Broken Arrow news & patch notes

Following the release of version 1.1.0.3, it became clear that the update did not meet the expectations of the vast majority of the community. This is primarily because too few of the changes from the testing branch made it into the update, along with several new gameplay features that sparked widespread criticism. In its current state, we consider this update to have fallen short.

⠀

Our dev team has adjusted its plans and begun reviewing what made it into the update and what didn't, focusing on the changes that had already been tested on the PTE while continuing work in that direction. Put simply, we got this one wrong, and we're now working to set things right. We're preparing to release another major update before the end of this month, with more details to follow as they become available through our official channels.

⠀

— Steel Balalaika Team

Please note that deploying the update will result in a short server downtime.

⠀

• Infantry rearm speed modifier from “Supply” ability reduced — ×0,5 → ×0,25.

• Resupply time for all RPGs has been reduced by half. 

→⠀In practice, only ATGMs and MANPADS are meaningfully affected by slower resupply from vehicles.

⠀

• Patriot PAC−3 and Patriot PAC−3 MSE, target list now correctly includes ballistic missiles.

• ESTSOF, C90−CR−BK firing range fixed — 800 → 400 m.

• M1134 Stryker ATGM, incorrect interaction between APS and “Sneak” ability fixed.

• T−72B, 9M119 Invar base DMG fixed — 9 → 10.

• Chernye Berety, ground optics fixed — 1,4 → 1,2 km.

• Rangers Stinger, ground optics fixed — 1,2 → 1,4 km.

• MQ−1C Gray Eagle and MQ−9 Reaper, AGM−114K Hellfire 2 aim−time fixed — 2−3 → 1 sec.

• Shturmoviki, RPG−7V reload speed increased — 6−8 → 5−6 sec.

Foreword

For the past 3 months the Private Test Environment (our beta branch) has been running. What was initially supposed to be a shorter 2 to 4 weeks test ended up creeping in scope, with some features needing time to be refined and players requesting balance changes in the meantime when it wasn’t our initial goal.

As a result we ended up splitting the community into two groups not really playing the same game and becoming less and less compatible with each other as time passed. Some preferring PTE, others preferring the live version, all agreeing that no version is perfect but that keeping both is detrimental.

The objective of this patch is to re-unify our community back into a single version. We have heard the feedback from players who actively participated in the PTE as well as those who were disappointed by it and went back to the live version.

This patch is not the removal of one version or another, it’s a fusion of both, a new shared foundation for future improvements.

Sincerely, Steel Balalaika Team

User interface

• Return to battlegroup time is now displayed in the statistics card of units.

• Automatic weapons damage is now expressed per second.

• Added a timer animation when infantry exits a transport.

• Added a low altitude flight indicator for helicopters.

• Defensive smoke ability deployment delay is now feedbacked on the label of the unit.

Designer’s note: This delay is not new, only the visual feedback. You cannot use smoke at the last moment, grenades take a short time to deploy and when missiles lose track of the target they don’t instantly crash into the ground so there is a chance that they randomly hit the target through the smoke.

Technical

• Fixed several null-reference errors and recurring exceptions.

• Fixed an exception occurring when multiple supply trucks were selected.

• Fixed soldiers occasionally remaining alive inside destroyed transports.

• Fixed multiplayer synchronization of infantry stress.

• Fixed helicopters moving closer to targets despite already being within weapon range.

• Fixed helicopters repeatedly resetting targets they could not aim at.

• Fixed static radar mode sometimes staying activated while a unit was moving.

• Fixed infantry stress being applied from only one source per frame.

• Improved projectile interception calculations.

• Added validation for invalid ammunition data received during network combat.

• Added missing localization for new abilities and interface elements.

• Improved Supply and Repair system performance.

• Optimized unit transform processing.

• Reduced garbage collection in the combat target-scoring system.

Maps

• New zone layout for the maps “Oil Rush” and “Highway of Death”

Economy/Victory points

• Units upkeep reduced from 6% to 5% in multiplayer matches.

Designer’s note: This will make the game more dynamic with more units present on the battlefield, it also reduces a bit the efficiency of suicidal spam tactics and makes the calculation of how much upkeep a unit costs easier (take the unit price, divide it by ten, then by two, this is its upkeep value).

• Killing your own units or ally units now counts in the destruction score.

Designer’s note: We initially didn’t count that to limit the power of nuisance of griefers. But this was exploited by players who killed their own units on purpose to avoid giving destruction scores to the opponent. It was also favouring “danger close” bombing, especially nukes, because only enemy losses would count in case of friendly fire.

We remind all players that team killing allies on purpose is punishable by a temporary ban and that repeated offenses can lead to a permanent ban. So avoid blue on blue as much as you can, apologize in case of mistakes and if you are overwhelmed and friendly fire is acceptable, the code word is easy to remember: it’s BROKEN ARROW!

Gameplay

Our objectives for this patch are:

• Finalize the changes from PTE which were received positively and integrate them in the main branch environment.

• Reinforce the Russian faction whose win rate is inferior to the US faction at the moment.

• Reinforce the Baltic Battalion specialization to make it more appealing.

Aircraft/Anti-aircraft

Objectives:

• Improve anti-overkill mechanics to make it less frustrating

• Reinforce the place of the fighter jets as a part of the air defense network

• Reduce the amount of airstrikes to give more breathing room to ground battle

Changes:

• Anti-overkill system improved. The probability to hit targets using flares is correctly calculated, launchers located closer to the target have priority to shoot over those located further away, SAM auto-protect themselves by retargeting their missiles on SEAD missiles targeting them.

• Heavy SAM delay between missiles increased from 2-3sec to 3-4sec

Designer’s note: With the anti-overkill allowing more missiles to be fired, SAMs efficiency literally skyrockets leaving no possibility to use planes, so the rate of fire has been reduced to balance that. It also means that when two SEAD missiles are fired in quick succession at a SAM it will never be able to intercept the second on its own.

• A small extra range vs SEAD missiles has been added to the SHORAD units with the shortest range to act as a buffer in case of high network lag and help with interception.

• All missiles associated with SHORAD vehicles equipped with a radar can now intercept SEAD and Cruise missiles. Exception of Hellfire missile which is too slow to intercept but can target vehicles instead.

• SPAAG with radar, turret rotation speed increased to help interception

Designer’s note: SHORAD ability to intercept SEAD has been reinforced as a compensation for heavy SAM becoming more vulnerable to SEAD. We want to reinforce the idea that air defense is a network with multiple layers: fighter jets, SAM, SHORAD.

• Ballistic missiles are not targeted during the ascending phase any more (first third of their trajectory) to avoid losing interceptor missiles that wouldn't be able to reach them.

• SHORAD units can't intercept ballistic missiles any more. Only long range anti-plane SAM can now intercept ballistic missiles.

Designer’s note: While this might look like a buff to ballistic missiles, this is actually preventing air defence from wasting missiles in situations where an interception was impossible anyways.

• Air to Air missiles aim time reduced from 1 second to 0

• SAM aim time reduced from 1-2 seconds to 0

• SAM range reduced proportionally to the aim time reduction:

  • 4500 → 4200 (S-300V4 with extended range missiles)

  • 4300 → 4000 (S-300PM with extended range missiles)

  • 4000 → 3600 (PAC-2, S-300)

  • 3600 → 3200 (PAC-3 MSE, S-350)

  • 3200 → 2900 (PAC-3, S-350, BUK-M3)

  • 3000 → 2700 (NASAMS-ER, BUK-M2)

  • 2800 → 2600 (Iris-T SLM)

Designer’s note: The range reduction corresponds to the missile flight distance during their former aim time. As a result ground attack planes heading toward the SAM are intercepted at the same distance as before while fighter jets can loiter closer to the frontline and fire their missiles faster without flying as much in the direction of the enemy air defense.

• Heavy SAM with cold launch vertical shooting (S-300, S-350) main engine activation delay reduced from 1 sec to 0.6 sec, allowing them to intercept planes and missiles at ranges more similar to hot launched missiles (hot launch= main engine activated from the start, cold launch = main engine activated after the ejection phase).

Designer’s note: With the reduced range the delay of cold launch becomes more impactful and requires to be reduced to maintain the ability to intercept SEAD missiles.

• Planes delay to return to the deck globally increased and dependent on the loadout.

Designer’s note: Air to air missiles and rocket pods create the least cooldown, low altitude bombs and smart bombs generate more cooldown than dumb bombs and cruise missiles while nukes remain the longest to reload. This will give more breathing room to the ground battle and reinforce again the fighter jets in their role of air interdiction.

• Planes reaching red stress level get a smaller accuracy penalty to missiles from -50% to -40%

• Panicked planes suffer from a larger dispersion when they drop bombs from +50% to +100%

Designer’s note: Bombers managing to drop their bombs after taking a hit will be less accurate while fighters will remain a bit more efficient after being hit.

• Plane launched cruise missiles' aim time reduced from 3 to 1 second (except Kh-102 nuke to avoid selling the plane instantly)

• All smart bombs aim time reduced to 1 second

• Planes don’t start aiming before reaching the correct altitude when using smart bombs and cruise missiles

Designer’s note: The aim time made the ergonomic worse, with more cases where the plane had to loop around. This was a temporary solution to prevent these weapons from being used from low altitude. Now that we have a technical solution to that we can lower the aim time to improve the ergonomics.

• Guns, rockets and air to ground missiles mounted on planes are now fired automatically without requiring a strafe order.

• Kh-38 and AGM-65 Maverick missiles cannot reacquire targets any more if they lose track

• Kh-29 is now working as an air to ground missile that can target both vehicles and infantry

• Close air support planes’ turn speed increased. (A-10, Harriers, Su-25s, Yak-38, Albatros)

• AC-130 / KC-130 griffin missiles are now functional and are dropped automatically when flying over a target

• AC-130 / KC-130 hellfire missiles rate of fire increased

• Small bombs minimum drop length reduced

Designer’s note: This is an important change helping close air support planes like A-10 Thunderbolt or Su-25 to be really useful in the game. It makes the ergonomics of strafe runs simpler as you can simply click on the target and the plane will attack it with its gun and rockets. Using the strafe command is still possible to target suspected enemy positions. AC-130 and KC-130 also benefit from this new feature by allowing previously underused munitions to be dropped automatically.

• Quantity of decoys carried by planes doubled (15 → 30, 20 → 40)

Designer’s note: More countermeasures will benefit fighters more than bombers since bombers generally go back to base immediately before running out of flares and won’t really benefit from that. Fighters on the other hand will be able to loiter for a longer time instead of being forced to go back to base because they ran out of flares after a single engagement.

• Low altitude drones (Korsar, Forpost, RQ-7 Shadow) are now considered as helicopter target type by weapons.

• High altitude drone HP reduced from 15 to 12

• Low altitude drones HP reduced from 10 to 9

Designer’s note: These drones were hardly usable because heavy SAMs were able to target them at rather long range before they recon. Being helicopter target types means they are now countered by SHORAD and weapons like machine guns and autocannons which are more accurate with reality. The reduction of hit points only has an impact on drone swarm tactics by letting units like Tor or Tunguska destroy drones with a single missile.

• Kh-555 dispersion reduced from 120m to 100m and range increased from 8000m to 10000m

• Kh-59MK and Kh-59MK2 cruise missiles range increased from 6000m to 10000m

• Kh-101/102 dispersion reduced from 100m to 80m

Designer’s note: Cruise missiles are supposed to be used from outside the range of the AA network as a low risk / low reward option, these exceptions were not justified so the values have been unified. Kh-101 are modern missiles so buffing their accuracy is justified.

• Cargo planes price reduced

  • C-17 Globemaster : 250$ → 175$

  • IL-76 : 250$ → 150$

  • MC-130H Combat Talon : 200$ → 140$

  • AN-72P 200$ → 100$

  • KC-130J Harvest Hawk 175$ → 110$

  • C-130J-30 Hercules 185$ → 100$

  • C-27J Spartan 175$ → 100$

Designer’s note: With the reinforced presence of fighters and the improvement of anti-overkill logic these planes must be made cheaper to remain viable options. Remember that you can trigger an emergency drop by pressing the airdrop command twice or that you can drop units one at a time by clicking their icon in the cargo panel of the plane.

• Mig-29K can now carry up to 4 Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles.

• Fixed F-22 not being able to fire more than one AIM-260 at a time.

• Predator drone hellfire missiles aim time fixed from 2-3 seconds to 1 second like other drones

• Griffin missile damage increased from 11 to 14 based on its caliber

• SLAMRAM and NASAMS radar activation and missile shooting require the truck to be static.

