Faction Play Phase 4.1
Our latest major update to Faction Play releases in December, with significant changes to Factional warfare mechanics, a refocusing of the Faction Play interface, the introduction of a new Tug Of War system for active battles, the replacement of Long Tom Artillery with a Radar Jammer Planetary Upgrade, the integration of Quick Play modes into Faction Play, new support for special Faction Play events, and more. We’ve chosen to call this update Faction Play Phase 4.1, both to signal the start of a new development phase and to stress that this is only the first of future updates and improvements planned for Faction Play as we renew its focus in 2017.
Escort Game Mode
Escort, an all-new asymmetric Game Mode for MechWarrior Online, arrives in the December patch. Teams are split between Attackers and Defenders, each with their own victory condition. Defenders must ensure the AI-controlled Atlas ‘Mech reaches the Extraction Zone in time for evacuation; the Attackers must do everything in their power to destroy that Atlas and prevent its escape. While the Attackers must also contend with destructible Defense Turrets, enemy Support Towers can be captured to aid the attack with additional ECM and/or Radar support.
Outside of the MechWarrior Academy, this new Escort Game Mode features the first implementation of AI-controlled ‘Mechs in MechWarrior Online. The work performed to introduce this initial presence of AI also has some additional benefits elsewhere, which leads us to our next December feature.