Welcome back to another Tyr dev update.
Our latest content update is here, and there’s a lot to get into. Tricera has graduated from the Alpha Program, Contracts give you new objectives to work toward, and our first Ranked Pre-Season has begun.
There's a lot more to unpack here.
As always, we offer these updates in written and video form. Find the video below, followed by the written version.
Let’s begin.
Tricera joins the core roster
Tricera has graduated from the Alpha Program and is now part of Tyr’s core roster. That also means it’s available in Ranked queues and competitive tournaments.
If you haven’t played it yet, Tricera is a heavy tank built to control key positions. Its upper armor is extremely strong, but its lower hull is vulnerable. Find a good hull-down position, keep that lower armor protected, and make yourself hard to dig out.
Its Smoke Wall ability gives your team another way to control the battlefield. It deploys a long line of smoke that prevents enemies from spotting tanks through it, letting your team cross exposed ground, reposition, or get out of a bad situation without giving away key movement.
If you played Tricera in the Alpha Program, you’ll need to unlock it again for the core roster, but your progression carries over. Your levels, tech tree progress, and the work you’ve already put into the tank aren’t going away.
Thank you to everyone who played it, sent feedback, and helped us get it here.
A new component: Densifier
Tricera brings one new component: Densifier. Bouncing an enemy shot increases your maximum health by 16 and heals you for the same amount. Getting hit by a shot activates half that effect.
Meet Primeval
Tricera also arrives with a new skin: Primeval.
It’s a dinosaur skin for the tank named after a dinosaur. It felt obvious.
Contracts are here
Today's update also brings a new set of larger objectives called Contracts, and they offer rewards when you complete them.
You can have one Contract active at a time. These aren’t meant to be things you knock out in a match or two. A Contract might ask you to earn assists, deal damage with a particular tank or class, or put together wins over time.
The larger targets come with larger rewards. Depending on the Contract, that could mean a sizable amount of Silver or Salutes, Gold, or cosmetic Drops.
We’re particularly interested in how Contracts might change what you choose to play. Maybe you spend more time in a tank you’ve been meaning to learn. Maybe you focus on setting up assists rather than chasing the final shot. Or maybe you pick a Contract that fits what you already enjoy doing.
It’s another way to experience Tyr, with something extra to work toward along the way.
Let us know how the first Contracts feel.
Fortis gets its first skin: Sigrún
Fortis players, we know you’ve been waiting for this one. We've heard you loud and clear. Fortis has a new skin.
Meet Sigrún.
It has that Viking feel that suits Fortis well. We’re excited for you to finally have another way to make the tank your own.
Components now have a place on the in-game HUD
The component visualizer we showed in our last update is now live.
Up-to-three equipped components appear next to your tank’s ability in the lower portion of the HUD, with visual feedback to help you follow what they’re doing during a match.
Take Drift Sparker. After you hold the e-brake and drift to activate its speed boost, the visualizer shows how long that boost has left. You can see when it’s ending and start setting up your next drift rather than guessing at the timing.
The goal here is obviously to make it easier to understand what your build is doing while you’re playing.
The lightning kill effect is live
We also showed you a new lightning kill effect last time. That’s now in the game.
When you destroy an enemy tank, a bolt of lightning strikes it down.
Yes, that still includes an Ikarus flying through the air. It's as brutal as it sounds.
Ranked Pre-Season 1 has begun
With this update, we’ve reset both Ranked Solo / Duos and Ranked Teams, and Ranked Pre-Season 1 is underway.
We also have the Ranked reward breakdown to share. You earn rewards based on your highest rank achieved, not the rank you end the Pre-Season with.
Rank | Reward |
|---|---|
Gold | 50 Gold |
Platinum | Platinum season title and 50 Gold |
Diamond | Diamond season title and 50 Gold |
Master | Master season title and 100 Gold |
Grandmaster | Grandmaster season title and 250 Gold |
Both Ranked queues have reset, Tricera is eligible in the modes, and the first climb is underway.
