Dev Diary: Issue #3 & PvE Status Updates

Hey, Renegades! In my last Dev Diary, I shared a change to our development plans to incorporate a brand-new PvE mode. This time, I want to shed more light on what’s coming up, including the status of Issue #3.

IMPORTANT DATES

Let’s start by covering what’s coming up, and when. It’s still too early to lock in final dates, but we’ll let you know as soon as we have one:

• Venture 3 Update (Issue #2: Dark Arrival): September 12, 2024
• Issue #3: Q4 2024*
• New PvE Mode: Q4 2024

First up, the story of Issue #2: Dark Arrival continues in Venture 3 this September. Nellie, Cynthia, Bjorn, and Tabytha have seen into the memories of Disciples imprisoned by VEKTR. In a new Questline, Renegades must help them unpack the meaning of these memories as the race to stop VEKTR’s plans intensifies.

Issue #3 and the new PvE Mode will follow in Q4. Read on for more details about features coming in Issue #3 and the new mode.

*Issue #3 will launch this year, but its ‘official’ release with full marketing support will follow in Q1 2025. We’re laying the groundwork for the future of HAWKED with this major update to both PvP and PvE modes, and we want to work closely with our existing Renegade community to polish, refine, and hit the right marks before bringing more players in. Thank you for your support and understanding!

NEW FEATURES IN ISSUE #3

With Issue #3, we’re introducing several permanent core features to PvP and PvE modes in HAWKED: the Character Reputation System, crafting, and cross-session loadouts. We’ve been thinking a lot about players’ interests, and how to fundamentally improve and incentivize progression. In this Issue, we want to create more of a space for creativity, allowing you to express yourselves through your inventory, crafting, and how you interact with characters.

CHARACTER REPUTATION SYSTEM

The Riftwake is full of curious characters, and it’s only right that you should grow closer the more you quest and treasure-hunt with them. Rather than just following the story of every Issue and getting XP and rewards, we want you to feel rewarded for spending time with HAWKED in the long run. 

The Character Reputation System will let you level up your relationship with different NPC characters, including Nellie, Cynthia, Bjorn, and Tabytha. The more you level up, the friendlier the characters’ dialogue will be. You’ll also receive rewards for leveling up!

To level up Character Reputation, complete Quests given by that character:

• Story Quests: Advance the storyline and pique your imagination. These Quests delve into the character’s activities and motivations, and reveal more of HAWKED’s overall storyline. They can only be completed once and grant a lot of Reputation.
• Mastery Quests: These are mostly focused on quantitative gathering or mastery of something, with a narrative less impactful to the main story. They are repeatable but grant less Reputation than Story Quests.

Your Character Reputation levels will be persistent from Issue to Issue.

When Character Reputation is introduced, GRAIL Loyalty will be removed from HAWKED. All unlocks from the current Loyalty system will be transferred to Reputation.

CRAFTING & CHANGES TO TREASURES

To enrich HAWKED’s meta mechanics and replayability, we’re introducing a crafting system called Synthesis. The goal is to make all loot matter, including duplicate treasures and Trinkets, and add more variability to progression systems. 

Synthesis consists of two main components: Rerolling and Enhancing. Rerolling allows you to change an Artifact’s type by combining it with another treasure. Enhancing lets you upgrade Artifacts to a higher quality by merging two Artifacts. Outcomes can be a failure, success, or exceptional success, with various factors influencing your chances, and the Trait, type, or quality you might synthesize.

Since Artifacts and Synthesis are becoming an even more important element of gameplay, a fourth Artifact slot will be added for all players. Along with Class Cards, this is intended to give you even more flexibility and build options. You’ll be able to fill your new slot with Charged Artifacts, a new type of treasure that will be available via Synthesis, Quests, and rare loot drops in-match. They are the most powerful Artifacts in HAWKED and have effects that degrade over time unless recharged. 

Two new types of Artifact rarity will also be introduced: Masterwork and Corrupted. They are variations on Legendary rarity, with Masterwork enhancing one of an item’s attributes, and Corrupted coming with a debuff that might hinder you in some way.

Here’s some important information to be aware of:

• To properly balance Issue #3, all accumulated treasures and Artifacts collected so far will be converted into XP.
• Boosters will be removed from the game in their current form. Their mechanics will be redistributed across other features (including Mods, Class Cards, and Artifacts).
• From Issue #3, you will no longer be able to manually upgrade an Artifact’s quality above Rare. Synthesis can be used to enhance the quality of Artifacts beyond Rare.

CROSS-SESSION LOADOUTS

We’re working on a way to keep your playstyle consistent between matches. With Cross-Session Loadouts, you’ll be able to extract certain power items from a match and use them in the next one:

• If you successfully extract with items in your inventory (for example, a Pulsar, Outrider, Shield, and Mods), your items will carry over to the next match.
• Items only carry over to a new session once. If you are carrying items from a previous session and successfully extract, only items obtained within your current session will carry over to the next session.
• If you don’t extract (you exit the game, die, or the match timer ends), or extract with no inventory slots filled, your inventory will be cleared.

This is an especially important mechanic for build customization, and you can leverage it to reduce the challenge in PvE.

PVE MODE: FIRST DETAILS & DUNGEONS

The upcoming PvE Mode takes place on the same maps as the core Lone Hunter and Treasure Hunt modes… with a twist. Up to five squads can play in PvE, and you can queue solo, or in a duo or trio. But hold your fire – you’re not out to compete with your fellow Renegades this time! 

Each squad in-match will be assigned their own Treasury. Like in PvP, you need to complete Encounters and seek out Glyphs to unlock it. Within, you’ll find the entrance to a Dungeon.

Your goal in Dungeons is to dodge traps, defeat enemies, conquer bosses, and escape with your treasure haul. Basically, be the best Renegade you can be!

Three separate areas with unique Dungeons are being developed for the PvE Mode. I am pleased to announce that active HAWKED players will receive this content for free for a limited time. This is our way of celebrating all the Renegades who play HAWKED and inspire us to keep developing this amazing universe. We’ll announce more details about eligibility and availability at a later date.

Players joining from Issue #3 onwards will have access to the first area for free, with additional DLC and future releases unlocked via in-game purchases. You can enjoy almost everything in the free area, while the premium DLC will take you deeper into the storyline, with purchases allowing us to keep bringing even more new and exciting content to HAWKED.

QUARAGORA

This first area takes its name from X-Isle’s ancient name. Each Dungeon will be themed around the enemies and dangers that dwell there, and this one is dominated mostly by Disciples. Featuring classic treasure-hunting gameplay, Quaragora Dungeons are designed around the idea of Three Great Trials:

• Trial of Fire: Fire Disciples, flaming traps, and other burning beasties await you.
• Trial of Iron: Contend with traps that cause physical damage such as spikes, spinning blades, darts, saws, and more. Disciples here may be clad in armor, so watch out!
• Trial of Nature: Poisonous traps, devious ranged Disciples, and other horrors of the natural world lie within.

Dungeons and new maps will also be coming to PvP modes in HAWKED. I’ll have even more information to share with you on the PvE Mode in September, so stay tuned!

I’ll be back with a new Dev Diary in September, but for now, keep up the fight against VEKTR, Renegades! See you on X-Isle.

Andy Duthie, Executive Producer (HAWKED)

IMPORTANT: All the content covered in this Dev Diary is still in development. Names, dates, and feature functionality may be subject to change.