Climb the ranks, General!
It's been a week since our launch, and we're still going strong! Today, we're adding Ranked Matchmaking and Leaderboards for 1v1 matches. Now you can show your true strategic prowess to the world on the global leaderboard! 2v2 Ranked Matchmaking and leaderboards will come at a later date.
This is also our first major patch for Tempest Rising! Thank you to everyone who has played and shared feedback with us in our first week!
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Regarding 2v2 Ranking and Queue with Friends
We know many players are eager to play Tempest Rising with their friends and rank up on the Leaderboards together. This is an important feature for RTS players, and the team is already actively working on implementing it.
We plan to add this functionality to the game as soon as possible. Stay tuned for updates, and as always, we appreciate your patience and support!
For the time being, we recommend joining the Tempest Rising Discord server to find a group to play against in Custom matches.
Key Known Issues
- The MMR gains/losses post-game will show as "-1" in UI fields. This is ONLY a UI bug, all MMR calculations will show correctly in the leaderboards. We are working on fixing this as soon as possible! We appreciate your patience while we resolve this issue.

Patch Notes
Our first major patch includes a variety of balance changes, AI and general game improvements, and bug fixes. This update also notably resolves the issues players were having with hosting and joining custom lobbies.
Feature Updates
Ranked Update
- Ranked Queue and Leaderboards are now enabled for 1v1 — test your skill and climb the ladder!
Quality of Life Improvements
UI Improvements
- Improved input responsiveness for double-clicking to select units of the same type.
- Added subtitles to the Game Intro Cinematics.
Skirmish Bot Improvements
- Construction Yard placement logic has been improved
- Unit pathing and movement are more cohesive, with bots now grouping units more tightly during advances.
- Field Scout's "Throw Marking Mine" ability now functions as intended
Bug Fixes
Campaign and Gameplay Fixes
- Fixed Veti Shield reappearing upon loading a save in the final DYN campaign mission.
- Fixed mission failure when capturing the Repair Bay with the last Technician in DYN Mission 9.
- Fixed issue allowing a second Hijacker to be obtained early in GDF mission 7.
- Fixed objective "Eliminate prison guards to free the Civilians" not completing after save reload in GDF mission 8.
- Fixed incorrect damage and range values in "Regional Networking Doctrine".
Skirmish
- Fixed player losing control of base after loading a Skirmish save.
Achievements
- Fixed "Doctor's Visit" and "Drive by Mechanic" achievements being unlocked by bots.
- Fixed "Tempest Hoarder" achievement not unlocking (now correctly grants after match ends).
Controls & Input
- Fixed quick group switching being unresponsive.
- Fixed "Center on Base" hotkey not working with DYN Construction Yard Bastion upgrade.
- Fixed WASD camera preset not applying when set from the Main Menu.
- Fixed double-clicking not selecting all Spy Drones.
UI & Display
- Fixed "Restore Page" button not resetting camera preset settings.
- Fixed Spy Drone aura radius always being displayed when selected.
- Fixed attack speed values not rounding to two decimal places for units with Veterancy.
Multiplayer & Networking
- Resolved issues with creating and joining custom lobbies — players should now be able to host and join custom games without issues.
- Fixed various server crashes occurring during matchmaking.
- Fixed an issue where attacking a specific unit or structure under certain conditions could cause the player to be kicked from the match.
Balance Updates
As we enable ranked mode in Tempest Rising, this first balance patch is aimed at addressing trends and imbalances observed during the first week since release. The Global Defense Force (GDF) has proven a bit too dominant in late-game scenarios due to excessive scaling from Intel generation.
This patch aims to dial that back by requiring more thoughtful Intel allocation and reducing its efficiency when Credit-starved. In addition, several high-performing units are being tuned to reduce their ease of use or over-efficiency, while underperforming tools are getting the adjustments they need to become more viable.
Overall, these changes are focused on tightening the skill curve, promoting unit diversity, and keeping strategic play front and center.
