Risk of Rain 2 News

Welcome back and Happy New Year!

This is going to be a BIG year for Hopoo Games and I cannot wait to tell you more about what we have in store for you in the future - for today we’ll start with meeting a new friend!

Don’t forget the Dev Thoughts also comes in a super-sweet video format! I’ve done something slightly different this month - let me know what you think in the comments!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Before we meet our new friend… Some big announcements are in order!

The Risk of Rain 2 Expansion - Survivors of the Void - will launch on Steam on March 1st 2022

The SRP of the Expansion will be $15 - but for a short period at launch this will be discounted down to just $9.75!!

Aaaaaand finally before we get into the rest of the Dev Thoughts - check out the Steam Page which has been freshly updated!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607890/Survivors_of_the_Void

Now its time to meet the first of two new playable characters in Survivors of the Void.



[h3]Railgunner[/h3]



Railgunner is a specialist at long range single-target massive damage. She has a number of unique tools and mechanics that make her the queen of making anything in her sights turn into a red mist.

Or into pink blobs of beetle brains

This month’s Dev Thoughts is devoted to showcasing the Railgunner’s abilities - first up is her iconic M99 Sniper mode (Oops.. I said the S word already.)




[h3]M99 Sniper[/h3]

Activate your long-range scope, highlighting Weak Points and transforming your weapon into a piercing 1000% damage railgun.



Unlike other survivors, the Railgunner’s attacks cannot randomly crit - when you hit one of the highlighted Weak Points through her scope you are guaranteed a Critical Strike - All Critical Strike Chance gained through items and equipment is converted into Critical Strike Damage.

After firing a shot the Railgunner’s M99 Sniper mode starts an Active Reload bar - a perfect reload lets you fire your next shot sooner and also makes that shot deal an additional +500% base damage.



Next up is Railgunner’s non-scoped attack



[h3]XQR Smart Round System[/h3]

In a perfect world the Railgunner wouldn’t have to use the XQR Smart Round System - but as we’re all painfully aware Petrichor V is not a perfect world…

When you’re not using the scope the railgun fires rapid fire smart rounds that home in on enemies for 100% damage.

While it doesn't have the stopping power of the M99 Sniper - it certainly has its uses. It can help attack close range enemies that are swarming you



it can also quickly finish off those enemies that, selfishly, haven't quite died to a single railgun shot.



Next up we have an ability that actually makes the Railgunner rival Loader in maneuverability…



[h3]Concussion Device[/h3]

Railgunner utilises very versatile Concussion Devices that have two primary uses.

Firstly with a well timed jump it can be used to propel yourself to high or distant places to escape danger or get a better vantage point



(or both)

And it can also be used to knock back smaller enemies, breaking up dangerous packs making them easier to pick off one by one.

Its third secret use is that it makes damn cool trickshot-gifs for development blogs.



And finally the pièce de résistance in Railgunner’s arsenal..



[h3]Supercharge[/h3]

Railgunner’s special ability is the Supercharge. Briefly overloading her railgun turns it into a boss one-shotting beast - firing a huge piercing round for 4000% damage and 150% Weak Point damage.



With this great power comes a big drawback, once used ALL your railgun weapons are disabled for 5 seconds leaving you with just your Concussion Device for defence - you had better make that shot count!

The Overcharge is also much wider than a usual shot - making it very useful for taking out large conga-lines of enemies.



It’s also very useful for killing that Solus Control Unit that always seems to spawn at the start of Sky Meadows from across the stage.





And that concludes our deeper dive into Railgunner’s abilities! She does of course have alternate abilities to unlock and an alternate skin for beating the game on monsoon much like the other survivors - but i’ll leave those up to you to discover for yourselves!

Let the speculation commence!

Don’t forget to check out the video Dev Thoughts above for some extended play footage of Railgunner & See you again soon when we will be very close to the release of Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void.




Adios!

Jonathan @ Hopoo Games

Risk of Rain 2's first big expansion, Survivors of the Void, is coming to PC on March 1, with a console release not far behind...
Read more.

Risk of Rain 2 is already everything it ever needed to be. It's a pillar for modern roguelikes, one of the best co-op games around, and – most importantly – a longtime mainstay of my friend group's game night. But with Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void, Hopoo Games will demonstrate what else it could be...
Read more.

Greetings Goobo Jr Fan Club!

[h3]Dev Thoughts Video[/h3]

You know the drill by now - Dev Thoughts also comes as a video!

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

You did smash it didn't you?

And before we crack on, don't forget to visit the Risk of Rain 2: Survivors of the Void Steam Page as it might have changed since your last visit…

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607890/Survivors_of_the_Void



[h3]Console Update[/h3]

Since starting as Community Manager many of you within our console playing fanbase have asked me about the status of any updates in the future for Risk of Rain 2 - today I’m going to give you some fresh info.

Firstly, I’m happy to announce that it is our goal to release the upcoming RoR2 expansion Survivors of the Void on console in Q2 of 2022, quite soon after the release of the Steam version in Q1 (both dates subject to change, but currently both still on schedule!)

With the release of the expansion will also come an update where we have completely rebuilt the console version from the ground-up. The goal of this rebuild is to have much closer parity between the console and Steam versions of the game.

This update should resolve most existing console-only bugs and - In theory - any new bugs should no longer be platform specific which will make them easier to identify and fix.

In practice, there will definitely be new bugs.



