Dev Thoughts #25 - Don’t Say The “S” Word
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!
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.
Railgunner
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.)
M99 Sniper
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
XQR Smart Round System
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…
Concussion Device
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..
Supercharge
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