343 Industries und Creative Assembly versorgen uns oben mit dem Launchtrailer zum “Awakening the Nightmare”-DLC für Halo Wars 2, welcher seit gestern verfügbar ist. Außerdem veröffentlichte man simultan einen Patch, der u.a. mit “Mirage” and “Fissure” zwei neue Maps sowie einen Spectator Mode ergänzt.

Die kompletten englischen Patchnotes dazu lesen sich so:

NEW FEATURES
Two new multiplayer maps are available for free to all Halo Wars 2 players!

• 2v2 map, “Mirage”
• 3v3 map, “Fissure”

Introducing Spectator mode! This all new feature lets players spectate custom matches with customized HUD, game info and controls.

• Select which player you want to follow
• Toggle between following a player and free camera modes

CONTROL IMPROVEMENTS

• Attack move Command – attack move issues a command to engage any enemies encountered on the way to a specific point on the map. Units issued this move command will continue to engage any enemies they encounter until the enemies are killed or the units that were issued the attack move command die. The units will proceed to the specified point after they finish engaging with the enemy. Press the “`” key and then “LMB” on the desired location to activate attack move on the PC. Hold the “X” button until it blinks on the desired location to activate attack move on the Xbox One.
• Queued Movement Command – Players can now issue multiple queued orders to their units to follow. Hold “SHIFT” and “RMB” to activate issue multiple queued orders on the PC. Hold “RT” and tap the “X” button to issue multiple queued orders on the Xbox One.
• Hold Position Command – We have added a new command allowing players to issue a hold position order to their units. To activate hold position on the PC, select any unit and press the “H” key. To activate the hold position command on the Xbox One, hold “RT”, select a unit and double tap “LB”.
• Building Command Groups – Now you can add a building to command groups. To add a building to a command group on the PC hold “CTRL” and “MMB” over the building you would like to add to the command group. Then hit “CTRL” and the number of the control group you would like to add the building to. You can set a rally point with “Y” and open the building’s radial menu with “R”. To add a building to a command group on the Xbox One, hold “RT” and press “LB” over the building you would like to add to the command group. Once selected you can assign the building to a command group like normal using “RT and the “Dpad”. The “Y” button will open the building’s radial menu when the command group is selected.

PC Only

• Keyboard shortcut icons have been added to each petal on the radial menus
• The PC controls frontend menu has been overhauled to improve the user experience.
• Players can now assign a secondary key when mapping PC controls

GAMEPLAY
Scarab –‘Y’ ability (Shield) reinstated as part of fixes for invincibility issue.Archer Missiles costs reduced for all levels

• • Level 1 cost reduced 450/275 to 300/200
  • Level 2 cost reduced 550/400 to 400/300
  • Level 3 cost reduced 650/525 to 500/400

Glassing Beam cost reduced and DPS and speed improved

• • Level 1 DPS increased +20%
  • Level 2 DPS increased +6%
  • Level 1 cost reduced 400/250 to 300/200
  • Level 2 cost reduced 500/385 to 400/300
  • Level 3 cost reduced 600/500 to 500/400
  • Beam speeds at all levels increased +6%.

Wraith Scorch

• Same total damage, but over a shorter period of time
• Duration 15s -> 10s
• DPS increased +50%

Mines
Changes to all mines:

• • • Mines are now tougher
    • All mines have a small spotting range
    • All mines deal a small amount of damage and trigger effects even when not armed
    • Damage to Heavy (Tier 3 Tanks) increased +40%
    • Damage to Cover increased +70%
    • Damage to all Heroes increased +50%
    • Damage to Medium (Tier 2 Vehicles) increased +30%
    • Damage to Buildings reduced -50%
    • All mines benefit from Fortify upgrades, increasing their HP and damage
    • All mines appear on the Minimap

Jerome’s Victory Mine:

• • • Inspire buff radius increased +25%
    • Buff duration increased 15s -> 25s
    • Uses correct Inspire values (15% -> 12%, in line with the previous Inspire reduction)
    • HP increased 100 -> 300/400
    • Now slows targets

Lotus Mines:

• • • Now Slow targets

Plasma Mines:

• Now leave behind a plasma Damage Over Time on detonation

Ambush Mines:

• • • HP increased 100 -> 350/450

Stasis Mines:

• • • HP increased 100 -> 300/400

Corruption Mine:

• • • HP increased 300/400 -> 400/500

Cryo Mine:

• • • HP increased 100 -> 300/400

Scout Mine:

• • • HP increased 100 -> 300/400
    • Line of Sight increased +33%/+43%

Frostraven survivability and effectiveness improved

• • HP increased +10%
  • Range increased +25%
  • Chill vs non-buildings increased +20%/+20%

Glacial Storm visual and gameplay effectiveness improved

• • Visual improvements
  • Drops periodic Frost Bolts which deal a small amount of chill and damage
  • Chill vs non-buildings increased +20%

Mastodon performance improved and costs reduced

• • Acceleration increased +33%
  • Turn rate increased +11%
  • Population Cost reduced 4 -> 3
  • Supply cost reduced 300 -> 250

Phantom costs reduced

• • Population Cost reduced 4 -> 3
  • Supply cost 275 -> 225

UI / NAVIGATION

• Corrected issue which prevented display of full leader names in Season Service Record screen.
• [PC] Fixed issue which prevented units from being highlighted when too many unit types were selected.
• Personal rank information now being displayed correctly in Leaderboards.
• [PC] Increased the number of keys which the Ease of access text window can now be assigned to.
• Fixed issue which caused loss of camera control when closing Radial Menu by clicking on the Minimap.
• Most successful leader results now being displayed accurately in Service Record screen.
• [PC] Fixed issue causing mouse to become unresponsive after marquee selecting the unit selection bar.
• [Controls] ‘Hold Position’ unit command changed to RT + Double-Tap LB to eliminate issues with it accidentally triggering Fast Camera movement.
• Correct button combination now shown for ‘Select Building’ (RT + LB) in Advanced Controls screen.
• [PC] Using G + Left Click on Minimap no longer displays ping location outside of playable area.
• [Strongholds] Fixed issue causing Lotus Mines and Plasma Mines to be locked in leader power Radial Menu.
• [Blitz Firefight] Fixed issue which could sometimes show zero time played in Blitz Firefight Leaderboard.
• [Blitz] Fixed issue which could result in Quickmatch players being be added to 3v3 Blitz matches rather than 2v2.

BUILDINGS / UNITS

• [Strongholds] Fixed issue which was revealing Strongholds taken by opponents through Fog of War.
• Fixed issue causing leader-specific units and powers to render textures improperly or blacked out.
• Fixed an issue which allowed the Scarab to become invincible while being affected by a buff/debuff.
• Fixed issue causing attacking Banished Ranged units to ignore commands when paired with Melee units.
• Move commands to mixed unit groups no longer interrupt special abilities (jump, ram, deploy, etc.) currently in progress.
• Heavy Grunts no longer become unresponsive when using Party’s Over special ability.
• Fixed issue which could result in Spartan units not exiting Hijacked vehicles if ordered to exit beyond jump range.
• Grunt Shrapnel Mine ‘Y’ ability responsiveness improved.
• Fixed occasional issue which caused Grunts to rapidly initiate Power Node capture.

CAMPAIGN:

• Correct subtitles are now displayed during Mission 06 (Stealthy Spartans) intro cut scene.

ENGINE:

• Improvements to overall game performance and stability.