Boom Beach Frontlines has announced its first major update since it was soft-launched. In the recently released Boom Radio video, the game studio revealed all the changes coming to the game. The December 2021 update brings some massive changes. The game introduces some new HQ levels, new cards, better matchmaking, and balance changes. Here is the full patch notes breakdown of the Boom Beach Frontlines Boom Radio December 2021 update.
Boom Beach Frontlines Radio Boom December 2021 Update Patch Notes
Season 2: Hunting Season
The update brings with it the second season for the Boom Pass which has been renamed Beach Pass. Season 2 “Hunting Season” will last for a month and will have 70 tiers. The perks for season 2 remain the same, i.e. all-new cards that players unlock will be automatically upgraded to their HQ levels, a 10% coin boost to all players of the team, and extra big boxes for each tier after tier 70.
Hunting season will introduce two new cards: Tank Hunter and Baby Boom and three new maps. Operations and stars will now refresh every two and a half hours instead of four hours.
- Tank Hunter is a fast paced long ranged vehicle that primarily serves the purpose of taking out enemy armoured vehicles as it does twice the damage to enemy vehicles as compared to other structures. It has low health, therefore, it needs to engage at a distance.
- Baby Boom, is the miniature version of the Boom Canon and it joins other baby defence structures, baby mortar and baby turret. Baby Boom deals extra damage against armours and when deployed it will auto lock on enemy vehicles and defence structures, making it great for offence as well as defence.
New HQ Level: Battle Tempo
With the introduction of the new HQ level, the maximum level that all cards in the game can reach is increasing from level 10 to level 11. Adam, the lead designer for the game clarified that the developers intend to increase the maximum level each time a new HQ is added. HQ 9 adds four new cards:
- Gatling Truck: A fast maneuvering vehicle with a very fast firing rate, the gatling truck is a vehicle designed to quickly eliminate enemies infantry units. The vehicle has a medium amount of health making it vulnerable to Zooka.
2. Grunt Post: Operated by an Elite grunt, Grunt post is a medium ranged fast-firing base defense. A unique ability of this defense structure is that it spawns an elite grunt on being destroyed. The elite grunt is spawned even if your outpost is destroyed.
3. Battle Boost: A common powerup that plays battle tunes to inspire friendly units. On deploying the powerup players standing inside the circle all players will get their stats buff. The buff includes 35% increased movement speed, 20% increase in the rate of fire and reload speed and 20% increased damage.
4. Booster: After Medic, players will have access to another support unit, Booster. She is a nimble troop who blows her bugle to buff ally troops, vehicles, and defenses. Her boost has the same stats as the battle booster powerup.
Similar to Medic she is not able to damage the enemies but she can buff multiple allies at once whereas Medic can only heal one character at a time.
New Card: Repair Laser
Players will have access to the new powerup, Repair Laser at HQ 7 and above. The powerup deploys a building that heals friendly buildings and vehicles. It lasts for 45 seconds or until it is destroyed by the enemy and heals the building or vehicle that has taken the most damage. Repair Laser has higher effectiveness for vehicles meaning it heals vehicles faster in comparison to buildings.
Two New Box types
Quickdraw and Premium boxes are being added to the game. Quickdraw boxes offer the players a chance to choose from one of two cards being offered. This will allow players to pick the cards they want to upgrade or unlock.
The second box being added is the Premium box.
Balance Changes
Spray Targeting mechanics reworked
The targeting mechanics for flamer, scorcher, and meditank, the booster is changing to make it easier to lock onto multiple targets. Spray weapons will no longer snap & lock onto your target which lets players smoothly switch between targets. On the flip side, it might require more effort to keep up with fast-moving units in close quarters.
Lobbed targeting improvements
Added projectile lead-time to the following units:
- Mortar (0.4-sec lead)
- Baby Mortar (0.4-sec lead)
- Mortar Bike (0.4-sec lead)
- Fire Lobster (0.3-sec lead)
- Fire Bomber (0.3-sec lead)
- Cluster (0.2 sec lead)
Similar to Rocket Launcher now all the aforementioned units will predict enemy movement for better accuracy.
- Zooka – Range decreased by 9% (15.8 to 14.5).
- Armored Car – Increased movement speed while aiming (75% to 85%). Magazine size increased by 1 (7 to 8).
- Heal – Cost increased by 50 munitions (600 to 650).
- Mortar Bike – Cost decreased by 100 munitions (850 to 750). Minimum attack range (aka ‘deadzone’) decreased – this means you can shoot at things that are closer to you.
- Heavy – Reload time reduced by 10% (5s to 4.5s). Starting accuracy slightly increased. Movement speed while aiming increased (40% to 50%).
- Cluster – Health increased by 8%. Reload time reduced by 25% (2.5 sec per bomb to 2 sec per bomb). Max range increased by 12%.
- Flamer – Health increased by 9%. Movement speed while aiming increased (70% to 80%). Damage per shot increased (15%, 13 to 15), ammo capacity decreased (15%, 60 to 50). Sustained DPS remains similar (a bit higher) while burst damage is noticeably higher.
Boom Beach Frontlines December 2021 Update: Game Changes/Quality of Life Improvements
Spawn Zone Invunerabilty
Players will no longer receive damage as long as they’re inside the spawn zone, this change is introduced to counter spawn trapping.
- Improved Bot AI
- Improved targeting behaviour for lobbed defences
- Tweaked the bot replacement mechanic when a new player joins the match
Matchmaking Changes
The following matchmaking changes were released on 4th November 2021 :
- Players with high MMR (Matchmaking Rate) should see dramatically fewer matches with bots.
- New players should not be pulled into higher-level games immediately
- Slightly increased queue times
- Fewer matches where you join after a game has started.
In addition to this, some more changes have been made and the team is working on improving the matchmaking further with future updates.
The team is also working on making the map loadouts fair for everyone.
Squad Improvements
Players can now send a friend request from the battle leaderboard, more information regarding the in-game status of friends has been added. The update also eases the process of sending and interacting with squad requests.
Return of 4×4 Boom Radio
Players when travelling in the 4×4 can listen to music. This feature was in the game during the first alpha playtest but was later removed. The driver of the vehicle has control of the radio.
Player Tags
Players may have noticed teammates or opponents with CC or SA tags before player names. CC tags are reserved for certified content creators while SA tags are for Space Ape employees.
New Regions for Soft Launch?
Currently, the team at Space Ape Games is working on adding new elements, features to the game while refining the gaming experience. The team wants the game to be the best possible state for new players. More details regarding new countries to be added in the soft launch phase will be revealed in Q2 2022.
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