[PC] Steel Shepherd (1.4.0) Patch Notes

The Steel Shepherd update (1.4.0), along with our Hammer & Shield pack, are bringing impactful improvements, new content including maps and Battlegroups, and additional changes and updates to key areas of the game. This also includes a new Replay system, visual improvements, balance changes, an overhaul to the Campaign Map and more. Be sure to review all of the changes and fixes below or check out the Mission Briefing for an overview.  

NEW CONTENT & FEATURES 

Hammer & Shield Expansion Pack 

Battlegroups

• US Forces – Advanced Infantry Battlegroup 
• Wehrmacht – Italian Coastal Battlegroup

Campaign Company

• British Forces – Air & Sea 

Premium Cosmetic Bundle

• US Forces - Board Room Hellcat & Half-track Pack  
• Wehrmacht - Fallen Leaf Stug III & Fallen Leaf Panzer IV  
• British Forces - Nature’s Vanguard 15 CWT Truck & Dingo Pack  
• Afrikakorps - Blocking Force Infantry Pack

Maps 

Villa Fiore – 1v1

Added 1v1 Villa Fiore map to Automatch, Co-op vs A.I., Skirmish and Custom game modes. 

Villa Fiore is a quaint, unspoiled map set in the vineyards of rural Italy, including: 

• Hilltop Villa
  Featuring close quarters and building-to-building combat within its inner courtyards 
• Rural outskirts
  Featuring easy mobility in and around hamlets, stables and farms and its various territories 

Day 101 – 2v2

Added 2v2 Day 101 map to Automatch, Co-op vs A.I., Skirmish and Custom game modes. 

Day 101 was the product of our Map Making 101 video series, with a final layer of polish and balancing – major features include: 

• Central farmlands
  Considerably more open and exposed farmland, bisected by a shallow river, where players will need to construct their own cover to maintain a foothold  
• Northern city outskirts
  Featuring combat across various plazas, bridges and dense, city streets 

• Southern waterfall
  A narrow passage of low ground enabling flanking around the map which players cannot afford to ignore 

Replays 

This feature allows players to access saved Replay files from previously played matches, a powerful yet flexible game interface, and many quality-of-life improvements that make the experience feel modern and easy to use. We want Replays to be a tool that will serve your needs, whether you are a competitive player, a content creator or a new player looking to learn and improve. For more details read our detailed Replay blogpost here. 

VISUAL IMPROVEMENTS 

Ambient Occlusion, Atmospheric Fog, Fog of War, Lens Bloom, Tone Mapping, and Lighting improvements have combined to update visuals across all maps and modes. 

• Added a subtle new camera lens bloom effect. 
• Adjusted tone mapping to improve readability, particularly in shadows.  
• Improved ambient occlusion rendering quality.   
• Improved the quality of atmospheric fog. 
• Modified the way atmospheric fog interacts with the fog of war effect. 
• Updated environment atmospheres to accommodate new rendering changes.   
• Updated environment lighting to improve tone and readability.

Front End and Navigation 

Starting with a revamped Front-End Menu experience, the overhauled UI Menu now aligns with the franchise's legacy, in conjunction with stronger immersion and a consistent experience.  

• Streamlined navigation and an organized layout that simplifies players' access to their favorite game modes and settings. Players can now resume their Campaign progression right from the Main Menu, as well as find the brand-new Replay Feature in case they want to relive their favorite gameplay moments.  
• An upgraded Visual Presentation featuring brand new sets of background images in the Main Menu, Loading UI, and Game Modes. The newly updated Main Menu will immerse players with new ambient sound effects and visual animations.  
• Every menu and screen players encounter offers a uniform and refined experience, making it easier and more predictable to navigate. This update lays the groundwork for future interface improvements. 

Additional UI/Navigation changes 

• A new "Cycle Emplacements " hotkey binding has been added which cycles through team weapon emplacements such as AA emplacements (but not bunkers and base defenses).  
• A Resume Campaign button has been added to the Main Menu.  
• The "Cycle " naming now makes it clear that the camera behavior when the hotkey is used is governed by the "Find and Cycle " setting (select without moving the camera vs camera focus vs camera follow).  
• The Edge Pan Smoothing option has been added in Settings. Default setting ‘Off’. 
• The default WASD key binding profile has been updated to better match the regular default profile including using Alt as the camera orbit modifier instead of Alt+Ctrl.  
• The "Focus Next [unit] " and "Select Next [unit] " hotkey bindings have been combined into a new set called  "Cycle [units] " along with the "Idle " equivalents.  
• The "Select All " and "Select All On Screen " hotkeys have been fixed.  
• Updated Battlegroup selection menu to include space for a description, enabling players to compare battlegroups before locking their choices.

REDESIGNED CHALLENGES 

Challenges have been rebalanced to make Merit both easier and more enticing to earn. The amount of Merit that can be earned per week remains the same, but we have added, edited, and adjusted rewards for Challenges to better reward natural gameplay. 

• 5 new Challenges are available in the challenge pool. 
• Added a pip on the main menu Challenges widget indicating when new Challenges are available.  
• Challenge rewards will now automatically be claimed when the Challenge requirements have been met.  
• Fixed an issue that caused the Challenge expiry timer to be stuck in Updating state. 
• Several Challenges have had their requirements reduced or changed to make them more achievable.  
• Some Challenge descriptions have been edited to improve clarity. 
• Some Challenges were removed from the rotation.  
• Weights of all Challenges have been adjusted to change which Challenges can be available at the same time and how likely players are to encounter each Challenge.

Weekly challenges 

New Challenges 

Guided Glory 

• Play 5 Multiplayer or Co-op vs AI matches 

Fire in the Hole 

• Kill 40 infantry with grenades, satchel charges or rifle grenade infantry abilities 

Machinist 

• Upgrade 10 trucks or half-tracks 

Changed Challenges 

Armored Recon 

• Kill 40 vehicles with armored cars -> Kill 15 infantry squads with vehicles 

Battle Ready 

• Win 5 multiplayer matches of any team size -> Win 3 multiplayer matches  

Company of Heroes 

• Train 50 US Forces Paratrooper squads -> Deploy 20 squads 

Industrial complex 

• Kill 40 vehicles with 76mm upgraded American Sherman Tanks -> Destroy 15 vehicles as the US Forces  

Panzertruppe  

• Kill 50 vehicles as the Werhmacht -> Destroy 15 vehicles as the Wehrmacht  

Stalking Tiger  

• Kill 50 vehicles as the Afrikakorps -> Destroy 15 vehicles as the Afrikakorps 

Tally Ho!  

