Greetings, Commanders!

The fourth post-launch update which comes with a huge list of improvements, balancing and fixes is out now. These include a special focus on post-game content: "Threat Levels" and a re-work of the Overclock system.

We have an update regarding the VR version coming to Steam. Due to an unexpected technical issue with the game, the launch of the VR version has been delayed to next week. We apologise for this inconvenience and want to ensure that you have the best possible experience when playing. We promise to keep you updated on the situation and to let you know once the VR version is officially out next week.

Thank you so much for understanding and for always supporting our game, in the mean time, we hope you enjoy the changes in update 4. We'd love to hear what you think, so let us know by joining our Discord server[discord.gg] and sharing your feedback.

Threat Levels have been activated across all regions, marking the beginning of a new post-game campaign. Each region now comes with five escalating Threat Levels. The further you push, the tougher enemies become.

Every Threat Level comes with a set of Directives, high-risk challenges that must be completed in a single mission. Succeeding earns you Medals, Command’s new currency for unlocking higher Threat Levels.

Combat balance has been overhauled to match the rising challenge, so expect tougher fights, tighter margins, and deadlier choices. The War Room’s been retooled to support this new structure. You’ll find Threat Levels front and centre in mission prep, making it easier to track your progress and plan your next deployment.

To read more about Threat Levels, check out our preview post from last week.

We also recently posted a preview of the Overclocks re-work! You can find it here in case you missed it.

Overclocks are no longer tucked away in the Mech Yard, but now earned in the thick of battle. You’ll unlock and equip them mid-run, shaping your firepower and tactics in real time. If you spent Intelligence or Blueprints unlocking Advancements or Overclocks before, Command’s issuing full refunds.

Overclocks are now organised into 10 specialist categories, each one pushing your mechs in a new tactical direction. Not every mech can access every category, so you’ll need to know your unit and make your choices count.

Power (the way Overclocks are unlocked) has also changed. It’s now fuelled directly by Boosts and Enhancements: each one you slot in adds to your Overclock ‘Power’ capacity. We’ve lowered the thresholds to get you into the action faster, and you’ll see your Power Level front and centre when selecting upgrades.

We also added a new Overclock reward screen and upgraded the Squad Overview so you can track your build at a glance.

Command is also dropping 43 brand-new Overclocks into the rotation. Some existing ones have been reworked, others reassigned as Enhancements, and one decommissioned entirely.

• Added Threat Levels which scale the difficulty of the region.

• Added Directives which reward Medals to unlock Threat Levels.

• Added 'View Directives' button to Region Map to track progress.

• End of Run Module rewards quality is now determined by Threat Level instead of Region.

• End of Run rewards now show what Directives were completed on that run.

• Run History now shows what Threat Level it was played on.

  • Runs from before this update will display as 'Threat Level 1'

• Overclocks have been changed from a meta reward to a run reward.

  • The Mechanical Surge Advancement and any Overclocks unlocked before this update will have the Intelligence and Blueprints refunded.

• Overclocks are now categorised into 10 specialisations with only certain mechs having access to each Overclock specialisation.

• Power for Overclocks is now granted by Boosts and Enhancements, each one equipped giving 1 Power.

• Power required for Overclocks reduced from 4, 12, 20 to 4, 8, 12.

• Mech Power Level is now shown when selecting a Boost or Enhancement.

• Added a new reward screen for when you are choosing an Overclock.

• Improved Overclocks visuals on the Squad Overview.

• Overclocks are now displayed in the Run History.

• Adjusted pre-existing Overclocks:

  • Apex Hunter renamed to Apex Sniper.

  • Deadeye renamed to Sniper.

  • Flawless Fury renamed Flawless Sentinel and now increases Repair instead of Damage.

  • Last Siphon renamed to Redline and Health Threshold reduced from <50% to <40%.

  • Phoenix Protocol renamed to Redline Protocol and can now trigger once every combat instead of once every mission but only restores 10% health, down from 50%.

  • First Strike has been renamed to Lethal Overwatch.

  • Ward of Steel has been renamed to Aegis Ward.

  • Changed Vigor Rage to a Forge Industries Enhancement.

  • Changed Shell Striker to a Warhead Enhancement.

