Evolve Update 5.0 Released, Introduces Jack Along With Numerous Tweaks

Evolve fans will be glad to know that an Evolve update (5.0) has been rolled out and includes a new free map, and a new Hunter as well.

Available to be bought individually or as part of the Evolve Hunting Season 2 pass, Jack is a new Trapper that joins new Assault class Lennox, as part of the second Season Pass for Evolve.

Jack, who refers to himself as The Jackal, joins the Evolve lineup with an all-new set of abilities and weapons. Jack dual-wields pistols, tracks and traps the Monster with a hacked Survey Satellite that locates enemies, and uses his Repulsor gloves to stop Monsters in their tracks.

A new map called the Murder Pits is also available for free, and features a giant pit-fighting stadium exclusive for Arena mode. Each area of the map presents a unique challenge to the player, which you can read about below.

• ‘Jail’ houses dangerous wildlife, freed by doors that open randomly;
• ‘Outhouse’ is a straightforward arena encouraging players to control the high ground;
• ‘Quarry’ carves out a tall, narrow environment stacked with rooms;
• ‘Saloon’ features a series of rooms surrounding a deadly Tyrant pool;
• ‘Laughter House’ contains two chambers separated by a wall that can only be opened by the Monster player.

Also of note, Turtle Rock Studios is introducing Hunt 2.0 to the game. Hunt 2.0 will provide “significant improvements” to the Hunt mode with improved matchmaking, revamped leaderboards and more. With Hunt 2.0, players can choose to play exclusively as a Hunter or Monster, and they will never join a match already in progress.

 Now that the new stuff is out of the way, you can check out the full Evolve update notes below.

All Platforms:

Features

• New Hunter Jack
• New Arena Mode Map Murder Pits
• Improved skill based matchmaking based on ranking
• New medals and badges
• Support for simplified Chinese text

Multiplayer

• General
  • Fixed an issue where a party of four will connect to another player but then quickly get disconnected from that player and enter the hosting state when searching with a party
  • Fix for when a player loses functionality after accepting an invite from the host who is exiting the lobby
  • Fixed an issue where the player fell out of the world when joining a game late
  • Fix for players being stuck in a dead lobby indefinitely if a player hot joins into a party of 4 that is in matchmaking

• • PS4

    • Two players with strict NATs should now be able to matchmake

  General

  • Audio/VO
    • Fixed an issue where drop ship conversations would play their lines out of order for some players
    • Fix for an issue where guns in third person would play the distance version of their sound even when at close range
    • Fix for monsters sometimes hearing the hunter’s dropship conversation

  • Crashes

    • Fix for rare crash relating to monster animations
    • Fixed a rare crash when a player cancelled their search
    • Fixed a crash relating to when Sunny bot used her jetpack booster
    • Fixed a rare crash for the client after leaving the match during gameplay and matchmaking back into the same game as Sunny
    • Fix for a rare crash for clients who join and in progress match as Slim
    • Fix for rare crash for when a 6th player attempts to join a lobby after the role for Observer has been selected by another player
    • Fix for players encountering an indefinite black screen or crash after signing out on the custom arena loading screen then attempting to start a solo match
    • Improvements to pre-round asset loading and memory usage, which address several graphic corrupts and rare crashes
    • Fixed a rare crash when exiting multiplayer

  • • UI

      • Fixed an issue where the perk selection menu and all HUD elements will disappear when the user attempts to evolve to Stage 2 as the Monster if the player first played an Arena mode match and then went into a different mode
      • Solo Mode – fix for Markov’s Arc Mines and Assault Rifle text/graphics are mismatched in the Player Progression screen Post Round.
      • Items in the main menu newsfeed should now appear faster
  • • Graphical
      • Monsters have their glow back on character selection screen
      • Fix for certain in game decals not showing up correctly (like puddles)
      • Improvements to some plants’ LOD

  • • Gameplay

      • Disabled hot swapping when round ends
      • Potential fix for bodies falling through the ground and out of the world
      • XBox One: fixed an issue where the game failed to pause when pressing the Xbox Home button
      • Jetpack improvements
        • New code ensures consistent dodge distances and maximum dodge speeds.
        • Jetpacks can now initiate a slow climb when completely out of fuel.
        • Out of fuel slow climbs are more responsive when hitting the side of an obstacle while airborne.
        • fixed a bug that was causing the jetpack to turn off after dodging sometimes which allowed the jetpack dodge velocity to carry on long after it should have

  • Arena Mode

    • Added a round time limit option in the extras menu for Arena mode
    • Fix an issue where the title would hitch when transitioning to the post round screen of an Arena match where the battle has finished via a draw.

