The search for life across the Solar System is an exciting journey filled with unexpected twists and turns in Mars Horizon 2. Amongst these unforeseen challenges are the planetary hazards which could seriously hinder your agency’s mission to discover life before your rival agencies.
In this Deep Dive, we will be looking at the various planets and moons you’ll be able to explore, with a special focus on the dangers on each. Hazards damage any ground payload that is caught within them. In the screenshots provided, the red area around the risk highlights the area of effect.
THE MOON
The Moon’s surface is covered in lunar dust and features mountains, impact craters, and dark maria, which are plains of cooled lava. The Moon does have various hazards you’ll have to watch out for.
Micrometeorite showers are a medium-sized area of meteorite impact that rain down on your payload if you’re in its vicinity. The shower is static and can appear anywhere. If you do get caught up in it, be sure to get out of the zone as quickly as possible to reduce the amount of damage taken.
As you explore more of the surface, you’ll come across canyons, riverbeds, craters, and rock fields which can all damage your payload if not avoided. With the Moon being studied so often throughout the years, space debris is also a hazard, which are the remains payloads which have long since been disabled.
MARS
One of the main areas of focus in your search for life is the Red Planet. As one of the four rocky planets of the solar system, you will have to navigate the desert-like terrain to progress your mission.
Dust Storms are large storms which move each turn. If you are caught in the storm, be careful where you move your grounded payload to because the storm moves in a direction which is random, so it might be going the same way as you, leading to more damage.
Not only do storms damage your payload, but it can also spawn the Dust Devil. The Dust Devil is a small tornado which is often left behind by dust storms and this too moves every turn.
The surface of Mars isn’t just dust, however. There are several hazards which can damage your payload just by passing over them. These include rock fields, canyons, basalt columns, penitentes, and riverbeds.
IO
The silicate rock surface of Io features over 400 active volcanoes and 100 mountains, some of which are higher than Mount Everest. With so much elevation, rocks, and volcanoes, players will have to stay on their toes to ensure that their payloads can complete their task at hand.
Volcanic eruptions are medium-sized hazards that appear intermittently around volcanos which have just erupted. If you sense a volcano is rumbling, be sure to steer clear or run the risk of taking damage!
It’s not just the area around a volcano that’s dangerous after an eruption as dust storms also wreak havoc in the wake of a volcanic eruption.
Eruptions aren’t the only way that the pressure escapes on Io, however. Heat vents can appear anywhere on the map and these small static hazards cook your payloads if they are within their area of impact. Other damaging threats include canyons, rock fields, and basalt columns.
Everything which can affect your mission on IO isn’t damaging, however. There are impassable natural occurrences such as volcanoes, lava tubes, lava, and mountains.
Just a few things to contend with on Io, then.
TITAN
The largest moon of Saturn is primarily composed of ice and rocky material, with a subsurface layer of ammonia-rich liquid. While investigating potential sources of life, players will have to avoid cryo volcanic eruptions. These medium-sized hazards are static and appear intermittently around volcanos.
You will also have to avoid frost storms, which can appear anywhere and move every turn. Like other storms, you will have to be careful about your next move as they can move to where you’re looking to go!
An umbrella will do you no good as you will have to also avoid acid rain. This is a medium-sized hazard that is static and can appear anywhere on Titan.
Like most other surfaces you can explore in Mars Horizon 2, Titan features riverbeds, rock fields, craters, and even swamps that can damage your grounded payloads.
The impassable terrain on Titan includes cryogenic pools, mountains, and cryovolcanoes.
How can you counter hazards?
There will be ways to ensure that payloads can recover from the damage they’ve taken from hazards, so you’ll be able to salvage some of your favourite payloads, should they suffer in your mission. We'll have more information on this going forward, so stay tuned for that. 👀
Want to read more of our Deep Dives? Learn more about the tools you will have at your disposal in our Deep Dive all about Payloads.
We hope you enjoyed this overview of hazards in Mars Horizon 2: The Search for Life. We can’t wait to share more information on the game with you. Keep watching the skies! ✨