Evolve
Evolve dev says '4v1 caused more problems than we ever imagined'Jun 5, 2018 - PC GamerPublisher 2K Games recently announced that the free-to-play version of Evolve, as well as the dedicated servers supporting its ranked modes and leaderboards, will shut down this September , just under two years after developer Turtle Rock Studios stopped working on the game . On the heels of the announcement, Evolve writer and designer Matt Colville took to Reddit to explain why he believes Evolve struggled to get off the ground, and why it declined so rapidly after release. "We believed we were making an alien world you were going to explore, and we intended to make it awesome," Colville said. "That was the team we had. That team could have made a co-op game where four players explore a savage alien world and I think it would have gone down as one of the great games of the decade. But there was no way to get that game greenlit. No one would pay us to make that game." In order to bring Evolve to a publisher, Turtle Rock needed a unique hook to lead with, so they hedged their bets on 4v1 multiplayer, which Colville says they "100% believed in." However, while the prototype builds of what would become Evolve's killer app performed well internally, even early on members of the team thought it was unstable. "A friend of mine said very early, and I think he was right, 'The reason it works is because we're all role-playing playing Evolve,'" Colville said. "When someone on the team finally got tired of this and started playing to win, it all sort of fell apart and never really recovered." Evolve's 4v1 mode was next to impossible to balance, Colville says, because its heroes and monsters function so differently. They operate on totally different systems, so "a lot of the stuff we wanted to do had to be super watered down." Virtually every character "broke all the rules," so no matter what cool idea they wanted to implement, "there was always some hero or monster ability that borked your stuff." "So, we never really solved 4v1," Colville said. "It caused more problems than we ever imagined, and we didn't really have a team to make a competitive shooter. We had a team to build a world." It didn't help that Evolve, a game "that only really works if you're playing with your friends," was $60 when it launched. "Getting your friends to spend a total of $240 on a game is a hard fucking sell," Colville said, adding that both Turtle Rock and then-backer THQ considered making Evolve free-to-play from the beginning. "Give the game away. Charge people for cosmetic stuff, but make the game free. Maximize your user base," he said. "We knew this, and THQ knew it. Alas, THQ went tits up." The nail in the coffin was how limited Turtle Rock's options were following its release. According to Colville, the team was only able to update Evolve once every ...Evolve shutting down dedicated servers and F2P versionJun 4, 2018 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunEvolve shutting down dedicated servers and free-to-play branch in SeptemberJun 2, 2018 - PC GamerRemember Evolve, the 4v1 multiplayer shooter about hunting down giant, human-controlled monsters? Player numbers dwindled soon after its 2015 release, and later that year developer Turtle Rock Studios ended support for the game. Now, publisher 2K Games has announced that it plans to pull the plug on a number of its key features. In September, dedicated servers will stop running, which means no more ranked play, no more leaderboards, and no more in-game store. At the same time, Evolve Stage 2—the free-to-play branch of the game—will shut down entirely. Players will keep any DLC content they've paid for, such as monsters, skins, and hunters. You'll still be able to play it, but only through peer-to-peer matchmaking in Legacy Evolve, which is the original version of the game—Stage 2 became the main version after it launched. Legacy Evolve contains Quick Play, which features all game modes other than ranked play, as well as custom games and Evacuation mode, where you play a series of five games as either a monster or a hunter. You'll also be able to play solo against AI opponents. While Evolve won't be fully dead, it'll be on its last legs. It's a shame, really: as Evan said in his review, it had bags of potential. Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock making F2P co-op FPSDec 14, 2016 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunLeft 4 Dead and Evolve creators Turtle Rock Studios have announced a new co-op first-person shooter. Ish. A bit. They’ve announced they’re making one. The mysterious game will be fantasy-ish and, y’know, you’ll shoot enemies with your pals and oh, it’ll be free-to-play. While Evolve switched to free-to-play a year after launching but this new game will be designed as F2P from the start, which should work out better for it – and us. We shouldn’t expect this new game until 2018 at the earliest but I’m glad to know they’re still doing their co-op thing. … Evolve, Left 4 Dead studio is working on a 'dark fantasy' co-op FPSDec 13, 2016 - PC GamerWith support officially ending for Evolve earlier this year (despite an effort to stake some ground in the free-to-play arena) Turtle Rock Studios is moving on. Naturally enough, the studio's new game won't be an instalment in the Evolve series (it's safe to say that's dead), nor its earlier success Left 4 Dead. No, a new IP is on the way, one with a "dark fantasy" element. Speaking to gamesindustry.biz, a studio representative said the company is colloborating with free-to-play publisher Perfect World Entertainment, which has worked on Star Trek Online and Blacklight Retribution. ""We are developing a new franchise set in an all new universe that leverages the style of gameplay our community loves and expects from Turtle Rock Studios," according to Phil Robb, the studio's co-founder. "We're focusing on what we do best - heart-pounding moment-to-moment online co-op FPS action, and with Perfect World as our partner, we will always make sure that our players come first by listening to them and growing the game based on how they play and interact over what we hope are many years to come." President Steve Goldstein added that the game will have a "huge" focus on cooperative FPS play. He added that it's not a zombie game, nor is it post-apocalyptic, but that it will instead have a "strong dark fantasy element" to it. It's a shame Evolve went the way it did: I really enjoyed it, though it's understandable that players were concerned with how its post-launch content was ladled out. The new title is not expected to release until 2018 at the earliest, though there are separate VR projects in the offing, too. Turtle Rock Ending Support for Evolve After Player Counts Drop AgainOct 30, 2016 - GitHypBack in July, Evolve was basically dead. The monster-hunting competitive shooter that debuted in 2015 was barely averaging 100 players an hour, so 2K Games and Turtle Rock Studios made the wise decision to switch the format to a free-to-play model -- a price system that usually works better for online-only games focused on becoming serious eSports and profiting through microtransactions.
The format change certainly helped Evolve make headlines and get back on gamers' radars resulting in the player counts spiking up over 36,000% to an impressive 36k player per hour average and peak of 51,000 players. Evolve even cracked the top 10 most played games on Steam ranking as a high as #6 a couple days after Stage 2 started.
Sadly, even as a free game with many improvements made by the developers, there still wasn't enough replay value to keep gamers around. After only a month of f2p, Evolve: Stage 2 had lost 2/3 of its new/returning playerbase... and that number only dropped further and further over the past three months as you can see when looking at GitHyp's average player count data.
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GitHyp's Evolve Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Most recently, Evolve: Stage 2 game has been hovering around 1,500 players per hour -- at times even struggling to crack 1,000 -- bumping it outside of Steam's top 200 games. With player counts dying back down so quickly, Turtle Rock has just made the announcement that they will be ending their support for the game. 2K will be keeping the servers online for now, but with no more major updates this looks to be the end of Evolve as the developer moves on to new projects.
This news from Turtle Rock isn't much of a shock when looking at the numbers. We had compared Evolve: Stage 2 to Dead by Daylight back in July and predicted that DBD would be the clear winner. Starbreeze's similar Hunter vs. Survivors game has also seen a drop in players from 16k players per hour to around 10k-14k pph. However, Dead by Daylight seems to be alive and well, especially with a large increase in players over the past few days due to a Halloween sale that has bumped the game up to #26 on Steam with 21k pph.Evolve Updates Stop As Turtle Rock Move OnOct 26, 2016 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunYesterday was the very last day Turtle Rock will work on Evolve . The servers will still run but no future updates are planned. Despite a relaunch as free-to-play in July, it looks like it simply wasn’t popular enough to justify the cost of them working more on the 4v1 monsterhunting FPS. It wasn’t their call to make – that’d be publishers 2K – and so it goes. … Development ceases on EvolveOct 25, 2016 - PC GamerIn a heartfelt message on the Turtle Rock Studios forums, Phill Robb and Chris Ashton broke the news that development on Evolve, the 4v1 monster hunter, has ended. This doesn't mean that the servers are shutting down, just that further content updates, bug fixes, and balance changes are a no go. In a reply to the server query in the forum thread, Ashton stated, "That'll all be up to 2K on out, the same as anything Left 4 Dead related is in Valve's hands." Evolve faced a quickly dwindling player base when it launched, which prompted an unsurprising relaunch as a free-to-play game in Evolve: Stage 2. Despite enjoying it the first and second time around, it's apparent that the F2P experiment wasn't quite the success needed to keep Evolve afloat. According to Steam Charts, the average active players have nearly halved in every month since the launch of Stage 2, sitting at just under 1700 as of today. The numbers dived so quickly, they won't even be able to bring Stage 2 to consoles as originally planned. Lucky us, I suppose. Turtle Rock isn't done as a studio though. They claim to"have lots of stuff in the works," but chances are it won't involve the combination of monsters, hunters, and asymmetry. To say goodbye to the Evolve community, Turtle Rock is hosting a final livestream Q&A event on Thursday, October 27 at 12pm PT. Update 2.16 - The Glacial BehemothOct 25, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsBehemoth Adaptation - Glacial BehemothThe latest Monster adaptation is launching today, with Glacial Behemoth! Do you feel a chill? The Hunters sure do. Check out below for a quick rundown on what Glacial Behemoth is bringing to the Hunt! Ice Shield - Works the opposite of Living Fortress, starts off high damage resistance at full stacks. As the Hunters deal more damage the stacks break away leaving Glacial Behemoth vulnerable once all stacks are removed. Killing Frost - Moderate damage ice projectile explodes with Frost that slows reload and swap speeds. Ice Spear - Moderate damage skillshot that impales targets if knocked back into a wall.Frozen Monolith - A frozen pillar erupts from the ground dealing damage and summoning a blizzard. The blizzard slows and deals damage.Deep Freeze - Low damage ice wave activating after melee attacks and slows Hunter movement.The Dam has been added into Arcade!After getting the feedback from last week we saw a large number of