GROUND COMBAT

Objectives:

• Increase the damage of tank guns

• Reduce the frequency of artillery

• Facilitate the micromanagement of infantry

• Reinforce the synergy between infantry and armored transports

Infantry

• All infantry medium machine guns can be used on the move. (M240, PKP…)

Designer’s note: this was imposing the use of attack order instead of a simple right click when moving these infantry squads. Removing this extra micro management burden will make infantry armed with MMGs less demanding. Note that the weapon is not really fired on the move, the squad member stops to shoot then sprint to catch up with the rest of the squad.

• Damage reduction offered by stress lowered.

• Rate of fire penalty received when stressed increased for rifles, machine guns and marksman rifles.

• Assault rifles generate less stress. They maintain enemy stress but don't generate much unless they kill an enemy soldier.

Designer’s note: when infantry is under fire they start crawling and looking for cover which reduces their rate of fire but also increases their protection. However the bonus of protection outmatched the penalty of RoF resulting in stressed squads having an overall advantage over fresh squads. This won’t be the case any more.

• 50% of the stress taken by a transport is transferred to the infantry inside.

• When a transport is destroyed the surviving infantry exiting the wreck is fully panicked.

Designer’s note: In combination with the changes to stress modifiers above this will make sacrificing transports in an assault less efficient. Losing the transport then sprinting forward with the panicked infantry will result in much more damage taken than before.

• Infantry resupply ability added to armored troop transports: Infantry receive ammunition and healing at a slow rate when they stay within range of the vehicle. The vehicle must be immobile, units stressed or in combat cannot resupply. The rearming speed is twice slower compared to supply crates, the healing speed is 3 times slower.

• M985 Battleship and M-ATV also get this ability even if they are not transports.

Designer’s note: The ability also works when infantry is transported inside the vehicle. This will reward players keeping their transports with their infantry instead of sacrificing them or refunding them instantly.

• Healing cost of infantry halved from 20kg to 10kg of supplies per HP (so 50kg per soldier instead of 100, ammo must still be replenished after the soldier appears).

• Infantry can be resupplied without unloading from their transport. When a resupply order is given to a transport it waits for the infantry inside to be fully healed before the order is considered validated.

• It is now possible to validate a fast move or reverse order on a supply crate to give a resupply order.

• It is now possible to queue load orders even when the transport is full (allows to queue multiple load and unload orders).

Designer’s note: These changes will reduce the cost but also divide by 2 the amount of micro management required to resupply infantry and send them back to the fight. You can now put your infantry in a transport, order a fast move on the crate then queue the order to come back to the front. Previously you needed to dismount next to the crate, wait, click on the crate with infantry, queue the order to mount in the vehicle, wait, then give the order to come back to the front.

• Infantry equipped with Manpads low altitude optics increased from 1600 to 2500

• Ground optics increased from 1200 to 1400 for infantry equipped with anti-infantry weapons with a range superior or equal to 800m or anti tank capability with a range superior or equal to 1200m

Designer’s note: This will make the use of ATGM infantry and manpads easier as they can more autonomously track their targets.

• Semi-active infantry ATGM aim time reduced by one second 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• SRAW rocket launcher aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• SPG-9 Sapog aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3

• SPG-9 range increased 900m → 1000m

• CAAT Javelin number of missiles carried 4 > 6

• Assaultmen SMAW number of anti-tank and thermobaric rockets reduced from 8 to 6 of each type

• Assaultmen SMAW price 70 → 80$

• Assaultmen SRAW price 90$ → 80$

• VDV Igla now carry an extra missile, price 60$ → 65$

• RPG-29 Vampyr, RPG-7V2 (Ingenery Shturmoviki), and SMAW reload time unified with other RPG 6-8 → 5-6 sec

• Ingenery Shturmoviki CQC variant has an AK-74M rifle replaced by a KS-K automatic shotgun, making them more efficient in CQC combat.

• Morskaya Razvedka weapons swap for one soldier from RPK-74M to AK-103 + RPG-27

• SSO CQC GP-34 grenade launchers replaced by KS-K automatic shotguns and price increased from 85$ to 90$

• SSO standoff armor fixed from 10 to 8

• New customisation: VDV Shturm a variant of VDV Dsh with a RPG-7 shooting thermobaric rockets

• M250 medium machine gun ability to fire at enemies located inside the same building removed

• Rangers snipers AT 120$ → 110$

• Green Berets Punishers 80$ → 70$, Flash 100$ → 90$, Snipers 125$ → 120$

• Spetsnaz VMF assault 80$ → 70$, Snipers 150$ → 130$

• Spetsnaz GRU mixed loadout 130$ → 120$, AT loadout 145$ → 140$

• KAC AMG, Mk48, Minimi Mk3, PKP Bullpup aim time fixed to match other infantry MMGs. (+1sec)

Helicopters:

• When a helicopter flying low is destroyed, the soldiers it carries have a 50% probability to survive. This probability is reduced depending on the helicopter max HP and weapon damage.

• The low altitude icon appearing on helicopter labels indicate that the altitude is low enough for infantry to have a probability to survive a crash.

Designer’s note: Currently transport helicopters are rarely used past the initial deployment because it’s too dangerous to bring infantry close to the frontline and it’s faster to use a truck than dropping infantry far back and having them walk the rest of the distance. Rather than reducing helicopters’ price which could lead to problems of empty helicopter rush it is a better approach to limit the cost of a crash by letting the infantry survive even if they are in a bad shape.

• AH-6 and MH-6 helicopters armor reduced from 10 to 0 (one shot by weapons with 8 damage or more)

• AH-6 Hellfire upgrade price reduced from 30$ to 25$

• AH-6 Stinger upgrade price increased from 20$ to 25$

Designer’s note: The AH-6 equipped with stingers is too cost efficient and prevents the Russian faction from attempting any move with helicopters on the flanks. While it is part of the asymmetric design to give the US faction and especially SOF specialization an advantage in this domain we don’t want to make it too significant. It is not a problem when playing US mirror because the AH-1 equipped with AIM-9 counters the Killer Eggs very efficiently. With this change Russia gains several hard counters to the AH-6 in the form of the Mi-24P equipped with R-60 AA missiles, very cheap planes equipped with multiple R-60 (Su-25, Yak-38), and the Verba manpad.

• Helicopters non-top attack ATGM aim time reduced by 1 second

• Comanche Hellfire missiles aim time fixed from 3-4 to 2-3 like other helicopters equipped with top attack missiles.

Vehicles

• Vehicles reaching yellow stress level get a smaller aim time penalty from +50% to +25%

• Vehicles reaching red stress level get a smaller aim time penalty from +100% to +50%

Designer’s note: Panicked vehicles like tanks could feel very sluggish with an aim time up to 8 seconds. Previously the modifiers were shared between every unit type. We can now define independent modifiers for vehicles, infantry and planes allowing us to assign more adapted values to each unit type.

• Tanks' guns damage increased:

  • 120 and 125mm APFSDS rounds from 6 to 8

  • 120mm, 122mm and 125mm HEAT rounds from 9 to 10

  • 125mm HE rounds from 12 to 13

  • 105mm APFSDS rounds from 5.5 to 7

  • 100mm AP rounds from 5 to 6

• Gun launched ATGM damage increased to match the new HEAT rounds damage

Designer’s note: This is a very important change allowing tanks with 120/125mm guns to destroy any armored vehicle in two shots, regardless of their HEAT protection. It will also increase the lethality of tank vs tank engagements by 33%.

• M10 Booker HEAT frontal armor reduced from 800 to 500

• M10 Booker base price 145$ → 140$

• M10 Booker APS upgrade 45$ → 50$

• M10 Booker 105mm option 10$ → 0$

• M10 Booker 50mm option 0$ → 10$

Designer’s note: The Booker with 50mm gun is by far the most overused and overperforming unit in the game. It will be strongly impacted by the increased damage of tank guns which will kill it in 2 shots instead of 3. The HEAT armor was also over evaluated compared to what a vehicle of this volume and weight could realistically have so it has been reduced, making infantry RPGs more of a threat.

• BMPT Terminator base price reduced by 15$, armor and grenade launcher upgrades each reduced by 5$ (total price 250$ → 225$)

• Barbaris 57mm upgrade price reduced from 100$ to 75$

Designer’s note: Similarly to the Booker, the increased tank damage impacts the efficiency of those heavily armored autocannon carriers as they cannot so recklessly try to circle around tanks any more.

• Semi-active Gun launched ATGM aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• BTO RPO-A rockets aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• War pig fletcher rockets aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• SPG-9 and PV-1110 aim time reduced 3-4 → 2-3 sec

• T-72B3 availability increased from 3 to 6

• T-72B availability increased from 6 to 9

• T-14 Armata reload time reduced from 6-7 sec to 5-6sec

• Grom gun range increased from 800m to 1000m (BMP-1 family)

• ACV infantry slots increased from 13 to 14 (to let marine raiders and 6+8 squads combo fit inside.)

• War pig fletcher upgrade 15$ → 10$

• War pig TOW-2BB upgrade 20$ → 10$

• Bereg anti aircraft shells dispersion reduced from 30x24m to 16x12m

Artillery

• Howitzers, MLRS and Ballistic missiles resupply time doubled and take much longer to return to the deck when refunded or killed.

Designer’s note: This is the most meaningful change to artillery, forcing players to more carefully select their targets as the amount of time these weapons can be fired during a match is drastically reduced, especially if they are sold after shooting.

• Smoke duration of mortars reverted from 90sec to 60sec (remains at 90sec for howitzers and GRAD MLRS)

• Howitzers and mortars direct fire HEAT rounds now have a separate aim time of 3-4 seconds.

• 152mm and 155mm cluster rounds area of effect increased to match the HE rounds. (similarly to mortars and MLRS logic)

• GRAD incendiary loadout -50$ (250$ → 200$)

• Brutus guided round option price increased from 130$ to 150$

• Smerch cluster -25$ (275$ → 250$)

• Tornado-S guided cluster -25$ (300$ → 275$)

• Tornado-S guided HE +25$ (275$ → 300$)

• M270 MLRS cluster -25$ (275$ → 250$)

• HIMARS guided cluster -20$ (220$ → 200$)

• HIMARS guided HE +20$ (200$ → 220$)

• M270A2 GMLRS guided cluster -25$ (300$ → 275$)

• M270A2 GMLRS guided HE +25$ (275$ → 300$)

Designer’s note: The HE rockets benefit more from being guided than the cluster which applies the same damage over a large area. Hence the inversion of price between them.

• Cluster ballistics missiles fully ignore cover

• Tochka-U cluster missile area of effect unified with other cluster ballistic missiles 100m → 110m

• Iskander-K with 4 cruise missiles now rearms 25% faster than the version with 2 missiles

• Malka extended range ammunition laser guidance ability added. Customization cost increased 20$ → 50$

• Nona SVK transferred from coastal to moto.

Sneak ability

Designer’s note: The sneak ability represents how recon vehicles crews infiltrate in reality, with the engine running at low RPM to avoid creating sound and dust and to give them more time to scan while advancing. In game the ability doubles the stealth of the vehicles while reducing their speed by half. The ability is canceled if the vehicle is detected or shoots.

• Sneak ability added to the following recon vehicles:

  • 1v119 Reostat with upgrade

  • 1V14 Mashina-S with upgrade

  • PRP-5G

  • PRP-5K

  • PRP-4A Argus

  • T-90M Razvedchik with upgrade

  • M981 FISTV

  • M1200 Armored Knight.

• Sneak ability added to dedicated ATGM carriers

  • Kornet-D1

  • Kornet-T

  • BRDM-2 ATGM

  • Shturm-S

  • LAV-AT

  • Stryker-AT

  • M901A3

  • Humvee TOW

  • Baltic G-Wagen

Stryker specialisation buff

Designer’s note: The Stryker specialization suffers a lot from the tank damage increase as the entirety of its vehicles are now killed by tanks in 2 shots instead of 3. Several buffs have been made to compensate.

