1. Broken Arrow
  2. News

Broken Arrow News

Dev Diary #11 - Upcoming Beta Maps and Tools

Hello everyone, we have presented the new specialization in previous dev blogs US Airborne and Coastal Troops.

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1604270/view/4513261623769801522

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1604270/view/4513262258492538993

Now it’s time to introduce the battlefields where they will face each other.

Previous multiplayer beta proposed 6 maps so we have decided to ramp up things a bit and propose 8 brand new maps this time.
We have selected a panel of very different layouts to let you experiment various gameplay situations and see what you prefer.
All these maps are large enough to host an intense 5v5 multiplayer match and still have room on the sides to let planes maneuver and to give room for infiltrations and flanking attacks.
They are also full of details and contain unique visual elements, lighting, weather…

[h2]Kaliningrad[/h2]

At the heart of the Russian exclave located between Lithuania and Poland lies the city of Kaliningrad. It features the only ice-free Russian port on the Baltic Sea, making it strategically paramount.

The city is characterized by a fortified historic center divided by several waterways, at the center of which lies an island on which stands Königsberg Cathedral.

A large industrial harbor spreads from the city center to the estuary of the Pregolya river and is interfaced with a large railway classification yard surrounded by large hangars and numerous bridges. A massive stadium surrounded by multiple parkings is situated on the other side of the city and countless urban and commercial districts surround the city center.

The battle for Kaliningrad promises to be fierce as both teams start relatively close to each other on the western part of the map but on a different side of the estuary. They must rapidly progress East in the direction of the city center where the bridges are located to secure crossing points and capture objectives located on the other bank.
Of course amphibious units will prove their usefulness here more than anywhere else as their ability to cross the waterways allows them to infiltrate recon on the flanks or to launch assaults away from the heavily defended bridges.

[h2]River[/h2]

Far away from the hell of urban combat, this map proposes to fight in a much more open landscape mainly composed of fields surrounded by treelines, small villages and isolated farms. A river runs through it with several shallow water passages allowing any vehicle or infantry to cross at reduced speed.

These large open spaces might look like the perfect place to send formations of tanks on the attack, but beware, guided missiles can fully express their range advantage here. And high in the sky a drone might be watching you, maybe even designating you with its laser to guide artillery projectiles already flying in your direction. So run! Run from cover to cover, follow the treelines whenever you can and use smoke to conceal your movements. Otherwise, the apex predator of the open plains will swoop down on you with a roaring sound, and leave nothing behind but a carcass.


[h2]Refinery[/h2]

Countries fight to spread their influence in order to secure access to resources vital for their development. So what better symbol of this than to fight for the control of an oil refinery?

This large map features a huge oil refinery located on a plateau, separated by marchlands from the nearby city also located on another plateau.

The number of objectives proposed on this map is more than twice the usual number, separated into two main groups located in the refinery and the city. This unusual layout forces the teams to make a choice of repartition of their players. Will you play a classic 2xCity / 1xMiddle / 2xRefinery best suited for defense but that will fail to achieve numerical superiority anywhere or will you play an aggressive 0 / 2 / 3 or 3 / 2 / 0 to focus only on one side and the middle?
Having multiple possible strategies means that the victory will go to the most adaptable team, able to identify the enemy configuration, communicate and react accordingly.
For instance, dismounting your infantry early is a good reflex if you are going to be outnumbered but doing that when there is nobody in front of you and you failed to notice it means that someone else in your team is fighting 2v1.

[h2]Ruda[/h2]

Inspired by the area around the city of Kazlų Rūda in Lithuania. The city is surrounded by a large forest full of small clearing cut by agricultural expansion.

A military training ground and an airfield are also carved in the middle of the trees.

The unique layout of the trees on this map creates a different experience: instead of crossing fields to jump from one patch of cover to another, here you can follow narrow strips of forest to stay covered. This can facilitate infiltrations but it can also make troop movements slow and predictable. If an enemy is spotted progressing in a treeline you can easily guess where they are going and prepare an ambush or decide to move fast on a road instead as they won’t be able to react rapidly.

[h2]Dam[/h2]

Kaunas, the second biggest city of Lithuania is situated near an artificial lake created by a Dam.

We have faithfully represented this area which corresponds to the southern part of the city, the Dam itself and the zigzag of the river offering an interesting layout for a multiplayer battle.

The shape of the river impacts the layout of the roads and as a result each team has an advantage to push on one side of the map resulting in chaotic situations where both teams have successfully pushed their side which means they are now both located in each other’s back but on a different side of the river, meaning that they can cross the river to cut each other’s supply line resulting in a double encirclement hamburger.

[h2]Airbase[/h2]

This map represents Chkalovsk naval air base situated a few kilometers North-West of Kaliningrad. It’s a single long airstrip surrounded by hangars and bunkers hidden in the middle of the woods.

Infantry can be concealed in the Il-76 cargo planes landed near the hangars. Beware, though, as they are not resilient at all so using them as a fighting position is taking the risk to see your squads disappear in a pile of debris.
You can see the suburbs of Kaliningrad stretching out in a corner of the map while the rest of the city can be seen in the distance.

The objectives are split in two groups located on both sides of the airstrip, generally resulting in the action being concentrated there and nobody paying much attention to what is happening on the airstrip itself. This is the occasion to try daring maneuvers across the airstrip or in its axis, all the way to the enemy rear where the fragile and expensive artillery and air defense units are located.

[h2]Airport[/h2]

Based on the international airport of Riga and its surroundings, this map proposes a unique and spectacular scenery for an epic battle. The airport is surrounded by large highways leading to it and to the capital city of Latvia.

Fun fact: the house of one of the moderators of the official Discord server is located on this map. Please avoid nuking it!

The objective zones are evenly spread and the frontline is large due to the fact that it is played in the diagonal of the map. Trying to create an impervious frontline in such conditions is not very efficient as there is too much ground to cover. It is more cost effective to keep just a few spotters surveilling key points or use drones to deal with infiltrators and use the rest of your resources to create a mobile group of units supporting each other which can maneuver and pick isolated enemy units one by one.

