Update 2.0: Solo & Co-op Star Expedition, New Unit Centurion!

Greetings, Commanders!

As Mechabellum approaches the 2nd anniversary of its official release, we are thrilled to bring you the largest update yet: Mechabellum 2.0!

We've essentially packed an entire "New Game" into this major update, featuring:

• Star Expedition: A brand-new mode blending Rogue-lite elements with asynchronous battles, playable both solo and co-op.
• Centurion: A versatile new mech built to shake up the battlefield!
• Expanded Arsenal: New Reinforcement Cards, Techs, and Specialists!
• Mechabellum Free Edition: The perfect entry point for newcomers to jump into the action!

First, let's take a look at the Update 2.0 trailer:

To ensure the stable release of Update 2.0, this update will require an extended period of server maintenance. We will conduct update maintenance on the servers on September 21 at 06:00 UTC (02:00 Eastern Daylight Time, 08:00 Central European Summer Time), which will last approximately 6 to 10 hours.

Let's dive deeper into the content of this massive update:

New Mode: Star Expedition (Solo or Co-op)

For a long time, many players have been asking for a mode with no time pressure, high replayability, and the option to team up with friends. Star Expedition is our answer to that call. In this brand-new game mode, you will embark on a journey to conquer 9 planets, facing challenges in battles filled with random variables, taking on mirrored builds from real players worldwide, and unlocking rich Star Expedition rewards that can reshape your subsequent playthroughs — all while enjoying an immersive, strategic experience.

• Solo & 2-Player Co-op: You can embark on the Star Expedition solo or team up with a friend. In 2-Player Co-op, both commanders each lead their own army into a merged battlefield, coordinating their deployment tactics and facing the enemy together.
• Varied Star Adventures: Continuously changing units, tech, and reinforcements, along with a variety of real player mirrors, will comprehensively test your ability to respond to unknown battle situations.
• Untimed Asynchronous Battles: The asynchronous battle mechanic provides limitless planning time. Take all the time you need to strategize without the pressure of a countdown timer!
• Plentiful Star Expedition Rewards: Each expedition yields unique loot that you can equip to gain an advantage in your next expedition.
• Multi-dimensional Leaderboard: Star Expedition has leaderboards for World Rank, Division Rank and Friend Rank, where you can compete with other commanders in your preferred dimension.

Developer's Note: The new Star Expedition mode introduces 42 new Reinforcements, 27 new Assets, and a wealth of other new content. We plan to port the suitable parts of these elements into Standard Versus in the future. Additionally, the mode does not currently support saving and quitting mid-expedition or lobby spectating. We do plan to implement these features in future updates.

Free Edition

To let more players enjoy Mechabellum, the Free Edition will be available on Steam starting September 22 alongside the 2.0 launch.

• Free Edition availability: Starting from September 22, a new "Play Mechabellum - Free Edition" button will appear on the Mechabellum Steam store page.
• Zero-Barrier trial: Free Edition players can enjoy the vast majority of the game's content for free and upgrade to the full version whenever they like. All progress will carry over.
• Minor restrictions: Free Edition players have limited access to public chat, less Star Expedition warehouse capacity, a slower acquisition rate for cosmetic rewards, and reduced unlock speed for Tech Points.

New Unit: Centurion

Equipped with a precision rifle, the Centurion can strike enemies from long range, dual-wield rifles for mid-range suppression, or even switch to Melee Mode and charge into enemy lines. With a host of exclusive Tech upgrades, the Centurion will play a truly unique role on the battlefield!

