Raknar are a species of giant arachnids. Though they are similar to spiders, they lack pedipalps and their front limbs have adapted over time into specialized striking weapons, aptly named Strikers. They are a predatory species and voracious hunters, feeding on anything that they can capture or kill. They were driven underground centuries ago by ancient humans with the aid of fire. Trapped in the caves beneath TerVarus, they adapted to their merciless prison and sought out a way to return to the surface. Now that they have emerged they are ready to renew the hunt of their ancient enemies.
Players will find that raknar start with all their natural abilities unlocked and ready to begin hunting the creatures of the Lost Isle, and any other players they find along the way. The raknar’s primary attack is their strikers, which are controlled with the left and right mouse buttons by default.
In addition to physical attacks, raknar are able to lay down layers of webbing to slow anything that might enter the strands. The raknar can move over the webbing without any impediment, allowing it to effectively trap an area and drive their targets into the webbing and to their doom. Webbing can be laid on the ground or attached to another surface to span a gap, allowing these arachnids to create raknar-only paths between two points. Injured raknar are also able to use their webbing to heal their injuries.
Raknar are ambush predators and as such their stamina drains very fast while sprinting. Fortunately their 8 limbs provide above average speeds for their basic movement. Their multiple sets of legs also allow them to traverse a multitude of terrains, including those that are inaccessible by the other races. This includes vertical surfaces like walls and inverted ones such as ceilings, both of which can be found in the caves under the island. They are especially well adapted to the caves, having access to a special night-vision that allows them to see in even the deepest reaches of the tunnels.
Egg laying is how raknar establish their respawn locations. They are able to lay an egg on any surface they can climb every 15 minutes. They can have multiple eggs in the world at once, but when they respawn at one after dying, it consumes the egg and a new one must be placed at that location if the player wishes to use it again.
Evolution is the key to raknar progression. They can evolve their carapace to increase their armor, their strikers to increase their attack power, their webbing to improve their production and strength, their metabolism to improve their sprinting efficiency, and their size to improve their hit points. Each of these evolutions also influences the appearance of the raknar, with chitin plates and spikes appearing on their bodies and their size increasing as well.
All this strength does come with a few drawbacks. Despite having eight limbs, raknar are incapable of swimming and will begin to drown as soon as they are submerged under water. They are also highly susceptible to fire damage, due to an oil they secrete from their carapace. This means that while a raknar might easily overpower an average human, a human with a torch is a force to be reckoned with and is worthy of caution.
We have a number of plans for the future of the raknar in our design. We want to add more to them that accentuates their predator status, as well as a few mechanics to encourage them to cooperate. One of these is the Hive mechanic, where raknar can form a community together that allows them to hatch out their eggs as npc raknar to maintain and guard the hive.
Have you tried out the raknar race yet? What aspect of them do you find most appealing? Share with us in the comments below!