[2020] Update Notes 2.3

MEGA UPDATE NOTES

November 25th 2020

The 2.3.0 patch brings with it controller optimization tuning, competitor and combat updates, AI improvements, and lots of new quality of life features such as Region/Server Select and new performance based XP rewards in the Post Game sequence!

Major Controller Update

One of the main goals of this patch was to improve the controller experience of Rocket Arena. We wanted to make sure the game not only plays and feels awesome, but to help close the gap between controller and mouse and keyboard users. To do so, we’ve completely overhauled aim assist systems, added several more features under the hood, and updated our tuning values to improve overall responsiveness. Players may choose between Normal (new default) and Legacy (previous tuning) in the Controller Settings Menu.

Aim Assist Rework

We’ve reworked our entire Aim Assist system to be more intelligent and consistent. Rocket Arena is a high skill floor projectile shooter that can be difficult to play at times, especially with your thumbs. So, we’ve updated Aim Assist (and our overall balance, as you’ll see below) to really help players track and hit their targets much easier than ever before.  

Region Select

Players can now switch regions if they’d like to matchmake using servers in a different location. Access the Region Select in the Settings Menu in the Front End UI.

Performance Based XP Progression

We heard your feedback about XP, so we added more! We also reworked the system to focus on rewarding players for participating and taking part of the action. Now after completing a match, players get additional XP for their personal damage, assists, and KO’s. Player’s also get combined teamwork XP for match objectives such as Mega Rockets captured. The more you and your team play, the more XP you receive. You also get match complete XP and a match win bonus.

Competitor Balance and Tuning Changes

Amphora

• Charge Torpedo (Primary)
  • Uncharged
    • Projectile collision radius is now a constant 120
      • Previously scaled between 75 - 180 based on charge percentage
    • Reduced impulse from 1500 to 1100
    • Increased fire rate 0.5s to 0.425s
  • Fully Charged
    • Reduced impact damage from 40 to 35
    • Reduced impulse from 2800 to 2000
    • Increased projectile visual scale
  • Uncharged and Fully Charged
    • Increased projectile speed from 17000 to 17500
    • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 500 to 700
    • Improved controller force feedback
• Hydro Form (Special)
  • Hydro Form now cancels when picking up the Rocketball or Treasure Chest instead of activating the water cyclone

Blastbeard

• Rocket Cannonball (Primary)
  • Increased speed from 11000 to 12000
  • Increased arc distance from 4000 to 5000
• Charged Anchor (Secondary)
  • Reworked functionality
    • Removed automatically firing after charge completed
    • Secondary input must now be held down until fully charged and then released to fire  
  • Ability now cancels if:
    • Secondary input is released before max charge
    • The player uses Rocket Cannonball (Primary) or Shockwave (Special)
  • Ability will now start charging again after being canceled if the input is still held after 0.35s
  • Updated crosshair UI to make it easier to understand how the ability functions

Boone

• Blunderblast (Primary)
  • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 500 to 700
  • Improved controller force feedback
• Megadon Scope (Secondary)
  • Reduced controller sensitivity modifier from 0.6x to 0.5x (ie. input will not be slowed as much)
  • Improved controller force feedback
  • Using Zik's Vortex (Special) now also resets Boone's ability to hover during his next mid-air Megadon Scope use

Izell

• Spear Rockets (Primary)
  • Increased speed from 15000 to 16500
  • Increased collision radius from 120 to 130
  • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 400 to 600
  • Improved camera animation and controller force feedback
  • Reduced scale of primary projectile trail
• Jaaqua Charge (Special)
  • Reduced the distance Izell travels when Jaaqua Charge is used to pick up the Rocketball or Treasure Chest

Flux

• Rockats (Primary)
  • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 500 to 650
  • Removed Flux gamepad look sensitivity modifier
  • Improved camera animation
• Black Hold Cat (Secondary)
  • Reduced Black Hole Cat's maximum scale by 25%
  • Using Fluxverse now cancels Black Hole Cat's cast and will block it from firing again immediately. If the Secondary input is still held down after 1 sec, the Black Hole Cat will try to cast again.

Jayto

• Skypiercer Rockets (Primary)
  • Increased collision radius from 140 to 145
  • Reduced impulse from 1500 to 1300
  • Improved controller force feedback
  • Reduced scale and emissive strength of the default skinned projectile VFX
• Rocket Swarm (Secondary)
  • Removed controller sensitivity modifier
• Thruster Suit (Special)
  • Increased Triple Skypiercer Rockets speed from 16500 to 17000
    • This matches the normal Skypiercer Rockets speed
  • Reduced Triple Skypiercer Rockets impulse from 2750 to 1750

Kayi

• Charged Bolt (Primary)
  • Uncharged
    • Projectile speed is now a constant 16000
      • Previously scaled between 12000 - 20000 based on charge percentage
    • Projectile gravity is now a constant 1.5
      • Previously scaled between was 2.5 and 0.2 based on charged percentage
    • Increased collision radius from 130 to 140
    • Fixed fully charged VFX playing on uncharged shots
  • Fully Charged
  • Both
    • Improved Charged Bolt camera animation and force feedback

Leef

• Charged Beam (Primary laser after hitting four shots)
  • Fixed issues where the damage would be blocked inconsistently by Mysteen’s Mirror Shield

