Risk of Rain 2 | Seekers of the Storm - Dev Diary 01

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We’re excited to announce the second expansion for Risk of Rain 2: Seekers of the Storm! This reveal took place during the Festival of Gup 10-Year Anniversary Livestream.
Today you'll hear from our loremaster Kayla Larson, Associate Art Lead Claire Bian, and Managing Director of Production James Lopez. They will give you a first look at the mysterious False Son.
We’re also introducing day and night variants of maps for the first time. These give players a new way to experience a familiar location, introducing new flavor, specific props, and new areas to explore!
Seekers of the Storm will bring a lot of new content to Risk of Rain 2, such as new Survivors, new levels, new monsters, and more! Keep an eye out for future Dev Thoughts for more information!
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Website: www.gearboxsoftware.com
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[@tayziko4801]

"i want them to stop and look at the environment" *gets Brassed Contraptioned*

[@Mr.Pancake-7092]

What standing still for 2 seconds does to an mf

[@3lectr1x]

Tbf at least they show they care

[@drippykirbo]

oh hey nice l- *BRASS CONTRAPTION BONK*

[@ultrawall006]

[captain]

[@thetramguy965]

I really hope Chris keeps making the soundtracks for the game. I couldn't imagine the game without his music.

[@Saeryfim]

Yeah, 100%. Playing RoR Returns with the remastered soundtrack has been nostalgic AF.

[@undertalelover7763]

Didnt Chris say that he is pretty much done with ror overall

[@KetamineTrip]

@@undertalelover7763yeah sadly theirs nothing the devs can do bout that

[@depressoespressocomingup1810]

@@undertalelover7763wait where did he say this??

[@Fredfredder]

same

[@fireking0531]

I just want to say. Thank you guys so much for actually caring about the game. it brings me so much joy to know there is a future for this franchise.

[@ededdneddy4ever34]

Dude their lore master knows what’s up. I’m excited what she cooks up she actually knows what she’s talking about. Really hoping for N’Kuhana dlc or the sequel to be about her. In the lore Mithrix and Providence each received their blessing from N’Kuhana and I’m excited to see how she plays a role in the story going forward.

[@Fireshock20]

@@ededdneddy4ever34 The "She" both of them talk about is most likely not N'Kuhana. We know this because Mithrix talks about how "She" died after only giving Providence her gift, which led Mithrix to harbor resentment towards Providence, and all that happens possibly thousands of years before the events of the game. Meanwhile N'Kuhana is still alive and still has followers as the game happens.

[@ededdneddy4ever34]

@@Fireshock20 N’Kuhana is dead in the lore of risk of rain but she’s the goddess of death or at least has powers over life and death so I don’t think it really matters. You may be right about the providence and mithrix thing I thought they both received a blessing. I know providence received the blessing of creation which is what led him to experiment but I thought mithrix also received something

[@Fireshock20]

@@ededdneddy4ever34 Nah, only Providence got a gift which is one of the reasons why Mithrix resented him. You can read about that on Brittle Crown. Only "She" is declared to be dead, N'Kuhana isn't ever said to be, just that "she doesn't visit anymore." Her cultists are still at large and even the Wetlands Aspect entry talks about how N'Kuhana was alive to appreciate the sacrifices the one guy made to her. There's a big implication they're different entities. Either way, I agree it would be nice to explore both of them more.

[@bannedmann4469]

One version of the game*

[@Set_it_to_WUMBO]

They definitely gave a lot of info regarding this dlc and it’s got me extremely hyped considering I’m like 87% fully completed on the current game as is and I’ve only played for like 3 weeks

[@stevenlikeslegs6921]

How does one "complete" ROR2? all logs? all achievements? Full E8 climb? I know even after completing Eclipse 8 on every character im still playing

[@DemonicTaco666]

​@stevenlikeslegs6921 I wonder as well, even aside from skill the full E8 gring is over 100 wins its just a serious grind.

