The hype train continues as we roll into Patch 1.4.0 station before continuing on to Steeltown. Is that our final stop? No, it wont be, but its a nice place and we recommend getting out and stretching your legs. In addition to the Crafting system weve already outlined coming in this next (free) update, we have some oft-requested features to make managing your animal companion coterie a real cinch.

Animal Companion Kennel

Chief among the new animal companion-focused changes hitting in Patch 1.4.0 is the Animal Companion Kennel. This is a safe, warm, and nurturing environment that all of your furry and spiky friends can hang out when youre not using them to murder clown gangs or robots. Right now, animal companions dont hang around if you dismiss them, but with the Kennel theyll have a home they automatically return to. That lets you build up a cadre of canines and cats, and pick and choose as you need or just collect em all!
Not only do your furry friends return to the Kennel when you dismiss them, but if their owner leaves the squad (or permanently dies in battle) their animal companion will automatically return to the Kennel next time you zone to a different level. Of course, thats assuming they survive the combat themselves.
If youre not particularly fond of a companion, you can release them back into the wild from the Kennel too, but we honestly dont know why youd ever do that. They need you and its cold out there. One last note, any animal companions that have run away before this update wont automagically reappear in the Kenneltheyll have to be tamed again, where possible.

Companion Type Limit Gone!

Whats with those pesky companion type limits, anyway? One wolf, one pig ONE cat!? You need at least three cats. Rules be damned, were opening the floodgates of fur and horns! With Patch 1.4.0, youll be able to bring along whatever animal companions you damn well please.

Animal Portrait & UI Improvements

Were also upgrading our character portrait system to show what pet a specific Ranger has with them, and a health bar so you can keep tabs on their condition. This should greatly help in keeping track during combat.
You can also mouse over the pet icon to get a tooltip of current stats.

Polly Want a Crack-their Skulls Open?

Rounding out the list of animal-related changes, we let the shackles off the writing team (who we definitely dont really keep shackled so please dont look into it) and had them seriously upgrade the smack-talk of our favorite foulmouthed featherbrain. Polly now has a brand-new Demoralize ability in combat, replete with many, many blasphemy-laden insults hell lob your enemies way. Its as fun as it soundsheres just a taste of the full repertoire. Warning: Not Safe for well pretty much anyone, anywhere. To view the Polly video, you'll need to watch it over on our website: https://www.inxile-entertainment.com/post/patch-1-4-0-animal-companion-kennel

Follower Fixes

Last, but not least, weve put the kibosh on some annoying bugs that would sometimes cause non-animal followers (Provost, Party Pal, etc.) to vanish during gameplay. They can still get their brains splattered or bolts smashed if youre not careful, but there should be less chance of them getting lost during your post-apocalyptic adventure. Oh, and incase it wasnt clear, non-animal companions are not animals and arent stored in the kennel. We hope youre excited for Patch 1.4.0 as we close in on its release in the next couple weeks. If you havent yet, be sure to check out the Crafting article weve published, and keep an eye out for more Patch 1.4.0 and The Battle of Steeltown feature previews as we roll toward launch.

[ 2021-04-23 14:42:51 CET ] [ Original post ]