Eyes wide, Pilots! We held an open Q&A on Discord earlier this month where players had the chance to put their burning questions to the War Robots: Frontiers team. Thanks to all the Pilots who participated—it was great chatting with all of you!
If you missed it or want to revisit certain topics, we’ve transcribed the full Q&A for your reading pleasure. This Q&A features contributions from Nausicaä-Jen (Executive Producer), Zukata (Creative Director), Bazrezus (Lead Level Designer), Skoll (Community Manager), and Nimue (Community Manager).
Questions and answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Q: Why didn’t you nerf Scatter?
Zukata: We have indeed received reports from the community regarding Scatter. This is not the only way we assess whether the weapon is balanced, but it is often the first step.
If you are reporting something, it's definitely important for us to check it out. In the case of Scatter, we designed it to shoot through walls, so that’s not a problem. We've also looked into how it’s being used by players and how it’s affecting the metagame. We can see that Scatter is one of the weapons with the lowest damage per second. While it can be annoying, it is not very effective. It’s not a dominant weapon; it's more of a love-hate weapon. Some players really like it, while others don’t. For us, that suggests the weapon is probably balanced. Scatters are basically a weapon to smoke out someone who is well dug in and doesn't want to come out. It's a perfect weapon for that.
Q: Vortex’s rate of fire feels too low. By the time you're able to hit with a volley, the shield has almost fully recharged, and it's also incredibly easy to dodge.
Zukata: Regarding the low rate of fire, that was indeed intentional. However, the fact that Vortexes are easy to dodge wasn’t necessarily planned. I’ll check on that, but I believe it’s more of a bug than a feature. Vortex is a support weapon, and you shouldn’t be charging into enemies with it. It’s designed to be more of a backline, second-line support weapon.
Q: The newer weapons' Energy specs are extremely high. Like the new Tusk and some other weapons with incredibly high Energy costs. It’s a very questionable decision.
Zukata: That's part of the redesign we implemented in a previous update when we adjusted the distribution of Weight and Energy for Robots to be more class-based. We see Tusk as a weapon for the Flanker class, which typically has low Weight and high Energy requirements. This is why a weapon for the Flanker class requires significantly more Energy.
However, we understand that this may disrupt some of the balancing. If you notice another weapon that performs similarly but has lower Energy requirements and is more effective, please let us know. We’ll definitely take a look into Tusk, Noricum, Lighter, and their Energy requirements. Thanks for the feedback.
Q: When the game started, the team mentioned that they would create better, different Robots. However, from what I see right now, you are essentially just reimagining the old ones. The new red Robot in War Robots looks similar to the new one in War Robots: Frontiers, but it's redesigned to fit more of a Frontiers style.
Zukata: That was not intended. That's a coincidence.
Nausicaä-Jen: I want to emphasize that the War Robots and War Robots: Frontiers teams are completely separate and not collaborating directly. Although we are part of the same company and work with the same IP, we need to be careful regarding the lore and ensure that if we reuse any content, we align with the original philosophy of the War Robots game. If we develop something and they develop something on their side, any similarities are purely coincidental.
Q: Would there ever be some kind of ability like a movable dome shield for protecting players? Existing options cannot move with you. So if you place a shield somewhere and the other team just rushes you, you waste the ability, and your teammates are just exposed.
Zukata: Got it. Got it. That's an interesting idea for defender Robots, so I think so. We will definitely look at it, and, right now, we have fewer defender Robots than other classes. We have lots of ideas, but the production of new Robots, as you probably know, will take a while. I cannot promise you that that will arrive soon into the game or maybe even at a later stage. But all the ideas are welcome, and they are all reviewed, and we'll look at them. Theoretically a Robot with a moving umbrella on top, it doesn't sound very out of bounds. It could be the thing. And, it could be implemented, but maybe we have some other more interesting ideas as well.
Nausicaä-Jen: I wanted to clarify that the focus of our ability design is shifting toward cooperative play and tactical team strategies. We recognize the current gaps in how players can work together, including the need for better combinations of abilities. While solo play can be enjoyable, collaborating with others, whether friends or new players met on the battlefield, enhances the experience. We're actively exploring ways to improve this aspect for future updates.
Q: Could the healing ability of Tyr be made to target teammates instead of just placing it on the ground?
Zukata: Oh, tied to the Robot. That's actually a good idea.
Nausicaä-Jen: There are a lot of different ideas that we can try. For instance, we could introduce a targetable shield that creates a protective bubble around a teammate, similar to Zarya’s in Overwatch. We are definitely going to be exploring more tactical team play options to encourage collaboration rather than just solo play.