• Kill 50 vehicles as the British Forces -> Destroy 15 vehicles as the British Forces 

Tank Destroyer 

• Kill 50 vehicles with anti-tank guns -> Destroy 15 vehicles with anti-tank guns 

Tankette 

• Kill 40 vehicles with light tanks -> Destroy 15 vehicles with light tanks 

Daily Challenges 

New Challenges 

Junkpile 

• Destroy an Allies truck or Half-track in a match 

Strike a Chord  

• Call-in 2 airstrikes in a match 

Changes to Daily Challenges  

Ace of Spades  

• Build 2 US Forces Fighting Positions in a match -> Build a US Forces Fighting Position  

Allied Expedition 

• Win a match as the US Forces in Co-op vs AI -> Win a Co-op vs AI match as Allies 

Close Air Supply 

• Call-in 2 US Forces aircraft abilities in a match -> Call in 2 aircraft abilities in a match  

Desert Fox  

• Win a Multiplayer match as the Afrikakorps -> Win a Multiplayer match as the Axis  

Edelweiss 

• Kill 5 infantry with Jäger squads upgraded with Reconnaissance Packages in a match -> Kill 10 infantry with Jäger squads in a match  

Eighty Eight  

• Kill 1 Allied vehicles with an Afrikakorps FlaK36 Anti-tank gun in a match -> Destroy an Allied vehicle with an Afrikakorps Marder III Tank Destroyer in a match  

Gustav Line 

• Build 2 Wehrmacht Concrete Bunkers in a match -> Build a Wehrmacht Concrete Bunkers in a match  

Hanomag Scrap 

• Kill 1 Wehrmacht or Afrikakorps trucks or Half-tracks in a match -> Destroy an Axis truck or Half-track in a match 

Hedgehogs 

• Build 10 tank traps with British Forces Royal Engineers in a match -> Build 5 tank traps or sandbags in a match  

Infantry Anti-Tank 

• Kill 2 vehicles with infantry squads in a match -> Destroy a vehicle with infantry squads in a match  

Making Tracks 

• Deploy 1 US Forces M3 Half-track in a match -> Deploy a Half-track in a match 

Orders are in 

• Swap 3 Wehrmacht Grenadier squads for Panzergrenadiers with Transfer Orders in a match -> Swap 2 Wehrmacht Grenadier squads for Panzergrenadiers with Transfer Orders in a match  

Panzerarmee 

• Kill 1 vehicle with Afrikakorps panzers in a match -> Destroy a vehicle with panzers in a match  

Panzerkorps  

• Renamed to Hornet’s Nest  

SAW 

• Upgrade 4 US Riflemen squads with additional BARs in a match -> Upgrade 3 US Riflemen squads with additional BARs in a match  

Supply Depots  

• Build 2 resource caches in a match -> Build a resource cache in a match 

Stars and Stripes 

• Win a match as US Forces in Multiplayer -> Win a Multiplayer match as the Allies 

SINGLE PLAYER GAMEPLAY IMPROVEMENTS 

• Difficulties renamed to: Easy, Standard, Hard, Expert.  
• Changed the default campaign difficulty from Easy to Standard 
• General tool-tip fixes and improvements

Dynamic Italian Campaign 

With these changes, we're improving the Italian Campaign experience and adding a new layer of strategic play. We want Company selection to be a meaningful choice for players and the Campaign Map to be a driver of these choices. 

• A Hold Position toggle has been added to Campaign Companies. When this is toggled on, the unit will not alert at the end of turn if it has not been moved. You may find this useful for defending a position. 
• Added a keyboard short cut to End Turn.  
• Added an Italian Campaign Gameplay Guide accessible from the campaign menu.  
• Added option in Settings menu to fast forward the player and enemy turns in the Campaign Map.  
• Added smoke and flare tutorials to Salerno.   
• Battle difficulty can now be changed during a Campaign or Operation playthrough.   
• Campaign paths show potential danger zones and attacks more clearly. Terrain info popup appears for all terrain types and shows exact move cost for current Company.  
• Campaign skirmishes now provide bonus starting resources and pre-built base buildings based on player and enemy Company veterancy level.  
• Capture shields on the campaign map are now also enabled for campaign towns with an active mission. These shields must be cleared to start the mission. The number of shields on towns across the map has been generally reduced.  
• Changed the medium projectile type in Single Player to increase the initial speed from 0 to 35 meters per second. As result, many of the medium projectiles on units and off map abilities will come down faster and look more realistic as a result.   
• Companies garrisoned in any Capture Point now heal every turn. Forward Headquarters upgrade has been removed. 
• Companies now visually attack cities when attempting to capture them.  
• Detachments have been removed as an upgrade option from Companies. Each company type now has inherent access to building one emplacement type.  
• General text updates.   
• The enemy now has a new Artillery company type.  
• Improved visual feedback for pinned and suppressed units.  
• Many new dialogue lines from Joe Conti and Captain MacKay were added throughout the missions.  
• Most of the dialogue in the Italian Campaign Map is now skippable.   
• Removed a population cap restriction that was resulting in making the AI less aggressive than intended.  
• Removed supply visuals from the Campaign Map 
• Improvements made to provide clear feedback to players when abilities buttons are active, in cooldown mode, and when they are passively active or inactive.   
• Removed terrain cover as a combat value. Companies on roads no longer have a penalty.  
• Shortened the time it takes for AI to use aircraft abilities on the Campaign Map.  
• Skirmish combats have been added to the cities of Pomigliano, Naples, Altavilla, Spinazzola, Bari, Altamura, Lesina, Lecura, Gaeta, and Aquino.  
• Supplies are now awarded every turn (from every 3 turns). Supply volume has been reduced to compensate.  
• Swapped the strategic medical point for the default medical point in all missions. Medical stations will now exist on these points automatically, rather than needing to upgrade to them. 
• The initial population cap for the player is increased from 25 to 35.  
• Tuned Battleship Barrage visual radius and speed.  

Auto-Resolve Formula Update

Our goal with this change is to bring damage and health values into easier interactions and remove some repetitive skirmish gameplay. Combats between Companies in the field are now automatically resolved, without an option to start a skirmish. 

• Auto-resolve damage has been normalized into thresholds by degree of victory.  
• Company Health, Unit Type, Company Veterancy, and nearby Affectors (emplacements, companies, abilities) have impact on the auto-resolve outcome.   
• Companies now get a combat strength bonus based on their unit type. 
  • Artillery gets a bonus against Infantry 
  • Infantry gets a bonus against Armor 
  • Armor gets a bonus against Artillery
• Max health of all Companies has been reduced from 900-1000 to 100. Damage values have been adjusted to compensate.  

Foggia Airfield Mission 

Adjusted difficulty. 

• Increased the population cap to 100. 
• Reduced the veterancy and number of units in the base-attack groups, as well as the homing groups.  
• Swapped the loiter for two of the strafes that are used on Easy and Normal. 
• Reduced the veterancy and number of enemies in the final wave.

Traits 

Medic Trait Changes 

• Now reduces cost of Heal Target ability for the company 

• Well-supplied and Bolstered Forces traits have been removed from Companies as they did not work with combat and Supply updates. 

New Traits 

• Dug In - Damage taken when defending from auto-resolve reduced by 20% 

• Hard Chargers - Damage taken from emplacements reduced by 33% 

Gela Tutorial 

Gela has been reworked from the ground up. Now a far more streamlined mission, the player will begin by assaulting a fortified beach before continuing on to capture the courtyard in the city. The Tutorial experience offers a new atmosphere, lighting, environment art, and intro cinematics. 

