PlanetSide 2 August ‘Valkyrie’ update delayed, but here are the patch notes

By
Matt Liebl
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SOE has announced that the August update for PlanetSide 2 — the one that will add the new Valkyrie vehicle — has been postponed. It was originally due out on Wednesday, August 27. No new date has been scheduled as of yet, but we'll be sure to keep an eye out for one.

While the 6-person Valkyrie aircraft is the main attraction in the August update, there are also a ton of other features, updates, and bugfixes, including new Ribbons and Medals, updates to Hossin, and weapon balancing. Below are the full patch notes.

Valkyrie
A new NS vehicle is now available at standard aircraft terminals, the Valkyrie!

The Valkyrie is a six person aircraft used for close air support and transportation. It is crewed by a pilot and a forward gunner with room for four additional rumble seat passengers. These passengers sit in open seats on the side of the Valkyrie which allows them to use their personal equipment while in flight.

New Ribbons and Medals

  • Mentorship Ribbon – Awarded to players in a squad who are above BR 20. Awarded by being within 50m of a squadmate who is at or under BR 20 for every 200 squad bonus XP that squadmate earns.
  • Drill Sergeant Ribbon – Awarded to squad leaders. This ribbon is awarded every time a player under Battle Rank 20 gains a battle rank in the squad. Requires the squad leader to be within 300m of the player to receive the ribbon.
  • Squad Leadership Ribbon – Awarded to squad leaders. This ribbon is awarded for every 500 squad bonus XP generated by players in the squad. Requires the squad leader to be within 300m to receive credit towards the ribbon.
  • Platoon Leadership Ribbon – Awarded to Platoon leaders. This ribbon is awarded for every 3 squad leadership ribbons earned by other squad leaders in the platoon.
  • Platoon Conquest Ribbon – Awarded to Platoon Leaders. Ribbon is awarded for every 30 platoon members involved in a capture in the same region as the platoon leader. Partial credit is awarded, so platoons smaller than 30 can still receive the ribbon through more captures, and platoons larger than 30 can earn more credit towards the next ribbon. It requires at least 10 enemies to be present at the time of the capture in order to receive any credit.

Hossin Updates 

  • The following Hossin bases are no longer under construction:

    • Edgewater Overlook
    • Last Hold
    • SRP Nanite Relay Station
    • Bridgewater Shipping Yard
    • The Offal Pit
  • Plus we fixed a ton of bugs.

Alerts

  • Removed Adversarial Alerts and reverted to the previous alert implementation:

    • Alerts trigger based on time
    • Alerts have a maximum duration of 2 hours
    • The empire with the most territory control at the end of the alert wins and locks the continent

Weapons / Balance

  • Increased harasser resistance to canister rounds from 69% to 76%
  • Canister reticule is now NC colored
  • Vulcan reticule now uses a red circle (shotgun style)
  • PPA projectiles can no longer shoot through gate shields
  • NC08 Mag-Scatter: Toned down recoil when firing in iron sights
  • Gauss Prime (NC assault rifle directive reward)

    • Improved hip cone of fire

      • Crouch reduced from 2.0 to 1.8
      • Crouch-walking and stand reduced from 2.5 to 2.4
      • Running hip COF unchanged. Remains at 3.0
    • Faster equip time, from 0.78 to 0.75 seconds
    • Recoil min/max angle changed from 23/25 to 17.25/18.75
    • Fixed semi-auto fire mode having higher recoil than full-auto
  • 19A Fortuna (NC carbine directive reward)

    • Fixed muzzle velocity being faster in the semi-auto fire mode
  • NC6A GODSAW (NC LMG directive reward)

    • Removed Barrel Attachment

      • Horizontal recoil increased from 0.14875 to 0.175
      • Cone of fire bloom per shot reduced from 0.168/0.084 Hip-fire/Aimed to 0.14/0.07
    • Added High Velocity Ammunition
  • The Moonshot (NC sniper rifle directive reward)