players asking for this in Arcade, so we’ll be moving over The Dam into Arcade matchmaking queue.Halloween CratesWe’ve released another crate to celebrate Halloween! Be sure to check it out in-game today! Halloween crate content Caira Bloodeagle Griffin ManEater Weapon SkinMarkov Monarch Markov Monarch Weapon SkinBlitz Markov Monarch Weapon Skin Paladin Parnell Bloodeagle Paladin Parnell Monarch SkinPaladin Parnell Nighthunter Skin Quantum Caira Monarch Renegade Abe Predator Weapon Skin Goliath Cow Skin Kraken Calypso Skin Wraith Orca Skin Jack-o-Lantern Skin Gorgon Voodoo Skin The Martyr Perk Series - Hunter and Monster perksHunter SetBeyond the Grave All allies receive 500 health when you are incapped (downed)From Beyond All allies receive 5 seconds of 40% damage reduction when you are incapped (downed)Holy Beyond All allies receive 5 seconds of 300% class cooldown reduction when you are incapped (downed)Monster Set (note downing=incapping a Hunter)Fear Leech Downing a Hunter increases traversal regen by 200% for 10 secondsGrave Robber Downing a Hunter regenerates 200 armor for 10 seconds (2,000 total armor)Blood Leech Downing a Hunter regenerates 140 health for 10 seconds (1,400 total health)Balance Changes BUFF EMET Healing Buoy Increased health to 180 from 90Dropship Beacon Increased the time it takes to respawn teammates to 30 seconds from 20 seconds Cabot Dust Tag Dust cast time delay decreased to 0 from 0.5 secondsDust cooldown decreased to 55 seconds from 70 seconds Paladin Generyst Rocket Rocket projectile speed increased to 60 from 40 Caira Acceleration Field Radius 17 meters from 15 meters Cooldown decreased to 55 seconds from 60 seconds Battle Cabot Orbital Concealment Increased duration of ground effect to 3 seconds from 2 seconds This will allow the effect to last for 3 seconds after stepping outside the radiusSolar Blast Lower time to hit the ground to 0.75 seconds from 1 Kala Shield Burst Self shield increased to 650 from 600 Val Heal burst Self heal increased to 580 from ...Update 2.15 - The Wraith and The Dam - LIVE NOW!Oct 18, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsThe Dam Revision added to Custom GamesPlayers will be able to select the latest revision of The Dam in custom games now. Be sure to give the latest version of The Dam a go!2 Arena Maps added to Arcade queueWe’ve added Distillery and Wraith Trap and Arena maps into Arcade matchmaking.Wraith RefactorWraith has gone through a refactor on 2 abilities and we’ve added a new passive ability, Isolation to help give her more power in the current meta. Be sure to get the full information on her latest rework in the balance section below!Store DropElectro Griffin Blood Eagle Hunter SkinParnell Blood Eagle Hunter SkinTech Sgt Hank Blood Eagle Hunter SkinHank Blood Eagle Hunter SkinHank Man Eater Hunter SkinHank Monarch Hunter SkinHank Valkyrie Hunter SkinCaira Monarch Hunter SkinCaira Valkyrie Hunter SkinBehemoth Glacial SkinWraith Jellyfish skinGoliath White Tiger SkinKraken Bermuda SkinAbe Night Hunter Weapon SkinBlitz Markov Night Weapon SkinWasteland Maggie Night Hunter SkinTech Sgt Hank Night Hunter SkinCaira Night Hunter SkinAI Kraken and Elder Kraken added to Co-op vs AIYou’ll be finding our favorite lighting striking Monsters in Co-op vs AI starting today!Balance Changes Wraith New passive - IsolationIsolated targets within a 60 m radius get isolation stacks applied to them every 5 seconds. Hunters are considered isolated if they are not within 20m of teammatesEach isolated stack deals 60 damage with a max of 5 stacks on a single target.Isolation stacks are permanent until Wraith procs the effect with a meleeDecoyduration increased to 14|14|18 from 6|6|8can now be despawned early by pressing the ability after it has been castedcooldown is reduced by 8 second when killing a targetWhen casted without a target it will enter the sneak state and wait to ambush any hunter that gets closeSupernovaCooldown decreased to 10|8 seconds from 12|10 seconds Supernova duration increased to 4|6|6 seconds from 3.15 seconds Supernova now has a max hit counter of 3Damage increased to 70 from 60Supernova no longer has a bubble Hunters Slim Heal burst Heal other reduced to 160 from 165Self heal reduced to 150 from 155Incap heal reduced to 245 from 250Bug FixesShooting Behemoth’s Rock Wall will no longer charge Slim or Paladin Parnell’s Heal Burst. Ingame help text for Wraith now properly states what the Phantom ability does. Placeholder text when prompted to buy a badge has been updated. A user will no longer be left in an empty, unresponsive lobby when a player they’ve matched with backs out. Fixed a number of issues that was causing the user to be unable to reopen the Crates menu. Daisy no longer starts an Arena match with a strike if she had strikes last round. A timer will now be displayed when people are on a lobby penalty timer when leaving a Hunt Beta match. Before, nothing was displayed and it looked like the lobby was broken. Ingame HUD markers should better reflect what direction the object is. Elite and Prime skinned Elder Kraken will no longer change to defaul...Update 2.14 - Balance, Perks, Basic Crates and Premium CratesOct 12, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsCrates - Basic and Premium Crate option added onto the main menu where players can unlock two new types of crates. Each crate grants different rewards and will either cost Silver Keys or Gold Keys to unlock. Added Basic crates Unlocked with Silver KeysUnlock 3 random items ranging from: 111 Badges75 Weapon Skins16 Hunter Skins12 Monster Skins44 Perks Added Premium crates Unlocked with Gold KeysUnlock 5 random items ranging from: Same items from Basic Crate (excluding Perks)Higher chance for better items34 Characters22 additional Weapon Skins23 additional Hunter Skins6 additional Monster Skins Store Drop Hunters Crow Valkyrie Hunter SkinCrow Man Eater Hunter SkinCrow Blood Eagle Hunter SkinCrow Monarch Hunter SkinEmet Monarch Hunter SkinMaggie Blood Eagle Hunter SkinMaggie Valkyrie Hunter SkinLaz Valkyrie Hunter SkinQuantum Caira Monarch Hunter SkinQuantum Caira Valkyrie Hunter SkinHank Nighthunter Weapon SkinBucket Nighthunter Weapon SkinMonsters Clownfish Wraith Monster SkinCarnivore Goliath Monster SkinCarnivore Wraith Monster Skin Jade Behemoth Monster SkinBalance Updates 2 New Perk Sets We’ve introduced two perk sets for Hunters and Monsters that will manipulate the healing output when these are selected. New Hunter perks Vigorous Healing (High) Increase incoming healing by 10% | 11% | 12%Improved healing (Medium) Increase incoming healing by 6% | 7% | 8%New Monster Perks Infectious Wounds (High) Melee attacks reduce healing received by -10% | -12% | -14% for 1.5 secondsAggravated Wounds (Medium) Melee attacks reduce healing received by -7% | -9% | -11% for 1.5 seconds We’ve done a pass on some of the popular Hunter perks right now bringing some down and also giving some buffs to perks we don’t feel were working in the current meta. Hunter Health Regen Regeneration Added 0.5% | 0.75% | 1% Damage reductionEnhanced Regeneration Added 1% | 1.5% | 2% Damage reductionNanotech Regeneration Added 2% | 2.5% |3% Damage reductionHunter Movement Speed Perks Dev Insight: Walk speed is the speed you’ll move at while firing or strafing as a Hunter, if you take all 3 perks you’ll be able to walk (strafe/fire) as fast as you sprint.Enhanced Celerity Walk Speed increased by 18% | 20% | 22%Sprint Speed increased by 3% | 4% | 5% Nanotech Celerity Walk Speed increased by 26% | 28% | 30%Sprint Speed increased by 5% | 7% | 9% Mutated Celerity Walk Speed increased by 34% | 36% | 38% Sprint Speed increased by 9% | 11% | 12%Damage Resistance Hunter Enhanced Defense Damage reduction increased to 3% | 4% | 5% from 2% | 3% | 4%Unbreakable Defense Damage reduction increased to 5% | 6% | 7% from 4% | 5% | 6%Hunter Jetpack perks Agility Added -7% | -10% | -12.5% Jetpack Recharge (takes longer to recharge)Maximum Agility Added -15% |-17.5% | -20% Jetpack Recharge (takes longer to recharge)Afterburners Jetpack Dodge Thrust decreased to 2.5% | 3.5% | 4% from 2.5% | 3.5% | 4.5%Focused Thrusters Jetpack Dodge Thrust decreased to 3% |4.5% | 5% from 3% | 4.5% | 6%General Balance ...Battle Cabot, Crates and Balance! - Update 2.13 [LIVE NOW]Oct 4, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsNew Support adaptation - Battle CabotThe latest Support adaptation has hit Evolve Stage 2. Sporting a kit built around skill shots, Battle Cabot will be a challenge for any Support player to master. Be sure to check him out in game today!http://www.evolveupdates.com/battlecabot/Crates - Map Variant specific dropsNow when playing The Deepest Dark, Overpowered or Cataclysm the winning side will have a chance for a crate drop that will unlock one item selected at random. Each Map Variant has it’s own specific crate for players to unlock. Be sure to give each map a try at a chance at the new crates!http://www.evolveupdates.com/crates/my2K Sign-In Incentive: Savage Goliath Skin and Markov Blood Eagle SkinStarting with Update 2.13 all players who sign up with my2K will be awarded both the Savage Goliath skin and the Markov Blood Eagle Hunter skin. If Founders previously owned Savage Goliath, the Silver Key exchange rate will be awarded once the update goes live.Behemoth’s Reactive Armor UIWe’ve added a new UI icon when fighting against Behemoth to display the current number of Living Armor stacks as they build up during fights. Each stack will be displayed with a number between one and ten. One being the lowest and ten the full stacks.Co-op AI Behemoth has been addedBob will now be available in Co-op vs AI!Balance UpdatesDome Timer Last week we introduced a feature to stall the Dome timer when a Monster attacks the Hunter team. While this accomplished some of our goals talking and watching a lot of our community we have some initial changes based off our players feedback to help this system feel much better to play against as a Hunter while still giving the Monster a tool to use against the Hunter team. Damage over time Monster abilities no longer stall the Dome timerCombat range reduced to 40 meters from 50 metersCombat timer stall reduced to 2 seconds from 5 seconds This means that after dealing damage, the timer will be stalled for 2 seconds before counting down again. This will be reset after dealing damage to a Hunter.Heavy Hitter Perk set Watching a lot of the feedback over the past week with this new perk set we decided to make some initial changes to see where the new perks land for all players. We’ve stepped down their power just a bit and we’ll be watching their power over the next week. Note the Damage increase has not changed but the cooldown %’s have increased on both perks. Brute Force (Superior) CD increase changed to 17%|20%|24% from 18.75%|22.5%|25%Heavy Hitter (Major) Cooldown increase changed to 12%|15%|16% from 9%|12.5%|15%Monsters can climb slowly while harpooned on a wallBefore this change a Harpoon would detach a Monster instantly while climbing a wall. Now, Monsters can continue climbing at a slower rate while harpoons are attached during wall climb. Currently will slow Monster climb rates by 50% on walls.Dev Insight: Harpoons felt way too punishing against Monsters while climbing walls. This is our first move to bring down Harp...Monster Tutorial, Gold Keys, Perks, Balance and Bugs - Update 2.12Sep 27, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsIntroducing: Gold KeysPlayers now can purchase Gold Keys through Steam to unlock in game items alongside Silver Keys. These are only available for purchase through Steam in the United States for the time being. Various items will have a Silver Key and Gold Key price so players can use Gold or Silver Keys to unlock any item with a Gold Key or Silver Key price. Keep in mind perks are only available to unlock via Silver Keys.Players will unlock the Rolling Behemoth