[h2]Klaipeda[/h2]

The coastal city of Klaipeda is the only large harbor in Lithuania, making it a vital supply hub.

The city spreads over a large area and features a big quantity of high rises but is not extremely dense.

The districts are split by large avenues merging on giant roundabouts and plenty of parks create open areas where long range missiles and tanks can maneuver.

This map is much deeper than wide so the frontline is rather narrow resulting in fierce urban battles. This does not mean the battle is completely static as there is a large quantity of streets that can be used to outflank the enemy. It is hard to progress unnoticed with a column of vehicles but at the same time easy to bypass an enemy defensive position by simply using the next roads and outrun the infantry.

[h2]Tools and performance[/h2]
Compared to previous beta we have managed to optimize the game and you can now benefit from the best graphics with a smaller configuration.
We have introduced the support of AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 (FSR 3) which is compatible with a large quantity of GPUs and increases the performance a lot with minimal visual degradation.
We have also optimized the lowest graphic settings to let people play with configurations that were previously impossible.
This beta will be the occasion for us to get statistical information about players’ performance and continue the optimization wherever it is needed.

We have also improved the drawing speed of the line of sight tool by a factor 6. Press Alt to display this tool which will help you to understand where the line of sight is blocked. If you have a unit selected the detection distance will be automatically adjusted to the optics value of this unit. The tool also snaps to buildings now.

We are also working on another tool to display the elevation curves and a color overlay on the map to help you verify the reliefs if you have a doubt.

Finally you can now see which command your units are following by selecting them and pressing Shift key. A line will be displayed between the unit and the position of the current command with a color code depending on the type of command.

That's it for today, we hope you enjoyed it. See you next week for the final dev blog before the launch of the open beta on November 12th.

Dev Diary #10 - Coastal Troops Army Specialization

[h2]Coastal Troops (Beregovyye voyska)[/h2]

The Russian Coastal Troops are not really an equivalent of the US Marines. Conducting amphibious and air assaults is also part of their operations but is not their main focus, as they are also a defensive unit responsible for defending coastal installations and repelling amphibious and air-assaults coming from the sea.
They are represented in the game as a mix between a light motorized/mechanized group lacking modern equipment and relying on old soviet armored vehicles, working alongside top of the art cruise and ballistic missile systems and equipment dedicated to arctic warfare.

[h3]Reconnaissance[/h3]
Morskaya razvedka: A 5 man recon team equipped with suppressed weapons which have less impact on a unit's stealth when shooting. They also carry several RPG-27 disposable rocket launchers to defend against light vehicles.
PDSS: A team of 4 combat divers able to swim across waterways. They are extremely stealthy and can be airdropped, making them superb at infiltration behind enemy lines.
They can be equipped either with ADS rifles able to shoot underwater or DP-64 double grenade launchers.
Spetsnaz VMF: A 6 man special forces team equipped either in close quarter configuration with Bullpup PKP machine guns and SVU-AS marksman rifles or long range fire support with ASVK anti-materiel sniper rifles.
They can also provide laser designation and be airdropped.
BRDM-2: An old wheeled armored car with a variety of weapons options available including a mix of Kord 12.7mm and KPVT 14.5mm heavy machine guns, automatic grenade launcher and KPVB 23mm autocannon.
The optics can be upgraded with the modernized “Bekas” module/
1V14 Mashina-S: tracked recon platform with a laser designator which can be upgraded with MRU advanced recon module to increase its detection range.
BTR-90 is a transport exclusive to naval troops’ recon teams. This is basically an upgraded BTR-80 using a BMP-2 turret with its 30mm autocannon and Konkurs ATGMs and optional AGS-17 grenade launcher.
It is also compatible with the BMD-4 turret called Bakhcha-U featuring a 100mm and 30mm gun, or the Berezhok turret with 4 Kornet launchers.
The vehicle armor can also be upgraded with a kit comprising additional metal plates, a cage armor and several reactive armor bricks to better protect the crew of the turret.


[h3]Infantry & Transports[/h3]
Morskaya pekhota: Also called morpehi, they’re a versatile 7 man assault squad armed AK-74 rifles, RPK-74M light machine guns, underbarrel grenade launchers and 5 punchy 105mm RPG-27 anti-tank launchers.
Chernye Berety: A 14 man squad of veteran morpehi equipped either with RPG-27 or larger 125mm RPG-28s. They are a formidable unit in any situation but come at a high price and the number of available squads is low.
Gornostrelki: Mountaineers consisting of 7 man team, armed with medium range weaponry including 2 SVD marksman rifles and a light Metis ATGM. They are best used as skirmishers engaging enemy infantry and light vehicles outside of the usual combat range and falling back once the enemy gets in range.
PTRK Konkurs: A dedicated anti-tank team manning a Konkurs ATGM launcher which can be upgraded to the Konkurs-M with additional damage and armor penetration. Its long range makes it an efficient deterrent against any armored vehicle but will still lack the teeth to seriously threaten modern tanks' frontal armor.
SPG-9 Sapog: This support squad is equipped with 2 SPG-9 recoilless rifles providing long range fire support against infantry and vehicles but low armor penetration.