  • Removed Gold-Tipped Rounds.

• Added 43 new Overclocks:

  • Aegis - While this mech is stationary, it gains Barrier every 5 seconds.

  • Reactive Aegis - When this mech is attacked, a nearby ally gains a stack of Barrier.

  • Aegis Echo - When this mech gains Barrier, a nearby ally also gains a stack of Barrier.

  • Aegis Conduit - When this mech loses a stack of Barrier, a nearby ally has some health restored.

  • Bastion - At the start of each wave, this mech gains armour.

  • Bastion Cascade - When this mech gains armour, a nearby ally gains a percentage of the armour also.

  • Bastion Reserves - When this mech restores health in combat, it gains a percentage of the health as armour.

  • Enduring Bastion - At the end of each wave, if this mech took damage, its repair is increased for the rest of the mission.

  • Spiked Bastion - While Armoured, when this mech is attacked, it reflects damage back at the attacker.

  • Deadlock - Each time this mech attacks it gains fire rate, stacking up to 10 times. This bonus is lost when this mech stops attacking.

  • Deadlock Breach - Every 5th attack this mech makes against a Weak enemy deals massively increased damage.

  • Deadlock Calibration - Every 5th attack this mech makes against an enemy mech increases its damage for the rest of the mission.

  • Deadlock Echo - Every 5th attack this mech makes against the same target will cause a Double Tap.

  • Deadlock Harvest - Every 5th attack this mech makes against an Armoured enemy, it gains armour.

  • Executioner - This mech's attacks deal increased damage to enemies at low health.

  • Executioner's Edge - Every 5th enemy this mech kills increases its critical chance for the rest of the mission.

  • Executioner's Feast - When this mech kills an enemy with a critical hit, it restores health.

  • Executioner's Streak - Every enemy this mech kills increases its damage and critical hit damage. These bonuses are lost upon taking damage.

  • Executioner's Wrath - Every 5th enemy this mech kills increases its damage for the rest of the mission.

  • Overwatch - When this mech has been stationary for 5 seconds its attack range is increased.

  • Enduring Overwatch - When this mech remains stationary for an entire wave, its maximum health is increased for the rest of the mission.

  • Deadly Overwatch - Each time this mech kills an enemy its damage is increased. This bonus is lost when this mech moves.

  • Critical Overwatch - While this mech is stationary, it gains critical hit chance every 5 seconds.

  • Phalanx - When this mech has allies nearby, they all gain increased damage resistance.

  • Phalanx Barrage - When this mech has allies nearby, they all gain increased fire rate.

  • Phalanx Guardian - When this mech is destroyed, a nearby ally gains increased health and repair for the rest of the mission.

  • Phalanx Reprisal - When this mech is attacked, a nearby allies next attack deals increased damage.

  • Phalanx Resolve - When this mech kills an enemy, a nearby ally restores health.

  • Adrenal Redline - While at low health, this mech's fire rate and movement speed are increased every second, stacking up to 100 times.

  • Tempering Redline - While at low health, this mech has increased damage resistance.

  • Vengeful Redline - While at low health, each time this mech takes damage, its damage is increased for the rest of the mission.

  • Sentinel - At the end of each wave, if this mech is at high health, its gains armour.

  • Enduring Sentinel - At the end of each combat, if this Mech is at high health, its health is increased for the rest of the mission.

  • Iron Sentinel - Every 10 seconds this mech doesn't take damage, it gains armour.

  • Resilient Sentinel - While this mech is at high health, its damage resistance is increased.

  • Disciplined Sniper - Every third attack this mech makes against Distant enemies deals increased damage.

  • Elevated Sniper - While this mech is on High Ground, it has increased critical hit chance and critical hit damage.

  • Relentless Sniper - When this mech critically hits a Distant enemy, its critical chance is increased for the rest of the mission.

  • Stalker - While this mech is Alone, its critical chance and critical damage is increased.

  • Stalker's Ambush - Every 5 seconds this mech spends Alone, it gains increased fire rate, stacking up to 10 times. This bonus is lost when this mech moves.

  • Stalker's Reach - While this mech is Alone, its attack range is increased.

  • Stalker's Resurgence - When this mech kills an enemy while Alone, it restores health.

