Maelstrom news & patch notes

Gather 'round the Captain’s Table!

Pull up a chair, warm your hands, and let me spin you a tale of the latest tidings from the high seas. Fortune favors you, for the holiday update has arrived! From decks dressed in festive finery to a brand-new tropical haven and some nasty goblin mischief, there’s plenty to keep even the saltiest sea dog entertained this season. As they say, the devil’s in the details—let’s dive in.

The Seas Don Their Holiday Best

The chill in the air is sharp, but the spirit of the season warms even the coldest waters. The seas are dressed for the occasion, with snow falling gently on the decks, twinkling lights in every corner, and cheerful snowmen keeping watch. Trees adorned with ribbons and finery dot the horizons, adding a festive sparkle to your adventures. Whether you’re plundering or celebrating, there’s no mistaking the festive magic in the air. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/9758995731adf07c0b5b0f5b7ac096b679276943.png

A Paradise Beyond the Waves (NEW Map!)

If the frost has you yearning for warmer shores, rejoice! The tides have unveiled a vibrant NEW tropical haven—crystal-clear waters, lush greenery, and terrain ripe for exploration and conquest. But beware, Captain, this paradise won’t be yours alone. Others will be drawn to its treasures, eager to stake their claim. The question is, will you prevail? {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/bf32c9d7c2ac00f178b7c5e31b1a01ffbd94c521.png

Beware the Bombers!

Trouble brews on the horizon. Those goblins, cunning and relentless as ever, have unleashed a NEW menace upon the seas. Goblin Bombers—small but deadly—have joined the fray, adapting their PvE tricks for PvP battles. These explosive pests will test your tactics and shake your resolve. Watch your stern, or it might be the last thing you see. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/9621fa9152a105308e7a1f654dc79d068b7a56a9.png

Outfit Your Fleet with Festive Flair

A fine ship should look the part, and this season, there’s no finer way to make your mark. Some NEW holiday-themed skins have surfaced, adorned in festive finery. Take it, and let the seas know who commands their waves. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/1c2149048f2ad3e7313b5c0c7f1aaa1abf9f4fcc.png

Charting the Course Ahead

The horizon holds promise, and the crew has grand plans for what’s to come. Stay vigilant for upcoming announcements and surprises—there’s plenty in store! For now, we raise a toast to you, brave Stormers. Your passion and determination keep this world spinning, and it’s a privilege to have you aboard. Keep sending us your reports—we appreciate and are always reading your feedback! Until next time, The Maelstrom Community Team.

ːsteamthumbsupː Quick Reminders

• Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) for more updates and announcements!
• Join us in the Forthright Entertainment Discord Server for lively discussions and camaraderie!
• Don’t miss Community Game Night (NA) weekly on Tuesdays!
• For Stormers across the pond, catch us for Community Game Night (EU) weekly on Wednesdays!
• ake on the devs in Community vs. Devs | Game Night, held monthly on Thursdays!

There’s magic in the frosty air and secrets beneath the waves. A special winter surprise is just around the corner. Keep your course steady, for the next chapter of adventure is fast approaching ... {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/1d0e96f351167c4d69cee4e331134382814d356c.png

Hi Stormers, The servers will need to be taken offline and will undergo an emergency fix until 2:00PM EST. We apologize for the temporary interference of gameplay, but we will see you again soon in the afternoon! Thank you, Forthright Entertainment & The Tideturners

This hotfix includes the following:

• Brought back the counts for Bounties, Gold, and Enemies left in a match.
• Rearranged and resized existing UI elements.
• First steps on resolving bug with language options.

We are aware that there is some irregularity with fonts, and that there might be some incorrect translations. With further patches this will be improved / fixed. For the time being, we wanted to make sure that languages were up ASAP again, so we ask for your continued patience on resolving this! NOTE - TRANSLATIONS ARE DONE VIA GOOGLE TRANSLATE AND WE ARE FORMALLY GETTING THEM DONE PROPERLY BUT WANTED TO PROVIDE SOME SUPPORT IMMEDIATELY. LANGUAGES ADDED

Arabic Bulgarian Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) Czech Danish Dutch English Finnish French German Greek Hungarian Indonesian Italian Japanese Korean Norwegian Polish Portuguese Portuguese-Brazil (Brazilian Portuguese) Romanian Russian Spanish (Spain) Spanish (Latin America) Swedish Thai Turkish Ukrainian Vietnamese

Next week look out for:

• Additional improvements to UI, including adding quests back in.

Still researching:

• Issues with languages, regarding scale, fonts, and getting a proper professional pass on all translations.
• "Screen shake" bug.

Thank you Stormers! Continue to leave us feedback in the comments and in the Forthright Discord server!

This hotfix includes the following:

• Brought back the counts for Bounties, Gold, and Enemies left in a match.
• Rearranged and resized existing UI elements.
• First steps on resolving bug with language options.