The transports available to both recon and line infantry consist of:
The old BTR-80, which can be upgraded to the BTR-80A standard replacing the old 14.5mm gun with a 30mm autocannon and the capability to add an AGS-17 grenade launcher to the side of the turret.
But increasing the firepower doesn’t solve the main downside of this vehicle, which is its underpowered engine keeping the maximum road speed to 80km/h, which is barely better than most tracked vehicles.
The armor can be upgraded with additional metal plates and cages but the extra weight reduces the speed of the vehicle even more and removes the amphibious capability.
The vehicle can transport up to 8 soldiers.
The BMP-3F, a navalized version of the BMP-3, which can provide some serious firepower to any infantry battle with its 100mm gun + 30mm autocannon. The “Sodema” fire control system can be installed, providing better optics, weapon range, and access to the more powerful gun launched Arkan-M missiles.
No armor upgrades are available to keep the vehicle amphibious but it is possible to install the “Shtora” missile jammer and extra smoke pods.
Up to 7 soldiers can be carried.
The BT-3F, is a turretless version of the BMP-3 with an enlarged troop compartment allowing up to 14 soldiers to be transported which allows it to bring 2 squads at once.
It retains the 2 forward facing PKT medium machine guns of the BMP-3 on the hull and is equipped with a remotely operated machine gun on the roof, either another PKT or a Kord heavy machine gun or AP-23 autocannon.
The vehicle's can be equipped with additional reactive explosive armor without losing its amphibious capability.


[h3]Combat vehicles[/h3]
BMOP Toros: A lightly armored tracked vehicle, it nonetheless offers a variety of weaponry, from a 30mm autocannon and grenade launcher, additional Kornet ATGMs, 57mm S-60 anti-aircraft gun or even the Rapira 100mm anti-tank gun.
BRDM Konkurs/Kvartet: A BRDM-2 chassis equipped with 5 ready-to-fire ATGM tubes on the roof. The loadout consists of 10 Konkurs-M anti-tank missiles and 10 smaller Fagot missiles for use against infantry. The turret can be replaced by a modified BRDM-2 turret equipped with 4 ready to launch Kornet missiles and 4 additional missiles in reserve.
PT-76: This light amphibious tank has been in service for decades in the Naval troops. The original 76mm gun is now completely obsolete and can only be expected to deal with the lightest vehicles or as fire support against infantry.
On top of that the mobility of the vehicle is incrediblyy limited with a maximum speed of 45km/h, unless you upgrade the engine to reach 60km/h - which is still not great but better.
Of course a vehicle with such low performance is extremely cheap in the game allowing you to call-in many of them at the same time and follow the adage “Quantity has a Quality All Its Own” (commonly misattributed to Joseph Stalin or pretty much any famous military leader)
But several interesting upgrades provide more fire power: a BTR-80A turret with 30mm autocannon and AG-17 grenade launcher can be fitted, or even a 57mm autocannon which can even pose a threat to tanks from the side.
In the end a fully upgraded PT-76 can cost more than 3 times its initial price.
T-80BV/BVM: This tank is assigned to naval troops because its gas turbine engine works better in the extremely cold temperatures of the arctic where the naval troops are operating. The base BV version is pretty old, its armor is still good enough to resist even the most powerful autocannon rounds but will be pierced by pretty much any tank gun. The armor piercing rounds are pretty old too and will barely scratch an Abrams at maximum range. But this tank has other advantages: it is fast and has an advanced autoloader providing a good rate of fire. So it is perfect to counter numerous vehicles or to provide fire support against infantry.
The BVM version is a major upgrade of pretty much everything: optics, firepower, armor, speed. Additional lateral protection can also be added to the BVM.


[h3]Support[/h3]
DT-30 Vityaz: This vehicle is an all terrain mechanized workhorse able to carry an outstanding 30 tons of supplies through land, river, swamp, snow. The very large tracks limit its speed on road resulting in an almost constant speed whether it is on road or not.
The best way to use this vehicle is not to drop the supplies and send it back to the base. It is better to consider it like a mobile logistical base that you move around and deploy wherever it is needed. And you keep it constantly filled with supplies with small cargo helicopters.
2S23 Nona-SVK: A 120mm mortar mounted on the wheeled BTR-80 platform making it mobile on roads and amphibious. It can trade speed and the amphibious capability for more armor and can be upgraded with rocket assisted and laser guided mortar rounds. The ammo reserve is low, meaning you will frequently have to resupply it.
2S39 Magnolia: The opposite of the Nona-SVK, this is a mortar based on the slow DT-30 chassis towing a 120mm mortar system. A large quantity of ammunition is stored and you can choose between high-explosive rounds efficient against infantry in buildings and cluster rounds spreading their damage over a larger area and effective at disabling vehicles.
2S1 Gvozdika / 2S34 Hosta: The Gvodzika is an old 122mm howitzer rather inaccurate and with a low rate of fire equipped with high explosive and smoke rounds as well as a few HEAT rounds for self defense. It can be upgraded to the more modern 2S34 Hosta with a faster rate of fire, more accuracy and it can access laser guided rounds.
A222 Bereg: This coastal defense system equipped with a 130mm gun usually mounted on Russian war ships. It can be used as a standard howitzer but can also engage ground targets and helicopters with special rounds equipped with proximity fuzes.
9K720 Iskander: This long range missile launcher can be equipped either with 2 large ballistic missiles or 2 to 4 cruise missiles.
Ballistic missiles fly high in the sky before falling back at high speed making them hard or impossible to intercept by short range air defense. On the contrary, cruise missiles stay as close to the ground as possible to avoid radar detection and require short range air defense to be intercepted.
Tor-M2DT: This is a DT-30 chassis with a Tor-M2 module towed. This anti-aircraft system stores 16 vertically launched missiles, that are very efficient against helicopters and against airplanes at short range. Activating the radar increases the range of detection and engagement, and gives the ability to target projectiles like cruise missiles. The Tor module can be upgraded to a Pantsir module with 18 missiles with more range and damage.
ZSU-23-4 Shilka: An old anti-aircraft system equipped with four 23mm cannons, it can still prove a menace at short range against low flying aircraft, even more so when upgraded with additional Igla MANPADS.
It is also possible to use it as a fire support vehicle, with more ammo but no radar. This is how it was used during the Soviet–Afghan War since there were no air threats and the high elevation of the gun allowed it to engage enemy fighters attacking from elevated positions in the mountains.
S-350 Vityaz: This modern anti-aircraft defense system mounted on a truck holds 12 vertically launched missiles. The missiles are smaller and have less range than the S-300 which makes it less efficient against aircrafts but better at intercepting saturation attacks with cruise and ballistic missiles.


