We’d like to introduce the most important changes "quick & dirty" so you know what you can expect on the test server. You can expect a detailed version of the changes for Neocron 2.2 at the latest when the retail update launches.

Quick & Dirty: Weapon Categories

Weapon categories by damage:
- Vehicle Combat (H-C) 120 %
- PSI Combat (APU) 100 %
- Heavy Combat (H-C) 90 %
- Rifle Combat (R-C) 80 %
- Pistol Combat (P-C) 75 %
- Drone Combat (RCL) 75 %
- Melee Combat (M-C) 65 %
- PSI Combat (PPU – PvE Only) 50 %

Special case: Hacknet – corresponds to PSI Combat

Weapon categories by range:
- Vehicle Combat ca. 650 Meter
- Heavy Combat (H-C) ca. 600 Meter
- Rifle Combat (R-C) ca. 600 Meter
- PSI Combat (APU) ca. 250 Meter
- PSI Support (PPU) ca. 250 Meter
- Pistol Combat (P-C) ca. 200 Meter
- Drone Combat (RCL) ca. 150 Meter
- Melee Combat (M-C) Striking distance (+ Tolerance)

Special case: Hacknet – corresponds to PSI Combat

Influence factors for weapon behavior:
The changes to influence factors mainly concern the four conventional combat directions – in general, these use the main combat skill (i.e. M-C) and the weapon knowledge (WEP for LowTech-, WEP and T-C for HighTech weapons).
PSI Monks: APU rsp. PPU, FCS, PPW and PSU
Drone Combat: RCL, T-C, WPW
Hacknet: HCK, T-C

Quick & Dirty: Character System

Player energy values:
A player’s energy values (health, stamina, psychic energy) have been raised in general – especially for health values you will see some strong changes.

Player resistances:
The resistances are composed of the following:
- Shield (i.e. from PSI Support)
- Armor
- Resistance Skills

The shields and resistance skills always take effect on the whole body – armor only does for one of the three zones (head, torso, legs), so it applies the hitzone concept. A novelty in this area is a new slot for a suit or a Powerarmor – these affect all zones at the same time and protect the whole body. Skill bonuses can only be obtained from suits or powerarmors – all other armor items only add armor values.

These three areas (Shield, Armor, Skills) have been internally separated from each other, which made them easier to evaluate, balance and tune – resistance skills will definitely provide the bulk of the protection.

Resistance caps:
- PSI Monk (PPU) 92 % Max
- GenTank 88 % Max
- Spy 84 % Max
- Private Eye 80 % Max
- PSI Monk (APU) 75 % Max

Quick & Dirty: Items in Neocron

Just like the weapons, all calculations for items (with a few exceptions) are based on their TechLevel – this applies to implants, armor items and drugs. Therefore a bonus provided by an implant is basically fixed. The bonus system presented for weapons (i.e. rare or WoC) also applies here.

Quick & Dirty: Opponents in Neocron (NPCs)
Similarly to the weapon categories and their calculations, the NPCs have been balanced. An important aspect was the elimination of so-called side effects that belong to the past now. The NPCs have been categorized in groups. Through their skill rank and group membership, their damage, armor and health have been calculated – here is an overview of the groups:
- Guards (i.e. CopBots)
- BioMechanics (i.e. Cyber Dog)
- Robots (i.e. DoY Combat Unit)
- Mutated Humans (i.e. Aggressor)
- Humans (i.e. Beggar)
- Mutated Animals (i.e. Reaper)
- Animals (i.e. Dragon Fly)
- Plants (i.e. Poisonous Plant)
- Hacknet Enemies (i.e. Corrupt ICMP Package)

The NPC armor deserves a special mention: based on their skill rank and group membership, an armor value has been calculated. When the NPC takes damage, it will be reduced by its armor – however at the same time the armor value is reduced and the protection goes down ...

Quick & Dirty: Vehicles in Neocron
Vehicle armor values are pretty good in general and independent of TechLevel – however they each now have their own armor setup (as opposed to Retail). The vehicle condition (basically their healthpoints) defines their strength and has been balanced through the vehicle key’s TechLevel.

An important change is the introduction of an explosion when a vehicle is destroyed. This explosion does damage within a certain area around the "wreckage" and does not differentiate between friend or foe.