Update 1.6 will be available for troopers to download around 10 AM PT (GMT-7) on Thursday, August 14th.

This patch is a collection of content, performance, and optimization improvements and bug fixes. If you'd like to discuss Update 1.6 with your fellow troopers, please feel free to join the Starship Troopers: Extermination Community Discord!

If you enjoy this update, please leave us a review on Steam. We greatly appreciate all the feedback that has been provided as we have developed Starship Troopers: Extermination throughout the year and all the Galactic Fronts!

Server Performance Improvements

• Projectile Optimizations

Projectiles for most weapons (Explosive projectiles, such as rockets and grenades, are not affected) have received a performance and fidelity improvement. All Troopers should enjoy a smoother and more performant experience and enjoy more reliable weapon performance with additional features.

• All projectiles are more performant.

• Tracers are more visible and remain visible for longer

• Some projectiles can now ricochet off surfaces or armored bugs

• Cosmetic System Replication Optimization

Other Improvements

The Director — Our New Spawning System

We’re excited to roll out a major upgrade to one of the game’s most important behind-the-scenes systems: spawning. Internally, we’ve been calling this system “The Director.” It’s a total overhaul of how we handle enemy spawns in Starship Troopers: Extermination, and it’s been in development for quite some time.

Why We Built The Director

As the game has grown with new modes, difficulty settings, and more enemy types, we realized that our original spawning system, while functional, was starting to show its limits regarding maintenance and future improvements. We needed something that could scale with the game, improve performance, and, most importantly, create more engaging and consistent gameplay.

So we set out to create a new system from the ground up that would give us:

• More control over when, where, and how bugs spawn

• Scalability for different modes and future content

• Better performance on both server and client

• The ability to craft intense, memorable combat pacing across all types of missions

What The Director Does

At its core, The Director is a system that constantly evaluates the battlefield's state and decides when and where enemies should spawn. It takes into account things like player positioning, mission objectives, pacing intensity, and spawn zone availability.

It’s not just about sending waves of bugs it’s about sending the right kind of pressure at the right time. Whether you’re holding a point or racing to extract, The Director can adjust the tempo to make combat feel more dynamic and deliberate.

Key Improvements You’ll Notice:

More Consistent Spawns

Spawns are now much more reliable and controllable. This helps reduce unfair or unpredictable moments and gives us tools to tune encounters with greater precision.

Scalable Across Modes and Difficulties

We’ve built The Director to work not just in existing game modes, but in future scenarios as well. This system will help us expand gameplay in meaningful ways, whether that’s horde-style modes, ARC missions, or new event challenges.

Improved Performance

By optimizing how and when spawn decisions are made, we’ve reduced CPU load on both the server and client. This is especially noticeable in high-intensity moments with many Bugs on screen.

Better Gameplay Moments

One of our goals was to give designers more control to create crafted gameplay beats moments of tension, relief, and chaos that feel cinematic and satisfying. The Director allows us to build those experiences more reliably.

What’s Next?

This system is just the beginning, a foundation for the future. With the Director in place, we now have the tools to push combat encounters even further, with more variety, smarter pacing, and more ways to surprise and challenge you.

As always, we’ll be listening to your feedback on how it feels in the wild. This is a big change, and we’ll be keeping a close eye on how it impacts different playstyles and missions.

Thanks for being on this ride with us. We can’t wait to see how you handle what the Director throws your way.

Critical Strike

Federation scans have picked up large reserves of Archigeon deep underground after meteor strikes have hit remote areas on both Valaka and Agni Prime. Only the best of the best will be tasked with marching headfirst into bug territory to retrieve it. 

In this Critical Strike, although you can choose where you redeploy, troopers will fight separated from their other squads and pave a path through these undocumented areas, pushing through swarms of bugs to claim the Archnigeon for the Federation!

Previous squads have failed this challenge. Troopers are heavily encouraged to finish their work along the way, completing side objectives to earn themselves more XP, more valor in the eyes of the Federation, and more rewards to help them down the line. There have been rumors of an even larger bug presence protecting the Archingeon, and the Federation encourages you to be prepared for whatever you might run into out there.

Get out there and take down those bugs, Troopers!

