When Warside debuted on Steam back in April, I blazed through the campaign and had a great time doing it. Little did I know, however, that the turn-based strategy game was too easy. Well, the developers at Lavabird have fixed that and then some with the new version 1.2 update. It rebalances the campaign, improves the enemy AI, adds turn timers to multiplayer, and lots more. This update is one of several that will happen on the way to co-op support being added in the future.
Version 1.2 update details:
Campaign Difficulty:
The campaign has been re-balanced with new difficulty levels:
- Standard – Designed to be completed by the average player with moderate challenge.
- Hard – Tuned for the top 25% of players, likely requiring strategic restarts and tight decision-making.
- Brutal – Aimed at the top 10% of players, offering a serious test of skill, planning, and perseverance.
Enemy AI:
The AI has been completely reworked from the ground up and now features:
- Smarter Enemy Behavior: The AI now adapts to player tactics, coordinates flanking maneuvers, prioritizes key threats, and makes better use of terrain and timing.
- Improved Decision-Making: Expect enemies that think more like players—and punish mistakes accordingly.
- More Reliable Allies: Friendly AI now acts more intelligently in support roles, improving the feel of team-based operations in our 2v2 skirmish missions.
Multiplayer Timers:
Warside's multiplayer was always meant to be fast-paced, with moves being made under pressure. To improve this, turn-timers have been added to multiplayer games, with the following modes:
- Standard - 3 minutes per turn.
- Blitz - 90 seconds per turn.
Matchmaking games always use Standard timers.
Those are all welcome improvements, though I really thought the campaign difficulty was fine before. I'll have to revisit it once the game passes the version 2.0 mark.
Warside sells for $26.99 on Steam. Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch versions will be released later in 2025.