Hello Riftbreakers!
These plants have nothing to do with the rest of the article, but they are cute and funny and shy and awesome.
The Swamp biome that is coming to The Riftbreaker in World Expansion III is a beautiful place filled with all kinds of life. Plants, creatures, and fungi living here have perfect conditions to grow, multiply, and thrive - all thanks to the abundance of water and fertile soil, rich with minerals and nutrients. Given enough time, any form of life can reach a truly gigantic size in the Swamp. However, Galatea 37 likes to surprise us. Apart from towering, ancient trees that have been growing for the past few thousand years, you will encounter other unexpectedly large life forms. Life forms that grow quickly and claim all the land they can find. Let’s talk about Vine Walls today.
This place doesn't look inviting and the creatures don't want us there. Let's go inside before we see reason!
A large portion of the Swamp biome is covered with a sprawling growth of what we call Vine Walls. At first, they seem to be a very large formation of intertwining bushes that are impossible to cross for something larger than a Quelver. However, they are not just a field of shrubs. In fact, it is one giant organism, probably one of the largest ones on Galatea 37. Vine Walls spread like wildfire, taking over every piece of land they can. As the Vines spread, some of their branches get rooted into the ground, soaking up all the nutrients and water a plant needs to survive. Vines are very densely packed, blocking all the sunlight and leaving nothing for competing organisms. In the world of plants, they are as close to the top of the food chain as they can get.
You can carve a path into the vines to regenerate ammo, charge a shot, or simply run away from a creature. It's a nice little tactic.
Encountering a growth like this on your path to exploring the secrets of the Swamp biome is going to pose a challenge. While Vines are not a direct threat to Mr. Riggs, they will limit your movement options. They might seem a bit similar to Limestone Walls from the Crystal Caverns biome, but you will quickly realize that they are very different. Walls and Vines can both be cleared with Mr. Riggs’s drilling arm, and this is where the similarities end. While Limestone Walls stayed open after you drilled through them, Vine Walls will grow back just a couple of seconds after you initially cleared them. You will have to carve your path as you go, with your escape route closing all the time.
Given enough time, the vines will grow back and trap you within. Luckily, good old brute force helps.
Luckily, Vines are quite brittle, and most of your melee weapons will punch through them with ease. This is going to be especially helpful in combat - and there is going to be quite a lot of combat here! While the Vine Wall does not enjoy sharing space with most plants, it forms a symbiotic relationship with carnivorous plants, like Artigians and Carnicynths. The Vine allows these species to grow within its ‘body’ in isolated pockets. Carnivorous plants are supplied with food and shelter. In return, if something is trying to carve its path through the Vine growth, the plant will try to trap it in such a way that Artigians and Carnicynths can destroy the threat from a safe distance. Be careful not to fall into one of these traps.
Mr. Riggs knows he won't burn it all down, but it won't stop him from trying anyway.
Since Mr. Riggs is the biggest pyromaniac on Galatea 37 (this is an official title (edit. no, it’s not)), he quickly discovers that the branches of the Vine Walls can be easily cleared using the good old flamethrower. It is a plant, after all, and plants burn. However, the Vine’s defensive mechanism stops the flames from spreading by secreting a flame-resistant substance that covers the branches near the source of the fire. You can burn a path forward, but you will never get rid of the entire growth.
Fights taking place within the growth require you to find new strategies and look for the most efficient solutions.
It is unclear at this point if the Vine Wall colonies spread around the Swamp have a positive or a negative effect on the ecosystem. That will be left for you to discover. One thing is certain - you will either have to learn to live alongside them or use something other than brute force to destroy them. You will solve this and many other secrets in World Expansion III, which you can wishlist here:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506610/The_Riftbreaker_World_Expansion_III/
If you would like to see previews of World Expansion III even before the update goes to the experimental branch, join us on Tuesdays and Thursdays on www.twitch.tv/exorstudios - we stream both World Expansion III Survival runs and our brave first attempts at Co-Op sessions. We’d love to hang out with you and answer all the questions you might have. You can also catch us on our Discord at www.discord.gg/exorstudios.
See you there!
EXOR Studios
P.S.
We have a bundle going with our friends from Far From Home, allowing you to get The Riftbreaker and Forever Skies, an awesome, post-apo survival game that should be right up your alley. Forever Skies is on a 20% discount at the moment, and if you already own The Riftbreaker, you can get an additional 15% off using the bundle. Check it out!
https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/37896/FOREVER_SKIES_X_THE_RIFTBREAKER/