Q: Will there be performance optimizations for all graphics cards?
Nausicaä-Jen: Optimization remains our top priority. Although we've made progress, working on the console has revealed some performance dips, including FPS drops with certain VFX. We will continue to focus on optimizing the game, as there’s always room for improvement.
Zukata: But we are currently pretty close to the benchmarks that we actually wanna have.
Nausicaä-Jen: Yeah. Our crash rate is drastically dropping, even within the low-end computers of our player base. So we're very confident right now that the problems that are affecting the players are very specific to a very small subset of our audience.
Q: We were told that you did not feel Fenrir needed nerfing. But now the bug has been patched, I believe Fenrir is still too strong even without that bug. I'm curious about why you think Fenrir is in a good spot. Personally, I believe it’s still a bit too strong, but I’d like to hear your thought process on that.
Zukata: Initially, we received reports about Fenrir, specifically regarding one ability with a long cooldown of 30 to 60 seconds. We thought this wasn’t a significant issue since it couldn't be used often in battle. However, during our internal playtesting, we discovered a bug with the timer affecting the ability's performance. We fixed this issue, and we’ll continue to monitor Fenrir's behavior to assess any further necessary changes.
Q: In regards to Orochi's new ability, Echo Burst, what was the reasoning behind only making it do shield damage?
Zukata: In the beginning, it was planned as a Flanker Robot, but we changed that to Tactician. Changing the ability was to make it closer to its Class. The main reason why we changed the ability for Orochi is to make it more suitable for second-line warfare, not to be the sneaky frontliner that goes on the flank. Just to be a second liner.
Q: Why does it only do shield damage? Why could it not do some hull damage as well?
Zukata: Well, we think it would be too powerful, and it would be very close to rainfall that Bulgasari has. Basically, Bulgasari just does damage. And, Orochi is a nice way to strip your enemies of shields and then destroy them. So it's, again, part of the teamplay thing that we were discussing previously.
Q: Regarding Robot roles, while you've worked hard to make Robots fit specific classes, many players don't choose parts solely from one class. For example, if I pick a flanker Robot, not all my parts may come from the flanker class. Even with just one part from a different class, the Robot is considered mixed, even though it’s mostly a flanker. Do you think this is a good approach?
Zukata: We want the class system to be a recommendation, not a strict limitation. Players should have the freedom to create different builds. That's why we don't restrict mixed-class Robots. However, even changing one part can significantly impact a Robot's role. For example, swapping a movement ability for a shield-stripping ability can shift the Robot from a flanker to a second-line role. Since we can't fully classify mixed-class Robots or identify their strengths and weaknesses, we decided to leave them undefined and let players explore on their own.
Nausicaä-Jen: The challenge we're trying to address is how to make the game approachable for new players, especially those coming from games like hero shooters where roles are clearly defined. We don't want to limit the number of combinations too much, as that's what makes our game unique. But at the same time, it can be overwhelming for new players. With so many parts and choices, they may not know which ones suit their play style best without proper guidance.
Zukata:I just want to quickly add that we're definitely not there yet. Even with the class recommendations, it's still not easy for new players to understand. But I’m hopeful that, based on our prototypes, the upcoming UX improvements will make a big difference.
Nausicaä-Jen: Yeah, we're doing several things to help new players better understand the game. For instance, the firing range is a great feature, it lets players try different parts and Robots before making a purchase. This way, they can test play styles that interest them without committing right away. The class system also serves as a guide, helping players anticipate how a part might behave based on its class. However, more advanced players already know the parts and won’t rely on the class system as strictly, since they can mix and match based on their own strategies.
So, it's a constant balance between offering guidance to new players while allowing freedom for experienced ones. We know there's still room for improvement, and it might feel confusing right now, but we're getting the expected feedback from newer players, so it's working in that regard.
Zukata: Yeah, I’ve seen suggestions before about letting players designate the class for their custom builds. It’s a pretty cool idea—like, giving players the freedom to say, "I know exactly what kind of Robot this is." But, of course, it could be misused. If everyone can assign any class to any Robot, the system might lose its meaning, and you’d no longer have a clear sense of what to expect from a build. Still, it’s an interesting concept to explore further.
Q: Would we consider removing class designations from the leaderboard?
Nausicaä-Jen: The way classes are currently displayed in the game isn’t great. Let’s be honest, we’re not happy with how it turned out either. But, as Zukata mentioned, we're planning to overhaul the entire UX/UI for the meta systems. That's a bit of a spoiler, but as part of a future update, the UX/UI will change, and we’re aiming for a much better experience.