• All Stryker based vehicles don't lose speed any more when up armored

• Stryker ESV/ICV javelin upgrade price reduced 35$ → 30$

• Stryker MGS base price reduced 90$ → 85$, Mk19 upgrade price increased 0$ → 5$

• Scouts now carry an extra AT-4 rocket launcher

• A M110 marksman rifle has been added to Troopers AA

• Airborne snipers moved to Stryker brigade specialisation, renamed "Snipers"

• New unit: Airborne Recce squad with 2 possible customisations added to Airborne specialisation to replace the airborne snipers

Baltic Battalion buff

Designer’s note: We didn’t want to create an overpowered specialization reinforcing the win rate of the already superior US faction, so this specialization was released with cautious values. Now that we have a better picture of its capabilities we can improve some of its weaknesses to make it more attractive.

• Infantry MG3 resupply time fixed (was 10 times too long)

• RBS-70 weapon priority fixed, the missile launcher will always be picked up if the soldier carrying it dies

• Jalavae Jagu and Eesti scouts now carry and extra Spike-SR missiles

• ESTSOF C90-CR-BK multirole rocket penetration increased 200 → 300

• KASP rifles and rockets range increased 300 → 400

• Leopard 2A8 AP munition penetration increased 450 → 475 (DM53 → DM73 round)

• Leopard 2A8 base price increased 245$ → 260$

• CV-9035 MkIV upgrade price reduced 70$ → 50$

• Vilkas IFV base price reduced 100$ → 90$

• Javelin team price reduced 85$ → 75$

• Spike-LR team price reduced 110$ → 100$

We would like to thank everyone who participated in the first public test. According to our statistics, since the branch launched on April 22, more than 50k unique players have joined the test. Throughout both the closed and open phases of the PTE, we evaluated a large number of gameplay changes and design approaches, many of which proved successful and will make their way into the main version of the game.

With that in mind, we have decided to conclude the current testing iteration — access to the branch will be revoked on June 26.

That said, the PTE is far from over. Once a new batch of changes is ready, we will prepare another testing iteration. For now, our focus shifts to finalizing the upcoming update for the main version of the game, for which the following set of changes has already been approved:

GROUND UNITS

To begin with, a new Airborne Recce unit will be added to the game, as well as a new loadout for VDV DSh equipped with thermobaric rounds for RPG-7V2. Units from the Baltic Battalion specialization will also receive several buffs. In addition, various balance adjustments and new capabilities will affect a range of other combat vehicles:

• Increased base DMG of tank shells.

• Availability limits expanded for the T−72 family.

• Pricing adjustments for a wide range of AFVs, IFVs, and APCs.

• New "Sneak" ability for reconnaissance vehicles and ATGM carriers.

⠀→⠀Provides additional stealth at the cost of movement speed.

AIRTAB & AA

Several SAMs have received range adjustments to give fighters more room to manoeuvre without strengthening bombers. Overkill logic has also been improved, and vertical launch mechanics have been refined. Aviation will see a number of changes of its own:

• Aircraft will be able to engage ground targets with rockets and AGMs without requiring a Strafing Run order.

• Resurrection and refund timers have been revised, particularly for strike aircraft, which will generally see longer cooldowns.

INF COMBAT & LOGISTICS

Penalties from Shock and Panic states are being adjusted, alongside a new mechanic that transfers stress from transports to infantry, including full stress when auto−dismounting from a destroyed vehicle. At the same time, infantry micro will become more convenient thanks to:

• An option to resupply units without unloading them from their transport.

• New ability for some vehicles to rearm infantry without using supply dumps.

• Infantry transported in helicopters can now survive low−altitude crashes, albeit with heavy casualties.

• Numerous fixes to order logic and interactions between infantry, transports, and supplies.

ARTILLERY

Finally, artillery will receive increased refund cooldowns and longer ammunition resupply times, alongside adjustments to several munition types:

• AoE of cluster munitions has been increased for howitzers.

• Smoke screen duration for mortars has been restored to 60 seconds. 

In addition to the changes listed above, the update will include bug fixes and several QoL features, including cooldown timers and DPS values in unit cards. As a final reminder, this is only a brief overview of the most notable changes. The full patch notes will be published on the day Update 1.1.0.3 goes live on July 2.

We'll see you again very soon, Commanders! — Steel Balalaika Studio

Devblog 2.0 on June 12 — Observer Mode

For a long time, one of the community's most requested features has been spectator functionality. There are many occasions when someone needs to be present in a match without actively participating, from stream casting to tournament coverage. Today, we'd like to take a closer look at the upcoming “Observer” mode, which is currently in the final stages of development.

Previously, players who wanted to spectate had to either join one of the teams as an AFK teammate or rely on other solutions such as game recordings or restreaming through Discord. With the new system, the functionality of the Waiting List in custom lobbies has been significantly improved. While it retains its original purpose, lobby hosts will now have an additional option — assigning a waiting player as a spectator for the upcoming match.

The spectator assignment system has also been designed to be highly flexible. A spectator can be tied either to a specific side (Alpha or Bravo) or to a neutral one. In the former case, they will only be able to spectate the match from that team's perspective, without the ability to switch sides. In the latter, they will be free to switch between A / N / B perspectives, giving them complete freedom over what they see on the battlefield.

To clarify, the lobby host can also become a spectator and even launch the battle without occupying a slot on either team. We believe this feature will be especially appreciated by tournament organizers, as a considerable amount of time often had to be spent simply setting up the lobby, since one of the participating players always had to act as the host.

In−game, spectators will have access not only to a free camera, but also to a dedicated spectator UI replacing the standard battle UI. We continue to refine two display modes for it: an overview featuring all players' statistics, and detailed player tracking.

The first mode is fairly self−explanatory. Think of it as a familiar TAB screen that no longer covers the entire battlefield, while also providing additional economy and K/D statistics. The second mode, however, is where things become far more interesting. It provides a complete breakdown of a player's deck composition, updated in real time, allowing spectators to instantly see which units remain available in reserve and which ones are currently on cooldown.

Furthermore, spectators can open any unit's card in just one click, displaying the exact customization selected by the player. This tool will be particularly useful for streamers and casters when analyzing gameplay and, in particular, a team's complete airtab, as there will no longer be any need to guess a build based on price or wait for a specific unit to be deployed on the battlefield.

Finally, observer slots will have no reconnect timeout, with the option to forfeit the right to return. Spectators will also retain full access to in−game chat, subject to the same A / N / B visibility rules. “Skirmish” mode will not be left behind either, and we plan to release an adapted implementation that takes into account certain peculiarities of AI opponents.

Overall, work on “Observer” mode has entered the home stretch, and the dev team is currently putting the finishing touches on the core feature set. More advanced functionality, such as player tracking, will follow later.

See you on the battlefield! — Steel Balalaika Studio

Hello Everyone, Dear players, today, we are releasing a small patch for the main version of the game aimed at fixing the invisible unit exploit.

We appreciate your reports and encourage you to continue sharing any issues you encounter.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Друзья, сегодня для основной версии игры мы выпускаем небольшой патч, призванный исправить баг с невидимыми юнитами.

Благодарим за вашу обратную связь, ведь именно она помогла оперативно выявить проблему и устранить её.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 各位玩家，今天我们为游戏主版本发布了一项小型补丁，主要用于修复单位隐形漏洞。感谢各位玩家的及时反馈，也欢迎大家继续反馈，随时报告游戏内遇到的问题。

It’s been a little while since our last major development update, and during this week’s livestream we wanted to take the opportunity to talk openly about where Broken Arrow currently stands, what the team has been working on behind the scenes, and what players can expect over the coming months.

If you missed the stream, you can watch the full VOD here:

Baltic Battalion & PTE

Following the release of the Baltic Battalion DLC, we’ve been incredibly happy to see the positive reception from the community. While the DLC was designed as a smaller-scale content release from our perspective, the impact it had on the game and community activity exceeded our expectations.

The new hybrid deckbuilding options, strong infantry-focused gameplay, and fresh tactical combinations brought a lot of players back into the game and gave us valuable insight into how players want to expand their armies in the future.

At the same time, the PTE branch has become an important part of development. It allows us to experiment with gameplay changes, rebalance systems, and new features while gathering direct feedback from the community before deploying them to the live version of the game.

Right now, roughly one third of active players are using the PTE regularly, which gives us a strong testing ground for future updates while still keeping the main branch stable for the wider player base.

Incoming gameplay patch

Our next major step is the upcoming gameplay patch, which is currently planned for release within the next few weeks.

This patch will bring a number of features and balance changes currently being tested on the PTE into the main game, including various unit reworks, gameplay adjustments, and configuration updates.

 We only move features from the PTE to the live game once we are confident they are stable and ready. Our approach is intentionally careful, with the goal of improving the overall gameplay experience without disrupting campaigns, scenarios, single-player content, or the core experience players already enjoy.

Not every experimental PTE feature will immediately move to the live branch, and the PTE will continue to serve as our long-term testing environment for future mechanics, balance iterations, and new systems.

The goal is to improve overall gameplay quality while maintaining stability for campaigns, scenarios, and single-player content.

Spectator Mode is almost there

One of the most requested features since launch has been the Spectator Mode, and we’re happy to confirm that development is nearing completion.

The first version of spectator mode will focus on core functionality:

• Team-specific observers

• Neutral observers

• Switching between team perspectives

• Basic tournament spectating support

A second phase is already planned for later updates and will introduce more advanced tournament-oriented functionality, including visibility into player decks, economy information, and expanded esports-style tools.

The recent community tournament demonstrated just how much potential Broken Arrow has as a competitive RTS experience, and spectator mode is a major step toward supporting larger official events in the future.

Technical patch & quality of life improvements

After the gameplay patch, the team will shift focus toward a more technical update aimed at improving multiplayer stability, networking, and overall user experience.

We know many players have experienced frustrations related to multiplayer connectivity and netcode, and improving these systems is currently a major priority for the team.

This technical patch will also introduce a large set of quality of life improvements that have been in development over the past several months.

Planned improvements currently include:

• Chat access during deployment phase

• Improved unit statistics panels

• UI improvements

• Order feedback improvements

• Line of sight tool

• Offline skirmish lobbies

• Additional multiplayer usability updates

Some of these systems are already deep into polishing, while others are still actively in development.

The next DLC

Work is also progressing on the next major DLC focused on Russian forces.

Unlike Baltic Battalion, this will be a significantly larger content release featuring:

• New units

• New maps

• Additional single-player content

• A brand-new campaign

The campaign itself will be shorter than the main release campaign, but it will take place in entirely new locations that the team is especially excited about.

Looking ahead

Beyond new content, one of the team’s biggest long-term goals remains improving the game’s core technology and overall stability. A large amount of work is currently happening behind the scenes on engine improvements and technical overhauls that may not always be immediately visible, but are intended to strengthen Broken Arrow for the long run.

We also want to thank everyone who continues sharing feedback on Discord, Reddit, Steam reviews, and during livestreams. The team actively reads community discussions every day, and your feedback continues to shape the direction of future updates.

We’ll have more to share during the next Broken Arrow livestream around the game’s anniversary in mid-June.

Thank you again for your support and we’ll see you on the battlefield.

Over the past month, the PTE has already seen a large number of new solutions and balance changes. Some of them still require serious fine-tuning, while others managed to hit the intended target almost immediately. In today’s Devblog, we’ll take a closer look at two of what we believe to be the most successful changes so far.

MBTs Are No Longer Playing Nice

According to feedback, heavy armored vehicles armed with 120 mm guns finally started feeling like a truly uncompromising option on the battlefield, which ended up resonating with the overwhelming majority of players. In part because the visual and audio impact of firing them now finally matches their gameplay performance.

Why did tanks originally have an aim time of 3 to 4 seconds, while APFSDS rounds base DMG capped to 6? Previously, the logic was roughly the following: in a direct duel, the MBT was, so to speak, “playing fair”, giving enemy vehicles enough room to use their ATGMs. At the same time, it’s important to remember that tanks do not need to maintain LOS until hit, meaning their only task was to simply survive long enough to fire, instantly deploy smoke afterward, and still guarantee a damage.

However, time has shown that such “fair duels” simply did not justify themselves. This logic especially hurt long-range tank engagements, as well as ambush fire against superior vehicles. On top of that, MBTs also were hard to prove their cost due to the near-guaranteed arrival of a strike fighter carrying guided bombs or cluster munitions, because while the price looked justified on card, the vehicle itself often did not feel worth that amount in actual battle.⠀

As a result, in current meta heavily favors vehicles armed with 50+ mm autocannons, since they are cheaper while also being outright more effective in close-range engagements. Meanwhile, tanks themselves are typically played either through the cheapest possible options or merely as situational countermeasures against threats such as M10 Booker.

