Update #83: Shieldbearers, Forward!

Update #83 brings a series of exciting balances changes to the SP and Swap system as well as empowering those shieldbearing Templars on the field of battle! Forward, Templars, for Shalun favors the brave!

Starting SP by Modified by Difficulty

For closed deployments where you only start with a squad of Templars, we've added a modifier to the starting Supply Points (SP) by difficulty. While high level difficulties won't see any change, anything from Hard and below will gain more SP at the start of a closed deploy level, which will increase your options when Swapping your starting units. At the high end, Basic Difficulty gains +40% SP.

Shieldbearers

Shields are large defensive bulwarks designed to catch any type of attack. To honor that, shields now grant their Parry rating as standard dice against ranged attacks, where in the past they gave no bonus. This further improves a shieldbearer's ability to tank into deadly situations. We've also fixed a few small bugs related to shields and dual wielding axes and how their stats were logged during combat. Thanks to the players who reported these issues! Watch out however, the human enemies carrying heavy weaponry have had their Penetration % values buffed to balance out some of the new shield parry. Those rockets and plasma cannons will dent your armor even more now.

v2.6.57 - 4/9/2018

• Improved Difficulty level's effect on starting SP for Closed Deployment levels - Improved calculation of turn and kill rate goals to be fairer (exactly 40% faster gains highest bonus) - Shields now grant their Parry as standard dice versus ranged attacks - Fixed issues with combat logging of both dual wielding axes and carrying shields - Increased Penetration % for human enemies carrying heavier weapons (Plasma, Rockets) - Fixed issues with level intros and swap bugs