badge for the first Gold Keys purchase on an account.NOTE: The Rolling Behemoth badge will also be available for unlock with Silver Keys in a later update.Monster Advanced TutorialA version of Hunt from the Monster’s perspective that is a guided experience narrated by Caira to help explain some what goes on during a Hunt match as a Monster. Be sure to play through the new Monster tutorial to earn a nice Silver Key bonus as well!Razer Chroma IntegrationVarious features have been added to our implementation of Razer Chroma Ability keys are highlighted and tied to cooldownsMovement keys are highlightedVarious pulses to notify when a Hunter is incapped, a Monster Evolves and so onBe sure to check out the changes and let us know what you think!Update to Hunter AIThe Legacy Hunters have been updated with a new AI blueprint, so be sure to check out the new AI on Val, Griffin, Hank and Markov!New Punch Card for OctoberYou can view the new items coming in October in this post here: https://talk.turtlerockstudios.com/t/punch-card-unlocks-for-october/103749Store ContentTwo new perk series Hunter - Increased Agility and Maximum Agility Monster - Heavy Hitter and Brute ForceBalance Updates Dome Cooldown is stalled while the Monster is in combat When a Monster is in combat, the Dome cooldown timer will be stalled until the Monster and Hunters are out of combat. Dev Insight: This was done to give Monsters an answer against Hunter teams that will continue to get chip damage after the Dome has been called down after a fight. After playing this new system we also decreased the Dome cool down slightly to help keep a good flow in between fights. All Shared Dome Cooldown decreased to 75 seconds from 80 secondsDamage over time effects are now included in the post round screenMonsters General Feeding takes 10% longer for all monsters Behemoth Tongue GrabHunter lock out time increased to 1.25 seconds from 1 secondRock WallLevel 2 and 3 will each add one extra rock slab when leveled upFissureRank 1 range increased to 28 meters from 21 meters Rank 2 range increased to 38.5 meters from 28 meters Rank 3 range increased to 49 meters from 38.5 meters (Monster Perk) Heavy Hitter Series Brute Force (Superior) Cooldowns increased by 18.75% | 22.5% | 25% (takes longer to recharge)Damage Increased by 10% | 12.5% | 15%Heavy Hitter (Major) Cooldowns increased by 9% | 12.5% | 15% (takes longer to recharge)Damage Increased by 7% | 9% | 10% Hunters General Harpoons line of sight break time reduced to 0.35 seconds from 0.5 secon...Balance, Slim Refactor and Economy updates - Update 2.11 [LIVE NOW]Sep 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsStore Economy updates We’ve done numerous changes to the Silver Key prices due to the increased ways players can unlock Silver Keys from the addition of accolades and other Silver Key gains. Part of this change was making sure it was clear what the value of specific items were and creating consistent prices across the store. We have also increased the end of round Silver Key earnings to help compensate for some of the price increases. Store Content Val Phoenix Weapon SkinKraken Carnivore SkinSilver Key Goliath Badge 100,000 Keys - Includes foreground and backgroundCoop UpdatesVarious improvements to current Monster AINew AI Monsters: Gorgon has been added into the Coop vs AI queueMeteor Goliath has been added into the Coop vs AI queue UI Update - Grid Badge editor in the profile We've added a new Badge editor to the profile system. This will make it much easier to view all the badges you currently have and what is left to unlock. Let us know what you think! Balance Changes Damage Over Time will no longer cancel armor channeling Passive damage (Poison, Burns) will no longer cancel Monsters channeling armor inside the Dome http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/03f872c6e4150ac0cc1cacaa6d88134457aa18b3.jpgSlim Refactor Healing burst His healing burst is now a toggle on/off ability. While on, anyone who is damaged in the area around Slim will trigger the healing burst. Spore Cloud is replaced with Mutated Adrenal Gland Mutated Adrenal Gland is an active ability that will grant Slim self healing, movement speed and jump height. You can see the full stats breakdown of Slim’s changes in the balance changelist below General Hunt Changes Mobile Arena changes (Dome) Stage 2 health loss in dome 7.5% from 6.5%Stage 3 Health loss in dome 9.5% from 8.5%Time dome stays up without a hunter present 5 from 10Successful dome prompt linger 3 from 5Drop Ship Time per incap increased to 15 seconds from 13 secondsMax dropship timer increased to 145 seconds from 130 seconds. Solo Matchmaking Benefits Rank buff 2 (2 solo players) Health bonus increased to 15% from 12%Movespeed bonus to 9% from 6%Jetpack Regen Speed bonus to 9% from 6%Rank buff 1 (1 solo player) Health bonus increased to 12% from 9%Movespeed bonus to 7% from 4%Jetpack Regen Speed bonus to 7% from 4%Monsters General Energy gained per Hunter incap reduced to 2 Evolve energy from 3Decreased sneak pounce grab radius of all MonstersSneak pounce cooldown increased to 4 seconds from 2 seconds Behemoth Rolling reduces damage taken by 25% (Does not stack with anything)Jack Repulsor drain per second increased to 50% from 40%Tongue Grab Max grab radius increased to 4 meters from 3 metersLiving Armor Stack duration increased to 6 seconds from 4 Damage threshold to activate a Living Armor stack reduced to 65 damage from 75 Major Perks Mutated Claws Damage per second reduced to 13|14|15 from 14|15|17Fly swatter Damage per second reduced to 5|6|7 from 7.5|8.5|9 Superior Perks Evolve...Behemoth is Back - Update 2.10 - LIVE NOW!Sep 13, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsBehemoth is now released to all players After some major tune ups, Behemoth (Bob) is now available for all players in Stage 2. Quick run down of his changes below: New Passive: Living Fortress Behemoth will gain stacks of damage resistance after a certain damage threshold. Each stack lasts for a short time. The main goal of this is to block burst damage during combat. As Behemoth gains stacks, his armor will start glowing brighter to inform players he is taking less damage. Current tuning: +75 Direct Damage to apply a stack.4% Damage Reduction applied per stack.Stacks will expire after 4 seconds.Stacks max out at 10.Traversal: Rocky Roll Maneuverability has been increased dramatically to give Bob more control.No longer blocked by wildlife.Can quickly change directions while in the roll. Gravity has also been increased while inside the roll. No longer grants 50% damage reduction while inside the roll. Rockwall The ability has undergone a complete code refactor to assure it will properly work when cast near Hunters. Slabs will always spawn at the cursor’s location when casted. Minimum cast range was decreased to allow closer casts of the Rockwall.Fissure Improved consistency when cast near cliffs and hills.Lavabomb Behemoth is now able to aim the ability until it is casted. (Similar to how Goliath can aim rock throw)Tongue Grab Improved overall consistency with the ability. Targets within the visual effect will be grabbed unless a major portion of the target is blocked by geometry. Visual effect will light up when a viable target is inside the effect radius.http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/ad6f7a8eb1f7830c1c9fe17edfa09c9c664f7167.jpgTutorials are now mandatory againIf you have not played a tutorial, this is now forced before playing a multiplayer match. Note: If you have not played a Co-op vs AI match there is now a 3,000 Silver Key reward for completing one match in Co-op vs AI.Store Content (all live today)Weapon Skins Lennox GoldE.M.E.T. GoldCrow GoldKala GoldMonster Skins Behemoth GoldBehemoth Blood RockBehemoth SandstoneBalance Updates All Monsters now gain energy when dealing damage to Hunters After 3000 damage dealt to Hunters, a Monster will gain 1 bar of Evolve energy. This only works when dealing damage to Hunters.Armor is not gained when the energy is gained. Hunters Lennox Autocannon Travel speed increased to 240 from 120Explosion radius increased to 3 meters from 2.5 meters Parnell Rocket Launcher Damage reduced to 83 from 90 Abe Stasis Grenade Slow reduced to 45% from 50%Radius reduced to 14 meters from 17 metersReduced to 13 seconds from 15 seconds Kala Teleporter Toss distance increased to 10 meters from 7 metersHealth increased to 150 from 70 Activation radius increased to 1.8 meters from 1.3 meters Bucket Turret toss distance increased to 10 meters from 7 meters Cabot Damage Amp Capacity reduced to 315 energy from 350 energyBug FixesFixed an issue where the wrong loading screen would dis...LIVE NOW! - Update 2.09 - Bugs, Balance, Elder Kraken Clarity PassSep 7, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsUpdate 2.09Elder Kraken Visual Effects Clarity PassLightning Strike and Death Spiral had a clarity pass to remove some of the visual clutter they would create during combat.Accolade tab added to the Profile cardThis shows all possible accolades for the selected character on the profile card.Weekly Store Updates (all are released on patch day now)Hunter Skins Val MonarchAbe ManeaterWeapon Skin Hyde Sword setTech Sgt. Hank Predator setRogue Val Valkyrie setMonster Skins Gold KrakenGold Wraith Gold GorgonBalance Updates Dev Insight: This balance patch had a pretty big focus on Monster perk balance and making sure the perk scaling on perks was not so drastic between the Monster perk upgrades. We also made some adjustments to the solo player matchmaking bonus and took another look at Paladin Parnell after his first week out on Shear. Monsters Minor Perks Brawler Climb Speed to 13%| 15% | 18% from 10% | 14% | 18%Stamina Recharge to 4.5% | 5% | 6% from 3% | 4.5% | 6%Damage Resistance to 3.5 | 4.5% | 5% from 3%| 4%| 5%Fast Climber Climb 22.5% | 27% | 30% from 15% | 22.5% | 30%Traversal 6% | 7% | 8% from 4% | 6% | 8%Heavy Armor Damage Resistance decreased to 5.5% | 6.5% | 7.5% from 4% | 6% | 8%Haste Movement Speed to 10% | 11% | 12% from 7.5% | 10% | 12.5%Unstoppable Armor regen to 25% | 30% | 35% from 15% | 25% | 35%Damage Resistance 3.5% | 4% | 5% from 3% | 4% | 5%Savage Nature Climb Speed to 10% | 11% | 12% from 6% | 9% | 12%Feed Speed increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20%Smell Range increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20%Sense bonus increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20% Hunger Feed Speed to 32.5% | 35% | 37% from 27.5% | 32.5% | 37.5%Movement Speed to 5.5% | 6.5% | 7% from 5%| 6% | 7% Enhanced Senses Pounce Damage to 28% | 29% | 30% from 15% | 25% | 30%Leg breaker Damage over time to 6 | 7.5 | 8 from 5 | 7 | 8 Major Perks Speed Climber Climb Speed to 40% | 42.5% | 45% from 35% | 40% | 45%Traversal Speed to 7.5% | 8.5% | 10% from 6% | 8% | 10%Scale Armor Damage Resistance decreased to 8.5% | 9% | 10% from 8% | 10% | 12%Insatiable Hunger Feeding Speed decreased to 50% | 65% | 72.5% from 40% | 60% | 80%Movement Speed decreased to 8.5% | 9.5% |10.5% from 8% | 9.5% | 11%Mutated Haste Movement Speed to 14% | 15% | 17% from 13% | 15% | 17%Crippling Attack Slow Debuff to 25% | 28% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Feral Instincts Climb Speed to 18% | 19% | 20% from 10% | 15% | 20%Feed Speed to 30% | 35% | 40% from 25% | 32.5% | 40%Smell Range to 28% | 29% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Sense bonus to 28% | 29% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Mutated Senses Smell Range to 55% | 60% | 70% from 50% | 60% | 70%Sense bonus to 55% | 60% | 70% from 50%| 60% | 70%Pounce 58% | 60% | 65% from 55% | 60% | 65%Endurance Stamina recharge to 15% | 16% | 17% from 13% | 15% | 17%Mutated Claws Damage over time decreased to 14 | 15 | 17 from 13.5 | 15 |19Fly Swatter Damage over time decreased to 7.5 | 8.5 | 9 from 8 | 9 | 10Mutated Recovery Cooldown reduction dec...Update 