Design Bible: Combat Upgrade Design Bible
| Status | Preview |
|---|---|
| Release Date | TBD |
| NWSync Hash | TBD |
Contributors: John Republic, Girlfailure, jax, Ryudo, AsuraKing, flyingaces, forsakenreaver, Hazin, pastius, Announcer, Witch Time
This is a plain-English preview of the upcoming combat upgrade. These changes are not live yet. The exact release date and NWSync hash will be added when the update is ready to deploy.
Every weapon skill is being updated. The short version is that each one should have a clearer playstyle and fewer unnecessary active buttons.
| Skill | What To Expect |
|---|---|
| Vibroblade | Bulwark and Frenzy styles with blocking, cleaving, guard support, and durable front-line options. |
| Vibroknife | Saboteur and Shadow styles with poisons, vulnerable targets, movement control, shutdowns, and burst windows. |
| Lightsaber | Severance and Ward styles with deflection, challenges, controlled pressure, and strong dueling identity. |
| Heavy Vibroblade | Immortal and Berserker styles with self-sacrifice, large swings, retaliation, and emergency protection. |
| Spear | Vigor and Disabler styles with interrupts, Force disruption, flanking bonuses, and positional pressure. |
| Twin Blade | Cyclone and Lacerator styles with spinning attacks, rapid pressure, counters, and one-on-one payoff abilities. |
| Saberstaff | Conduit and Tempest styles with sweeping attacks, Force-focused control, channeling, and burst releases. |
| Katar | Iron Guard and Scrapper styles with guard counters, defensive martial pressure, shocks, toxins, and control effects. |
| Staff | Crusher and Sentinel styles with knockdowns, line attacks, sheltering allies, guarded hits, and heavy blunt damage. |
| Pistol | Gambler and Skirmisher styles with quick shots, multi-shot pressure, interrupts, close-range bursts, smoke, and finishing attacks. |
| Rifle | Marksman and Suppression styles with aimed shots, piercing rounds, suppressive fire, tranquilizers, and battlefield control. |
| Throwing | Ordnance and Flurry styles with explosives, flash effects, pins, firebursts, precise throws, and finishing tosses. |
Several individual weapon abilities also have clearer feedback, including Vibroknife telegraphs and sound feedback, Staff Crusher area effects, and Rifle targeting and impact animation behavior.
| Skill | What To Expect |
|---|---|
| Force | Light, Dark, and Universal Force lines have been rebuilt. Light gains more direct combat options, Dark keeps stronger raw damage and drain identity, and Universal powers such as Force Push, Force Leap, Mind Trick, and Throw Lightsaber remain broadly useful. Throw Lightsaber's animation is also returning. Force Judgment, Force Sanctuary, Force Spark, Force Drain, Force Push, Force Leap, Eclipse of Resolve, Weaken Resolve, Radiant Lance, Guardian Ward, and Creeping Terror also have clearer targeting, visuals, sounds, or balance. |
| Devices | Grenades, shields, fields, beacons, gadgets, flamethrowers, rockets, sonic tools, and new energy attacks are rebalanced. Each Devices category should cost the same total skill points to complete. Grenades, beacons, fields, Emergency Bunker, and device area effects have clearer targeting, visuals, and behavior. |
| Leadership | Leadership now leans harder into auras, commands, and ally support. Auras such as Rallying Standard, Coordinated Focus, Charge Order, Watchful Presence, Steady Formation, and Field Recovery use the aura system. Rousing Shout now helps living allies and no longer competes with First Aid as a revive tool. |
| First Aid | First Aid remains the main healing, revive, cleanse, and emergency recovery skill, with updates to kits, mists, resuscitation, infusions, stims, shields, suppressants, antitoxins, and emergency cocktails. Kolto Mist and Emergency Triage ranges, First Aid visuals and sounds, and Emergency Sealant behavior are also changing. Treatment Kit healing counts more reliably for combat support. |