Hell Let Loose — Update 18 | Changelog | Stalingrad Refresh & Armor Rework release notes

Hello Everyone,

Update 18 is almost here, and will deploy across all platforms tomorrow on Tuesday 7 October.

With this update, we’ve returned to one of our favourite legacy maps, Stalingrad, giving it a major refresh. We’ve also rolled out the first phase of our highly anticipated armor rework, alongside several quality-of-life improvements and important bug fixes.

Update 18 marks the first of two major updates planned before the end of 2025, with Update 19 arriving in November. We can’t wait to hear your feedback and see you back on the battlefield of Stalingrad.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support.

Stalingrad Refresh

Stalingrad - Map Refresh

After reviewing the map and filtering through player reports and community posts across various platforms, the most contentious problems with the map were identified. The main goal was to fix performance, making the map accessible to people on various platforms.

General improvements include:

Adjusted the player spawners balancing the HQs
Adjusted the scale and placement of the capture point’s hard caps
General map-wide cover pass where needed (making sure to retain the legacy map’s openness)
General map-wide VFX pass
General terrain adjustments
General destruction pass
Updated roads meshes
Updated the consistency of buildable behaviour when trying to place objects inside buildings
Addressed floating assets
Added five new lighting scenarios
Skirmish set up

The intention behind Stalingrad’s map refresh was to balance and enhance gameplay, expanding on the legacy map’s existing theme and retaining what makes Stalingrad so iconic.

Mamayev Approach

Alternative routes across embankments (new player paths)
Additional road-side cover to block long lines of sight (helps with defending and approaching)
Added more destroyed buildings in empty lots

Nail Factory

Opened up various fences and brick walls to provide alternative player routes
Reviewed and addressed vehicle routes throughout the factory, unblocking previously blocked paths
Added trench bridges to provide alternative player routes
General cover pass around the factory and throughout the trenches
Added more destruction to the factory building as a whole to aid theme
Added a trench network and cover to combat the dominance of the enterable 3 storey building with roof top access

City Overlook

Opened up various fences to provide alternative player routes
Additional cover along the roads to block long lines of sight
Added more destroyed buildings to aid the theme and provide cover
Added a trench network to the outskirts (helps with defending and approaching)

Dolgiy Ravine

Added a trench network to the south east of the point to aid defenders of the point
Added cover within the ravine that players can dip in and out of
Added additional destroyed buildings with the existing buildings to add cover and provide alternative player routes

Yellow House

Added destroyed vehicles to the central open field - creating cover and alternate player paths (while creating more destruction and adding to the maps overall demolished theme)
Additional road-side cover to block long lines of sight (helps with defending and approaching)
Added trench networks to provide cover from the wide open areas
Added a new point of interest building to the outskirts creating a distinctive landmark that is based on real-world reference

Komsomol HQ

Added cover along side the road to address long lines of sight
Added additional destroyed buildings with the existing buildings to add cover and provide alternative player routes
Added cover and a trench networks on the approach to the central two storey building to combat the dominance of it’s position

Railway Crossing

Added new carriages, adding more destroyed variants, scattering some in disarray to emphasise the maps theme
Added a new variation of the carriages - flat carriages that provide different levels of cover via ammunition crates
Added new trench networks to provide more verticality to the area
Blocked long lines of sight along the train tracks

Carriage Depot

Reworked the layout of the carriages creating a variety of player routes and also providing covered sightlines within the carriages to combat the high ridge towards the west
Added rubble near the bottom of some carriages to provide players full cover in some areas to combat the dominant position to the west
Added more destruction to aid the map's theme
Extended the carriage theme towards both capture points to the North and South making the rails feel cohesive
Opened up various brick walls to provide alternative player routes
Added rubble within the trench to provide cover whilst within them

Train Station

Added a destroyed non-enterable train station building to provide cover to the open area - this also creates landmark, enhances the capture point’s theme and adds visual interest to the area
Extended the existing trench network bringing it around defending the train station building
Added additional destroyed buildings to the area
Opened up various brick walls to provide alternative player routes
Continued the theme and added new carriages, adding more destroyed variants
Blocked long lines of sight that looked into the capture point to the north
Added trench bridges to provide alternative infantry and vehicle routes

House of the Workers

Added a variety of trench networks to combat the dominant position within the large enterable building at the centre of the point - this also provides more verticality to the open area
Addressed long lines of sight to aid approaching and defending the capture point
Added cover along side the road to address long lines of sight
Opened up various brick walls to provide alternative player routes
Added more destroyed buildings to aid the theme and provide cover

Pavlov’s House

Added more enterable buildings to allow for cross fire with the two existing Pavlov buildings and combat the two large enterable apartment blocks to the east
Replaced the Pavlov’s House building with a similar apartment block asset to balance gameplay - this new building provides sightlines that are less dominant and the new building also complements the gameplay strategies with the new surrounding buildings
Added large trench networks throughout the open courtyard that interlink with many buildings providing an alternative strategy to fight the large enterable buildings - this also provides more player routes and allows for cover from the courtyard

The Brewery

Added an enterable building to the capture point to provide cover and assist with capture point’s theme
Added cover utilising more thematic assets added to emphasis the capture point’s original theme
Added new trench networks to help with the capture point's defense and also provide more verticality to the area
Opened up and added various brick walls to provide alternative cover and player routes

L-Shaped House

Added cover along side various roads throughout the capture point to block extremely long lines of sight