• Joe Conti's letters cinematics have new voiceover dialogue. 
• Now features a landing craft which delivers the introductory squad. 
• The Base-building segment of Gela has been removed so a building construction tutorial has been added to the beginning of Salerno. 
• Updated the Lighting and Atmosphere Transitions for all missions. 

MULTIPLAYER GAMEPLAY CHANGES 

Event Cues 

• Added a new text background to make event cues text more legible.  
• Fixed a bug that was preventing the maximum of 3 event cues from being visible at the same time and allowing any number of event cues to be displayed. 
• Fixed instances where the Mine Hit event cue wouldn’t trigger  
• General tool-tip fixes and improvements  
• Improved visual appearance to match the new art style, improving consistency and readability.

Maps 

• Adjusted the minimum and maximum depth craters can cause, reducing the chances of impassible areas being generated by overly large craters 
• Updated a North African building (including sand-textured versions) to have a larger hit box, preventing units from clipping within the walls from the outside.  
• Updated various Greek ruins that were not blocking most heavy and medium tanks. This enabled the vehicles to clip through walls they visually should not be able to.

Benghazi 

• Fixed a fuel container’s state, preventing units from being able to fire through them until they are damaged.  
• Updated rails and tracks at the docks, enabling them to be crushed and destroyed by artillery and heavy tanks. 
• Updated rock piles in the North of Benghazi to be more buried underground, as they can be used as cover in combat.

Catania Crossing 

• Fixed not being able to fully repair bridges from one bank of the river.  

Mignano 

• Updated buildings straddling the non-playable edge to either be un-garrisonable, or to be more viable in combat. 

Monte Cavo 

• Updated impasse beneath large rock formations to reduce the amount of clipping if units move nearby. 
• Updated various rocks and blockers to improve gameplay around the central compound. Access to the compound should be notably easier and large blocking rocks should be more effective at screening movement, especially when travelling on low ground.  

Sousse Wetlands 

• Added descriptions and titles to all garrisonable buildings, similarly, to existing civilian buildings. 
• Pathfinding improved across the map, by increasing space for light vehicles and anti-tank guns where required. 
• Removed a visible blocker, which was unintentionally rendering. 
• Updated impasse near a narrow staircase in the walled city, preventing vehicles from attempting access, which was causing physics bugs. 
• Updated impasse underneath large rock formations to reduce the amount of clipping, when units move nearby. 
• Updated the minimap to display additional routes into the walled city.

Twin Beaches 

• Removed a hidden element beneath a small section of road, which was preventing the construction of defenses/mines. 

Queue flow 

• Players will start loading into a match from the Quick Match lobby immediately after a match is found. This will shore up matchmaking quality while also mitigating the impact of players leaving the queues.  

Tactical Map & Minimap 

Minimap 

• Minimap indicators for Airplane abilities now better match their location. 
• Added hand-drawn, custom minimap images to all Multiplayer Maps. These custom images should improve clarity of major features on each map, including distinguishing buildings, roads and bridges from inaccessible areas.

Tactical Map 

• Increased size to match the full screen height. 
• Improved visual appearance to match minimap art updates. 
• Improved units' visual priority relative to each player, both on the tactical map and in-game: player units have higher priority, followed by enemy, then allied and finally neutral. This means that player owned units will have their shield decorators always appear on top of any other player. 
• Improved unit selection on the tactical map: selection box creation is now possible on the entirety of the screen, and they now correctly include only units within them. 
• Improved territory line resolution and added a blending effect to improve the overall quality and polish level. 
• Double clicking on units garrisoned in buildings now correctly closes the Tactical Map. 
• Removed squad Buff and Debuff icons, Control Groups, and Status Decorators from the Tactical Map to improve visual clarity. . Control Groups and Status Decorators will still be available on the minimap. 
• Removed neutral vehicle wrecks health bars from being displayed on the tactical map. 

Unit Responsiveness, Selection & Pathfinding fixes 

Pathfinding

• Fixed a case of infantry getting stuck on world objects. 
• Fixed a few instances where vehicles wouldn't move when trying to go around enemy vehicles.  
• The Walking Stuka Rocket Halftrack will now properly path through light crush obstacles. 
• Units are now more likely to prioritize pathing in the direction they are currently facing, according to the movement order. 
• Engineers no longer get stuck in a running loop when attempting to repair bridges.

Responsiveness 

• Construction will now begin before the unit’s tools are out. This should help with construction delays and improve the overall construction experience. 
• Mobility pass on all vehicles.  
• Reversing vehicles no longer stutter when blocked by enemy vehicles.  
• Separated the rotation rate from the pivot rate. Tanks, light vehicles and ultra light vehicles have different turn plans meaning that vehicles will be able to do tighter turns. 
• Vehicles get a flat increase in rotation rate of 10, excluding case mate vehicles. 
• Vehicles will now start their movement with a base movement speed rather than slowly ramping up. 

Selection 

• Buildings are no longer selectable through the ground, making it easier to move infantry close to buildings without entering them.  
• Decorators now have higher priority than bounding boxes, making it easier to select single units.  
• Player-constructed defenses now show up as ghosts in fog of war  
• When selecting multiple unit abilities shouldn't overlap or have a priority such that both retreat and reverse commands are now available to use when both infantry and vehicles are selected. 

Weapon Upgrades 

• If a squad has picked up weapons and reached their squad capacity, their weapon upgrades will now be locked.  
• If a squad has picked up only one weapon and performs a weapon upgrade, any upgrade that would grant two weapons now only grants one. It will cost half the munitions to perform the upgrade.   
• If a squad of Afrikakorps Panzer Pioneers pick up an abandoned GRB-39 off the ground, they will unlock the smoke grenade ability, without having to purchase the GRB-39 upgrade.  
• If a squad of Engineers with a stowed-away Minesweeper pick up enough weapons to reach maximum capacity, the ability to pull out your Minesweeper will no longer drop a Minesweeper on the ground. But since the squad's hands are full, you will not see a unit carrying the Minesweeper. Fret not, as the ability to find the mines will still be active, even with the invisible minesweeper. If in any further doubt, driving an M8 Greyhound over mines is the next most effective method of finding them.  
• The GRB-39 weapon upgrades for both factions can now drop on the ground on squad death.  
• The US barracks upgrade that grants Browning Automatic Rifles (BARs) to all Riflemen should no longer drop BARs at the foot of squads who are already at weapon capacity. 
• Tweaked the MP44 upgrade for the Wehrmacht Stosstruppen so that it properly replaces the MG42 and G43 with four MP44s.

Essence Editor New Template 

• In attribute editor, a new template "Weapon_upgrade " ability was added. Using this as a parent should allow creating new simple weapon upgrades for your squad in a straightforward manner. 
• Added a new requirement to check if there is enough capacity to fit one (or many) inventory items. 
• Added a new requirement to check if your inventory contains one (or more) copies of a specific Inventory Item

MULTIPLAYER BALANCE CHANGES

• Adjusted the health of bridges down between 20% and 50%, making them easier to destroy with artillery and airstrikes, and overall decreasing the time required to repair them. 
• Changed vehicles to no longer auto attack targets while en route to execute an Ability command. 
• Demolitions Package upgrade from the Infantry Support Center will now grant the same demo charge types to Riflemen, Engineers and Bazooka Teams. 
• Forward Observer Barrage can now be used in the Fog of War for all units. 
• Frequency of special death criticals for vehicles has been adjusted. Turret ejection, out of control and brew-up deaths should occur much more often.  
• Infantry units can now use grenades while inside smoke.  
• SSF Commandos now have Prioritize Vehicle.

