The first half of this Lightning Strikes update went live earlier this month. In that update, DICE upped the volume of footsteps to a very, very audible degree. Some may say that they increased it a bit too much. I am one such person. In fact, it seems as though most people thought that the footsteps of enemies were far too loud following that update, because DICE has once again tweaked their volume.
Other highlights in today's update include the addition of the Sturmgeschutz IV (StuG IV), which is another low-profile tank without a moving turret. DICE improved the practice range. You can now practice using gadgets or improve your aim with skeet shooting. Players can now also visually see bullet drop at range.
Perhaps the biggest change in today's update comes in the way of a huge overhaul to the Panzerstorm map. The very large map has favored vehicle combat above all else, leaving infantry at a very distinct disadvantage due to the long stretches of the map that have next to no cover.
Probably the most obvious change is the extension of the F point. We added additional buildings to the Swine Farm and made it basically four times bigger. These buildings should bring additional cover to infantry and tanks alike. We also added an oak alley along the road between G and D to make it easier for infantry to navigate in this previously open space.
A common criticism of the map from infantry players is that they feel they are too exposed. We've worked a lot to try and help you out with this. We've added lots of ditches and mounds along edges of fields to help you sneak up on tanks out in the open. We call it the “Arras treatmentâ€, and if you’re familiar with that map you will now find more height differences along ridges, stone walls, and roads, as well as deeper ditches next to those roads. Lots of these changes are fairly minor but will add up to a more enjoyable infantry life.
While the tank battles from A to D are really cool, we want to add some soft cover to allow tankers to actually advance. We've added a few trees to help with this. We've also rotated the house on the D point 180° so you can use the top floor for sniping. We've also added ladders to the barn on D if you want to take a peek out into the fields. Some of the changes should mirror gameplay improvements we achieved by adding the oak alley to the area between D and G.
The path between D and E offered no real lanes or good cover and when studying the data, we could clearly see that fighting between D and E is much more erratic than we'd hope for. We've tried improving upon what's already there by adding additional soft cover and height changes in the terrain to help you at least get some of the way before deciding if it's worth taking the risk running out in the open. This should hopefully lead to fewer firefights where getting shot from unexpected angles occur. We'll keep an eye on the telemetry to see if we need to make additional changes going forward.
The area between B and C has been integrated into the tank defense line. This will lead to more infantry cover between these points and hopefully extend the strong infantry movement from E, D, C to B as well.
We've also heard that the flight ceiling feels a bit low on this level. So, we raised it.
Lastly, we added additional Fortifications across the map to help infantry build up a stronger foothold against advancing tanks.
A common criticism of the map from infantry players is that they feel they are too exposed. We've worked a lot to try and help you out with this. We've added lots of ditches and mounds along edges of fields to help you sneak up on tanks out in the open. We call it the “Arras treatmentâ€, and if you’re familiar with that map you will now find more height differences along ridges, stone walls, and roads, as well as deeper ditches next to those roads. Lots of these changes are fairly minor but will add up to a more enjoyable infantry life.
While the tank battles from A to D are really cool, we want to add some soft cover to allow tankers to actually advance. We've added a few trees to help with this. We've also rotated the house on the D point 180° so you can use the top floor for sniping. We've also added ladders to the barn on D if you want to take a peek out into the fields. Some of the changes should mirror gameplay improvements we achieved by adding the oak alley to the area between D and G.
The path between D and E offered no real lanes or good cover and when studying the data, we could clearly see that fighting between D and E is much more erratic than we'd hope for. We've tried improving upon what's already there by adding additional soft cover and height changes in the terrain to help you at least get some of the way before deciding if it's worth taking the risk running out in the open. This should hopefully lead to fewer firefights where getting shot from unexpected angles occur. We'll keep an eye on the telemetry to see if we need to make additional changes going forward.
The area between B and C has been integrated into the tank defense line. This will lead to more infantry cover between these points and hopefully extend the strong infantry movement from E, D, C to B as well.
We've also heard that the flight ceiling feels a bit low on this level. So, we raised it.
Lastly, we added additional Fortifications across the map to help infantry build up a stronger foothold against advancing tanks.