Grudinin’s Mill

Added cover scattered along side the roads to address long lines of sight and provide the Soviet side a safer route to approach the capture point from their HQ
Added a trench network to the area to add alternate covered routes from various longer lines of sight

Volga Banks

Added more buildings to the area to provide cover and
Added various trench networks to allow for different strategic approaches
Reviewed and adjusted barbed wire in the central area to create a vehicle route
Opened up brick walls to provide alternative cover and player routes

Skirmish Mode

Two Skirmish mode scenarios have been created for Stalingrad. In this mode, players must fight over the ‘Carriage Depot’ capture point. Skirmish mode comes with the following lighting scenarios:

Stalingrad - Skirmish - Dusk Variant

Stalingrad - Skirmish - Overcast Variant

Lighting updates

Five new lighting updates have been added with the night setting updated. Volumetric fog has been enabled throughout with the addition of atmospheric pockets of fog throughout the map.

Day - Overcast

Morning

Morning - Overcast

Dusk

Night

Armor Rework

This rework marks the beginning of a longer process, not only for tanks but for every role affected by armor.

The new systems and structures introduced below provide greater flexibility to adjust, balance and iterate in the future. The goal is to create a fairer, more enjoyable experience for all players, and this will take time. Player feedback is invaluable in refining armor.

We hope you enjoy the changes in this release and look forward to the upcoming plans.

Tank Balancing

All light, medium and heavy tanks have had a balance pass for the following factions:

Any entry in **green **is a buff
If in **red **is a nerf
And in **grey **means it remains unchanged.

US Tank Changes

Furthermore, the Jumbo 75 Sherman has had a considerable increase in HE (High Explosive) splash radius. This coupled with the decrease in reload speed, reduction in fuel cost and lower armor penetration than other heavy tanks, makes it more of a focus towards an anti-infantry tank.

German / DAK Tank Changes

Soviet Tank Changes

British 8th Army / Allied Forces Tank Changes

Terrain Modifiers

Tank movement has been updated to incorporate terrain-based modifiers. Track friction and speed now dynamically adjust depending on surface type. Environments like mud, snow and sand provide a more accurate performance variation, while remaining balanced within the world of Hell Let Loose. These changes are subtle but will make all the difference while trying to race towards the strongpoint.

Tank Physics System

The physical model of each armored vehicle has been individually updated and refined. Tanks can now more reliably cross trenches, gaps and other terrain features they are designed to handle on the battlefield. The improved physical model is key in ensuring that tanks can traverse over uneven landscapes and small obstacles with greatly reduced physics-based issues. Tanks now react to hitting large obstacles such as walls and buildings more realistically.

Maps in Hell Let Loose are large and sprawling, and contains legacy collision issues that affect vehicle navigation. Work will continue to improve the tank driving experience in future updates.

Firing Knockback Force

Tank firing from its main turret now includes a slight recoil effect. When a shell is fired, the tank will experience a small knockback to better reflect the force of the shot. Coupled with this are new camera shakes for light, medium and heavy tanks to further emphasise the force applied when firing.

Contextual Repairs

To deepen the armor gameplay experience, the repair system has been overhauled.

Previously, the act of repairing a vehicle had an order of priority for which components should be repaired first. The engine was given the highest priority, but could be repaired by using the torch on any area of the tank, likewise with the hull, tracks and turret. A prompt would be displayed to the user to show which component was being repaired, but there was no way for the player to decide which component to repair first.

With this improvement, an Engineer or Tank Crewman can - for example - prioritise the tracks to make a quick retreat, or focus repairs on the turret to fight back in a last-resort combat effort.

Heavy Tank Spawn Limitations

Each team may field a maximum of two heavy tanks at any given time. Their buffs make them a significant threat to both armor and infantry. Taking one down requires strong coordination and resource investment, all the while this limitation reinforces the importance of medium and light tanks throughout the match. The cooldown timer on all heavy tanks has been increased from 5 minutes to 10 minutes, preventing any early-game strategies using a heavy tank.

Anti-Tank adjustments

With increased tank health, anti-tank capabilities have been rebalanced. The Panzerschreck, Bazooka and PIAT damage has been slightly reduced, allowing some heavy tanks to survive longer. This is to emphasise their toughness without impacting medium and light tanks. Meanwhile, the anti-tank rifles, PTRS and Boys AT, have received a small damage buff when firing at the hull and turret, making them slightly more effective against tanks.

The following table shows how many shots it takes to destroy each tank. These values are using prime conditions; correct armor penetration and full damage applied to the hull.

Technician Loadout

Alongside the tank updates, the Crewman role now features a new addition: the Technician loadout. This new variant of the role provides engineering capabilities, allowing players to construct barricades, repair stations and a new deployable ammo depot. This new depot refills tank shells in limited quantities. These additions enable armor squads to establish forward positions for resupply and repair without needing to return to HQ.

Salvaging Wreckages

A new Salvage mechanic allows infantry to remove vehicle wreckage from the map. By using the hammer to interact with a destroyed vehicle for a set duration, the wreckage is cleared and a portion of fuel is returned to the friendly Commander. This applies to both enemy and allied vehicles and can be performed by any player equipped with a hammer. In conjunction with this, all recon loadouts have been given a hammer, allowing these units to salvage enemy vehicles in hostile territory before others can reach them.

Vehicle Cosmetic Application

Armor cosmetics are now available alongside the soldier customization system. Players who purchase a cosmetic item for a vehicle can use the Exterior Customization tool