Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor News

Just one more day until you can get your greedy little hands on all the riches of Hoxxes!

We've just received a Steam Deck Compatibility rating from Valve marking the game as 'Playable'.

We went over all parts of the game with a magnifying glass, but there are still a few places with slightly-smaller-than-it-should-be-for-handheld-devices text. That means we can't launch with 'Verified', but we'll make it a priority to fix it soon.

Fortunately for all you 'deckies' (that's a thing, right?), all the other requirements for Verified are already fulfilled, such as:

• All functionality is accessible when using the default controller configuration
  
• The game shows Steam Deck controller icons
  
• This game's default graphics configuration performs well on Steam Deck
  

From personal experience we can tell you that the game plays really well on a Steam Deck, and if you squint you might not even notice the text issues. We will be working on getting officially Verified soon after launch.

Rock and Stone!
The Funday Dwarves

We’ve reached the fourth and final Steam post about the core elements of DRG:S. In this one, it’s all about classes and class mods: What are they, why are they, and what do they do? Continue reading and you shall become an enlightened greybeard.

As most of you know, DRG features four classes, each with their own unique playstyle. We wanted to include all four in DRG: Survivor, but at the same time expand with a bit of class specialization.

Our approach is what we call ‘Class Mods’: A system that allows you to choose a specialization that will shape your playstyle and create unique combos.

The game will launch in Early Access with three mods for each class, and in this post we’ll reveal the first two for each class. The third mod, you will have to discover for yourself.

There are spoilers below, so if you want to go into DRG:S completely blind, you should probably stop reading now.

[h2]Scout[/h2]
In DRG you start with the gunner class, but in DRG:S you start with the scout. Why? I suppose it just makes sense to do recon work first when diving solo.
This red bundle of joy is known to be fast and agile, with easier access to long-range weapons and weapons that target bigger enemies.

[h3]Classic[/h3]
On your very first dive, you will have access to the Classic class mod. This mod will help you get used to the flow and basic mechanics of the game by giving you extra movement speed and HP so you can survive a little longer.

With the classic mod you receive the staple Deepcore GK2 weapon: A straightforward weapon that shoots in bursts at the nearest enemies.

[h3]Recon[/h3]
Are you a risk taker? Daredevil? Do you deploy directly to production? Pick the Recon class mod that gives you a solid, passive 25% chance to dodge attacks.

This class mod is all about exploring and allowing you to overextend and take risks to find more precious ore and minerals. Dodging attacks even gives you a short burst of movement and reload speed. A recon Scout starts his run with a pair of Zhukovs.


[h2]Driller[/h2]
Aaahh the Driller… Ol’ Edward Drillerhands. When you unlock this guy you know it's time to exploit Hoxxes for real. In DRG:S, the driller never takes off his drills, so he tunnels through rock and stone much faster than any other class, and his mods make for some very unique builds.

[h3]Foreman[/h3]
When you first unlock the driller, all you’ll want to do is drill, drill, and drill, so of course the first mod lets you do just that. The foreman gets 2% mining/drilling speed for 2 seconds when drilling, stacking up to 25 times.

To synergize with this drill-first playstyle you get the Subata 120 - a quick-firing weapon that shoots behind you so you can focus on your main obsession.

[h3]Interrogator[/h3]
The second driller class mod is called interrogator, and while you won’t be questioning glyphids about their ulterior motives or alibis, you will be grilling them with the CRSPR Flamethrower that emits a rotating beam of fire around you.

You also gain access to fire and acid type weapons, and a 100% status effect damage increase at the cost of a measly 30% overall damage decrease. The way to build an effective interrogator should be fairly obvious.


[h2]Gunner[/h2]
If all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail…. But if all you have is a minigun? You’ll probably enjoy the gunner playstyle. Let’s look at his mods.

[h3]Weapons Specialist[/h3]
The weapons specialist starts with the “Lead Storm” Powered Minigun that shoots a hail of bullets in the direction you are facing. This might make it a bit harder to do any mining objectives, but who cares? You have a minigun!

As an added bonus, for every 100 projectiles the weapons specialist fires, he shoots out eight high-powered projectiles in all directions. How quickly can you get to 100? Stack reload speed and find out.

[h3]Juggernaut[/h3]
There are no melee classes in DRG:S, but there is the juggernaut class mod for the gunner. You’ll start with more armor, more hp, less weapon range, and a special bonus that gives you 10% increased damage for 10 seconds when you take damage, stacking up to 5 times.

What better starter weapon for a juggernaut than the “Bulldog” Heavy Revolver that shoots big slugs at the closest nearby enemy. I’M THE JUGGERNAUT B… BOSCO!


[h2]Engineer[/h2]
If your speciality is specializing, then you were born to be an engineer. This mad lad brings some unique weapons to a dive, like turrets, shock fences, and drones that other classes have very limited access to. His class mods are:

[h3]Maintenance Worker[/h3]
Ahh yes, the traditional power fantasy of being a maintenance worker. Don’t let the name fool ya’, because this class mod gets access to some extremely potent construct weapons such as your starting weapon, the LMG Gun Platform turret.

Combine that with a 10% damage increase and reload speed on all construct-type weapons, and you’ve got yourself a classic engineer bunkering playstyle.