Now, after the buff, even the weakest tank caliber currently present in the game, represented by the 2A29 Rapira and mounted on the BMOP Toros, is capable of two-shotting nearly every armored vehicle at any firing range. However, if something gains power somewhere, something else inevitably loses it elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, this buff ended up creating several adjacent balance conflicts:

Hi everyone,

After a few weeks of internal testing, we are happy to announce that the PTE build is now available to everyone.

How to access the PTE

Hi everyone,

The time has come, we’re happy to announce that the PTE Steam branch will be available for everyone to join on April 22nd at 5pm CEST.

On this branch, you’ll be able to test a wide range of gameplay improvements, balance adjustments and new systems designed to deepen strategy and enhance overall battlefield dynamics. Such as:

• Game Mode Changes A new Conquest mode has been introduced with multiple score thresholds (500, 1000, 1500). Points are gained or lost based on zone control, with a fixed tick rate per objective. Destruction points remain unchanged, and phase-based WP compensation has been removed.

• Income Changes Income is now calculated non-linearly based on the number of deployed units, with a cap of 1500 pts. The system is designed to improve early-game dynamics, encourage smaller and lighter armies (including air playstyles) and the ability to extend an army.

• General Changes A new anti-overkill system has been added. Infantry transport vehicles now carry supply crates as an ability that can resupply and heal infantry. Ground units have custom respawn timers visible in their stats. Damage for automatic weapons in the unit info panel is now displayed as damage per second. New map layouts have been introduced, and infantry now inherit stress from destroyed transports. 

• Recon Units A new “Sneak” ability allows certain recon units to increase stealth at the cost of movement speed. Base stealth for these units has been slightly reduced.

• Infantry Infantry weapons have improved damage and range. Their damage reduction system has been reworked so they are most resilient when calm or shocked, and most vulnerable when panicked.

• Vehicles Tank gun damage has been increased, and aiming times for various vehicle weapons have been reduced.

• Support Units Artillery has longer range and aim time, with increased costs. Howitzers are now divided into tiers with different roles and loadouts. Reload times have increased, and 82mm mortars gained an autofire option.

• Anti-Air Anti-air damage and range have been slightly reduced, with missile damage capped to prevent one-shot kills. Radar bonuses against low-flying targets have been reduced, and vertical launch systems have faster animations.

• Helicopters Helicopter agility has been slightly improved, transport helicopter prices reduced, and ATGM aim times shortened.

• Aircraft Aircraft refund timers now depend on rearm time of ammunition instead of cost. Air superiority fighters rearm faster. Aircraft pricing has been standardized based on loadouts. Cargo plane prices have been reduced.

You can see more current details by clicking PTE v.1.

To celebrate, we’ll be live on Slitherine’s Twitch Channel starting at 3pm CEST, hosting VulcanHD as he showcases and plays the PTE for a couple of hours. After that, all of you will be able to jump in and start playing. Your feedback will be invaluable in helping us shape and refine the update before it is released on the main branch. Don’t miss it.

Dear players,

We’ve released a small update that includes several fixes and improvements aimed at increasing overall game stability.

• Fixed announced infantry damage modifiers not being applied

• Fixed incorrect playback of few voice commands of some Baltic units;

• Fixed an issue with scrolling being too fast in few menus;

• Fixed an issue when starting a scenario from Editor tab led to assigned deck being incorrect;

• Fixed an issue when Editor's Help tool wouldn't run in some cases;

• Fixed an issue with AI's double spawn of units @ Baltyisk skirmish;

• Fixed an issue when helicopters were able to fly through construction site-type buildings;

• Fixed Dam 3D model issue;

• Fixed LODs @ Zu-23;

• Various fixes and improvements of Welcome to Kadaga pve scenario;

• Fixed various crashes and freezes.

Hello everyone!

We’re glad to share an update on the test build, including the progress we’ve made and what comes next. The team is currently focused on several key tasks. Major changes to gameplay and core mechanics are ahead, along with a full balance review. These decisions are meant to expand the game’s potential and build a stronger foundation for its future development.

We are currently working on the test build and have already made solid progress. More than half of the planned work is now complete. We expect to begin public testing in April. Once we receive your feedback, the team will focus on fixing the remaining issues, making further adjustments, and then rolling the build out to the main version of the game.

Based on your feedback, we have identified the main issues in the current version and the areas that need priority attention. This showed us that several core mechanics and parts of unit balance need to be reworked, as they directly affect match pace, the role of certain weapon types, and the importance of different stages of battle.

In the test build, these areas have become the basis for targeted changes to gameplay mechanics and unit behavior. Our goal is to make the gameplay smoother and more refined while preserving tactical depth and a wide range of viable decisions.

The test version includes a full rebalance of air defense, the anti-overkill mechanic, and aircraft timers. These changes are meant to make air strikes more varied and give counterplay tools clearer roles. We have also revised the balance of cruise missiles to reduce their dominant impact on battles. Major changes have been made to tank stats, and the functionality of infantry transports has been expanded to strengthen the connection between different unit types. In addition, we are refining the game mode to increase the importance of key points throughout the match.

We will continue sharing development details and progress updates as we move closer to testing.

We sincerely hope these upcoming changes will excite you as much as they excite us. We look forward to sharing more details about everything that lies ahead.

The new DLC Baltic Battalion is out now and available for free.

You can download it today and immediately access all the new content included in this release, expanding your experience with everything listed below:

• New army specialization : Baltic Battalion, including more than 30 new units and many more customization options.

• New map: Kadaga Military base

• New solo+coop scenario “Welcome to Kadaga” that can be re-played in 6 different ways

• New Baltic Battalion AI preset for skirmish

• New profile customization

• 12 new music compositions have been added to the Original Sound Track (also available on streaming platforms)

To celebrate the launch, the Spring Sale discount will remain active until April 6th. Broken Arrow will be available at a 15% discount until then.

You can also enjoy the original soundtrack here and immerse yourself even further in the game’s atmosphere. This dlc arrives alongside a range of highly anticipated and requested updates, including new features, improvements, gameplay changes, balance adjustments and bug fixes. Highlights include the addition of a Streamer Mode, a reduction in overall game size, performance optimizations, the new emergency airdrop feature and more enhancements designed to improve your overall experience.

New Features:

• Players are now able to report or commend other players in the end match panel;

• Players from CIS region will receive a popup message on game start with info regarding connection issues in the region and how to solve them via in-game proxy;

• Added “Display messages from other players” and “Display drawings from teammates” options in settings (aka “Streamer safe mode”);

• Deck Creation UI has been refreshed.

Improvements:

• Major overhaul of internal project structure that will allow us to provide more frequent updates;

• Significant reduction of game’s size (from 100GB to 60GB of disk space now);

• Significant reduction of updates’ size;

• Upgraded Unity version (minor update) which should decrease RAM and VRAM consumption;

• Scenario lobbies are no longer protected by anti-cheat (both EAC and internal) to let modders experiment things;

• Players can now resupply AI teammates in Skirmish;

• Helicopters better predict obstacles when flying low, they will lose less speed and stop being stuck in some cases;

• Added new voice lines when shooting cruise missiles and nuclear weapons from strategic bombers;

• New loading illustrations added;

• Increased deck selection countdown increased from 15 to 20 seconds;

• Team A and B positions inverted on some maps to avoid disorientation during the planning phase

• In custom scenarios skipping a cutscene as host will lead to cutscene being skipped for everyone else;

• Improved security of BA’s web invites links;

• Improved FX display distance of howitzers and mortars firing;

• Various improvements of VFXs & SFXs;

• Updated minimap images to unify the style and fix some incorrect formats;

• Updated forest & grass visuals.

Mission Editor:

• Node “Spawn multiple units” now properly synced via network;

• Node “Change unit owner” now properly synced via network;

• Node “Add unit to deck” now properly synced via network;

• LuaNode update:

  • Fixed “ConvertDeadUnitsToLua” not working properly

  • Added LuaObjective

  • Added functions to get data from mission variables or storage

  • Added function for interaction with unit groups

  • Added functions for embarking and unloading to lua-units

  • Methods to get tags and objectives on the map

  • Updated lua in-game help page

Gameplay & Balance:

• Customization of units can now change their label icon to better identify which version is used;

• Map “The Dam” has been reworked to reduce the amount of forest. The altitude of the side with lower elevation has been increased to give better line of sight to SAMs;

• Emergency airdrop feature added: clicking the airdrop button twice initiates the airdrop immediately. It is also possible to drop one unit at a time by clicking their icon in the cargo panel of the plane;

• Infantry damage now takes into account the number of soldiers in the squad. Bigger squads will take slightly more damage and smaller squads slightly less. The size of the squad is measured dynamically and takes into account the losses sustained.

• Anti-overkill against planes tweaked to always let a second missile be fired immediately. Previously dropping flares was required to trigger the launch of a second missile if the first missiles had very high damage (S-300)

• Helicopter movement inertia slightly reduced to make them more reactive

• Artillery smoke duration increased from 60 to 90 seconds

• Howitzers with caliber 152mm and above aim time increased from 12-15 sec to 16-20 sec

• MLRS aim time increased from 20-24 sec to 25-30 sec

• Infantry heavy machine guns (Browning/Kord) now work on the same model as vehicle HMG resulting in an approximately 50% higher DPS. Their ammo stock has also been doubled to compensate for the higher ammo consumption.

• Infantry MMGs and medium caliber marksmen rifles damage increased (from 1.2/1.5/1.8 to 1.5/1.8/2)

• Tank guns dispersion reduced resulting in less misses at long range

• Precision-guided munitions aim time won’t start before the plane is on high altitude any more;

• Fixed: SRAW can now be fired at the ground with force fire command;

Bug fixes:

• Fixed an exploit where spamming ESC button during deployment increased starting points;

• Fixed an exploit where spamming ESC button during deployment phase led to units spawning without a delay;

• Fixed an exploit allowing player to spawn unavailable units again after reconnecting;

• Fixed an exploit allowing planes to be invisible (out of fuel exploit);

• Fixed an exploit allowing infantry to survive a helicopter crash if a transport containing infantry was loaded in the helicopter;

• Fixed an issue making units’ labels invisible due to boarding animation;

• Fixed an issue with stealth bonus from buildings being applied with a delay leading to units being detected when they shouldn’t;

• Fixed an issue with infantry labels in buildings not being displayed in some cases;

• Fixed an issue with infantry labels not displaying stress level correctly in some cases;

• Fixed an issue with stress recovery speed being FPS dependent;

• Fixed an issue with vehicles or infantry resetting their aim time when rotating;

• Fixed multiple issues with battlegroup list menu not refreshing correctly;

• Fixed an issue where units’ ghosts couldn’t be cancelled during deployment phase;

• Fixed an issue where ally units tend to block each other when driving on a narrow roads;

• Fixed an issue with laser not reactivating automatically if a building or a point on the ground was designated;

• Fixed a freeze due to scenario data loading (especially affects HDD users);

• Fixed an issue where damage from a collapsing building or a destroyed transport would only apply partial damage if the infantry inside is stressed;

• Fixed an issue with slow responsiveness of weapons UI;

• Fixed an issue with Return Fire mode remaining active even when the unit was engaged;

• Fixed an issue where aiming with MLRS at maximum range wouldn’t work in some cases;

• Afterburner VFX cannot be seen any more if the plane is not detected;

• Fixed an issue where Steam won’t start the game if an invitation was accepted prior to launching the game;

• Fixed an issue where placing a communication marker on a ghost selected the ghost at the same time;

• Fixed an issue where ghosts could be accidentally moved when making a square selection;

• Fixed an issue where players were still able to switch slots after clicking the “ready up” button in some cases;

• Fixed an issue where “Launch” UI element in the lobby could be stuck in some cases;

• Fixed a objective zones color on minimap not coming back to white when neutralized after being captured once;

• Fixed an issue where saving a scenario via “Save As” button didn’t generate a unique GUID, leading to problems if two scenarios had the same GUID;

• Fixed S-300’s missiles’ smoke trail appearing on the S-300’s launcher after the missile hits the target;

• Fixed XM301 gunfire sound (RAH-66 Comanche) overloading the audio system and CPU, causing sound artifacts;

• Fixed US armored specialization icon being different in profile progression.

We hope you enjoy this free DLC and look forward to hearing your feedback. Let us know what you think and stay tuned, shortly we’ll be sharing more details about the upcoming Public Test Environment, where you’ll be able to join, test upcoming changes and provide feedback on major gameplay updates, balancing and new game mode.