Below are Centurion's Techs:

• [Range Enhancement]: Range increased by 40m.
• [Melee Mode]: Equips powerful melee weaponry, but cannot carry spare ammo. The rifle magazine holds 20 rounds. Upon ammo depletion, the Centurion switches to melee mode and charges at the enemy: Movement Speed increases by 18, HP and ATK increase by 300%, Attack Interval increases by 0.8 seconds, and attacks deal 9-meter Splash Damage.
• [Dual Wield]: The Centurion wields a rifle in each hand, capable of attacking two enemies simultaneously, but range decreases by 25.
• [Summon Hounds]: At the start of battle, summons 2 Hounds of the same level as the Centurion.
• [Tracking Missiles]: Fires 4 tracking missiles at distant enemy ground targets every 5 seconds. Each missile deals 800 damage, with a maximum range of 160 meters and a minimum range of 60 meters.
• [Reactive Armor]: Reduces incoming damage by 80%, up to 5 times.

Seasons & Rank

Starting in Season 9 with the release of Update 2.0, Seasonal Rewards will be completely decoupled from Combat Power:

• Purer Ladder Experience: Combat Power will strictly reflect your rank progress, no longer gating Seasonal Rewards.
• Reward Distribution: Seasonal and Cosmetic Rewards will now be distributed through the brand-new "Battle Contract" system and can be unlocked in any of the game modes, including Star Expedition.

New System: Battle Contract

Battle Contract is a brand-new system introduced in the 2.0 version. Battle Contracts are divided into two types: the "Standard Battle Contract", which is completely free for all players, and the "Elite Battle Contract", which is purchasable.

Standard Battle Contract (Free)

Standard Battle Contracts are regularly distributed to all commanders. The first Standard Battle Contract is the [2nd Anniversary Contract], which includes many 2nd Anniversary exclusive Cosmetics. Commanders can earn the various rewards listed in the contract simply by playing the game in any mode. Additionally, we add new rewards to the Standard Battle Contract every few weeks.

Elite Battle Contract (Purchasable)

Elite Battle Contracts are purchasable DLCs. Upon purchase, players instantly receive 3 exclusive skins and can unlock additional content by continuing to play. Elite Battle Contracts never expire. This update introduces the first 4 Elite Battle Contracts:

Dieselpunk - Overlord

Dieselpunk - Steel Ball

Royal - Sabertooth

Royal - Phoenix

Mechabellum: Golden Age Edition

We are also launching the new Golden Age Edition bundle on September 22 as part of the 2.0 launch. This bundle includes the Mechabellum Premium Edition and four brand-new Elite Battle Contracts introduced in this update.

New System: Career

We added the new Career Panel, which combines the previous Career Statistics, Combat Record, Prediction Record, and Medals. Everything is now in one place!

New System: Loading Screen

Now players can collect, manage, and showcase their favorite Loading Screens within the game.

New Feature: Friends Leaderboard

Now commanders can conveniently compete to see who ranks high on a Leaderboard of only their Friends. Who is the top dog in your social group?

Hangar Visual & Interaction Revamp

The Hangar (Unit Modification) has received a full visual and control upgrade:

• Hold Left Mouse Button: Freely rotate the unit 360 degrees.
• Hold Right Mouse Button: Orbit the camera to inspect unit details from any angle.

Now onto the balance changes in Update 2.0!

Standard Versus - Balance Adjustments

Variants

If either player has a large number of a certain unit, that unit's Variant Card will no longer appear in Reinforcement. Developer's Note: This adjustment will make the appearance of Variant Cards fairer, while also clearing the way for us to buff some Variant Cards in the future.

Battlefield Powers

• [Nuke]: Cost 350 → 250, added a 1-round preparation time.
• [Lightning Storm]: Cost 350 → 250, added a 1-round preparation time.
• [Ion Blast]: Cost 250 → 200, added a 1-round preparation time.

Developer's Note: One round of preparation makes strategic exchanges around strong Battlefield Powers more tactical. The side selecting a strong Battlefield Power must weigh whether the current round's economic loss is worth it, while opponents can prepare in advance for these incoming strikes.

Specialist

• New Specialist [Small Equipment Specialist]: At the start of each round, gain 1 piece of random Small Equipment.
• [Missile Specialist]: At Round 2, gain 2 Missile Strikes for free → At Round 3, gain 1 Heavy Missile for free that replaces the 2 Missile Strikes from Round 2.

