Hello Riftbreakers!

A couple of days ago, we announced the beginning of our Multiplayer Beta Test. It is a huge stepping stone on the road to Online Co-Op in the Riftbreaker. However, this is not the only thing we are working on. Our content and design teams are working hard on the latest World Expansion III. Today, we’d like to give you a sneak peek into what you can expect from the upcoming update. Please remember that everything you see today is not final and will probably change quite a lot before release. Still, we want to give you an idea of what kind of adventures await you in the near future. Read on!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506610/The_Riftbreaker_World_Expansion_III

An unknown fungal infection spreads across Galatea. Spores of a very aggressive fungus species reach Ashley’s Riftbreaker base, causing chaos and destruction. While searching for the source of the contamination, Ashley discovers an ecosystem unlike anything she has seen before – a vast swamp biome that plays host to numerous species of fungi, carnivorous plants, and animals. In the middle of it all, there is a monstrous-sized mushroom/tree, seemingly the centerpiece of the entire biome. Although everything seems lively and colorful at a glance, further scans reveal that, for some reason, the entire ecosystem is facing extinction. Will you try to save it? Should you even intervene? Perhaps it is the right choice to let nature run its course…

Who said that a swamp has to be dark and dull?

Exploring the flooded swamps of Galatea 37 will not be easy. You will often find yourself with limited building space. Tactics you’ve relied on in the other areas of the planet will have a slim chance of working here, so you will have to rework your tactics from the ground up. Luckily, we have plenty of new technologies to help you with that, including buildings that you place directly on liquid pools! For example, the new Biocondenser will allow you to turn mud into sludge, giving you the option to run your base on gas power. New water-based towers will help to protect your base and liquid pipelines from any danger.

Building space is quite limited. Your pipeline installations will play a crucial role in the Swamp biome.

Nothing is ever simple on Galatea 37 and the native species of the swamp biome will not be happy with your interference in their habitat. The story part of World Expansion III takes place quite late in the course of The Riftbreaker campaign. It will let you make use of all the advanced technologies in your arsenal. Build up all the defenses you can muster – Fusion Power Plants, Shield Generators, Heavy Artillery, and other late-game structures will help you survive the onslaught of the new creatures. Most of them will get their own introductory article, but here are a couple of your new friends:

Stickrid – a (relatively) small insect that hunts in packs. What makes them unique is that Strickrids run away from their prey and try to defeat it from a distance by spitting acid on them.

Stickrids try to keep their distance from you. Luckily, it’s the same distance as your flamethrower’s range.

Plutrodon – a three-legged curiosity that attacks from a distance and uses its unique body form to climb trees and other obstacles.

Plutrodons are a bit harder to defeat than Stickrids and can get you from behind your walls. Be careful as you fight them – you may bring the wrath of the forest upon yourself!

Fungor – a massive creature with many tentacles all over its fungus-like body. Some of those tentacles are used for movement, while others will try to beat you to death.

Fungors aren’t usually aggressive, but if you make them mad, you will have a bad day.

Not only the creatures are quite aggressive in this area of Galatea 37. Here’s a couple of plants that want to take a piece of your Mech’s armor:

The tradition of dangerous things hiding beneath your feet is upheld. This is just a work-in-progress preview – these plants are going to get an article of their own!

The Riftbreaker has expanded a lot since its release. We have updated the game with two new biomes, more than a hundred new technology items, and dozens of new creature types. The third World Expansion is going to bring those numbers even higher, requiring us to do some housekeeping:

• We’re going to rebalance the creature power levels, as well as the weapons to make sure that fights are exciting and demanding all the way through your Campaigns
• A new loot drop algorithm will make sure that you are rewarded for completing challenges, defeating fearsome bosses, and exploring the world
• More custom gameplay events will keep the game fresh and unpredictable, increasing the replay value

Who knows what you will uncover during your travels to this previously unexplored area of Galatea 37?

Stay tuned for a preview of this ugly thing.

Work on this massive expansion is going to continue alongside our Multiplayer development. You can expect more and more news from us on the new features as we get closer to release. You can also learn quite a lot from our preview streams at www.twitch.tv/exorstudios every Tuesday and Thursday. In the meantime, it would mean the world to us if you added The Riftbreaker World Expansion III to your Steam Wishlist.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2506610/The_Riftbreaker_World_Expansion_III

Thank you!
EXOR Studios