Sea of Thieves — Release Notes
While the Factions continue to clash as we breach the second month of Season Eight, a growing spark of camaraderie can be found in the taverns as the annual Festival of Giving returns – although crews fully focused on the Battle for the Sea of Thieves will also find improvements and adjustments made to the flow of battle this month. If you’re not sure what all this talk of Factions is about, take a dive back into the Season Eight launch trailer!
Sea of Thieves Season Eight: Official Content Update Video
Duration 9:00
Play Video
The Season Eight launch release notes are a crucial port of call for anyone needing the specifics, while early December’s release notes have more information on the ongoing Adventure! Now find out what’s new in the year’s climactic content update…
Gameplay Improvements
Since Season Eight unleashed the Battle for the Sea of Thieves, the waves have churned with crews clashing in on-demand ship combat. A range of balancing improvements have now arrived to level the playing field not only within the Battle, but encounters throughout the shared world.
Blunderbomb Impact Balancing
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Blunderbombs fired from a cannon now have a reduced area of effect range when exploding, and players caught in the blast will no longer be propelled so far into the air, preventing them from being so easily sent overboard.
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Blunderbombs fired from a cannon to hit a ship’s hull now deal reduced damage to players caught in the blast inside the ship.
Reduced Blunderbomb Availability
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Blunderbombs are now discovered slightly less frequently in island barrels, and fewer are collected at once.
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Captains restocking at the shipwright will find the throwables supply now contains fewer throwables and has been reduced in price accordingly.
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The number of throwables found during the ‘Captains of the Damned’ Tall Tale has now been significantly reduced.
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Crates found during the ‘Dark Brethren’ Tall Tale now contain fewer blunderbombs.
Jettisoning Ship Supplies
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When a ship sinks, the resources held within its barrels now float to the surface in the barrels to be easily collected. Sinking another ship now offers simpler restocking options after a battle, while also giving crews who sink due to emergent encounters a chance to retrieve their hard-earned supplies!
Starting Ship Supplies
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All ships will now start a session with additional cannonballs per barrel, increasing the Sloop stock to 80, with the Brigantine and Galleon stocking 90.
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Ship defensive stocks have been increased with additional wooden planks, with the Sloop and Brigantine now holding 35 planks and the Galleon holding 40.
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Ships will now find more plentiful food stocks, as all ships now hold 16 coconuts in addition to their existing banana supply.
Battle for the Sea of Thieves – Restocking after Defeat
Battle for the Sea of Thieves – Emissary Flags
Barrels of Plenty Balancing
Pirate Emporium
It’s a dashing end to the year in the Emporium as the Soaring Oracle collection takes flight. The Boreal Aurora ship set is back too, alongside new Nautical Dance emotes, more Rare-themed Trinkets, a big Holiday Sale and the latest chance to grab some Festival of Giving classics…
Season Eight Plunder Pass
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Anyone wishing to take full advantage of Season Eight rewards can still buy the Plunder Pass. Any rewards unlocked will become available upon purchase, so players who have raised their Renown throughout Season Eight can instantly see their hard work rewarded before the Season ends.
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This Season’s Plunder Pass offers early access to the complete Ravenwood Ship Collection and evolving Ravenwood Costume, and can be purchased at any time through the Pirate Log, Pirate Emporium, Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store.
Soaring Oracle Ship Collection
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Amid a sea of more ostentatious liveries, this set may appeal to those who prefer things of a more understated, refined nature. The Soaring Oracle Collector’s Figurehead and Sails are available to buy separately from the main Ship Bundle.
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Players can also pick up just the core components of this set at a discount in the form of an Essential Ship Bundle.
Soaring Oracle Costume
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Some pirates think the cost of seeing the future is never seeing the present. Others remember to take off the blindfold.
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While wearing the Soaring Oracle Costume, players can perform the Pensive Piccolo Emote.
Soaring Oracle Weapons
Soaring Oracle Banjo
Boreal Aurora Ship Collection
Gold Curse Inu
Rare Goods Trinket Bundle
Nautical Dance Emote Bundle
Freebie Tree Decorator Emote
Time-Limited Bonechiller Costume
Time-Limited Festival of Giving Collection
Seer’s Gear Bundle (Store Only)
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Some pirates may mistake your inner calm for a reluctance to defend yourself – but you always come prepared.
