October 19, 2017 Update

''The pumpkins are here, do not consume them. Nanotech University’s story was meant to quiet the masses and conceal the truth. This bioweapon has sprung up once again and is wreaking havoc on the lattice hardlines and interrupting communication signals all throughout Auraxis. Their seasonal nature has made it extremely difficult to uproot the source of the infestation. Until we come up with a solution, you have orders to shoot on sight any “space pumpkin” you come across. We’ll reward you in kind.''

This year’s event directive has also been completely revamped. You’ll face new challenges and earn new rewards like the “Horseman” title, and the cryptic “Phylactery” implant. Be sure to visit your Directive tab to learn how to participate.

In the Depot you’ll find a whole host of seasonal items, new and old, including…
 * Masks and Helmets
 * Vehicle Horns
 * The Slasher
 * The NS CandyCannon 3000
 * Pumpkin Grenades
 * A new Profile Banner

Space pumpkins can be found scattered throughout Auraxis, and killing them will yield pumpkin seeds. You may occasionally stumble across a rare Galact-O-Lantern that yields even more rewards.

This event runs from Oct. 19 through Nov. 10.

Meta

 * We’ve included a fix that should stop players from not receiving rewards when they zone into a different continent to participate in an alert.
 * Reduced thresholds required to activate faction balance queues on a continent.
 * Meltdown skybox lifetime has been increased.
 * Continent locks now have a chance to yield a reward of 100 certs.

Infantry Adjustments
ESF Synergy (Engineer) ''Dev note: The intention behind this change is to help reduce the impact of chip damage from ground vehicles at long range. The Valkyrie doesn't receive this benefit as, while crewed, it can repair itself much more quickly than other vehicles, and do so while airborne.''
 * Renamed "Aircraft Synergy"
 * While an Engineer is in the vehicle, it will gain a heal-over-time equivalent to rank 1 Nanite Auto-Repair.
 * This effect does not stack with other Engineers sitting in the vehicle.
 * This effect does stack with the Nanite Auto-Repair certification line.
 * Added two additional ranks have been added to Aircraft Synergy 250 and 500 certs, and may be found in the Engineer's passive certification line.
 * Rank 2 now affects Liberators.
 * Rank 3 now affects Galaxies.

Nanoweave Armor and Kinetic Armor (Infantry/MAX)
 * Rank 4 and Rank 5 now also reduce damage by resist type 22 (Walker) anti-aircraft machineguns by 20%.

Ordnance Armor (MAX)
 * Description was listing the wrong resistances at the wrong ranks.
 * Updated description as follows...
 * Rank 1: Reduces damage taken from frag grenades and common explosions by 50%.
 * Rank 2: Reduces damage taken from frag grenades and common explosions by 50%, and infantry rockets by 20%.
 * Rank 3: Reduces damage taken from frag grenades, common explosions, Tank Mines, and C4 by 50%; and infantry rockets by 20%.
 * Rank 4: Reduces damage taken from frag grenades, common explosions, Tank Mines, and C4 by 50%; and infantry rockets and tank shells by 20%.
 * Rank 5: Reduces damage taken from frag grenades, common explosions, Tank Mines, and C4 by 50%; and infantry rockets, tank shells, air to ground warheads, and light anti-vehicle by 20%.

Spiker (VS Sidearm)
 * The Spiker's alternate fire now deals light damage to heavily armored targets, and has been granted an additional charge level. Alternate fire stats are listed below.
 * Charge 0 - Requires 0 seconds charging.
 * Consumes 1 ammo.
 * 50 damage at all ranges, resist type 4 (Anti-Materiel)
 * Charge 1 - Requires 2 seconds charging.
 * Consumes 2 ammo.
 * 200 damage at all ranges, resist type 4 (Anti-Materiel)
 * 50 blast damage, resist type 6 (Common Explosive)
 * Charge 2 - Requires 4 seconds charging.
 * Consumes 4 ammo.
 * 400 damage at all ranges, resist type 4 (Anti-Materiel)
 * 150 blast damage, resist type 6 (Common Explosive)

NS-45 Pilot (Sidearm)
 * ADS CoF bloom from 0.13 to 0.1
 * Hipfire CoF bloom from 0.26 to 0.2
 * Vertical recoil from 1.2 to 1

NSX Yumi (Assault Rifle)
 * Horizontal tolerance from 0.4 to 0.2
 * Vertical recoil from 0.28-0.30 to 0.22

Vehicle Adjustments
Sunderer Health
 * Health pool from 4000 to 5000
 * Dev Note: A health pool bump helps increase Sunderer survivability, without making it easier to out-repair incoming damage as resistance changes would.

Side Armor (MBT/Lightning)
 * MBT and Lightning left and right armor from 0 to -15
 * Dev note: Players reported tank versus tank combat becoming less focused on positioning with the removal of the side-armor damage bonus, so we've returned it. This change generally results in one less shot to kill from MBT cannons, and hard-hitting secondaries, like the Halberd.