See your starting side before you ready up
A big one here, though it's small and doesn't take up much dev update real estate.
The lobby HUD now shows whether your team will spawn on the north or south side of the map, along with the mode you're currently playing if you somehow forgot after you hit "PLAY." It happens to the best of us.
You can see your starting side before you ready up, giving you a chance to better plan your move and pick your tank before the match begins.
Game, map, and tank balance changes
This update also includes map changes, tank balance updates, and a slight rework to Seeker's ability and keystones. There are more changes than those listed here. You can find those changes in the pathc notes going live with the build.
We'll start with a brief word on Weakness Analyzer.
Weakness Analyzer now has a 6-second cooldown before it can trigger again.
You can see this cooldown visually in the new component UI element of the HUD
Seeker
Seeker’s Snitch now fully spots its target when it arrives, rather than only detecting it. That makes it more effective at finding hidden enemies and giving your team a target to act on.
A full spot is significantly more powerful, so we’ve also added more opportunities to respond:
Snitches can now be shot and destroyed
Snitch movement speed has been reduced significantly
The targeted player now receives an audio and visual warning when the Snitch is on its way
We want Seeker to be better at finding opponents without making the result unavoidable. These changes give the target a warning and a chance to shoot the Snitch down before it arrives. We’ll be watching how that counterplay feels.
Tricera
As stated above, Tricera joins the core roster with this update. We’re making a few armor adjustments to help it perform in hull-down positions.
Upper hull armor increased from 30mm to 40mm
Turret “ear” armor increased from 38mm to 45mm
Mid hull armor reduced from 30mm to 24mm
Removed an unintended weak spot at the front of the track skirts
Tricera should excel when it can protect its hull and use its gun depression, especially on hills. Previously, peeking slightly too far could expose upper hull armor that was weaker than you might expect. Looking a little away from your target could also make the turret less reliable than intended.
These changes make those situations more forgiving. They don’t remove the need to protect your hull.
If Tricera gets caught out of cover, on flat ground, or with an enemy on its flank, opponents should still have a good opportunity to punish it.
Fortis
Fortis is getting more damage output, some armor adjustments, and a little more flexibility in its tech tree.
Base reload time reduced from 11.5 seconds to 11 seconds
Shell damage increased from 315 to 330
The Max Health tech node no longer requires Bounce Energy
Upper glacis plate armor increased from 55mm to 59mm
Gun mantlet armor increased from 105mm to 120mm
Rear fender armor increased from 5mm to 75mm
Rear upper hull armor increased from 5mm to 57mm
Some of these armor increases account for the expanded yellow zones. The changes also make Fortis a clearer damage-focused heavy tank, with a faster reload and harder-hitting shells.
The rear armor adjustments should also make it more effective at reverse sidescraping, giving Fortis players another way to put that armor to work.
Fuse
We’re continuing to refine Fuse’s Glom ability, particularly how it feels to use alongside your gun.
Activate the ability once, and you'll fire the guided missile. Hit it again while the missile is in flight to engage "dumbfire;" the missile will continue straight on its current heading, letting you return to using your gun sooner.
Aim dispersion also begins settling as soon as you fire the missile, rather than waiting until it hits. On longer-distance Glom shots, that means you can start dialing in your next gun shot while the missile is still traveling.
We’ve also updated the art for both the missile projectile and the attached Glom.
Helio
Helio is getting more penetration and a couple of armor increases.
Penetration increased from 80mm to 85mm
Turret face armor increased from 100mm to 120mm
Outer fender armor increased from 100mm to 110mm
The armor changes account for the expanded yellow zones. The penetration increase also helps position Helio as a more anti-armor-focused heavy tank, enabling it to perform in some key brawls.
Other tank changes
Ark: Reduced top hull armor, making the whole vehicle subject to overmatch from shots with 70mm penetration or above. The gun module weak spot behind the barrel also no longer has a non-module opening in its center.
