Long time no see fellow Hunters! Now that the first month of 2024 is over, we're here to introduce you to our first update recap of the year for version 0.31. What does it have in stock for you, our favorite players? A couple of exciting events, a few adorable additions to the maps, and a pinch of eagerly awaited bug fixes. Let's not waste one more minute — everyone aboard v0.31! The Steel Hunters development team begins a new round of updates by introducing you to two piping hot in-game events that should add more fun and diversity to your battle routine. Both new in-battle quests—"Bounty Hunter" and "Tag Hunt" — serve as alternatives to the existing "Legendary Key"; they have clear objectives and deliver rewards upon completion. Alongside this article describing the most recent changes in detail, we've also prepared a short [url=https://news.steelhunters.com/guide/bounty_hunt/en/]guide[/url] to give you info about the new in-game quests and how to complete them. Before we invite you to run for the bounty, let's take a closer look at the events' mechanics to make your first-hand experience more enjoyable. [h2]Hunter or Prey?[/h2]The two new quests released in v0.31 join the original one — "Legendary Key." You can expect the three quests to appear in an unpredictable manner: one will randomly be selected for each match. We've also implemented a change for the original quest — the Legendary Key can now drop from a random Guard Drone, Supply Pod, or Hunting Ground Drone. If you want to learn about the two new alternative quests available in this version, keep reading! [img]https://sh-publishing-static.gcdn.co/sh-publishing/update/031/recap/vR3-41269_Update_Recap_Hunter_Tag.jpg[/img] [h2]Bounty Hunter[/h2] "Eliminate the target or escape the Hunt and get a reward!" This is all you need to do to complete this quest. There's only one special Contract in the match dedicated to it, and it can drop — similarly to the Legendary Key — from any random Guard Drone, Supply Pod, or Hunting Ground Drone. If you get the chance to find and collect this Contract, you become the Bounty Hunter, while another random Hunter from one of the enemy squads is assigned to be your target. Either side can win: the Bounty Hunter achieves victory if their squad is able to eliminate the victim within the time limit, and the hunted can win the reward by surviving the hunt or eliminating the Bounty Hunter, even if the Bounty Hunter's squadmate remains alive. The quest lasts for a limited timeframe which is defined based on the target's proximity to the Bounty Hunter: the farther the target is, the more time is given to the hunting squad. Both parties and their squadmates are informed that the quest has started, and they can see each other's positions both on the radar and Minimap. If you think that you are safe unless you are chosen for the Bounty Hunter quest, you might well be mistaken! This is tricky — if you kill the Bounty Hunter's target, you become the new target yourself! Hunt your prey before it starts hunting you! To learn all the intricate details about the mechanics of the quest, visit our dedicated [url=https://news.steelhunters.com/guide/bounty_hunt/en/]game guide page[/url]. [h2]Tag Hunt[/h2] If you fancy yourself as a bit of a collector, you'll probably appreciate our other new quest named "Tag Hunt." Each Hunter that participates in battle has a Soldier Tag — a prized item for any military person which can only be lost if the Hunter is killed, and these Soldier Tags are collectible items that occupy a Quest Item slot in the player interface. In this quest, you can pick up the Tags of eliminated enemies and exchange them for valuable loot! One Hunter can pick up to five Tags in each battle. Collected Tags merge to create higher-level Tags that can later be exchanged for rewards of different rarity: one Tag for a Common reward, two for an Uncommon one, and so forth up to five. Tags can be dropped as a stacked object; i.e., if you collect three Tags, you can't drop just one and be left with a LVL 2 Tag. When a Hunter is destroyed, they automatically drop their Tag; it can be collected by other Hunters, and its value will not be lost. A nice detail about this event is that you know for sure what you can get for a certain number of collected Tags, and the reward is claimable, so you can choose the appropriate time in battle to get your deserved prize. Check our new guide for an exhaustive list of claimable rewards and all the intricate details of the quest mechanics [url=https://news.steelhunters.com/guide/bounty_hunt/en/]here[/url]. [h2]Anything Else?[/h2][img]https://sh-publishing-static.gcdn.co/sh-publishing/update/031/recap/R3-41269_Update_Recap_Heli.jpg[/img] In addition to the (literally) game-changing part of this update, we've also delivered something for you to admire on our maps: go and find the new "Destroyed Helicopter" feature on the Crimson Ridge map, and you'll see the remnants of a catastrophe that happened even before humanity left the once-prosperous planet Earth. Who were they, those people running the helicopter? Did they survive? Where did they go? So many questions remain unanswered... These are the kind of details that build up the in-game universe, binding it to the lore and stories of the Hunters who were once humans themselves. That's not all: in v0.31, you'll notice that seven Hunters — Razorside, Razor Old Guard, Weaver, Fenris, Ursus, Heartbreaker, and Taurus — have received new melee attack visual effects, and some of them now boast fresh twitch SFX and animations in the Hangar. The Steel Hunters audio team has contributed to this patch with new sound effects for the main weapons of Ursus and Prophet, as well as a new announcer voiceover (have you spotted it while waiting for battle?). We do hope that you're excited to both test the new in-game events and meet the visual and audio updates we're here to announce. One thing that never changes in Steel Hunters is that we always look forward to reading your feedback! Thank you for being with us, Hunters, and see you in the Arena!