    Observer Mode

    • Fixed an issue where players were unable to view idle player’s gamercards when being an observer and opening the Player Options
    • Resized, moved and made the mini-map more transparent to make it less obtrusive
    • Now displays UI for critical gameplay moments such as
      • When the monster is trapped in a mobile arena
      • When the monster escapes a mobile arena
      • Icons next to hunters when they’re pounced or grappled
      • A message indicating when the hunters have spotted the monster for the first time

    • Louder SFX for when the monster’s armor is destroyed

    • Monster abilities and Pre-Round Perks can now be toggled on/off using LT/RT on controller or “A”/“S” keys on keyboard

    • A Minimal HUD UI has been added, can be toggled through the options

    • Improved the Survival Odds algorithm to be more accurate. Also now takes other in game factors into account, such as perks and the health of the relay if in Hunt

    • Fixed issue where the cursor highlighting the different players will only move down the list, even when the left thumbstick is tapped up

    • Fix for the Observer’s camera changing to a different character when the Host hotswaps to another Hunter during gameplay globally

    • Timer for current round time added, displays every 20 seconds where the survival odds are shown

    Maps

    • Fixes for exploitable areas that hunters could access and/or drop deployable objects that hunters could not reach.
      • Armory
      • Aviary
      • Broken Hill Foundry
      • Broken Hill Mines
      • Distillery
      • Refueling Tower
      • Weather Control
      • Wraith Trap

    • Adjustments to Distillery to stop the Kraken from becoming stuck in the mountain geo when in combat with the Crowbill Sloth.

    Hunters (all)

    • Fixes to prevent hunters cancelling tumbles and knockbacks by jumping
    • Fixes for hunters playing the get up animation twice when being revived through Caira’s healing grenades
    • Bots
      • Improvements to hunters bots in Defend mode.

    Markov

    • Lightning Gun
      • Delay before recharge when fully running out of ammo decreased to 1 second (was 3)
      • Beam acquire lock angle increased to 18 degrees (was 15)
      • Beam maintain lock angle increased to 28 degrees (was 25)

    Torvald

    • Bots
      • Fixes to Torvald bot not using his mortar cannon without hotswapping first

    • Shrapnel Grenades

      • Weak Spot duration increased to 15 seconds (was 10)

    • Mortar Cannon

      • Increased projectile gravity to 13 (was 10)

    Lennox

    • Fixed issue where Plasma Lance combo did not reset when taking damage after hotswaping to Lennox
    • Corrected post round performance recap text
    • Fix for the icon shown in the event log for the “Lennox landed 4x combo,” it was previously showing a red circle instead of the plasma lance
    • Fix for Lennox’s autocannon sounding differently between first and third person
    • • Autocannon now displays the correct mastery
      • Bots
        • Fixed an issue where Thunder Strike leap would stop halfway through prematurely hit the ground during smash

      • Thunder Strike

        • Recharge time increased to 18 seconds (was 15)

      • Autocannon

        • Reload time increased to 4 seconds (was 3)

      Val

      • Fix for an issue where players would have the gameplay area turn black when searching into a match in progress as Val in the Fusion Plant
      • Medgun
        • Delay before recharge when fully running out of ammo decreased to 1 second (was 3)

      Slim

      • Fix for Slim’s heal burst reticle animation staying on screen the player switches while it’s up
      • Fix for Slim’s Spore Cloud Expert mastery being gained for other players who are not using Slim
      • Fix for exploit that caused his heal burst cooldown to be much shorter than intended
      • Bots
        • Updates to how bot hunters revive downed hunters when Slim has his healing drone out. AI hunters now stop pathing to revive an incapped hunter if the incapped has a healing drone. If the AI hunter is already reviving the incapped when the incapped gets a healing drone on them they will continue reviving the incapped because it will get them up sooner than the drone would be able to.
        • Slim bot will no longer send out his healing drone when everyone has full health and the drone isn’t useful

