Exploration missions in ICARUS have been improved in the Week 43 Update, with the goal of enhancing the experience of new players.
Starting in the Week 43 Update, all exploration missions now come with more exotic locations. About 10 exotic locations are added that grant anywhere between 200 to 400 exotics over three spawns in total.
The boundary limitations normally found on these prospects have been lifted as well, promoting adventure, free-roaming, and discovery.
In addition, exploration missions are now considered completed when the attached scans are finished, meaning players don’t have to leave the surface of the planet anymore. According to developer Rocketwerkz, this change is to allow players to continue their exploration even though the missions have already concluded. This is also to help players maximize whatever time they have left on the prospect to improve their characters.
The Livewire: Terrain Scan prospect received a range of improvements as well. One of the most notable changes is that the radar now spawns inside the dropship and can be collected from there, rather than from a supply crate . Another good improvement is that the quest objectives will give players a heads-up whenever creatures are rallying for an attack.
Here are the other significant changes in this patch:
- The pool of enemies encountered has been expanded to add more variety, including bear cubs and boars
- The radar will now have a durability limit and can be destroyed, similar to the system in Styx missions
- The number and frequency of enemy spawns now scales with the difficulty and number of players present in-game, to provide a more balanced experience
- The scanning process will now stop if the player moves outside the designated zone, and players are prompted to move closer to re-activate the process
- Updating BEACHHEAD: RECON mission to include 2 new quest steps which help explain crafting, adding prompts to mention where to find oxite and the needing to consume it, updating spawn values to provide a more peaceful experience for learning, adding a small Ren Reward to introduce the mission reward system to players
- Added the SPELUNKING mission
- Landscape Painted Swamp, Painted Decal in Volcanic & Added Mangrove Trees to Swamp/Approved Actors on Purple Quad, DLC Map
- Moved IceCool to TRD folder
- Landscape painting and decal pass in swamp biome, Blue Quad, DLC
- Added Grass to Tundra and Grasslands Layer, removed cliff blend to Tundra landscape
ICARUS Week 43 Update is available on PC.
