We’re getting closer and closer to the 1.0 release of Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor. A short while ago, we announced that the game would be available on Xbox as well. In the Xbox reveal trailer, some of you might have caught a glimpse of a big new feature coming on September 17th. If you want to go into the update spoiler-free, you should probably skip this Steam Post, because it’s time to talk about the new main mission: Escort Duty
Man’s best friend might be a dog, but a dwarf’s best friend has always been a machine. It’s time to meet your new pup: B0b-33 the Drilldozer. Decked to the gills with triangular tracked treads and a massive reinforced bucket wheel, this machine is nearly unstoppable. It will plow through rocks, bugs, and minerals until it reaches its goal. Your job is to protect it until it gets there, and keep it topped up because B0b-33 is a thirsty boy. When he runs out of juice, he’ll grind to a halt until you find some Oil Shale to mine and deposit into its thirsty ol’ gullet.
In the first stages of the dive, yours and B0b-33’s goal is to get to the drop zone because an excavator is way too big to fit on a drop pod. Arm the four charges surrounding the drop zone, and stand back and watch as yet another problem is solved with massive explosives. Once B0b-33’s safe travel has been ensured, get to the drop pod and go to the next stage. The real treasure lies deep within Hoxxes.
The grand prize at the end of the dive is the coveted Ommoran Heartstone. It is, in fact, the whole reason management has been kind enough to send you a B0b-33 unit in the first place, as the outer shell of the heartstone is much too big and sturdy for a pickaxe. In the final stage, you escort the drilldozer to the Heartstone, keeping it oiled up, but the job doesn’t end there. The outer shell is not the only defense mechanism of the Ommortan Heartstone; it also sprouts Beamers that shoot lasers, overheating poor B0b-33, and disrupting the excavation process until you get rid of them by slamming them with your pickaxe.
Once the Heartstone is finally extracted, collect it and get on the drop pod - your work is done for now.
Escort Duty forces you to learn a lot of new behavior that was not needed in the elimination mission. You now have to work around a moving objective, forcing you to maneuver the swarm in different ways. You can use B0b-33 both defensively to hide behind and offensively to mow down hordes of bugs, and utilizing that fully can be the key to progressing through harder hazard levels. And finally, protecting B0b-33 at the end of a stage and running objectives around a static drilldozer lends more weight to crowd control and less weight to making a build that can blast a boss down quickly.
In Escort Duty, you control the tempo. The stage timer only advances when B0b-33 does, and he only moves while you’re inside his control circle. Not ready to face that swarm yet? Step out, halt the drilldozer, and catch your breath. But don’t get too comfortable: the threat counter starts ticking from the beginning of each stage, steadily powering up the swarm. Wait too long, and you’ll be buried under bugs that are far nastier than when you began.
We have had a blast designing this new mission for you. Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor 1.0 is right around the corner, and we simply can’t wait to get it in your hands. Until next time, miners!
Rock and Stone
The Funday Dwarves
PS. While you’re here, check out some of our newest bundles with some great friends of DRG:S.
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