Bug Holes

The Arachnids have developed a new method to connect their bug-filled Hives directly to our at-risk Federation assets. These ‘Bug Hole’ access points create openings in the ground that bugs will pour through. This cowardly strategy can cause significant logistical strain as the flow of bugs will only be stopped by collapsing their tunnel entrances.

Troopers will need to use explosives to close Bug Holes; Nuke Detpacks or other tactical nuclear devices will be the most effective utilities for dealing with these new threats.

This has been deemed a top priority, and all available Vanguards Troopers are expected to locate and destroy any Bug Holes they encounter.

M-55 Rocket Launcher

A portable launcher capable of firing powerful tactical nuclear warheads. The M55 is the Federation's best answer to the Arachnid menace.

Thanks to the efforts of our friends in Federation R&D, these launchers now fire guided rockets. This allows Troopers to steer their deadly payloads mid-flight to improve the chance of a direct hit! Early field testing has already proven a statistically significant improvement to weapon lethality and a likewise reduction in friendly fire incidents.

MI Command reminds Troopers to stay close and protect their teammates as the limited ammunition and arduous reloading process leave rocket teams vulnerable to bug counterattacks.

Look for special M-55 Caches during the next Galactic Front. This weapon must be earned through completing the first few phases of the front. After the Galactic Front’s conclusion, additional M-55 Caches will only be committed if enough Galactic Front strategic targets have been secured. Only Total Victory in the Galactic Front will ensure these tactical assets are allocated to the most deserving Troopers.

Galactic Front Leaderboard

Federation Leadership has discovered that pitting our heroes against each other is the most effective way to improve combat effectiveness.

To support these efforts, Company performance will now be publicly displayed. All participating Trooper Companies will now be able to see their standing during a Galactic Front. Company members will be able to see how their Company stacks up against the competition. Company officers will be able to decide how to handle the new leaderboards – whether they rise to meet the challenge or take a trip down washout lane.

Quality-of-Life

FedNet Approval Feed

The Approval feed presents FedCam Approval information in nearly the same way as the XP feed, which often causes confusion. Camera operators often conflate earning Approval with earning XP. The new Approval feed has been made more visually distinct to help reduce confusion.

Hive Hunt

When completing a phase of Hive Hunt a Forward Spawn point will be automatically created and additional T.O.A.D canisters will be spawned ahead instead of behind. This will help to reduce backtracking and keep the mission moving forward.

• The next Forward Spawn point will be automatically built upon completion of a Hive Hunt phase.

Royal Guard Elite

The Deep Space Vanguard continues to crush Bug forces, reducing Hive activity to a mere trickle. However, intelligence reports a new threat: an evolved mutation of the Royal Guard, now designated the "Elite."  Federation scientists confirm the Elite is significantly stronger and deadlier than its predecessor—though visually indistinguishable.

The Federation Stands Strong in Boreas

The Federation is strengthening its foothold on Boreas. Federation engineers are hard at work building new outposts and other structures.

Tuning

Arachnid Tuning

Royal Guard

It was observed that Royal Guards did not have the expected resistance to explosives. It now appears that new mutations have rectified this weakness. Troopers are expected to handle these threats with increased caution as Royal Guards show traits seen in their closely related Tiger Elite phenotypes.

• Improved Explosive Damage Resistance to 50% (Grenades, Chi-Hong)

• Improved Demolition Damage Resistance to 50% (Thermo Charges, Hi-Ex, Nukes)

Armory Tuning

TW-205-E Morita II

The Federation has addressed usability concerns with the XW-900 Underbarrel Plasma Launcher encountered by frontline Vanguard units. Troopers should notice an overall handling improvement while on the move.

• Renamed Morita II → TW-205-E Morita II

• Improved Underbarrel Experimental Plasma Launcher handling and accuracy

  • Move Deviation recovery improved from 1.5 → 30.0

  • Max Move Deviation improved from 6.0 → 4.0

  • Move Sway recovery improved from 1.5 → 6.0

  • Max Move Sway improved from 25.0 → 5.0

Move Deviation affects how much the accuracy blooms while on the move, and Sway affects how much the aim bounces while on the move.

C-32 Chi-Hong MGL

The Chi-Hong gets the new Holo Trajectory modification allowing the Trooper to preview the estimated impact location of their grenades.

• Added Holo Trajectory sight mod at level 4

Nuke Detpack

Deployed explosives are getting improved hit registration. Helping to ensure that all Bugs in the area of effect are equally affected by the explosions and can no longer be protected by hiding behind or inside the piles of their fallen companions.