[h3]Helicopters[/h3]
Ka-29: The classic medium lift helicopter of the Russian navy with 16 seats and a capability of transporting 3 tons of supplies, it can also pack some serious firepower with a GShG 7.62mm minigun, 30mm autocannon, S-8 rocket pods, GSh-23L gun pods and 8 Kokon or Ataka ATGMs.
Ka-52K Katran: A navalized Ka-52 attack helicopter with only 4 pylons instead of 6 to make it easier to store on the deck of a ship. On top of the usual Rockets and ATGM carried by the regular Ka-52 it has exclusive access to some exotic weaponry: Kh-31P anti-radiation missiles, Hermes-A fire and forget ATGMs, and even Kh-35U cruise missiles.
Mi-38T: A recent evolution of the Mi-8 intended for use in the arctic. This is an unarmed medium lift helicopter, it can transport 30 men or 7 tons of supplies in one trip at a relatively fast speed.


[h3]Aircraft[/h3]
AN-72P: A light cargo aircraft capable of deploying up to 52 paratroopers or 7.5 tons of cargo. It can also be equipped with a GSh-23L cannon and S-8 rocket pods for light ground attack work.
MiG-29K: A lightweight fighter, agile but with a low autonomy designed for interception. There is a joke saying that this plane grants you air superiority over your own airfield.
It has 6 missile stations carrying older R-27 or newer R-77 medium range air-to-air missiles or R-73 short range infrared missiles.
Alternatively, you can arm it with up to 4 Kh-35U cruise missiles for striking ground targets.
Su-33: This old multirole aircraft is limited to R-73 and the older semi-active R-27 missiles for anti-aircraft duty. It also lacks the avionics to use guided air-to-ground munitions so it is limited to dumb bombs and rockets but has access to a large choice of yield for them.
Make deadly dive attacks with 6 340mm S-25 rockets or bring the hail with 50x OFAB-100 100kg bombs.
Tu-142: Naval patrol variant of the Tu-95 “Bear” strategic bomber, it carries a smaller bomb load than its sibling, but can still deliver 8 Kh-35Us cruise missiles, 32 FAB-250s, 6 FAB-1500s or a single FAB-3000.
Tu-22M3: This large supersonic maritime strike aircraft makes an appearance delivering up to 3 very fast Kh-32s missiles, or utilizing its afterburner to deliver fast bombing runs with a multitude of bomb options, including 8 KAB-1500 laser guided bombs.
Yak-38M: A slow and lightly armed VTOL aircraft, it stands little chance in a direct air to air engagement, but can still prove valuable in hunting enemy helicopters with gunpods and old R-60 missiles, or performing a light bomber role.


[h3]Tactics & strategies[/h3]

Choosing a specialization grants access to a unique roster of units but also determines the amount of points you can assign in each category.
Coastal troops specialization is very versatile, you have a bit of everything which is nice but also means that the points repartition is spread thin.
As a result this specialization will either be used to compensate for the shortcomings of the other specialization you have selected. For instance VDV offers few support points but many helicopter points. So it can be interesting to focus the support points on anti-aircraft and equip the Ka-52K with Kh-35 cruise missiles and use them as makeshift artillery pieces.
Or this versatility will be used to reinforce an existing strength: for instance, Coastal troops + VDV offers the most aircraft points, allowing you to select the Tu-160 with its nuclear missile and still have some points left to add other planes.
It is also possible to use the points of the other specialization to reinforce one of the multiple facets of the Coastal troops. For instance the Guard Tank Brigade specialization can bring the support points required to play with multiple Iskander cruise/ballistic missiles.

This is a foretaste of the numerous possibilities that the army building system of Broken Arrow offers.
The beta will grant you access to 3 specializations per side and the game will contain 5 per side at release, which makes a total of 20 very unique combinations, each of which are playable in a number of ways.
With such diversity, we aim to offer an exciting multiplayer ecosystem in constant evolution, full of experimentation and crazy combinations between players.

Thank you for your attention and see you next week with a new dev blog.

Dev Diary #9 - US Airborne Spec

Last week we reviewed the evolution of the already revealed army specializations. It’s time to present something brand new : The AIRBORNE specialization.



This specialization is fully based on mobility at the price of resilience. You will airdrop infantry, light tanks and support from cargo planes or lift them with helicopters or simply use the fast road speed of your vehicles to always beat your opponents to the punch.
Spreading your small but heavy hitting fire support teams will force the enemy to over invest to deal with them, costing them precious time and resources.

Let’s review the units of each category in detail:

[h2]Recon[/h2]
  • The Humvee RWS (remote weapon station) has a good detection range thanks to the optics of its teleoperated turret that can be armed with a minigun, a M2 heavy machine gun or a Mk19 automatic grenade launcher.
    It can be upgraded with a B-kit armor package to resist small arms fire and smoke grenades to secure your retreat if you bump into an enemy armored column.
  • The Humvee LRAS3 is a mobile laser designation platform with excellent optics and mobility. It is armed with a M240 medium machine gun by default but also has access to the M2 and Mk19 as well as the smoke and armor upgrade as well as the B-Kit armor and smoke.



  • Army snipers come in groups of 3 with very good optics and exceptional stealth equipped with a laser designator. The main shooter can be equipped with a suppressed M2010 or a M107 anti-materiel. The second man is equipped with a M110 marksman rifle and the third man provides security with a M4A1+M203 grenade launcher.
    Sniper rifles ignore building cover and have a long range so they can be used either to infiltrate enemy lines or as fire support in urban combat. Just make sure to use them at maximum range as they won’t survive for long under enemy fire.



  • MQ-1C Gray Eagle: This is an evolution of the famous Predator drone. This high flying drone remains slow but can carry a larger panel of weapons compared to its predecessor with 4 pylons instead of 2, each carrying either one Hellfire or two smaller Griffin missile with High-Explosive Fragmentation warhead to engage infantry and vehicles from the top or 2 stinger missiles to engage other aircrafts.
  • RQ-4 Global hawk: A much larger drone with exceptionally long range optics able to spot enemy units without entering the range of most surface to air missiles. This powerful asset remains extremely vulnerable as it carries no counter measures at all so expect the enemy to send a fighter to deal with the Global Hawk as soon as it is spotted.