[@TheNewRobotMaster]

I would argue collecting all items and unlockables is completing the game. Things that don't unlock anything like the eclipse challenges don't count towards completion rate

[@Set_it_to_WUMBO]

@@TheNewRobotMaster honestly with how much there is to learn about ror2 even all of the unlockables and achievements aren’t enough for a “completion” so I’d go as far as saying that it just goes off how much knowledge you have of the game

[@RyanSikes-YT]

From a "Completionist" standpoint All Items/Survivors/Challenges/Artifacts/Logs and the game would be deemed complete but from a "what else can I learn" standpoint there is truly SO much more. I've played RoR2 for over 1k hours and I still have things to learn and test.

[@thor8606]

Im excited. A tad anxious but excited. Im glad theyre following established lore but I really hope they'll be sure to not pull the curtain too far back, a lot of what i love about Risk of rain is how the logs explain their little piece of the story but never tell a full orderly cohesive one. Just one little speculation-provoking tidbit at a time. My worrying aside the art direction is stellar and I hope to see more new content from these developers.

[@longbeing]

I think there’s a good chance this dlc will raise almost as many questions as it answers, if not more.

[@simmy2208]

The hope, i think atleast, is to eventually have enough logs so they all together can tell that cohesive one. That's what the "Into the Future" segment says to me atleast

[@otamatonefan8996]

Tbh the main thing i got from SoTV is that everything is fucked and already taken over by the Void, as the logbooks tells things that is altered in-game for our convenience. One giveaway being us "beating" Voidling, despite both it and Reavers having incredibly powerful telepathy that we never get hit by.

[@BeeBeeBeeLol]

I'm opposite lol. A lack of cohesion is what bothers me, so if they put an effort into making it all proper and linked, i'll be glad.

[@brickphone8069]

@@otamatonefan8996Apparently lore wise, the game does all still take place outside the void, beating the voidling is intentionally vague but it is implied that it is actually defeated, it’s just the voidling likely isn’t the end all be all of the void, its name even implies it’s not fully matured or a lesser version of something else

[@dolphin6756]

3:29 I assumed the "space sickness" was just asphyxiation from the lack of atmosphere lol

[@GobyGoober]

real, I would die to it too

[@staymaddie]

PLEASE MAKE DAY/NIGHT VERSIONS OF ALL STAGES! maybe have small differences for each version so we get little goals to achieve in each variant!

[@mizuchi6022]

That’ll be a little hard for maps like Depths considering it’s a cave.

[@Psychobum91932]

​@@mizuchi6022the fungi could glow brighter, the skybox could be well lit from that happening

[@Whos_this_goober]

Or maybe a day/night cycle? Imagine an achievement called "Night Owl: presence a sunset/sunrise" it would be cool imo! :D

[@JoeyIsGaming]

These maps look amazing! I dont even care about the loot potential, i think imma always pick the new maps!

[@DamageMaximo]

it's easy to tell when someone has cheated billions of lunar coins

[@sidmoreno5202]

aight I was not expecting this to look this good. you got my full support so far

[@MrJFL]

This looks phenomenal. I love the philosophy the devs are carrying with such a beloved game. It's just refreshing to see there's still that passion for a great experience and story.

[@BitSuper]

no way its the terraria calamity man (you cannot escape)

[@trueblue4276]

for a second there I thought every map would get a day night cycle. still a cool and unique map!

[@collider4378]

They do have the void versions of a bunch of the maps, so this isn't that big a stretch, but definitely a good idea. Can't wait to die there 1000 times :D New area looks great.

[@MolmorJS]

They did say we should do more, would be cool if that happens and other maps retroactively get night modes

[@DemonBoy524]

Yeah thought the same, would add a lot of variety to past maps

[@slavi8433]

holy shit gearbox did their research, alot of people were skeptical but they made most of the first expansion anyway so im optimistic!

[@TewbBelrog]

Uhh no, they kinda just cherry picked concepts that seemed cool on the surface. 1:35 Abyssal Depths was a Lemurian settlement, and Imps hail from another plane of existence. Putting the two together cuz they're both red and demonic just shows their ignorance of the preexisting world.