• Improving the hit consistency of large explosives

Proximity Mines

Proximity Mines are getting a significant improvement to compensate for their lack of utility. They are now packed full of even more explosives to better deal with the larger Arachnid types. In addition, the Proximity Mines will be getting the same improvements to area of effect hit registration.

• Explosive Damage increased from 1000 → 6000

• Improving the hit consistency of large explosives

Mission Tuning

AAS Exterminations

We have reintroduced Arachnid Exterminations into the Advance and Secure missions. Troopers can now be tasked with exterminating a target number of bugs to complete the objective.

New Mutators

Keep an eye out for new scenario modifiers! These Mutators will begin appearing with the launch of the next Galactic Front. 

• Added Bug Batteries

• Added Rescue Mission

• Added M-55 Cache

  • PLEASE NOTE: The M-55 cache will not be active until a certain phase of the Galactic Front is reached!

Mutator Weapon/Utility Crates

Troopers will have an easier time locating these supplies. Crates will now be found in clusters and placed in more visible locations.

• All existing Mutators that spawned Weapon Crates randomly in a mission have been adjusted (Blizzard, Pitch Black, Sandstorm, Pilum Surplus)

Known Issues

• Certain AAS missions may be blocked. We're investigating to fix this. Destroying bug holes may remedy the issue.

• Friendly Fire may be more sensitive than normal. Please be wary of hurting your fellow troopers.

• Users may need to reapply their cosmetics.

• Players might ragdoll into the ship and will not be able to respawn until revived by another player

• Some weapons may not track XP properly; this is very inconsistent and rare, and we are working on a fix for a future patch as we are deep into optimizing the logic for the weapon XP system.

Highlights 

• Addressed an issue that stopped explosive rounds from the Morita XXX from being applied and working correctly in missions.

• Improved Tanker Bug pathfinding when navigating complex terrain.

• Re-added Extermination side objectives to AAS missions

• Fixed an issue that caused T.O.A.D Canisters to get lost in the dropship if they were never recovered, or were respawned there when the dropship was leaving.

• Fixed an issue where spectating could find the player cycling through the same camera view.

• Fixed an issue where the Thermo Charge Detonator sometimes failed to trigger an explosion.

• Fixed an interaction where the FedNet Camera could push player ragdolls through the ground and out of bounds.

• Fixed an issue where players could become trapped inside the MBU and Bunkers. 

Console Fixes

• Fixed an issue where on console, the Left Face buttons would not open the Virtual Keyboard on the Company screen.

• Fixed an issue where the Top Companies tab could not be scrolled on consoles.

• Fixed an issue that made the Members tab unscrollable on consoles.

• \[PS5] Fixed an issue where platform invite/join features stopped working after a crash.

• \[PS5] Fixed an issue where no buttons could be pressed after entering the Company tab.

• \[XBox] Resolved a server disconnection caused by a gameplay freeze on a Horde map.

UI

• Engineers who died with a canister on their back should no longer have a permanent icon of the canister in the sixth slot.

• Adjusted the Underbarrel Experimental Plasma Launcher in the Loadout screen so it no longer goes off-screen.

• Resolved an issue where multiple “Mission Failed” prompts would be spammed during the extraction phase as each player died.

• Fixed an issue that could cause the Weapon Modifications UI to stretch off-screen for long modification names (e.g., Underbarrel Experimental Plasma Launcher)

• Fixed a bug where the Grenade Launcher’s Holo Trajectory did not account for the increased range granted by the Prosthetic Servos perk.

• Fixed an issue where the ore count displayed as “#Name?” when using any language other than English.

• Fixed the “Base Destroyed” message so it does not appear in the correct location when a Horde mission fails.

• Fixed the Boss Fight UI widget to reflect both the Icon and the text correctly.

• Fixed the elongated appearance of the warning screen shown at the game's launch.

• Fixed an issue where Agni Hive Hunts appeared as Valaka in the mission selection list.

• Corrected planet names in the mission descriptions to display the proper location.

• Fixed the incorrect sorting of Critical Strikes in the mission list.

• Fixed missing translations for “Tactical Drop Inbound” text for Nuclear Launchers.

• Fixed untranslated “Mission Start” objective text.

