Misery Empire Update
The Misery Empire Update is the first seasonal update for Deceive Inc. It introduces a new agent, a new catalog, and a number of various changes to gameplay systems.
New Agent: Red
Main Page: Red
Red, the Treacherous Seductress. Red joins the ranks of Deceive Inc. as its first post-release agent. With her killer looks and even deadlier arsenal, Red is a versatile Scoundrel capable of charming her rivals and supporting her allies.
Red also makes use of an all new status effect, 
Charmed. Charmed agents are forced back into Cover as well as becoming 
Slowed and 
Neutralized. If they fire their weapon while Charmed, they instead become 
Heartbroken, removing the slow but making them 
Vulnerable instead.
Any damage taken while Charmed will immediately clear the effect.
New Catalog
Main Page: Misery Empire (Catalog)
The Misery Empire update includes an all new Catalog, featuring a series of noir-themed cosmetics. It can be unlocked for 1,000 Bonds.
Gameplay Changes
Heat System and Collaterals
Deceive Inc. has been under increased scrutiny from its clients recently. In an effort to raise its operational standards, the company has introduced new rules that will make sure agents do not act too recklessly on the field.
Enter the Heat System!
Agents will notice this new bar under their health at all times. This bar will be filled when eliminating innocent NPCs. Everytime they reach one of the three thresholds, they will get progressively more severe punishments for taking out innocents.
First Heat Level
- Agents will become 30% more vulnerable to damage for 12 seconds. This penalty is renewed on their next NPC elimination while on this level.
Second Heat Level
- Agents will become 50% more vulnerable to damage for 15 seconds. This penalty is renewed on their next NPC elimination while on this level.
Third Heat Level
- This Agent has gone rogue! They will take 100% more damage for 20 seconds AND gain the
Exposed Status Effect, making them unable to regain cover for the duration. This is a SEVERE penalty that will only happen to the most unhinged of agents. Make sure it's not you.
Heat will naturally start venting off when players get back into cover and stop taking out innocent npc. If you ever find yourself building a bit too much heat, you simply have to lay low for a short while to get back into the thick of it.
A final note: VIPs are a special case for the Heat system. Downing a VIP will build up a full Heat level right away. Make sure you are certain that this Jati is not the real Jati, otherwise you might be in for a rude awakening.
Team Intel Changes
After taking a look at overall analytics and getting more playtime in teams mode, it’s obvious that team matches often progress faster than solo matches. There are of course multiple reasons for that, but one obvious one is that Intel is effectively tripled in teams vs solo because every team member can hack the same Intel piece.
With this update, Intel use is now once per team instead of per individual. These changes will have many effects on the gameplay:
- It slows down the extremely breakneck speed of unlocking Vault Terminals in the first phase.
- It adds strategy to team matches in who should take which Intel to have the most efficient run.
- It adds incentive to split the team, taking more risks while speeding up the team’s progression.
- It gives a lot of value to finding Keycards in teams.
Team Revive Mechanic
Prior to this change, team members in Trios could only be Revived once before being knocked out of the match. After this change, every player can now be Revived three times, but with additive penalties to their maximum health.
- 75 Max Health on first Revive
- 50 Max Health on second Revive
- 30 Max Health on third Revive
Vault Terminals Room Rebalancing
A rebalancing has been made to Terminal Rooms to change the overall economy of Vault Terminals, Field Upgrades, and Keycards.
- Rooms that contain a Vault Terminal will never have a
Technician or 
VIP Keycard - Rooms that contain a Vault Terminal will no longer have a Technician Field Upgrade Safe.
- Rooms that do not have a Vault Terminal will have a guaranteed Keycard (either Technician or VIP)
- Rooms that do not have a Vault Terminal will have one Technician Field Upgrade Safe.
- Technician rooms in the Vault will now have two Technician Safes per room.
Staff rooms have a buffed spawned pool to make them more useful in the overall flow.
General Changes
Jump Tweaks
To prevent instances of "air-strafing", air control when jumping has been reduced to make jumping in a fight more predictable.
To go with this change, the air control multiplier when falling from high up (such as with a Bounce Pad) has been increased to keep movement precise for these situations.
Solo Matches XP Modifier
A 30% experience bonus has been added to all sources in solo matches.
Character Hitbox Tweaks
To make fights feel more reliable, hitboxes are being tweaked for all agents.
In addition, limb damage is being removed from arms, now applying solely to the lower body. Any hit from the waist up will now be counted as a body hit to prevent inconsistency when fighting charactersr with prominent arm presence in their silhouettes.
Recoil Work
Changes have been made to make recoil feel snappier and more immediate.
Vertical Audio and Weapon Sound Range
A low-pass filter has been added and weapon sounds have been tweaked based on the verticality of where the sound comes from. This should make it easier to identify if a fight is happening above or below.