The Seer’s Gear Bundle contains the Soaring Oracle Costume, Weapon Bundle and Banjo, along with 550 Ancient Coins to spend in the Pirate Emporium and a free bonus of 25,000 gold. Head to the Microsoft Store or Steam Item Store to find out more.
Pirate Emporium Holiday Sale
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Fabulous discounts are available on a range of Pirate Emporium items from December 23rd to January 3rd. Pirates will be able to pick up festive deals on a range of pets, ship sets, weapons, emotes and more!
Events
Time again for the Festival of Giving and all it contains – which is a lot this year! The traditional lights switch-on becomes a shared community moment, while Gifts & Glory and Grogmanay await later in the holidays. Get the full Festival overview in our launch article!
Grand Festival of Giving Switch-On (December 16th)
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Join the livestream on Sea of Thieves’ Twitch channel at 6:15pm UTC on December 16th to celebrate the community, look back over the past year, and most importantly switch on the festive in-game decorations! There may be a few other surprises lying in wait too…
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Crews sailing the seas while the stream is underway can gather at the tavern on New Golden Sands Outpost to watch the switch-on happen live!
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With the seasonal decorations on, pirates can find an appropriately festive firework to claim for free from a Merchant Alliance representative on any Outpost.
Gifts & Glory Weekend (December 23rd – December 26th)
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Gather your crew and set sail during this Gold & Glory Weekend with a Festival of Giving twist! Pirates will earn boosted gold, reputation and Seasonal Renown for their exploits throughout the weekend.
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Crews taking part in the Battle for the Sea of Thieves will also be able to gain boosted Allegiance for their chosen Faction.
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As a festive treat, all pirates sailing the seas this weekend will find a free Gilded Treasure Voyage added to their inventories. Better yet, existing and fresh Pirate Legends will also receive the gift of a Gilded Legendary Voyage.
Grogmanay (December 30th – January 2nd)
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End the year with the clink of tankards as Grogmanay returns! Complete a grog-fuelled Challenge to earn the Grogmanay Flag.
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Complete two Challenges to unlock the Bilge Rat Celebration Firework Crate and grab it for free from the Merchant Alliance to end the night with a bang!
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Complete four or more Challenges to earn the Grogmanay Annual Tankard, or a noteworthy new notch on your existing Tankard if this isn’t your first time taking on the Grogmanay Event.
Twitch Drops (December 19th – January 2nd)
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Continue to unlock even more cosmetics throughout Season Eight with Twitch Drops! The final Drops of the year will be active for all participating streamers in batches throughout the holiday period stated above, allowing players to pick up a wide selection of Frozen Horizon clothing items.
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Find out how to link your accounts and more on our dedicated Twitch Drops page.
Outpost Cosmetics
Frostbite Equipment, Weapons and Ship Set
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The remaining parts of the Frostbite set, including the equipment, weapons and ship parts, are now available from Outpost stores. These new items are locked behind the existing Humble Giving and Generous Giving Commendations.
Updates
Pendragon’s Sacrifice
Season Notifications
Fixed Issues
Gameplay
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Crews should no longer encounter scenarios where a Legend of the Veil Voyage can fail due to a missing Quest Item that was safely stored on a ship.
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Crews should no longer find treasure seemingly disappears from their ship while sailing.
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Ship’s masts receiving damage should now consistently display cracks, clearly indicating the need to repair.
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When using an Xbox controller while playing on PC, if the controller disconnects during a session, players will now be able to reconnect it without issue.
Battle for the Sea of Thieves
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Crews are now prevented from joining a Faction while in the Devil’s Shroud or near the Shores of Gold. Crews are also prevented from starting the ‘Shores of Gold’ Tall Tale when aligned with a Faction.
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Crews who previously joined a Faction and headed deep into the Devil’s Shroud will no longer be considered a suitable target for the opposing Faction.
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Players repeatedly placing items into a Collector’s Chest will find it no longer raises their Treasure Grade.
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Players repeatedly docking Rowboats with treasure aboard will find it no longer raises their Treasure Grade.
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Crews should no longer encounter scenarios where their cannons are inaccessible after surfacing from beneath the waves.
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Crews reaching an Allegiance Streak of 4 should now consistently unlock the Nigh Unsinkable! achievement.
