[16/02/2022] - Release Notes - 0.4.0 Update – Boom Beach: Frontlines

Hey Commander and welcome to the Release Notes for the 0.4.0 Update!

While we're not introducing new content in this update (and for a short period in the near future - more info in this video), we still want to address community feedback as well as any live issues on going with the game.

That said, we're bringing balance changes to Repair Laser, Heavy, APC and improvements to lobbed targeting. Additionally, we're also implementing several bug fixes and sneaking in some small improvements.

Read on below for all the details:

Balance Changes

Repair Laser

Repair multiplier on vehicles reduced from 3 to 2.
Duration reduced by 10 seconds (30s -> 20s)
Cooldown increased by 30 seconds (30s -> 60s)
Targeting priority adjusted (less focus on vehicles)
Munitions cost increased by 150 (750 -> 900)

To start with, the card stats and description both painted a different picture of what the heal multiplier on vehicles is (card stats showed triple, card description said double - which was the intended balance). We’ve now fixed this and brought Repair Laser in line with initial plans. We’ve also looked at the data and adjusted the overall duration, cooldown, and effectiveness of the Repair Laser to make it more balanced.

Heavy

Accuracy significantly increased
Spin-up time reduced (rate of fire increases more quickly)
Health increased by 5% (1100 -> 1150)
Movement speed while aiming brought back to original values (50% -> 40%)

Heavy still needed some work to become more popular and competitive. Increasing his accuracy and effective rate of fire makes him much more effective against enemy infantry in mid-range. A small bump in health may seem trivial, but it can also equal an extra sniper shot required to bring Heavy down. With these changes, Heavy should be a force to be reckoned with, especially while in cover or when paired with a medic.

APC

Munitions cost increased by 200 (1400 -> 1600)
Health reduced by 4.7% (5500 -> 5250)

With a much higher adoption of the APC’s troop carrier mechanic, it’s become quite obvious that the APC is too good of a deal at 1400 munitions and becomes a very dominant strategy in any loadout it appears in. Raising the cost and lowering health slightly should put a tiny damper on that, while still preserving the fantasy of crushing your foes with a full APC!

Lobbed targeting improvements

We've made code fixes that improve how lobbed targeting prediction works for any player-controlled troops and vehicles (such as Cluster, Fire Bomber, Missile Tank, Mortar Bike).

This should make these units significantly better at tracking and hitting moving targets. AI-controlled entities such as Mortar, Rocket Launcher, and Fire Lobster defenses already had the target prediction working correctly.

Lead-time for Cluster, Fire Bomber, and Fire Lobster has been increased further.

Fixes And Improvements

Fixed an issue where the duration of some power ups would increase with each level. This was unintended and resulted in these power ups becoming overly powerful at higher levels. Now their duration is the same across all levels.
Fixed an issue where Bomblets would explode if they touched cover.
Fixed an issue where the spawn animation wouldn't play for Elite Grunts, Medic Grunts and Bomblets.
Fixed a bug with Stars sometimes not getting deducted from a full Star pool after completing a battle.
Fixed some errors that were causing players to get stuck in a crash loop after opening Boxes.
Fixed issues with capture indicators in battles sometimes showing both team's colors
Fixed a bug that made medals animations play every time you'd open a tab or window in the main screen
Fixed an issue with some vehicles receiving double the amount of the movement speed boost from Booster and Battle Boost.
Other bug fixes and improvements