[h2]Infantry[/h2]
  • Airborne: they are the backbone of this specialization. This 8 men squad is equipped with the brand new M7 Spear rifles and M250 machine guns. These weapons using the new 6.8 caliber have more range and armor penetration than the usual infantry weapons.
    They also carry 2 M320 grenade launchers and AT4 light anti-tank rocket launchers.



  • Weapons squad: A 8 men squad equipped with 2 M240L medium machine guns and 2 Javelin anti-tank missile launchers, these squads complement the airborne squads by providing overwatch and support fire while the airborne attack or retreat.



  • M2 Browning team: A team of 4 manning 2 heavy machine guns. They are perfect to shred any infantry or light vehicle trying to cross an open area, forcing the enemy to unlock the situation with artillery or a fire support vehicle.



  • Mk19 team: Equivalent to the Browning team but with Mk19 automatic grenade launchers. They are more efficient against ground targets but cannot engage helicopters.



  • TOW team: Another 4 men team this time equipped with a TOW anti-tank guided missile launcher. This weapon has a long range, high armor penetration and high damage and can be upgraded with TOW-2B missiles which detonate above the target and project 2 explosively formed penetrators through the roof making any frontal armor useless. These missiles are the ultimate weapon against tanks.



  • Stinger team: A team of 4 serving 2 short range Stinger anti-aircraft missile launchers.
    Stingers have a short range so they won’t be able to engage planes unless they approach very close, but they can fire from the concealment of a forest or buildings to ambush helicopters quite efficiently.




[h2]Combat vehicles & ground transports[/h2]
The main ground transports of airborne infantry are the Humvees which can carry a 4 men fire team



or in the newest M1301 ISV which can carry 2 fire teams or a full 8 men squad. Both vehicles are very fast and can be equipped with M240 Medium machine guns, M2 Heavy machine guns or Mk19 Automatic grenade launchers.



They can be sent back to base to get a refund after dropping the infantry, sent forward to harass the enemy or kept around to act as additional fire support and reposition your fire team rapidly if needed.

  • Humvee TOW: equivalent to the infantry TOW team but mounted on the roof of a humvee to provide mobility to this anti-tank launcher.
    The vehicle can be upgraded with extra armor and smoke pods.



  • M8 AGS/Thunderbolt: This air-droppable light tank can be equipped with an automated fast firing 105mm gun or upgraded to a 120mm gun as powerful as the most modern Abrams tanks.
    The armor can be upgraded with additional ceramic plates or an active protection system. The heaviest version adds explosive reactive armor but removes the ability to be airdropped.



  • M551 Sheridan: This is another air-droppable light tank this time with a large but short 152mm gun. Mostly useful against infantry and light vehicles, it is possible to add Shillelagh anti-tank missiles.
    It is interesting to note that this tank is light enough to be lifted by a Ch-53K King Stallion available in the USMC deck.


[h2]Support[/h2]
One of the strengths of the airborne specialization is its ability to drop or lift support vehicles alongside the infantry to defend the landing zone.

  • AN/TWQ-1 Avenger: This anti-aircraft unit is using the chassis of the humvee to carry a turret containing 4 or 8 stinger missiles. Its light weight makes it air-droppable and air-liftable by UH-60 Blackhawks. Like all the humvees it is possible to upgrade it with additional armor but it loses the ability to be airdropped in that case.



  • Hawkeye MWS: A chassis of humvee again but this time carrying a 105mm howitzer. You can select the loadout between high-explosive or cluster munition or rocket assisted projectiles (RAP) with more range.



  • MTV (Medium tactical Vehicle): This truck can transport troops and supplies, it can be airlifted by a Chinook helicopter but is not air-droppable. It serves as the main workhorse of the airborne specialization if you decide to play it as a standard infantry brigade. The truck can be upgraded with additional armor and a M240 Medium machine gun, M2 Heavy machine gun or Mk19 Automatic grenade launcher.
  • LMTV (Light Medium tactical Vehicle): This lighter truck transports less cargo than the MTV but can be airdropped. It is generally useful to airdrop some supplies with your infantry to rearm them and at least one truck to move the supplies around as the initial landing zone might receive artillery fire. The same upgrades as the MTV are available to the LMTV, the armor upgrade removes the airdrop ability.



  • Brutus: This is a MTV chassis stripped down from every possible extra weight to make it airdropable and equipped with a M777 155mm howitzer bolted to it. This mad max-style artillery truck offers medium range artillery support to the airborne specialization with high explosive and cluster rounds.



  • SL-AMRAAM: Another MTV chassis this time with anti-aircraft missiles mounted on it. You can choose between 4 or 6 AMRAAM radar guided missiles dedicated to planes and missile interception or a mix of 4 AMRAAM and 2 AIM-9 with infrared seekers able to engage helicopters.




[h2]Helicopters[/h2]
The airborne specialization represents airborne troops like the 82nd division but also air-assault troops like the 101st airborne division deployed using helicopters. As a result this specialization offers a varied panel of helicopters.

  • UH-60M Blackhawk: Certainly one of the most if not the most iconic US helicopter. This transport aircraft can carry 12 personnel and lift up to 4 tons of cargo which is enough to carry a humvee, an ISV or some other light vehicles like the IFAV available in the USMC specialization.
    The two door gunners can be equipped with simple M240 medium machine guns, GAU-17 miniguns or GAU-21 fast firing heavy machine guns.