Field Defenses  

Buildable defenses have been adjusted to be cheaper to construct, reflecting their base and opportunity cost. We have also added a new ability for all constructed garrisonable structures where infantry squads garrisoned in these structures will have higher offensive stats. 

The Wehrmacht Bunkers have also received several changes to their upgrades to better reflect their high upgrade cost and give them more flexibility when deployed forward in the field. 

• Buildable defenses now crush most light cover map assets, such as crates or bushes, enabling easier placement in dense areas  
• Buildable defenses now provide combat bonuses to infantry inside 
• Units fighting from inside gain +25% accuracy and +30% rate of fire  

Fighting Position  

• Fighting Position cost from 150 to 100  

Grenades 

The following change to grenades makes grenades lethal against all infantrymen in the game with greater damage in the center of the blast zone, but a higher damage drop-off around the edges. Previously, high health troops were able to stand on-top of a grenade and survive the explosion.  

• 25% damage penalty against buildings  
• Damage standardized across the board to 120  

Gammon and Bundle Grenades

• Area of effect damage set to 1/0.4/0.35  
• Area of effect distance to 1/1.5/6 for Bundle Grenades, 1 / 2 /6 for Gammon Bombs  
• Area of effect radius set to 5.5; Gammon Bomb remains at 6 
• Damage reduced from 180 to 160  
• No damage penalty against emplacements or buildings  

Regular Fragmentation – US Forces and British Thrown Grenades  

• Area of effect damage to 1/0.5/0.2  
• Area of effect distance to 0.125/1/4.5  
• Area of effect increased from 4 to 4.5  
• Model damage limit set to 4  
• Throw wind-up sped up from 0.875 to 0.675

Rifle Grenades – Infantry Section and Pathfinder Grenades  

• Area of effect damage to 1/0.5/0.3  
• Area of effect distance to 0.125/1/4.5  
• Model damage limit set to 4  

Stick Grenades – Axis Grenades (excluding bundles)  

• Area of effect damage to 1/0.4/0.15  
• Area of effect distance to 0.125/1/3.5  
• Model damage limit set to 4  
• Range increased from 20 to 23; Fallschirmjager can throw range at 25 
• Throw wind-up sped up from 0.875 to 0.675 

Indirect Fire Changes

We are strengthening the power of mortars by reducing their barrage recharge times, increasing their rate of fire when not barraging, and the number of entities they can damage. Auto-fire and barrage range have also been standardized, allowing mortars to cover their full range while the barrage is on recharge. Area of effect damage in the center of the blast has been reduced due to the increases in damage limits. 

Other artillery units have also been improved by increasing their model damage limits. Rocket Artillery has been tuned to be more threatening to vehicles willing to stay stationary within a barrage, making them more relevant with dealing with large concentrations of armor.  

Light Mortars   

• Area of effect damage reduced from 0.6/0.3/0.1 to 0.4/0.25/0.2 
• Auto-fire weapon cooldown reduced from 6/7 to 5  
• Auto-fire range increased from 75 to 90  
• Barrage range standardized to 90 for all mortars  
• Barrage recharge times reduced from 30 to 20  
• Model damage limit increased from 3 to 4  

Howitzer Emplacements – Obice 210, BL 5.5, M1A1 105mm Howitzer 

• Cannot be built in the base sector; must be built outside the base sector in friendly territory 

Bishop, Wespe, Cannone da 105mm

• Model damage limit increased from 3 to 4  

BL 5.5 Inch Howitzer  

• Model damage limit increased from 3 to 5  

Pack Howitzer, le.IG 18, 4.2 Heavy Mortar 

• Model damage limit increased from 3 to 4  

Rocket Artillery  

• Nebelwerfer now deals +100% damage and has +300% penetration against vehicles.  
• Stuka Zu Fuss penetration against vehicles increased by +300%  

Wehrmacht Fighting Nest 

• Goes neutral when ungarrisoned  
• Manpower cost reduced from 100 to 50  
• Now allows 6 models to fire out the front and side; 4 from the rear 

Off-map Artillery against Defenses and Buildings 

We have reduced the damage of certain off-maps against defenses, primarily against the Wehrmacht Bunker. The reason for this change is to allow Bunkers under the influence of either Bulwark or the Command Bunker aura to have a chance of surviving when undamaged, requiring a follow-up to destroy them. Regular bunkers will still be destroyed as normal by these off-maps. 

Note the P-47 Dive-Bomb requires the Double Sortie upgrade to destroy a bunker. 

• Carpet Bombing +100% bonus damage against buildings removed  
• Naval Bombardment now deals 25% less damage to buildings such as bunkers; does not affect emplacements.  
• Off-Map airburst now has a -75% damage penalty against emplacements and bunkers 
• P-47 Dive Bomb bonus damage against all buildings reduced from +100% to +40%  

Wehrmacht Bunkers 

• Build-time increased to 35 seconds from 20  
• Manpower cost reduced from 250 to 175  
• Medical and Repair munitions cost reduced from 85 to 70  
• Medical Bunkers can now retrieve casualties and grants free reinforcement; similar to the USF Medical Station 
• Now allows 6 models to fire out from the front, 3-4 from the side, and 2 from the rear  
• Repair Bunkers now repair structures and defenses; can repair themselves when out of combat 
• Repair Bunker repair rate increased from 3.2 to 6 
• Upgrade times standardized to 30 seconds 

FACTION BALANCE

US FORCES 

4x4 Truck 

The 4x4 is having its Commander upgrade returned in a different form, giving the US Forces a more powerful reconnaissance unit in the mid-late game. 

• Armor increased from 4 to 4.5  
• New Upgrade – Scout Commander 
• Allows the 4x4 to detect enemy units in the Fog of War up to range 90 
• Costs 50 munitions  
• Increases vision range of the unit by 10

75mm Halftrack Gun Motor Carriage   

We have made adjustments to the barrage to be more accurate and have increased range, allowing the 75mm Half-track to safely engage units like anti-tank guns and give the US Forces a light artillery unit. Reload times for the barrage have been increased to give players time to respond once the unit has begun firing. 

• Barrage Adjustment  
• Manpower cost reduced from 320 to 280  
• Range increased from 50 to 70  

Area of effect   

• HE Barrage area of effect damage adjusted from 1/0.15/0.05 to 0.6/0.4/0.2  
• HE Barrage area of effect penetration increased from 15/10/5 to 30/30/30 
• HE Barrage damage increased from 110 to 120 
• HE Barrage distance changed from 1/3/6 to 0/1.5/6  
• HE Barrage reload time increased from 3/4 to 5  

Scatter  

• Angle scatter reduced from 7 to 3.5  
• Distance scatter max reduced from 8 to 5  
• Distance Scatter offset from 1 to 0  

Bazooka Team  

We have made the Bazooka Team’s launchers as effective as those carried by elite infantry due to their role as a dedicated anti-vehicle squad. The removal of Precision Shot was done to focus the unit’s role at fending off vehicles. 

