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 | Shield and berserker 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 | Defense and offense styles with deflection, challenges, controlled pressure, Sunder support, and strong dueling identity. |
| Heavy Vibroblade | High-risk offense and heavy defense, including self-sacrifice, large swings, retaliation, and emergency protection. |
| Spear | Damage and disabler styles with interrupts, Force disruption, flanking bonuses, and positional pressure. |
| Twin Blade | Cyclone and duelist 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 Venom Current 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 | Gunslinger and skirmisher styles with quick shots, multi-shot pressure, interrupts, close-range bursts, smoke, and finishing attacks. |
| Rifle | Marksman and pacification styles with aimed shots, piercing rounds, suppressive fire, tranquilizers, and battlefield control. |
| Throwing | Bombardier and deadeye styles with explosives, flash effects, pins, firebursts, precise throws, and finishing tosses. |
| 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. |
| 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. |
| 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. |