We are aware that there is some irregularity with fonts, and that there might be some incorrect translations. With further patches this will be improved / fixed. For the time being, we wanted to make sure that languages were up ASAP again, so we ask for your continued patience on resolving this!

Next week look out for:

• Additional improvements to UI, including adding quests back in.

Still researching:

• Issues with languages, regarding scale, fonts, and getting a proper professional pass on all translations.
• "Screen shake" bug.

Thank you Stormers! Continue to leave us feedback in the comments and in the Forthright Discord server!

Welcome, One and All,

… to the Dark Hallows. Echos in the wind warn of familiar waters turned evil. A witch can be heard cackling in the distance, the eerie tangles of a spider’s web draw near, all while restless souls seek vengeance … You’ll be delighted to find that spooky themed decor has been scattered across levels. The seas have taken on a haunting new appearance as well. Be wary of what lurks in the waters this time of year … your eyes may play tricks on you! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/906be9ff81798eea685ee11f6199ba11a98c3a3e.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/e70e985cebc06090d5304d3b76c19d2791b945c5.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/0b60e55623934bbe22eee8524df95fffb88644f1.png

In the Horizon, Some Ships Will Be Getting a Fresh Look!

Our artists have been hard at work on visual updates to the Human and Dwarf ships! These updates will allow further customization in the future, and we hope that you enjoy these teasers in the meantime! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/c5cdb0a3782b91aa1941e116d8f7b49714d2bb30.png

UI/UX Adjustments

For this update, we’ve also done a first pass on UI/UX improvements. A big ask was to help readability, and clutter around the screen while in-game. If you have any suggestions for us, please let us know in our discord server linked below! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/299eff2130ff4eb3be08bc84197ac8ea19eb9e83.png

Continuing Tasks

The devs are still working on previously mentioned tasks, including the New Game Mode (inspired by capture the flag), the New map, and internal PvP improvements testing. We can’t wait until we get a chance to show you! As always, thank you for being part of this incredible community. Your feedback and enthusiasm keep us motivated and inspired!

ːsteamthumbsupː Quick Reminders

• Follow us on X (Formerly Twitter) for more updates and announcements!
• Meet the team in the Forthright Entertainment Discord Server!
• Join us Weekly on Tuesdays for Community Game Night!
• Join us Bi-Weekly on Thursdays for Community vs. Devs | Game Night!

Hey everyone!

We’re thrilled to give you a sneak peek of some exciting updates we've been working on. As we continue to shape the game, your support keeps us going, and we can’t wait to show you what’s next!

A Dark Event is Coming to Waters Near You …

Our seasonal content is in the works! You’ll find some spooky themed decor scattered across levels. The seas have taken on a haunting new appearance as well. Be wary of what lurks in the waters this time of year … your eyes may play tricks on you! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/22013a371ead0f19c6a98ef2ce42a9bca4180831.png

A New Game Mode is in the Works!

Behind the scenes, the devs have been working on something we think you all would like a teaser on – a new game mode, inspired by capture the flag! Initial internal testing has begun, and with steady progress, we hope that you all will get to play it soon! This new mode is focused on strategic play, and we’re excited to bring some fresh new content to the game! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/1410ea56d1dc5e6e474c18f458bf62eac9f26977.png

Introducing Bombardment Bay!

Our dev team is hard at work crafting an all-new map: Bombardment Bay! This new battlefield is designed for PvP, but it will also be enjoyable in other game modes. Keep an eye out for more details to come! {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/586f00bf61add7212e34344b952bde21b0d356d0.png

PvP - New Features Being Explored!

Speaking of PvP, we’re working on some exciting new features. These updates are currently undergoing internal testing, and while we can’t say much yet, we can say that it’ll breathe some fresh life into the game. Plus, brand new player titles and other fun themed cosmetics will be coming soon! Definitely stay tuned! That’s all for now! We hope you’re as excited as we are about these updates. As always, thank you for being part of this incredible community. Your feedback and enthusiasm keep us motivated and inspired!

ːsteamthumbsupː Quick Reminders

• Follow us on Twitter for more updates and announcements!
• Meet the team in the Forthright Entertainment Discord Server!
• Join us Weekly on Tuesdays for Community Game Night!
• Join us Bi-Weekly on Thursdays for Community vs. Devs | Game Night!