  • AH-64 Apache: The famous attack helicopter of the US army in its most basic version. Sturdy and well armed, it is equipped with a 30mm chaingun as well as 4 pylons each able to carry 70mm Hydra rockets, APKWS guided rockets or Hellfire top attack anti-tank missiles.
  • AH-64 Longbow: Similar to the Apache but with a radar cupola above the rotor blades allowing this helicopter to use the Hellfire Longbow missiles which are fire&forget. It means that the helicopter can lose the line of sight with the target or be destroyed after the launch of the missile and it will still find its target autonomously.



  • CH-47 Chinook: This large helicopter with tandem rotor can lift a large number of troops and heavier vehicles up to 12.5 tons. It is also one of the fastest helicopters in the game if we exclude the tiltrotor V-22 Osprey.
  • OH-58 Kiowa: This is a small recon helicopter which can be equipped with a large variety of weapons on its pylons: GAU-21 heavy machine gun, Hydra rockets, Hellfire missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles. And you can also select a different loadout for each side. For instance combine stinger and hellfire missiles to have a response to both air and ground enemies.
    It can also be upgraded with a mast mounted sight increasing drastically its detection range and giving it the ability to designate targets with a laser.


[h2]Planes[/h2]
  • F-15C Eagle: This is a dedicated air superiority fighter which can carry up to 8 missiles with the possibility to choose between AIM-9 short range infrared, AIM-7 semi-active radar guided or AIM-120 AMRAAM with more range and autonomous terminal guidance.
    Contrary to most planes, the emplacement for external fuel tanks is independent from the missiles emplacement allowing to freely increase the autonomy without reducing the payload.



  • F-15E Strike Eagle: The dual sitter version of the F-15C. It might look like a fighter but don't be fooled by appearances: it’s a bomb truck.
    The plane retains the ability to carry 4 air-to-air missiles but is mostly dedicated to ground attack with an impressive payload of 7 2000lb bombs or 18 cluster bombs. It can also be equipped with a laser designation pod to guide its own smart bombs.
  • F-15EX Eagle II: The newest version of the plane regroups the capabilities of the C and E versions in a single modernized plane. It can do basically anything, twice! For instance carry up to 14000lb of bombs in addition to 8 air-to-air missiles. You can use it to launch JASSM cruise missiles, carry AGM-88 anti-radiation missiles or pile up missile over missile on every pylon until you reach the ultimate “Spamraam” loadout with 20 AMRAAM missiles.



  • C-17 Globemaster: This strategic airlifter is capable of airdropping up to 75 tons of supplies, vehicles and 100 paratroopers. So you can drop a pair of Sheridan, half a dozen humvees of various types, some supplies and a LMTV, plus several platoons of infantry in a single drop.
    Just don’t do that in contested airspace or your glorious airdrop might transform into a gigantic Piñata for your opponents.



  • C-130J-30 Hercules: A smaller, slower, propeller plane transports less payload but has the advantage of airdropping from a lower altitude which grants it a higher survivability against ground based air-defense but makes it more vulnerable to fighter interception.
    The J-30 version is a bit larger than the KC-130 of the Marines allowing it to transport a few extra tons of equipment but is not armed at all.



  • B-1B Lancer: There, where the B-1B has passed, the grass will never grow again. This strategic bomber can drop an impressive quantity of bombs of various types: 84 SnakEye retarded bombs or 30 cluster bombs dropped from low altitude, 24 Mk84 2000lb bombs, 12 JSOW cluster smart bombs, 8 big ALCM or 24 smaller JASSM cruise missiles, and finally a B61 nuclear bomb.


[h2]Strategies[/h2]
  • On its own, the airborne specialization offers everything you need to gain air superiority, airdrop troops and vehicles on a key position of the battlefield and establish a layered defense around it.
    You can also use your multiple humvees to create a highly mobile motorized horde rushing through undefended approaches, forcing the enemy to overspend to deal with all these light vehicles wreaking havoc in their backline.

But in Broken arrow specializations always work in pairs.
  • Combining it with the Armored spec allows you to gain time with your airborne troops while heavy tanks or artillery are on their way to catch your enemy pants down in the middle of an assault against your entrenched paratroopers.
  • Combining it with the Marines allows you to maximize the amount of planes and helicopters you can bring to have a rapid answer to every situation. You can also airdrop even more support vehicles as the LAV-25 family of vehicles is air-droppable.


Gaining air superiority is very important, a team which is not contesting the air space at all must prepare to live under the bombs and constant enemy airdrops.
The best moment to perform an airdrop is at the beginning of the battle, before a thick surface-to-air missile defense is established.
But your opponents know that too, so this is also a moment where you have a very high chance to meet enemy fighters as your transport plane has zero chance to reach the drop zone alive if there are enemy fighters in the sky.
So if both teams try to aggressively gain air superiority to perform airdrops, the beginning of the match can consist of a giant air fight sometimes involving a dozen aircrafts.
But even if you don’t plan to airdrop troops or use helicopters it is recommended to call in at least one fighter to check how much the opposing team has invested into aircrafts.
  • If they didn’t call in a single plane, this is a golden occasion to make an airdrop with 0 risk.
  • If they called in an undefended cargo plane, this is a lot of free points for you.
  • If you are outnumbered and cannot call in more fighters you can call in surface to air missiles and try to bait the enemy fighters to follow your plane into a trap.


Losing air superiority at the beginning of the match is also not the end of the world as long as you make sure that your opponents didn’t gain it for free. They have gained the possibility to airdrop troops and use helicopters freely for a few minutes while preventing you from doing so, but their planes will have to refuel at some point and constantly keeping 10 fighters in the air is a waste of resources so you will have the opportunity to contest the airspace again after a few minutes.

That’s it for today, see you next week for another dev blog presenting the new Russian specialization.

Dev Diary #8 - What's Changed

Greetings everyone! As we have announced on November 12 we will start a new Open Beta for the Multiplayer. In order to prepare everyone for it, we’re starting today a series of weekly dev diaries which will cover all the novelties contained in the new build. Without further ado, the word goes to Félix, creative director for the game!