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Ships surfacing from the deep on a Brigantine or Sloop will now see the sea appear correctly as they breach the waves.
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Crews surfacing from beneath the waves to battle should no longer immediately encounter Barrels of Plenty in their ship’s path. Crews can still encounter barrels during the encounter for restocking as before.
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Crews who have chosen a Faction are now prevented from entering the Tunnels of the Damned.
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Players leaving the Ferry of the Damned at the same time as losing a battle will now find they consistently arrive in a new server along with their ship.
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Crews successfully defending from an attacker will now be free to leave the fight at an Outpost, even if they have only recently chosen a Faction.
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Crews scuttling a ship as they are about to dive will no longer become stuck beneath the waves.
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Crews diving beneath the waves to find a rival crew should no longer experience visual issues when swimming into the depths.
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Crews diving beneath the waves for battle will now hear an improved ambient audio experience.
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Players are no longer able to navigate around the Pirate Legend Hideout to reach locked areas before they are eligible.
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The Rising Up and Thanks for the Boost Commendations have now been removed from the representative Factions. The Concealed Upper Body skeleton cosmetic has now been moved and requires players to complete the Boo Be Gone Commendation in order to unlock it.
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Allegiance Streak visual effects can now be seen while travelling beneath the waves.
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Ships breaching the waves for battle will now see water rushing across the deck of the ship.
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Players experiencing the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune will no longer see a glimpse of any held weapons during the end of the sequence.
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Crews should no longer see duplicate Battle Banners appear if their rival leaves the game.
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Players performing emotes near the Pirate Lord in the extended Pirate Legend Hideout will no longer find their viewpoint becomes stuck.
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Crews who scuttle their ship at the same time as another is surfacing should no longer cause both ships to become stuck in battle.
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Players observing a member of their crew during the Blessing of Athena’s Fortune are now free to use the Vanity Chest without causing other players to become stuck.
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Players choosing to cancel matchmaking should no longer find their pirate unable to move for a short time.
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Players will be prevented from stepping off a docked Rowboat while travelling beneath the waves.
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Trinkets earned from participating in the Battle for the Sea of Thieves now correctly show the Milestone requirements.
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If a player joins a crew after a battle has been cancelled, parts of the ship no longer act as if underwater for the joining player.
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Crews cashing in an Hourglass of Fate following a battle will now find the ‘Gold Earned’ Milestones progress accordingly.
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Players’ hands no longer intersect with various torsos when using the Skeleton Clap Emote.
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The Milestones for earning Hourglass Value no longer refer to Sands of Fate on both the Pirate and Ship Milestones.
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Players should no longer see multiple Krakens or Megalodons while travelling beneath the waves.
Captains of Adventure
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Captains sailing solo should no longer experience a scenario where they are informed that the Captain has left the session.
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Captains diving beneath the waves to battle should now consistently find their saved customisations such as ship liveries and decorations persist between sessions.
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Captains changing a Ship’s Banner should now see the new banner after leaving the Ship Customisation Chest.
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Disabling user-generated content from the Xbox settings should now replace other crews’ ship names.
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Harpoons on the Sovereign marquee can no longer become stuck to the platform they are on and cause the floor to shake.
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Crews discovering a Captain’s Logbook for a ship that is no longer on the server will now see a replaced ship name for it.
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Players will now see a failure message when attempting to buy ship stock from the shipwright if their ship has become too full.
Visual and Audio
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The Mysterious Stranger’s Gloves now match the gloves the character wears.
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Repairing the King’s Ransom Wheel now shows the makeshift handles with the correct material.
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Players wielding the Splash Fight Eye of Reach will now see the correct visual effects within the stock.
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After killing a pig, snake or chicken, the audio effects for hitting them should no longer be heard repeatedly.
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‘A Pirate’s Life’ – The torches within Dead Man’s Grotto will now light correctly when performing the required actions.
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‘The Sunken Pearl’ – When picking up the keys from the crab, the camera no longer moves into open water.
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‘Dark Brethren’ – During the intro to the final battle, Jack should no longer be seen floating in the air and his voice can now be heard.
User Interface
Text and Localisation
Performance and Stability
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Players using ‘Voice Chat Push to Talk’ set to Toggle will now find the setting continues to function after migrating across servers or after hunting a rival crew beneath the waves.
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Optimisations to client memory usage.