    • Long reload is faster, from 5.575 to 5.0 seconds
    • Short Reload is faster, from 4.72 to 3.86 seconds
    • Faster equip time, from 0.95 to 0.85 seconds
    • Stand-moving hip accuracy improved from 7.0 to 6.75
    • Crouch-moving hip accuracy reduced from 6.0 to 6.25
    • Minimum damage range reduced from 335 to 325 meters
  • The Executive (NC pistol directive reward)

    • Removed hip cone of fire penalty

      • Crouch and stand COF reduced from 1.2 to 1.0
      • Crouch-moving and stand-moving COF reduced from 1.8 to 1.5
  • T1A Unity (TR assault rifle directive reward)

    • Removed compensator
    • Replaced Velocity Ammunition with Soft Point Ammunition
  • TRAC-Shot (TR carbine directive reward)

    • Fixed muzzle velocity being faster in the semi-auto fire mode
  • T9A "Butcher" (TR LMG directie reward)

    • Removed barrel attachment

      • Hip cone of fire bloom reduced from 0.12 to 0.1
      • Aimed cone of fire bloom reduced from 0.06 to 0.05
      • Vertical recoil increased from 0.85 to 0.9
      • Horizontal min/max recoil increased from 0.19125/0.19125 to 0.225/0.225
    • Added Soft Point Ammunition
  • Bighorn .50M (TR Sniper directive reward)

    • Long reload is faster, from 5.575 to 5.0 seconds
    • Short Reload is faster, from 4.72 to 3.86 seconds
    • Faster equip time, from 0.95 to 0.85 seconds
    • Stand-moving hip accuracy improved from 7.0 to 6.75
    • Crouch-moving hip accuracy reduced from 6.0 to 6.25
    • Minimum damage range reduced from 335 to 325 meters
  • The President (TR pistol directive reward)

    • Removed hip cone of fire penalty

      • Crouch COF reduced from 1.2 to 1.0
      • Crouch-moving and standing COF reduced from 1.8 to 1.5
      • Stand-moving COF reduced from 2.4 to 2.0
    • Fixed muzzle audio not being suppressed when firing in semi-auto
  • Darkstar (VS assault rifle directive reward)

    • Removed High Velocity Ammunition
    • Added heat mechanic
    • Equip time lowered from 0.78 to 0.75 seconds
    • Hip COF improved

      • Crouch reduced from 2.0 to 1.8
      • Crouch-walking and stand reduced from 2.5 to 2.4
    • Recoil angle changed from 17/20 min/max to 12.75/15
    • Fixed semi-auto fire mode having higher recoil than full-auto
  • Eclipse VE3A (VS carbine directive reward)

    • Removed soft point ammunition
    • Added heat mechanic
    • Fixed the underbarrel shotgun not being equipped on the weapon in certain conditions
  • Betelgeuse 54-A (VS LMG directive reward)

    • Removed barrel attachment

      • Min/max horizontal recoil increased from 0.17/0.19125 to 0.2/0.225
      • Horizontal recoil tolerance increased from 0.85 to 0.9
      • Hip cone of fire bloom per shot reduced from 0.12 to 0.1
      • Aimed cone of fire bloom per shot reduced from 0.06 to 0.05
    • Added Soft Point Ammunition

      • This is going Live with the August update but was unintentional; it will be removed in a hotfix
    • Added heat mechanic
  • Parsec VX3-A (VS sniper rifle directive reward)

    • Long reload is faster, from 5.575 to 5.0 seconds
    • Short Reload is faster, from 4.72 to 3.86 seconds
    • Faster equip time, from 0.95 to 0.85 seconds
    • Stand-moving hip accuracy improved from 7.0 to 6.75
    • Crouch-moving hip accuracy reduced from 6.0 to 6.25
    • Minimum damage range reduced from 335 to 325 meters
  • The Immortal (VS pistol directive reward)

    • Removed hip cone of fire penalty

      • Crouch and stand COF reduced from 1.2 to 1.0
      • Crouch-moving and stand-moving COF reduced from 1.8 to 1.5