That update is going to be a bit tricky since we're changing so many things in the UX/UI. But we're really hoping to address the current pain points, especially with how difficult the Robot creation process is right now. We've got a prototype that we’re really happy with, it works well on both PC and consoles, even with controllers, which is key. We believe this new UX will be much more approachable for everyone. Of course, we're expecting lots of feedback from you all, and we're excited to hear what you think!
Q: Regarding the new UX. The main issue with the current UI in the hangar is that when I click on my Robots, it takes me to the build menu instead of directly to the edit screen. I understand this change was made for new players, but it feels tedious. I have to click on the Robot, then the build, and finally hit edit to see what type of part it is. It would be much easier if I could just click on the Robot and hover over the part to view its stats directly.
Nausicaä-Jen: Yeah. So the UX of the game, you know, since I arrived as the EP of the game, my first feedback to Zukata was like, hey. This is really not working. We need to change that. And we went through a few iterations together since I've been here. And Sure. We're still not satisfied. Right?
Zukata: Absolutely. If you ever ask me what I would do differently in this project, I’d say we shouldn't have moved out of pre-production without a solid prototype for the Robot builder.
Nausicaä-Jen: Exactly. What we’re promising is a new UX, which refers to the flow through the different menus. By "new UI," I mean the look and feel of the interface. Right now, we feel the UI isn't effectively conveying the game's fantasy, so we want to change that. The update will be significant, not in terms of content but in reshaping how the hangar, Robot constructor, inventory, and social environment feel. We're expecting a lot of feedback from you all on these changes.
Q: Would we consider offering an option to remove camera shake from weapons when fired? We've received feedback that the Quantum camera shake is excessive, especially compared to a weapon like the Trebuchet, which you would expect to have a more significant impact on the Robot.
Zukata: Got it noted. I'll pass that on to our Combat Team.
Q: Can players expect to see any additional healing mechanics in the future?
Nausicaä-Jen: I want to set some expectations here. As Zukata mentioned earlier, creating a new Robot takes time, between the modeling and game design, it's a lengthy process.
That said, we're definitely working on exciting new Robots for the future! While our main focus right now is polishing everything. especially the UX and UI, you can expect more unique abilities to roll out after the game’s release.
Q: I feel like the Harpy ability was redesigned because it does way less damage in a longer duration. What's the reason behind that?
Zukata: Mhmm. I definitely see that the visual effects of that ability are almost invisible now. That's a bit of a problem for me as a player. I liked it when it was brighter previously, but I don't know about the damage. Actually, I need to check that. I think that we didn't change the damage.
Player: It just does way less damage than it normally does. I don't know if it's a bug or a feature. I just wanna run it by.
Zukata: Let us check that.
Q: Are there any new Robots coming? What will their design specs be, and what roles will they play on the battlefield?
Zukata: Okay, so first of all, this time, we are genuinely moving to regular Robots that are not inspired by the original War Robots mobile game. We’re designing our own Robots for the first time, and they will be different from what we currently have. However, they will still belong to one of the four existing Classes. I can't share specific details yet because they are still subject to change and are undergoing playtesting. We plan to add more Robots to Classes that are currently underrepresented right now, we have five Robots in two Classes and four in the other two Classes, so you might guess which Classes those new Robots will belong to.
Q: We already have three Titans for three of the different Classes. When is the Assault Titan coming?
Zukata: *Jokingly* That's obvious I guess. Nausicaä can have the easy question.
Nausicaä-Jen: *Jokingly* I don't know. I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know what Class the next Titan is, but I can confirm to you that indeed there is one coming.
Q: Could someone from the team or one of our YouTubers create a tutorial video to guide players on building Robots? I was planning to create one eventually, but I want to invite you to check if you already have something planned so I can align with that.
Skoll: We have content planned to guide new players as we transition to free-to-play. I’d say go ahead with it! Community-created guides offer a different perspective, and while our content will be broad and aimed at a wide audience, you can dive into specifics. If you’re planning to create something, please do!
Nausicaä-Jen: Let me be a very boring producer here. Until today, I focused all available funds on development, prioritizing that above everything else, except for having a Community Team to engage with you on Discord. Now that we're making progress, I'm allowing the Community Team to explore new opportunities, particularly onboarding new players through videos, tutorials, and articles. This won’t happen all at once, as we're a smaller team compared to other companies, so we'll need to prioritize our efforts. But rest assured, the team is actively working on this.
I think our job as developers actually is going to be able to enable our content creators to create this content. So giving them the tools to do that, allowing them to have access to specific assets, for example, those kinds of things. That is where, as developers, we can have an impact.
