The latest Nova Swarm update is now live with two new encounters, gameplay changes, balance improvements, and several important fixes. Player feedback played a major role in shaping many of these changes.
The Nova Swarm update introduces Convoy Breakout and Rival Strike. It also changes bosses, Space Snakes, combat effects, Tactical Drafts, achievements, leaderboards, Steam Cloud behavior, and several survival mechanics.
Nova Swarm Update Adds Two New Encounters
The first new encounter is Convoy Breakout. Players must break two locks to free a pair of fighters trapped inside the convoy.
Once released, both fighters temporarily join the player’s wing. They then provide extra firepower during a short assault.
The second encounter is Rival Strike. Rival ships feature breakable weapons and an exposed core that players can target during combat.
Defeating a rival triggers a special defeat sequence. The destroyed rival also releases a bonus score drone.
Its value increases during later sectors. Therefore, skilled players have another opportunity to increase their scores during longer runs.
Bosses and Space Snakes Have Changed
The Nova Swarm update also makes several changes to bosses and Space Snakes.
During Onslaught, the arrival of a boss will now preserve the player’s held focus. From sector 51 onward, bosses can also come from a wider roster.
Paired boss warnings should now remain properly aligned with their positions.
Space Snakes will appear less routinely. Damage to individual sections should also be easier to identify.
In addition, departing hatchlings will no longer delay progression into the next sector.
Nova Swarm Combat Is Now Clearer
Combat clarity received plenty of attention in this update.
Flame attacks and tractor fields now have clearer forms. The graze break flash has also been reduced, making it less distracting during intense fights.
Pierce and Rift Shard projectiles should be easier to identify. Wing hit sounds are quieter as well.
Urgent voice warnings are also less likely to get interrupted by other dialogue.
However, the game has not simply become easier. Enemy pressure has increased through several smaller adjustments across Nova Swarm.
Tactical Drafts and Survival Get Improvements
Tactical Drafts should now provide players with more useful and varied choices.
Extra Shot now grants complete shot counts. Drone and Chain effects should also work together correctly.
Impact Foam once again protects players after respawning. Meanwhile, Ghost remains active for longer than before.
Moving bonus formations and more varied Mystery spacing should add extra variety between battles.
The Nova Swarm update also makes late-sector life rules more consistent.
Nova Swarm Leaderboards and Achievements Get Fixes
Several leaderboard and achievement problems have been addressed.
The Personal Best medal will now appear only after players achieve an actual new personal record.
Queued Onslaught scores are displayed as pending. Local results are also clearly identified as local.
Sector leaderboard details should now display the correct range.
Serpent Duel will check the number of lives lost when the Space Snake is defeated.
The achievement collection has also been improved. Rank milestones are separated more clearly, while qualifying hulls and custom loadout progress should be easier to understand.
Steam Cloud and Game Guidance Improved
The Nova Swarm update includes several smaller quality-of-life improvements.
Partial Steam Cloud updates will now preserve existing settings. This should prevent existing options from being unnecessarily replaced.
The Career Signal will also stop flashing after players have read it.
Additionally, the How to Play section and Codex now explain the two new encounters. These explanations are available in the game’s supported interface languages.
More Nova Swarm Fixes Are Coming
The developers are already investigating several remaining problems.
These include reports of repeated achievement rows and settings changing unexpectedly. The team is also investigating a Space Snake that can apparently be defeated unusually quickly while Ghost is active.
Another issue involves Small Wings, Long Shadows.
The current requirement counts the first five ships in the roster. Quasar Fan is initially unlocked, but it does not count as one of those five ships.
The developers hope to improve the achievement wording in the next build. Additional fixes will also arrive for problems the team can reproduce.
Ships and Weapons Could Change Further
More gameplay experiments are already underway following the latest Nova Swarm update.
The team is testing more distinct behavior for ships and weapons. Wide and slower hulls are receiving particular attention.
More interesting Tactical Draft choices are being tested too.
However, the developers want to compare how these changes affect survival and scoring before adding them to the game.
More enemy variety remains under consideration. An optional tougher challenge is another idea being explored for the future.
Players are encouraged to continue sending feedback, reports, and gameplay clips as development continues.
The snakes, understandably, declined to comment.