2.08 - Matchmaking, Bug Fixes, Silver Keys, Paladin Parnell and Progression [LIVE NOW]Aug 30, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsSilver Key Earn Rate has been doubledAfter getting a lot of feedback over the last few weeks we felt that we needed to increase the Silver Key rates for playing through a Hunt game. All Silver Key earn rates during matches (Win/Loss bonus, in-game awards) have been doubled. The UI on the main menu will show 2X Silver Keys once the update is liveNew Medic: Paladin ParnellThe latest Medic Adaptation is out now! Be sure to check out those healing rockets and more here: http://www.evolveupdates.com/paladinparnellAlso be sure to checkout the Paladin Parnell trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCTmg89mJIAccount level cap increase (+25 new levels)Account progression has been increased to level 75 from level 50. We’ve added perk unlocks, badges and more Silver Key bonuses as players work their way up to level 75!Matchmaking ChangesRanked has been removed and replaced with “Hunt Beta” Placement matches are removedNo longer displays ratings No leaderboardsAll about skill based matchmaking.No Map Variants in this Queue. ‘Pure’ Hunt experience. Hunt has been renamed to “Arcade” Map Variants remain in this queue. Players will be able to match into Monster with a party in Arcade mode. Skill bucketsTutorial Pop-up ChangesThe text of the pop-up will be different based on the player’s tutorial completion state.If the player agrees to do the tutorial and hasn’t done any of them, we will put them directly into the Monster tutorial.If the players agreed to do the tutorial and has already done the Monster or Hunter tutorial, we will put them directly into the tutorial they haven’t completed. This will show until both tutorials are completed.New Store ContentHunter Skins (Thursday) Paladin Parnell Man EaterPaladin Parnell MonarchWeapon Skins (Wednesday) Paladin ArcticPaladin VictoryPaladin Union JackBalance Updates Hunt Solo Benefits Rank 1 (1 Solo Player) Decreased Max health bonus from 10% to 9%Decreased Movement speed bonus from 5% to 4%Decreased Jetpack recharge bonus from 5% to 4%Rank 2 (Two Solo players) Decreased Max health bonus from 17% to 15%Decreased Movement speed bonus from 10% to 8%Decreased Jetpack recharge bonus from 10% to 8%Dev Insight: After the changes to Hunt Solo Benefits we wanted to scale back the bonuses slowly to see how it changes things around for the general matchmaking experience. Hunt Hunters Renegade Abe Penitence Damage over time reduced from 20 to 19 DPSNerve Toxin Dart Damage over time reduced from 32 to 30 DPSCorrosive Grenades DPS reduced from 12 to 11Dev Insight: We got a lot of feedback sent our way about Renegade Abe and just wanted to bring down his damage over time across his whole kit down a notch this update. We like that he is a viable pick and want to see what this small number change will do to his overall performance. Deepest Dark All damage from minions and Monsters up 7.5% Dev Insight: We’re going to up the difficulty just a bit with this mode. We’re starting to work on more changes to Deepest Dark in the fu...LIVE NOW - Update 2.07 and The Deepest Dark (Beta)Aug 24, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsNew Co Op Only Map Variant: The Deepest Dark (Beta) Operationhttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/6336bcb1587fcc9bf7bc267b7e2e08be40ac4b1d.png Our first exclusive Co Op experience, The Deepest Dark is the latest Map Variant that is going live today!Taking place on a modified version of Wraith Trap, fight through the night with your friends to take on the Queen of Gorgons! This map can only be found in the Co Op vs AI matchmaking queue.Be sure to checkout the weekend challenge over on evolveupdates.comDropship Tutorial Voiceovers (English Only)Alongside our new UI explaining character abilities every character now has a quick run down of the abilities from our in-game Announcer! This will only play if you’re between character levels 1-7 on a specific Hunter or Monster.New Store ContentHunter Skins (Thursday) Parnell Man EaterMaggie MonarchWeapon Skin (Wednesday) Lazarus VictoryBucket VictoryHyde VictoryMonster Skins (Thursday) Savage KrakenKraken Ceiling Changes (How high Kraken can fly in combat)Adjusted the flight Ceiling Kraken can reach to make it a more enjoyable experience fighting against Kraken during combat. This change should keep Kraken from hovering too high in common fighting areas Dev Insight: This is more of a general bugfix but we wanted to highlight this change. Our goal with this was to remove some of those fights where Kraken simply would just hover higher than intended during combat.Overpowered Game Mode TuningAll Buffs spawn at 20 seconds nowMonster Perks Added minor general enhancements to monster buffs, because of how easily Hunters can out diversify the Monster. Dev Insight: The goal here is to give the Monster a few more options when it comes to the mode and what buffs they’re going to prioritize against a Hunter team. Damage - Red Damage Increased from 3% to 4%+5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +5% Movement Speed+2% Damage ReductionUtility - Yellow Added:+5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +5% Movement Speed+2% Damage ReductionDefense - Blue +5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +20% Smell Range +20% Smell +15% Climb +10% Feeding Speed +10% Traversal RegenBalance Updates In this update we had a focus on a few Hunters alongside giving Monsters a bit more space to feed on the Hunt and attack the generator. So let’s dive into what’s changed for 2.07 GeneralDistance Damage Scale Min distance scale decreased from 30 to 20 metersMax distance scale increased from 100 to 110 meters Damage Threshold Increased from 50 to 60 unitsDev Insight TL;DR of these changes are Hunters have to be closer and damage Monsters a bit more in order to interrupt them from feeding. The same applies for the generator to help gives Monsters a bit more HuntersHank Shield Burst Self shield value reduced from 575 to 545 unitsSelf shield decay rate increased from 35 to 39 Shield Projector Total shield energy reduced from 600 to 570Energy regeneration reduced from 100 to 90Dev Insight W...Overpowered Weekend has begun - 10X XP and 10X Silver Keys!Aug 19, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsThe Shear Madnesscontinues, with the latest update bringing a new Assault character to Evolve Stage 2, Renegade Abe, and our latest Map Variant, Overpowered. But the madness isn't over yet...it's only just begun! http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/508eae2cc8c739d6577597cab36ab8f8139fca98.png As a thank you to our community, starting at 10:00am PDT on Friday August 19th until 10:00am PDT on Monday August 22nd we are running a 10X XP and 10X Silver Key event. The journey so far of Evolve Stage 2 has brought back so much passion within the Studio that we can’t wait to keep pushing Stage 2 forward as the months go on! So go ahead and enjoy some serious bonus XP and Silver Keys on TRS Introducing: Renegade Abe and Overpowered - Update 2.06 - LIVE NOW!Aug 16, 2016 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/310d77e812bd380d0ce76cf8fc79c9965dcc6fc3.pngNew Assault: Renegade AbeAbe has gone Renegade! Check out his new Double Barrel Shotgun, Nerve Toxin Dart and Corrosive grenades in the latest update for Stage 2! http://www.evolveupdates.com/renegadeabe/New Map Variant: OverpoweredWeather control has gone full OP! Alongside a new lighting pass, Weather Control now is home to a new Map Variant known as ‘Overpowered’The details on how the mode works is below: Collect up the 5 different buffs to create the most overpowered buff combinations you can!To find out more information on the buff combos check out the website here: http://www.evolveupdates.com/renegadeabe/#overpoweredhttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/cdbdd2928b6b55bf9d560c8c41f7c1c03301a6c6.gifNew Store ContentRenegade Abe Weapon Skins (Wednesday) Arctic SkinsBlood Eagle SkinsNighthunter Weapon SkinHunter Skins (Thursday) Monarch Hunter SkinBlood Eagle Hunter Skin (TRS Fav)Monster Skins (Thursday) Wraith Hornet Skin (Buzz Buzz)In-Game Info Overlay HUD on the dropshipWhen waiting through the initial dropship and the first few moments of a Hunt match an info overlay will display with information on the current character a player is using. Ability/Equipment informationTraversal informationObjective informationGoal here is to help all players have a better grasp of a character before loading into a Hunt match. We’ll continue to expand upon this feature and be sure to give us your feedback!Perks can be purchased on the profile screen under the new “Perks” tabOne of the more requested community features was being able to unlock perks and view all perks before loading into a Hunt match.Now players will be able to view and unlock all perks on their own tab in the Stage 2 profile page. Silver Key and XP multiplier events are better shown through UIWe’ve got a lot of feedback on how we communicate bonus XP and Silver Key events through our UI, so this is our first step to letting players know what is going on! This will be tested on the Overpowered event weekend so be sure to be on the lookout for some truly OP XP and Silver Key bonuses :)New Character specific Accolades (Hidden Silver Key rewards)Instead of a broad set of hidden Accolades to unlock, each character now has individual Accolades they can unlock by completing objectives during a match. Be on the lookout for more rewards in the post round!Periodic Challenge AdjustmentsPreviously they granted: 25/50/100/250/500 Silver KeysNow they’ll grant: 75/100/225/350 Silver KeysThese will appear every 30 minutes, instead of every hour. Opening up a Periodic Challenge and getting 25 Silver Keys just didn’t feel that good for us and our playersChat HistoryPlayers can now hit Enter while in multiplayer to see the full chat history! Yay for chat history!Razer Chroma SupportAll Razer keyboards that support Chroma now will have some basic functi...Evolve Stage 2 is getting a co-op vs. AI playlist and a deadlier Orbital DrillAug 10, 2016 - PC GamerEvolve Stage 2 ie, the new free-to-play version of Turtle Rock's asymmetrical team shooter is in the middle of its first Shear Madness event. It spawned a new Medic character last week, but the newest reveal includes a new map variant, as well as a Co-op vs AI playlist. Entitled Cataclysm, the map is a much nastier version of the original Orbital Drill. According to Turtle Rock, not only is there lots of deadly lava and meteors, but some of the latter can even heal you upon collision though beware, because that holds true for both Hunters and Monsters. It sounds like a not very pleasant tourist destination to be honest, but for killing monsters and / or hunters it's probably the perfect spot. "The sky has been consumed with embers, soot and smoke that could engulf the whole planet. Strangely enough, alongside the hellfire the planet seems to have taken some of the Hunters healing technology through this transformation." Finally, the new Co-op vs AI queue is designed to be a less stressful experience compared to the competitive modes. Shear Madness still has three reveals to go, with the last scheduled to arrive on August 30. Here's some footage of the new Cataclysm map: Evolve: Phase 2 Goes 1 vs. 1 Against Newcomer Dead by DaylightJul 21, 2016 - GitHypOnly a few weeks ago, we were reminded of Evolve when Starbreeze’s Dead by Daylight launched and proved that there was still interest among gamers in the 4 vs. 1 concept. One of the most talked about games in 2014 and 2015, Evolve's player count dropped to an average of under 100 players per hour on Steam only a year after its launch – a horrifically low number for any triple-A title... especially for a game with as much marketing as 2K Games put into Evolve.
