Sneak peek: PvP Overhaul

Hello everyone!

It’s time to reveal that which many have already guessed: The highlight of our upcoming update is a complete overhaul of PvP in Barotrauma.

The PvP mode has not received any updates in a long time, so we wanted to bring it up to par with the rest of the game, with two brand new PvP missions and many improvements throughout this game mode.

Two new mission types

Until now PvP in Barotrauma has consisted of a single mission type, Sub vs Sub. Now there are two more: Outpost Deathmatch and King of the Hull. As the names imply, these mission types will be familiar from other games, yet realized with a Barotraumatic twist.

In Outpost Deathmatch, you meet the enemy head on: Find and kill as many enemy players as you can, and the team to reach the required kill score first wins. Both teams begin the fight with revolvers and only a few bullets, so make those first shots count. As the round progresses, supply crates will spawn around the map containing more weapons and ammo. There are different tiers of crates, and the supplies within get more deadly as the fight continues.

Depending on the size of the skirmish you are looking for, there are two different outposts to choose from (with more to be added in later updates!). Raate Colony is made for larger battles, where teams of four to eight players have room to clash comfortably. For a more close-quarters fight with smaller teams, choose the Kattenberg Outpost, ideal for teams of two to five.

In King of the Hull, your team must secure and hold a beacon station. Both teams will race to the station in their chosen submarines, and fight their way inside. Points are earned by maintaining a presence inside the station, so once one team has captured the position, the opposing team will need to clear the area and capture it for themselves to even the score.

Only one player is required to be present within the beacon station to accumulate points, which gives the other players opportunities for flanking and cutting off the opponents’ route to the objective. Reinforcements will arrive periodically to keep the fight going until a winner is declared.

Other PvP improvements

The existing Sub vs. Sub mission has received some improvements as well: Opposing teams can now freely choose the sub they’ll be playing on, and you can see an approximate location of the enemy sub to spend less time chasing it down and more making sure it stays down. PvP maps for all mission types have also been made smaller to focus this game mode more clearly on combat, and you can also choose the biome you want to play in.

Additionally, we’ve devised new methods of boarding the enemy submarine: a boarding pod to launch yourself inside another sub with brute force, and harpoon ammunition for the coilgun and railgun which you can use to tether and hold the other sub in position while your fighters board it. We’re also adding timed detonators, which are handy for breaching a hull – you’ll just need to get close enough to place and activate the detonator, and then wait a few seconds for it to explode.

Another important addition is the new start-of-the-round perk point system. A number of perk points are granted before the beginning of a game, and they can be used to acquire submarine upgrades, talent points, and extra items for your team. As PvP is played on a single-round basis, these perks make up for the lack of upgrades earned over time in a Campaign.

Notably, these same perk points are being added to Mission mode to make single rounds more entertaining to play.

As in all things Barotrauma, many things can be customized in the new PvP mode. Find new sliders and settings to disable monster spawns, for example, if you don’t want those pesky hammerheads breaking your hulls before the other team can.

Finally, all stun weapons have been rebalanced and reworked to stop them from becoming instant stunlock death sentences in PvP.  The changes should make them more satisfying to use in other game modes as well.

What do you think? We hope these changes will make PvP come to its own and offer a gameplay experience that’s meaningfully different from campaign mode. Give it a test drive in the Unstable version and look forward to the public release in just a few weeks!