Atlas: Turret cheek armor reduced from 85mm to 83mm
Maul: Plow armor increased from 98mm to 100mm, and gun mantlet armor increased from 120mm to 125mm. These increases account for the expanded yellow zones.
Phantom: If damage cancels your ability during its windup, the energy cost is now refunded
Map updates
On Wind Valley, we’ve slightly leveled out the hilltop dip at E6. Light tanks could use that dip to stay a little too safe after being spotted. It should now offer less protection in those situations.
On Core, we’ve swapped the map sides so Side 1 is now the south side. We’ve also refined collision across several areas of the map.
Try Glade, a prototype map available in Customs
[p align="start"]We’ve also added Glade, a new prototype map you can try in Custom matches.[p align="start"]Emphasis on prototype. It’s early, it’s rough, and it’s pretty janky. We’re sharing it now so we can get your feedback while it’s still taking shape.[p align="start"]Glade has a loosely packed urban layout. Instead of strictly tight corridors, you’ll find larger openings scattered between buildings, with more space between built-up areas.[p align="start"]Glade is only available in Customs. It isn’t in the Standard or Ranked map pools, it's too jank for that![p align="start"]Get some games in and tell us what you think. Where are the fights happening? Which positions feel useful, and which feel frustrating?[p align="start"]You don’t need to wait until you have a complete map review. A screenshot, a replay, or a quick explanation of something that felt off is useful. Share it in our Discord and help us figure out what Glade should become.Congratulations to Team Cyanic
Our October tournament is in the books.
THUMBS squared up against Team Cyanic in the finals, with Cyanic taking the win. Congratulations to our champions, and thank you to everyone who played, watched, and helped make the tournament happen.
If you missed it, you can catch the action below.
Sign-ups for our next tournament will be live soon. The prize breakdown is:
1st place: $1,500
2nd place: $750
3rd and 4th place: $250 each
Want to play? Hop into our Discord and grab the competitive role to access the tournament channels and information. If you’re not sure how, just ask, and someone will point you in the right direction.
No team? No worries. You can register as a free agent. If we have space for a free agent team, we’ll form one. Otherwise, existing team captains can pick up free agents, and that happens pretty often.
We’ll share the next registration form, rules, and team-finding resources in Discord when signups open.
Bring your ideas to the Balance Assembly
A reminder that the first Balance Assembly submission window is open through November 5th.
If you’ve been thinking about how you’d change a tank, component, or another part of Tyr’s balance, this is a place to put those ideas together.
Write your own proposed patch notes, explain your reasoning, and discuss other players’ submissions. Each month, we’ll review the top-voted submission on the community-run Tyr subreddit and the most-liked submission in our Discord forum. Use whichever platform is easiest for you.
We’ll publish our response as a video here on Steam and on YouTube. We’ll talk through what we like, what we don’t, what fits Tyr’s design, and what we want to investigate.
These aren’t official patch notes, and winning the vote doesn’t guarantee implementation. It guarantees a review and an explanation. We want to understand the changes you care about most and show you more clearly how we think through them.
Find the rules and submission template in our Discord or on the community-run Tyr subreddit.
Catch up on our dev stream
We recently sat down for a dev stream, played some Tyr, and took questions from the community.
Thank you to everyone who came by and asked something. It’s good to have room for those conversations outside patch notes and written updates.
If you couldn’t make it, you can watch the VOD below.
We’re looking to do more of these in the future. We’ll announce the schedule soon so you know when to join us.
Tanks for playing
That’s it for this update.
Try out Tricera, unlock a few Contracts, and let us know how the new additions feel. We want to hear about your Ranked matches, what you’re doing with Densifier, and whether the component visualizer makes your builds easier to follow.
Thanks for playing Tyr, providing feedback, and telling your friends.
We’ll see you on the battlefield. 🫡
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