War Zones – FOB Overhaul

Jan.06.2018 BY KIXEYE_Chris

We are revamping FOBs to make them the focal point of War Zone play that we always intended them to be. Currently, FOBs don’t serve much of a purpose other than blocking player movement and eating into the time of an attacker. Moving forward, we want FOBs to be powerful reinforcements on the battlefield that can determine the difference between victory and defeat.

STREAMLINING FOB PLAY

When looking at current gameplay, we found that there were several FOBs that were not serving their original intended purpose or were made redundant with new War Zone mechanics. As such, the following changes are being made to streamline what FOBs are available to use:

Airfield FOBs are being removed from the game. With the changes mentioned in a previous War Zone article, HQs can now already attack from anywhere so Airfield FOBs no longer serve a purpose.
Bunker FOBs are being removed from the game. These did not serve their intended purpose of being stalwart defenders. They only served as a temporary hindrance and annoyance.
Mining FOBs and resource drips are being removed from the game. Mining FOBs are difficult to defend and we see a lot of hit-and-run behavior on them with no repercussions for the attacker. To offset this change, resource production is increasing within your personal HQ, where defenses can be controlled. A future article will provide more details on the nature of these increased production methods, which come in the form of Oil Zone Area Boosts, Thorium Zone Area Boosts, and a special Thorium Harvester building.
All players will be refunded the full Metal and Thorium cost of any FOB unlocks/upgrades for the removed Mining, Bunker, and Airfield FOBs. These granted resources will overflow your maximum storage capacity.
Players’ current upgrade levels of their Infantry, Tank, and Helicopter Reinforcement FOBs will remain when the update goes live.

REINFORCING THE REINFORCEMENTS

We have made significant power increases to Reinforcement FOBs to make these bases the focal point of War Zone play. Now, these FOBs not only provide reinforcement units to your HQ and other deployed FOBs when you’re on defense, but they also help you on offense in PvP (they do not assist in offensive PvE).

FOBs can be upgraded from levels 1-7, representing CC levels 3-9, and upgrading Reinforcement FOBs will increase the power of units coming from these FOBs. Additionally, at certain levels, the type of units spawning from FOBs upgrade as well! FOB Reinforcement units use have the same Promotion Levels of your matching Army units. Here are those levels:

TANK REINFORCEMENT
Level	Unit	Unit Bonus
1	Rhino x2	10% Damage
2	Abrams x3	15% Damage
3	Abrams x4	20% Damage
4	Abrams x5	25% Damage
5	Merkava x5	30% Damage
6	Merkava x6	35% Damage
7	Merkava x6	40% Damage

INFANTRY REINFORCEMENT
Level	Unit	Unit Bonus
1	Humvee IFV x2	10% Health
2	Humvee IFV x3	15% Health
3	Humvee IFV x4	20% Health
4	Humvee IFV x5	25% Health
5	Stryker IFV x5	30% Health
6	Stryker IFV x6	35% Health
7	Stryker IFV x6	40% Health

HELICOPTER REINFORCEMENT
Level	Unit	Unit Bonus
1	Cobra x5	100% Health
2	Cobra x5	200% Health
3	Cobra x5	300% Health
4	AH-64E Guardian x5	300% Health
5	AH-64E Guardian x5	400% Health
6	AH-64E Guardian x6	400% Health
7	AH-64E Guardian x6	500% Health

The other great thing about the FOB overhaul is that there is now a discounted cost for deploying FOBs while on HQ Cooldown. Scrapping FOBs while on HQ cooldown is discounted by the same amount. This means there is no cost for scrapping and re-deploying while moving, allowing you to move with your FOBs wherever you want to go.

(Scrap values vary)

Due to this significant power increase, FOBs will now only assist the HQ and FOBs that are owned by the same player. They will not assist Allied HQs or allied FOBs. However, maintaining your armada of Reinforcement FOBs surrounding your HQ will now be a key strategic element to claiming territory and dominating in the War Zones.