Release Date & Discount Plans

Roadmap Update

Baltic Battalion DLC Overview

Patch & Technical Improvements

Public Testing Environment (PTE)

Q&A SESSION

• On the monetization of future US and Russian specializations: Will all future specializations for the two base-game factions (USA and Russia) be free for those who own the core game? Or should we expect new specializations for existing nations to be sold as paid DLC, similar to how entirely new factions are handled? The approach doesn’t depend on whether the specialization is for the US or Russia, but rather on the scope and amount of content included in the DLC. If a DLC is large and introduces many new units and features that require significant development time and resources, we can’t realistically release it for free, as development time still has a cost. In this specific case, we wanted to make a gesture to the Broken Arrow community by celebrating an important milestone together: the release of the game’s first DLC. That said, we will absolutely continue to release free content updates as we’ve already done for events like Halloween. However, applying the same model every time (for example, releasing one free specialization per faction) wouldn’t be economically sustainable in the long run.

• What are the next features we can expect? Saves for solo, observers for multiplayer are the next two big things but it will take some time. A beta testing branch will be open soon after the DLC to let the community test quality of life improvements and game mechanics modifications.

• Some players have been asking about the team’s capacity to support the game long-term. Could you share a bit about how the team is currently structured and how you plan to support future content and updates? We’re slowly increasing the size of the team, we released the game with approximately 15 persons working full time, we are approaching 30 now. We plan to support the game for many years with new armies, biomes, game modes etc..

• When do you plan the next balance update? The DLC will contain some global changes impacting the balance:

  • Howitzers and MLRS aim time increase

  • Infantry medium and heavy machine guns and marksman rifles damage increase.

  • A modification on how infantry damage works, more soldiers in the squad means slightly more damage taken.

  • More accurate tank guns.

  But we plan to have major changes coming from the PTE that will impact the balance so we wait for the feedback from the public and will adapt.

• Are you willing to open a map making section of the editor? Impossible in short to medium terms as we use third party softwares to make the maps.

• After hearing the community's response, are there any plans on rearranging or speeding up the release of DLC so that the upcoming new faction comes before 2027? It’s not just a faction but also a new campaign, new features etc. so it takes time to make.

• Any new news in regards to modding? Next patch will allow players to open scenario lobbies with modifications of the game. (one of the two anti-cheats was not disabled previously)

  Also, we are working on a feature to include a copy of the units database in scenarios. This database can be modified with a third party editor (many of them available for free). This means that you can create a scenario (remember: a multiplayer game mode is a scenario) with units having different characteristics.

• Are you planning to add a Middle East campaign? Yes but not in the near future.

• In the last live stream you all teased a bit about having attack drones. Are these attack drones going to be one way attack drones like Shahead? Or are they more like FPV scout and bomber drones for infantry? Will they be countered by MANPAD missiles?  Loitering ammunition is the term we used. These are basically missiles with man in the middle control or AI terminal guidance.  The rules of what can intercept or not must still be defined and tested.

• On the status of Baltic Battalion and upcoming factions: Currently, the Baltic Battalion specialization is announced as a free 6th specialization for the USA. If a dedicated European Union (or a joint European) faction is introduced later, do you plan to migrate the Baltic units to that new faction? Will this specialization remain a permanent part of the US roster, or is it a placeholder until a more fitting faction is released? ​ We will take this decision when the moment comes. But technically nothing prevents a specialization to be present in two factions at the same time. And this works in both directions, you can imagine USMC or US airborne being part of another faction as ally reinforcement.

• Will ships or similar units arrive at some point? We will expand the ships options in the future with rubber boats, patrol boats and larger ships supporting ground battles with guns and missiles. As for true blue water naval warfare the scale is very different from ground battle, fleets are strategic assets and fit better a game like ICBM than Broken Arrow in their use. So we are thinking how we could make that compatible with our game but it’s not easy.

• We already have things like the M10 with the UT50 turret or the F/A-18C with the AIM-174B. Will we see more things like this for example, the M1 Thumper, the AGDS, certain Object tanks like the 640, or a wheeled Sprut, which to my knowledge is a real concept that was even shown on April Fools as an in-game vehicle. I can’t speak for everyone, but I personally enjoy seeing this kind of equipment in the game. There are also people who react negatively to anything that is not standard equipment. So we try to find a balance between realism, fantasy and gameplay interest.

• Are there any plans to improve the implementation of the overkill mechanic & ROE? Yes but there is a lot of bug and exploit potential. So a small improvement will arrive with DLC and bigger changes will be tested in the beta branch.

• In a few years down the line after you have added most of the major and minor countries, do you imagine yourselves releasing a massive DLC with a sandbox campaign expansion? We will not wait to have all the countries released to start proposing more diverse content otherwise this will be done in 10 years, there are so many countries.

• Are there any plans to remove/rework the elo system? Splitting Elo by faction or country is something we consider valuable, and it’s a direction we would like to pursue. However, it comes with technical challenges tied to how the current matchmaking system works. At the moment, players are grouped based on a single Elo value before factions are assigned. This becomes particularly complex when players choose a random nation, as the system cannot reliably determine which Elo rating should be used during matchmaking. Because of these constraints, we currently maintain a single Elo per player. In the meantime, to ensure the system remains fair as the game evolves, we plan to introduce seasonal resets, where Elo is partially reset following major balance updates or new DLC releases that significantly impact gameplay.

• What happened to all the skins from the betas? We have added many skins to vehicles since beta, for infantry this was experimental, there are some technical difficulties and we have been focusing on other stuff since release.

• When will the next spec release after you release baltics? This Summer normally.

• Why are you guys not releasing minor hotfixes every week or two for units? Rather than doing one major update 3 or 4 months later and end up making other units or factions overpowered until another major update to fix that. Because it takes time to prepare a patch and make sure we don’t introduce bugs regardless of the time it took to make the actual change. Making small changes all the time would drastically increase the amount of time spent with patching and this time wouldn’t be used for developing new features.

  The beta testing branch we are opening soon is one way to make this process faster. Because it’s a beta branch we can push changes faster there, potentially break it for a day and then fix it the next without generating a lot of negativity because the game is unstable.

• Hello, have you planned a rework for lightly armored transport vehicles that can survive a direct hit from an MBT and still remain with 1 HP? This is part of beta branch tests to increase damage of tank guns vs vehicles.

• Will blowing up a transport damage and shock the transported squads more? beta branch tests

• When will it be possible to see the mission name from the lobby, so I don’t have to enter a room to decide whether to play or quit?  There is a balance to find between the refresh rate of the lobby list and the quantity of information we can display before entering a lobby. So I take note of the demand and will ask if this is possible.

• This isn't supposed to come off as rude, and I apologise if it does. It just seems that a majority of the playerbase has been dissatisfied with the state of the game, and I rarely saw any action on it. It took a while to get an anti-cheat, and it's still as powerful as a slug. For the first 5 months (ish) of the game players genuinely believed devs ditched this game, and it was a complete cash grab. I just wanted to know why, what happened and/or will this be changed? We’ve been working non stop since release and will continue to work on it for years, it’s just that most of the work is invisible from the users’ point of view. It’s like adding a new light switch on the wall. All you see as a user is the plastic switch, this takes 5min to install or change but the majority of the work is to bring the cable to the switch. And if there was no plan to have a switch there when the house was built you have to tear down some of the wall to bring the cable.

• The waiting times are crazy and cheating is staying forever. So please give us these modes: 1v1 and 2v2 Splitting between multiple modes will increase the wait time and will not eliminate cheating.

• Are there any plans for more infantry friendly ammo supply? Yes, beta branch

• Have you considered rotating, experimental or wacky gamemodes that would be available for a limited time. These could be either just a fun gimmick that gets old in a weekend like infantry only mode, or a way to gain insight on potential changes, like map layouts, 3v3 or attack & defend. Multiple game modes means less people for each of them so you don't find any matches if you have too many. But time limited events are a good way to focus the attention of enough players on one game mode at a time. Definitely something to be considered.

• Would love to be able to select ONLY the Marines or ONLY the Airborne instead of having to combine 2 specialities at all times. An improvement of multiplayer rules that will arrive with the DLC is to calculate the upkeep based on a fixed deck value of 10000 instead of the actual value of the deck. Meaning that if you want to make a deck with USMC units only and that represents less than 10000 points you will not be penalized.

• Do you plan to build in some kind of "randomness" to Maps, for example "randomized" capture points, slightly rotated layouts, changes to spawn locations, etc. Yes, this involves some challenges in terms of network synchronization, UI and balance but it’s definitely something we’re trying to create.

• Could radar vehicles be added? A vehicle which would only act as a SAM but without missiles is weak in terms of gameplay interaction. So a dedicated radar vehicle would have to combine more than that to be interesting. For instance combine anti-air radar with counter battery radar with electronic surveillance all together in a single unit.

• Are you guys going to add the ability to jump out a osprey or chinook heli with troops that have parachutes or have the airdrop ability?without the helicopters needing to stop but continuing in motion like a c17 No, but we plan to add fast roping animations at some point to drop infantry directly in forest and in buildings from the roof.

• Are there any plans to improve AI for skirmish and maybe 25% progress for unlocking camouflage ? Improved AI is planned but is a long work. Unlocking more rewards for players playing only skirmish is something we are okay with.

Baltic Battalion army specialization

Located in Europe’s far northeastern edge, the three Baltic states, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia; are bordered by mainland Russia to the east, Belarus to the south, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the west. This geography leaves them connected to their NATO allies only through a narrow corridor with Poland known as the Suwałki Gap, a critical lifeline in the event of a conflict with Russia. This strategic position forms the backdrop of the Broken Arrow campaign, “War in the Baltic”.

The Baltic Battalion is a new army specialization that can be combined with any existing U.S. specialization to create the game’s first coalition battlegroup. As additional nations are introduced in future updates, even more coalition combinations will become possible.

With very limited air power, the Baltic States compensate by fielding a strong mix of motorised and mechanised troops equipped with European-made vehicles and weapons. This provides a wide variety of tactical options, though most units are available only in limited numbers.

Compared to U.S. and Russian specializations, the Baltic Battalion offers a broader selection of infantry, as each role is represented by a variant from each of the three countries.

RECONNAISSANCE

Reconnaissance vehicles

Scimitar:

This small armoured reconnaissance vehicle, part of the CVR-T family purchased by Latvia from the United Kingdom, is fast and equipped with a 30 mm RARDEN autocannon manually reloaded using three-round clips. While this weapon does not match the rate of fire of Bushmaster chain guns, it still delivers considerable firepower, particularly at short range.

Spartan: 

Another variant of the CVR-T family acquired from the United Kingdom, this lighter vehicle is capable of transporting a recon squad. Upgrade options allow it to be fitted with a remote‑controlled turret armed with a heavy machine gun, an automatic grenade launcher, or even Spike LR top‑attack anti‑tank missiles.

TGB-1111:

An old Swedish vehicle acquired by Estonia, that can be equipped as a tank hunter either with a 90mm recoilless rifle PV-1110 or with an RBS 56 ATGM. While the ATGM has limited range, it’s overfly top-attack warhead allows it to bypass the frontal armor of tanks to hit their more vulnerable roof armor.

Wolf WMIK:

This rugged British made 4x4 vehicle transports recon infantry faster than any other, ensuring they reach the contested areas ahead of the enemy. It is equipped with a medium and a heavy machine gun that can be swapped for an automatic grenade launcher.

Combat recon:

These units benefit from superior stealth and optics but also represent a meaningful threat with some considerable firepower.

Jegeris (Lithuania): 

A versatile special forces unit from the Vytautas the Great Jaeger Battalion (Vytauto Didžiojo jėgerių batalionas) they are equipped for deep reconnaissance and direct action behind enemy lines with HK-416A5 rifles, Minimi Mk.3 chambered in 7.62, SCAR-H Tactical precision Rifle and Carl Gustaf M4 84mm recoilless rifle.

Eesti Scouts (Estonia): 

The Estonian Scouts Battalion (Scoutspataljon) is a highly trained and well-equipped rapid reaction force. In the game, the unit is outfitted with some of the latest weaponry adopted by Estonia, including R-20 Rahe assault rifles, R-20L designated marksman rifles, the Negev NG7 machine gun, and the Spike SR anti-tank missile system.

The Spike SR (Short Range) differs significantly from the Spike LR (Long Range) variant. It is a shoulder-launched, fire-and-forget missile designed to fill the gap between unguided shoulder-fired rockets and longer-range anti-tank guided missiles, providing infantry with an effective short-range anti-armor capability.