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/4c3e3aced0e2f1b87406f044e870c5b34dea3409.png Forthright Entertainment is thrilled to announce that it will be taking over the development and future of the critically acclaimed naval combat game, Maelstrom, from Gunpowder Games. This new chapter for Maelstrom promises to bring exciting updates and fresh content, as Forthright Entertainment focuses on enhancing the gameplay experience and expanding the game’s reach. As part of this transition, Forthright Entertainment will introduce additional content and a new season pass in the coming months, ensuring that players have even more to look forward to in the world of Maelstrom. The new content will bring fresh challenges, rewards, and gameplay mechanics, keeping the experience engaging and dynamic for both new and returning players. We are happy to introduce our development partner on the project, the Tideturners team. A fresh squad of industry vets from various companies. Between them, they’ve helped bring some of your favorite games to life—Halo, Fortnite, League of Legends, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, and Rocket League. They have even been part of creating real-world experiences like Super Nintendo World. Now, they’re coming together to create something even bigger! We are thrilled to be partnering with Tideturners on reviving Maelstrom and breathing new life into the game. As part of the announcement Forthright will be hosting an AMA live on Steam hosted from ‘Permanent Vacation’ in Florida to chat with the community.

Hello everyone. My name is Blaine Smith. I'm the CEO of Gunpowder Games and the creator of Maelstrom. I want to inform our players that Gunpowder's time with active development & support on the original Maelstrom has come to a conclusion. The development and live operations of the game has been taken over by Forthright, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors with our studio's flagship title. The world of Maelstrom, and especially its players, is very dear to us so we have high hopes that the game continues to satisfy as Forthright takes over and works to improve the game. For any of you wondering, Gunpowder does indeed have plans of revisiting the world of Maelstrom with a new game in the future. We look forward to seeing you all then! Sincerely, Blaine Smith - "theRotmaw" CEO, Gunpowder Games

Tonight at 7PM EST 🚨 Challenge Pro eSports Athletes

Battle the Ultimate Endgamers League eSports league to EARN UP TO 250,000 GOLD! Sink a ship marked or and screenshot the wreckage. Tweet at @forthrightenter and include #claimyourbooty to earn 150,000 gold and 250 gunpowder! 7PM EST! don't Don't miss out because Forthright Entertainment is upping the stakes yet again! 7 PM EST Tonight is your chance to EARN 50,000 BONUS GOLD when you stream Maelstrom live on any platform and share a link on Twitter, tagging @forthrightenter with the hashtag #claimyourbooty Learn who reigns supreme over the seas TONIGHT 7PM EST!

👾 https://discord.gg/forthright

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/d331cd48cfe6eb07c10985b5eaa9bcd673d77443.png Tonight at 7PM EST 🚨 Challenge Pro eSports Athletes Battle the Ultimate Endgamers League eSports league to EARN UP TO 250,000 GOLD! Sink a ship marked or ? and screenshot the wreckage. Tweet it X.COM/FORTHRIGHTENTER and include #claimyourbooty to earn 150,000 gold and 250 gunpowder! Don't miss out because Forthright Entertainment is upping the stakes yet again! 7PM EST Tonight is your chance to EARN A 50,000 GOLD BONUS GOLD when you stream Maelstrom live on any platform, and tag @forthrightenter with the hashtag #claimyourbooty Learn who reigns supreme over the seas TONIGHT 7PM EST!

Hello, Maelstrom Community! We’re back with another exciting Community Game Night, and we want YOU to be part of it! 🎮 Forthright Entertainment is proud to partner with the Ultimate Endgamer's League (UEL) for their Season 9 Wheel of 30 Games, and Maelstrom is right in the heart of the action. The ongoing **UEL player bounties** are still in effect, but tonight's focus is all about bringing the community together. Join us every Tuesday from 7:00 PM to Midnight EST for our weekly Maelstrom Community Game Nights. Whether you're a veteran or new to the seas, these nights offer a chance to jump in, sink some ships, and maybe even face off against UEL players! 🔥 UEL Player Bounties Are On! 🔥 Take on UEL players during game night! Look for the players with “UEL” in their gamer tag, and if you sink them, snap a screenshot and post it with the hashtag **#MaelstromUELSink**. For each UEL ship you sink, you’ll earn **25,000 extra gold**! 🏆 💣 Discord Bonus Alert 💣 If you join our (https://discord.gg/9UeNpc6jGN) tonight and post a screenshot of sinking a UEL ship, you’ll also receive **250 Gunpowder** added to your account. It’s a win-win! 🗳 Get Involved – Have Your Say! 🗳 Starting next week, we’ll be running community polls on Discord where you get to vote on upcoming features for Maelstrom. Do you want new game modes, ships, skins, or mates? Now’s your chance to influence the direction of the game! Keep an eye out for the polls and make your voice heard. 🎙 AMA Sessions 🎙 Ever wanted to chat directly with the team behind Maelstrom? We’ll be hosting AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions where you can meet key members of the dev and publishing teams and get answers to your burning questions. Join our Discord to get more info. We’re beyond excited to continue building this journey with you, so jump in tonight and join the fun! See you on the seas! The Maelstrom Community Team