[h3]Tinkerer[/h3]
The tinkerer, on the other hand, has spent some extra time at the workbench. All weapons that the tinkerer picks up start at weapon level 3, which is dangerously close to their first overclock.

The level increase also counts for the tinkerer’s starting weapon, the “Warthog” Auto 210 which provides a steady rhythm of bullets and knocks back enemies. Last but not least, the tinkerer starts with a passive 10% xp gain.


…and that’s it for class mods. The rest you will have to discover for yourself.

We want to keep expanding this system as we develop the game to add more flavor and playstyles for you to unlock.

On February 14th, we are making our first touchdown on Hoxxes but there is so much more to explore and extract. We hope to see you then.

Rock and Stone The Funday Dwarves

Surprise, miners. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, the Vampire Survivors-like spinoff that puts a bullet heaven twist on one of the PC's best co-op games, is launching into early access just a couple of weeks from now. It’ll be out on Steam from February 14th, incidentially gifting the possibility for all kinds of cheap Valentine’s Day slogan gags. You are my Rock and Stone? My Ommoran Heartstone belongs to you? Drill you be Mine? Hilarious. Also, there’s a trailer.

Read more

[h2]Hello Survivors,[/h2]

You probably already read the title, but let me have my fun and say: Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor is going into Early Access on February 14th! 💘

We are very excited about our upcoming Early Access launch and to have you, our lovely community, together with us on this epic journey. Get your pickaxes ready, grab a gun, and let's dive into Hoxxes to get those precious minerals.

We’ve put together an awesome trailer for you, so make sure to check it out:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
All that and more, starting on February 14th!

Rock and Stone! :pickax:
The Funday Dwarves

Last week we talked about the problems you’ll be facing on your missions. This week, let’s talk about the solution.

[h2]How weapons work in DRG:S[/h2]
When we kicked off the project, a key focus was figuring out a process for translating the weapons of DRG from an FPS shooter to a top-down one, with no precision aiming, while still being faithful to the original versions. At the same time, we wanted to make DRG's extensive arsenal of weapons enjoyable in the survivor genre. The unique mining element in DRG:S also opened up interesting scenarios where weapons could excel or struggle.

Each class has its own unique pool of class weapons available to them. With the opportunity to choose class mods, you can add to these pools by using access tags such as light, heavy, kinetic, fire, acid, cold, and electric to create your own build and playstyle. If you decide to pick the Driller and choose the Interrogator class mod, you’ll start with the CRSPR Flamethrower and gain access to weapons with the tags: Fire & Acid.

To throw in an extra spicy ingredient to this weapon smoothie, each weapon also has overclocks. The first time you reach level 12 with a weapon in a dive you unlock the ability to overclock it, a way to upgrade and change the mechanics of the weapon. Once you unlock overclocking for a specific weapon you will be able to overclock it at levels 6, 12, and 18 in all your future dives.

While weapons start off balanced, reaching level 18 unlocks the unstable overclock. This changes the weapon drastically, by giving it significant boosts in damage, and range (sometimes at a cost), or altering its functionality entirely - e.g. the Zhukov going from shooting in 4 directions to becoming a Beyblade of death!



[h2]Adapting DRG weapons[/h2]
Our biggest challenge was adapting the weapons to be fun to play in the survivor genre while staying true to their original design.

In cases such as the Cryo Cannon, we kept the damage type of the weapon but changed the shooting style from a single beam to multiple rotating beams around the player to better suit the genre and support positional gameplay.

Another challenge was implementing directional weapons. Targeting in a survivor game can drastically change how you play. Weapons like the M1000 will auto-target based on enemy health (prioritizing highest first), while the Zhukov shoots in a pattern spraying bullets in 4 directions around you.



The issue with making weapons that are restricted by direction is giving them a natural feel during gameplay, and after several iterations, we finally landed on a solution.

We decided that directional weapons should be build-defining and at the same time still feel impactful when the screen is cluttered with VFX from the other 4 weapons that are potentially fully leveled up and overclocked.

We made most of the directional weapons into starter weapons. When the threat level is still low, you can use the beginning of a mission to get used to a directional weapon playstyle. From there, you can create a build with weapons you feel synergize well together.

The Subata, one of the Driller’s starting weapons, fires in bursts behind you. This is a perfect match for the driller since he spends most of his time between rocks instead of the enemies.



[h2]Weapon R&D[/h2]
Management was kind enough to give us some budget for weapon R&D, thus we were able to make some new additions to your arsenal, such as defensive and offensive drones, multiple types of turrets like the Krakatoa Sentinel, Voltaic Shock Fences, and TH-0R Bug Taser.



In close collaboration with Ghost Ship Games, we playtested all the new changes and additions to make sure they keep the feel of the original weapons while also adding a new gameplay element.

Our goal was to provide a fun and unique way to complete missions, with variety and depth of weapons, allowing you to try many different playstyles. Expect more weapons to be added during Early Access.

That's a wrap for weapons. We don't want to spoil too much, so we’ll let you discover some things on your own. We look forward to hearing about all your epic dives as soon as you get your hands on the game. Stay tuned for next week’s post where we give you a glimpse at class mods.

Rock and Stone!
The Funday Dwarves