[@twizzlers7425]

@@TewbBelrog It really aint that big of a deal. Risk of Rain has always been gameplay before story, if the story retcons certain parts, that's fine. Even after the retcons you'll still get a competently put together story that after learning it you won't care about, because you're going to be more invested in putting 5+ hours in a single run.

[@Drakkenlordz5419]

@@twizzlers7425the gameplay never retcon the story until sotv lil bro

[@twizzlers7425]

@@Drakkenlordz5419 what? I said it doesn’t matter much whether or not they retcon certain story beats. All in all the story was made by two college kids, no duh the story might get retconned.

[@Drakkenlordz5419]

@@twizzlers7425 not u the other guy

[@RetroDead]

genuinely so happy to see the direction gearbox is taking the franchise 💖

[@elbowjuiced]

except for the new mobile game...

[@RaulYoryi]

​@@elbowjuicedque tiene que ver eso con risk of rain 2 que te afecte a ti? Lo único que hara es dar a conocer más a la marca y meter dinero a ror en general

[@schmoferino]

​@@elbowjuiced The mobile game's not a terrible thing, really. Sure, it's pretty lame and gacha isn't very fitting for this series but it's not the main team's focus, it has a separate dev team

[@serraramayfield9230]

@@schmoferinois it confirmed to be gacha?

[@k90v85]

​@@serraramayfield9230yes

[@THE_PeKa]

I hope you can deliver. That's all I can say. Hopoo gave you everything you need to continue and reassured us you can do it. I and many others have high hopes for you. Good luck!

[@thundor3517]

im cautiously optimistic about this, i really hope that this new team is really able to capture the spirit of the game and carry it forwards into the future & i wish them all the best!

[@justanotherimperialfist]

From the looks of it, they really didn't. It looks like they cored what made Risk of Rain good, puppeted some popular characters around, and turned it into just another action game with no real emotional depth anymore - all so we can be convinced their "Loremaster" knows what she's doing.

[@sirusblack2789]

@@justanotherimperialfistwell they can’t change the game because no matter what they do the fans such as yourself will never be satisfied

[@justanotherimperialfist]

@@sirusblack2789 I never said anything about changing the game. Not to mention you can't quite throw any stones at "fans like me" when you're defending this before they can prove this will be worthwhile. I would have been satisfied if they just never let loose with the lore at the forefront and left it up to us to interpret. If they had kept it simple and understood that it's not about how godly you are, but the growth to that point and how all of the planet's backstory is separate from you, I would not be so skeptical. The meteorite ARG that had preceded the announcement should have been all they gave us, with glimpses of new enemies, new items, and new survivors just as they had with SotV. Risk of Rain relies on mystery to retain engagement and keeping the curtains drawn on its secrets to serve as rewards for your efforts. If it works for you, more power to you. But you can't say I'd "Never be satisfied" when my gripes are precisely what WOULD have made it satisfying.

[@bonfist7277]

@@justanotherimperialfist Risk of Rain is a simple game in most aspects. The gameplay ideas are what made it popular, it can really go anywhere. As long as there aren’t dumb micro transactions and the goal is always to make a fun game before anything else, I see no problems with it. But yeah, would be nice if things didn’t have to change.

[@angrymoths]

I wish I was. Not so optimistic based on what I'm seeing. Risk 2 is a more lighthearted story, in my interpretation, then it seems Gearbox understands, and overall it looks to me like they're only trying to skim soul off of this, rather than understand how to make it. This trailer alone is really way too corporate and "content" focused too. call me a cynic, but yeah, I can smell it. I'll leave part of my other comment: I know the comments here are going to be extremely positive, and you know what? that's great, I'm glad some of you are looking forward to the next "5-10" years of Risk of Rain "content". But this is where I get off.

[@the_real_beefcakes]

really hyped for more lore, one of the things I love about this game is the lore

[@sillonbono3196]

Don't get too excited, this is Gearbox we're talking about, remember they wrote the disaster that is BL3 story wise. First thing they did is turn Aurelionite a stone titan into a she.