Structures - GDF
We had some players identify strategies to scale Intel income considerably in the late game, and wanted to make some changes to limit the GDF’s ability to mass produce Intel passively. We have also tweaked some Tier 3 units’ Intel costs to make them less spammable.
Construction Yard
- Now generates 1 Intel per 10 seconds (from 1 Intel per 7 seconds)
Satellite Uplink
- Intel cost increased to 20 (was 0)
- Now generates 1 Intel per 20 seconds (from 1 Intel per 10 seconds)
Data Core
- Intel cost increased to 40 (was 0)
- Now generates 1 Intel per 10 seconds (from 1 Intel per 5 seconds)
Haywire Turret
- Intel cost increased to 40 (was 30)
Structures - DYN
SAM Site
SAM Sites were underwhelming for their price. This makes them more accessible as a core part of air denial.
- Cost reduced to 800 (from 1300)
- Attack now has a 200 AOE effect
Units - GDF
DCU (Drone Control Unit)
DCUs were too cost-efficient. These nerfs make them easier to snipe and limit how freely they can be fielded, without compromising their core role. Additionally, we are removing its ability to Mark enemy units in an area, which should help with late-game Intel scaling.
- Range reduced to 2600 (from 3200)
- Health reduced to 800 (from 1050)
- Drone respawn time increased to 15s (from 10s)
- Intel cost increased to 70 (from 50)
- Population cost increased to 6 (from 5)
- DCU’s Target Designator no longer Marks enemy units
Condor
Condors were scaling too well relative to their cost. This makes high-Condor plays more of a commitment.
- Intel cost increased to 50 (from 40)
- Population cost increased to 4 (from 3)
Comms Officer
This unit had the highest win rate in the game. We’re tuning back its overall efficiency while keeping its role intact.
- Damage reduced to 30 (from 40)
- Range reduced to 2600 (from 2800)
- Health reduced to 300 (from 400)
Queller
Bringing the Queller closer to the frontlines to attack should increase counterplay opportunities, especially from AA options.
- JUDGE Laser range reduced to 1850 (from 2000)
- Minigun range reduced to 1750 (from 1800)
- Health reduced to 850 (from 900)
Shieldmaiden
This improves Shieldmaiden utility in countering ground pushes and helps reduce reliance on air-heavy strategies.
- Range increased to 3800 (from 3500)
- Fixed Standoff Orders to correctly target ground units instead of air
Units - DYN
While our main focus this patch was bringing some of the GDF’s Intel scaling under control, we also wanted to make sure that the Dynasty was getting proper attention.
Many air units on both sides have been overperforming, so the Matchstick and Leveler have been toned down somewhat. Additionally, some cornerstone Dynasty vehicles are getting some minor improvements to hold up more in battle.
Matchstick
These changes make Matchsticks more vulnerable to anti-air and less oppressive in clustered fights by reducing their range and splash damage.
- Attack range reduced to 1700 (from 1800)
- Damage reduced to 80 (from 90)
- Attack AOE reduced to 350 (from 600)
- Health reduced to 600 (from 650)
Leveler
The Leveler remains deadly, but its reduced attack AOE and range, along with a cost bump, will demand better positioning and timing, curbing how easily it can be massed.
- Movement speed reduced to 600 (from 700)
- Attack AOE reduced to 500 (from 600)
- Cost increased to 3200 (from 2800)
Havoc
A slight buff to help them survive longer and be a more relevant factor in early-game AA defense.
- HP increased to 290 (from 280)
Operative
With a very high win rate, a slight reduction in DPS helps bring Operatives more in line without gutting their usefulness.
- Attack interval increased to 2.2s (from 2s)
Boar Tank
A small survivability boost to make Boars a sturdier frontline option.
- Health increased to 780 (from 750)
Join the [b]Tempest Rising Discord[/b]
Thank you to everyone who shared their feedback in the Discord and Steam forums in our first week! With your help, we'll continue to improve Tempest Rising on our post-launch journey.
