Troopers, when fighting Bugs, here is a tip: aim for the nerve stem!

As part of developing Starship Troopers: Extermination, many troopers in our community have been highly anticipating and requesting this feature, which we can now happily say will be included in Update 0.8.0 alongside a slew of additional content. Troopers will now be able to hone in on their abilities and face the Armor and Weak Points system for Arachnids!

What are Weak Points and Armor?

The new Armor and Weak Points feature will enhance and add additional depth to the gunplay within ST:E. Troopers can no longer blindly put rounds down range, as these pesky Bugs are now armored and more resistant to damage. That said, if troopers bring the right tools, capitalize on a given opportunity and make use of what they have learned in training, they can hit the Bugs where it hurts the most -- in the nerve stem!

Weakpoint Effects and Hitmarker

Armor Hitmarker

How Does It Work?

Most Bugs will feature a Weak Point somewhere on their body.

• Hitting a Bug at its Weak Point will deal bonus damage based on the weapon used.

All Bugs will now have an Armor Rating and feature areas with and without armor on their carapace.

• Armor Rating scales from 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest, with 5 being the most armored of foes).

All weapons will now feature an Armor Penetration rating.

• Armor Penetration scales from 1 to 5 (1 being the lowest, with 5 being the highest Armor Penetration the Federation can provide.)

Hitting a Bug in an Armored area will do the following.

• If your weapon has an Armor Penetration Rating equal to or greater than the Bugs Armor Rating, you will deal regular weapon damage.
  
• If your weapon has an Armor Penetration Rating that is less than the Bug’s Armor Rating, you will deal reduced weapon damage based on the difference in Rating. On Normal and below difficulty for every one-point difference between Armor Penetration and Bug Armor Rating, your damage will be decreased by 25% from 100%. Going against a heavily armored opponent with the wrong weaponry, troopers can expect to deal only 25% of your total weapon damage. (On hard difficulty, this scaling is more drastic)

Hitting a Bug in an Unarmored area will deal regular weapon damage.

The Design Intent

Add Depth to the Shoot Mechanics

• Currently, as a trooper, you can simply fire into the Bugs, and that is perfectly fine if that is what you enjoy. However, some troopers might seek a more challenging and immersive experience, and the goal here is to address both player types
  
• Troopers who prefer to fire into hordes of Bugs relentlessly might benefit from using weapons with higher Armor Penetration ratings, allowing them to bypass the need for precise Weak Point targeting. On the other hand, troopers looking to test their skills will likely opt for a low Armor Penetration weapon that deals higher damage to Weak Points. While the damage potential is significantly greater, so is the risk, as bullets may glance off the Bugs’ carapaces if you don’t take the time to line up your shot.

A New Way to Address Difficulty

• Currently, the hard mode experience suffers as Bugs feel overly spongy, with no real solution to this issue. This is because, on hard mode, Bugs have a flat 50% increase in health, making it difficult to balance weapons for two dramatically different health populations.
  
• With the introduction of Armor Rating, Bugs in hard mode will receive a smaller health buff (much less than the previous 50% flat increase). Instead, they will gain increased damage resistance when you fail to penetrate their armor.
  
• For example, a Morita Mk1 with an Armor Penetration Rating of 3 will only be slightly slower to kill a Warrior Bug on hard mode but significantly slower to kill a Tiger Bug in hard mode compared to normal difficulty.
  
• This new system aims to require players to either know which weapons are effective against which Bugs or develop the skill to consistently hit the Weak Points.

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We hope troopers can look forward to honing their skills against the Bug menace with the new Armor and Weak Points system. If you wish to discuss with fellow troopers this exciting addition coming to Update 0.8.0. Please feel free to join the ST:E Community Discord!

Til next time, troopers!