[@bunny-ii5ie]

@@sillonbono3196 What's wrong with that?

[@Renetiger000]

⁠​⁠@@sillonbono3196 Gearbox is a big company not a small studio dude. It's not like one person writes everything. Seekers of The Storm is made by the same team that made Survivors of The Void.

[@funnytastingmilk]

Really? Kinda upset they made actual lore 😞 the logbooks were mostly so non specific I felt like it allowed for so much freedom in ideas

[@the_real_beefcakes]

@@funnytastingmilk that's how they share the lore. If you piece it together it makes an overarching story that you have to piece together yourself and loads of mysteries to discover

[@NEONcrab88]

I’m in heaven rn I love risk of rain and it’s like I’m getting a 10 course meal today.❤

[@markguyton2868]

Other than the "thinking ten years in the future" part, this does look like it will be interesting.

[@MoctorDac]

I'm pretty excited, but I feel that some of the "lore" doesn't need to be explored and explained, the mystery of providence is what makes him so interesting... don't get me wrong - I like it when new hints or concepts are teased, but only if they leave huge gaps in the overall "puzzle" so to speak, or lead to even bigger unexplained mysteries. Basically when you know every little detail about something it's no longer compelling. All of the wonder is removed and replaced with a Wiki paragraph :( New maps are lookin' sick though! Also I'd love to see some alt-skins that are a bit more challenging to unlock... perhaps needing a certain eclipse level, or a specific combination of artifacts :^)

[@Skeloleks811]

I definitely understand that sentiment and generally agree. however, I feel like there isn't much mystery left to Risk of Rain's lore anyways aside from the void. other than that it's a pretty clear cut story without many questions leftover, of course you have to put in the work to uncover everything first but that's part of the fun.

[@kilowyatt1107]

What the other guy said, everything about the planet has been explained in some way with some minor questions left over like who is she and the red plane/void

[@k90v85]

@@Skeloleks811 theres tons

[@user-mp8fy2td8p]

Beautiful atmosphere

[@SLASHY_SSB]

That water plant map looks insane. Might be one of the best maps I've seen in terms of art direction

[@kweepy9229]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!!! PLEASE PLEASE KEEP THEM COMING. I have yet to find a game I enjoy playing and relaxing with as much as ror2!

[@pulsss]

looks absolutely amazing, loving the lore implications and ESPECIALLY loving the overall vibe of the trailer we got earlier today, the voice over was awesome.

[@RampagingRice]

Wow this looks amazing guys, so excited to see where this goes n to get more info on the release!!!

[@BrixieGunMage]

Really looking forward to what all is next!

[@dustinsmith7291]

Thanks so much! You guys keep making and we'll keep playing.

[@bryankopkin6869]

The maps look so beautiful! I am so happy that there is a future for the franchise and I can’t wait to see what else this DLC has for us!

[@austinveenstra7186]

I'm really looking forward to this new DLC! Thanks a lot to the everyone working on this, it looks awesome so far!

[@laughingstock7638]

i was honestly not expecting much from Gearbox considering their track record but this looks pretty great

[@ganjaman59650]

just wait to see what they planned "for the next 5 or 10 years" as they say.

[@abuleil1117]

We love the game and you developers because you are actually caring for this game that may not be the most successful but still is pretty much played a lot and loved by a big community, again, thanks a lot and we really appreciate every single detail and update and item and enemy you make!

[@everrzerro1108]

i’m so hyped for this, been playing this game for years and there’s nothing like it. no other game gets me as excited with new things as this one, absolutely can’t wait

[@Ogwagle2007]

love to see that yall are careing about the game and its community, a lot of us were wondering what was going to happen to the game and i was really worried that it was going to end up as a sad ruined cash grab but this is promising! (thanks for continueing the dev diarys btw)

[@baumchel]

This all looks and sounds amazing- can't wait!

[@NeverduskX]

I'd love to hear from the team. I was excited to see they actually have a loremaster, whose ideas are really awesome.

