RAGE 2
How to Become a Wasteland Superhero in RAGE 2 – Pt. 2: Load Up Your Loadout
RAGE 2
What do heroes like Batman and Iron Man have in common?
(Aside from having Scrooge McDuck levels of cash and tragic backstories involving their parents.) The answer is toys. Batman has his utility belt, plus everything in the Batcave. Iron Man’s whole suit is a toy. If you’re going to be a wasteland superhero in RAGE 2, you’ll need some toys too – guns and gadgets galore. Let’s break down some of those wasteland-tested, Ranger-approved goodies with the help of the Avalanche Studios combat team.
Tickets to the Gun Show
Surprise! RAGE 2 is a shooter. But it’s not just any shooter. RAGE 2 is an id Software shooter, as viewed through the lens of the masterminds of open world chaos over at Avalanche Studios. When two powerhouses like these come together, both teams need to work together to make their specialties mesh like peanut butter and jelly. Simon and Garfunkel. Puppies and Instagram.
“This is the first time that players will be able to experience the best-in-class id Software FPS experience in an open world, sandbox context,” says Lead Combat Designer Peter Johansson. “Added on top, combat has a strong layer of Avalanche DNA with freedom, emergent gameplay and replayability. The open world, the versatility of your tools, and the variety between different enemy types combine to create a lot of freedom in the combat scenarios.”
The team wasn’t content to settle with simply making guns that feel great. They needed… spice. A little something extra in their arsenal to really make it pop. In addition to more familiar weapons like the Ranger Assault Rifle, Combat Shotgun, Smart Rocket Launcher, and Sidewinder Pistol, you’ll also add these weird and wonderful beauties to your chaos collection:
Grav-Dart Launcher
Toss your enemies around like ragdolls and defy the laws of gravity with the Grav-Dart Launcher. Fill them full of barbed, graviton-charged darts and watch your foes fly.
Firestorm Revolver
The Firestorm Revolver is more closely related to grenade launchers than actual revolvers. Lean on this weapon when you absolutely, positively want to watch the world burn (or at the very least, a Goon Squad base). Just pop a couple rounds into your target and light ‘em up with a snap of your fingers.
Hyper-Cannon
With its unmatched range and penetration power, the Hyper-Cannon is ideal for striking first from a distance, before your enemy ever knows you’re there. Hold the trigger to build up a magnetic charge and propel a high-speed rail straight through anyone in your line of sight.
Charged Pulse Cannon
Melt faces with the Charged Pulse Cannon, a beast of a gun that spits bolts of pure, burning energy. The ammunition for this weapon is highly unstable, breaking down instantly upon impact and releasing a super-heated EMP blast.
“We always try to cater to player expectation and then push these expectations, particularly playing into the strengths of the world we’ve built and the Avalanche DNA of over-the-top action and emergent gameplay,” Johansson explains. “We love to add weapons that are physical and affect things in weird ways. We love to create synergies between different weapons, skills, enemy types and the environment to enable them to be used in combos or in emergent and fun ways.”
Like each of your nanotrite abilities (more on those in Part 1 of the Wasteland Superhero series), your weapons can all be upgraded with Feltrite, a resource found in chests around the wasteland or after dropping an enemy.
“As you upgrade the weapons with Feltrite, you’ll access modifications that can be unlocked with Weapon Cores,” Yan Knoop, Gameplay Programmer at Avalanche Studios, explains. “Only one modification can be performed per level, so you have to select a modification that best suits your playstyle.”
(Wing)Stick it to the Man
It wouldn’t be a true breakdown of the wasteland superhero’s arsenal without talking about the Wingstick, which can also be upgraded and customized to suit your playstyle. (Not sure what a Wingstick is? Learn more about this +3 Bladed Boomerang of Beheading from the first RAGE in this feature: WTF Is a Wingstick?)
The Wingstick can be upgraded to do more damage and even explode on impact, and at higher levels it can lock onto targets, allowing it to curve around corners and obstacles. This upgrade is a personal favorite among the combat team at Avalanche Studios, and they’ve spent a lot of time perfecting the Wingstick to make it more powerful and cooler than ever before.
Walker’s Emotional Support
Though the Wingstick is a wastelander’s lethal gadget of choice, it’s not your only gadget. You’ve also got a handful of support items to see you through post-post-apocalyptic adventure. The Turret Drone is your handy (and cute) little battlefield buddy, and it can be upgraded to unleash a devastating, fiery explosion upon its destruction, damaging anything in the surrounding area. This makes it slightly less cute, but significantly handier. You’ll also have Med Kits for some quick healing, and Grenades for… the opposite of healing. Master your support items as well as your weapons and abilities, and you’ll be an unstoppable force of chaos and bloodshed, like a real hero.
How to Become a Wasteland Superhero: Abilities and Combos
If you’re going to be a wasteland superhero, you’ll need to master all the tools at your disposal – weapons, gadgets and abilities. Learn about your shiny new superpowers and get a full rundown of the game’s combo system from the Avalanche Studios combat team in these features:
RAGE 2 is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on May 14, 2019. Pre-order to receive the exclusive Cult of the Death God mission and don Nicholas Raine’s legendary armor and Settler Pistol. The RAGE 2 Collector’s Edition is also available for pre-order. Get the full breakdown of all the included goodies here: RAGE 2 Collector’s Edition & Deluxe Edition