  • Stalker's Stabilizer - At the end of each wave, if this mech is Alone, its repair is increased for the rest of the mission.

• Cover can now be taken advantage of from either side.

  • We have also disabled Cover tile indicators as they felt unnecessary now that Cover is 2-sided.

• Cover throughout every level in every region has been rearranged to work better with the new 2-sided system.

• Extract Objectives now move independently but there speed has been reduced.

• Extract Objectives now show the path they will take.

• Wave Start/End effects now trigger during Boss Fights.

• Enhancement Upgrades now only appear as rewards once you have at least 3 Enhancements.

• Repair Kit wont start appearing until a unit is below 80% health, down from 90%.

• End of Run Module rewards are now given after your first ever run.

• Command Centre Research Tasks can now be progressed on the first run.

• All Regions difficulty has been re-balanced. The difficulty curve is now a lot smoother between Regions/Threat Levels than previously where each Region had a big difficulty jump.

• Increased Hidden Node count in New Germany from 6 to 8

• Western Europe Boss now fires its Mortar Cannon less frequently.

• Enemy waves in the Western Europe Boss now spawn less frequently and ramp up in difficulty slower.

• Enemy waves in the Scandinavia Boss now spawn less frequently.

• Enemy waves in the British Isles Boss now spawn more frequently and start off harder.

• All Scandinavian Levels have had adjustments to make them easier to navigate.

• Many levels across all Regions have been adjusted to improve gameplay.

• Increased Movement Speed of Enemy Heavy Tanks.

• Increased Movement Speed of all Player Units

  • Command Vehicle Movement Speed increased from 10 to 15.

  • Thunderhead Movement Speed increased from 10 to 15.

  • Draqan Movement Speed increased from 20 to 25.

  • Ironclad Movement Speed increased from 15 to 20.

  • Vulcano Movement Speed increased from 10 to 15.

  • Steelhawk Movement Speed increased from 20 to 25.

  • Leadslug Movement Speed increased from 15 to 20.

  • Warbringer Movement Speed increased from 15 to 20.

  • Clusterstorm Movement Speed increased from 20 to 25.

  • Meltdown Movement Speed increased from 20 to 25.

• Increased effectiveness of Field Repair Ability Upgrades.

• Increased effectiveness of Field Sentry Ability Upgrades.

• Field Sentry upgrades now increases its health instead of its critical chance.

• Increased Field Sentry's attack range from 2 to 3.

• Increased Field Sentry's critical chance from 10% to 25%.

• Increased damage gained from Forge Armour's damage upgrade.

• Increased ability charges gained from Mine Drops ability charge upgrade.

• Increased ability charges gained from Airstrikes ability charge upgrade.

• Increased ability charges gained from Jump Jets ability charge upgrade.

• Increased ability charges gained from Airstrike ability charge upgrade.

• Mechano-Arm now starts with 4 ability charges, down from 6.

• Forge Armour now starts with 4 ability charges, down from 5.

• Increased cooldown of Mechano-Arm from 20 to 25 but also increased cooldown reduction gained from its cooldown upgrade.

• Ability Charges no longer appear as a mid-level reward.

• Ability Recharger item at the Scavenger now restores 2 ability charges and now has a much higher possibility of restoring 3.

• Enduring Regens health gain has been reduced from 10/20/35/50/75 to 5/10/15/20/30.

• Savage Fortitudes health gain has been reduced from 20/30/40/50/75 to 10/20/30/40/50.

• Vengeful Resurge healing has been reduced from 50/75/100/150/200 to 30/60/90/120/150.

• Weakpoint Recharge ability charge chance reduced from 5/10/15/20/25% to 2/4/6/8/10%.

• Volatile Defense has had its internal cooldown on the Disable proc increased and on the Armour proc decreased.

• Removed the "Graphics Quality" setting which previously affected shadows, lighting, texture resolution and anti-aliasing.

• Added a Shadow Quality setting which defaults to High.

• Added a Texture Quality setting which defaults to High.

• Added an Anti-Aliasing setting which defaults to 4x (previously 8x, which is still an option).

• Added an Ambient Occlusion setting which defaults to On.

• Optimised level geometry to reduce overlapping and unnecessary polygons.

