Dev Update: Sanctuary - Exodus

Sanctuary has always been about one thing: pick a weapon, defend your cade, and hold it against everything the night throws at you. That loop always felt too monotonous to me, and it invited cheesy strategies that made the game repetitive and less fun.

Loot & item progression is at the core of the MoronYard experience, and I wanted to shake up the formula to make it more engaging and rewarding to explore the world and find new gear, instead of just grinding out wave after wave in the same spot.

What if the Sanctuary moved?

That question became Exodus, a new Sanctuary mode, and this post is a brief overview of what's coming in the upcoming release.

The big idea

In Exodus, your team protects and escorts a generator cart along a route of checkpoints, from one end of the map to the other. The cart is your sanctuary: it projects the safe zone that keeps the Rot off you, it's where you swap your loadout, and if the cart dies, the run dies with it.

Oh, and Sanctuary is no longer 2D - it's a fully 3D experience now, with an over-the-shoulder camera and a more open world to explore.

Reach the final checkpoint and survive the last stand there, and you win, unlocking further difficulties. Higher difficulty routes bring more unique and dangerous enemies, and better loot.

A moving Sanctuary requires deployable defenses

Without a fixed location to fortify, players need new tools to fight back against the hordes. Anyone wielding a wrench can now deploy buildings near checkpoints: turrets that shoot enemies, lamps that light up the area, utility buildings such as resource depots and repair stations, and generators that power everything else in the safe zone.

Buildings aren't free; players need to find resources (scrap, components, and batteries) to build them. Some buildings also require power to operate, which the generator cart provides.

Quests

The main objective of Exodus is to protect the generator cart and get it to the end of the route, but there are also optional quests that players can complete for extra rewards. These quests can be found in the open world and involve tasks such as killing hordes of enemies, collecting various resources, or defending iconic quest areas until a timer runs out.

Relics arrive in Sanctuary

Up until now, relics were only available on hats, body attachments, auras, and socketables such as jewels. With Exodus, both Sanctuary weapons and buildings will get unique relics, some of which add powerful skills and effects. A few exceptionally powerful relics can only drop from a single type of monster or boss, so if you want a specific one, you'll know exactly where to farm it.

Runewords haven't been forgotten, though. They'll still be available for weapons and buildings, giving players an easier way to get powerful bonuses without relying on RNG relic drops. We want players to have multiple viable options for customizing their loadout and playstyle.

Goodbye to the buff pistol

The buff pistol was a powerful tool for boosting damage and survivability, but it only really works in a static environment like the classic waves mode. In a more open world with a moving safe zone, it becomes far less effective, and no longer justifies giving up a weapon slot.

Instead, campfires are scattered along the routes. Each one lights permanently as your cart passes it, and standing near a lit campfire grants a lasting buff: armor, regen, or damage.

Melee weapons & secondaries received a much-needed buff

Melee weapons have been underperforming compared to ranged weapons, especially in a static environment like the classic waves mode. In a more open world, they fill a niche ranged weapons can't: close-quarters combat, area-of-effect crowd control, and sustain.

To make them more viable, we've given melee weapons a significant buff:

• Splash damage: melee weapons now deal splash damage, letting them hit multiple enemies at once
• Life leech: melee weapons now heal the player for a portion of the damage dealt

Secondary weapons such as pistols also get an innate bonus: knockback. Every pistol now applies knockback automatically, making it more appealing to switch to a secondary instead of reloading your primary.

Progression and rewards

Exodus has its own progression system, separate from the classic waves mode. Players unlock additional, branching routes as they progress through the difficulties. Each route ends with a superunique mob fight, while routes that unlock a new difficulty feature a boss encounter instead. As mentioned before, certain bosses have a chance of dropping specific relics, loot chests, and other powerful items. Defeating a boss at a route's final checkpoint marks every checkpoint along it as completed, opening up new routes that branch off from those locations.

The elusive merchants

While escorting the generator cart, players can sometimes encounter a wandering Sanctuary merchant. These merchants are rare, and they offer unique items such as pure relic bases, epic weapons, and Sanctuary crates and treasures. Keep an eye out for them hiding in the shadows.

New enemies and bosses

Exodus will introduce new enemies and bosses, which help to keep the gameplay fresh and challenging. Husks will rain down fire on your team, wraiths will sneak up behind you, and three new bosses will test your skills and teamwork.

An elaborate curation tool to make this all possible

Exodus requires meticulous placement of routes, waypoints, checkpoints, enemy spawns, and more. To make this feasible, we built a new admin tool for curating routes and populating the world. It also means Sanctuary can be played on additional open-world maps without needing a dedicated mapper.

The lobby remains the entry point

Same as the classic waves mode, the lobby is the starting point for players and parties venturing into the world of Sanctuary. An interactive map of the world is available in the Sanctuary lobby room, letting players pick the route and difficulty they want to play.

RELEASE WHEN?

As usual, things are taking a little longer than anticipated, and I intend to take the time I need to polish the experience rather than rush it out. I want to make sure the new mode is fun enough for players to keep coming back to. I'm aiming to release at least two difficulties off the bat (parity with the previous Sanctuary mode), which means four or five fully fleshed-out routes.

To keep up with the development progress, feel free to join the Discord!