 |
Please keep in mind that this is a community-driven article that is based upon publicly available posts and interpretation of said post. Yager is not involved in the writing of the information contained within, nor does it reflect their internal planning and release-schedule. Anything contained in this article is subject to changes or misinterpretation. We strive to keep it updated with sources that we can verify, but even Discord-posts from CM's may not always turn out as expected. As such, always view any info within as rumors and speculation and then make your own conclusions based on the sources provided. |
| Release Date | March 29 |
|---|
Announcement Video
Roadmap
Each week leading up to Season 3 will contain more information from the development team and will be presented in the below order. CW means Calendar week for each information-release.
- CW 4 - Giving a fair chance to everyone
- CW 5 - A new menace
- CW 6 - Technical updates
- CW 7 - Prospect Station upgrades
- CW 8 - Visions of TC:F
- CW 9 - Public Test Server
- CW 10 - Pass of the Fortuna kind
Changes to the game
The state of The Cycle will have several large changes in the near future along with the release of Season 3. Listed below are some of the major ones, what they mean and how it will impact the game moving forward.
The game will no longer have forced wipe after each season. The last global wipe will happen on March 29'th along the release of Season 3 and several things are being looked into to accomodate this change.
No forced wipes
No more global wipes does not mean that players themselves cannot initiate a wipe.
- Manual Wipe for players
- Players will be able to manually wipe (prestige) their progress, rather than have the forced wipe. This allows anyone to start fresh at any time, while not forcing anyone who does not wish to do so.
- Potential rewards will be handed out for players that prestige.
Changes to economy and gear
In order to accomodate for not having any more wipes, there will be some big changes too economy and gameplay to allow for more longevity. More information on this will be provided later.
- Quest changes for more longevity.
- High-end Gear more expensive and harder to obtain.
Changes to Matchmaking
For the game to have longevity and allow players to manually wipe, without putting themselves in a bad spot, changes will be made to the matchmaking.
More information on this is expected closer to start of season 3.
Changes to starter-packs
How starter packs works will be changed.
More information on this is expected in the near future from the E-commerce team at Yager.
Public Test Server
A public test server will become available.
More information on this is expected closer to release of season 3.
Confirmed content
Below is content that is to some extent confirmed in dev-updates and statements, to be slated for S3.
Howler
The Howler will freely roam the skies of Fortuna, changing how Prospectors approach each area.
Using sound for locating and attacking prospectors from a distance, this new menace will provide new challenges and tactics for both low and high-tier prospectors.
Howler Nests
Scattered throughout Fortuna is nests that the howler makes, containing eggs that will protect themselves from unwanted threats.
While a good source of loot, prospectors need to be careful when approaching the eggs in a nest and be prepared to relocate and heal when necessary.
Loadout presets
Prospectors will have the possibility to save certain loadout-presets in order to more quickly get back on the surface for further prospecting.
Free Loadout Runs
Prospectors will be able to select using a random free loadout when dropping onto fortuna (based on a cooldown), granting them a random set of gear from one of the factions. By sucessfully extracting using this loadout, prospectors are able to keep whatever they bring out, giving the possibility for players to get gear they might otherwise not use, or for people in need of gear to have possibility to get some, without spending kmarks.
Changes to the station
The station is getting a rework for season 3, overhauling the experience a prospector have on the station.
New skins and archetypes
As always new skins and archetypes are slated to come with S3 and we got a sneak-peak on some of those during Frosty Frontier Fest.
-
New archetype coming in season 3 called 'Unbound Synth'
-
New archetype coming in season 3 called 'Artillery'
-
New Advocate skin coming in season 3
Weekly updates and developer media
Below is a list of official articles and media released, covering content and changes for Season 3.
Articles
- Giving a fair chance to everyone by providing Free Loadout Runs for players, reworking the matchmaking and planning for the future.
- A new menace, Howler is coming in Season 3, along with minor map-changes, new loot, quests and more.
- The war on cheats is continuing on all fronts. A lot has been done but more is on the horizon and Yager is dedicated to reduce the impact from cheaters.
Media releases
Youtube videos
Livestreams
Unconfirmed content
Below is content that is hinted or rumoured, but not yet confirmed as part of S3-launch. This could appear before or after the start of S3 as well.
- Changes to end-game and it's meaning[2] has been mentioned several times[3]
- New Quests[6]
- Both Campaign and Missions as revealed in December Dev Update[7]
- New Sci-Fi weapons[9] in an update during the Frosty Frontier Fest Livestream, it was hinted that there might not be new weapons, or maybe just 1.
- Potential map-changes[10] seem to be hinted by Feralus in a response to a suggestion on Discord.
- Audio improvements appear to be coming in S3 according to the Frosty Frontier Fest Livestream.
References
- ↑ Feralus, Discord Message: "What exactly of it? The code part, yes absolutely." was stated in response to "If I had to guess the Frosty Frontier Fest was a systems test for S3 things. This is all wildly speculative though"
- ↑ Justin, Discord Message: "We intend to expand on what end-game content means even further."
- ↑ Justin, Discord Message: "The goal is for you to not feel like there is nothing left to do, and we have ways to achieve this by not only balancing what is currently in the game..."
- ↑ Yager, thecycle.game website: "New Tools of the Trade"
- ↑ Yager, thecycle.game website: "Events"
- ↑ Yager, thecycle.game website: "New Quests"
- ↑ Yager, Youtube dev-vlog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IU-9dfyfMdk?t=136 2minutes 16seconds
- ↑ Yager, thecycle.game website: "New gadgets / consumables for more tactical depths"
- ↑ Yager, thecycle.game website: "New Sci-Fi weapons"
- ↑ Feralus, Discord Message: "I think you will like what's happening in S3 then" was stated in response to "I think you should consider to modernate and change existing maps rather then adding new"