[p][/p][p]Knights, we're back with another big piece of the Depths of Loyalty puzzle to tap into your merc's backstories and create new merc-driven stories within the game. With this second Depths of Loyalty update, Contacts who are on a Power Play may put a bounty on your head and send Head Hunters after you. They may do so because of specific story reasons (you boosted their star scientist in Truck Job 2) or for backstory or personal reasons (you were part of the undercover task force attempting to kill them before things went … very wrong). This comes along with 3 brand new Head Hunters teams who use new challenges, new henchmen enemy types and new Talents to try to collect the bounty on your head.[/p][p align="start"]We're excited to keep expanding the game as we work on our ambitious post-launch roadmap. This update continues an already very busy October where we've added the Shadow Site storylines, 2 new maps, a new Power Play storyline and a new major story arc with Truck Job part 2.[/p][p align="start"]If you want to see what else we've got cooking - check out the full Post-Launch Roadmap![/p][p][/p]

Shout-out for our fantasy RPG friends, Vagrus - The Riven Realms

[p]We have some news from another indie studio we want to share: our friends who make Vagrus - The Riven Realms just released their second major expansion for their already vast open-world strategy RPG! Vagrus is an intensely dark, lore-heavy setting – it's basically a massive, explorable, 2.5 million words D&D campaign with challenging turn-based tactical combat and resource management. [/p][p][/p][p]If that sounds like your kind of game, take a look! [/p][p][dynamiclink href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/909660/Vagrus__The_Riven_Realms/"][/dynamiclink] We also have a Steam bundle (pay only for the games you don't already own) with Vagrus, Wildermyth, and our previous game Star Traders: Frontiers, with an additional discount: Endless Adventures - Deep & Replayable RPGs.[/p][p][/p]

Our Save Game Policy and Updates

[p align="start"]First, since you're going to be seeing a lot of updates around here, we want to share our saved game policy up front so everyone understands our commitment to your games. No saved game will ever be invalidated by an update. All new content and features will be added immediately to all saved games (with the reasonable exception of New Game options). You never have to restart if you don't want to. This is a studio commitment that we have made and kept for many years and games. We stand by it. So do not stress about the deluge of updates that is coming your way - heist on my good heisters.[/p][p][/p]

New Head Hunters on the Hunt

[p]With Update #44, three new famous Head Hunters can now join in the hunt, filling the ranks of possible varied and powerful enemies that might come at you on the battlefield. There is Le Sidewinder, known for rolling with an escort of mechanized infantry, and the bombastic War Elephant and Six-Gun Sal and his lethal revolver packing Pure Damage that has dropped many a bounty target.[/p][p]These new Head Hunters can join in any hunt, so they might appear as the Hunters in Syndicate Debts or any other Head Hunter storyline. But, with their addition to the game, the ranks of Hunters has swelled enough (with more coming) to start to offered enemy Contacts to deploy them via Limit Breaks.[/p][p][/p]

Enemy Contacts Limit Break for Head Hunters

[p]Enemy and Burnt Contacts now have a new option if they get a Limit Break and have achieved a Power Play - they can put a bounty on your head! Those enemies who hate you, your crew or you have trashed the relationship all have this options and now you have extra incentive to try to keep them off Power Play or block their Head Hunter calls (unless you want that kind of trouble).[/p][p]This is the first way that new Head Hunters may be sent after your team as part of the underworld story simulation, but others will be following shortly as there are often Factions and not individual contacts who are "hunting such and such merc" from their backstory. Soon, these backstory complications will have the option to manifest in the form of Head Hunters![/p][p]We've also added a new Limit Break option if a Contact is Compromised that can put them into hiding for twice as long as usual. This full disappearing act might be very painful if you rely on them but is the type of thing that the Compromised tag is welcoming.[/p][p][/p]

Cyber Surgery Time Rebalance

[p]With Update #44, we've adjusted the balancing equation around cyber surgery recovery time to ensure that the timelines even for the most advanced pieces of cyberware are within the range that make sense of the rest of the game's rules and abilities (injury time, wound treatment, mission delay windows, etc).[/p][p]The new maximum timeline for the most advanced cybernetics range in the 15-17 day range, down from as high as 30-40 days before the adjustment to the math.[/p][p]Call your splicer quick, this deal might be too good to last![/p][p][/p]

Hacking Host Size

[p]At maximum Mission and Matrix Power Level, big hosts are back ^^[/p][p]We found and fixed a bug with this update that was causing the matrix host generator to create small hosts for many missions in the game without taking the proper scaling of the Matrix Power Level for the mission into account. This is now resolved, so expect that some of your matrix hosts are going to grow in size and complexity.[/p][p][/p]

Fixed Bugs

[p]We fixed an issue with the new Cascade Precision Power Play missions that allowed them to still be delayed even though they are stated to disallow that option. We also fixed an issue where Contact Limit Breaks that were positive could turn negative if you quit the game while the Limit Break was on screen.[/p][p][/p]

v2.2.53 - #44: Head Hunters Hunt! - 10/22/2025

[p] - Added 3 new famous Head Hunters - Le Sidewinder, War Elephant and Six-Gun Val[/p][p] - New enemy Head Hunters have cool new abilities and Talents - smoke grenades, other grenades, shielding, cloaking, mecha infantry[/p][p] - Contacts with specific hatred or story grief may send Head Hunters after you as a result of Limit Break when on Power Play[/p][p] - Enemy and Burnt Contacts may send Head Hunters after you as a result of a Limit Break when on Power Play[/p][p] - New extra bad Contact Exposure Limit Break option when Compromised - go Hiding for 2X as long[/p][p] - Standardized and reduced cyber surgery recovery times for cybernetics where the timeline was very long (15+ days)[/p][p] - Fixed bug with Cascade Precision Power Play where you could in fact delay the missions[/p][p] - Fixed bug with Contact Limit Break Influence breaks sometimes turning negative if you reload while they are on screen[/p]