Zukata: Just a quick note: I've recently seen some community content sharing builds and codes, which aligns with our original plan. We understand that not every player will create their own Robots, so we expect more experienced players to share their builds. That's why we implemented the import code feature.
Nausicaä-Jen: I think this is a really interesting question. When considering how players can create and share builds in the game, we discussed this with Zukata, and while it’s not a priority right now, we are thinking about it for the future.
Is there a way to make this feature more appealing? Instead of just sharing a code with friends to rebuild a Robot, could we have an in-game interface that allows players to sell their designs for credits or something similar? Of course, this would open the door to many possibilities and considerations.
Zukata: a Community Center, yeah, inside the game.
Nausicaä-Jen: That’s definitely something we’re interested in, but for now, our focus for release is to solidify our foundations as a game, making sure we have a great shooter experience. In the future, we’ll explore more social features and additional mechanics like this, diving deeper into the fun aspects.
Q: The Triple Damage Bonus has become a core focus and the primary win condition for Team Deathmatch in high-skill level games. Can we share some thoughts on this and any plans to address the current meta of this mode?
Baz: There’s nothing more permanent in game development than temporary elements. The Triple Damage Bonus started as a placeholder during the playtest, but it proved effective. We referenced classic shooters like Quake to create focal points on the map, contrasting with Beacon Warp, which disperses players into crowds around Beacons.
I don’t want to set any specific solution in stone yet, but we plan to address the feedback. Instead of adding more pickup points, I’d like to nerf the damage bonus from triple to maybe double and see how that affects gameplay. This could encourage players to seek other power-ups as well.
I appreciate your feedback, I saw it in the report a week ago, and I admit I forgot about it for a few days. I'm now writing a task to tackle this issue, so thank you!
Q: I haven't played in about three months, and I'm pretty sure the spider-like bot still hasn't been added?
Zukata: You're absolutely right! We know this is one of the most anticipated additions, and we're actively working on it, but it’s not an easy task.
Nausicaä-Jen: Actually, I think we’ll keep this as a surprise. When it drops into the game, we want you to go bananas! So, we won’t confirm anything until the last moment, but rest assured, we are working on it.
Q: I wanted to address the nerf to the Ares legs. I understand the need to reduce speed since Ares was ridiculously fast, and I agreed it was too much. However, I don't like that both speed and fuel were nerfed. Now, the Loki legs seem better in every way except Weight, which feels unbalanced. I think the speed should be set back to 105, while keeping the fuel as it was before. This would create a more balanced scenario, as the Loki still has greater Energy and durability, making it more mobile overall.
Zukata: So you think we overdid it with the nerf for the Ares chassis? We'll definitely look into that.
Q: I wanted to address Lighters, Noricum, and Tusk. 11 Energy for a light weapon is just too much in my opinion. Also with Rampants being 5 Weight is a bit over the top in my opinion. Tusks, with 4 Weight and 11 Energy, make it impossible to run more than three on one Robot, which is a bit annoying. Lighters have always been a bit too high on the Energy and so is Zeus, in my opinion. So maybe maybe bring those down a bit, and then it should be fine.
Zukata: Thank you. We'll check that, especially about Tusk and Noricum. As for Lighters, I think we already know that, at least now, it's part of the most popular builds, so we already know that it needs some changes.
Q: I think I’m one of the few players using a controller in the game right now, so I have a question about the Aim Assist configuration. What are you guys working on regarding this? I feel like it’s quite strong at the moment. On the intermediate setting, the aiming doesn’t snap directly to the Robot as it does with the strong configuration, but it makes it difficult to switch between the Robot's modules while shooting.
Nausicaä-Jen: We haven't done real full-scale testing on controllers yet.
Zukata: Yeah. You can say that.
Nausicaä-Jen: We'll be facing this for sure.
Zukata: Internally we have people playing on controllers. So, we are looking at that not just as developers, but also as players. However, we noted the feedback that the intermediate setting should allow you to target specific parts of the Robot. That's good feedback, and we'll look into that as well.
Q: The aim assist is also working on my mouse. I don't know if this is intended?
Zukata: No. It should not.
Nausicaä-Jen: Could you take a video? I'd like to see what you're experiencing and understand more from your perspective. It's not supposed to happen, so it is important for us to investigate this further.
Nausicaä-Jen: I also want to mention something about controllers and aim assist. One of our game design pillars is to ensure fair matchmaking. This involves skill levels and rankings, but it also touches on the console versus PC dynamic. I’m a PC player myself, so I understand the implications of aim assist.
