[PTS] PTS Update - 4/13

[PSNews]

The PlanetSide 2 Public Test Server will be updated this evening with the following changes.

Meta

Koltyr

Koltyr has been renamed Koltyr VR

ESF and Valkyries have been re-enabled while on Koltyr; enjoy your flight practice.

Infantry

C4 (Utility Item)

Players must now hold down the Fire button for 0.4 seconds before the detonation will trigger. This altered functionality has been reflected in the tooltip.

Dev Note: To reduce the "surprise" lethality of C4, we've introduced a delay on triggering the detonation without reverting it to the clunky state it was in prior to the CAI update. To achieve this, we converted the detonation trigger to a hold-to-fire, which will prevent any "fake" button press attempts from taking place, and commits the user to triggering the detonation. Please let us know what you think about this new functionality.

Vehicle

Prowler (Terran Republic MBT)

Anchor Mode is now integrated into the Prowler by default.

Anchor Mode no longer increases reload speed.

Anchor Mode's velocity bonus has been increased from 30% to 50%.

Prowler now has access to the "Barrage" utility slot ability.

Barrage increases reload speed by 30% for 15 seconds at max rank, and may be used while on the move (or in conjunction with Anchor Mode.)

While on the public test server, this item will only have one rank, but the current stats are intended to be the maximum effective rank of the ability.

The particle effects, icon, and audio are all placeholders.

If this change goes Live, Anchor Mode will have its certs refunded.

Dev Note: As an empire specific ability, Anchor Mode's use cases were so niche that players would rarely get the chance to use the ability actively in combat. This is a much different experience from the Magrider and Vanguard whose abilities are used constantly in similar situations. In an effort to increase the flexibility of the utility option, we've made Anchored Mode a passive that all Prowlers have access to, while adding a new utility slot option with the new "Barrage" ability. Anchor Mode now strictly increases velocity, so that the Prowler's its niche can still be filled as a long-range artillery platform. Barrage increases reload speed and can do so while on the move. We'd like feedback on this new option to make a final determination on whether or not it will go Live. If it does go Live, Anchor's certification points will be refunded.

MR12 Siegebreaker (Prowler Top Gun)

An early version of the MR12 Siegebreaker has been deployed to the Test server. Consider this weapon a work in progress, and its stats, visuals, and attachments may be subject to change.

The Siegebreaker intends to fill a mid-range gap in the TR top gun arsenal.

Eventually this weapon will be deployed as a Harasser variant as well.

No ETA on release.

Construction

Cortium Silo

A drain of 2 cortium per second has been added.

Dev Note: Silos were often sitting without decaying because nothing was pulling cortium from them. We've added a small drain so that they will eventually destroy themselves, when not tended to.

The Flail

Cone of fire minimum from 0.5 to 0.1

Cone of fire maximum from 1.5 to 0.25

Indirect damage from 350 to 500

Projectile gravity from 2 to 4

Flail will now fire almost immediately after detecting its target.

Dev Note: We've noticed that the Flail seems to be a bit too easy to escape, and even when standing still the damage dealt was inconsistent. We've reduced the cone of fire to be more consistent, and ramped up the damage to make it more lethal. We also modified the gravity of the projectiles, making them fall down to Auraxis a bit faster.

Flail Targeting Dart

Targeting dart now uses a heat mechanic, with a cooldown of 10 seconds.

Dev Note: With the quicker target acquisition of The Flail, we placed a cooldown on the targeting dart to reduce spammability.

Orbital Strike

Orbital Strike knockback now affects players indoors, but does not damage them directly.

Note: For the time being, vehicles and MAX units will receive the full brunt of the explosion even indoors. This will be adjusted in a later update.

Xiphos Phalanx Tower

When unmanned and affected by an AI module, the following cone of fire attributes are modified.

Cone of fire minimum from 1.1 to 2

Cone of fire maximum from 2 to 3

Source: Planetside 2 Test Server: Announcements