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Improved server stability when using the Tunnels of the Damned.
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Improved server stability for ships leaving the Tunnels of the Damned.
Known Issues
Reduced Server Performance
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Players may experience scenarios where they encounter ping spikes at random while playing, resulting in rubberbanding or client stutters. While improvements were most recently released in update 2.5.3, the team continue to work on further improvements for future updates.
Ranged and Melee Weapon Hit Detection
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In areas of intense action, players may find themselves firing shots or landing strikes that do not cause damage to their targets. While small improvements continue to be delivered during our regular updates, we are continuing to investigate and identify further improvements to the player combat experience.
To learn more about known issues in Sea of Thieves currently being tracked and their status, head over to our Known Issues support site article.
Download and Installation
Download size:
Xbox Series X: 4.18 GB
Xbox Series S: 2.67 GB
Xbox One X: 4.18 GB
Xbox One: 2.67 GB
Microsoft Store: 3.94 GB
Steam: 4.6 GB
XBOX INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
PC INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS CAN BE FOUND HERE.
Forum Discussion
You can discuss these release notes in the Forums here.
You can leave your feedback on the game in general here.
Looking For Crew?
Looking for new crewmates? We’ve got a bunch of places you can visit to seek out like-minded pirates, so sail on over to these official Sea of Thieves hangouts:
- Forums
- Xbox Club
- Verified Discord
patch V-E Day ⬡ Gazette du wargamer
En bref.
Une importante douzième mise à jour est arrivée hier pour ce joli jeu toutefois sorti un peu trop tôt l’hiver dernier. Patch qui ajoute treize scénarios hypothétiques et une deuxième courte campagne, intitulée Victory in the West. Cette dernière permettant d’éviter d’avoir à faire / refaire tous les scénarios de la campagne initiale, pour qui veut jouer directement à partir du Débarquement. Bonne idée.
En plus de cela le gameplay mais aussi l’interface bénéficie de différentes améliorations, entre autre pour corriger l’ennuyant souci de lisibilité de certains textes, dans certains cas. Ou concernant les unités de Spécialistes (voir ce PDF pour s’y retrouver). Enfin un nouveau niveau de difficulté dit Recrue, soit encore plus facile à jouer que le niveau de base Facile, permettra à ceux le souhaitant de pouvoir très facilement se familiariser avec les mécanismes.
Non pas que le jeu soit très compliqué, mais il peut s’avérer parfois obscur de comprendre ci ou ça, d’autant plus du fait d’un aspect puzzle, ou dis autrement linéaire, qui est par moment assez important.
Un choix de gameplay qu’on appréciera plus ou moins selon ses attentes.
Au passage sachez aussi qu’il semble qu’un futur DLC permettra de jouer du coté des allemands, offrant donc une perspective assez différente du jeu de base. A l’avenir le jeu devrait entre autre aussi proposer du contenu spécifique au thème du front de l’est.
Pour plus d’informations sur Unity of Command II, voyez le blog officiel ainsi que cette page sur Steam. Puis notre test ou encore ce récit de partie.
V-E Day Update
The V-E Day update is here, and it’s loaded! There are 13 new scenarios (all what-ifs), a shorter and punchier Second Front campaign, numerous rule and balancing tweaks, and a bunch of technical improvements, including full UI scaling among other things.
I also, ekhm… only now realize that Update 11 somehow slipped in without a post on our blog, with just a quick note here on Steam????? Let’s just attribute that to coronavirus-induced panic and move on.
In general, the whole work-from-home thing seems to be working for our team. We are able to stay productive and keep ourselves safe, which is basically all you can ask for at this point. I wish the same, or at least close enough, to all readers of this blog and fans of our games.
Unthinkable
To quote Daniel Mellbin, who designed all the scenarios in the Victory in the West campaign, “things can now get a bit crazy if you succeed with Operation Market Garden and choose to exploit the bridgehead. Things get even crazier if you don’t feel like giving Stalin a free hand in Poland later on.”
Not that it’s super easy to get there, but if you play both Mediterranean and Northern European theaters to their a-historical conclusions, you will be faced with Operation Unthinkable. See, we knew you had secret longings for IS3s, SU-100s, and other Soviet bad boys from the original UoC, so we decided to bring them into play slightly ahead of time ??
Because things can now get pretty involved in the campaign, we are providing the Scenario Chart below.