Hello, Maelstrom Community! Forthright Entertainment is thrilled to partner with the Ultimate Endgamer's League (UEL) for their highly anticipated Season 9 Wheel of 30 Games. Maelstrom will be featured as a key title in this season's lineup, offering players an intense and strategic naval warfare experience. UEL and Forthright Entertainment will collaborate to bring Maelstrom into the competitive spotlight, with UEL players battling it out in the game during the season. As a start to their season next week, and in conjunction with Forthright starting to re-engage the community we are announcing two key pieces. Weekend Tournament Announcement

Kicking off the collaboration, a special Maelstrom weekend tournament will take place from Friday, August 23rd, to Sunday, August 25th, from 7:00 PM to Midnight EST each day. Hosted on the UEL Discord, this event will see UEL players aiming to take out all players ships, while the community strives to sink as many UEL player ships as possible. UEL players will include "UEL" before their gamer tag, so our community knows when the have sunk a player. Community participants should take screenshots when they sink a UEL player's ship and share them on social media with the hashtag #MaelstromUELSink and their own name in Maelstrom and players will be rewarded 3,000 extra gold for each UEL ship they sink. Community Gaming Nights

To celebrate this partnership and the excitement around Maelstrom, Forthright Entertainment and UEL will host a community gaming night every Tuesday from 7:00 PM to Midnight EST. UEL players will join the community each week until the end of Season 9 in January 2025. This is a fantastic opportunity for players to test their skills against some of the best UEL competitors and engage with the broader Maelstrom community. Join Our Discord

For anyone who joins Forthright's Discord this weekend, August 23rd - 25th, 2024 with a screenshot of a UEL ship sinking, the player will also get 100 Gun powder added to their account. Forthright Discord Link About Ultimate Endgamer's League

The Ultimate Endgamer's League (UEL) is a premier gaming competition featuring a wide variety of games in a unique format. With an ever-growing community of passionate gamers, UEL offers a dynamic and competitive environment for players of all levels. UEL X Account UEL Facebook Next Up Along The Way

Starting Next week, we will be having some polls for our Community on what features they want to see in the game. These polls will be on our Discord channel and will be items that are on our roadmap for the game. They may include things like new game modes, features like a kill cam, new skins, new ships, new mates, new levels. While we can't accommodate everyone's wants, we want you all to have a say in what type of things you want to see, and this just one way we can dive in with you all. AMA Sessions

We will also be hosting AMA's on Discord where you all can meet key members of the development and publishing teams and get a chance to ask questions. Wishing you all the best The Maelstrom Community Team

Ahoy, Maelstrom Captains! We have some thrilling news to share with our dedicated Maelstrom community. Forthright Entertainment is teaming up with Gunpowder Games to breathe new life into Maelstrom! We know that the game has been sitting idle for a while, and we’re as eager as you are to see the winds change.

• Porting to Unreal Engine 5
• Our first big move is to port Maelstrom into Unreal Engine 5. This will bring enhanced graphics, improved performance, and a whole new level of immersion to the high seas. We can’t wait for you to experience the battles like never before!
• New Content and Season Pass
• But that’s not all! We’re hard at work on new content that will add fresh excitement and challenges to your Maelstrom adventures. A new season pass is also on the horizon, packed with exclusive rewards and experiences. Keep an eye out for more details as we get closer to launch!
• DLC Price Drop and Promotion
• As a thank you for your patience and continued support, we’re dropping the price of all Maelstrom DLC to a scale between $4-$6 USD. And to celebrate this new chapter, we’re kicking off a promotional discount of 35% off on top of the price drop as well—so now’s the perfect time to complete your collection or bring a friend aboard.
• Expanding to New Markets
• We’re also excited to announce that we’ll be bringing Maelstrom to new markets. This expansion will introduce the game to a wider audience, growing our community and ensuring more epic battles on the open sea.
• Exciting New Partnerships
• Finally, we’re forging some exciting new partnerships that will help the Maelstrom user base continue to grow and thrive. Stay tuned for announcements that we know you’ll be excited about.

We appreciate your support as we embark on this journey to revitalize Maelstrom. The best is yet to come, and we’re honored to have you with us on this voyage. Fair winds and following seas, The Maelstrom Community Team

Maelstrom localization has now been added. The following languages are currently supported:

• English
• German
• French
• Spanish
• Portuguese
• Italian
• Russian
• Korean
• Japanese
• Chinese

General

• Undertow can now appear as a bot
• AI blinded by Blinding Fog will hold fire
• Goblin Raider and Armor Galleon now drops their boon immediately upon death instead of with a random delay of up to 1s. Windcatcher Skiff already did this.
• When quitting Gauntlet mode early, score screen will now display
• Using Greavus' ability should not traps yourself
• Grinner and Morte's Critical Damage Resistance now calculates correctly
• Grinner's Critical Chance now calculates correctly
• Ledd's Ramming Resistance now calculates correctly
• Corrected a number of typos

Balance Changes

Ledd's Reflection Array is now 50/100% reflection but reflects all armor/hull damage

