Risk of Rain 2's Survivors of the Void paid expansion gets March release date on PC
Console versions arriving in Q2 2022.
Risk of Rain 2's Survivors of the Void paid expansion finally has a launch date, and will be heading to PC on 1st March, with a console release to follow. And to celebrate the news, developer Hopoo Games has offered a closer look at the Railgunner - one of two new Survivors joining its enormously successful co-op rogue-like shooter sequel as part of the expansion.
Survivors of the Void brings a significant heft of new content to Risk of Rain 2 - ranging from new bosses and enemies to new items and stages - but the unifying theme (as its name does rather suggest) is The Void. The gateway to this mysterious realm has opened, spilling its innards all over Petrichor V. "For millennia, The Void Creatures have grown dominant by taking artifacts from our realm to theirs," Hopoo explains. "Now they look to add you to their collection."
The expansion's four new stages will give players the opportunity to "explore the beautiful waterfalls of Aphelian Sanctuary, take in the pungent odour of the Sulfur Pools, and enjoy accidental ice skating", as well as venturing into The Void itself - and that's alongside nine new monsters, two new bosses, two new Elite Types, plus an alternate final stage and boss.
Players can also expect an entirely new item tier exclusive to the expansion, three new interactables, new music, and Simulacrum - a new endless wave-based arena mode set within a Void simulation that can be played either solo or with friends. And finally, Survivors of the Void brings two new playable Survivors - only one of which has been revealed so far.
The Railgunner, as the newly detailed Survivor is known, is described as a specialist at "long-range single-target massive damage", and comes with a number of unique tools and mechanics based around her Railgun. Activating the weapon's M99 Sniper scope, for instance, switches to first-person view, enabling players to highlight and aim for Weak Points on enemies - with a hit guaranteeing a Critical Strike and 1000% damage. That's bolstered by an additional 500% base damage if players manage a perfect reload once the Active Reload bar is triggered.
The railgun is also equipped with the XQR Smart Round System, which rapid-fires smart rounds that home in on enemies for 100% damage when the scope isn't in use - useful when the Railgunner is being swarmed by close-range enemies - and there's also the new Concussion Device. This enables players to propel themselves up to high or distant places with a well-timed jump - perhaps to reach safety or a better vantage point - and to knock back smaller foes, breaking up deadly packs and making them easier to pick off one by one.
Finally, there's the Supercharge, a special ability that briefly overloads the railgun to turn it into a "boss one-shotting beast" capable of launching a huge piercing shot that inflicts 4000% damage and 150% Weak Point damage. However, the downside is that all weapon abilities are disabled for five seconds after use, meaning players will need to rely on the Concussion Device to defend themselves until all systems are back online.
Risk of Rain 2's Survivors of the Void expansion will be priced at $15 USD (around £11), but expect a short discount period when it launches for PC on 1st March, bringing the cost down to $9.75 (around £7). A console release will follow some time in Q2 2022.