SUV (Latvia): 

The Special Task Unit, or SUV (Speciālo uzdevumu vienība), is a Latvian special forces unit. In the game, they are represented as a reconnaissance unit focused on anti-infantry operations. They are equipped with suppressed G36K rifles, shotguns, RBG-6 multiple grenade launchers, and flashbang grenades, making them an effective force in close-quarters combat.

Infiltrators:

These units have limited combat capabilities and can be rapidly overwhelmed but they excel at infiltrating enemy lines to provide valuable information.

KNT (Lithuania): 

The Lithuanian Combat Divers Service (KNT -  Kovinių narų tarnyba) is a branch of the special operations forces specialized in amphibious warfare.

This amphibious unit armed with suppressed MP5’s can infiltrate through waterways and emerge in the back of unsuspecting enemies, providing valuable recon of enemy front and backlines.

Snaiprid (Estonia): 

This Estonian sniper team operates in pairs, consisting of a shooter equipped with a Hécate II heavy sniper rifle and a spotter carrying an R-20L, a 7.62 mm designated marksman variant of the R-20 Rahe, which allows them to support the sniper while maintaining firepower of their own.

Snaiperu Komanda (Latvia):

A three man Latvian sniper team armed with an Accuracy International AXMC chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum (8.58 × 70 mm), a powerful and highly accurate cartridge designed for engaging targets at extreme ranges. The second sniper carries an Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle chambered in 7.62 mm, providing reliable precision at medium to long distances. The third team member provides security for the unit with a G36 fitted with an under-barrel grenade launcher.

INFANTRY

Mechanized infantry:

Jalaväe Jagu (Estonia): 

This Estonian infantry 8 man squad is equipped with R-20 Rahe rifles, M203 grenade launchers, a MG3 machine gun, a Galatz 7.62mm designated marksman rifle derived from the Galil and Spike SR anti-tank missiles.

They are best utilized at mid-range because the Spike has a minimum arming distance superior to unguided RPGs.

Geležinis Vilkas (Lithuania): 

The Lithuanian Iron Wolf squad is a well-rounded eight-man unit equipped with G36 rifles and grenade launchers, supported by a Ksp 58B machine gun and a FN SCAR‑H precision rifle. The squad also fields a Carl Gustaf M3 recoilless rifle for anti-armor capabilities. This loadout allows the unit to remain flexible and capable across a wide range of combat situations.

Mehanizētie Kājinieki (Latvia): 

The Latvian 8-man infantry squad is equipped with G36 and grenade launchers like their Lithuanian counterparts but use Minimi light machine guns and AT4 disposable rocket launchers as force multipliers. They are more suited for short range engagements.

Volunteer Forces:

Kaitseliit (Estonia): 

The Estonian Defence League is a voluntary national defence organization. It is represented as smaller 5-man squads equipped with reserve-issue weaponry: Galil rifles, Negev NG5 light machine gun and B-300 rocket launcher firing high-explosive anti-personal rockets.

KASP (Lithuania): 

The Lithuanian National Defence Volunteer Forces (Krašto Apsaugos Savanorių Pajėgos) are equipped with G-36 and M72A2 LAW disposable anti tank launchers. Although this older anti-tank rocket is no longer effective against modern tanks, it can still do damage to lighter vehicles.

Zemessardze (Latvia): 

The Latvian National Guard (Latvijas Republikas Zemessardze) is represented as a 5-man squad equipped with older G3 rifles, HK 79N underbarrel grenade launcher, MG3 machine gun and Carl Gustaf M2 rocket launcher.

While the G3 rifles are older systems they offer a superior range compared to the more modern rifles with a smaller caliber.

Special Forces:

ESTSOF (Estonia): 

The Estonian special forces consist of elite soldiers who regularly participate in foreign deployment alongside the US SOF but they also stand ready to fight a high intensity conflict closer to home.

In the game they are represented as a 9-man squad equipped with R-20S Carbines, M203, MG4 machine guns and C90-CR-BK dual purpose rocket launchers able to take down both infantry and armored vehicles.

Žaliukai (Lithuania): 

The Lithuanian green boys is a 9-man squad specialized in close quarter combat, armed with suppressed HK416A5 and Minimi light machine guns, shotguns and M72A10 LAW with high explosive rockets as well as flashbangs - they are designed and excel in rapidly clearing buildings.

Anti-tank teams:

Milan (Estonia): 

The Milan is an old French made ATGM with limited range but a lot of punch as it can pierce up to 1000mm of armor. This team uses two launchers at once to compensate for the lower reliability of this weapon.

Javelin (Lithuania): 

The American Javelin top-attack anti-tank missile has been purchased by both Estonia and Lithuania but in larger quantities by the latter so we have represented the infantry squad carrying them as a Lithuanian unit in the game. This is a 4-man team with a single launcher and carrying 6 missiles.

Spike LR (Latvia): 

The Spike LR (long range) is a fire and forget top-attack anti-tank missile similar to the American Javelin but with more range, making this Latvian 4-man team a deadly threat to any armored vehicles, including tanks, within a large radius.

Anti-aircraft teams:

Grom (Lithuania): 

The Grom is a Polish made equivalent of the Russian Igla acquired by Lithuania. This 4-man anti-aircraft team carries 2 launchers to compensate for the lack of performance of this old weapon system.

Piorun (Estonia): 

The Piorun is an evolution of the Grom with better range and a more potent warhead. All 3 Baltic States have ordered this man portable anti-aircraft missile but since the other nations had alternatives we have decided to consider it an Estonian unit in the game.

RBS 70 (Latvia): 

The Swedish Robotsystem 70 acquired by Latvia is a short range anti-aircraft system required to be dismounted when transported. It has more range than shoulder fired rockets but also requires the whole team to be stationary to become operational.

Heavy weapons teams:

M2 Browning: 

A team of 2 Browning heavy machine guns served by a crew of 4. They are great fire support against infantry and light vehicles but also represent a serious threat to helicopters flying too close.

GMG: 

A pair of german made GMG automatic grenade launchers providing great fire support against infantry and light vehicles. Their important volume of fire is also useful to stress tanks even if they cannot damage them.

M2 + GMG: 

A mix of an M2 and a GMG for those who cannot decide between the two weapons.

VEHICLES

Infantry carrying vehicles:

The swedish made CV-90 is one of the best infantry fighting vehicle platforms: well armored, compact, mobile, powerful.

The main weapon is a 35mm Bushmaster III chaingun and the vehicle can be upgraded to the Mk.IV standard adding Spike LR missiles and an Iron Fist active protection system.

It is also possible to upgrade the armor with ceramic plates to make it resilient to Russian 30mm autocannons from the front. A great option to bring troops to the frontline and provide heavy fire support.

IFV Vilkas:

Vilkas (wolf) is the name given by the Lithuanian army to their newly acquired Boxer armored fighting vehicles. The variant is armed with a 30mm Bushmaster II chain gun and Spike LR missiles.

It is also possible to upgrade it with an active protection system called Strike Shield.

M113:

The venerable American made armored personal carriers were bought by Lithuania from Germany in the early 2000s after being modernized and are still in service. They have a sitting capacity of 10 which is more than enough for a mechanized squad and allows to carry two squads of volunteers/reservists at once. The armor can be upgraded with a cage to increase the resilience against RPGs and the M2 HMG can be swapped for a GMG automatic grenade launcher.

XA-180:

This Finnish made amphibious armored personal carrier is simple and reliable. It can transport up to 10 soldiers at speeds up to 100km/h on road.

The protection can be increased with extra armored plates and smoke pods at the cost of the amphibious capabilities.

The heavy machine gun can be swapped for an automatic grenade launcher too.

Combat vehicles:

Leopard 2A8:

The German made Leopard 2A8 is the latest iteration of this legendary tank.

This steel beast can weigh up to 70 tons when fully upgraded. The significant weight of the platform is starting to hinder its mobility as the engine has not been upgraded since the initial weight was around 55 tons.

What it may lack in mobility, it makes up for in outstanding frontal armor and can be upgraded with extra side armor or a trophy active protection system to intercept anti-rank rockets and missiles.

A remotely controlled heavy machine gun can also be installed for even more firepower.

Type-X:

The Estonian made unmanned ground vehicle is the first ground drone introduced into the game. The absence of crew offers multiple advantages. First it is immune to stress; meaning it will always fight at full capacity, it is light enough to be airdropable, and it is compatible with many types of turrets armed with multiple weapons including M230, Bushmaster I or II chainguns, Javelin, Spike LR missiles.

The main drawback of not having a crew is that the weapons cannot be reloaded, so whatever is contained in the primary magazine is all you get until you bring it back to a resupply point.

G-Wagen:

This light 4x4 has exceptional mobility on roads compared to heavier armored vehicles. It is equipped with an anti-tank guided missile, either a Milan, MAPATS (which is a TOW equivalent), or Spike LR. This unit is a great option to ambush enemy reinforcement columns or to support an armored engagement for a cheap price.

SUPPORT

Artillery:

M109A5Ö:

A simple and reliable self propelled howitzer used by Latvia shooting high explosive or smoke rounds. The M109A5 is very similar to the A6 version used by the USA but has a lower ammo carrying capacity of 36 instead of 42.

K9 Kõu:

The K9 Thunder is a modern 155mm self propelled howitzer developed in Korea and purchased by Estonia. It combines long range with a good rate of fire thanks to an assisted loading system. Standard or extended range munitions are available including the guided Vulcano rounds.

PzH-2000:

Built in Germany and purchased by Lithuania, this self propelled howitzer has one of the highest rates of fire in the world. It also carries 60 rounds which is higher than most of its counterparts.

M113 Panzermörser:

A 120mm mortar mounted on the back of a M113 chassis, able to shoot high explosives or smoke rounds.

The armor of the vehicle can be upgraded with a cage armor and a self defense machine gun or grenade launcher can be added.

Anti-aircraft:

Iris-T SLM:

A medium range air defense system carrying 4 or 8 vertically launched missiles made in Germany and recently purchased by all 3 Baltic countries.

NASAMS:

This Norwegian surface to air missile system purchased by Lithuania consists of 6 missile pods mounted on the back of a truck. Each pod can carry a AIM-9 sidewinder missile or a AIM-120 AMRAAM.

Unimog ZU-23/Mistral:

This short range anti-aircraft unit can be fitted either with a twin 23mm cannon or a Mistral missile launcher.

The Mistral is a French made short range anti-aircraft missile about twice the weight of MANPADS like Stinger or Igla. It has more range and punch but due to the weight it is impossible to be shoulder launched.

Supplies:

E13TP:

This truck dedicated to supply transport can carry up to 15 tons. It is well armored and a self defense MMG is available on the roof of the cabin.

Unimog:

A smaller multipurpose truck which can carry up to 16 soldiers or 3 tons of supplies.

HELICOPTERS

AS-365 Dauphin:

A fast and agile helicopter with a limited carrying capacity. 10 soldiers can be transported or 1.5 tons of cargo. It can be fitted with 20mm gunpods and/or 70mm rockets.

UH-60M Blackhawk:

The American helicopter has been purchased by both Latvia and Lithuania. It carries up to 13 soldiers or 4 tons of cargo.

The door weapons can either be mounted FN Mag MMGs or GMG automatic grenade launchers.

PLANES

L-39 Albatros:

This small trainer jet can be equipped with various bombs as well as 70mm rocket pods and AIM-9 infrared missiles. Its slow speed doesn’t allow it to attack frontline targets defended by SAM but it is very cheap and cost effective to attack units trying to infiltrate your lines.

C-27J Spartan:

This Italian cargo plane purchased by Lithuania carries less payload than the C-130 but is also more agile while being as fast. Up to 10 tons of cargo or 46 paratroopers can be carried.

We'd like to sincerely thank our players for their support and interest in the project.

We really appreciate your playing, sharing your impressions, and providing feedback. We carefully read your reviews, take your comments into account, and are constantly working to make the project even better. Thank you for being with us.

Hi everyone,

In case you missed it, our live event about Baltic Battalion is coming soon. We’ll be live on March 16th on our Twitch channel to talk about it.

Additionally, we are happy to share with you the list of units coming with this DLC. A proper Dev Diary with more details about each category and units is coming next week.