In addition, weapon sounds have been tweaked on a per-weapon basis. Lower-powered weapons should now be quieter than higher-powered ones.
NPC Danger Range
The radius in which NPCs will Cower from weapon fire has been tweaked to better account for map verticality. Previously, NPCs could get scared from fights happening pretty high above them or below. This creates a lot of confusion Agents saw a scared NPC running around because of a fight that is not happening on the same floor.
Ink Menu Preview
There is now a preview screen to allow players to preview Inks on their weapons and Gadgets.
Result Screen Rework
The mission report screen has been reworked to make ti clearer what was achieved in a match.
EXP Source Prompt
To add to the clarity pass of the new mission report screen, the exact experience values of actions taken during a match are now visible.
HUD Rework
With the introduction of the Heat mechanic, the HUD has been slightly altered. This new layout puts the Expertise gauge with the loadout to better read the remaining cooldown in a pinch.
Increased Gadget Drop Range
The range in which Gadgets can be placed has been increased.
Visual changes have been made for the empowered navmode granted by carrying The Package. Players using Holo Mimic should now be visible.
In addition, the scan now requires 1 Intel up front, making quick scanning less viable.
Melee Reliability Rework
Improved melee's reliability in a variety of scenarios, especially when trying to hit someone close to a wall.
Vault Terminal Agent Alert
If two Agents on opposing teams are in the same Terminal Room with an active Vault Terminal inside, the terminal's screen will glow red and play a short alarm. This is to help reduce camping while also alerting teams inside that enemies have shown up to the same vault. The alarm is disabled when the Vault Terminal is taken.
Raised Account Level Cap
Increased the level cap to 300. Levels 200 to 300 now require more experience than before and a new completionist Ink awaits Agents at level 300.
Cover Regeneration Timing Tweaks
Basic cover regeneration now happens more quickly.
Performance Work and Optimization
Multiple optimizations have been made to improve overall game performance, especially in fights.
Increased Agent Ping Range
Players will now be able to place pings for their fellow teammates up to 160 meters away.
Team Revive Polish
Teammates can now request a Revive, as well as see a progress bar indicating how close they are to being Revived.
Also added a prompt when trying to leave a team game where an Agent can still be revived to make it clear that the match is not over for them.
New Shop Items
The following items have been added to the Shop:
-
Norfolk Ace
-
Tournament Arc Cavalière
-
Elite Forces Hans
-
Self-Care Madame Xiu
Items in the Shop will now rotate on a 24 hour basis and will not expire.
Level Updates
All
- Drone zones have been added to all maps, preventing Drones from going out of bounds.
Training Range and Pre-Game Lobby
- Added a DPS screen in the Training Range and the Pre-Game Lobby to get an accurate representation of how much damage is dealt at varying ranges.
Operation Silver Reef
- Added props to the glass corridors in the Vault of Operation Silver Reef to provide cover during firefights.
Operation Diamond Spire
- Added visual cover in the main hall ground floor of Operation Diamond Spire to make it less dangerous.
- Added cover to the ground floor courtyard of Operation Diamond Spire.
- Added new exits to some meeting rooms that only had one entrance on Operation Diamond Spire.
- Doors that lead to Vault Terminals on Operation Diamond Spire are no longer transparent.
Operation Fragrant Shore
- Fixed doors that could not be opened on the first floor of the hotel on Operation Fragrant Shore.
- Replaced the Technician door on the outside of Vault Terminal E on Operation Fragrant Shore with a one-way window openable from the inside.
- Replaced free windows into Technician and
Guard rooms with one-sided openable windows.
Balancing Changes
Agents
Squire
Weapons
Weapon Mod 1: Trident
- Headshot Multiplier: 1.5 => 1.3
Weapon Mod 2: Javelin
- Damage: 22 => 20
- Reload Time: 1.65 => 1.7 seconds
Ace
Weapons
Weapon Mod 1: Jack of Diamonds
- Damage: 20 => 23
- Fire Rate: 1.35 => 1.4 shots per second
- Reload Time: 1.5 => 1.75 seconds
Weapon Mod 2: King of Diamonds
- Damage: 40 => 45
- Reload Time: 1.6 => 1.75 seconds
- Reduced the zoom on the scope a bit.
Expertise
Expertise Mod 1: Stacked Odds
- Vulnerable Duration: 25 => 15 seconds
Passive
Passive Mod Base Version: Diamond’s Bet
- Charge Time: 1.35 => 1.30 seconds
Passive Mod 1: Crippling Shot
- Charge Time: 1.35 => 1.30 seconds
- Slowed Effect Intensity: 35% => 40%
Passive Mod 2: Cover Flush
- Charge Time: 1.35 => 0.9 seconds
- Exposed Duration: 7 => 14 seconds