So with almost all of the game’s players gone, 2K and Turtle Rock decided to throw out one last Hail Mary in the form of completely revamping some of Evolve’s core gameplay mechanics and making the entire game free-to-play. The reward? Well, just 48 hours after the F2P model was launched, Evolve’s player count values shot up over 36,000%.
Going from an average of around 100 players per hour before the free-to-play announcement, Evolve skyrocketed up to 19.4k players per hour on Day 1 of Stage 2, 31.4k pph on Day 2, and peaked at 36.8k pph on Day 3 -- placing the game as high as #6 on Steam.
[caption id="attachment_185163" align="aligncenter" width="771"]
Evolve: Stage 2's Player Count per Hour Daily Average[/caption]
However, since Day 3 of Evolve: Stage 2, the player count numbers have quickly declined by 50% over the past two weeks with the game currently sitting at around 18.3k players per hour and coming in at #16 on Steam... a bad sign for the future of the game. Still, the impressive relaunch numbers have been enough for now to help Turtle Rock take back the 4 vs. 1 throne from Dead by Daylight, which currently sits at #21 with an average of 16.3k players per hour.
As Evolve’s downward trend continues, it’s likely to fall back out of the top 20 games on Steam in only a matter of days. Meanwhile, Dead by Daylight has been maintaining its playerbase and even showing signs of minor growth that indicate it will pass Evolve very soon and remain as one of the most played games on Steam.
[caption id="attachment_185162" align="aligncenter" width="771"]
Dead by Daylight's Player Count per Hour Daily Average[/caption]
Weeks ago we wondering how long the hype could last for Dead by Daylight after comparing the game’s launch to Evolve’s history… but now we’re even more interested in seeing how Evolve's free-to-play evolution will play out. Will Evolve maintain enough of its recent influx of F2P players to stay relevant after its huge comeback? Or will history repeat itself with the playerbase completely dying out a year from now?
With players no longer required to buy Evolve to play the game, Turtle Rock should be able to keep more players around this time... that is, if the developer plays their future microtransaction cards right... but for now, it looks like Dead by Daylight is still going to be the winner among the two in the battle of the 4 vs. 1 genre.
GitHyp's Evolve Player Count per Hour Data[/caption]
Most recently, Evolve: Stage 2 game has been hovering around 1,500 players per hour -- at times even struggling to crack 1,000 -- bumping it outside of Steam's top 200 games. With player counts dying back down so quickly, Turtle Rock has just made the announcement that they will be ending their support for the game. 2K will be keeping the servers online for now, but with no more major updates this looks to be the end of Evolve as the developer moves on to new projects.
This news from Turtle Rock isn't much of a shock when looking at the numbers. We had compared Evolve: Stage 2 to Dead by Daylight back in July and predicted that DBD would be the clear winner. Starbreeze's similar Hunter vs. Survivors game has also seen a drop in players from 16k players per hour to around 10k-14k pph. However, Dead by Daylight seems to be alive and well, especially with a large increase in players over the past few days due to a Halloween sale that has bumped the game up to #26 on Steam with 21k pph.Evolve Updates Stop As Turtle Rock Move OnOct 26, 2016 - Rock, Paper, ShotgunYesterday was the very last day Turtle Rock will work on Evolve . The servers will still run but no future updates are planned. Despite a relaunch as free-to-play in July, it looks like it simply wasn’t popular enough to justify the cost of them working more on the 4v1 monsterhunting FPS. It wasn’t their call to make – that’d be publishers 2K – and so it goes. … Development ceases on EvolveOct 25, 2016 - PC GamerIn a heartfelt message on the Turtle Rock Studios forums, Phill Robb and Chris Ashton broke the news that development on Evolve, the 4v1 monster hunter, has ended. This doesn't mean that the servers are shutting down, just that further content updates, bug fixes, and balance changes are a no go. In a reply to the server query in the forum thread, Ashton stated, "That'll all be up to 2K on out, the same as anything Left 4 Dead related is in Valve's hands." Evolve faced a quickly dwindling player base when it launched, which prompted an unsurprising relaunch as a free-to-play game in Evolve: Stage 2. Despite enjoying it the first and second time around, it's apparent that the F2P experiment wasn't quite the success needed to keep Evolve afloat. According to Steam Charts, the average active players have nearly halved in every month since the launch of Stage 2, sitting at just under 1700 as of today. The numbers dived so quickly, they won't even be able to bring Stage 2 to consoles as originally planned. Lucky us, I suppose. Turtle Rock isn't done as a studio though. They claim to"have lots of stuff in the works," but chances are it won't involve the combination of monsters, hunters, and asymmetry. To say goodbye to the Evolve community, Turtle Rock is hosting a final livestream Q&A event on Thursday, October 27 at 12pm PT. Update 2.16 - The Glacial BehemothOct 25, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsBehemoth Adaptation - Glacial BehemothThe latest Monster adaptation is launching today, with Glacial Behemoth! Do you feel a chill? The Hunters sure do. Check out below for a quick rundown on what Glacial Behemoth is bringing to the Hunt! Ice Shield - Works the opposite of Living Fortress, starts off high damage resistance at full stacks. As the Hunters deal more damage the stacks break away leaving Glacial Behemoth vulnerable once all stacks are removed. Killing Frost - Moderate damage ice projectile explodes with Frost that slows reload and swap speeds. Ice Spear - Moderate damage skillshot that impales targets if knocked back into a wall.Frozen Monolith - A frozen pillar erupts from the ground dealing damage and summoning a blizzard. The blizzard slows and deals damage.Deep Freeze - Low damage ice wave activating after melee attacks and slows Hunter movement.The Dam has been added into Arcade!After getting the feedback from last week we saw a large number of players asking for this in Arcade, so we’ll be moving over The Dam into Arcade matchmaking queue.Halloween CratesWe’ve released another crate to celebrate Halloween! Be sure to check it out in-game today! Halloween crate content Caira Bloodeagle Griffin ManEater Weapon SkinMarkov Monarch Markov Monarch Weapon SkinBlitz Markov Monarch Weapon Skin Paladin Parnell Bloodeagle Paladin Parnell Monarch SkinPaladin Parnell Nighthunter Skin Quantum Caira Monarch Renegade Abe Predator Weapon Skin Goliath Cow Skin Kraken Calypso Skin Wraith Orca Skin Jack-o-Lantern Skin Gorgon Voodoo Skin The Martyr Perk Series - Hunter and Monster perksHunter SetBeyond the Grave All allies receive 500 health when you are incapped (downed)From Beyond All allies receive 5 seconds of 40% damage reduction when you are incapped (downed)Holy Beyond All allies receive 5 seconds of 300% class cooldown reduction when you are incapped (downed)Monster Set (note downing=incapping a Hunter)Fear Leech Downing a Hunter increases traversal regen by 200% for 10 secondsGrave Robber Downing a Hunter regenerates 200 armor for 10 seconds (2,000 total armor)Blood Leech Downing a Hunter regenerates 140 health for 10 seconds (1,400 total health)Balance Changes BUFF EMET Healing Buoy Increased health to 180 from 90Dropship Beacon Increased the time it takes to respawn teammates to 30 seconds from 20 seconds Cabot Dust Tag Dust cast time delay decreased to 0 from 0.5 secondsDust cooldown decreased to 55 seconds from 70 seconds Paladin Generyst Rocket Rocket projectile speed increased to 60 from 40 Caira Acceleration Field Radius 17 meters from 15 meters Cooldown decreased to 55 seconds from 60 seconds Battle Cabot Orbital Concealment Increased duration of ground effect to 3 seconds from 2 seconds This will allow the effect to last for 3 seconds after stepping outside the radiusSolar Blast Lower time to hit the ground to 0.75 seconds from 1 Kala Shield Burst Self shield increased to 650 from 600 Val Heal burst Self heal increased to 580 from ...Update 2.15 - The Wraith and The Dam - LIVE NOW!Oct 18, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsThe Dam Revision added to Custom GamesPlayers will be able to select the latest revision of The Dam in custom games now. Be sure to give the latest version of The Dam a go!2 Arena Maps added to Arcade queueWe’ve added Distillery and Wraith Trap and Arena maps into Arcade matchmaking.Wraith RefactorWraith has gone through a refactor on 2 abilities and we’ve added a new passive ability, Isolation to help give her more power in the current meta. Be sure to get the full information on her latest rework in the balance section below!Store DropElectro Griffin Blood Eagle Hunter SkinParnell Blood Eagle Hunter SkinTech Sgt Hank Blood Eagle Hunter SkinHank Blood Eagle Hunter SkinHank Man Eater Hunter SkinHank Monarch Hunter SkinHank Valkyrie Hunter SkinCaira Monarch Hunter SkinCaira Valkyrie Hunter SkinBehemoth Glacial SkinWraith Jellyfish skinGoliath White Tiger SkinKraken Bermuda SkinAbe Night Hunter Weapon SkinBlitz Markov Night Weapon SkinWasteland Maggie Night Hunter SkinTech Sgt Hank Night Hunter SkinCaira Night Hunter SkinAI Kraken and Elder Kraken added to Co-op vs AIYou’ll be finding our favorite lighting striking Monsters in Co-op vs AI starting today!Balance Changes Wraith New passive - IsolationIsolated targets within a 60 m radius get isolation stacks applied to them every 5 seconds. Hunters are considered isolated if they are not within 20m of teammatesEach isolated stack deals 60 damage with a max of 5 stacks on a single target.Isolation stacks are permanent until Wraith procs the effect with a meleeDecoyduration increased to 14|14|18 from 6|6|8can now be despawned early by pressing the ability after it has been castedcooldown is reduced by 8 second when killing a targetWhen casted without a target it will enter the sneak state and wait to ambush any hunter that gets closeSupernovaCooldown decreased to 10|8 seconds from 12|10 seconds Supernova duration increased to 4|6|6 seconds from 3.15 seconds Supernova now has a max hit counter of 3Damage increased to 70 from 60Supernova no longer has a bubble Hunters Slim Heal burst Heal other reduced to 160 from 165Self heal reduced to 150 from 155Incap heal reduced to 245 from 250Bug FixesShooting Behemoth’s Rock Wall will no longer charge Slim or Paladin Parnell’s Heal Burst. Ingame help text for Wraith now properly states what the Phantom ability does. Placeholder text when prompted to buy a badge has been updated. A user will no longer be left in an empty, unresponsive lobby when a player they’ve matched with backs out. Fixed a number of issues that was causing the user to be unable to reopen the Crates menu. Daisy no longer starts an Arena match with a strike if she had strikes last round. A timer