[h3]Survivors Corner[/h3]

Last month I asked you to come up with some renditions of one of the new Void monsters arriving in Survivors of the Void and the response was much bigger than I expected, and in some cases much weirder than I expected.

These ranged from the creative



To the funny



To the strangely accurate



Thank you to everyone who sent me your versions of this mystery Void Monster, let’s take a visit to Petrichor V to see just how close you were...



[h3]Petrichor Safari[/h3]

It’s time to go on a sightseeing tour of Survivors of the Void to discover the environments and monsters that await you in the expansion.

Let’s begin by visiting the Snowy Forest



The first monster we’ll find here today is not from these once-peaceful lands - but instead invading from the Void. The Void Jailer.

The Void Jailer is the master of putting you in your place. It’s main attack is a powerful void-blast that slows your speed and its secondary attack is a entangling snare that locks you in place, leaving you at the mercy of this abomination.



And if you manage to overcome this beast you had better get outta dodge REAL quick - those of you familiar with the Reavers know what happens when you manage to finally topple a Void enemy….



This was going to be a gif of the Void Jailer dying and doing that cool void-explosion but it kept killing me first so this is what you're getting instead.

Next up, one of the many enemies found high up in the Aphelian Sanctuary...



…is your new worst nightmare. The Blind Pest.


Who... this guy? Your worst nightmare? Surely not?

Aww look at his cute fuzzy face, flapping ear-wings and swinging tongue. What a cutie!



Don’t let it's looks fool you, I hate these things, and you will too. If Lesser Wisps are the flying shotguns of RoR2, these douchebags are the flying rifles. Dangerous in packs and deadly if ignored, get used to seeing this:



Not every new monster in Survivors of the Void will be completely unfamiliar. Our next monster is a returning enemy from a previous ill-fated visit to Petrichor V.

It’s big, it’s orange, and it’s here to ruin your Mercenary run...



It’s Gup.



And Geep and Gip, obviously.

Don't forget this is just a sample of the new stages and monsters you’ll find in Survivors of the Void - And that concludes the Petrichor Safari. As always thanks for being an amazing community and join me next year when we’ll have many more exciting reveals for you all.

Goodbye for now!



Jonathan @ Hopoo Games.

Hello fellow Survivors! Welcome back!



I wanted to start out by thanking everyone who reached out to me following last month’s video version of the Dev thoughts - as requested I got a huge amount of feedback - which was overwhelmingly positive so I went ahead and made another one for this month! Check it out and once again please let me know what you think!

[previewyoutube]https://youtu.be/1EBxT0zwIVA[/previewyoutube]





The official artwork and the name of the upcoming Risk of Rain 2 Expansion is now ready to be unveiled:

Survivors of the Void.



We have also launched the Survivors of the Void store page on Steam:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1607890/Survivors_of_the_Void

I’d highly recommend both wishlisting the expansion and checking the store page regularly, there might just be some additions over the coming weeks. Also stick around for the rest of the Dev Thoughts - these are not the only Survivors of the Void reveals we have today...





Here’s a new section I'd like to include in each new Dev Thoughts where I highlight something cool created by our fans! This month i’d like to show off this amazing creation from @TheFiddleCat on Twitter:



Go and show them some love! If any of you have created or seen anything Hopoo Games related drop me an email at [email protected] or ping me on Twitter or Discord and I might just include it in a future Dev Thoughts!





You’ll never guess what we installed in our new office this month: A genuine Item Printer from RoR2!

Someone let Ben near the bloody thing and he decided to make a load of copies of his raincoat...



Great job Ben you dingus, What are we supposed to do with all these coats??



Ok all is forgiven





Revealed in Dev Thoughts #21 and teased last month is the new game mode which will be available in Survivors of the Void.

How long will you last within the Simulacrum?



The Simulacrum is a wave-based arena mode set within a Void simulation. It can be played both single and multiplayer and contains any artifacts you’ve unlocked ready for use. It is an endless mode that can conclude only in your simulated demise.

My personal best attempt is wave 65 as Bandit, the office record is currently held by raincoat enthusiast Ben at an astounding wave 140 as Acrid. There is no shortage of testing (a.k.a. trying to beat each other’s record) going in behind the scenes with this new mode. We think you’ll have as much fun playing it as we have testing it!

The Void has recreated some of the iconic locations from Risk of Rain 2 to assess the threat of these dangerous places - the simulation is familiar yet somehow… different.

But definitely purple.

Within a confined safe-zone monsters spawn in waves of increasing difficulty and every 5th wave is a difficult Boss encounter. Some waves also have random mutators applied - maybe a random artifact is activated for one round...

...or maybe something that really sucks instead.

After each wave a Void Potential is created for every player, allowing you to select between 3 items giving you a great deal of control over your power within the Simulacrum.



Item Crates and other interactables spawn on the stage as normal - but venturing outside of the safe zone to reach these can be a great risk. Thankfully after every boss wave the safe zone moves to a new area, giving you a brief opportunity to open more crates and increase your power.

Get back here ya pesky varmint!

Getting those extra items will be a great help - when you experience a Void simulation of the most dangerous threats in the universe you never know who or what might show up to challenge you.







Please share your renditions of this mystery enemy in the #ror2-art-and-content channel on the Discord with a @SeventeenUncles ping plz. My personal favourite(s) will be included in next month’s Dev Thoughts.

Much Love

Jonathan @ Hopoo Games