Commanders, the “Scorching Rays” major update is finally here! It brings new weapons, vehicles and headgear pieces, as well as a reworked section of Tunisia, a redesigned profile interface and changes to the matchmaker and desertion penalties.
The research tree of the USA and Japan has been expanded with new low and high BR additions, including the Kawaguchiya shotgun, a double-barreled shotgun with a bayonet, the iconic “Chicago Typewriter”, an M1921AC Thompson submachine gun with a 50-round drum magazine, the Churchill VII heavy tank with 152 mm frontal armor, the Chi-Nu II with a powerful 75 mm cannon and the Ki-83, a fast twin-engine interceptor.
We did not forget about Germany and the USSR either, their armies have been supplemented with new premium squads with unique features. When it comes to ambushes, the extra camouflage nets on the Tiger West and IS-1 ('45) will come in handy, but when stealth is not an option and pure destruction is all you need, the new Soviet Mortarman squad with its unique fortification, the AG-2 automatic grenade launcher, is the answer.
Alongside the new additions, we have also further improved the visuals of the game to make battles even more realistic. The added ray tracing support, improved hit marks and explosion effects, plus other smaller new details such as craters left by crashed aircraft and dirt on lenses, will all enhance the experience. However, graphical changes are not the only reason why maps will feel different. We have reworked the “Kahif cave village” section of Tunisia, making the once desolate desert a blooming oasis, improved the pathfinding of AI soldiers on all maps and fixed multiple issues across all missions.
The Silver Chest has also been updated! It now contains rewards from past Battle Pass seasons, allowing you to expand your collection with rare weapons and vehicles, as well as obtain unique soldiers with maximum characteristics! It is available until October 7th (13:00 UTC), so now is the time to try your luck!
That’s not all, more changes await you, such as updated matchmaking rules, desertion penalty adjustments, working hull machine guns on BR I tanks and much more. You can read about the main changes below, but the update also includes numerous additional minor fixes and changes too!
Weapons and soldiers
- Added new weapons:
- M1921AC Thompson (USA BR V, Research)
- Kawaguchiya shotgun (Japan BR I, Research)
- Type 100 bipod (Japan BR II, Premium)
- SVT-40 (AG) (USSR BR IV, Premium)
- The shotgun upgrade now properly reduces the pellet spread.
- Fixed the reload sound of the Type 100 SMG when using perks that affect the reload speed.
- Added an additional spare mag to the Scotti Naval Rifle and the MKb 42(M).
- Increased the base rate of fire of the Scotti Naval Rifle from 570 to 800, removed the Semi-auto firing mode.
- Improved the recoil of the Scotti Naval Rifle, now it’s closer to the Fedorov Avtomat.
- Increased the upgraded rate of fire of the Type 1 SMG (1930) (Japan, Battle Pass): Auto from 570 to 600, Auto Slow from 345 to 400.
- Updated voice acting of Chinese soldiers.
- Added automatic firing mode for the Fedorov rifle (25), which is now the default, removed the 3-round burst firing mode.
- Added multiple new German headgear.
- Added multiple new British headgear.
- Added pants with felt boots for German soldiers.
- Added matching tunic with pea dot camo brown to squads where the helmet was already available.
- Added customization options for the Austen Mk I (USA, Event) squad.
- Added customization options for the PPK-42 (USSR, Event) squad.
- Adjusted the default uniform of the Enfield P14 (T) (USA, Premium) squad in multiple campaigns.
- Added customization options for different campaigns for the Lebel 1886 M93 (Germany, Premium), PPD-40 DSZ (USSR, Premium) and MP 40 silenced (Germany, Event) squads.
- Added new winter uniforms for the StG 45(M) (Germany, Premium) squad.
- Corrected the customization options of the Sd.Kfz.251/9 (Germany, Event) squad in Tunisia.
- Added additional summer and winter poncho customization options for the Beltfed DP (USSR, Premium) squad.
