Hell Let Loose: Vietnam will launch in 2026, but for those immersed in the trenches of the original World War II-based Hell Let Loose, update 18 has arrived on all platforms featuring a refreshed version of Stalingrad, armour updates, and more. 

Full Update 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

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.

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.

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.

I shared what I thought was interesting. These patch notes are awesome, so do be sure to read the full list on the Steam page.

Join the ever expanding experience of Hell Let Loose - a hardcore World War Two first person shooter with epic battles of 100 players with infantry, tanks, artillery, a dynamically shifting front line and a unique resource based RTS-inspired meta-game.