RECONNAISSANCE

Reconnaissance vehicles

• Scimitar

• Spartan

• TGB-1111

• Wolf WMIK

Combat recon:

• Jegeris (Lithuania)

• Eesti Scouts (Estonia)

• SUV (Latvia)

Infiltrators:

• KNT (Lithuania)

• Snaiprid (Estonia)

• Snaiperu Komanda (Latvia)

INFANTRY

Mechanized infantry

• Jalaväe Jagu (Estonia)

• Geležinis Vilkas (Lithuania)

• Mehanizētie Kājinieki (Latvia)

Volunteer Forces

• Kaitseliit (Estonia)

• KASP (Lithuania)

• Zemessardze (Latvia)

Special Forces

• ESTSOF (Estonia)

• Žaliukai (Lithuania)

Anti-tank teams

• Milan (Estonia)

• Javelin (Lithuania)

• Spike LR (Latvia)

Anti-aircraft teams

• Grom (Lithuania)

• Piorun (Estonia)

• RBS 70 (Latvia)

Heavy weapons teams

• M2 Browning

• GMG

• M2 + GMG

VEHICLES

Infantry carrying vehicles

• CV-9035

• IFV Vilkas

• M113

• XA-180

Combat vehicles

• Leopard 2A8

• Type-X

• G-Wagen

SUPPORT

Artillery

• M109A5Ö

• K9 Kõu

• PzH-2000

• M113 Panzermörser

Anti-aircraft

• Iris-T SLM

• NASAMS

• Unimog ZU-23/Mistral

Supplies

• E13TP

• Unimog

HELICOPTERS

• AS-365 Dauphin

• UH-60M Blackhawk

PLANES

• L-39 Albatros

• C-27J Spartan

Dear Players, It's time to update you on our progress on Broken Arrow. We’re hosting a live event on March 16th at 5:00 PM CET on the Slitherine Twitch channel. Here’s what to expect:

• A roadmap update

• More details about the Baltic Battalion free DLC and the reveal of the Release Date.

• Baltic Battalion patch note

• Upcoming PTE

• A live Q&A session with Félix Habert, Creative Director for Broken Arrow, where we’ll answer your questions.

Mark your calendars and join us. If you have any questions for the developers please write them in the comments. We’ll collect them and try to answer them during the Q&A session. Broken Arrow live event Date: March 16th at 5PM CET Where: Twitch Channel Link

Lastly, enjoy this screenshot of a new Scout unit.

We continue to follow the work of our community and are always glad to see creators who develop their own scenarios and expand the game’s possibilities. Today, we would like to highlight the PvP scenarios for the “Assault” game mode in 3v3 and 5v5 formats, created by the author known as Comrade Romanov.

The defining feature of these scenarios is the large-scale confrontation between the attacking and defending sides on a constantly evolving battlefield. As the match progresses, the map gradually expands, opening new directions for attacks and maneuvering, while the frontline shifts depending on each team’s success. Capturing key positions brings the team closer to victory by increasing income and unlocking forward spawn points, allowing them to consolidate their gains and continue the offensive. The attackers’ objective is to break through all three defensive lines, while the defenders must prevent this at all costs.

The scenarios are built around the sequential breakthrough of multiple defensive lines, with each stage presenting a new challenge for both sides. At the same time, thanks to the comeback mechanics and the escalating economic system, tension remains high until the very end of the match. The final stages evolve into especially large-scale and intense battles where the outcome of the entire operation is decided. In this mode, players are expected to employ military maneuvers such as controlled withdrawal, encirclement, airborne deployment, flanking into the rear, and more.

We highly recommend trying these scenarios, especially if you enjoy long, intense, and tactically rich PvP battles with shifting dynamics and continuous engagements.

Steam Workshop::PVP 3v3 Assault Baltiisk Northward

Steam Workshop::PVP 3v3 Assault Kaliningrad Westward

We would also like to extend our special thanks to Comrade Romanov for his hard work, initiative, and contribution to the development of our community. It is thanks to creators like him that the game continues to grow and reveal new possibilities!

Digital Art made by Lex Evans

Dear friends,

We would like to share important information regarding the upcoming updates and our further development plans for the project.

First and foremost, the Baltic Battalion DLC is scheduled for release in mid-March. The team is currently in the final stage of preparation, completing the last rounds of testing and polishing. All major development work has already been finalized, and we look forward to presenting the DLC to you.

The next key milestone will be the launch of the PTE build. For technical reasons, we have decided to open testing only after the DLC release. This approach will help avoid stability risks associated with merging two parallel development branches and will allow us to focus on testing upcoming changes together with the community.

The PTE phase will introduce significant changes to core mechanics and gameplay, along with a comprehensive balance revision. We have paid special attention to the problematic areas highlighted by our community. The primary objective of this stage is to validate these changes under real gameplay conditions and to collect your feedback to ensure that all new features perform as intended.

Following the completion of the testing phase and the implementation of adjustments based on your feedback, the project will receive a major gameplay update. This update will include all key changes and improvements that have been successfully verified during the PTE.

As always, we greatly value your feedback and sincerely appreciate everyone who contributes to improving the game.

Thank you for your continued support.

The Broken Arrow community is home not only to skilled commanders, but also to players who strive to make interacting with the game more convenient and accessible. We’re glad to see the community taking initiative by creating their own tools for match analysis, communication, and tracking key gameplay data. We’d like to highlight some of these resources and share them with a wider audience.

Let’s start with BA-HUB, a service many players are already familiar with, which brings together essential tools in one place.

Here, players can access a unit catalog with detailed information on weapons and characteristics, featuring convenient filtering and quick stat comparison.

BA-HUB also includes a built-in deck builder that allows players to create and optimize decks with real-time cost calculations, save an unlimited number of builds, and tailor decks to different playstyles.

In addition, BA-HUB provides player rankings, global statistics, and match analytics, including faction and unit performance across different maps. The player search feature makes it easy to track individual statistics and match history, while the community guides section helps players understand both core mechanics and advanced strategies. Lets not forget the map planning tool, enabling teams to plan and learn more about the map and ranges to best plan tactics and strategies, you can even do this with friends collaboratively through the website.

Next, we move on to BArmory.net, a community favorite. This useful resource is available in 15 languages and helps players gain a much deeper understanding of units, weapons, and game mechanics.

The site offers access to detailed unit and weapon catalogs with filtering options, showing hidden stats in a readable manner along with tools for comparison and analysis. The BArmory combat simulator allows players to evaluate weapon effectiveness against various targets.

The army builder lets players create decks while accounting for all gameplay limitations. Built decks can be saved, imported/exported, and shared with other players.

Some of the most popular features of BArmory.net are community statistics, player history and match analysis. Players can track daily changes of faction win rates and specialization popularity. If a player logs in via Steam, the player can view his recent matches alongside a chart visualising his recent performance. Match analysis provides great details such as commander ranking per metric, performance per category and per individual unit. This insight enables players to pinpoint their strengths and weaknesses on a per match basis. 

And the last one on today’s list is BATrace. This service is for players who care not only about raw numbers, but about understanding how and why they play the way they do.

It provides advanced metrics and its own performance indices that aren’t available in generic trackers. BATrace helps break down matches in more detail and track how your gameplay evolves over time. Reports are available both for individual matches and across days or play sessions.

The service also includes a built-in database of units and game parameters. It allows you to quickly check how armor, damage, and other mechanics work, as well as view match statistics across different maps.

For quick access to data, BATrace isn’t limited to the browser. Some features are available in the app, where you can request stats, leaderboards, and concise performance reports.

We’d like to thank the creators of these resources for their hard work and contribution to the community. We truly value such initiatives and are glad to see Broken Arrow continue to grow through the collective efforts of its players, fostering an increasingly active and engaged community

A few days ago we hosted a live event on our Twitch channel to update you on Broken Arrow’s development progress. In case you missed it, you can re-watch it here. Below, you’ll find a recap of what was discussed. Thanks for your continued support, the game will continue to evolve according to the Roadmap and your feedback. The next live event will be held in March.

ROADMAP, BALTIC BATTALION AND UPDATE 13 What has the team been working on recently, and what are you focusing on right now?

Over the past weeks, our main focus has been on improving accessibility and engagement across different playstyles. One of the most important additions since the last roadmap update has been the Skirmish AI, including the ability to play with AI allies, not just against them. This was something we had planned for a long time, and the response has exceeded our expectations. After the patch went live, we saw a clear reversal in the player trend: daily activity increased, and the number of players engaging with Skirmish mode effectively doubled.

What is the current status of the Baltic Battalion DLC, and when can players expect it?

What is the next major update?

What can players expect from Update 13?

What is the Public Test Environment (PTE), and why are you introducing it?

Will the beta branch affect ELO or progression?

Exploits, bugs, and fair play

Q&A SESSION

How effective has Easy Anti-Cheat been, and did it cause performance issues?

Easy Anti-Cheat has been effective in achieving its primary goal, which is reducing cheating and helping us cross-reference data with our internal anti-cheat systems. Many cheats that were previously possible are now completely blocked, and we are detecting problematic behavior more reliably than before.

What are your plans to improve netcode and networking?

Why were save games and replays not available at launch?

Are replays making progress?

Will PvE content continue to evolve?

What is your approach to balance going forward?

Are additional matchmaking modes planned?

What is the status of tournament support?

Are you planning separate ELO ratings per faction?

Yes, this is something we are actively considering and agree would be a meaningful improvement. Many players specialize in one faction, and switching factions at a high ELO often results in frustrating, mismatched games. Separate faction ELO would allow players to experiment and learn without being unfairly punished.

Dear players, we’ve released another small update that fixes an exploit which, under certain conditions, allowed players to make their units invisible.

We appreciate your reports and encourage you to keep reporting any issues you come across.

Dear players,

We’ve released a small update that includes several fixes and improvements aimed at increasing overall game stability.

• Fixed an exploit that allowed players to gain unit spawn points by canceling a unit ghost

• Proxy feature moved to the main game branch

After reviewing the connection issues and successfully testing the experimental solution, we are moving the Proxy feature to the main version of the game. This option is now available to all players without the need to switch to a beta branch.

To enable it in-game, follow these steps:

Game Settings → Gameplay → scroll down → Use Proxy

Please note that this feature does not support simultaneous use of VPNs or other services that alter geolocation.

At the moment, the Proxy feature is available only in Russia, with the possibility of expanding it to other regions if needed.

We sincerely appreciate the community’s feedback, it plays an important role in the ongoing development of the project and in shaping future updates.

Dear Players, it’s time to update you on our progress on Broken Arrow. We’re hosting a live event on January 27th at 5:00 PM CET on the Slitherine Twitch channel. Here’s what to expect:

• A roadmap update

• A discussion of the Baltic Battalion free DLC

• A live Q&A session with Félix Habert, Creative Director for Broken Arrow, where we’ll answer your questions.

Mark your calendars and join us. Broken Arrow live event Date: January 27th at 5PM CET Where: https://www.twitch.tv/slitherinetv/schedule?segmentID=2844b0a1-b5f1-4edc-a425-e08632b99d59

Update 1.0.12

Dear players,

We are pleased to present Update 1.0.12 “Allied Command”. This update introduces an important new feature, several gameplay improvements, and a number of resolved issues.

The development team made the decision to dedicate this update primarily to technical enhancements, separating them from balance-related changes. However, this in no way means that work on balance has ceased. On the contrary, we are preparing the global update, which will include not only significant balance adjustments but also deeper changes to core game mechanics, based on extensive feedback from our players. 

We closely monitor your feedback, carefully review your suggestions, and take your comments seriously. Your input helps us identify issues, find growth points, and move toward solutions that will make the game more stable, enjoyable, and comfortable for every player.

Allied AI Bots in Skirmish

The key feature of this update is the introduction of allied bots in Skirmish mode. Our goal was to ensure that bots act as reliable, predictable teammates while still remaining flexible enough to adapt to dynamic in-game situations.

To support this new functionality, we expanded the lobby settings. Bots can now be assigned to any available slot on either side, while retaining familiar options such as difficulty and specialization. This gives players more room to experiment - assembling custom teams, balancing sides, or testing new tactical approaches.

Skirmish mode has also received several quality-of-life improvements aimed at enhancing convenience and gameplay variety. Lobbies are now private by default and automatically filled with bots upon creation, allowing matches to start more quickly. Additionally, you can now change the time of day, making each battle more atmospheric and adding greater variability to battlefield conditions.