Reinforcement

• New Equipment [Secondary Laser Sights]: Units equipped with this item gain +8 Range.
• New Equipment [Secondary Fire Control System]: Units equipped with this item gain +25% ATK.
• New Equipment [Secondary Heavy Armor]: Units equipped with this item gain +25% HP.
• New Reinforcement [Mass-Produced Laser Sights]: Gain 3 Secondary Laser Sights.
• New Reinforcement [Mass-Produced Fire Control System]: Gain 3 Secondary Fire Control Systems.
• New Reinforcement [Mass-Produced Heavy Armor]: Gain 3 Secondary Heavy Armor.
• New Reinforcement [Burst Ammo]: Increases the Splash Damage range of attacks by 5m.
• New Reinforcement [Equipment Expansion]: Increases the number of equipment a unit can equip to 2.

Vortex

• New Tech [Machine Learning]: Increases XP gain rate by 100%.
• [Grid Integration]: Cost 250 → 300
• HP 7425 → 8538 (+15%)
• ATK 1309 → 1570 (+20%)
• Attack Interval 1.5s → 1.8s

Developer's Note: After the adjustment, Vortex's anti-swarm ability will be weaker, so it will become weaker in later rounds. In the meantime, it will also become stronger in early Rounds due to its high ATK and DEF.

Sabertooth

• New Tech [Anti-Air Missile]: Fires 1 Anti-Air Missile every 3s at airborne enemies; each missile deals 2000 damage.
• [Secondary Armament]: Cost 200 → 300
• HP 14886 → 14142 (-5%)
• ATK 6881 → 6537 (-5%)

Developer's Note: As the Sabertooth's Techs become more powerful, we need to slightly nerf its base stats. We are still closely monitoring Sabertooth's performance and may make further adjustments to it in the future.

Crawler

• HP 263 → 250 (-5%)
• [Subterranean Blitz]: Damage reduction 45% → 40%

Developer's Note: Compared to other small units, Crawler's pick rate is a bit too high.

Void Eye

• ATK 995 → 1144 (+15%)
• HP 1522 → 1370 (-10%)

Developer's Note: The adjusted Void Eye will lean more toward a damage dealer.

Fang

• [Portable Shield]: Cost 500 → 450

Phantom Ray

• [Stealth]: Cost 100 → 150

Tarantula

• HP 14773 → 14034 (-5%)

2v2

• Removed the "Siege" map from 2v2 Matchmaking, but it can still be selected in 2v2 custom rooms.

Performance Optimization

• Optimized performance for all in-game text boxes and fonts.

Interface Optimization

• The Multi-player Lobby UI has been revamped, and players can now see their Rank more easily.
• Community and Replays panel is now located in the menu in the top-right corner.

Bugfixes

• Fixed incorrect interactions between stealth units and flying units.
• Fixed multiple display issues.
• Fixed an issue where Secondary Weapons were not affected by Research Center Buffs. Techs affected by this: Rhino [Whirlwind], Wraith [Floating Artillery Array], Melting Point [Energy Diffraction], Hacker [Multi Control], Fire Badger [Scorching Charge], Raiden [Fork], Experimental Death Knell [Hyper Diffraction]

Developer's Note: This fix will affect the strength of a large number of Techs, and we expect some of them to be nerfed after collecting more data in the future.

Wrapping Up

That's all for the highlights of Update 2.0 !

September 22. Engines roar, and the Star Expedition is about to begin! Commanders, we'll see you on the unforgiving battlefields of the 2.0 era!

Feedback & Bug Reports

Feel free to submit feedback, suggestions, or report bugs for this update via the following channels.

• Mechabellum Discord: https://discord.gg/mechabellum
• Mechabellum Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Mechabellum/
• Mechabellum Steam Discussions: https://steamcommunity.com/app/669330/discussions/