• Bazooka stats now use the Bazooka stats found on Paratroopers/SSF Commandos 
• Ready-aim time reduced from 1/1.25 to 0.5/1 
• Reload time reduced from 3.5/4 to 2.75/3.25 
• Removed Precision Shot; Satchel Charge ability moved from Hotkey X to Z

M1 57mm Anti-Tank Gun 

• Armor-piercing round duration increased from 10 to 15  
• Armor-piercing rounds now increases damage by +40; damage model increases from 160 to 200  

M1 81mm Mortar Mortar  

• Airburst area of effect far damage changed from 0.15 to 0.25  
• Airburst area of effect near distance changed from 0 to 0.25  
• Model damage limit increased from 4 to 5  

M3 Personnel Carrier 

• 50cal accuracy increased from 0.3375/0.3375/0.15 to 0.4/0.388/0.173  

M8 Greyhound  

Having lower health than other light vehicles of its cost, we are giving players the option to increase survivability of their Greyhounds against autocannons and weaker anti-tank weapons by spending munitions. 

New Upgrade: Side Skirts  

• Cost 70 Munitions  
• Increases health by 120  

M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer 

The Hellcat is having its reload time increased so units like the Panzer IV will slightly win in a head-on fight without maneuvering. Previous improvements to the units such as speed and accuracy have made the Hellcat too efficient when engaging more costly units head-on. 

• Reload time increased from 3.75/4.25 to 4.5/4.75 

Sherman Bulldozer  

The Centaur, Dozer, and Brummbar are being adjusted to be even more potent against infantry due to their specialist role that are also effective at cracking defenses. We have also adjusted scatter so these units will overshoot their targets rather than undershoot, allowing for more scatter hits on stationary vehicles. 

• Angle scatter reduced from 5 to 4  
• Area of effect damage increased from 1/0.25/0.15 to 1/0.3/0.15 
• Area of effect distance increased from 0/1/6 to 0/1.25/6 
• Damage against bunkers and emplacements increased by 100%  
• Distance scatter max reduced from 4 to 2.5 
• Distance scatter offset increased from 0 to 1 
• Distance scatter ratio from 0 to 0.1 
• Manpower cost reduced from 400 to 360  
• Model damage limit increased from 4 to 5

Airborne Battlegroup 

Airborne Reinforcement 

• Munitions cost reduced from 150 to 120 
• Now replenishes infantry significantly faster 
• Plane heal reduced from 4000 to 2500

Smoke Run  

• Munitions cost reduced from 50 to 40 

Armored battlegroup 

Fast Deploy 

• Fast Deploy build speed bonus increased from +50% to +75% 

Warmachine 

• Command Point cost reduced from 4 to 3  

Special Operations Battlegroup 

Flamethrower Engineer Weasel Replaced with Weasel Towing M1 Pack Howitzer 

Due to the limited use cases of the Weasel carrying Engineers, we have changed the ability to bring in a M1 Pack Howitzer, giving Special Operations access to early light artillery to pressure defensive positions. 

• Costs 400 manpower  
• Weasel arrives towing a Pack Howitzer, no longer arrives with an Engineer squad with a flamethrower.  

Off-map Smoke Barrage 

• Munitions cost reduced from 40 to 35 

Raiding Flares 

• Munitions cost reduced from 65 to 55 

WEHRMACHT 

251 Halftrack and Variants 

• Acceleration increased from 2.5 to 3 
• MG 42 weapon cooldown decreased from 1.5/2 to 0.75/1  

Hull Down Ability 

• Can no longer be activated in combat but will continue to remain active if started prior to entering combat; can still be deactivated in combat. 
• Hulldown now provides +5 range, +5 sight, and speeds up reload times by 30% in addition to the current 25% damage reduction  

Jager Squad  

• Panzerschreck ready-aim time reduced from 1.25/1.5 to 1/1.25 
• Schreck long-range accuracy increased from 0.0375 to 0.04 
• Scoped Rifles long-range accuracy increased from 0.65 to 0.695  

MG 42 HMG Team 

The MG 42 is gaining increased accuracy, improving its damage output. We want the MG 42 to be a key unit of the Wehrmacht and one of their primary anti-infantry damage dealers. 

• Incremental accuracy increased from 1.12 to 1.17 
• Weapon accuracy increased from 0.55/0.4/0.185 to 0.61/44/0.2135  

Nebelwerfer  

• Barrage range increased from 140 to 160 
• Incendiary rocket area of effect explosion damage increased from 0.4/0.3/0.2 to 0.4/0.35/0.3 
• Weapon health increased from 360 to 440     

Panzer Kommand 

• Now requires either Panzergrenadier Kompanie of Luftwaffe Kompanie to be constructed 

Pioneer Squad 

• Weapon near cooldown decreased from 1.1 to 0.8  

Side Skirts  

• Now increases side armor of affected vehicle by 20% in addition to the health bonus 

Stosstruppen Squad 

• G43 accuracy increased from 0.7/0.67/0.64 to 0.77/0.74/0.704 
• MG 42 accuracy increased from 0.48/0.47/0.44 to 0.528/0.517/0.484 
• Overall DPS increased by 10%

Stosstruppen StG 44 Ambush Package 

• Ambush Package munitions cost reduced from 50 to 30 
• StG 44 damage increased from 5 to 5.5  

Sturmpanzer IV Brummbar   

The Centaur, Dozer, and Brummbar are being adjusted to be even more potent against infantry due to their specialist role that are also effective at cracking defenses. We have also adjusted scatter so these units will overshoot their targets rather than undershoot, allowing for more scatter hits on stationary vehicles. 

• Fuel cost reduced from 110 to 100  
• Area of effect damage increased from 0.75/0.25/0.1 to 0.75/0.35/0.15  
• Area of effect penetration increased from 20/20/20 to 70/70/70  
• Deflection damage increased from 25% to 50%  
• Distance scatter offset increased from 0 to 1  
• Damage against bunkers and emplacements increased by 100%  

Wehrmacht Marder III M  

We have adjusted the Marder to be more effective when fighting from a defensive position, but at a higher fuel cost. The unit can now ‘deploy’ to increase its range and firepower at the cost of mobility. 

