Greetings, Commanders!
Batya here with another update on our progress. Your extensive feedback regarding the current beta patch has been incredibly helpful, and we truly appreciate the community’s dedication to refining the experience. After analyzing your comments, we have identified several key areas that require further polish before the official live release—specifically the strategic balance between Germany and the Soviet Union, as well as the behavior of the Naval AI.
Following rigorous internal testing, we have implemented additional refinements to Germany’s AI logic. These changes ensure the AI prioritizes optimal production choices, leading to a more formidable performance. Furthermore, we have slightly increased the Soviet Union’s mastery gain; we will be closely monitoring how these adjustments affect the overall gameplay equilibrium in this latest version.
On the naval front, our focus has shifted toward fleet templates and the AI’s tactical resolve during maritime engagements. While we have made progress, we noted that the AI often withdrew from skirmishes too prematurely, preventing decisive naval battles. To address this, we have modified structural elements such as retreat delays and combat damage. Our goal is to ensure naval combat feels impactful and rewarding, encouraging the AI to commit to vital engagements without making the encounters overly volatile.
We have also revisited Close Air Support (CAS) lethality. By recalibrating Strength and Organization damage closer to their original values, we aim to maintain CAS as a powerful tactical asset while curbing its current tendency to over-perform. Additionally, for our modding community, we’ve introduced customizable dice roll settings to allow for deeper mechanical fine-tuning.
For those focused on the Multiplayer experience, we have introduced several tweaks and are eager to hear your thoughts. We encourage you to organize matches with friends and report back on the flow of the game. When providing multiplayer feedback, please specify whether you are running a vanilla session or utilizing specific mods, as this context is vital for our balancing efforts.
Please ensure your game is updated to the latest beta build: Musketeer v1.17.4.0.d086 (3a52). Dive in, test the changes, and share your impressions with us in the discussion thread.
Don’t forget to report any issues you encounter. You can find our comprehensive bug reporting guidelines here.
Balance Adjustments
- Soviet mastery gain has been adjusted to -15% (previously -50%), though it remains influenced by the Purge.
- The focus duration for SOV_the_means_to_wage_war and SOV_superior_war_machines has been reduced to 35 days, with a corresponding nerf to their provided bonuses.
- Maximum monthly mastery acquisition has been capped at 40 (down from 50).
- Armor mastery gain multiplier increased significantly from 4 to 10.
- Artillery mastery gain multiplier slightly reduced from 10 to 8.
- Reduced Organization and Strength damage for CAS; introduced specific air-to-ground dice roll mechanics.
- Division-level Anti-Air (AA) damage against CAS is now more consistent with fewer performance spikes.
- Division AA now scales more effectively: stronger AA units provide a more significant negation of enemy air superiority.
- Strike forces are now permitted to undergo repairs while stationed in a harbor.
AI Improvements
- Recalibrated AI weights for research concerning armor, aviation, and anti-tank technologies.
- Refined equipment templates for the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Soviet Union.
- Adjusted historical German focus priorities to favor stronger openings and align key events more closely with historical dates.
- The Soviet AI will now prioritize and produce T-34 tanks earlier in the timeline.
- The Soviet Union now places greater emphasis on the T-34 within its division templates and production lines.
- Fine-tuned the Soviet focus selection order to better reflect a realistic historical progression.
- The Ma Cliques will now delay their mutual guarantee focuses until the late game.
- The SIK AI will no longer become a Soviet puppet unless the Soviets maintain full control over all owned states.
- The Soviet AI will now begin the construction of military factories earlier in the game.
- The AI will utilize its reserve fleets to establish new task forces as required.
- The AI now prioritizes mandatory task forces before allocating resources to optional fleet compositions.
Bug Fixes
- Resolved an issue where Yunnan’s decisions would vanish following a change in the focus tree.
- Fixed a bug preventing the Rif from successfully forming Arabia.
- Corrected the “frozen” naval dominance glitch.
- Added a “fire only once” tag to Vandervelde’s death event to prevent repetition.
- Fixed an issue where all AI task forces were incorrectly allowed to split off for repairs; this is now restricted to strike forces.
- Resolved a bug that prevented reserve fleets from navigating to repair bases.