Quality of Life/Misc

  • Death Recap screen updates

    • Iterated to include buttons for changing your spawn point and quick spawning.
    • These buttons can now be mapped to specific keys.
    • The quick deploy button is now a toggle and was renamed Auto Spawn to indicate this functionality.
  • Sunderer Deployment shield now has an attachment visual and associated particle effects.
  • A new Hossin-themed camo bundle has been added to the Bundles section of the Depot.
  • Players will now be notified when the sunderer that they last spawned at has been damaged or destroyed.
  • Updated the seating locations on the Sunderer HUD image to be similar to where you actually sit in the vehicle.
  • Players are again invulnerable inside the Warp Gates.
  • Auraxium Decimator now has Auraxium explosion.
  • The Liberator and the Galaxy have had their physics updated with lower centers of gravity. They are now harder to flip over on less graceful takeoffs and landings.
  • Inverted reverse steering is now on by default for tanks.
  • The time and date of an outfit’s base capture has been added to the score screen.
  • It is now possible for up to 4 continents to unlock automatically based on server population. Previously, only up to 3 continents would unlock automatically.
  • All Auraxiam weapons now default to iron sights (6x scopes for sniper rifles) and have optics available for purchase.
  • NS AutoBlade now has Medals and Ribbons.
  • Outfits that have not had any player participation since January 1 have been removed.
  • Still reading? Good for you. Over halfway there!

PMC (Performance/Memory/Crashes)

  • Fixed an issue where players could end up in a bad state of hit registration after reloading and firing exactly as the reload ended.
  • Fixed an issue where objects from one zone would sometimes appear in a different zone.
  • Fixed a crash where textures could be unloaded while still in use.
  • Fixed an issue where graphical artifacts could appear after unlocking the machine.
  • Better management of terrain object memory.
  • Fixed a possible crash while loading actors.
  • Zone performance: Better tuning of some data structures.
  • Zone performance: Throttling client request for profile stats to a 30 second maximum.
  • Zone performance: Better caching of vehicles and other types of objects.
  • Zone Performance: Some fixes identified during profiling.
  • Zone Performance: Changes to object-to-object awareness system.
  • World performance: Better tuning of some data structures.
  • Fixed a hitch issue

