In the livestream of I Will Carry You, the atmosphere was as "friendly" as ever.
"Liora, you're still playing this? After getting wrecked by this game over and over, don't you have any shame?"
"Seriously, with your skills, you could probably kill the flowers in a virtual gardening sim. Why do you keep torturing yourself with this hardcore shooter?"
"But honestly, watching you play is way more fun than watching Scorchwind. You actually make me laugh. Every day you find a new way to die."
I Will Carry You read these savage comments, teeth clenched in frustration, but still fired back stubbornly: "Shut up, all of you!
You bunch of trolls! My skills are perfectly fine! I just need a little more luck! Besides, I've had my moments, okay? I blew up a Leman Russ tank!"
The moment she mentioned that, the chat absolutely exploded:
"You? Blew up a tank? Don't make me laugh! That match, if user 114514 hadn't hit it with four melta charges first and basically destroyed it, you think you could've finished it off?"
"Exactly! As someone who actually knows this game, I'm telling you, most of us are just waiting around for the pro to log on. Watching your fails is just the warmup act!"
"Facts! Liora's the comic relief!"
I Will Carry You felt like she was about to lose it. She slammed her desk. "Ugh! Just wait!
Medici just released a new version focused on the command system!
When individual skill doesn't matter as much, that's when I'll show my true abilities as a commander! You'll all see who the real tactical genius is!"
The chat immediately flooded with "hahaha" and "sure, Jan."
"Command? I'll be impressed if you don't march your AI teammates straight off a cliff!"
"This is the funniest thing I've heard all year: I Will Carry You's command abilities."
"Can't wait to watch Liora lead the entire army to their doom!"
I Will Carry You huffed and ignored the chat, logging directly into the freshly updated Battlefield: Warhammer 40k.
Sure enough, as soon as she logged in, she saw that familiar ID: user 114514 was online. Without hesitation, she sent a party invite.
Almost instantly, the invite was accepted.
"Pro! Pro! Carry me! New version!" I Will Carry You immediately opened her mic, her tone full of shameless begging.
In the team chat channel, user 114514's response was as brief as ever: "Sure."
I Will Carry You didn't care about the lack of enthusiasm.
Just getting in the party was enough. The two quickly queued into the new campaign map: "Death Hive."
After the loading screen, instead of jumping straight into combat, a short cutscene played.
The view showed the command chamber of an Adeptus Mechanicus vessel.
A heavily augmented tech-priest appeared on screen, its voice clearly synthesized. Its mechanical optical sensors flashed red as it spoke coldly:
"The STC fragment is vital to the Mechanicus's restoration. Scans indicate the signal from target hive world Zeta has gone dark, severely deviating from records.
Whatever has happened on this planet, you have one objective: land, eliminate all threats, locate and recover the STC fragment. Praise the Omnissiah. May the machine spirits watch over you."
The cutscene ended, transitioning to the deployment interface. I Will Carry You was immediately drawn to the completely overhauled UI.
The old simple unit selection had been replaced by a more complex commander class system.
The interface clearly listed four options, each with an icon and brief description:
1. Assault Priest:
• Equipment: 12 automated fire support servitors, 3 Skitarii soldiers.
• Features: High frontal firepower and offensive capability. Servitors equipped with bolters or plasma weapons, Skitarii provide core combat strength. Ideal for direct assaults and breaking through enemy lines.
2. Support Priest:
• Equipment: 15 support-type servitors, 2 Skitarii soldiers.
• Features: Battlefield support specialist. Servitors focus on deploying smoke grenades, using nano-repair beams to "revive" disabled mechanical units, and providing battlefield medical assistance. Ideal for supporting advances and holding the line.
3. Forge Priest:
• Equipment: 10 construction servitors, 1 Skitarii soldier.
• Features: Defense and fortification specialist. Servitors can rapidly repair damaged fortifications, deploy auto-turrets and heavy laser cannons, and quickly establish forward supply depots in captured zones. Extremely efficient at vehicle repairs. Ideal for securing captured territory and establishing defensive positions.
4. Scout Priest:
• Equipment: 16 light reconnaissance servitors, 10 controllable drones.
• Features: Eyes of the battlefield. Servitors move quickly and are equipped with sensors for efficient enemy detection. Players can directly control drones for aerial reconnaissance, mark high-value targets, and even hack certain controllable mechanisms on the map (like sealing security doors or triggering localized explosions). Ideal for intelligence gathering and flanking maneuvers.
"Wow! So many options!"
I Will Carry You's eyes went wide. She carefully considered her "skill set": terrible aim, dies instantly when pushing, slow at helping teammates...
"Hmm... looks like Forge Priest is the only one that fits!" She reached what she considered a brilliant conclusion.
"Stay in the back, repair stuff, set up turrets. At least I won't die constantly, right? Plus I can show off my 'strategic planning' skills!"
She happily selected Forge Priest, while in team chat, user 114514 made their choice almost instantly: Assault Priest.
"Pro's so aggressive as always!" I Will Carry You gushed, already imagining a glorious future where she peacefully built defenses while the pro protected her.