“The earliest builders and engineers of Nexus Station were too few to specialize. Teams were sent out for exploration and construction as necessity demanded. Now that we have a steady and diverse population, people are free to engage in any purposeful exploits which they may see fit. That is, as long as what they see fit involves fighting for their life while they build and defend our vital outposts.”
- Orin, Foundationalist Leader
Whatever your approach, missions are how you shape the universe…and how the universe shapes you.
The interactive map in the center of Nexus Station gives players the opportunity to walk amongst the stars, granting an overview of everything happening at any one time.
From the map, you can see:
Sectors of the map that have yet to be revealed
Planetary construction requirements
Resource deposits across sectors
Active missions and available objectives
In-progress and completed facilities
Unlocked benefits from completed facilities
Open Void Tears threatening stability
The star in the centre of the system showing the current balance of Light and Gravity
It’s here that you choose your next action, and every choice makes a difference.
Each sector has its own requirements to be met before the benefits of completion can be fully realized. Whether it's harvesting Residuum, sealing a Void Tear, or laying the groundwork for a Planet, progress always starts with exploration.
The map follows a branching path of progression. Players begin by scouting uncharted tiles. Once a sector is discovered, it must be connected to the Nexus through a constructed Pylon, forming part of the larger energy and transport network.
Only once this connection is established will the sector reveal its purpose as one of the following:
Residuum Fields, rich in resources, become zones for extraction and transport missions.
Planet Sites, which can eventually be terraformed and built upon, allowing the construction of vital planetary facilities.
Residuum gathered from the fields is delivered back to Nexus Station, fueling its primary function: printing new planets. As planets are completed, new gameplay opportunities unlock, including facility construction, universal buffs, and new mission types tied to planetary maintenance and defense.
Residuum is the core resource driving progression in the Warped Universe. Collected during missions, Residuum serves as the foundation for advancing both individual and collective player growth.
As an individual, Residuum is collected and used inside of every mission, it’s not something you can bank up for rewards later down the line.
You’ll find it while exploring, you’ll reclaim it from eliminated hostiles and you’ll receive it for completing mission objectives. Then at the end of each mission, you’ll have the opportunity to spend that Residuum and receive rewards in the form of Artifractal Cores, Sparks, Nexite, or if you so choose, bonus experience towards your battle pass.
That’s if you have any left…
Residuum will also be an “in-mission’ utility resource. One of the ways you’ll be able to use it will include revives. If you die, that’ll cost you. We’ve got some fun ideas in mind for other ways that Residuum can be spent, like empowering abilities, or as a cost to complete certain objectives, or even lay down defensive structures like turrets or cover.
This dual-purpose presents players with meaningful choices: Should you use the Residuum you collect to gain immediate advantages in a mission, or save it for post-mission rewards, and your long-term growth?
On the collective scale, Residuum fuels the broader development of the Warped Universe.
As a shared resource, Residuum ensures that every mission contributes to the collective progress of all players. Large-scale projects, such as building new planets and facilities, will require a specific amount of Residuum collected across all missions.
Each time you leave Nexus Station, you’ll take on a mission tied to one of many sectors across the Warped Universe. Missions vary in goal and scope, but all push the universe in one direction or another.
At the start of Season Zero, the mission map will only be populated by one planet and a few sectors of Residuum, while the rest will be obscured by Explore sectors until players push out further into the map.
Therefore, early missions in Season Zero will mainly be focused on retrieving nearby Residuum, building and maintaining facilities on that first planet, and exploring the sectors immediately surrounding those first few tiles.
As the map expands, however, players will need to make choices on what to focus on and when. Do you follow your heart and seek out every facility upgrade for the weapon type you like, or will you focus on defending areas under assault from Void Tears? There will be the need for both types of player and many may find themselves in roles they normally wouldn’t if the opportunity arises to establish a Pylon or save a facility that adds a bonus to Shotgun Potential.
Every mission can be taken in either action or turn-based gameplay and the results contribute to the greater ecosystem just the same.
As always, each and every mission will push the balance of Light and Gravity one way or another. Constantly changing the gameplay landscape further increases the choices and challenges everyone must face.
Not all missions are created equal. As you grow stronger, the universe pushes back.
The primary force behind mission difficulty will be the seasonal Battle Pass, available in both free and premium. As you progress and level it up, so too will the enemies you face, gaining access to more Potential. Their equipment, stats and other random attributes and effects will pull from greater pools providing players with harder and harder challenges the deeper they dive into the Warped Universe.
A player on Battle Pass level 40 will be facing significantly harder enemies than a player on level 20.
We’ll go into further detail on Battle Passes in a future update.
As the universe continues to develop, the expansive library of missions and goals will continue to provide players with choices to make and new ways to play the game with their ever-evolving loadouts and abilities. How you choose to play Warped Universe is ultimately up to you. The way you engage with missions, the loadouts you assemble, and the paths you take to progress will determine your foothold in a new universe where possibility is only limited by what you dare to try.