G'day! 

For the past month, we've been flat out working on the 2.4 update, which is being released later this month and is now available for opt-in. There's not too much to talk about here, since we already went over both 2.4 and and the 2017 roadmap in detail in our July Dev Diary, but we do have one big announcement to make for the 2.5 update.

##New Juggernauts##

We're excited to reveal the two new Juggernauts we're working on that are currently scheduled for 2.5 later this year. Here's a sneak peak!

PHC Agamemnon

Full size concept:

The Agamemnon is designed to complement the Leonidas; it boasts rapid firing Laser Pulse cannons capable of engaging swarms of smaller targets, and devastating Tempest Missile Salvos designed to saturate a wide area with high explosive shells. The rapid firing weaponry and wide area of effect missiles makes the Agamemnon excel against groups of low tier units, while still having some anti-air defense to defend against drone attacks and small air raids.

Due to the rapid firing nature of the laser pulse cannons, and the massive area of effect with the tempest missiles, the Agamemnon is not equipped with high armor piercing and is vulnerable to dedicated Dreadnought destroyers such as the Prometheus or Savager.

Substrate Eye of Darkness

Full size concept:

The Eye of the Darkness is the ultimate manifestation of the Substrate’s technological superiority and is capable of rupturing the fabric of space-time to destabilise targets at the molecular level. Created to combat the growing number of PHC Dreadnoughts and Juggernauts, the Eye excels against heavily armoured units due to having a devastating main weapon that negates any amount of armor. The main weapon has splash damage, making it strong against low tier units, but it is still vulnerable to air units or to being overwhelmed by large numbers due to a low rate of fire.

##Tournaments##

There's been some cool stuff happening in the community; a couple of weeks ago there was a 1v1 Swiss tournament hosted by community member Philothanic. It was a fun a night - congratulations to Amelie, who took first place! There is another tournament scheduled for the 26th of August, which will most likely be just after 2.4 launches. Stardock is keen to work with event organisers to promote and support events.

Tournament Signup and Info

##Official Discord##

There has been an Ashes community discord for some time, but recently ownership was transferred over to Stardock in order to promote and support it as an official channel.  A huge thank you to SchismNavigator for all his work on building the Ashes discord community and his continued work on it. The discord channel is a great place for discussion, questions, advice, sharing content, and keeping up with announcements. I'm very active on there.

If you haven't done so, join the official Discord group.

##YouTube Content##

Lately I've been making some content for the Stardock YouTube channel, in the form of two ongoing video series. If you want to improve your play, you may find these videos helpful.

Fans vs Dev:
GGTheMachine(SS) vs Rebellions(SS) Game #1
GGTheMachine(PHC) vs Rebellions(SS) Game #2

Genesis Campaign Playthrough:
Cassiopeia Play Through
Glarus Play Through

I'd also like to thank the community members who have been creating their own Ashes content.

##Feedback##

Let us know what you think of the Juggernauts and what you would like to see next! Personally, I'd love to get some anti-air Dreadnoughts. We also encourage you to check out the 2.4 opt-in and leave any feedback you have about the changes.

Cheers,
Callum.