• Cost adjusted from 280 manpower and 25 fuel to 240 manpower and 40 fuel 

New ability: Sight Main Gun. Replaces Hulldown 

• Increases range by 10m and speeds up reload times by 20% when active. Removes ability to move. Can still rotate  

Breakthrough Battlegroup 

Rapid Production 

• Rapid Production build time bonus increased from 50% to 75%  

Luftwaffe Battlegroup 

Fallschirmpioneers 

• Build menu standardized with Pioneer squads; still has access to the Luftwaffe Relay 

20mm Flak Emplacement 

• 20mm Flak Emplacement build Time reduced from 45 to 40 seconds 
• 20mm Flak Emplacement cost reduced from 250 manpower and 35 fuel to 200 manpower and 25 fuel 
• Pioneers can now construct the 20mm Flak Emplacement

88mm Anti-tank Emplacement 

• 88mm Anti-Tank Emplacement CP cost reduced from 3 to 2 
• 88mm Emplacement Anti-air range modifier reduced from 10 to 6 
• All 88mm Flak damage against aircraft increased from 240 to 600  
• Updated text for Luftwaffee Fallschirmpioneers to tell players about the Flak unlock 

Mechanized Battlegroup 
StuG Assault Group 

• Stug D Assault Group manpower cost increased from 600 to 650 
• StuG D Assault Group now comes with a Stosstruppen Squad 
• StuG D Hulldown removed

Wespe 

• Wespe CP cost reduced from 4 to 3 

BRITISH FORCES 

Boys AT Rifles 

• No longer has a damage penalty against bunkers 

Crusader MK III 

We have increased the scatter and lowered the area of effect damage of upgraded Crusaders to make Crusaders less effective against infantry at range. For its cost, the Crusader was too effective against infantry from long-range. 

• 6-pounder angle scatter increased from 5 to 8.5 
• 6-pounder area of effect near damage reduced from 1 to 0.833333 
• 6-pounder distance scatter max increased from 3 to 5.5

Grant 75mm Gun  

• Penetration increased from 180/145/110 to 200/165/125  

Matilda Heavy Tank 

The penetration of the Matilda’s main gun is being reduced to be less effective against armored vehicles. We want to retain the Matilda’s high health and armor, but make the unit less effective at engaging heavier vehicles. 

• 2-pounder penetration reduced from 100/85/70 to 90/70/55 

Air and Sea Battlegroup 

Centaur   

The Centaur, Dozer, and Brummbar are being adjusted to be even more potent against infantry due to their specialist role that are also effective at cracking defenses. We have also adjusted scatter so these units will overshoot their targets rather than undershoot, allowing for more scatter hits on stationary vehicles. 

• Angle scatter reduced from 7 to 4  
• Centaur area of effect damage increased from 1/0.25/2 to 1/0.275/0.275  
• Damage against bunkers and emplacements increased by 100%  
• Distance scatter max reduced from 4 to 2.5  
• Distance scatter offset increased from 0 to 1  
• Distance scatter ratio from 0 to 0.1  
• Model damage limit increased from 4 to 5  
• Penetration increased from 35 to 65  

Commandos - Both Variants 

Commandos are receiving minor passive healing, allowing for successive ambushes and granting Commandos greater flexibility when operating on their own. 

• Commandos of both variants now heal when out of combat for 1.6 health per second 

Commando Squad 

• Commando Concealing Smoke now immediately breaks suppression and pinned status conditions 

Supply Surplus - Forward Medical Station 

• British Forward Medical Station can now be toggled on as a retreat point 

British Armored Battlegroup 

Designate Targets 

• Designate Targets Command Point cost reduced from 4 to 2  

Forward Repair Assembly 

Due to the ready access of Royal Engineer Sections found in the battlegroup, we are increasing the repair rate of the Forward Assembly and allowing it to repair itself and friendly structures. 

• Forward Repair Assembly repair speed increased from 3.2 health per second to 8 health per second. 
• Now repair nearby structures and emplacements including itself.

Indian Artillery Battlegroup 

Airburst Artillery 

• British Off-Map Airburst area of effect damage changed from 1/0.15/0.05 to 0.35/0.175/0.175 
• British Off-Map Airburst area of effect distances changed from 3/5/10 to 0/2/3 
• British Off-Map Airburst model damage limit changed from 3 to 4 
• British Off-Map Airburst munitions cost increased from 90 to 110

Volunteer Infantry 

• Volunteer Infantry Command Point cost increased from 3 to 4 

DEUTSCHE AFRIKAKORPS 

250 Mortar Half-track 

The incendiary barrage is having its initial area of effect explosion damage reduced due to the accuracy of the barrage. This will give team weapons more team to leave the blast radius before being destroyed. 

• Mortar half-track Incendiary Barrage area of effect damage reduced from 0.85/0.4/0.25 to 0.2/0.2/0.2 

Flakvierling Half-track 

• Model damage limit reduced from 3 to 2 
• Armor-piercing weapon penetration reduced from 32/30/28 to 30/27/25 
• Armor-piercing weapon moving burst decreased from 0.75 to 0.5; matches the regular weapon 

Guastatori 

• Can now fire their flamethrowers while moving  

Marder III Tank Destroyer 

• Now has access to Smoke Canisters  

Panzer III L Medium Tank 

The Panzer III is gaining increased frontal armor to be able to withstand lighter AT weapons such as the Chaffee when being attacked head-on from distance. 

• Frontal armor increased from 130 to 150 
• Manpower cost reduced from 340 to 320

Italian Combined Arms Battlegroup 

Armored Support Stuka Anti-Tank Loiter 

• Munitions cost increased from 180 to 200  

Bersaglieri  

• Population reduced from 8 to 7 

• Urra duration increased from 5 to 10  

Combined Arms Strafe 

• Strafe damage increased from 15 to 30. Suppression removed. 

BUGFIXES

Art/Animation 

• British Forces infantry section upgraded with Recce Package no longer throw their rifles when throwing grenades.  
• Corpses no longer have shiny surfacing. The materials on the corpses match the playable units. 
• Engineers no longer get stuck in a running loop when attempting to repair bridges.  
• Grenadiers' uniform trousers color updated to be historically authentic. 
• Fixed a case where infantry can get stuck in a shuffling loop near their destination. 
• Fixed an issue where items attached to the US Forces Sherman 76mm cannon were propping into odd positions when using abilities  
• Fixed an issue with the Cupola hatch being closed on the Churchill commander when in an idle state  
• Fixed an issue with the US Forces Sherman 76mm cannon upgrade not receiving the US Night Fighters cosmetic  
• Fixed the British Forces HMG crew t-posing after being paradropped  
• Fixed the MG 15 gunner animation looping when in cover.  
• Improved the destruction state of barbed wire fences (notably those used on Monte Cavo) to reduce their “floating” appearance 
• Improved visual appearance of Campaign map British Carrier.  
• Reinforced barbed wire now has the correct animation 
• Ships now face the right way on the Campaign map.  
• Suppressed units in cover now go prone to visually communicate the squad is suppressed. 
• The Afrikakorps Bersaglieri squad no longer yeet their Breda machine gun alongside the grenade when using the grenade throw ability.  
• The flag on the German Command Bunker now uses team color. 
• The rubble created by the US Carpet Bombing run on Pachino Stalemate no longer flickers.  
• Units building barbed wire now have the correct animation  
• Using High Explosive Barrage or Target Weakest Point ability for US Forces M3 halftrack no longer causes the added cosmetic on the gun to revert to the default materials.  
• Units no longer have issues reaching the Wehrmacht Fighting Nest cover and firing positions.

Audio 

• Added ambient combat sound effect track in the Main Menu.  
• Fixed several units that were not calling out their first engagements – this was causing units to enter combat for the first time without warning  
• Fixed Stg 44 weapon echo and length   
• Fixed the Breda Model 30 weapon audio from firing for too long  
• Fixed the Fallschirmjager weapon echo.  
• Fixed the Paratrooper Bazooka Battle Chatter.  
• Intel Voice Over now has radio effect Tuning Intel frequency.

