Daybreak Makes Adjustments To PlanetSide Arena To Compensate For Low Player Numbers
1000-player battle royale matches are all well and good on paper. Unfortunately, the average number of players logging in to PlanetSide Arena have fallen way below the number required to keep matches fast-paced and interesting. This has forced Daybreak Games to make a few changes to Safe Zones and the Pain Field along with a number of other improvements, all of which are now live with the latest update.
“[. . .] We've incorporated a new system that allows us to adjust the Pain Field behavior dynamically, based on match population. As you may or may not know, our first map was created to up to 1000+ players for the modes we plan to release. In an effort to not spread Squads too broadly across such a massive map, we've incorporate a new dynamic system that adjusts based on match population thresholds. As a result, Squad engagement should be much quicker and overall match completion times should be noticeably shorter when starting pops are low.”
The update also makes Weapon Underbarrel Enhancements available across all weapon lines and rarities. Underbarrels can also now be accessed by hitting “B” instead of double-tapping the weapon number. Players who want to revert to the old setting can do so through the “Legacy Underbarrel Key” option. In addition, reloading can now be interrupted to switch to Underbarrel.
Performance improvements, a number of bug fixes, additional anti-cheat improvements, and improved hit indicators have also been introduced into the game with the update. You’ll find a detailed list of changes in the full patch notes on the PlanetSide Arena official site.