[@BWOSandman]

Interesting additions so far! Only time will tell to see how they play. That was more lore I was expecting to hear about directly.

[@hellonation33]

I appreciate your entire team. It was a true joy to help me out of my depression.

[@Fabius11k]

I am very excited for this! Thought the game was finished after being sold, very glad new content is coming out hopefully soon! can't wait! :D

[@DestroF707]

awesome i love to hear about new content in risk of rain :D

[@N1DM]

I'm actually very interested in what you guys are gonna make. Proud of you guys.

[@Ornaxius]

Just got the SotV dlc on console today and I'm loving it so much. Can't wait to see what's next for the future of this game!

[@Dtoszi]

Oh nice, didn’t expect to get another expansion!

[@5uperM]

Looks good so far, can't wait to play it!

[@XxsoapywolfxX]

Love to see the new lore!

[@toob4858]

i'm really happy about how good this looks. i had some doubts when i heard gearbox would be taking the helm, but everything i've seen so far has been really cool. glad to have been wrong. keep up the good work :)

[@the_chains]

Good luck guys, it looks like you're doing some good work!

[@werr3222werrr]

I love what you guys are doing with this franchise

[@Radagon759]

1:20 Wow, this Art give me Made in Abyss Vibes! All these arts of new locations looks great and very atmospheric, just like Seakers of The Storm Expansion itself! Thank you, guys, for continuing to develop my beloved Risk of Rain 2! Thanks to you, I can look forward to new content for this wonderful game, I've already spent 1000 hours playing! And now this is the most anticipated game for me in the future, I hope the release of Expansion № 2 is expected very soon!

[@gmonet3124]

Never been more hype in my life

[@bigman2200]

im so hyped for whats to come for ror2, it was a bit worrying not seeing much for a year but this is well worth the wait

[@christianburgoyne265]

James Lopez: “is this interesting and is this fun” while showing video of a Xi construct. Good joke Jokes aside, super hyped for the new content

[@LizHolanda_]

I'm so excited for this!!

[@roguekeychain1848]

Hell yeah. Looks incredible.

[@blank_estel3671]

undoubtedly my favorite franchise of all time thank you guys so much

[@mincvinyl]

Main concern I have is getting a pokemon effect to the game where we just keep adding more and more items. inevitably diluting loot rolls or out performs previous items (like how corrupt items outperform). While it isn't great, might be worth it to remove/rework unused items.

[@TacoBoyVR]

happy to see gearbox actually doing something with an ip

[@ghostpotatoes]

very hesitantly interested. im not sure if i missed this in the video but i hope day/night comes to all maps, even if its just a skybox and lighting/shader change, i find that map variety is just as important as build variety for the longevity of a roguelike to me

[@FritzenA]

This is going to be soo cool! I am very excited for this DLC release to have new content to explore. Very eager to learn the release date of this DLC!

[@Saeryfim]

Fantastic news, every Risk of Rain thing the devs have pulled off so far has been fantastic. Absolutely looking forward to more content in RoR2, and RoRR. Hoping for some sweet crossover patches or something, *fingers crossed*!

[@Sentiie]

I KNEW I SHOULD'VE STAYED POSITIVE

[@SAmaryllis]

Excited for the new content in the DLC!

[@cyex4311]

This has firmly solidified itself as a game I can revisit and come back to, especially with friends and family. Can’t wait for this DLC

[@nico_ruge]

I love the Day/Night Addition. It adds much variety and replayability to the game, so more options to explore something new every game

[@HallowedPurple]

sounds extremely promising

[@DelRubikeo]

THANK YOU GEARBOX! This is looking very good. I have played over 500h to the game and its first DLC, soon I will finish eclipse and knowing more and great content is coming, is very welcome. Keep it up and looking forward an estimate date of release. I will try to not get spoilers and experience the DLC first hand, so i will not follow, for now, this Diary but its so tempting!! Best wishes.