will now be displayed when people are on a lobby penalty timer when leaving a Hunt Beta match. Before, nothing was displayed and it looked like the lobby was broken. Ingame HUD markers should better reflect what direction the object is. Elite and Prime skinned Elder Kraken will no longer change to defaul...Update 2.14 - Balance, Perks, Basic Crates and Premium CratesOct 12, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsCrates - Basic and Premium Crate option added onto the main menu where players can unlock two new types of crates. Each crate grants different rewards and will either cost Silver Keys or Gold Keys to unlock. Added Basic crates Unlocked with Silver KeysUnlock 3 random items ranging from: 111 Badges75 Weapon Skins16 Hunter Skins12 Monster Skins44 Perks Added Premium crates Unlocked with Gold KeysUnlock 5 random items ranging from: Same items from Basic Crate (excluding Perks)Higher chance for better items34 Characters22 additional Weapon Skins23 additional Hunter Skins6 additional Monster Skins Store Drop Hunters Crow Valkyrie Hunter SkinCrow Man Eater Hunter SkinCrow Blood Eagle Hunter SkinCrow Monarch Hunter SkinEmet Monarch Hunter SkinMaggie Blood Eagle Hunter SkinMaggie Valkyrie Hunter SkinLaz Valkyrie Hunter SkinQuantum Caira Monarch Hunter SkinQuantum Caira Valkyrie Hunter SkinHank Nighthunter Weapon SkinBucket Nighthunter Weapon SkinMonsters Clownfish Wraith Monster SkinCarnivore Goliath Monster SkinCarnivore Wraith Monster Skin Jade Behemoth Monster SkinBalance Updates 2 New Perk Sets We’ve introduced two perk sets for Hunters and Monsters that will manipulate the healing output when these are selected. New Hunter perks Vigorous Healing (High) Increase incoming healing by 10% | 11% | 12%Improved healing (Medium) Increase incoming healing by 6% | 7% | 8%New Monster Perks Infectious Wounds (High) Melee attacks reduce healing received by -10% | -12% | -14% for 1.5 secondsAggravated Wounds (Medium) Melee attacks reduce healing received by -7% | -9% | -11% for 1.5 seconds We’ve done a pass on some of the popular Hunter perks right now bringing some down and also giving some buffs to perks we don’t feel were working in the current meta. Hunter Health Regen Regeneration Added 0.5% | 0.75% | 1% Damage reductionEnhanced Regeneration Added 1% | 1.5% | 2% Damage reductionNanotech Regeneration Added 2% | 2.5% |3% Damage reductionHunter Movement Speed Perks Dev Insight: Walk speed is the speed you’ll move at while firing or strafing as a Hunter, if you take all 3 perks you’ll be able to walk (strafe/fire) as fast as you sprint.Enhanced Celerity Walk Speed increased by 18% | 20% | 22%Sprint Speed increased by 3% | 4% | 5% Nanotech Celerity Walk Speed increased by 26% | 28% | 30%Sprint Speed increased by 5% | 7% | 9% Mutated Celerity Walk Speed increased by 34% | 36% | 38% Sprint Speed increased by 9% | 11% | 12%Damage Resistance Hunter Enhanced Defense Damage reduction increased to 3% | 4% | 5% from 2% | 3% | 4%Unbreakable Defense Damage reduction increased to 5% | 6% | 7% from 4% | 5% | 6%Hunter Jetpack perks Agility Added -7% | -10% | -12.5% Jetpack Recharge (takes longer to recharge)Maximum Agility Added -15% |-17.5% | -20% Jetpack Recharge (takes longer to recharge)Afterburners Jetpack Dodge Thrust decreased to 2.5% | 3.5% | 4% from 2.5% | 3.5% | 4.5%Focused Thrusters Jetpack Dodge Thrust decreased to 3% |4.5% | 5% from 3% | 4.5% | 6%General Balance ...Battle Cabot, Crates and Balance! - Update 2.13 [LIVE NOW]Oct 4, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsNew Support adaptation - Battle CabotThe latest Support adaptation has hit Evolve Stage 2. Sporting a kit built around skill shots, Battle Cabot will be a challenge for any Support player to master. Be sure to check him out in game today!http://www.evolveupdates.com/battlecabot/Crates - Map Variant specific dropsNow when playing The Deepest Dark, Overpowered or Cataclysm the winning side will have a chance for a crate drop that will unlock one item selected at random. Each Map Variant has it’s own specific crate for players to unlock. Be sure to give each map a try at a chance at the new crates!http://www.evolveupdates.com/crates/my2K Sign-In Incentive: Savage Goliath Skin and Markov Blood Eagle SkinStarting with Update 2.13 all players who sign up with my2K will be awarded both the Savage Goliath skin and the Markov Blood Eagle Hunter skin. If Founders previously owned Savage Goliath, the Silver Key exchange rate will be awarded once the update goes live.Behemoth’s Reactive Armor UIWe’ve added a new UI icon when fighting against Behemoth to display the current number of Living Armor stacks as they build up during fights. Each stack will be displayed with a number between one and ten. One being the lowest and ten the full stacks.Co-op AI Behemoth has been addedBob will now be available in Co-op vs AI!Balance UpdatesDome Timer Last week we introduced a feature to stall the Dome timer when a Monster attacks the Hunter team. While this accomplished some of our goals talking and watching a lot of our community we have some initial changes based off our players feedback to help this system feel much better to play against as a Hunter while still giving the Monster a tool to use against the Hunter team. Damage over time Monster abilities no longer stall the Dome timerCombat range reduced to 40 meters from 50 metersCombat timer stall reduced to 2 seconds from 5 seconds This means that after dealing damage, the timer will be stalled for 2 seconds before counting down again. This will be reset after dealing damage to a Hunter.Heavy Hitter Perk set Watching a lot of the feedback over the past week with this new perk set we decided to make some initial changes to see where the new perks land for all players. We’ve stepped down their power just a bit and we’ll be watching their power over the next week. Note the Damage increase has not changed but the cooldown %’s have increased on both perks. Brute Force (Superior) CD increase changed to 17%|20%|24% from 18.75%|22.5%|25%Heavy Hitter (Major) Cooldown increase changed to 12%|15%|16% from 9%|12.5%|15%Monsters can climb slowly while harpooned on a wallBefore this change a Harpoon would detach a Monster instantly while climbing a wall. Now, Monsters can continue climbing at a slower rate while harpoons are attached during wall climb. Currently will slow Monster climb rates by 50% on walls.Dev Insight: Harpoons felt way too punishing against Monsters while climbing walls. This is our first move to bring down Harp...Monster Tutorial, Gold Keys, Perks, Balance and Bugs - Update 2.12Sep 27, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsIntroducing: Gold KeysPlayers now can purchase Gold Keys through Steam to unlock in game items alongside Silver Keys. These are only available for purchase through Steam in the United States for the time being. Various items will have a Silver Key and Gold Key price so players can use Gold or Silver Keys to unlock any item with a Gold Key or Silver Key price. Keep in mind perks are only available to unlock via Silver Keys.Players will unlock the Rolling Behemoth badge for the first Gold Keys purchase on an account.NOTE: The Rolling Behemoth badge will also be available for unlock with Silver Keys in a later update.Monster Advanced TutorialA version of Hunt from the Monster’s perspective that is a guided experience narrated by Caira to help explain some what goes on during a Hunt match as a Monster. Be sure to play through the new Monster tutorial to earn a nice Silver Key bonus as well!Razer Chroma IntegrationVarious features have been added to our implementation of Razer Chroma Ability keys are highlighted and tied to cooldownsMovement keys are highlightedVarious pulses to notify when a Hunter is incapped, a Monster Evolves and so onBe sure to check out the changes and let us know what you think!Update to Hunter AIThe Legacy Hunters have been updated with a new AI blueprint, so be sure to check out the new AI on Val, Griffin, Hank and Markov!New Punch Card for OctoberYou can view the new items coming in October in this post here: https://talk.turtlerockstudios.com/t/punch-card-unlocks-for-october/103749Store ContentTwo new perk series Hunter - Increased Agility and Maximum Agility Monster - Heavy Hitter and Brute ForceBalance Updates Dome Cooldown is stalled while the Monster is in combat When a Monster is in combat, the Dome cooldown timer will be stalled until the Monster and Hunters are out of combat. Dev Insight: This was done to give Monsters an answer against Hunter teams that will continue to get chip damage after the Dome has been called down after a fight. After playing this new system we also decreased the Dome cool down slightly to help keep a good flow in between fights. All Shared Dome Cooldown decreased to 75 seconds from 80 secondsDamage over time effects are now included in the post round screenMonsters General Feeding takes 10% longer for all monsters Behemoth Tongue GrabHunter lock out time increased to 1.25 seconds from 1 secondRock WallLevel 2 and 3 will each add one extra rock slab when leveled upFissureRank 1 range increased to 28 meters from 21 meters Rank 2 range increased to 38.5 meters from 28 meters Rank 3 range increased to 49 meters from 38.5 meters (Monster Perk) Heavy Hitter Series Brute Force (Superior) Cooldowns increased by 18.75% | 22.5% | 25% (takes longer to recharge)Damage Increased by 10% | 12.5% | 15%Heavy Hitter (Major) Cooldowns increased by 9% | 12.5% | 15% (takes longer to recharge)Damage Increased by 7% | 9% | 10% Hunters General Harpoons line of sight break time reduced to 0.35 seconds from 0.5 secon...Balance, Slim Refactor and Economy updates - Update 2.11 [LIVE NOW]Sep 20, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsStore Economy updates We’ve done numerous changes to the Silver Key prices due to the increased ways players can unlock Silver Keys from the addition of accolades and other Silver Key gains. Part of this change was making sure it was clear what the value of specific items were and creating consistent prices across the store. We have also increased the end of round Silver Key earnings to help compensate for some of the price increases. Store Content Val Phoenix Weapon SkinKraken Carnivore SkinSilver Key Goliath Badge 100,000 Keys - Includes foreground and backgroundCoop UpdatesVarious improvements to current Monster AINew AI Monsters: Gorgon has been added into the Coop vs AI queueMeteor Goliath has been added into the Coop vs AI queue UI Update - Grid Badge editor in the profile We've added a new Badge editor to the profile system. This will make it much easier to view all the badges you currently have and what is left to unlock. Let us know what you think! Balance Changes Damage Over Time will no longer cancel armor channeling Passive damage (Poison, Burns) will no longer cancel Monsters channeling armor inside the Dome http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/03f872c6e4150ac0cc1cacaa6d88134457aa18b3.jpgSlim Refactor Healing burst His healing burst is now a toggle on/off ability. While on, anyone who is damaged in the area around