Ledd's Blast Vants increased to 250/500 range

Ledd's ability CD increased to 35 seconds

Anvil's torpedo homing turn rate and acceleration increased slightly (we over-corrected with previous nerf)

Brick's Concussive Charge increased to 2/4/6 seconds

Morrigan's Phoenix projectile no longer incorrectly ignores armor (Damage over time effect still damages Hull directly)

Fade's Curse of Rot damage bonus reduced to 8/16/24%

Fade's Dark Expanse range increased to 150/300

Morte's Listless increased to 2/4/6 seconds

Bloodfin's Vengeance gives -50% reload instead of -60% reload when triggered

- Corrected an issue where the Quest screen would not show the latest progress in some cases - Improved hit detection on Barrier of Bone's projectile - Corrected an issue where Fame points were not properly given for the 2000-2499 bracket - Corrected some names of mates

- Increased chest rewards by 33% and adjusted the weighting to favor loyalty items more - All Chests now have a chance to drop Gunpowder

- Corrected an issue with Merridan's Harrowing Arrival dealing more damage than intended - Bone Wall's projectile damage no longer ignores Armor - Corrected an issue with Anvil's Seeker protocol where the seeking accelerated to an extreme speed - Ledd's Reflection Array now reflects cannon damage to the attacker (instead of all damage)

- Siphon ability now properly blacklisted for Undead Ships - Corrected description of Sell Foresails from "Ship has -10% Max Speed." to "Ship has -10% Max Speed. Gain 4000 Gold." - Corrected an issue where players can spawn in the air if they are dead in between encounters

- Corrected description for Solo Bounty leaderboards - Corrected an issue with the Booster tooltip not showing Battle Pass effects - Dawnguard Karn now has the proper voice type - Ruthless Medal now shows up correctly in the Profile - Corrected an issue where Red Potion was mislabelled with Orb of Power - Corrected Siphon description to indicate that it does not trigger vs Undead ships - Second attempt at addressing boarding bug where players can get stuck in boarding - Undertow's Poltergiest's visbility now follows the source ship's visibility - Minor fixes to a number of other descriptions/tooltips

Undertow was birthed from the befouled soil of a cursed cemetery. Angry spirits that haunt the ship coalesce into poltergeists & lash out at anything nearby; tormented souls incapable of rest while at sea.

Siphon: Cannon damage dealt by Undead ships repair their armor slightly

Soul Tempest: When sinking a ship, gain a slow moving ghost that sails around the ship. If the ghost collides with an enemy, they take damage.

Cursed Cannons: When this ship deals cannon damage, the enemy cannons of the quadrant damaged are temporarily disabled

Greavus Leaguemoor's Barrier of Bone: Greavus hurls a bone harpoon, summoning a barrier of bones around whatever it hits.

Upgrade your fleet with the colossal Undead battleship Dread and her notorious Captain Greavus Leaguemoor. Bundle Contents: - Undead Frigate: 'Undertow' - Undead Captain: 'Greavus Leaguemoor' - 3 Undead Mates - 'Revenant' Skin This bundle is now available for 25% off for $14.99 for a limited time at launch. The ship is also unlockable in the game for 1000 Gunpowder.

A new Battle Pass season is here with a new slew of never before seen cosmetics and titles, as well as Chest Keys. Battle Pass is expected to run approximately 3 to 4 months.

Profile Page is now available. The Profile Page tracks a series of stats and medal counts on a per ship as well as an account basis. Medal Counts are retroactive to very soon after they were launched. Stats are retroactive to around the start of Battle Pass 2.

- Medals can now be earned in Team PvP Mode - Quests and Medals can now be earned in Gauntlet Mode - Note that due to their nature, a handful of Medals (and their related Achievements) are only achievable in PvP Modes - Damage based Quests now only trigger off Hull and Armor damage - The Bounty Leaderboard now counts AI and player kills, with AI being worth 1 point and player kills being worth 3 points

- Corrected an issue where Dwarven enemies had lower than intended Fore and Aft armor - Increased difficulty scaling based on the number of players - Showdown now spawns additional enemies at higher difficulties

- Corrected a number of typos and icon issues - Corrected an issue with the display of the Current Navigation stat - Corrected the description of Axton's Extended Focus talent - Corrected an issue where pressing T while chat is disabled causes the player to enter chat mode and be unable to escape it and thus no longer being able to rotate the camera with the mouse

- "X" Hunter traits now also reduces damage from the specified class of ships - Ledd's Reflection Array talent now deals 200/400% damage to the attacker. It no longer references damage reduction and deals 200/400% of the actual damage received. - Brick's Exhaust Vents from Keelbreaker Mines lifetime increased by seconds to Keelbreaker Mines lifetime increased by seconds - Morrigan's Phoenix and related talents was capable of one-shotting a number of builds so have been adjusted to deal less hull damage, but sail damage has been increased.

