[b]Jatimania Hotfix[/b] Agents, we are back with a hotfix patch to address some of the bigger issues reported for the Jatimania update. We are also rolling very focused balancing changes in this hotfix to appease some frustrating aspects around Ace and Octo. We will continue to monitor the balance and discourse around the update to target our next bigger round of balancing tweaks in the near future. For now, let’s have a look. [b]Player Count Update[/b] We have recently ran an experiment on player count for Solo and Duo and we turned the mic to you to give us your thoughts through a poll on the subject. The results we got were as follows: [b]Solo lobbies at 8 players[/b]

• 65.5% of responses were positive (score of 4 and 5)
• 20.7% of responses were neutral (score of 3)
• 13.8% of responses were negative (score of 1 and 2)

[b]Duo lobbies at 10 players (5 teams)[/b]

• 61.7% of responses were positive (score of 4 and 5)
• 24.7% of responses were neutral (score of 3)
• 13.6% of responses were negative (score of 1 and 2)

In light of this clearly positive movement towards the change, we will be changing the player counts of both modes with the drop of the hotfix. [b]What’s next?[/b] With this decision taken, we can now leverage this new player count to better tweak spawn points and make sure the early game is a more pleasing experience in all maps. Having to juggle with less maximum factions enables us to curate things to a better degree than what is currently live, so expect some live balancing of spawn points that will not require an update on your side in the coming days. [b]General Changes Audio Occlusion Polish[/b] We have brought some more work we have done on audio occlusion which includes making sure gadgets have appropriate sound range. We are continuing to refine this aspect of the game and looking at outliers to fix in the sound department. [b]Keycard Printer Icon Visibility[/b] We have added a bit of verticality to the range at which you can see the icon telling you a Keycard printer is close to you. This should help with a variety of positions where a printer could be very hard to find because of differences in elevation. [b]Melee Targeting Tweaks[/b] We have upped the range for melee target detection to help with hitting targets on the move. Additionally, we have reduced how wide the detection radius is around the reticule to reduce instances of hitting a target that is on the side of your screen versus one that is at the center. We are looking for other long term upgrades to the melee attack, but we hope this makes things feel better in the meantime. [b]Balancing Ace[/b] The amount of time Ace is able to keep pressure on a victim has been rightfully highlighted as extremely oppressive in the current meta. To address this, we are reducing both the window in which she can apply her status effect after damage and the duration of the status itself. [b]Base Expertise: Queen’s Gaze[/B]

• Trace duration 25s =>15s
• Last Target duration 30s => 20s

[b]Expertise Mod 1: Stacked Odds[/b]

• Vulnerable duration 15s =>10s
• Last Target duration 30s => 20s

[b]Octo[/b] The lingering effect when leaving Octo’s field of vision with the “Make’em Fold” ability has been highlighted as feeling bad on the receiving end, giving a feeling of lag. This change should also make the effect more reliable when a target leaves the field of vision and comes back to re-apply it immediately. [b]Expertise Mod 2: Make’em Fold[/b]

• Removed the lingering effect after a player left Octo’s field of view. The effect will now disappear instantly when outside.

[b]Bug Fixes General[/b]

• Fixed an issue with the aim-assist strength setting that would make it also lower input strength. This setting should now behave correctly.
• Fixed multiple spawn points where keycards could appear invisible because of clipping.
• Fixed the extraction car clipping in the snack bar in Fragrant Shore when landing.

[b]Agents Larcin[/b]

• Larcin throwing his weapon will now break his cover.
• Fixed an issue where Larcin could throw his weapon while immaterial in the grande finale zone.

[b]Madame Xiu[/b]

• Fixed an issue where Madame Xiu could start her expertise when already considered dead on the server side.
• Fixed an issue where Madame Xiu could be stuck in her expertise stance when revived in teams.

[b]Octo[/b]

• Fixed an issue that would cause Octo’s projectile with the Nautilo to deal the wrong value if charging another shot.

[b]Red[/b]

• Fixed an issue that allowed Red to use lovebomb infinitely by meleeing at the right time.

[b]Sasori[/b]

• Sasori will no longer get stuck in a no weapon state if he tries to melee while using Noxious Gas.
• Coated weaponry sound impacts will now occlude correctly.

[b]Gadgets Umbrella Shield[/b]

• The handheld shield will no longer protect in directions the player is not looking at while undercover.
• The shield will no longer trigger the heartbroken status effect in many situations when charmed by Red.