Click on the image for the HD version, or get it in PDF or full-size PNG. In addition to scenarios and branching, the chart also enables you to track HQs across scenarios. This should allow for better planning of prestige investment in HQ specializations and upgrades.
For those that are slightly tired of slogging it through Italy at the start of each campaign run, we are now providing the Second Front campaign. This one lets you jump straight into the action at Overlord. The Mediterranean theater is removed, and you cannot reach Unthinkable, but other than that it’s the same campaign. You cannot unlock achievements and milestones related to Victory in the West via this shortened campaign, though.
Rules and Balancing
Special forces have received special attention in this update. The specialists with the black icon will, from now on:
Bypass enemy entrenchment in attack (like engineers) but do not remove it (unlike engineers).
Help their parent unit lower its combat losses: +1 attacker loss shift per active special forces specialist.
Additionally, special forces with the amphibious AMPH flag are able to:
Land un-suppressed in naval landings and major river crossings.
Reduce the river shift from -2 to 0 when attacking across minor rivers.
Allow their parent unit to perform a feint attack (HQ action) across a minor river.
We made smaller changes to other specialists too. Amphibious tanks, like the DD Sherman, now provide armor shift when attacking across minor rivers. M10 tank destroyers got nerfed on attack and defense, while still keeping the formidable +3* armor shift. Stacking multiple towed arty specialists is discouraged further: second and third such specialists are pushed up in the loss queue, by 2 and 4 places respectively.
To help the players keep track of specialists and their abilities, we are providing a Specialist Reference Sheet. You can see a small excerpt below. Get it here in PDF.
We did some tweaking on the prices too. The Air Recon card now costs 10 prestige. At the same time, recon assets in scenarios have been slashed to just one or two across the board.
This should make the asset and its card more meaningful. The AFHQ/SHAEF card was also reduced in price, as we feel it’s a good card that should be used more often. HQ branch upgrades are now cheaper in general. Hopefully this will encourage players to experiment with some of the less-used HQ actions.
UI Scaling
The game is now able to do UI scaling on its own. To turn this, go to Options and adjust these settings:
Ignore System UI Scaling: this will make the game ignore the “Make everything bigger” Windows setting. The game will render in native display resolution. Note that the “Make fonts bigger” Windows setting is always ignored for game purposes.
UI Scale: the game will scale (enlarge) UI elements by selected factor, up to 200%. This is done independently of Windows, so you probably want to select the “Ignore System Scaling” option above for anyhing else than 100%.
Q: The game appears to be low-resolution and/or text is blurry
It is possible that you have enabled the “Make everything bigger” setting in Windows.
Try enabling Ignore System UI Scaling in Options and then restarting the game.
Q: I have a high-resolution display and text is too small to read
Go to Options, and set UI Scale to desired magnification (up to 200%). Restarting the game is not needed.
Q: I’m running with Very High settings on a high-res display and the framerate seems low and/or fan is too loud
Go to Options/Video and set Smoothing to Off. This should be of most help with the framerate, and at the same time not too noticeable visually. Another thing to try is to go to Options/General and disable VSync. This eases the burden on the CPU (not GPU) and should help with fan noise in most cases.
Taking the Sting out of Easy
If you’re finding the game too difficult even on Easy, I recommend that you subscribe to the Recruit Difficulty mod on the Steam Workshop.
I’ve made this one really over-the-top easy. If you’re finding it useful please comment here or on the mod page, as we might want to use the player feedback to add another difficulty level (Cadet level, say).
In a final piece of news, we are releasing the Unity of Command II Soundtrack as a standalone product on Steam. This version offers an extra track (compared to the in-game version), some different mixes and high-quality FLAC files.
As usual, feel free to AMA in the comments.
Cheers!
Tom
Read «SS Division «Reich». History of the Second SS Panzer Division. 1939-1945.» — Akunov Wolfgang Viktorovich — Page 75
Communist resistance
«Attack where he is not careful.»
Sun Tzu. «Treatise on the Art of War»
While the main forces of the division continued to advance on Limoges, SS-Sturmbannfuehrer Heinrich Wulf advanced, at the head of a reconnaissance battalion, numbering five hundred people, to the east, hastening to the aid of the German garrison besieged by partisans of a small town Tull. In Tulla there was a uniform battle between Wehrmacht reservists and detachments of the communist resistance organization known as the Free Riflemen and Partisans (FEP),[316] which, unlike the Gaullist AS, was affiliated with the underground French Communist Party (PCF).