Made the following adjustments in an attempt to reduce overall difficulty at the low end, particularly for solo runs. The specific adjustments made should not have much impact difficulty at the higher difficulty choices with larger groups.

• Reduced the difficulty increase based on completed encounters
• Slightly reduced the difficulty increase based on the number of players
• Slightly increased the difficulty increased based on the Power Rating of players

• Corrected an issue with Dwarf in Distress spawning 8 named instead of 1 at very high difficulties
• Modified some spawners on Supply Disruption to be difficulty based and also changed the "kill enemies" objective to be "don't get sunk"
• Implemented a new player start system in Gauntlet that should prevent spawning in geometry or on top of other players
• Reduced boarding duration resistance on Showdown bosses

PR Rating Adjustments

• Tier X Hardpoints is now 300
• Captain PR is now 350 and per Skill Point value is now 5 (so a fully upgraded captain is now worth 850 instead of 500)

Brackets have been modified slightly to align with new maximum PR:

• 1000-1499
• 1499-1999
• 2000-2499
• 2500-2999
• 3000+

• Captain Fade's ability now functions properly in Gauntlet
• Captain Ledd's talent Projection Amplifier no longer applies to enemy players in Solo/Team modes

• Players can now make parties public
• Public Parties can be joined by clicking on an icon next to the player's name in the chat

• The number of items that can be gifted to Captains at once is now capped
• This is to avoid an edge case bug where the functionality can fail if too many items are gifted at once

• Chatting during the Adventure Store in Gauntlet mode no longer causes the store to be stuck
• Ghostly no longer re-triggers due to repair ticks after it has triggered at least once
• During Boarding, if your target is sunk, you will no longer be stuck in boarding mode for the duration of the boarding action (old bug that resurfaced)
• Corrected some tooltips

• Increased gold drops and reward chest rate at higher difficulties
• Merchant Escort's Supply Ship now has damage and crit chance resistance to reduce the potential for it to take massive damage from broadsides, particularly from the Human bosses during the port battle

- Corrected an issue that could lead to players spawning into rocks in Gauntlet Mode - Corrected an issue where players would see a permanent black screen in between encounters - Added additional tooltips to Captain Talents areas {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/c46e2bfdbc12a2b1810f3d40f0ade84ae878e243.png - Added missing tooltip to Gauntlet difficulty selection screen {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/4d233f2f05746ec9f548408f7aaea71ec764e829.png - Note: There is still an occasional chance to be stuck on "Prepare for Battle." We are still investigating this issue, but it can be worked around simply by returning to main menu and trying again

Gauntlet Mode

We are pleased to introduce our new solo and co-op game mode: Gauntlet. Gauntlet consists of a series of Player-vs-Environment encounters culminating within a final boss battle that can be played solo or with up to 3 friends. {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/b15999a16dcf92ec9e112476d575deb3cae246e7.png Features

• Randomly ordered encounters offering different kinds of challenges
• An “Adventure Store” between encounters featuring a variety of per-run upgrades
• Scaling difficulty based on the number of players and power rating
• Scaling rewards based on difficulty played and performance

Please note that this game mode is under development. The Game Mode currently is not fully supporting quests and medals/achievements.

End of Game Rewards

As part of this update, we are also introducing end of game rewards for both the existing PvP game modes (Solo and Team), as well as the new Gauntlet Mode. Chests will now be earned at the end of each PvP match or a PvE run. There are a few types of Chests, as follows:

• Bronze: Opens with Gold
• Silver: Opens with 1 Key
• Gold: Opens with 2 Keys
• Battle: Opens if you have the Premium Battle Pass

Keys are a new, self-regenerating resource that is earned at a rate of 10 per day. You can also purchase more keys or earn them via certain quests (and in the future, the Battle Pass).

Captain Leveling

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/9881b6e76a4919ef480d47000ffb926f22874da5.jpg Captains can now be upgraded! Upgrades will provide stat upgrades, but more importantly, dramatic changes to the way Captain abilities work from dropping extra mines (Ledd) to increasing the size of the phoenix projectile (Morrigan). {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/2f349cc26210f67f977370c78741abc566114080.png {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/679ec986af09e5cb2f2379bd722f4effe78ef0f0.jpg Captains earn Talent Points as they level up which can be spent on stat upgrades and talent upgrades. Talents need to be trained before they can have Talent points assigned.

Season 3 Battle Pass and Undertow

Both of these items will come at a later time. We want to give time for the dust to settle from these new features first. But rest assured they are coming soon. In the meantime, Season 2 Battle Pass will remain active. We have also extended Season 2 Battle Pass by an additional 10 levels. Note that if you had previously continued to play, Anchors earned for Battle Pass will be automatically applied to these levels.

