Patch 1.3 changes NVA Tunnel travel and placement, fixes several voice and server problems, improves vehicle controls, and leaves one documented tank-gunner inversion issue.
Hell Let Loose: Vietnam Patch 1.3 went live on August 28, 2026. The two largest rule changes are a longer NVA Tunnel placement cooldown and a block on travelling to a Tunnel while its destination is hot. The patch also fixes the Killed in Action VOIP cut-out, changes tank shifting, and improves community-server persistence.
Changes that affect a match
| Area | Patch 1.3 change | Practical effect |
|---|---|---|
| NVA Tunnels | Placement cooldown doubled from 5 to 10 minutes | A destroyed or relocated network takes longer to rebuild |
| NVA Tunnel travel | A destination cannot be used while it is considered hot | Tunnel travel now follows the same danger restriction described for Garrisons |
| Tank gears | Drivers can change up or down without applying throttle | Gear selection no longer requires an unintended throttle input |
| KIA voice | VOIP no longer stutters or cuts out during the Killed in Action transition | This Patch 1.2 known issue should be retested on 1.3 before using older workarounds |
| Party voice | Party Voice Chat settings now correctly mute voice input | A mute-setting failure is listed as fixed |
| PS5 proximity chat | Fixed loss of Proximity Chat after a player was kicked | The prior workaround of disconnecting headphones should no longer be the first step |
| Community servers | VIP lists survive resets; Map Shuffle randomizes selected content; VIP comments display correctly | Server owners should retest those three administration problems on 1.3 |
The changelog also fixes two potential soft locks: one from bayonet charging into water and one while travelling through Tunnels. It improves Barracks and Tunnel-travel performance, allows keybinds to be reassigned more freely, and makes the Exit Vehicle binding configurable.
Vehicle, combat, and map fixes
Vehicle changes include more stable stationary behavior on steep slopes, corrected tank-commander sensitivity across zoom levels, a helicopter pitch-axis inversion fix for Layout B, and restoration of co-pilot control after the pilot dies. Supplies inside helicopters now have bullet collision.
Combat fixes include more consistent firing while vaulting, more consistent knife hits, the ability to destroy NVA Mortars with the US M183 Demolition Charge, and the ability to destroy friendly mines and enemy anti-tank mines with AA Guns. These are versioned rule changes, so a launch-week video may show different behavior.
Team17 also reports more than 100 fixes across all six launch maps. Those fixes cover floating or clipping objects, terrain and water seams, trapped spawn points, stretched textures, collision, culling, level-of-detail problems, Tactical Map boundaries, and deployable placement. The official changelog does not present them as a new map or mode.
Known issue carried into Patch 1.3
Patch 1.3 changes helicopter inversion behavior, but the same change causes a documented tank-gunner problem: the tank gunner's inversion is controlled by Vehicle Inversion instead of the intended Look Inversion setting. Team17 says this is due to be resolved in Patch 1.4.
If tank-gunner aim feels reversed, check Vehicle Inversion before resetting every controller setting. Do not describe Patch 1.4 as available until Team17 publishes it.
For voice-specific checks after updating, use VOIP not working. The Patch 1.2 page remains a historical record of the August 21 update.
Sources
QUICK ANSWERS
Questions players ask next
What changed for NVA Tunnels in Patch 1.3?
The placement cooldown increased from five to ten minutes, and players can no longer travel to a Tunnel destination while it is considered hot.
Did Patch 1.3 fix the Killed in Action VOIP cut-out?
Yes. The official changelog says VOIP no longer stutters or cuts out when transitioning to the Killed in Action screen.
Does Patch 1.3 have a known controller issue?
Yes. Tank-gunner inversion is controlled by Vehicle Inversion instead of Look Inversion; the changelog says this is planned for Patch 1.4.
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