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.