• Reworked attack VFX for the Warbringer to improve performance, especially when multiple Warbringers are active at once.

• Added a throttling system to prevent too many VFX piling up on a single tile at once.

• Reworked level backgrounds to reduce complexity and rendering cost.

• Reworked tile indicator logic to improve CPU performance and reduce rendering cost, especially when a unit is selected.

• Fixed Mechano-Arm Critical Plating Augment increasing Armour instead of Health.

• Fixed Combat Text sometimes appearing as though its a critical hit even though it isn't a critical.

• Fixed Repair Kit reward choices displaying mech image twice instead of the reward icon.

• Fixed health bar colours being inconsistent on the gameplay hud and squad overview.

• Fixed unit frame backgrounds on squad overview not displaying correctly when a unit has lots of upgrades equipped.

• Fixed Bomber Plane notification appearing in the British Isles region.

• Fixed Vulcano mech not animating correctly when moving at high speed.

• Fixed Leadslug mech not using correct walk animation.

• Fixed Leadslug's bullets extending far beyond its attack range.

• Fixed Steelhawk not using correct footprint decals.

• Fixed Warbringer attack SFX drowning out other SFX and preventing pilot voicelines from playing.

• Fixed End of Run Module rewards sometimes being lower rarity than they should be.

• Fixed Deliver Objectives using incorrect icons.

• Fixed Command Vehicle Ability Upgrades not being applied correctly.

• Fixed Deliver Objective markers on the New Germany Boss disappearing after the cutscene finishes.

• Fixed several Objectives not displaying outlines.

• Fixed selection issues with the gamepad after purchasing an item from the Scavenger.

• Fixed selection issues with the gamepad on the Region Map.

• Fixed being able to select duplicate mechs and pilots during the squad setup.

• Fixed Explosive Sentry Augment not increasing Field Sentries range.

• Fixed Western Europe Boss Phase not progressing when the Pylon was destroyed too quickly.

• Fixed being able to assign Pilot Abilities to the Command Vehicle during the squad setup.

• Fixed Accessibility colours not affecting Unit Markers if changed during gameplay

• Fixed Enemy Units continuing to shoot at Extract Vehicle after the Objective is completed.

...and that wraps up the changes from Update 4! As mentioned at the top of this post, your support and feedback mean everything to us. We'd love to hear from you, so consider joining the Megabit Discord[discord.gg] server to talk us directly about the new update and any queries you have regarding the VR news.

See you on the battlefield!

The Grit and Valor - 1949

Greetings, Commanders!

Kevin here, back again with another Developer Diary and today we'll be talking about a brand new feature - Threat Levels

We’re really excited about this one and it’s probably the biggest change to the game since launch, and will feature in our upcoming Update 4.

Threat Levels allow you to crank up the challenge in every region, letting you take on all 4 Regions with tougher enemies that hit harder, take more damage, and keep you on your toes.

There are 5 difficulty levels in each Region. Completing 3 Directives at a given level earns you Medals that unlock additional Threat Levels, but not in a strictly linear order - you’ll need to complete Threat Levels in later regions before you can tackle the hardest Threat Levels in Region 1, for instance.

Why Threat Levels

In a nutshell, Threat Levels give the player more to do in the game but also they:

• Create a smoother, more rewarding sense of progression as you move through regions and tougher difficulties

• Add meaningful end-game content after New Germany

• Encourage replayability and variety by letting you unlock and tackle higher threat levels across regions

• Push players to experiment with squad choices and improve their skills through medals and directives

I asked my colleague Erin who has been regularly testing the new features for a rough breakdown of the difficulty levels:

• Threat Level 1 – git gud this is easy

• Threat Level 2 – okay, not too bad, not too difficult

• Threat Level 3 – uh, struggling a little here

• Threat Level 4 – oh god make it stop

• Threat Level 5 – internal and external screaming!

Anyway, we challenge you all to clear each Threat Level in every Region and look forward to you all telling us how you did!

Thanks for reading our latest Dev Diary and we’re really excited to hearing your feedback on this and all the other new content in Update 4!

Until then, thanks as always for your feedback and support. If you'd like to hear more from us about Grit and Valor, join our Discord server and follow us on social media!

- Kevin and The Grit and Valor - 1949 Team