Changelog:

Added:

• Skirmish mode now features allied AI bots for each map;

• Some skirmish QoL improvements (such as you can now change time of day in skirmish mode, skirmish lobby is now private by default, skirmish lobby will now be populated with bots as soon as such lobby has been created, etc);

• Post match screen: added display of scores, match duration and the reason why the match ended;

General fixes & improvements:

• Fixed an issue where units would execute orders to incorrect position (aka reverse bug);

• Fixed performance issues some players started to encounter after EAC has been added to the game;

• Fixed an issue where the game could end as “Victory” or “Defeat” instead of “Match cancelled” in some cases;

• Fixed an issue where player may be stuck during loading;

• Refactored game’s network message handler which should minimize network issues in game (such as desyncs, invisible units, etc);

• Fixed an issue where players who closed the game via alt+f4 during the match search were not removed from the search and could be assigned to a match

• Fixed an issue where player.log size could be too excessive;

• Fixed an issue with supply order (RMB on supply item) didn’t properly sync over the network;

• Fixed an issue where units couldn’t be spawned but were removed from the deck;

• Fixed an issue where player may get default deck in scenario lobby;

• Fixed an issue where reconnect option was available even if the game has been started without EAC;

• Fixed an issue with pause node not working properly in MP (Co-op scenarios);

• Fixed an issue where Wargoals UI may not correspond to the amount of objectives on the map;

• Fixed an issue where players may lack deserter status during post match screen;

• Fixed lofting missiles (Javelin, Hellfire, Hermes-A and other top-down attack missiles) sometimes not reacquiring correctly if the shooter lost line of sight while the missile was still guided by the shooter;

• Fixed an issue where bombs and artillery didn’t apply their damage to top armor in case of direct hits;

• Attack drones’ logic has been improved: now clicking RMB on a target will lead to direct attack order (drones’ ammunition will be used as soon as possible) instead of moving closer to the target and then auto-attack;

• Fixed an order related exploit allowing planes to fly outside of playzone;

• Fixed an issue when units inside the transport were able to laze targets while being inside of a transport;

• Fixed an issue when cover bonus from both stress and buildings has been applied at the same time in some cases;

• Fixed an UI issue with scenario carousel in the main menu;

• Fixed various crashes due to entity misuse issues;

• Fixed various issues with overcast ambient on some maps (they’re too dark).

• Fixed some minor issues in "Blackout" and "Self Service" campaign missions.

Mission editor fixes & improvements:

LuaNode update:

• Fixed LuaUnit (and its conversion method into orange pin data)

• Fixed Lua arrays (tables) can’t be passed to other lua nodes

• GameAPI is now always available to use, "IncludeGameApi" checkbox was removed

• Added examples page to Lua documentation

• Fixed an error in RandomData node when exclusion mode was turned on;

We continue to develop the game and are preparing updates that will make the gameplay deeper, more stable and engaging. We have been working on the game every single day since its release and there are many important milestones and improvements ahead.

We want to express our sincere gratitude to each of you for your support, involvement, and genuine commitment to this wonderful adventure. Thank you for being with us!

We wish you all happy holidays and a well-deserved break. We’ll be doing the same, and we’ll see you in 2026.

Dear Players, At this year’s Slitherine Next event, we were excited to reveal the Baltic Battalion specialization, coming in early 2026 as a free DLC for everyone. Baltic Battalion is a brand-new army specialization accessible to the U.S. faction. With cutting-edge European weaponry, sophisticated infantry formations, and next-generation vehicles built for layered defense, mobility, and quick reaction battle, this new specialization, which represents the combined forces of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, increases your tactical options.

In case you missed the event, you can re-watch it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2639513492 We also announced that on January 27th we’ll be hosting a new livestream event, where we’ll share an update on the roadmap, upcoming content, and much more. Additionally, the game will be discounted by 15% from December 9th at 6 pm CET to December 16th at 6 pm CET, and then again from December 18th at 7pm to January 5th at 7pm.

Dear Players, We’re excited to confirm that Update 1.0.12 - Allied Command, is on its way.

This update brings a major new feature: the introduction of allied bots for Skirmish mode. You can now add both enemy and allied AI to fill all available lobby slots. The end-match panel has also been improved to show the match ID, scores, duration and the reason the match ended. Additionally, several important fixes and improvements are included. We’re also pleased to announce that Broken Arrow will be featured at the beginning of the Slitherine Next 2025 event on December 9th. During the show, we'll be showcasing details and updates for the first DLC of Broken Arrow.

📅 Broken Arrow at Slitherine Next 2025

🕒 Date: December 9th at 6 PM CET

📍 Where: Twitch Channel / YouTube Channel

Stay tuned for more details and thank you for your continued support.

Project History

Greetings, commanders!

In this post, we would like to share some details we haven’t talked about before: the story behind the game, the challenges we are currently facing, and what the future holds for Broken Arrow. We understand that the road ahead is long, and fixing some of the issues will take time. However, we are more determined than ever to tackle them step by step and bring the game to the level it truly deserves.

Broken Arrow is a story about a dream becoming reality. About people with no prior gamedev experience who dared to turn their passion for wargames into the work of their lives. It is the story of a group of strangers, united by their love for military strategy games, who in 2018 decided to create a game they themselves had always wanted to play-featuring dynamic battles and modern, customizable military equipment.

Working late evenings after their regular jobs, team members from different cities and even different countries wrote code, created models, tested mechanics, discussed future gameplay, inspired each other, and moved forward step by step.

After two years of crossing the so-called “Valley of Death”- the place where most first projects remain forever unfinished-our efforts were finally rewarded. We managed to build a functional prototype that attracted a publisher and gave us the chance to take the project to a new level. In 2021, the team was able to switch to full-time development and fully dedicate themselves to creating Broken Arrow.

And at last, on June 19, the game was released. For us, this was the moment we had been working toward for many years. The road was far from easy: we faced difficulties more than once, postponed plans, and searched for solutions when it seemed there were none. But throughout all those years we were doing what we loved, watching Broken Arrow grow alongside us.

The release marked the beginning of a new chapter. We were amazed to see how many people share our passion for military strategy. The community’s reaction exceeded all expectations. For us, this was more than success, it was proof that everything we had done was not in vain. We are sincerely grateful to everyone who supported us, wrote feedback, shared ideas, and believed in the project.

However, the success of Broken Arrow brought new challenges as well. The high number of players during the open beta tests required a major overhaul of the network architecture to support the increasing load, an enormous challenge for our small team of programmers.

Although each open beta test came with connection issues for some players, the team carried out tremendous work stabilizing and optimizing the online infrastructure. Thanks to these efforts, Broken Arrow managed to withstand a peak load of 50,000 players during the first weekend after release. The fact that the multiplayer experience runs thanks to the work of only two programmers is nothing short of phenomenal.

We fully understand that we still have much to learn. Game development is a difficult path filled with challenges, but your feedback and involvement help us grow. All we can do is continue improving the game step by step, striving for the level of quality it deserves.

A recap of the live event

Today, we had the pleasure of hosting a special community event dedicated to Broken Arrow. We were joined by Felix Habert, Creative Director at Steel Balalaika, as well as two key members of the Slitherine team: Marco Minoli, our Director of Publishing, and Alberto Casulini, our Business Development Manager. Together, we offered an extensive overview of the journey Broken Arrow has taken so far and where it’s headed next.

During the presentation, we explored the game’s development from launch up to its current state, then we revealed the roadmap sharing what’s coming next and lastly we hosted a Q&A session, where Felix, Marco, and Alberto answered numerous questions from the community.

If you missed the event, you can re-watch it here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2627717698

Roadmap

And now that we’ve looked back and shared the journey so far, it’s time to talk about the future.

We have prepared a roadmap that outlines our long-term development plans, our near-term goals, and the key directions we aim to pursue. It will show you where we’re heading, what our priorities are, and what we hope to achieve in the coming months.

2025 Alongside the visual roadmap, we would like to elaborate a bit on the tasks planned for this period. The year will conclude with a series of technical updates aimed at strengthening current systems, improving overall quality, and laying the groundwork for future growth.

An important step forward will be the introduction of allied bots in Skirmish mode. Players will now be able not only to fight against AI opponents but also to take them as allies. This will allow for flexible scenario creation, experimentation with different tactics, and better team balance. Our goal is to make the AI a true tactical partner-one that reacts to the battlefield situation and supports the player at critical moments.

2026 Entering the new year, we will continue improving the network foundations of Broken Arrow. The main focus during this period will be on optimizing the online infrastructure and further strengthening server-side systems to ensure a fair and seamless gameplay experience.

At this stage, we plan to release several DLC that will introduce three new specializations. Each expansion will enrich the gameplay by offering new sets of units with unique weapon systems as well as additional vehicles. This will allow players to explore the tactical potential of their forces more deeply and broaden the range of strategic options available in battle.

Another key milestone of this period is the introduction of the match replay functionality. Developing this system has proven significantly more complex than we initially expected, largely due to technical specifics. To ensure its stable and accurate operation, we must build a series of supporting tools and internal mechanisms. Despite the challenges, we are putting in maximum effort to bring this feature to life.

Major features planned for this period:

• Match History - a tool that will help players analyze their battles and refine their personal playstyle.

• A large-scale reorganization of the server architecture. Key gameplay systems will be moved to the server side, including the in-game economy, unit spawning, and action processing. This shift will improve synchronization, minimize cheating, and lay the foundation for one of the most anticipated features: the full match replay system.

• Spectator Mode - a long-awaited feature enabling real-time match viewing, especially valuable for tournaments and educational streams.

• New multiplayer maps variants.

• A new gameplay mechanic: loitering ammunition.

• Savegames - players will be able to pause a mission and return to it later.

• Co-op Campaign Mode - the ability to complete story missions together with friends, coordinating actions in real time.

• Match Replay System - allowing players to rewatch past battles, share them with others, and use recordings to create content.

All these improvements aim to make the gameplay experience more thoughtful and intuitive. We want to create a stable environment where every tactical detail matters and where in-game interactions feel both convenient and genuinely alive.

Early 2027

During this period, we plan to release a major DLC that will introduce substantial changes and enrich the game with new content. The DLC will feature a completely new faction with its own unique weaponry, structure, and gameplay mechanics. New theaters of war will be added, expanding the battlegrounds available for combat. Additionally, new vehicles and units will be introduced, further enhancing tactical diversity, along with an expansion for existing specializations to deepen and broaden their playstyles.

Key features include:

• A new campaign featuring a deck-modification system that allows players to customize their army composition with great flexibility.

• New maps set in thematic, visually distinct locations.

• A new faction with several specializations, offering additional tactical possibilities.

Planned quality of life improvements (non-chronological)

Below is a list of features that will be gradually implemented throughout the development process, starting in 2026. These updates are aimed at enhancing the overall user experience and improving the usability of in-game systems.

• Updated Victory Screen - the victory screen will become more informative, and players will gain the ability to submit reports after a match, allowing faster response to violations.

• Battle chatter expansion - more voice commands, unit reactions and dynamic audio cues.

• Improved In-Battle Communication - marker usage limits, the ability to block chat, and streamlined team interactions.

• Enemy Unit Check - players will be able to select enemy units and view their statistics.

• Units statistics panel improvement - a clearer, more visual display of unit parameters.

• Updated Line of Sight Tool - visualization of viewing range.

• Offline Skirmish Lobby - allows players to enjoy Skirmish mode without an internet connection.

• Minimap Improvements

• Prevent label overlap - options for merging or preventing the overlap of unit tags.

Conclusion

Working on the project involves many complex aspects, each of which directly affects the pace of development, the volume of content, and the introduction of new features. Since the beginning of development, we have been gradually expanding the team, forming a long-term vision for the project, and focusing on technical stability. This process requires time, attention to detail, and carefully considered decisions to ensure that the final result is both high-quality and sustainable.

Over this period, we have made significant progress: we strengthened the foundation of the game, implemented important improvements, and laid the groundwork for future updates. We are proud of how far the project has come, and we look to the future with confidence, knowing that this is only the beginning.

We would also like to express our sincere gratitude to our players. Your patience, support, and interest in the project inspire us every day. Thanks to you, we continue to move forward, striving to deliver new content and improvements that will bring you joy for many years to come. Thank you for staying with us and believing in our work.

Dear Players, We will update some parts of the server software on 21st of November starting at 9:00 UTC. Update will be performed in “silent” mode without server downtime.

What will come with this update:

• Fix to known cases where players were matched into mirror match when they deselected “Mirror match” option;

• Matchmaking analytics, which will allow us to gather various data about matchmaker operations. 

• Tweak to some of the matchmaking options. This should help new players and players with high elo to find matches faster, but as a side-effect it may match teams with a bigger elo difference. We will monitor results and listen to the community feedback.