Our priority is to minimize waiting times in queues, ensuring players can match and play quickly. The matchmaking system will be designed to pair PC players together first and then console players. However, if we don’t have enough players in those groups, we may start mixing them.
We also want to give players the option to choose whether they want to be matched with console players. If there aren't enough players, we'll force the match, but we aim for a fair system since we know that the console experience can differ significantly.
Zukata: So there is a preference to find players on your platform mostly, but, after some time, it extends to other platforms as well.
Q: Will there be in-game stat profiles that display wins, losses, matches played, total kills, in-game achievements, or places for players to showcase their in-game accomplishments?
Zukata: Yes, player profiles will be implemented, but full-scale profiles will come after the release. We will also have achievements, starting with basic ones and expanding to more over time.
Nausicaä-Jen: I see all of this as a social feature. As I mentioned earlier, our initial goal is to stabilize the game and ensure we have a solid foundation. Once we achieve that, we'll focus on creating features that help players connect, like a clan system and achievements. This ties into the profile system, allowing you to remember and contact fantastic players you encounter in matches. This way, you can invite them to be friends or join a new clan. It's definitely something we'll explore in the future.
Q: Are you planning on adding Jesse and Doc to War Robots: Frontiers (the Robots with dual weapons)?
Zukata: The Gunslingers? Right now, they’re not on the roadmap, but if you'd like, I can add a point to the players' wishlist for including them in the game.
Q: When is the game going to be released to the public? Like, the finished version.
Nausicaä-Jen: It's always challenging to answer because we want to create the best game for our players. Currently, we feel we're not ready from a UX/UI perspective. The combat feels good, and while there are some balancing issues, they are minor compared to the overall combat experience, which we're happy with. However, the UX/UI changes are massive and require significant time, so we can’t promise a release date right now.
We’ve mentioned next year for sure because fixing this is our main priority. There are also a few additions we want to implement, like voice chat and a strong matchmaking system with a league system. We plan to test these in the next big update, and after that, we'll assess our progress. That’s why we can’t commit to a specific release date yet, but we feel we’re quite close. I can confidently say that 2025 is when we expect to release.
Q: Do we have any plans for new maps?
Baz: Yes. We'll definitely have new maps.
Nausicaä-Jen: *Jokingly* No. The answer is no. Oh, too bad.
Baz: Some of you may remember that about a year ago, during one of the Q&A sessions, I teased an upcoming map influenced by Mustafar from Star Wars, where Obi-Wan flexed that he had the high ground. In development, the map was called "High Ground," and it eventually made it into the game as Catalyst.
The funny thing is we actually never, deliberately referenced Star Wars in our department. It was never an intention for any of our maps. But nevertheless, the next map we have in development truly reminded me of the Empire Fleet in some ways.
The shape language of the map and the color we choose. And, actually, the biome of this map is one of those biomes you can expect to see in the Empire Fleet and Star Wars.
Q: Are we planning on making unique maps for Frontiers, or will we recreate any maps from War Robots?
Baz: That's a good question.
Zukata: We always create unique maps. Right, Baz?
Baz: That’s a trick question! I’d like to elaborate on the things we want to do rather than what we’re certain we’ll achieve. Initially, we planned to create every new map as a completely unique environment, with zero assets reused, even other maps in our game. However, we’re exploring ways to produce maps more frequently because we want to emphasize that our game isn’t just about the Robots; it’s also about the game modes and the maps themselves.
Zukata: That’s very true. One of the least attractive aspects of the game right now is having just three maps, and creating new ones takes a considerable amount of time. What Baz is saying is that we’re actively looking for ways to deliver more maps to you faster. That's what I think really is important.
Baz: Regarding the maps from the War Robots, I think it's safe to say that we did explore them a few years ago during pre-production, but that’s no longer the case. We looked into the maps from the mobile game, and I personally tried some blockouts based on the moon map. It was fun, but it didn’t align with the direction we wanted to take.
Currently, we're not planning to rework any maps from the mobile game. However, I’d like to include some obvious references to iconic shapes and landmarks from the old game. We need to find the right way to do this, especially considering the significant time gap between the two games, it's not the same timeline at all.
Nausicaä-Jen: I was about to mention this. From a narrative perspective, it’s challenging because we’re set a few hundred years in the future, and we’re not on Earth anymore, we’re in space. This makes it difficult to justify re-exploring maps from the past.
That said, it doesn’t mean we can’t do it; we just need to find a narrative workaround to make it work. We’d also need to collaborate with the War Robots team to see how we can integrate ourselves into their timeline. That’s definitely a topic worth discussing.
Look out for more opportunities to chat with the War Robots: Frontiers team in the near future on Discord!