Essence Editor 

• Fixed a bug where the editor grid was hidden by fog in the scenario and FX editor. 
• Fixed a crash in the Attribute Editor that would occur when deleting a template variable.

Gameplay  

• Adjusted the recoil and reset time on all vehicles when firing their main guns to reduce wobble.   
• British Forces Dingo can no longer go through tank traps, dragon teeth and areas designed only for infantry to go through.  
• Emplacements will now properly update their visuals when repaired after a decrewed state  
• Engineer Light it Up now properly displays a timer over the unit when active.  
• Fighting nests will no longer go back to full HP when crewed   
• Fixed a bug that allowed squads to purchase more than one weapon upgrade.   
• Fixed a case where engineers ignore the second queued action after finishing a build order   
• Fixed Afrikakorps L6/40 Smoke Canister not working while Emergency Overdrive ability was active.  
• Fixed an issue in which the Werhmacht Flak38 would become invisible when de-crewed.  
• Fixed an issue that caused the Panzergrenadier squad to display the "+" icon next to their weapon after picking a single weapon, giving the impression the squad somehow already had 2 special weapons.  
• Fixed an issue where dropped weapon UI would not show until the weapon was moused over.  
• Fixed an issue where Emergency Repair Kits image was incorrect in the production queue.  
• Fixed an issue where garrisoned units become trapped on unload.  
• Fixed an issue where Mechanized Assault did not apply to newly constructed vehicles while the ability was active   
• Fixed an issue where recrew team weapon ability could be used on emplacements that were under construction.  
• Fixed an issue where reinforcements for the Wehrmacht Stosstruppen would not always get the upgraded Submachine gun.  
• Fixed an issue where resource caches constructed by Supply Surplus did not use the same icon as the British resource caches.  
• Fixed an issue where Resource Caches under Supply Surplus did not properly show their correct value and flickered between 150 and 200 manpower.  
• Fixed an issue where Sherman 76mm tanks would occasionally be recovered as 75mm tanks.  
• Fixed an issue where smoke canisters did not function on the Afrikakorps recovery vehicle.  
• Fixed an issue where the Armored Battlegroup's Field Repair ability was different for the ability and the Battlegroup command card.  
• Fixed an issue where the Kradschutzen did not get the self-repair benefit of Emergency Repair Kits.  
• Fixed an issue where the name of certain structures would not appear in the Building Shortcut tab.  
• Fixed an issue where the Panther Tank Hunter ability did not apply correctly onto vehicles hit.  
• Fixed an issue where the Tommy weapon would become invisible after using the rifle grenade ability.  
• Fixed an issue where the training center text was in the incorrect location for the Team Weapon Training upgrade  
• Fixed an issue where the Valentine did not have a functional machine gun   
• Fixed an issue with emplacement construction that would show the object as fully constructed despite still being in construction.  
• Fixed an issue with German 8-Rad radar effect not playing when the Signal Detection veterancy ability is active.   
• Fixed an issue with tire tracks being left by British Forces CWT Truck 15.  
• Fixed being able to unlock Air Re-Supply Operation ability multiple times from Special Operations Battlegroup.   
• Fixed being able to use the Hull Down ability while in combat   
• Fixed casemate vehicle auto target selection so it is no longer indecisive between infantry it can fire upon now versus tanks it has to turn to fire at.  
• Fixed Fortified Combat Position Bonus ability to keep showing in command card when a building is garrisoned    
• Fixed instances where units wouldn’t fire after vaulting   
• Fixed Mechanized Assault ability not healing vehicles.  
• Fixed ML 4.2-inch Heavy Mortar Recon Flare ability to show projectile being fired.  
• Fixed Munition cost refund for Demo charge munitions.   
• Fixed Rally to Me! radio antenna asset playing destruction effect after spawning.   
• Fixed recovery vehicles sometimes getting stuck when issued the Repair Vehicle ability.   
• Fixed some barrage abilities not properly locking out availability to other barrage abilities.   
• Fixed Team Weapons tearing down while in combat when given an attack move order even if they're already engaging an enemy.   
• Fixed the bonus emplacement damage being done to Wehrmacht bunkers   
• Fixed the Commando Section's Concealment Smoke ability sometimes going on cooldown without triggering smoke effect.  
• Fixed the Designate Defensive Line ability being able to target neutral/environment bunkers.   
• Fixed the Jaeger and Panzerjaeger's Ambush Tactics passive ability to properly give the +40% accuracy and +25% damage to all attacks and for the first attack as well as the following ones in the 5 second window.  
• Fixed the Matilda Critical Repair ability only activating once.  
• Fixed the Panzergrenadier squad moving to target after Focus Fire ability ends.  
• Fixed the Valentine Command Tank's Forward Observer Smoke Barrage ability to have projectiles cooldown start correctly.  
• Fixed the vehicle repair icon for self-healing abilities   
• Fixed Wehrmacht bunker weapons tearing down and trying to move when issued attack command out of range   
• GRB-39 from Afrikakorps and Wehrmacht now drop on the ground at the same rate as other special weapons when a squad is wiped out.  
• Infantry section Base of Fire ability now properly triggers only when all the squad is in cover and it affects all squad members. 
• Landmines dealing damage now properly grant experience and kills to the squads responsible for building them.  
• Loiters will no longer chase targets across the map or well outside the circle. 
• Low altitude recon run will now properly reveal camouflaged units.  
• Pioneers, Fallschirmpioneers, Engineers, Assault Engineers, Sappers and Panzerpioneers and Guastatori can no longer defuse their own mines.  
• Player-constructed defenses now show up as ghosts in the fog of war. Spooky.  
• Queued reinforcements provide proper refund if they are cancelled due to instant reinforcement from a medical station.  
• Recrewing a British Forces M1 Pack Howitzer with the Afrikakorps faction will correctly grant you that unit.  
• Special Operations Mark Target airplane time on the field now better matches the actual duration of the ability  
• The Kettenkrad will no longer act erratically when hit by certain weapons.   
• Weapon upgrades are now all properly locked / grayed out if the squad doesn't have the inventory capacity required to equip them.  
• Weapon upgrades on squads that do not have enough capacity will no longer result in dropping a weapon on the ground. This fixes the issue where Team-Owned weapons laying on the ground have priority over squads when selecting multiple units on screen via a selection box.

Performance/Stability  

• Fixed a crash that occurs in the Italian Campaign recovery bonus objective if the target vehicle is destroyed before the objective begins. 
• Fixed a desync occurring when the AI takes over for a player in a Multiplayer match.