Relations between the AU and the FEP were almost as hostile as those between the Chetniks of Draje Mihailović and the Red Partisans of Josip Broz Tito in Yugoslavia. At the time of the approach of the SS battalion to Tull, the city with its surroundings was under the control of the FEP. German soldiers from the Tullian garrison barricaded themselves in the buildings of the local school and arms factory, waiting for outside help. When hundreds of tracked and half-tracked combat vehicles of the SS reconnaissance battalion appeared in Tulla, the communists hastily retreated. nine0003
Having secured control of the city, Heinrich Wulff ordered two companies to search all the city’s houses for secret weapons caches. In addition, he gave his men the order to herd the entire male population of Tull into the yard of the arms factory for identification of each. All those who had identification cards with them were supposed to be released. In the early morning of June 9, 1944, three thousand and frightened residents of the city of different ages were lined up in the factory yard, not expecting anything good from the SS men who drove them there.
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Although in the short battle for Tull Wulf lost only three people killed and nine wounded, he himself and the SS officers subordinate to him were fed up with the attacks of the Resistance fighters on the units entrusted to them and on the German troops in general, and came to the conclusion that only systematic repression is the only effective means of combating terrorism and suppressing terrorists. These feelings only intensified after Wulff learned that communist partisans had killed one hundred and thirty-nine and wounded more than forty soldiers and officers of the German garrison in Tull. In addition, the officers of the SS division suspected that «france tireres and partisans» had killed or tortured to death at least forty German soldiers from the Tullian garrison, who had surrendered to them on parole in various parts of the city. The bodies of the dead soldiers were mutilated beyond recognition. Many of them were shot up to six times in each foot by «free shooters» before being killed.
nine0003
In the factory yard, SS soldiers, methodically bypassing the ranks of the male population of Tull lined up there, checked their documents and separated the «lambs» from the «goats» (that is, persons who did not have documents with them, presented fake documents, did not live in Tull and who failed to intelligibly explain what business brought them to this city, or who seemed suspicious to the SS for some other reason). All the «goats» Wulff was determined to subject to mass execution. In the afternoon, the Germans hanged about a hundred civilians. All of them were executed without trial or investigation, without establishing the true involvement of the people they suspected in the activities of «free shooters and partisans» or the «Secret Army». The process of strangulation turned out to be very long in time, taking more than three hours, and the executioners were so tired that they spared the last batch of suspects destined for public execution (there were twenty-one of them).
Lammerding and other SS officers who were with him at Tulla stated that they were acting with the permission of the divisional commander, although the latter later claimed that he learned about Lammerding’s mass execution only after the fact. nine0003
Before leaving Tulle, the reconnaissance battalion loaded three hundred and eleven inhabitants of the city onto trucks and sent them to Limoges for interrogation. In Limoges, the SS released one hundred and sixty-two of those arrested. The rest were sent to Dachau and other concentration camps in Reich territory. On the way to their destination, many of those arrested fell ill and died as a result of the unhygienic conditions in the rail cars in which they were transported. By the end of the war, of the one hundred and forty-nine inhabitants of Tull, only forty-nine survived. nine0003
North of Limoges The 3rd Battalion of the Der Führer Regiment was busy cleaning up other towns and villages that fell into the hands of resistance groups.
In the town of Argentonssur-Creuse, the 15th company of the Der Fuhrer regiment destroyed fifty FEP fighters in battle, and after the battle shot several residents of the city who sheltered partisans in their homes. East of Argenton, SS-Sturmbannführer Helmut Kempfe (and not «Kampfe», as they often write incorrectly!) At the head of the main forces of the battalion, advanced in the direction of Gere. On the way, he was attacked by partisans, but after a short fight he dispersed them. Twenty-nine captured «free shooters» were shot on the spot. Covertly approaching Gera, with the intention of taking possession of the settlement in the course of a surprise attack, the SS men, however, were convinced that they were too late. Parts of the Wehrmacht have already managed to restore German control over the town. nine0003
Leaving two platoons of his «Green SS» to help the garrison, the battalion commander led his unit back to Limoges. His chauffeur was killed, and Kempfe was driving himself.