___________________________________________________________________

Last beta contained 4 specializations:
  • US armored brigade
  • US marines
  • Russian Tank brigade
  • Russian VDV (paratroopers)


Since a multiplayer battlegroup is a combination of 2 specializations you only had access to a single deck archetype per country.

This beta will contain 3 specializations per country, which means that for the first time you will have to choose an archetype when building your army.

There will be 2 brand new specializations that will be presented in detail in a dedicated dev blog for each of them as well as the 4 specializations you already know.

But do you really know them? Things have changed since the last beta. The specializations have been reorganized and we have taken your feedback into account. So some units have been added, some replaced, some transformed and of course a lot of prices and stats have been tweaked but we will not go that deep in the details here and let you discover that on November 12th when the new beta kicks in.

[h2]USMC[/h2]

First the infantry, many of you have been complaining about the lack of Javelin missiles in the USMC armory. The affront is now repaired as the popular anti-tank weapon is now present in the USMC specialization in the form of different customizations for the CAAT (Combined anti-armor team). Alternatively to the double Dragon III missiles already available in the previous beta you can now choose to equip them with a Javelin, a TOW-2A or TOW-2B ATGM.
This 8 men strong heavy support team combines the anti-tank capability with heavy anti-infantry weapons like the M2 Browning or the Mk19 automatic grenade launcher which makes it particularly hard to bypass.

On top of that a new variant of the Marines rifle squad has been added, called Reserve Marines. These rear echelon troops are still 13 per squad but cheaper as don’t carry any anti-tank weapons. They still pack serious anti-infantry power however with 3 M249 and 3 M203 underbarrel grenade launchers in addition to their 10 M16A4.

Another important modification concerning the SMAW squad now called Assaultmen is the addition off the high-explosive anti-armor rockets offering up to 600mm of armor penetration The SRAW variant of the unit got repurposed as a heavy anti-infantry weapon since the SRAW MPV with blast-fragmentation warhead was in fact the most common variant available in the USMC inventory in reality.

A completely new vehicle called the ACV has been added. This is the newest wheeled transport recently acquired by the USMC. Able to carry a full squad of marines from ship to shore and then at high speed on roads, this new vehicle will provide a big mobility boost to the USMC deck as well as great fire power since it can be upgraded with a 30mm autocannon in a remotely operated turret.

The M1A1 FEP can now be equipped with the Trophy active protection system. This defensive upgrade can intercept up to 4 incoming missiles or infantry anti-tank rockets, considerably increasing the survivability of the tank.

The M60 Patton tank received a new upgrade transforming it into the M728CEV, an breaching vehicle equipped with a large 165mm gun absolutely deadly against infantry in buildings or anything lightly armored entering its range.

The AAVP-7 received a new armor upgrade called Survivability upgrade adding ceramic armor to the front and side of the vehicle. But most importantly a new version of the vehicle is now available in the support tab with two options:
The MICLIC which can fire 3 rocket projected cables fitted with explosive charges particularly devastating against buildings and entrenched infantry. And the CATFAE which can project 21 thermobaric rockets at short range.


As you can see the USMC specialization has been gaining some interesting tools allowing it to be played more aggressively. And to reinforce this logic we have taken the decision to move the HIMARS to another specialization as this long range artillery doesn’t fit with the idea of the Marines being primarily an assault force.

Oh, and I almost forgot, the F/A-18C got this 😀

The two F/A-18C and D loadout have been reworked:
The F/A-18C used to carry only air-to-air missiles or rocket pods while the F/A-18D was carrying the rest of the air-to-ground weaponry except for the conspicuous absence of laser guided bombs.
So while keeping the F-18C as the main air-to-air platform, and even reinforcing it in this role with the arrival of the AIM-174 long range missiles, we have transferred the dumb bombs to it and added laser guided bombs to the F/A-18D as well as a brand new weapon: the SLAAM-ER cruise missiles

[h2]Armored brigade[/h2]

The changes to this specialization are less extensive than for the Marines but there are still several novelties like the M1150 Assault Breacher similar to the MICLIC of the marines but on a much sturdier Abrams chassis allowing it to throw its explosive charges from a very close distance without fearing infantry AT rockets.

The M109A7 Paladin an upgraded version of the A6 with more range and accuracy as well as its upgrade the M1299 Iron Thunder has been added to the armored specialization.
This autoloaded self propelled howitzer has a rapid fire power and a massive range. Just look at the length of this gun!

An upgraded version of the M270 MLRS is also available featuring 12 guided rockets with explosive or cluster warheads or 4 PrSM ballistic missiles to saturate the enemy air defense.

In addition to these new units All the modern A3 and A4 bradleys have been fitted with TOW-2B missiles with overfly attack shooting explosively formed penetrators through the thin armored roof of the target which makes them particularly dangerous against tanks.


[h2]VDV[/h2]

One of the most noticeable changes when playing with the VDV is the fact that infantry transports can now be airdropped. This was not possible during previous beta and was preventing the deployment of very useful vehicles like the BTR-D Shkrezhet which can transport troops and are armed with anti-aircraft guns and missiles or the BMD-4M with their powerful 30mm autocannon coupled with a 100mm gun.
As a result some support vehicles like the Strela-10 or the Sturm-S that were added to this specialization during the previous beta to compensate for that shortcoming have been removed since you can now use the infantry transports as airdroppable support as it was supposed to be.


Another interesting change is that infantry is now allowed to use any transport vehicle that you have put in your deck and not only their dedicated transport. So if you add assault infantry with BMD-4 and anti aircraft infantry in BTR-D Shkrezet, you will be able to call the assault infantry with the Shkrezhet for instance.
For that reason you won’t find helicopters in the VDV infantry tab any more, they are all in the helicopter tab now. As a result the Mi-8AMTSh-VN placed in the recon tab which was a redundancy of the Mi-8AMTSh has been removed. But a new helicopter has been added : the Mi-24PN. This is a rather cheap attack helicopter with only a single pylon wired to shoot missiles so it has asymmetric loadouts.