- Changed the Wehrmacht uniform of the Gewehr 41 (Germany, Collectible) squad to a Luftwaffe one.
- Fixed a bug where paratroopers were missing their parachutes in the transport plane.
- Fixed a bug where Japanese soldiers were missing their hair.
- Added a new buildable structure for Engineers of the SVT-40 (AG) squad: AG-2.
- Fixed a bug that caused the shells of the BM-41 mortar to fly sideways.
- Added the ampulomet upgrade to legacy German Flametrooper squads: 275th Pioneer Battalion, 352nd Pioneer Battalion, 220th Pioneer Battalion.
Vehicles
- Added new vehicles:
- IS-1 (‘45) (USSR BR IV, Premium)
- Tiger West (Germany BR IV, Premium)
- Churchill VII (USA BR IV, Research)
- Chi-Nu II (Japan, BR IV, Research)
- Ki-83 (Japan BR IV, Research)
- Changed the BR of multiple vehicles:
- KV-2 (1939): BR IV → III
- KV-2 (1940): BR IV → III
- Sherman IC “Firefly”: BR V → IV
- 8,8 cm Flak 37 Sfl.: BR IV → III
- 15cm sIG 33 B Sfl: BR II → III
- Chi-Ri II: BR V → IV
- Chi-Ha Kai: BR II → I
- Replaced the Churchill VII’s AP shells with APCBC shells.
- Added the Churchill VII to the 48th Royal Tank Regiment (Tanker II, British) squad.
- Added working hull machine guns to several BR I vehicles: BA-11, Pz.III B, Pz.III E, Pz.III J, Pz.38(t) F, M13/40, M14/41, M3 Stuart and M5A1.
- Added a seventh tanker to the M-3 Medium (USSR, Premium) squad.
- Replaced the animations of commanders using the hatch on several tanks.
- The commanders of the M3 Lee and the M-3 Medium tanks can operate their machine guns while they are using the hatch.
- Fixed a bug where the commander of the M18 GMC could clip through the turret.
- Fixed a bug that prevented the gunners of the A-20G-25 AI bombers from firing.
- Removed the graphical artifact from the machine gun of the Breda 88 (P.XI)'s gunner.
- Changed the pilot’s position in the A-20 Boston MK.3 and Fw 190 A-4.
- Fixed the missing firing sound of the Spitfire LF Mk IX’s cannons.
- Updated the model of the Re.2001 CN’s bomb.
- Improved the engine effects of unguided rockets.
- Fixed bug that made it impossible to reload the smoke grenade launcher of the Crusader tank after firing.
UI
- Changed the name of most equipment to a more historically accurate one.
- Added new icons for different backpack types.
- Adjusted the equipment selection part of the UI from two columns to a wider single one.
- Added descriptions for several equipment.
- Redesigned the player profile interface:
- Redesigned the Player tab and the numerical display of stats
- Redesigned the campaign related filters on the Player tab
- Added a colored highlight when hovering over portraits
- Hidden the Posters tab (outdated mechanic) for players who don’t have any posters
- Hidden the Medals tab (outdated mechanic) for players who don’t have any medals
- Complete overhaul of the Military Ranks System screen to a separate tab, moved the reward claim buttons for achieving higher ranks to the new tab
- Redesigned the Achievements tab and added images for all achievements
- It is now possible to search reserve squads by weapon name.
- The BR of weapons and vehicles is now visible on the Research tab.
- Removed the option to disband legacy squads.
- Incognito mode now replaces your own nickname with a random one.
Graphics
- Added ray tracing support for NVIDIA and AMD graphic cards.
- Added unique hit marks for various surfaces.
- Improved the hit marks from tanks, firearms, grenades, mortars, rockets and bombs.
- Some of the tall grass is now considered bushes for the AI to affect their vision and movement.
- Added an effect to lenses that imitates dirtiness.
- Added a shockwave effect to artillery shell and bomb explosions (in water too).