      • Spore Cloud Launcher

        • Spore duration reduced to 5 seconds (was 10)

      Griffin

      • Bots
        • Bot Griffin will now use his harpoon gun in Arena mode

      • Harpoon Gun

        • Reload time increased to 3.5 seconds (was 2.75)

      Maggie

      • Harpoon Traps
        • Reload time increased to 3.25 seconds (was 2.5)

      Crow

      • Bots
        • Improvements to Crow’s stasis gun uses so he will use it in more situations

      Hank

      • Bots
        • Hank will no longer use his Orbital Barrage unless he can see his target

      • Shield Projector

        • Delay before recharge when not running fully out of ammo increased to 1.5 seconds (was 1)
        • Delay before recharge when fully running out of ammo decreased to 1.5 seconds (was 2)
        • Damage absorbed per ammo reduced to 6.75 (was 8)

  • BUCKET

    • Guided Missile Launcher
      • Clip size increased to 5 missiles (was 4)
      • Fire rate increased to 80 rounds per minute (was 60)
      • Missile turn speed increased to 8 (was 5)
      • Missile speed increased to 35 meters per second (was 30)
      • Reload duration reduced to 2.8 seconds (was 4.18)

    • Sentry Guns

      • Toss distance increased to 10 meters (was 8)
      • Engage range increased to 25 meters (was 20)
      • Disengage range increased to 30 meters (was 25)
      • Horizontal bullet spread decreased to 15 (was 20)
      • Vertical bullet spread decreased to 16 (was 20)
      • Bullet damage reduced to 18 (was 20)

    • UAV

      • UAV launch time reduced to 1 second (was 1.5)
      • UAV is easier to control

    CABOT

    • Damage Amplifier
      • Capacity reduced to amp 700 damage (was 1000)
      • Delay before recharge when not running fully out of ammo increased to 1.5 seconds (was 1)
      • Delay before recharge when fully running out of ammo decreased to 1.5 seconds (was 3)

    Sunny

    • Bots
      • Sunny bot will no longer shoot other Hunters with Grenade Launcher after engaging the Wraith’s Decoy in combat
      • Improvements to Sunny bot’s prioritization using her jetpack booster during Arena mode to make it more useful
      • Adjustments to Sunny bot’s use jet back booster so that she will not target invisible hunters
      • Fix for Sunny bot using her jetpack too frequently and rarely attacking the monster

    • Jetpack Booster

      • Range increased to 45 meters (was 40)

    • Shield Drone

      • Range increased to 45 meters (was 40)

    • Mininuke Grenade Launcher

      • Projectile speed increased to 80 meters per second (was 40)
      • Removed explosion delay (was 0.1 seconds)
      • Reduced damage to 190 (was 200)
      • Reduced fire offset angle to 1 degree (was 3)

    Monsters (all)

    • General
      • Fixed a bug where monsters could move very quickly after melee combat

  • CARRION BIRDS ADJUSTMENTS

    • The first 2 meals are always free (was 1)
    • After spawning birds, there is a 20 second cooldown before spawn chance starts to increase (was 2)
    • Spawn chance will hit 100% in 7 meals (was 8)

    • Damage pass

      • Damage values have been adjusted across all Abilities. Level 1’s are more powerful and level 3’s have been reduced in power.

    • Variable Armor Pass

      • Armor values now vary per Monster stage.
        • Stage 1 Armor values typically reduced by 1000.
        • Stage 2 Armor values typically remain the same.
        • Stage 3 Armor values typically increased by 1000.

    • Unified Melee Damage Pass

      • All monsters get previous Stage 2 melee damage values for all Stages.