Single Player 

• Adjusted a territory point on the urban skirmish map that now enables units to capture in cover. Previously they were automatically pulled out of the capture area because of a lack of cover.  
• Adjusted the Out of Bounds area and Vistas across many maps so the out of bounds areas are less visible.  
• All Unit Production and Research Times in for the Allies is affected. Standard is 15 seconds for infantry and ultralight units. Standard is 10 seconds for upgrades. Build times of the majority of core infantry units reduced to 15 seconds. Upgrade times for individual upgrades reduced to 10. Tech research upgrades reduced to 15. Reduced recharge time on medical crates to 60 from 180 for Dingo and halftrack.  
• Changed the fail conditions on Potenza.Fixed some Company abilities not having a hotkey assigned to them. 
• Cover added to a unique urban crater which previously provided no cover. Will affect any map it’s present in. 
• Fixed an issue where a kicker would appear on units for a very short moment when in radius of the Valentine's Armoured Commander aura ability.  
• Fixed an issue where the player’s chosen affector was missing in the post mission debrief screen.  
• Fixed many instances throughout missions where player squads were getting stuck in buildings or other features of the maps. Adjusted the impassable areas and disabled some garrisons in various missions to account for this.  
• Fixed restart not being available when a Skirmish game was loaded from a save. 
• General tool-tip fixes.  
• Removed inaccessible areas of flame from skirmishes played on Pachino Stalemate to improve flow into and out of the central village.  
• Resolved an issue where German bunkers were missing roofs. Too bad for Klaus, he loved stargazing. 
• Saving the game while a squad is paradropping will no longer cause the unit to get stuck in the air upon loading the save. 
• Shortened delay for bonus objectives to start in the Skirmish Battles so they appear closer to the beginning of the match. 
• Tactical pause hint icon no longer overlaps with text.

Dynamic Italian Campaign 

• Adjusted HQ emplacements on the Mountain Ruins skirmish map to ensure there is sufficient space for off-map units to enter the field.   
• Campaign units will no longer overlap when attacking.  
• Company purchase menus can now be closed with escape after being interacted with.  
• Deleted Sandbags in Anzio Defend that were not providing cover correctly.   
• Emplacements that already fired this turn no longer shows as a threat on the movement preview.  
• Fix bombardments not negatively affecting garrisoned enemy units in subsequent missions  
• Fixed a bug causing Companies on the Campaign map to fail to load into transport ships during the transport ability.  
• Fixed a bug where the End Turn button would sometimes not become disabled after clicking on it.  
• Fixed a Fatal Scar Error in the Winter Line mission that occurs when the player kills bunkers early  
• Fixed a load error during the Calabria tutorial   
• Fixed an issue in Pignataro Maggiore where the British faction didn't have enough room to build the Company Command Post.  
• Fixed an issue in the Monte Cassino mission where the Hangman's Hill complete dialogue played twice.  
• Fixed an issue where Saving Private Norton mission could be soft locked by the player destroying their own tank.  
• Fixed an issue where Wehrmacht Mortars recrewed by the British Forces used the wrong portrait   
• Fixed Campaign map missions granting more resources than indicated in the mission rewards indicator.  
• Fixed campaign Map movement animation for infantry and armored companies.  
• Fixed campaign soft locking if a skill menu was opened while attack was in progress.  
• Fixed Companies becoming invulnerable sometimes if retreating when attacked during AI's turn.  
• Fixed German howitzers sometimes trying to target aircraft .  
• Fixed hospital retreat point always being active on Salerno mission.   
• Fixed issue on River Crossing Airfield where the airfield would sometimes lose track of its aircraft out on missions on save/load.   
• Fixed issues in the garrison for the church near the forward base on the Ortona Defend mission that was causing units to be untargetable and unresponsive.  
• Fixed Campaign map secondary objectives completing by flying a company over the location instead of reaching the location through land. 
• Fixed paradrop on Campaign map being interrupted by autosaves when ending the turn.  
• Fixed ships sometimes overlapping over each other on Italian Campaign Map.  
• Fixed some soft locking occurrences if certain narrative events get triggered during the AI's turn.  
• Fixed the game sometimes soft locking when Naval Transport ability was used on Anzio.  
• Fixed the targetable state for one of the German Destroyers near Naples.  
• In Anzio, updated the "Prevent HQ from being destroyed " objective to only start once the gun begins firing.   
• Moved the ML 4.2-inch Heavy Mortar Team 4.2-inch Incendiary Barrage ability to the column 3 row 2 of the abilities card.  
• On Salerno Defend when units are at the bottom or top of the stairs and directed to go down or up, they will follow the stair path instead of jumping down.   
• Planes on the Campaign map will no longer create visual ghosts when exiting the fog of war  
• Prevented Companies from using abilities when garrisoned in a Battleship. 
• Removed a non-functional fuel cache from the soldier storyline.  
• Replaced the SAS unit with a Foot Guards unit in the River Crossing Airfield mission.  
• Territory borders on campaign map no longer flicker when overlapping.

North African Operation 

• Added a fail condition to the intro beat of Tobruk, preventing a soft lock. 
• Changed the upgradeable medical strategic point for a default medical point in Ajdabiya, Gazala and Tobruk. 
• Fixed a text issue with Grant tanks during the Tobruk mission. 
• Moved props away from Garrison Doors to allow units to easily exit/enter on the Desert Raid mission.

UX/UI 

• Added additional tooltip for the Airborne Rally ability  
• Added extra tooltips in the Mission and Skirmish results popup  
• Added missing translations for “Turn” and “End” in Campaign for all languages   
• Added SFX to various Minimap buttons  
• Closing chat channels will no longer hide the chat widget  
• Fixed a bug causing inventory to disappear in the Loadout tab  
• Fixed a bug causing the veterancy tier descriptions to be missing for M3 Stuart tank.   
• Fixed a bug causing the wrong icon to appear for Tungsten rounds when upgrading.  
• Fixed a bug that caused a player’s Battlegroups to show blank on the Match Stats screen  
• Fixed a bug where the Panzerpioneers could have multiple versions of the Booby Trap ability.   
• Fixed a bug which had allowed the Panzerjager squad to deploy too early in the Ajdabiya mission.  
• Fixed an issue where in the Load Games page, where campaign saves would sometimes appear in the Skirmish Load menu.  
• Fixed disappearing Company support modifiers on the mission debriefing screen.   
• Fixed UI being disabled when opening chat in screenshot mode.   
• Improved quality of the territory lines on the mini and tactical maps.   
• Match settings are now saved when exiting Custom or Skirmish lobbies.   
• Mod Download notification: changed percent downloaded from float 0-1 to percent 0% - 100%  
• Mod Download notification: fixed progress bar dropping back to zero after download completes  
• Mod Download notification: fixed text "Download in Progress " to make sense after download completes   
• Mod Download notification: implemented total download size and amount downloaded so far.  
• Removed Rank icons from Skirmish match stats screen.   
• Removed the End Turn button appearing when the mission briefing screen is opened.   
• To help provide further gameplay clarity, there is now a bigger opacity difference between selected and unselected squad decorators   
• Updated cut-off shortcut key text for keyboard and mouse to show full text.  
• Updated Japanese text for readability   
• Updated Minimap capture indicator animations to show the point is being captured.  
• Updated name of performance benchmark map to 'Benchmark'.  
• Updated the Salerno UI decorator to show it is held by the enemy.  
• Updated UI so that players cannot accidentally end turn while in the recruitment panel.  
• Updated visual style of campaign loyalty rewards button  
• When requesting slot swap in custom games, fixed an issue showing incorrect team number  
• When using the Match Lobby Default Settings button to reset match settings, it now correctly resets as the default settings.