In 0.19.0 version, we are launching the seventh season of the Ranked Battles called New Strategy. For this event, we have changed the rules of Hacking based on the player feedback, and added something new.

We have fixed the issues that were bothering players the most:

Now, at the beginning of a round, the team respawn areas will be separated by the infiltration areas. At the beginning of a round, these areas are isolated from the rest of the map. Players will have 20 seconds to replenish ammo, use reserves and make tactical decisions before they can leave the area.

In an infiltration area, players have the Immortality effect; they can also move, shoot, and use Special Gear and abilities.

The new feature will be especially useful for operators with low movement speed — they will be able to replenish their ammo and get to the edge of an infiltration area. This will allow them to get to enter combat faster and to use fewer stimulants.

In the old version of Hacking mode, the defending team could use the "waiting out" tactic near the servers. It gave the defending team an unfair advantage — the attacking team had to install the hacking device directly onto the server that was protected by the enemy. To correct this issue, we have introduced installation areas.

The installation areas are areas around the servers, within which the hacking device can be installed. When the hacking device is being activated, both teams will be able to see the installation area indicator filling up. After activation, the indicator applies to the hacker themselves.

The installation areas will give more freedom of choice to the attacking team. Given that it has become easier to install the hacking device, we have increased the installation time to 6 seconds.

Also, we have changed the appearance of the hacking device, as well as its installation animation.

We have limited the number of rounds needed for victory to 4, and the maximum number of rounds to 7 with side switching taking place every 3 rounds. These changes give the players more opportunities to use reserves and Special Gear. It also makes the game mode more dynamic. The changes will also prevent a situation wherein one team plays 6 attacking rounds and only 3 defending ones.

Just like in the previous version of Hacking mode, you can earn 1350 XP for a victory. The number of rounds has been decreased, but the amount of XP you earn for every round has increased.