Ghost Recon Online Phantom update adds new map, sinister armour, tweaks galore

Ghost Recon Online's latest update has taught me many things recently. First I learned that Phantoms are the natural predators of Ghosts. Second, I learned Ubisoft isn't particularly subtle when they choose names for their updates. The Phantom Pack update for Ghost Recon introduces players to the Phantoms. The new recon team on the block whose looking to wipe out the Ghosts. In case you couldn't tell by their all black attire and red power-level scanner -I don't know what else to call it- these guys are the bad guys. They are the Ying to the Ghost's Yang.

The Phantom Pack introduces new armor variants in the Phantom flavor along with new avatars and Phantom versions of several popular weapons. The newly added Xinyil District map features five conquest points and is the shooter's largest map to date. Interestingly, the map was also the first map to be designed using player feedback from Ubisoft's Project: Topos, which allows an organized clan of players to provide early feedback on upcoming maps.

Under the hood, nearly every aspect of GRO's gameplay has been tweaked. This includes everything from individual gun mechanics adjustments and class ability improvements, to lowering the crouch walk speed to make the tradeoff between crouch and standing more clear. Even the player's flinch intensity has been modified to reflect damage modifiers. On the economy side of things, RP earnings have been increased per round and daily wins now grant 200 RP.

If you're interested in seeing the full list of changes be sure to check out the official patch notes here.