Patch Notes

• Leaderboards now correctly count only 2000+
• Decimal places have been added to a variety of stats
• Mates can now be specifically unequipped in the Mate Selection window
• Corrected an issue with stat displays showing an incorrect percentage if the loadout had multiple sources of the same stat
• Mate Contracts no longer open automatically, instead they can save them for later (they will appear at the top of the screen in the main menu)

Due to various circumstances, we sadly have to delay the release of the final Undead ship, which was originally expected to release in April. We like to make sure we get things right before we release it and there are some things we need to work on before it is ready for release. We do not have an estimated time at the moment, but will communicate that as soon as a date becomes available. Note that development of cosmetic content for BP3 continues as expected and is unaffected. ~ In the meantime, we'd like to provide some information regarding a few big features we have been working on. Adventure Mode is a brand new game mode designed for co-operative play. In Adventure Mode, players will take their ships into a series of Encounters with escalating difficulty. The farther the team makes it, the better the rewards. Encounters will come in various types, challenging players in a myriad of ways - from time-based trials to escort missions. Difficulty selection and optional objectives allow players to choose their own level of challenge. In between Encounters, players will also have the opportunity to select powerful abilities - these abilities do not persist beyond that session but will be essential to defeating encounters at higher difficulties. Examples of Abilities: - Mine Eater: Mines repair this ship instead of dealing damage to it and no longer apply knockback to this ship. - Miracle: Gain a small chance to deal 9999 damage on a cannonball hit. - Cannons Everywhere: All ships reload 20% faster (including enemies)! Rewards earned in this mode will be treated the same as rewards earned in PvP - the same ship and mates can be used in both modes interchangeably, but of course, some builds will be more effective in one arena than the other. In addition to Adventure Mode, we are also working on Captain Leveling. Players will earn items that they can give to Captains - which in turn levels them up. Captains will earn Talent Points as they level up, allowing them to train and invest points into Talent. Talents will either provide a passive benefit or augment the active ability of the Captain. Example of Captain Talents: - Morrigan: On activation, apply the ability's damage and Burning effect near the ship - Anvil: Torpedos can critical hit using the ship's base chance / base chance x2 / base chance x3 - Splint: (Passive) Combat speed penalty reduced by 25 / 50 / 100% - Morte: (Passive) Siphon effect increased by 50 / 100% vs Blinded targets Once a Talent Level has been researched, it can be assigned Talent Points. Talent Point assignments can be reset and reassigned at any time, however, training costs are non-refundable. This system is expected to add a lot of customization options and change the way the game plays on both the PvP side as well as the coming PvE side.

We are happy to announce another Maelstrom Madness weekend, 50% bonus Gold and XP til Monday, March 9th. - Mate Traits now show on tooltips - Mate selection are now sorted by the same order as ship selection - Corrected an issue where the Human Cannon Ironhead was duplicated - Corrected an issue where some Wind Trailers were duplicated - Provision no longer incorrectly also grant Swift Start - Bots have unlocked Dread! Dread - Gained 15% Knockback Resistance (all Battleships now have some KB resistance - Umbral Plating's Hull Damage Resistance replaced by 25% Hull Hit Points - Reduced brightness of the wings on Dread's 'Pitch' Skin - Dread's Dread Spirits now match the color of her skin - Dread's Dread Spirits will no longer fire from its shipwreck - Dread's Dread Spirits spawning before match will no longer persist into the match - Default skin for Dread no longer shows up as "Rubbish" Morte Shadehowler - Debuff duration reduced from 8s to 6s. AOE reduced from 700 to 625. Enemies affected now are also impacted by cannon accuracy. No longer affects lifeboats. - Improved visual for blind debuff

New Ship: Undead Dread

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/50fee293877676926c858ae9990465e17148a710.jpg The notorious flagship of Morte Shadehowler, Dread is an ancient floating Crypt with a past long faded into dark legend. As her bell tolls it curses any ship that dares harm her and signals impending doom for any caught in her wake.

Undead Passive

Siphon: Cannon damage dealt by Undead ships repair their armor slightly

Ship Passive

Toll: When this ship is damaged by an enemy ship, the attacker's cannon accuracy is greatly reduced until the curse expires.

Ship Tier X

Dread Spirits: Periodically releases a pulse of souls, dealing damage to nearby ships

New Captain: Morte Shadehowler

Morte Shadehowler's Dark Miasma Nearby enemies have their vision substantially occluded.

Dread Bundle

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/f299ef1b63e78c1419d866519b6cb65b4075b4cd.png

Upgrade Your Fleet

Upgrade your fleet with the colossal Undead battleship Dread and her notorious Captain Morte Shadehowler.

Bundle Contents

• Undead Battleship: 'Dread'
• Undead Captain: 'Morte Shadehowler'
• 3 Undead Mates
• 'Pitch' Skin

This bundle is now available for 25% off for $14.99 for a limited time at launch. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1257741/ The ship is also unlockable in the game for 1000 Gunpowder.

Legendary Mate of the Month: March

The Legendary Mate of the Month for March is a new Legendary Navigator for all races, including Undead.

