Hold on to your butts!

Team JNPR, Horde Mode, localization, and Mac build will be available on Steam this Thursday, Oct 13, 2016! That’s maybe the most news-packed sentence we’ve ever had in an update. Yup, this is a big one. Now let’s jump into the juicy details...

New Playable Characters: Team JNPR

Since the launch of Grimm Eclipse, one of the loudest requests from our community has been to add Team JNPR. Jaune, Nora, Pyrrha, and Ren are now all suited up and combat ready. We wanted these four characters to play different from Team RWBY so we’ve made sure their styles and abilities felt fresh, while remaining true to the RWBY animated series.

As you play through Campaign or Horde, your adventures will be fully voiced by the actual voice actors of the show! Rediscover who’s behind the events of Mountain Glenn as Jaune (Miles Luna). Take on groups of mutated Grimm as Nora (Samantha Ireland) and Pyrrha (Jen Brown) and hear Ren (Neath Oum) make a joke. Sorta... Kinda?

RWBY: Grimm Eclipse has always allowed choosing your favorite character to play. If you want to play as a team full of Ruby, well… “Go team Ruby!” Now with the addition of JNPR, you and your friends will be able to mix and match as you please. Maybe get ready for the October 22nd release of Volume 4 by playing as Team RNJR?

In general, each member of JNPR has a character skill tree similar to RWBY. Unlike RWBY, JNPR’s varies a bit from the standard Ultimate, Team Attack, and Ranged trees. Each new teammate has a unique spin on the old formula. More details below.

Jaune Arc
As the team leader, we felt Jaune needed to be able to support his friends in battle. His Ultimate can grant his teammates a brief heal, speed boost, or damage boost. If you’re familiar with the animated series, Jaune hasn’t demonstrated a ranged ability. In Grimm Eclipse, rather than shooting a projectile, Jaune raises his shield and charges forward until he reaches a set distance, or better yet, bashes into an enemy. He also has a perk that lets him gain Ultimate energy if his teammates finish off team attacks that he sets up. Jaune’s upgradeable, heavy attack is designed with team attacks in mind too.

Jaune’s a bit of a challenge to play single player, but in a multiplayer; your friends will love the boosts he grants his teammates. Horde Mode anyone?

Nora Valkyrie
The ever chatty Nora brings her electric personality to the battlefield in the form of upgradeable chain lightning attacks. Some of her attacks continue on to the next enemy in the form of electricity. Of course she has her giant hammer, but as it turns out, it’s also a gun. Nora has a grenade launcher that fires unlike any other character in the game. She can also upgrade her launcher to fire mines that explode when enemies step near them.

When you’re ready to bring the electricity-infused hammer down on the Creatures of Grimm, Nora is always game to break some legs! Boop, indeed.

Pyrrha Nikos
A well-trained huntress, Pyrrha is proficient on the battlefield in a variety of ways. Pyrrha is the only character that can upgrade her default combo. These additional attacks allow her to take out baddies at an alarming rate. Miss Nikos also has the ability to upgrade her counter -- sending her shield bouncing off and stunning several surrounding enemies, if one should dare attack.

Extended combo strings, a hugely advantageous counter, and ranged attacks that pierce all enemies in its path are sure to help find the Grimm’s Achilles heel.

Lie Ren
Similar to Jaune, Ren is also designed with team attacks in mind. His approach is a bit different than the others though. Ren can setup and (if his teammates are too busy) finish off his own team attacks. As another character with an upgradeable heavy attack, Ren can focus a portion of his aura into his attack to unleash a stunning area of effect. When ready, Ren’s Ultimate allows him to dart around from enemy to enemy dealing large amounts of damage.

Usually reserved, Ren is packed with style and a quick approach to battle allowing him to cover ground quickly and drop enemies even faster.

In summary - Team JNPR includes 4 new playable characters each with their own unique abilities and upgrades, plus they’re all voiced by the actual show actors. All of the above awesomeness can be yours for the low, low price of $4.99 (USD).

HORDE MODE

Horde Mode is a FREE update and a new challenge added to Grimm Eclipse. Gather your team and fight off waves of Grimm. As you defeat enemies, you’ll accrue a currency (lien) that allows you to purchase a variety of turret defenses. Use your team, turrets, and skills correctly and you may just survive the horde.

Horde mode offers three brand new maps featuring familiar Beacon locations: Emerald Forest, Forever Fall, and Mountain Glenn. Horde Mode also comes with a new Grimm to slay: the Mini-Deathstalker. These little fellas might be small, but they are mighty!

Horde Mode is a FREE update to all current owners. If you’d like a bit more info, we covered Horde Mode in greater detail previously HERE. Check it out!

Now Available on Mac

Welcome to the team, Mac users! Now’s your chance to explore the 4 player, online co-op, hack and slash game that is RWBY: Grimm Eclipse. Get ready to dive into a ten-level campaign that expands the lore of the RWBY animated series. Mac players can access the core game, Horde Mode, and have Team JNPR available for purchase in the store. And in case you’re wondering... YES! The Mac and PC versions offer seamless online crossplay.

Localized in Nine Languages

We’re very excited to announce that Grimm Eclipse is now available in English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Russian, Japanese, and Portuguese. While the voice acting remains in English, players can now change all UI, menus, and subtitles to the language of their choice in the Settings menu. As Weiss would say, “Finally!.” Or maybe you’d prefer, “¡Por fin!,” “终于做好了！,” Наконец-то!,” “Endlich!, Enfin !,” “ついに!,” or “Finalmente!.” Your choice!

Ok, that’s it for now. Get your bodies ready because tomorrow is the big day!

As always, let us know what you think in the comments or the forums.

Wanna reach us directly?

We’re a busy bunch, but we all love taking a little time to chat with the community. Say hey!
Name: Position: Steam Name or @Twitter
Michael: Game Director: @MPHadwin
Casey: Senior Engineer: @CaseyDonnellan
Andy M: Senior Producer: Wizard_Poop (on Steam)
Jeff: Game Engineer: @jc_chamberlain
Will: Game Engineer: @WixelPix
Andy C: Artist/Level Designer: @MaximumCortez
Jordan: Animator/VFX: @Jordy_J_S
Washburn: Character Artist: Awqsferd (on Steam)
Brian: Associate Producer:@Skilltacular

Happy hunting,
Rooster Teeth Games