Hey prospectors,
It’s been a minute since our last update, so we’re here to share a peek of some of the changes coming to Wildgate in our next update later this month.
TL;DR:
Progression 2.0: Our updated progression system will replace several older progression systems
New Perks: More ways to customize your prospector’s kit
Micro POIs: The ever-evolving Reach brings more places to explore and roam
New weapons, equipment, ongoing mode updates and more
Progression 2.0
Players should feel that every time they play Wildgate, they’re working toward something. Whether that’s better gear, XP, unlocking new skills, perks, etc.
Since launch, we’ve continued to tinker and improve progression by adding things like Scrap Crates — but after observing and hearing from you about what you love (and don’t love) about our progression system made it clear that we needed to make changes that substantially improve your experience with progression.
“We have taken a lot of notes from our wonderful community about how to make Wildgate a better game, and this was a standout opportunity to do something meaningful that would help both new and veteran players.” Dustin Browder, Game Director |
When we started thinking about what we could do to rework progression, we had two major goals in mind:
Give players more agency over the rewards you earn
Make rewards more visible and more celebratory
Up until this point, most rewards lived inside Scrap Crates or prospector levels in ways that weren’t always obvious while playing — that means many players were earning items without realizing it.
Over the last few months, we’ve been working toward a system that allows you to easily see everything that’s available, choose the types of rewards you want to pursue, and understand exactly how to work toward them.
More details will be shared in next week’s update preview, where we’ll dig into exactly what this new progression system looks like and what you can expect to see when it’s live.
Did Someone Say Perks?
Oh, character balance… a totally straightforward topic that everyone agrees on ;) For the uninitiated, each prospector comes with their own unique set of abilities, allowing you to experiment with different types of play and team composition strategies.
The challenge we often see with talent trees: they can quickly become overwhelming and seem like a frustrating mini-game that you didn’t sign up to play.
Alongside the revamped progression system we’re also introducing perks, which are designed to give you more ways to subtly shape how your prospector handles in game (without becoming a loadout puzzle).
Perks will allow you to:
Adjust small (but meaningful) aspects of your playstyle
Lean into strengths you enjoy
Make situational choices based on how you want to approach the Reach
Next week we’ll get into the nitty gritty of all things perks. In the meantime, you might be able to learn some exclusive “you heard it here first” info from our very own game director, Dustin Browder if you join our official Discord.
Return of the Micro POIs
Back in 2022, in the very early days of testing, we had a bunch of small points of interest scattered throughout the Reach. Our intention then was to offer these optional moments that added some gameplay variety and additional rewards. As the game moved toward final art and polish, many of those early “mini-POIs” were removed, mainly because we hadn’t had the time to properly rebuild them.
A very early version of a micro-POI.
This whole time, we couldn’t shake the feeling that these little guys deserve their moment in the galaxy… so we’re bringing them back, and even better than before.
These micro-POIs are meant to:
Provide objectives beyond just gathering fuel and ice
Reward curiosity and exploration while flying
Make the Reach feel more dense and alive
These will exist alongside existing major POIs, giving you more reasons to look around, detour, and discover things organically while moving through the cosmos.
And more!
We’re also working on new weapons, equipment, and other quality of life improvements on custom lobbies, spectator mode, and user experience. Some of that you’ll see in our next update while others will trickle in over the next few patches.
A Word From Moonshot
Over the last few months, we’ve spent a lot of time looking at and understanding how players actually experienced all the systems within Wildgate.
On the progression front, what stood out was how often the goals and rewards tied to them felt disconnected from your overall time playing the game.
Revamped progression, perks, and the return of micro-POIs are all steps toward solving that disconnection at a systems level, while making sure that you’re not locked into a singular style of play.
As with all things in the Reach, we expect these systems to evolve over time too. We’re stoked to share more next week and to hear from you on what you think of the upcoming changes.
We’ll see you real soon, space cowboys!
— The Moonshot Team