Steam Achievements

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/9b877dd77e6a9d1ba33203a923e7b9a661c0395a.jpg Steam Achievements are now active!

Bug Fixes

• Corrected an issue that could cause ramming to apply to the opposite quadrant relative to the point of contact
• Corrected male Legendary Undead Helmsman having a female voice
• Corrected an issue where resolution setting wasn't saved (Note: still some issues with Windowed/Full Screen we are working on)
• Added Knockback Resistance to the Defense Stat Box
• Corrected an issue where wind trailers can stop working when changing sail states quickly
• Corrected tooltips of tracers Crimson and Comet incorrectly stating that they were earnable via Battle Pass
• Corrected an issue where Boosters were not being correctly applied in some situations

Balance

UNDEAD Wind Reaper cannons from 22 to 20 hull dmg. Reload from 11 to 12. Crit chance from 4% to 2%. Torrent Cannons crit chance from 2% to 5% WRAITH Turn Rate from 45 to 41 Acceleration from 80 to 65 -1 cannon port and starboard HUMAN Fury's Hold - Gains 15% knockback resistance base. Harbinger Cannons - Reload from 10 to 11 Leviathan Cannons - Reload from 11 to 10. Range from 850 to 1000. ORCS Bloodfin - Max Speed from 185 to 190 Gorger - Max Speed from 165 to 185. Accel from 45 to 50. Gains 25% knockback resistance base. DWARVES Tidebreaker - Gains 10% knockback resistance base. Thunderhead - max speed from 175 to 180. Gains 20% knockback resistance base. Stormanchor - max speed from 170 to 175. Gains 30% knockback resistance base. Boarding hook range from 200 to 275. Crew Culler (Cannons) - Hull damage from 60 to 55, sail damage from 35 to 80

IroncladLion will be streaming Dread and doing giveaways at 12 PM Pacific on Feb 28th (today, one hour from now): https://www.twitch.tv/ironcladlion {STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/8d46de321cb9b5d4dc9eb29e45765029609d1d64.png

Developer Stream

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/0da083affde865e6ffafe2e3f989d97ed5da0c7a.png Get your first look at Dread by joining us for an official Developer Stream with theRotmaw on Wednesday, Feb 26th at 5 PM Pacific. You can follow our channel here and get notified when we go live: twitch.tv/gunpowdergamesinc Rotmaw will be playing on the LIVE servers with Dread against real players! Join us for a chance to sink Rotmaw in Dread and participate in various giveaways!

Dread Release Date

Dread will be available to players on March 4th.

New Ship: Undead Dread

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/50fee293877676926c858ae9990465e17148a710.jpg The notorious flagship of Morte Shadehowler, Dread is an ancient floating Crypt with a past long faded into dark legend. As her bell tolls it curses any ship that dares harm her and signals impending doom for any caught in her wake.

Undead Passive

Siphon: Cannon damage dealt by Undead ships repair their armor slightly

Ship Passive

Toll: When this ship is damaged by an enemy ship, the attackers cannon accuracy is greatly reduced until the curse expires.

Ship Tier X

Dread Spirits: Periodically releases a pulse of souls, dealing damage to nearby ships

New Captain: Morte Shadehowler

Morte Shadehowler's Dark Miasma Nearby enemies have their vision substantially occluded.

Dread Bundle

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/f299ef1b63e78c1419d866519b6cb65b4075b4cd.png

Upgrade Your Fleet

Upgrade your fleet with the colossal Undead battleship Dread and her notorious Captain Morte Shadehowler.

Bundle Contents

• Undead Battleship: 'Dread'
• Undead Captain: 'Morte Shadehowler'
• 3 Undead Mates
• 'Pitch' Skin

This bundle will be available for 25% off for $14.99 for a limited time at launch. https://store.steampowered.com/app/1257741/ The ship will also be unlockable in the game for 1000 Gunpowder.

Legendary Mate of the Month: March

The Legendary Mate of the Month for March is a new Legendary Navigator for all races, including Undead. The new Mates of Legend quest gives you a chance to earn this new Legendary Navigator.

Steam Achievements

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/9b877dd77e6a9d1ba33203a923e7b9a661c0395a.jpg Steam Achievements are coming to Maelstrom! Collect up to 35 achievements based on the Medals you can earn in game.

{STEAM_CLAN_IMAGE}/32270695/0da083affde865e6ffafe2e3f989d97ed5da0c7a.png Get your first look at Dread by joining us for an official Developer Stream with Rotmaw on Wednesday, Feb 26th at 5 PM Pacific. You can follow our channel here and get notified when we go live: twitch.tv/gunpowdergamesinc Rotmaw will be playing on the LIVE servers with Dread against real players! Join us for a chance to sink Rotmaw in Dread and participate in various giveaways! Dread will be available to players on March 4th.