After months of teasing, the major 0.2 update toGray Zone Warfareis here.
The Night Ops update comes as an early Christmas present for players, as it addresses most of the gripes identified during the premature early access release back in May.
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Czech indie developer MADFINGER has put in the work of gathering community feedback and working with former special forces members and equipment experts tofine-tune the game.
Breaking Down The Night Ops Update
It would not be unfair to say thatthis is the update that takesGray Zone Warfarefrom a promising tech demo to a fully-fledged open-world experience.
Update 0.2 adds the day-night cycle to the island of Lamang. Unlike fellow tactical heavy hitterEscape From Tarkov,Gray Zone Warfarehas no ‘timer’, with players dropping in and out of a persistent world.
If you watchedBlack Hawk Down(and considering you are reading this article, odds are you did, more than once), you are familiar with what can happen whena supposedly quick missiontakes longer than expected.
Day-Night Cycle
A full day in the game lasts three real-life hours and is split into two hours of daylight, and one of darkness.
New, Breakable Equipment
To make the night a little less spooky, players have access to a wide range oftactical gadgets, including four models of night vision goggles, infrared pointers, and flashlights.
These gadgets blend well with the new option of canted aiming, perfect for close combat even in the daytime.
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On top of that, update 0.2 adds the HK MP5 submachine gun, the classic Colt M1911 pistol, the AKS-74U carbine, anda whole new family of modern Kalashnikov rifles(AK-12, AK-15, AK-19, and AK-308).
Almost every item your operator can use has adurability statusnow, so ensure youtake good care of your gear if you want to board that helicopter out alive.
Storyline Updates
WhileGray Zone Warfareis not trying to compete withThe Last Of Usfor narrative design, it still has an overarching story that has been interesting to unfurl.
This patch has refined things by adding new tasks, and improving the contextualization of others so that they make sense.
Failing a task now has persistent consequences, instead of allowing you to roll back and restart without a care in the world.
Tactical Philanthropy
To help new players (or experienced ones having a particularly rotten streak), the faction base camps now have a donation box where you can pass the kindness on to your fellow contractors.
If you die and have less than $1,000 in your wallet, trader Handshake gives you a care package so you can go out again. This has a 24-hour cooldown so try not to die too much.
Storage Improvements
Inventory management is less of a headache now, with the ability to earn additional storage by playing, and new class-specific cases that help in sorting and storing items.
Besides the VoIP function, players now have the option to communicate silently through gestures (implemented as standardized emotes), a faction-side chat, and faction members can share waypoints with others on the tactical map.
To help mitigate friendly fire, operators now have a faction patch on their sleeves. Good luck telling that apart through NVGs from 100 meters away though.
Troll Hunting
Purposeful friendly fire will hopefully decrease with a new report system and an ‘aggressor’ tag where you cannot loot a friendly you shot.
The Little Things
If a squad mate is in a coma but you do not have the gear to save them,you can now loot their body while leaving them to die like the good friend you are.
As for the enemies, you will be able to check their health status and cause of death once inspecting a body, so you can judge your marksmanship.
Active headsets now have an on/off setting, which lets you use them as ear muffs for the deafening Little Bird ride.
The minimap now has different zoom settings, making it more useful over different distances.
The update also covered scores of bug fixes, which you canread in more depth here.
