Skyrates/SR2.5

Changes
Below are the current new features as of Skyrates version 2.5.

Condition
Rather than needing to purchase armor, ammo and fuel at every stop, planes now have a Condition stat that slowly decreases during play. Armor starts at full in every combat (and pirates now no longer spawn with less than full armor) and ammo reloads after it runs out, after a brief delay.

Armor and ammo for all planes has thus been adjusted; all planes have about half the armor and one tenth the ammo they had in the previous round.

Combat
Both players and pirates will need to reload during the course of combat, leaving them open for 3 seconds each reload. Armor Class has been introduced, which replaces the old system of damage reduction. Relatively few planes have Armor Class to start with, but upgrades may add a certain amount. Additionally, combat currently does not result in cargo loss.

Legendary Combats have returned, as have a number of new NPC Planes.

Guns
Guns have been rebalanced, the most significant change being the balance between gun sizes; small guns typically now have more than 50% the damage per second the large versions have, as opposed to 33% the damage per second in the previous round. Essentially this means that instead of three small arcs equaling one large arc, two small arcs are superior to one large arc.

Upgrades
Upgrades have been reintroduced; Upgrades are sold at certain islands, and take up a certain amount of slots instead of "Upgrade Weight."

New Map
The number of Alpha platform has ballooned by 12 (all placeholders for new skylands yet to be announced), bringing the total number of Skylands to 50.

Influence Game
Missions have been rebalanced again, and influence earned now decays at a rate of 2% a day. Factional influence gain at a specific island is now impacted by Skyland Mood. Pirates and the Hidden Fleet now act as NPC opponents in the influence game.

Community
Mentors may now add Apprentices; Mentors gain a percent of the personal influence the Apprentice earns, and Apprentices receive a speed boost. Mentors and Apprentices do not need to be of the same faction.

Wings have also changed considerably; they no longer have a member limit, and no longer require a skyrate to be landed to make or join a wing. Instead, skyrates may create a wing, invite members, or accept a wing invite from the My Skyrate page's wing section. Currently wings are invite-only, and no list of current wings exists as viewable by players, unless the wing is recorded on the wiki.