk of enemies exploiting them outweighs the benefits they provide, limiting their viable placements and situations where they should be most helpful. Therefore, the Kóna Station will no longer target enemies.

KONA STATION

• Targeting system: Only heals allies.

BRAVA

Due to the new changes to Thunderbird, the Kludge Drone will no longer overheat a Kóna Station. Instead, its alliance will shift to target attackers rather than defenders, making it a valuable asset to your team.

KLUDGE DRONE

• Kóna Station: Hacking it changes the alliance (instead of overheating).

ELA

There was a mismatch between the detection area and the area of effect of Ela's Grzmot Mine, which could lead to confusion during gameplay. The area displayed when deploying the mine was smaller than its actual effect. This discrepancy could cause Ela to mistakenly believe she had the advantage when someone triggered the mine, only to find herself affected along with her victim. By aligning both values, we aim to enable Ela to better leverage her positioning around the mines and avoid unintended consequences.

We have decided to reduce the concussion range instead of increasing the area of detection because Ela is currently placing them according to the detection area, which seems sufficient to fulfill her playstyle. Doing it the other way around would be detrimental for her, as the Scorpion EVO 3 A1 and the FO-12 are both more effective in short-range engagements.

GRZMOT MINE

• Concussion range: Reduced to 4 meters (from 7).

ZOFIA

Similar to Ela, there was a discrepancy between the detection area and the area of effect. Although the issue is not identical, we have decided to normalize it as well. This adjustment ensures that the Concussion Grenade is more accurate and affects the intended target rather than everyone in the room. This change addresses the discomfort among teammates, as any ally attempting to synchronize with Zofia to take down a target was most likely affected by the grenade as unintended collateral.

KS79 LIFELINE

• Concussion detection range: Reduced to 4 meters (from 5).

• Concussion range: Reduced to 4.25 meters (from 7).

SYSTEM BALANCING

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ELECTRICITY

With this update, we are making electricity a neutral element, ensuring that all gadgets and Operators in the match are vulnerable to electricity, regardless of their team alliance. This change is accompanied by improvements designed to make interactions with electricity clearer and more forgiving for players.

Electricity will no longer cause damage to players. Instead, Operators will experience a reduction in movement speed. We have also reviewed how Operators get electrified. Now, Operators must intentionally interact with electrified gadgets to get zapped. Walking on electrified surfaces will electrify Operators, but merely being close to an electrified wall will not. Operators need to interact with the wall by deploying or vaulting it to become electrified.

Electricity will still destroy Electronic gadgets, but Defender gadgets will no longer be invulnerable. This change requires Defenders to exercise more caution, especially when throwing gadgets through small holes on electrified reinforcements or operating moving drones like Echo's Yokai.

ELECTRICITY EFFECT

• Damage to Operators removed from Electricity Effect.
• Slowdown to Operators added to Electricity Effect.
• Electricity is now neutral and affects equally every team.

OPERATORS AFFECTED

• Bandit
• Kaid

LIMB DAMAGE

By reducing the damage to limbs, we aim to emphasize skillful gameplay. We encourage players to target more critical areas like the head or torso, which demands greater precision. This approach makes the gameplay more challenging and rewarding. Additionally, it enhances tactical depth, as players will need to carefully consider their positioning and aiming before taking the first shot to ensure a successful elimination. This change promotes more thoughtful and strategic gameplay, preventing players from being easily eliminated by a few shots to the arms or legs.

DAMAGE MODIFIERS

• Reduced damage inflicted by Handguns:
  • 50% by Small calibers (e.g. USP40).
  • 50% by Medium caliber (e.g. M45 MEUSOC).
  • 60% by High caliber (e.g.D-50).
• Reduced to 60% the damage inflicted by Revolvers.
• Reduced to 50% the damage inflicted by Machine Pistols.
• Reduced damage inflicted by Submachine Guns:
  • 50% by Small caliber (e.g. Mx4 Storm).
  • 60% by Medium caliber (e.g. K1A).
  • 65% by High caliber (e.g. UZK50GI).
• Reduced damage inflicted by Assault Rifles:
  • 50% by Small caliber (e.g. POF-9).
  • 60% by Medium caliber (e.g. AUG A2).
  • 65% by High caliber (e.g. Spear .308).
• Reduced to 70% the damage inflicted by Light Machine Guns.
• Reduced to 70% the damage inflicted by Designated Marksman Rifles.
• Reduced to 70% the damage inflicted by Sniper Rifles.
• Reduced to 70% the damage inflicted by Slug Shotguns.

All the values are down from 75%.

RAPPEL

We are removing the requirement of having a Breach Charge deployed on a window to execute a Rappel Breach. Allowing operators to use different tools like a Sledgehammer, shotguns, or explosives to destroy barricades while rappelling provides more tactical options and adaptability in high-pressure situations. This flexibility leads to more creative and dynamic gameplay, as players can choose the best tool for the situation. It enhances the immersion of the game, making the gameplay experience more engaging and intense.

Furthermore, players can think strategically about their loadout and approach. Using a shotgun for a quick breach, a Sledgehammer for a silent entry, or a Breach Charge to ensure synchronization will significantly impact the outcome of engagements. This flexibility also enhances team coordination, as players can plan and synchronize their breaching strategy based on the tools available to them, promoting communication and teamwork.

RAPPEL BREACH

• Operators can execute the Rappel Breach without needing to previously damage the barricade or place a Breach Charge.
• The operator will go through the barricade if it is sufficiently damaged by the end of the interaction.
  • Otherwise, the operator will bounce back and damage the barricade with its feet.

WEAPON BALANCING

BALLISTIC SHIELD

Shielded operators will need to plan their paths more carefully, as they will no longer be able to aim down sights while vaulting over objects, through windows, or barricades. This adjustment will reduce their lethality when navigating through barricades, requiring them to rely on teammates to quickly capitalize on targets. We believe this change will encourage more strategic movement around the map and enhance the overall tactical experience.

BASE

• Vault: Aiming down sight is canceled during the interaction.

OPERATORS AFFECTED

• Blackbeard
• Blitz
• Fuze
• Montagne

RANK DISTRIBUTION

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