Audio

• Fixed missing explosion VFX and SFX for the Chi-Hong Grenade Launcher Adhesive Rounds modification.

• Restored missing audio on the Main Screen.

Art & Animation

• New mission map has been added for Critical Strike on Agni Prime

• New mission map has been added for Critical Strike on Valaka

• Corrected a skinning problem affecting the Ranger.

• Made small adjustments to the Morita II Underbarrel Experimental Plasma Launcher’s charging and firing visual effects.

• Removed excess collision from the tops of several basalt columns.

• Fixed an animation glitch where spamming the grenade button could cause the player to hold their weapon sideways.

• Fixed visual distortions that would occur in low-light environments for weapon skins with emissive glowing lights.

• Fixed the minor clipping that would occur with Thermo Charges inside MI Weapon Crates

• Fixed an issue where weapon skins appeared to deselect when equipped, did not display on the rendered soldier, and were invisible to other players.

• Fixed a bug causing weapon skins to appear low resolution or blurry in the Loadout screen.

• Corrected an issue where the default skin on the MK1 and Carbine magazines appeared black.

• Fixed weapons in idle pose with scopes so they now realign to the center when firing.

• Fixed erratic weapon and wrist movement on downed AI troopers.

• Fixed an LOD bug with the MKII Underbarrel Grenade Launcher, which caused the full reload animation to not play on lower settings.

• Fixed a low settings LOD issue that caused mangled SMG reload animations.

• Fixed floating rocks on Agni.

• Fixed an animation bug where a trooper’s left wrist could become overtwisted while wielding the Morita II.

Gameplay & General Fixes

• Stun damage from the SP.L.I.T Shotgun (Auto) with Hammer Slugs now correctly adds to total damage dealt after stunning a bug.

• Added missing collision to silo frames on Agni Prime.

• Adjusted the short scope reticle brightness to the intended levels.

• Adjusted victory and defeat GF story beats to their correct timing.

• AI bots now fall naturally instead of floating if the object they stand on is dismantled.

• Bugs will no longer spawn during the build phase of a Horde match.

• Corrected a problem where the Accept button failed to enable/disable after scrolling down the post–age validation checkbox selection.

• Corrected an issue where the Chi-Hong Holo Trajectory mod did not apply properly in-game.

• Crashed dropships now properly disable collision after impact.

• Fixed a bug causing white object outlines to vibrate rapidly on the Gear Locker

• Fixed a bug where certain insects would get stuck and fail to burrow.

• Fixed a bug where troopers could respawn instantly by pressing E while bleeding out.

• Fixed an issue in Hive Hunt where nuke cans would not respawn if left on the ship.

• Fixed an issue preventing troopers from interacting with weapon crates at the MBU when certain mutators were active.

• Fixed an issue where bugs could briefly reappear after burrowing at the end of a Horde wave.

• Fixed an issue where bugs could teleport on higher difficulties due to extreme speed modifiers.

• Fixed an issue where playing in 4K rendered the soldier’s render target above 4K, causing GPU spikes.

• Fixed an issue where the Experimental Plasma Launcher required 15 seconds of constant movement to reach maximum reticle deviation.

• Fixed an issue where the flashlight would turn off in dark caves on X-11.

• Fixed an issue where weapon crates from FedNet Camera beacon defense objectives could not be opened or interacted with.

• Fixed an issue where tankers spawned via mutators or events would not die and showed zero health.

• Fixed an issue where troopers could survive being crushed by the extraction dropship.

• Fixed the gunner’s aim assist node so it no longer appears below their head and on the ground.

• Fixed an issue on Boreas ARC preventing light beacons near the MHQ from being picked up.

• Logistics Training perk now applies correctly when carrying a FedNet camera.

• Plasma Grenadier and bombardment projectiles now appear correctly in-game.

• Players now correctly spawn into the selected class instead of being assigned a random one when using the highlighted option without confirmation.

• Reduced the excessive brightness of the Chi-Hong Holo Trajectory.

• Reduced excessive flare illumination of volumetric fog on X-11 when using Epic settings.

• Resolved an issue where MHQ destruction during the build phase caused multiple extractions and disrupted Horde event flow.

• Resolved an issue where players could become unpossessed and sent to spectate when a new spawn point was built.

• Resolved an issue where bugs would sometimes spawn but remain idle.