We also observed during the previous beta that many players were forgetting to give the airdrop order to their cargo planes or were giving it at the last moment which forced the plane to make a loop to realign for the drop. To help with that, now when you call a transport plane it automatically performs an airdrop where you called it and goes back to base after that. You can of course cancel that by giving it any new order.

The Su-25T has been moved to another specialization and replaced by the Mi-35 an evolution of the Mig-29 with an extra pair of pylons carrying modern weaponry but retaining the same short flight time unless extra fuel tanks are added in place of weaponry.

Oh and by the way, this time we’re ready to let you play with nukes ;)
The Tu-160 will have the option to carry a Kh-102 nuclear cruise missile. Just make sure that you have cleared enemy radar AA or this missile will be intercepted like any other and it doesn’t exactly come for free.

The USA will also have a nuclear capable plane in the beta but this will be revealed later in another devblog.

One of the most regular criticisms was how squishy infantry felt and how ineffective light-anti tank rockets felt against vehicles.
We have addressed this issue in several ways:
  • Infantry resilience has been buffed by 25%
  • Light anti tank weaponry damage has been slightly increased from 10% to 25% depending on the case.
  • Anti-tank rockets now create a critical effect on vehicles every time
  • When a building collapses, instead of instantly killing everyone inside there is a probability for each soldier to survive.
  • Sprint ability has been added to all infantry squads

As a result:
  • Infantry is now less micro intensive as they die 25% slower from vehicle fire.
  • They deal more damage to light vehicles so they are not overwhelmed as easily
  • They still don’t do much to the frontal armor of a tank but can immobilize them much more rapidly than before. And an immobilized tank surrounded by enemy infantry is pretty much a dead tank.
  • Large amounts of infantry cannot be erased instantly anymore by a building collapsing.


Infantry combat also felt really slow so we have made some modifications:
  • Infantry rifles and machine guns damage has been increased.
  • Suppressed weapons do more damage but their range and penetration has been reduced making them most effective at short range compared to regular rifles.
  • Sniper rifles ignore buildings cover
  • Marksman rifles ignore 50% of buildings cover
  • Shotguns range has been reduced but damage increased a lot.


Some VDV infantry loadouts have been modified, the Spetsnaz now carry the laser designator instead of the Razvedka, they also have access to the RPG-16 a small but long range rocket launcher perfect for hit and run tactics against lightly armored support units after infiltrating enemy lines.


Drones also did not perform well during last beta so two important changes have happened to them:
  • The smallest drones are now flying at low altitude making them impossible to be targeted by long range surface to air missiles.
  • The largest drones like the Orion or the American
  • *Redacted until next devblog** which are flying in high altitude have seen their optics doubled which allows them to operate from much further away and if used carefully can force the opponent to send a fighter in your direction to shoot them down.


As a side note VDV drones have received a new option to carry Kh-BPLA thermobaric missiles as an alternative to the anti-tank Kornet missile.

A change that doesn’t have any visual impact but has its importance is the addition of anti-infantry missiles to all dedicated ATGM carriers like the Kornet D-1. These units have been performing poorly in the previous beta and the decision was taken to give them some anti-infantry power to help them perform better. The loadout repartition is generally ⅔ anti-tank and ⅓ anti-infantry.

The Sprut-SD received and options to install spaced + slat armor which increased protection but removed the ability to airdrop the vehicle.

On top of all that several 3D models have been upgraded, gunners and drivers have been added whenever it was possible, many animations have been added to the units like doors opening, missiles reload, wavebreakers extending when the vehicles enters water, dirt is added when they go offroad and is removed when they go in the water…
The units play these animations from time to time in the hangar so if you are patient you can see them there.


[h2]Guard Tank brigade[/h2]

Not much has changed in terms of units for the guard tank brigade except some price changes and some reshuffle in the support tab. The Tunguska has been removed while the Msta-S self propelled howitzer has been added.
The KamAZ-6560 has also been removed which means that this specialization is entirely reliant on the support options of its sister specialization.


Gun launched anti-tank missiles’ range has been increased a bit as the window of opportunity to shoot these missiles was too narrow and they were almost never used.
The T-14 Armata now benefits from 2 possible upgrades, one for its armor and the other to its missiles. You can choose between the long range fast flying Sprinter missile or the top atack SOkol-V missile.


This deck heavy on vehicles and support will also benefit from some general improvements:
  • Vehicles automatically use their defensive smoke when missiles are threatening them. This only works if the missile has been in flight long enough so this will not protect you against ambushes or fast flying plane missiles so you have to remain careful.
    This function can be deactivated and reactivated by right clicking on the smoke button.
  • Artillery now moves in range of the target if you give them the order to shoot outside of their maximum range.
  • You can press T (fire mission shortcut) multiple times to switch between shell types, allowing for more reactive artillery strikes.
  • Surface to air missiles efficiency has been improved with the addition of a new mechanic of near miss which allows a missile that would normally miss to explode near the enemy aircraft and deal partial damage.
  • Some anti-aircraft missiles have also received a new guidance type called “Terminal guidance”. These missiles are guided by their shooter by default but have the possibility to go “pitbull” and activate their own seeker to become autonomous if the liaison with the shooter is lost or if the shooter loses the target.

Huge RTS milsim Broken Arrow delayed to "guarantee a quality product"

Broken Arrow looks like one of the most ambitious upcoming strategy games. It blends the deep customization and tactical considerations of military simulators like War Thunder or World of Tanks with the top-down, real-time combat management of RTS games such as Command and Conquer, Company of Heroes 3, and Hearts of Iron 4. Because of its ambition, it doesn't come as a massive surprise, then, that we've just learned that Broken Arrow has received a delay that will push back its launch but, luckily, also see its creator kicking off an open beta very soon.


Read the rest of the story...


RELATED LINKS:

Ambitious milsim RTS game Broken Arrow is recruiting for a new beta

Command and Conquer meets War Thunder as new RTS game launches beta

Modern warfare RTS Broken Arrow will hit PCs in 2022