Slim will trigger the healing burst. Spore Cloud is replaced with Mutated Adrenal Gland Mutated Adrenal Gland is an active ability that will grant Slim self healing, movement speed and jump height. You can see the full stats breakdown of Slim’s changes in the balance changelist below General Hunt Changes Mobile Arena changes (Dome) Stage 2 health loss in dome 7.5% from 6.5%Stage 3 Health loss in dome 9.5% from 8.5%Time dome stays up without a hunter present 5 from 10Successful dome prompt linger 3 from 5Drop Ship Time per incap increased to 15 seconds from 13 secondsMax dropship timer increased to 145 seconds from 130 seconds. Solo Matchmaking Benefits Rank buff 2 (2 solo players) Health bonus increased to 15% from 12%Movespeed bonus to 9% from 6%Jetpack Regen Speed bonus to 9% from 6%Rank buff 1 (1 solo player) Health bonus increased to 12% from 9%Movespeed bonus to 7% from 4%Jetpack Regen Speed bonus to 7% from 4%Monsters General Energy gained per Hunter incap reduced to 2 Evolve energy from 3Decreased sneak pounce grab radius of all MonstersSneak pounce cooldown increased to 4 seconds from 2 seconds Behemoth Rolling reduces damage taken by 25% (Does not stack with anything)Jack Repulsor drain per second increased to 50% from 40%Tongue Grab Max grab radius increased to 4 meters from 3 metersLiving Armor Stack duration increased to 6 seconds from 4 Damage threshold to activate a Living Armor stack reduced to 65 damage from 75 Major Perks Mutated Claws Damage per second reduced to 13|14|15 from 14|15|17Fly swatter Damage per second reduced to 5|6|7 from 7.5|8.5|9 Superior Perks Evolve...Behemoth is Back - Update 2.10 - LIVE NOW!Sep 13, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsBehemoth is now released to all players After some major tune ups, Behemoth (Bob) is now available for all players in Stage 2. Quick run down of his changes below: New Passive: Living Fortress Behemoth will gain stacks of damage resistance after a certain damage threshold. Each stack lasts for a short time. The main goal of this is to block burst damage during combat. As Behemoth gains stacks, his armor will start glowing brighter to inform players he is taking less damage. Current tuning: +75 Direct Damage to apply a stack.4% Damage Reduction applied per stack.Stacks will expire after 4 seconds.Stacks max out at 10.Traversal: Rocky Roll Maneuverability has been increased dramatically to give Bob more control.No longer blocked by wildlife.Can quickly change directions while in the roll. Gravity has also been increased while inside the roll. No longer grants 50% damage reduction while inside the roll. Rockwall The ability has undergone a complete code refactor to assure it will properly work when cast near Hunters. Slabs will always spawn at the cursor’s location when casted. Minimum cast range was decreased to allow closer casts of the Rockwall.Fissure Improved consistency when cast near cliffs and hills.Lavabomb Behemoth is now able to aim the ability until it is casted. (Similar to how Goliath can aim rock throw)Tongue Grab Improved overall consistency with the ability. Targets within the visual effect will be grabbed unless a major portion of the target is blocked by geometry. Visual effect will light up when a viable target is inside the effect radius.http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/ad6f7a8eb1f7830c1c9fe17edfa09c9c664f7167.jpgTutorials are now mandatory againIf you have not played a tutorial, this is now forced before playing a multiplayer match. Note: If you have not played a Co-op vs AI match there is now a 3,000 Silver Key reward for completing one match in Co-op vs AI.Store Content (all live today)Weapon Skins Lennox GoldE.M.E.T. GoldCrow GoldKala GoldMonster Skins Behemoth GoldBehemoth Blood RockBehemoth SandstoneBalance Updates All Monsters now gain energy when dealing damage to Hunters After 3000 damage dealt to Hunters, a Monster will gain 1 bar of Evolve energy. This only works when dealing damage to Hunters.Armor is not gained when the energy is gained. Hunters Lennox Autocannon Travel speed increased to 240 from 120Explosion radius increased to 3 meters from 2.5 meters Parnell Rocket Launcher Damage reduced to 83 from 90 Abe Stasis Grenade Slow reduced to 45% from 50%Radius reduced to 14 meters from 17 metersReduced to 13 seconds from 15 seconds Kala Teleporter Toss distance increased to 10 meters from 7 metersHealth increased to 150 from 70 Activation radius increased to 1.8 meters from 1.3 meters Bucket Turret toss distance increased to 10 meters from 7 meters Cabot Damage Amp Capacity reduced to 315 energy from 350 energyBug FixesFixed an issue where the wrong loading screen would dis...LIVE NOW! - Update 2.09 - Bugs, Balance, Elder Kraken Clarity PassSep 7, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsUpdate 2.09Elder Kraken Visual Effects Clarity PassLightning Strike and Death Spiral had a clarity pass to remove some of the visual clutter they would create during combat.Accolade tab added to the Profile cardThis shows all possible accolades for the selected character on the profile card.Weekly Store Updates (all are released on patch day now)Hunter Skins Val MonarchAbe ManeaterWeapon Skin Hyde Sword setTech Sgt. Hank Predator setRogue Val Valkyrie setMonster Skins Gold KrakenGold Wraith Gold GorgonBalance Updates Dev Insight: This balance patch had a pretty big focus on Monster perk balance and making sure the perk scaling on perks was not so drastic between the Monster perk upgrades. We also made some adjustments to the solo player matchmaking bonus and took another look at Paladin Parnell after his first week out on Shear. Monsters Minor Perks Brawler Climb Speed to 13%| 15% | 18% from 10% | 14% | 18%Stamina Recharge to 4.5% | 5% | 6% from 3% | 4.5% | 6%Damage Resistance to 3.5 | 4.5% | 5% from 3%| 4%| 5%Fast Climber Climb 22.5% | 27% | 30% from 15% | 22.5% | 30%Traversal 6% | 7% | 8% from 4% | 6% | 8%Heavy Armor Damage Resistance decreased to 5.5% | 6.5% | 7.5% from 4% | 6% | 8%Haste Movement Speed to 10% | 11% | 12% from 7.5% | 10% | 12.5%Unstoppable Armor regen to 25% | 30% | 35% from 15% | 25% | 35%Damage Resistance 3.5% | 4% | 5% from 3% | 4% | 5%Savage Nature Climb Speed to 10% | 11% | 12% from 6% | 9% | 12%Feed Speed increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20%Smell Range increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20%Sense bonus increased to 18% | 19% | 20% from 13% | 17% | 20% Hunger Feed Speed to 32.5% | 35% | 37% from 27.5% | 32.5% | 37.5%Movement Speed to 5.5% | 6.5% | 7% from 5%| 6% | 7% Enhanced Senses Pounce Damage to 28% | 29% | 30% from 15% | 25% | 30%Leg breaker Damage over time to 6 | 7.5 | 8 from 5 | 7 | 8 Major Perks Speed Climber Climb Speed to 40% | 42.5% | 45% from 35% | 40% | 45%Traversal Speed to 7.5% | 8.5% | 10% from 6% | 8% | 10%Scale Armor Damage Resistance decreased to 8.5% | 9% | 10% from 8% | 10% | 12%Insatiable Hunger Feeding Speed decreased to 50% | 65% | 72.5% from 40% | 60% | 80%Movement Speed decreased to 8.5% | 9.5% |10.5% from 8% | 9.5% | 11%Mutated Haste Movement Speed to 14% | 15% | 17% from 13% | 15% | 17%Crippling Attack Slow Debuff to 25% | 28% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Feral Instincts Climb Speed to 18% | 19% | 20% from 10% | 15% | 20%Feed Speed to 30% | 35% | 40% from 25% | 32.5% | 40%Smell Range to 28% | 29% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Sense bonus to 28% | 29% | 30% from 20% | 25% | 30%Mutated Senses Smell Range to 55% | 60% | 70% from 50% | 60% | 70%Sense bonus to 55% | 60% | 70% from 50%| 60% | 70%Pounce 58% | 60% | 65% from 55% | 60% | 65%Endurance Stamina recharge to 15% | 16% | 17% from 13% | 15% | 17%Mutated Claws Damage over time decreased to 14 | 15 | 17 from 13.5 | 15 |19Fly Swatter Damage over time decreased to 7.5 | 8.5 | 9 from 8 | 9 | 10Mutated Recovery Cooldown reduction dec...Update 2.08 - Matchmaking, Bug Fixes, Silver Keys, Paladin Parnell and Progression [LIVE NOW]Aug 30, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsSilver Key Earn Rate has been doubledAfter getting a lot of feedback over the last few weeks we felt that we needed to increase the Silver Key rates for playing through a Hunt game. All Silver Key earn rates during matches (Win/Loss bonus, in-game awards) have been doubled. The UI on the main menu will show 2X Silver Keys once the update is liveNew Medic: Paladin ParnellThe latest Medic Adaptation is out now! Be sure to check out those healing rockets and more here: http://www.evolveupdates.com/paladinparnellAlso be sure to checkout the Paladin Parnell trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VCTmg89mJIAccount level cap increase (+25 new levels)Account progression has been increased to level 75 from level 50. We’ve added perk unlocks, badges and more Silver Key bonuses as players work their way up to level 75!Matchmaking ChangesRanked has been removed and replaced with “Hunt Beta” Placement matches are removedNo longer displays ratings No leaderboardsAll about skill based matchmaking.No Map Variants in this Queue. ‘Pure’ Hunt experience. Hunt has been renamed to “Arcade” Map Variants remain in this queue. Players will be able to match into Monster with a party in Arcade mode. Skill bucketsTutorial Pop-up ChangesThe text of the pop-up will be different based on the player’s tutorial completion state.If the player agrees to do the tutorial and hasn’t done any of them, we will put them directly into the Monster tutorial.If the players agreed to do the tutorial and has already done the Monster or Hunter tutorial, we will put them directly into the tutorial they haven’t completed. This will show until both tutorials are completed.New Store ContentHunter Skins (Thursday) Paladin Parnell Man EaterPaladin Parnell MonarchWeapon Skins (Wednesday) Paladin ArcticPaladin VictoryPaladin Union JackBalance Updates Hunt Solo Benefits Rank 1 (1 Solo Player) Decreased Max health bonus from 10% to 9%Decreased Movement speed bonus from 5% to 4%Decreased Jetpack recharge bonus from 5% to 4%Rank 2 (Two Solo players) Decreased Max health bonus from 17% to 15%Decreased Movement speed bonus from 10% to 8%Decreased Jetpack recharge bonus from 10% to 8%Dev Insight: After the changes to Hunt Solo Benefits we wanted to scale back the bonuses slowly to see how it changes things around for the general matchmaking experience. Hunt Hunters Renegade Abe Penitence Damage over time reduced from 20 to 19 DPSNerve Toxin Dart Damage over time reduced from 32 to 30 DPSCorrosive Grenades DPS reduced from 12 to 11Dev Insight: We got a lot of feedback sent our way about Renegade Abe and just wanted to bring down his damage over time across his whole kit down a notch this update. We like that he is a viable pick and want to see what this small number change will do to his overall performance. Deepest Dark All damage from minions and Monsters up 7.5% Dev Insight: We’re going to up the difficulty just a bit with this mode. We’re starting to work on more changes to Deepest Dark in the fu...LIVE NOW - Update 2.07 and The Deepest Dark (Beta)Aug 24, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsNew