Dev Diary #2: Combat

DEV STREAM TOMORROW!

We’re going live on Twitch at 15:00 CET tomorrow, Feb 19, to show off the finer points of Reignbreaker’s combat system. Follow us on Twitch to see the game in action and ask us your questions live!

FIGHTING 101

Here’s a quick rundown on how to beat the Queen’s machines. As a Battlefield Machinist, your primary weapon is a mighty Javelin, which can do three kinds of attacks: an aimed Throw that hits a single enemy at range, a Slam that damages enemies around you in a small radius, and a melee Strike that hits enemies in front of you in close-to-medium range. These attacks always do some damage on impact, and also shoot projectiles depending on which Bayonet is equipped.

Your Javelin attacks are limited by Heat – use too many attacks too quickly and your Javelin will overheat, forcing you to wait until it cools down again.

Punches are close-range attacks that are especially useful because they don’t add heat and even help decrease your heat gauge faster. Keeping a balance between punches and Javelin attacks is a good way to keep you in the flow of combat and rack up a high combo level.

Speaking of the Combo Level – you can build it up by performing lots of attacks in close succession. The higher your combo level, the more Keys you earn to spend on upgrades. Certain Vault Items also increase your damage or give you other bonuses based on your level, so keep that combo going!

Finally, certain enemies need to be Executed when knocked out, or else they’ll get back up. Go finish them off before they get the chance – and enjoy a massive heat reduction while doing so.

WEAPON SPOTLIGHT: RAILGUN

Ever wanted to rain down hellfire on your enemies? Well, the Railgun comes pretty close. As one of the five primary weapon variants, the Railgun is a heavy projectile that’s as destructive as it is cool-looking:

The Strike is a large sweeping attack perfect for clearing out groups of enemies:

The Throw ricochets and hits another enemy:

And the Slam rains down a barrage of heavy fire – after a quick delay, so time it carefully:

SWAPPING WEAPONS

Early in the game you’ll unlock the ability to carry not one, but two Javelins with you into each run, which you can swap between at any time. This provides a lot of flexibility in choosing which weapons you’d like to bring into combat. Some Javelins have more specific use cases, so bringing along a complementary weapon ensures you’ll be ready for whatever the Bastion throws at you.

GET THE GUARDIANS

The first major boss you’ll meet in the game is the Chimera – a nasty piece of work that will put your combat skills to the test. Don’t expect your first encounter to go well.

We’ll be attempting to kill the Chimera ourselves tomorrow on Twitch at 15:00 CET!

Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back next week for a closer look at the art and visual effects of Reignbreaker. See you there!

– Studio Fizbin