By the evening, when Kempfe’s staff car was far away from the battalion convoy, it was ambushed on the road by «france tireurs and partisans.» Kempfe was captured by «free shooters» and taken away in a truck in an unknown direction. When the SS men arrived in time to find an empty Kempfe car on the road with an open door and a shot machine gun lying on the seat, they began to comb the entire Limousin area. Despite their best efforts, the battalion commander was never seen dead or alive again. However, he was most likely killed by the French Resistance. This incident, of course, angered the officers and soldiers of the Das Reich division to the utmost and prompted them to further reprisals against the civilian population in the south of France. nine0003
On June 10, 1944, Lammerding finally received the order from the OKW for the Das Reich Division to march on the defense of Normandy. Most of the soldiers and officers of the «green SS», fed up with participating in police actions against French Resistance groups — a common occupation of the «black SS» — gladly received the news that they were again being transferred to the front.
But the division had difficulties with the immediate execution of the received order, since a considerable number of tanks and self-propelled artillery installations failed on the way to their destination. Additional delays arose both due to the lack of necessary spare parts for the disabled combat vehicles, and due to chronic fuel shortages. In addition, members of the French Resistance and their «brothers in arms» from the British ESD and the American Office of Strategic Services (Office of Strategic Services, OSS) [317] did not waste time, trying with all their might to slow down the advance of the division in a northerly direction. nine0003
While the SS division was struggling with transport problems, the partisan movement swept across southern France. On the outskirts of the village of Terrason, west of Brive, parts of the Das Reich division clashed with hundreds of «free shooters and partisans.» Having knocked out the franchisors from the town, the SS men hanged the only captured communist and set fire to the house, from the window of which the red Bolshevik flag was hung, after which they left Terrason without causing any harm to its inhabitants.
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Painting by Vladimir Shtranikh “Celebration of Victory. May 9, 1945”
Irina Velikanova, General Director of the Museum of Modern History of Russia:
“The joy of the victors, pride in the soldiers and the bitterness of loss – Shtranich’s canvas fully captures the feelings that everyone experienced that day. The older generation of Russians remembers this picture very well — in the textbook «Native speech», which we studied at school, it served as an illustration for the story about the Victory.“
At two o’clock in the morning on May 9, 1945, millions of Soviet citizens heard the long-awaited news — announcer Yuri Levitan read on the radio the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany, signed the day before.
May 9 was declared the Day of national celebration — the Victory Day.
People ran out of their houses, joyfully congratulated each other, sang and danced. On the evening of that day, salute was given — thirty volleys from a thousand guns into the sky, illuminated by searchlights.
This moment is captured on the famous canvas: the sky over Red Square is engulfed in flashes of the lights of a grandiose festive fireworks display in honor of all the fallen and all the living. nine0003
The capture of Berlin was the final battle of the Great Patriotic War. The assault on the German capital began on April 25 — after the Soviet army liberated most of Eastern Europe from fascist invaders. Two and a half million Soviet soldiers marched on Berlin.
Leaflet. «Guardsmen! The time has come to put an end to the Germans, forward to Berlin! Germany, suburbs of Berlin. April 16 1945 g.
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The last major battle with Nazism was furious and fierce, despite the dwindling enemy forces and the general enthusiasm of the Soviet soldiers.
G.K. Zhukov On the Berlin operation in the final period of the Great Patriotic War from April 16 to May 8, 1945
Zhukov Georgy Konstantinovich — Marshal of the Soviet Union, four times Hero of the Soviet Union
Hitler forbade starving Berliners to leave the encircled city.
Deserters were executed on the spot. Berlin was well fortified, on the orders of the Fuhrer, the inhabitants blocked the streets with powerful barricades. The fighting went on day and night, battles were fought for every street and every house. nine0003
Part of the map of Germany (area of Berlin), which S.G. used when taking Berlin. Poplavsky, commander of the 1st Army of the Polish Army. Germany, 1945
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The tallest building in the capital, the symbol of the empire — the German Reichstag — was taken on the 16th day of the assault, May 1, 1945. The banner of Victory was raised in the sky over Berlin.
Storming of the Reichstag. Germany, Berlin, May 1945
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Banner of victory over the German Reichstag in Berlin. May 4, 1945
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The walls of the building were covered with thousands of inscriptions left by the Soviet soldiers, the main meaning of which is “We reached and won”.