Mysteen

• Rocket Cards (Primary)
  • Decreased speed reduced from 22500 to 20000
  • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 400 to 700
  • Improved camera animation
  • Increased visual scale from 13.5 to 14.0 (does not affect gameplay)
• Mirror Shield (Secondary)
  • Fixed issues where Leef’s Charged Beam (Primary laser) would be blocked inconsistently, letting damage through
• Levitate (Jump)
  • Improved functionality while underwater on Shimmering Depths and Star of Crater

Plink

• Scrap Rockets (Primary)
  • Increased homing distance from 3500 to 4000
  • Improved camera animation and controller force feedback
• Boomerang (Secondary)
  • Increased Boomerang Rocket Jump radius from 256 to 650

Rev

• Double Whammy (Primary)
  • Increased collision radius from 100 to 120
  • Reduced horizontal spread from 0.65 to 0.2
    • This reduces the space between her left and right barrel projectiles, making the projectiles not have as much variance and fire closer to the reticle
  • Reduced reticle scale by 10% to account for Double Whammy spread reduction
  • Improved camera animation and controller force feedback
  • Fixed reload animation not matching the duration
  • Fixed VFX from disappearing early or being delay
  • Added logic to help prevent Double Whammy from not firing after being attacked or using an Ability if the player is still holding the Primary input
• Mag Mines (Secondary)
  • Hiding Mag Mines in world UI if it attaches to a player, which was the intended design
  • Attempt at a fix to stop players from getting knocked back really hard when a Mag Mine attaches to them
    • DEV REQUEST! - If you are still seeing this happen, please get a video if you can and let us know!

Topnotch

• Bouncing Beauty (Primary)
  • Increased speed from 15000 to 16000
  • Increased minimum hold time required for manual detonation from 0.19s to 0.225s on controller
    • This helps instances of players accidentally triggering manual detonation when they didn’t mean to
  • Increased Rocket Jump radius from 500 to 700
  • Improved camera animation
  • Tuned visual scale curve for better visibility
  • Reduced conditions that could block or cancel reloading
• Zephyr Strike (Secondary)
  • Reduced AoE explosion radius from 2750 to 2400
• Artillery Salute (Special)
  • Now refills Topnotch’s Jetpack fuel
• Jetpack (Jump)
  • Overview - Jetpack ground launch strength decreased, fuel drain rate increased, Artillery Salute now refills fuel
    • Increased fuel consumption by ~5.7%
      • This reduces the time it takes to consume a full fuel tank from 2s to 1.88s
    • Decreased Jetpack gravity multiplier from -0.4x to -0.35x
      • This makes gravity affect Topnotch more
  • Add blinking flare VFX feedback when near the KO ceiling Jetpack shutoff

Game Modes

• AI
  • Bots can now play Mega Rocket, Rocketball, and Treasure Hunt game modes
• Mega Rocket
  • Reduced the strength of the impulse when the zone spawns by 25%
  • Fixed issues where players could capture a Mega Rocket while underneath the zone
• Misc.
  • Mysteen's Phantasm will no longer display the game mode overhead UI (Treasure Chest, Rocketball Variants, etc.)

Playlists and Matchmaking

• Bots in Matchmaking
  • Bots will now fill in for players in all standard playlists if not enough players are found during matchmaking (both PvE and PvP)
  • New Scaling Bot Difficulties
    • Bot difficulties are Easy, Normal, Hard, and Extreme
    • Difficulty in PvP (Competitive Arena, Knockout, etc.)
      • In Matchmaking, bots will scale in difficulty based on the average skill of the players
    • Difficulty in PvE (Co-op Arena, etc.)
      • In Co-op, unlike PvP, each player will have a Bot Difficulty Level independent of their skill
      • Players increase their Bot Difficulty Level by winning 5 games in a row
      • If a player loses 3 games in a row, their Bot Difficulty Level will decrease
      • In Matchmaking, a bot will be added for each player’s Bot Difficulty Level
        • For example, if Player A has Extreme difficulty, B has Hard, and C has Easy, then there will be an Extreme, Hard, and Easy bot added to the game
        • If less than 3 players match into the game, the remaining bot’s difficulties will be that of the player with the lowest Bot Difficulty Level (for both the friendly and enemy team)
• Play vs AI
  • Playlist renamed Co-op Arena
  • Contains Rocketbot Attack and Bot versions of Knockout, Mega Rocket, Rocketball, and Treasure Hunt
• Social Arena
  • Playlist renamed Competitive Arena
• Knockout
  • The Knockout playlist returns to the Tour!

Items

• Trip Mine
  • Impulse decreased

Maps

• Shimmering Depths
  • Reduced the strength of the geyser
  • Reduced the movement penalties while in the water outside of the dome
  • Removed the yellow submarines
• Star of Crater
  • Reduced the movement penalties while in the water outside of the dome
  • Removed the yellow submarines
• Megadon Junction
  • The train will now impulse the Rocketball and Treasure Chest

Misc

• Totems can now be rotated in the Totem Menu
• Fixed issues where some controllers would not register maximum joystick input even if the user were fully pushing it in a direction, thus causing players to not move at full speed

As always, we value your feedback and if you’d like to leave us some now, or in the future, hit us up on the Rocket Arena Discord, Reddit, Twitter, Twitch Streams, DMs, etc. - we read as much as we can!

Thanks for being part of our community and we’ll see you in Crater! #LETSROCKET

The team at FSG