[@apeacefilledloma]

‘We added more of what people want and for the new stuff we are adding, we stuck to the lore and what we think would be fun for the player’ it really is this simple and yet for some reason so many game companies struggle to figure this out. Thank you for doing right by this game, hope the dlc turns out dope

[@LlewellynMarriott]

Pls make more of these

[@xmesaj2]

great game, great ideas, great team thanks for working on it

[@CheeseGhosts]

You have no idea how much I love this game

[@waywardson8474]

This looks awesome. I hope every level gets a day/night mode.

[@3lectr1x]

so uhhh... where's Dev Diary 02?

[@ik0la]

I'm really happy with how serious and passionate they seem about ROR. Nothing but good luck from me

[@koedee_]

the false son is clearly gup, really looking forward to this dlc !!

[@SUBJECToDELTA]

Def wanna see some lil dlc Easter eggs featured like the kjaro/ribald bands on stage 2!

[@DaSickness]

so FLIPPING HYPED!!!!!! I so close to giving up hope that there was gonna be another dlc

[@itsraventm]

I really hope high court is explored more in the future, it seems like such an awesome part of the worldbuilding that has been left out of the limelight for a long time

[@danielzika2443]

Cool you guys got the stage sistem from risk of rain the variants of the same map i like this mechanic becouse makes me wanna know the new things in the same scenario

[@kneftwuppo]

these promises are gonna go CRAAAZY when they get broken

[@Maliciox]

This looks dope!!! hyped for new content for my favorite game! Hope Chef becomes a playable character!

[@wizzenberry]

never give up on this game

[@nutzz168]

U guys got me feeling some type of way was not expecting for y'all to drop this right after the console re launch jeez

[@Tuna989]

really hope that gearbox has the resources and vision needed to bring this game the attention it needs

[@E.CGhostlyTea]

im kinda hyped for the dlc, i really like the idea of it and i think if they do the gameplay parts right, it will be as good, if not better, then sotv

[@yappyAE]

i am so hyped

[@lorenzorossatti5918]

This is such refreshing news. I never gave up on RoR2, this makes me so happy. Just know that your fanbase is here. We are here!

[@skepg3729]

Actually really excited for this dlc now that I realized how much passion the gearbox devs have for this franchise

[@winterchief877]

I want to thank you guys for making this masterpiece I bought the game like a year ago and currently I have 500 hours Plus and 100%ed everything, I cannot wait for the future of the games, these games changed my life

[@dascreeb5205]

This level design looks amazing.

[@BDFMVEVO]

I can’t even imagine in 10 or so years when y’all remaster ror2

[@ramaron]

Damn these new map look absolutely incredible!

[@nosrah9660]

I can’t properly explain how excited I am for this. The environments, new characters, new enemies, hopefully new music, new lore! I hope this DLC slaps hard so we can get more in the future.

[@Vermikun]

been thirsting for more lore of this game. Real curious about The Providence's whole family feud and their origin

[@alfonshedstrom9859]

Gearbox was already a big contributor to the first DLC so I'm confident that this DLC will be good as well

[@mago474]

The false son looks so cool

[@myneighbortotoro88]

Wow I'm stoked. I've been super nervous about gearbox buying them only bc I don't like their games, but I have liked their style. It seems a good match for RoR. It looks like they care and are putting a lot of thought into this. I hope they can add complexities that hoopoo wasn't able to because they were small. But I'm less nervous now. Glad they're keeping this alive :)

[@Rios-ov3xi]

TEN YEARS????

[@powerless_imp0682]

the new stages look cool

[@Tetrahedr0l]

Please keep updating this game! More skins for each character!

[@billy91011]

I hope we don't start with everything unlocked like with Survivors of the Void. Half the fun of the game for me was unlocking stuff

[@TJofEARTH]

This is the kind of content I expected from 1.0 when the beta first rolled out. Good to see Risky2 wasn't abandoned after all... Well, at least not by gearbox.

[@TaffiCat]

After seeing how in depth the void dlc went with its lore, I wonder how it would look if there was something like that for the corporation that runs the contact light or the group that placed the mechanical spiders on board back in 1.