Bugs Fixed

Everything listed below has been addressed

  • Fixed a bunch of stuck bugs on Amerish.
  • Special thanks to KleenexTRissues for finding nearly 100 Stuck Bugs on the Test Server!
  • Fixed a bunch of stuck bugs on Esamir.
  • Fixed an issue where hit detection would get into a bad state after switching weapons instantly after reload was completed.
  • Fixed Magrider PPA having incorrect icon in the depot.
  • Claymores will now be displayed correctly on the death recap screen.
  • [=] activates cruise control while player in chat or /bug screen
  • Amerish: Crux Mining Operation: Non-functioning gravity lift in front of a teleporter at /loc 1161.150 114.520 3135.640
  • Amerish: Lithcorp Secure Mine: Invisible gravity lift located in front of the spawn room teleporter
  • Amerish: Lithcorp Secure Mine: Players can get stuck in a hole in the mountains at /loc 1796.350586 162.261887 -1212.928589 1.491549
  • Amerish: Shrouded Skyway: Rock textures don't go to the ground near /loc 68.840 58.160 -3264.210
  • Amerish: Sungrey Amp: Spawn room tunnel shield is not aligned with exit
  • Fixed a handful of broken Grav Lifts on Amerish
  • Auraxium Armor: NC MAX has very little coverage in the back
  • Fixed the skinning on Auraxium Sunderer Lumifibers
  • Blank blue screen displays just before the initial loading screen
  • Charge ability meter is empty when players switch to/resupply MAXes
  • Client becomes unresponsive if it times out due to inactivity
  • Collision: When crouching next to any type of collision you cannot stand up till you move away from it
  • Coming soon camos are displaying on sale for 50% off
  • Commissioner: Reload does not play audio
  • Directive score displays incorrectly on death screen
  • Fixed the floating teleport room shields on Esamir Biolabs
  • Esamir: Freyr Amp Station: Gravity tunnel shield does not cover exit point properly
  • Collision can be breached here /loc 1083.680 18.840 -1602.570
  • Galaxy wing turrets now have collision
  • Players can clip into containers and shoot out
  • Tech Plants: Clipping through the walls at tech plants
  • Harasser: Other: Windshields have a permanent green/forest camo applied
  • Hossin: Chac Intel Hub: Deploying to this facility will spawn you directly on the capture point
  • Hossin: Chac Water Purification: Deploying at the facility spawns you underground
  • Hossin: Facility contention discrepancies on map
  • Hossin: Hurakan Western Pass: Spawn tube is on the same location as the teleporter
  • Hossin: Ixtab Power Regulation: the spawn room teleporter is in the wrong corner
  • IFF shields are inconsistent between spawn rooms and air towers
  • Extended Sunderer No Deploy area at East Canyon Checkpoint
  • Infiltrators can stay perma cloaked on a flash if entering the vehicle when activating cloak
  • Fixed missing word in the description of some proximity radars.
  • Mani Fortress point can be captured from the outside of the point room
  • Medics are unable to revive other players if they die on top of a vehicle pad
  • NC Weapon: Hawk GD-68: Weapon is missing tint mask
  • NC: AF-4A Bandit: Rail attachments clip through the weapon
  • NC: Combat Medics cannot equip Suits
  • NS Weapon: NS Annihilator: Glass eyepiece appears to be made of metal
  • NS-15M: Weapon is missing textures
  • Objects floating in the sky at random locations
  • Outfit Browser: Members online label is being displayed as a string
  • Fixed bug that caused the Phobos VX86 shotgun to appear completely black
  • POI: HUD elements can completely obscure PCs which inhibits gameplay
  • Quick Spawn: LMB or RMB also initiate quick respawn
  • Skin clips through the left side of the neck with open wasp helmet
  • Strange cache issue with previously viewed GUIs when interacting with terminals
  • The reload circle animation on the main HUD does not display for the Mosquito
  • TORQ-9: Fixed attachments showing a second unlock button after being purchased with SC
  • Tracking bug: Broken state on the death screen clicking through a revive attempt
  • Tutorial: IFF Shield is not the color of your faction
  • UI: Unnecessary facility icon displays on screen
  • Vivox: Audio chat does not work reliably
  • VR Room: NC15 Phoenix missile pass through dummies
  • Blast damage will now hit VR zone targets.
  • VR Training now has a description in the Warp Terminal.
  • VS: Magrider: Proton II PPA displays wrong icon on Item Purchase screens
  • VS: Pistol: Cerberus: Weapon is barely audible
  • VS: Weapons: Phaseshift VS-S charge animation is broken in 1P/3P
  • C4 sticking to infantry
  • Removed the NS banners at Eisa Mountain Pass
  • Fixed a bad LOD for the A30 Walker
  • Moved wall blocking access to turret at Ixtab.
  • Fixed the Smart-Choke attachment showing as a Suppressor before being unlocked on the the new NC08 Mag-Scatter pistol.
  • Fixed Spawn Beacon timer reduction certifications not applying to the squad leader.
  • Fixed Spawn Beacon timer resetting for the squad leader when other squad members spawn on the beacon.

Known Issues

  • Firing a Phoenix from a Valkyrie rumble seat may hit the Valkyrie you are in. Friends don't let friends fire wired guided missiles inside aircraft.
  • Decals on the Valkyrie may appear stretched.
  • We're looking into ways to help mitigate firing sway on the Valkyrie rumble seats.
  • PS4 codebase integration side effects:
  • There may be some new input issues (unable to map keys etc); we caught a lot of them but some may have slipped out
  • Visibility issues (objects not occluding properly); with our Umbra upgrade we may have some problems here where objects either occlude too much or not enough.

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