Announcement Combat Update: The Return of First Shot Range

Combat Update: The Return of First Shot Range​

In this update, we’re bringing back First Shot Range as part of our ongoing work to make combat more tactical, dynamic, and rewarding for players who use movement and positioning well.

Recently, we’ve seen a lot of feedback asking for PvP to feel more engaging and less focused on simply pressing fire and trading damage.

First Shot Range helps address that by adding another layer to how engagements begin.

With this system, First Shot Range determines how close you need to be to start an attack.

Once your attack has started, your normal Attack Range is still used to determine whether the attack can continue.

In simple terms:

• You need to be within First Shot Range to begin firing.
• Once firing has started, your normal Attack Range takes over.
• If your target moves outside your Attack Range, the attack stops.
• To start firing again, you need to move back into First Shot Range.

This creates a clearer difference between starting an engagement and maintaining pressure during a fight.

The goal of this change is to make positioning, chasing, spacing, and timing matter more.

Players who manage their distance well will have more opportunities to create advantages, while players committing to an attack will need to think more carefully about how and when they engage.

This also gives us more flexibility for future PvE content, allowing us to create more interesting NPC behaviours and encounters that make better use of movement and range.

To support the return of First Shot Range, we’re also adding new ways to build around the mechanic.

The new Bombardier Crew Member increases First Shot Range, while the new Thunderstorm Action Item provides Windstorm stats with an additional First Shot Range increase.

Both of these can only be earned through several in-game sources, giving players multiple ways to experiment with the updated combat system.

To help everyone get started, all players will receive 7 days of Bombardier and 1,000 Thunderstorm Action Items for free after the patch. These will be added once you fully log out and log back in.

We know this is a meaningful change and may take some getting used to, especially as combat has worked differently for a long time. After release, we’ll be reviewing feedback and combat data to make sure the system is working as intended, and to address any bugs, edge cases, or areas where the mechanic needs clearer communication.

Is my Attack Range being removed?

No. Your normal Attack Range still applies once an attack has started. First Shot Range only affects the distance required to begin a new attack.
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Why is this being added?

We want combat to have more depth and more room for player skill. This change makes positioning, timing, chasing, and range control more important.
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Will this affect PvP?

Yes. PvP engagements will require more attention to distance and movement. Players who manage range well will have more opportunities to outplay opponents.
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Your Seafight Team