Air to Ground Warheads
 * Dev Note: Some A2G warhead resistance (type 23) values were skewed from where they were intended to be. The following changes will increase the durability of the listed vehicles against Hornets, Zephyr, and Dalton weapons.
 * Galaxy resist 23 (A2G warhead) from -25 to 25
 * Liberator resist 23 (A2G warhead) from -150 to 25
 * Valkyrie resist 23 (A2G warhead) from -140 to -50

Anti-Materiel Rifle
 * Dev Note: Anti-materiel rifle (type 40) received some adjustments to lighten the impact on certain types hard targets.
 * MBT resist 40 (archer) from 20 to 40
 * Lightning resist 40 (archer) from 20 to 40
 * Sunderer resist 40 (archer) from 25 to 40

Walker Anti-Aircraft Turret
''The Walker and all its variants were somewhat overlooked, as we had originally intended to eliminate the resistance type altogether. Instead of doing that, we're going to hold onto the resistance type for increased design flexibility, and take another pass at where the weapon lines up. MBT/Harasser/ANT versions of this weapon have had their falloff damage reduced, while Liberator, Galaxy, and Sunderer versions remain the same.''

MBT/Harasser/ANT Walker variants
 * Min damage from 85 to 115

Walker resistances
 * Flash resist 22 (walker) from 25 to 50
 * ANT resist 22 (walker) from 90 to 85
 * Sunderer resist 22 (walker) from 90 to 85
 * Lightning resist 22 (walker) from 90 to 85
 * MBT resist 22 (walker) from 90 to 85
 * ESF resist 22 (walker) from 35 to 50
 * Valkyrie resist 22 (walker) from 70 to 75
 * Galaxy resist 22 (walker) from 75 to 80

Flak adjustments

 * Post patch, dedicated flak weapons were still weaker than we wanted them to be, so we've taken another pass at the damage values, and some of the cone of fire values of these weapons.

Skyguard (Lightning)
 * Blast damage from 25 to 35
 * Cone of Fire from 1.25 to 1.5
 * Recoil from 2.5 to 1.25
 * Dev note: The Skyguard becomes the most consistent anti-air platform, while receiving a range reduction in the form of cone of fire an adjustment to help mitigate chip damage at long range.

G40-F Ranger (MBT/Harasser/ANT)
 * Blast damage from 25 to 40

G40-F Ranger (Sunderer)
 * Blast damage from 20 to 30

NS-10 Burster (MAX) ''Dev note: VS and TR MAXes had bugged cone of fire values that didn't reflect their intended range post CAI. We've standardized the cone of fire to 2 in normal movement states, to make the weapons more usable and consistent regardless of sustained fire and movement state.''
 * VS/TR MAXes Cone of Fires from 1.25 (for stationary) and 1.75 (for moving) to 2
 * NC MAX Cone of Fire from 2.5 to 2
 * Maximum Cone of Fire from 3 to 2 for VS/TR MAXes, and from 2.5 to 2 for NC MAXes
 * Cone of Fire Bloom has been removed for VS and TR (NC already had this benefit.)

T2 Striker (TR Heavy Assault)
 * Indirect damage from 70 to 100

Aspis Anti-Aircraft (Construction) Turret
 * Renamed Hoplon Anti-Aircraft Turret
 * Maximum damage range from 100m to 50m
 * Minimum damage range from 500m to 400m

Rocket Pods
These weapons were tuned too generously on the damage scale, creating a mismatch between their risk and reward. We've reduced the direct hit damage to nudge them back into place.

Pelter Rocket Pods (Valkyrie)
 * Direct damage from 167 to 125

Pelter Rocket Pods (Galaxy)
 * Direct damage from 150 to 100

Breaker Rocket Pods (Reaver)
 * Direct damage from 167 to 125

Dual Photon Pods (Scythe)
 * Direct damage from 143 to 100

Hellfire Rocket Pods (Mosquito)
 * Direct damage from 125 to 90

Misc. Vehicle Weapon Adjustments
CAS 14-E (Valkyrie)
 * Inner blast damage from 125 to 100
 * Dev note: This weapon was a little too powerful alongside the other buffs (direct and indirect) to the Valkyrie as a platform, so reduced the splash damage on the weapon a small amount to give targets a better window to respond to the incoming damage.

C85 Canister (Vanguard and Harasser)
 * Refire rate from 500ms to 333ms
 * Dev note: Returning its old rate of fire should help this weapon be a bit more competitive versus other vehicles.

C150 Dalton (Liberator)
 * Default ammo capacity from 30 to 50
 * Dev Note: With the increased number of shots to kill against certain targets, the default ammo capacity was buffed to reduce trips to the ammo pad.

Misc. Changes, Additions, Bug Fixes

 * Speculative fix for the infinite lockon tone bug.
 * NC Vanguard E540 Halberd crosshair reticle now uses the correct color.
 * Hands no longer come off the grip while falling with Hunter QCX.
 * Aligned the NS-45 Pilot's ironsights.
 * Increased vehicle projectile render distances.
 * NS "Heatwave" Decimator ammo capacity from 4 to 9.
 * NS "Heatwave" Decimator ammo refill delay from 5sec. to 2.5sec.
 * Carapace no longer flashes your shield bar on death.
 * Speculative fix for Carapace not working with Regeneration implant's full healing speed.
 * MKV-P Suppressed kills now count toward directives that require kills with an SMG.
 * L100 Python HESH projectile gravity from 4 to 5. This now matches HEAT's gravity.
 * Many holiday event horns, and long-play cosmetic horn cooldowns set to either 5sec. or 8sec.
 * Alerts that award the Sunderer Spare Tire cosmetic should now function properly.