Commemorative inscriptions on the columns and walls of the Reichstag, made by soldiers and officers of the Soviet army. Berlin. May 1945
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Commemorative inscriptions on the columns and walls of the Reichstag, made by soldiers and officers of the Soviet army. Berlin. May 1945 g.
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The next day, May 2, Germany finally capitulated — the commander of the troops, General Weidling, surrendered and signed the corresponding order.
Already two days after the fall of the capital of the Third Reich, on May 4, Soviet troops marched triumphantly across the square near the Brandenburg Gate. The streets of the city were still smoking from the fires, the last shots were heard on the outskirts. However, everyone already knew that the fascist regime was defeated. nine0003
The victory parade of the Soviet troops of the Berlin garrison at the Brandenburg Gate.
May 4, 1945
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The Berlin offensive ended on May 8, 1945. On the outskirts of Berlin, Karlshorst, at 22:43, the Act of Germany’s unconditional surrender was signed.
Air Marshal Teder (Great Britain) and G.K. Zhukov sign the act of unconditional capitalization of Germany. Berlin, 8 May 1945 g.
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The act of unconditional surrender of Germany. Newspaper «Red Banner». May 9, 1945
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Soldiers of the Red Army at the Brandenburg Gate. Berlin, 08 May 1945
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Victory parades were held all over the world. But perhaps the most significant was the Victory Parade, organized by the victorious country. It was held on June 24 on Red Square in Moscow and became a landmark event for millions of people around the world. nine0003
Even the pouring rain could not overshadow the solemn mood of the parade participants.
True, because of the downpour, the air part of the parade and the demonstration of workers had to be abandoned.
Marshal Georgy Zhukov, took over the parade, rode a silver-white stallion, followed by the commander of the parade, Marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky, on a black horse. Joseph Stalin and members of the Politburo watched the parade from the podium of Lenin’s Mausoleum.
Suvorov drummers were the first to march solemnly. They were followed by especially distinguished soldiers of eleven fronts: infantrymen and artillerymen, tankers and pilots, cavalrymen, sappers and signalmen — about 40 thousand people in total. nine0003
Victory Parade on Red Square. Infantry. June 24, 1945
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Victory Parade on Red Square. Pilots — Heroes of the Soviet Union. June 24, 1945
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Military equipment took part in the parade, including the legendary Katyusha mortars. It is interesting that all the Katyushas in the parade have one headlight, that is, in the form in which they participated in the war: it was too wasteful to put a pair of headlights for front-line needs.
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Victory Parade on Red Square. Guards mortars. June 24, 1945
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Standard-bearers carried 36 banners of units and formations that distinguished themselves in battle. Commanders of fronts and armies walked in front of each regiment.
Commanders of the fronts of the Great Patriotic War: I.S. Konev, A.M. Vasilevsky, G.K. Zhukov, K.K. Rokossovsky, K.A. Meretskov, F.I. Tolbukhin, R.Ya. Malinovsky, A.A. Govorov, A.I. Eremenko, I.Kh. Bagramyan. nineteen45 g.
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The culmination of the parade was the deposition at the foot of the Mausoleum of two hundred banners and standards of the defeated German units. The soldiers held the German banners in gloves — so as not to touch the enemy banners with their hands. To the drum roll, the standards were thrown onto a special wooden platform — they were not supposed to touch the paving stones of Red Square. After the parade, both the gloves and the platform were burned, and the banners were handed over to museums for storage.
Standards of Wehrmacht units thrown at the foot of the Mausoleum during the Victory Parade on Red Square in Moscow on June 24, 1945
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The victory in the Great Patriotic War and the heroic deed of our people became a new theme in Soviet art.
Irina Velikanova, General Director of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia:
“In addition to the Shtranich painting, the Museum houses a number of iconic paintings on which Russian artists depicted their vision of the heroic episodes of the Great Patriotic War. These paintings are well known to many – they served as illustrations in Soviet school history textbooks.”
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The Museum of Modern History of Russia has preserved unique documentaries dedicated to the capture of Berlin and the Victory Parade in Moscow on June 24, 1945.
BERLIN.
Historical chronicle of the last decisive battle with Nazi Germany, the capture of Berlin and the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces.