    • Bots

      • Improvements to monster bots behavior in Defend mode.
      • Fix for rare pathing issue where monsters and minions would stand in place

    Minions

    • Bots
      • Improvements to minion bots interactions with wildlife

    Goliath

    • Fixed issue where Goliath is able to jump farther than normal and will sometimes hang in the air for a long time
    • Fixed an issue where Stage 2 Goliath appeared in the full damage state when undamaged when the Carnivore skin was equipped
    • Fix an issue where Goliath’s leap smash would get stuck in terrain causing it to not deal any damage
    • Traversal Stamina recharge outside of combat takes three seconds longer
    • Traversal Stamina recharge time in combat takes two seconds longer

    Kraken

    • Fix for Kraken being able to traverse greater distances by colliding into geometry when attempting to jump while falling
    • Fix for Kraken sometimes using two traversal energy when using a single traversal
    • Reduced the angle at which Kraken could break harpoons in the air from 120 degree to 90 degrees
    • Traversal Stamina recharge time outside of combat now recharges while in the air
    • Traversal Stamina recharge time in combat takes two seconds longer
    • Kraken gravity outside of combat reduced to 2 seconds (was 4)

    Wraith

    • Fix for abduct dealing two instances of damage at certain angles
    • Fix an issue where Wraith could use a traversal while targeting a hunter and have it double the teleport distance

    Behemoth

    • Fix for Lvl1 and Lvl 2 Lava bomb fire pools dealing Lvl 3 damage
    • Fix for Behemoth using Rockwall to push himself out of a Mobile Arena during gameplay
    • Fix for players sometimes influencing the direction of a Rocky Tongue grab with their own velocity
    • Roll adjustments
      • Increased damage caused by the Roll to 190 (was 25, 50, 75)
      • Increased knockdown magnitude to 18 (was 12)

    Wildlife

    • Fixed rare issue where Megamouth would remain in idle state after being shot
    • Fix for wildlife failing to spawn correctly, creating a situation in which there is not enough food for the monster to fully armor up or reach stage 3

    Perks

    • Increased Capacity adjustments (Hunter)
      • Two Star reduced to 32% (was 35%)
      • Three Star reduced to 40% (was 50%)

    ● STAMINA PERK (MONSTER)

    • One star decreased to 10% (was 20)
    • Two star decreased to 20% (was 30)
    • Three star decreased to 30% (was 40)

    BUFFS

    ● ARMADON BULL

    • (M&H) Damage Reduction bonus decreased to 15% (was 25)

    ● BASKING CEPHALADON

    • (M) Feed Speed bonus reduced to 80% (was 100)

    ● CANYON STRIDER

    • (M&H) Movement Speed bonus reduced to 30% (was 35)

    ● CROWBILL SLOTH

    • (M&H) Damage Increase bonus reduced to 15% (was 25)

    ● MAMMOTH BIRD

    • (M) Cooldown bonus decreased to 30% (was 35)
    • (H) Reload and Equip bonus decreased to 40% (was 50)

    ● MARSH STRIDER

    • (M&H) Movement Speed bonus reduced to 30% (was 35)

    ● MEGAMOUTH

    • (H) Class Special recharge bonus reduced to 30% (was 35)

    ● NOMAD

    • (M) Traversal Recharge bonus reduced to 40% (was 50)
    • (H) Jetpack Recharge bonus reduced to 100% (was 150)

    ● OBSIDIAN GRUB

    • (H) Capacity Increase boost reduced to 60% (was 75)

    ● STEAMADON

    • (M&H) Slow duration reduced to 3 seconds (was 4)

    ● VENOMHOUND

    • (M&H) Poison damage per second reduced to 20 (was 30)

    • Hunters (all)

      • Resurrecting a hunter is no longer interrupted by healing (such as Caira’s healing grenades or the health regen perk)

      Abe

      • Tracking dart duration is now 38 seconds (was 45)

      Parnell

      • Super Soldier – Fixed compounding damage multipliers affecting life loss

      Monsters (all)

      • General
        • Monster stage up delay time now 9 seconds (was 11)

      Wraith

      • Increased Max Armor to 3000 at stage 1(was 2500)
      • Health Increased
        • Stage 1 Health now 6500 (was 6000)
        • Stage 2 Health now 10,000 (was 9500)
        • Stage 3 Health to 13,500 (was 13,000)

      • Out of combat traversal recharge time now 23 seconds (was 27)

      Behemoth

      • Reduced minimum energy to start to 20% (was 30)
      • Reduced harpoon drag power on the roll to 20% (was 25)

      Perks

      • Fixed Quick Reload perks to work correctly with Mobile Arena

Whew! That’s a lot of fiddling around and changes, no? 

Are you still playing Evolve? How does the new Hunters feel in-game?

[Source: Evolve]