- General optimization and adjustment of effects.
- Fixed a bug that caused trees to disappear before they fell to the ground.
- Plane crashes now leave behind a crater and a temporary fire.
AI
- Improved the navigation of AI soldiers in Burma, Stalingrad, Ardennes (near the train station) and Normandy (inside workshops and boiler rooms).
- Fixed several cases where AI soldiers could see through vegetation when they shouldn’t have.
- Corrected the navigation of AI soldiers inside two-story houses in Moscow.
Locations and missions
- Major rework of the “Kahif cave village” section of Tunisia:
- Improved the look of the village and the surrounding areas
- Adjusted some of the capture points
- Replaced some of the caves with new structures
- Changed the design of most landmarks
- Added additional cover
- Redesigned the tank and infantry routes
- Added new missions: “Wald (Destruction)” and “Alligator Creek (Conquest) Large”.
- Improved the battle areas in the “Hermann Goering strasse (Invasion)” mission.
- Improved the battle areas and the placement of vehicle spawn points in the “Hermann Goering strasse (Assault)” and "Hermann Goering strasse (Destruction) missions.
- Adjusted the flight altitude of AI bombers in Practice mode.
- Fixed bug that made it possible to destroy supply boxes in Tutorial and Practice modes.
- Weapons in Practice mode are now loaded with ammunition (previously magazines were placed near the weapons).
- Improved the placement of the attack direction indicator in the “Le Bre (Conquest)” mission.
- Fixed bug where the attacking team had an unusable spawn point at one of the capture points in the “Lehrter Bahnhof West (Invasion)” and “Lehrter Bahnhof North (Invasion)” missions.
- Adjusted the position of cover on the beach in the “D-Day (Invasion)” mission.
- Fixed bug where players spawned at the main spawn points while there was an available one at the capture point.
- Reworked the physical materials of buildings and objects in order to support the hit mark changes.
- Adjusted the location of certain trees that were clipping into objects on the Seelow Heights location.
- Removed the duplicated bushes on the New Georgia location.
- Fixed the render issue related to the cave entrances on the Burma heartlands and New Georgia locations.
- Fixed the windows of the banquet hall building in “The Reich Chancellery” mission.
- Adjusted the placement of vegetation inside bunkers on the Steel Mill location.
- Corrected the collision of workshops on the Steel Mill location.
- Adjusted the collision of vegetation on several locations.
- Fixed the incorrect position of certain rocks on the New Georgia and Guadalcanal locations.
- Added more cover to capture points and their surroundings in the “Oasis” mission.
- Adjusted the placement of spawn points and battle areas in the “Vysokovo Village (Assault)” mission.
- Changed the placement of the vehicle spawn point when the first capture point is active in the “Alligator Creek South (Invasion)” mission.
- Changed the placement of the vehicle spawn points when the first capture point is active in the “Lehrter Bahnhof West (Invasion)” mission and when the last capture point is active in the “Lehrter Bahnhof North (Invasion)” mission.
- Fixed a bug that caused bushes to detonate explosive projectiles and slow down bullets.
- Adjusted the fog density in the “Seelow Heights” and “Wald” missions.
- Adjusted the corals’ height in the water on the New Georgia location to be less hindering for soldiers and amphibious vehicles.
- Fixed the materials of the dance hall in “The Kroll Opera House” mission.
- Fixed a bug that caused the smoke effects of destroyed tanks to float in the air in Normandy.
- Adjusted the placement of certain spawn points in “The Voskhod settlement” mission.
Other improvements
- The matchmaker now balances the number of squads in teams.
- It is now possible to leave a match without triggering the desertion penalty once per day or after completing four battles.
- Added a scrolling animation when opening a Silver Chest.
- Added BP soldiers of previous seasons with maximum characteristics to the Silver Chest.
- Added BP weapons and vehicles of previous seasons to the Silver Chest.
- Suggestions - Enlisted