Co Op Only Map Variant: The Deepest Dark (Beta) Operationhttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/6336bcb1587fcc9bf7bc267b7e2e08be40ac4b1d.png Our first exclusive Co Op experience, The Deepest Dark is the latest Map Variant that is going live today!Taking place on a modified version of Wraith Trap, fight through the night with your friends to take on the Queen of Gorgons! This map can only be found in the Co Op vs AI matchmaking queue.Be sure to checkout the weekend challenge over on evolveupdates.comDropship Tutorial Voiceovers (English Only)Alongside our new UI explaining character abilities every character now has a quick run down of the abilities from our in-game Announcer! This will only play if you’re between character levels 1-7 on a specific Hunter or Monster.New Store ContentHunter Skins (Thursday) Parnell Man EaterMaggie MonarchWeapon Skin (Wednesday) Lazarus VictoryBucket VictoryHyde VictoryMonster Skins (Thursday) Savage KrakenKraken Ceiling Changes (How high Kraken can fly in combat)Adjusted the flight Ceiling Kraken can reach to make it a more enjoyable experience fighting against Kraken during combat. This change should keep Kraken from hovering too high in common fighting areas Dev Insight: This is more of a general bugfix but we wanted to highlight this change. Our goal with this was to remove some of those fights where Kraken simply would just hover higher than intended during combat.Overpowered Game Mode TuningAll Buffs spawn at 20 seconds nowMonster Perks Added minor general enhancements to monster buffs, because of how easily Hunters can out diversify the Monster. Dev Insight: The goal here is to give the Monster a few more options when it comes to the mode and what buffs they’re going to prioritize against a Hunter team. Damage - Red Damage Increased from 3% to 4%+5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +5% Movement Speed+2% Damage ReductionUtility - Yellow Added:+5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +5% Movement Speed+2% Damage ReductionDefense - Blue +5% Faster Cooldown Rate +1.5% Damage Increase +20% Smell Range +20% Smell +15% Climb +10% Feeding Speed +10% Traversal RegenBalance Updates In this update we had a focus on a few Hunters alongside giving Monsters a bit more space to feed on the Hunt and attack the generator. So let’s dive into what’s changed for 2.07 GeneralDistance Damage Scale Min distance scale decreased from 30 to 20 metersMax distance scale increased from 100 to 110 meters Damage Threshold Increased from 50 to 60 unitsDev Insight TL;DR of these changes are Hunters have to be closer and damage Monsters a bit more in order to interrupt them from feeding. The same applies for the generator to help gives Monsters a bit more HuntersHank Shield Burst Self shield value reduced from 575 to 545 unitsSelf shield decay rate increased from 35 to 39 Shield Projector Total shield energy reduced from 600 to 570Energy regeneration reduced from 100 to 90Dev Insight W...Overpowered Weekend has begun - 10X XP and 10X Silver Keys!Aug 19, 2016 - Community AnnouncementsThe Shear Madnesscontinues, with the latest update bringing a new Assault character to Evolve Stage 2, Renegade Abe, and our latest Map Variant, Overpowered. But the madness isn't over yet...it's only just begun! http://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/508eae2cc8c739d6577597cab36ab8f8139fca98.png As a thank you to our community, starting at 10:00am PDT on Friday August 19th until 10:00am PDT on Monday August 22nd we are running a 10X XP and 10X Silver Key event. The journey so far of Evolve Stage 2 has brought back so much passion within the Studio that we can’t wait to keep pushing Stage 2 forward as the months go on! So go ahead and enjoy some serious bonus XP and Silver Keys on TRS Introducing: Renegade Abe and Overpowered - Update 2.06 - LIVE NOW!Aug 16, 2016 - Community Announcementshttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/310d77e812bd380d0ce76cf8fc79c9965dcc6fc3.pngNew Assault: Renegade AbeAbe has gone Renegade! Check out his new Double Barrel Shotgun, Nerve Toxin Dart and Corrosive grenades in the latest update for Stage 2! http://www.evolveupdates.com/renegadeabe/New Map Variant: OverpoweredWeather control has gone full OP! Alongside a new lighting pass, Weather Control now is home to a new Map Variant known as ‘Overpowered’The details on how the mode works is below: Collect up the 5 different buffs to create the most overpowered buff combinations you can!To find out more information on the buff combos check out the website here: http://www.evolveupdates.com/renegadeabe/#overpoweredhttp://cdn.akamai.steamstatic.com/steamcommunity/public/images/clans/5680384/cdbdd2928b6b55bf9d560c8c41f7c1c03301a6c6.gifNew Store ContentRenegade Abe Weapon Skins (Wednesday) Arctic SkinsBlood Eagle SkinsNighthunter Weapon SkinHunter Skins (Thursday) Monarch Hunter SkinBlood Eagle Hunter Skin (TRS Fav)Monster Skins (Thursday) Wraith Hornet Skin (Buzz Buzz)In-Game Info Overlay HUD on the dropshipWhen waiting through the initial dropship and the first few moments of a Hunt match an info overlay will display with information on the current character a player is using. Ability/Equipment informationTraversal informationObjective informationGoal here is to help all players have a better grasp of a character before loading into a Hunt match. We’ll continue to expand upon this feature and be sure to give us your feedback!Perks can be purchased on the profile screen under the new “Perks” tabOne of the more requested community features was being able to unlock perks and view all perks before loading into a Hunt match.Now players will be able to view and unlock all perks on their own tab in the Stage 2 profile page. Silver Key and XP multiplier events are better shown through UIWe’ve got a lot of feedback on how we communicate bonus XP and Silver Key events through our UI, so this is our first step to letting players know what is going on! This will be tested on the Overpowered event weekend so be sure to be on the lookout for some truly OP XP and Silver Key bonuses :)New Character specific Accolades (Hidden Silver Key rewards)Instead of a broad set of hidden Accolades to unlock, each character now has individual Accolades they can unlock by completing objectives during a match. Be on the lookout for more rewards in the post round!Periodic Challenge AdjustmentsPreviously they granted: 25/50/100/250/500 Silver KeysNow they’ll grant: 75/100/225/350 Silver KeysThese will appear every 30 minutes, instead of every hour. Opening up a Periodic Challenge and getting 25 Silver Keys just didn’t feel that good for us and our playersChat HistoryPlayers can now hit Enter while in multiplayer to see the full chat history! Yay for chat history!Razer Chroma SupportAll Razer keyboards that support Chroma now will have some basic functi...Evolve Stage 2 is getting a co-op vs. AI playlist and a deadlier Orbital DrillAug 10, 2016 - PC GamerEvolve Stage 2 ie, the new free-to-play version of Turtle Rock's asymmetrical team shooter is in the middle of its first Shear Madness event. It spawned a new Medic character last week, but the newest reveal includes a new map variant, as well as a Co-op vs AI playlist. Entitled Cataclysm, the map is a much nastier version of the original Orbital Drill. According to Turtle Rock, not only is there lots of deadly lava and meteors, but some of the latter can even heal you upon collision though beware, because that holds true for both Hunters and Monsters. It sounds like a not very pleasant tourist destination to be honest, but for killing monsters and / or hunters it's probably the perfect spot. "The sky has been consumed with embers, soot and smoke that could engulf the whole planet. Strangely enough, alongside the hellfire the planet seems to have taken some of the Hunters healing technology through this transformation." Finally, the new Co-op vs AI queue is designed to be a less stressful experience compared to the competitive modes. Shear Madness still has three reveals to go, with the last scheduled to arrive on August 30. Here's some footage of the new Cataclysm map: Evolve: Phase 2 Goes 1 vs. 1 Against Newcomer Dead by DaylightJul 21, 2016 - GitHypOnly a few weeks ago, we were reminded of Evolve when Starbreeze’s Dead by Daylight launched and proved that there was still interest among gamers in the 4 vs. 1 concept. One of the most talked about games in 2014 and 2015, Evolve's player count dropped to an average of under 100 players per hour on Steam only a year after its launch – a horrifically low number for any triple-A title... especially for a game with as much marketing as 2K Games put into Evolve.
So with almost all of the game’s players gone, 2K and Turtle Rock decided to throw out one last Hail Mary in the form of completely revamping some of Evolve’s core gameplay mechanics and making the entire game free-to-play. The reward? Well, just 48 hours after the F2P model was launched, Evolve’s player count values shot up over 36,000%.
Going from an average of around 100 players per hour before the free-to-play announcement, Evolve skyrocketed up to 19.4k players per hour on Day 1 of Stage 2, 31.4k pph on Day 2, and peaked at 36.8k pph on Day 3 -- placing the game as high as #6 on Steam.
[caption id="attachment_185163" align="aligncenter" width="771"] Evolve: Stage 2's Player Count per Hour Daily Average[/caption]
However, since Day 3 of Evolve: Stage 2, the player count numbers have quickly declined by 50% over the past two weeks with the game currently sitting at around 18.3k players per hour and coming in at #16 on Steam... a bad sign for the future of the game. Still, the impressive relaunch numbers have been enough for now to help Turtle Rock take back the 4 vs. 1 throne from Dead by Daylight, which currently sits at #21 with an average of 16.3k players per hour.
As Evolve’s downward trend continues, it’s likely to fall back out of the top 20 games on Steam in only a matter of days. Meanwhile, Dead by Daylight has been maintaining its playerbase and even showing signs of minor growth that indicate it will pass Evolve very soon and remain as one of the most played games on Steam.
[caption id="attachment_185162" align="aligncenter" width="771"] Dead by Daylight's Player Count per Hour Daily Average[/caption]
Weeks ago we wondering how long the hype could last for Dead by Daylight after comparing the game’s launch to Evolve’s history… but now we’re even more interested in seeing how Evolve's free-to-play evolution will play out. Will Evolve maintain enough of its recent influx of F2P players to stay relevant after its huge comeback? Or will history repeat itself with the playerbase completely dying out a year from now?
With players no longer required to buy Evolve to play the game, Turtle Rock should be able to keep more players around this time... that is, if the developer plays their future microtransaction cards right... but for now, it looks like Dead by Daylight is still going to be the winner among the two in the battle of the 4 vs. 1 genre.
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