What's the loot situation? What am I grinding for and improving?
Really looking forward to this!
Good question! So at the base level, you are aiming to collect more "tools". Each weapon is different, every armor set has different set bonuses (and you also get it for even just 1 piece), mods all do different things, Trinkets are accessories with nice single-slot buffs, and of course, TRAITS. Traits are our stat points. You actually have to find the ability to increase them. Oh yea, and resources!
NOTE: Any names listed below aren't finalized... just a disclaimer! =)
So, each weapon can be upgraded in a very souls-like fashion. +1, +2, +3 etc. Right now they go to 20. You need Scrap (money) and Metal/Iron. There are different rarities of metals. Money is money.
There is also super rare material that only drops off mini-bosses and bosses... these are used for crafting boss weapons. These weapons can also be upgraded.
Armors you earn, buy, or find. They have single-focus armor skills abilities and you get a bonus for wearing 1, 2, or all 3 pieces. You can absolutely wear 3 different armor pieces to mix-and match for a look you like and a set of 3 different bonuses. You can also wear 2 and 1, or all 3.
An example of these bonuses: Bandit Armor has the armor skill "Freeloader". On hit (Firearm), there's a chance the bullet is refunded back into the weapon (not into your reserves). This makes it exceptionally good for single-shot weapons like the Sniper Rifle or Hunting Pistol (which have single shots and long reloads). Wear all 3, it happens quite often... but that comes with the penalty of lower total armor and a different set of resistances to our elements/diseases.
Another example would be on the Scrapper's starting armor. They get "Challenger" armor skill. This bonus gives you a damage bonus when within 5m of any enemy. Straight up ALL damage bonus... you just need to be close. The choice here is... it's HEAVY. By default you are already in the Medium encumbrance range (so you have 1 less dodge) and you are susceptible to Lightning attacks... because the set is made of metal.
As with weapons, all armors can be upgraded.
Mod are our "magic" type abilities. Each archetype starts with a unique one and then you discover more by defeating bosses, getting their unique boss crafting material, and going back to Ward 13 to get it made. Mods slotted into either firearm (you can have 2 at once since you can have 2 firearms equipped) and they gain power by shooting stuff. Once filled, you activate them like "mini-ultimates" from Destiny. They are way more frequent so they are way less crazy... but some are still a bit crazy.
Examples of Mods:
Blink Token: 5 Charges - Disappear and Teleport to targeted location and appear with a BURST that deals DMG and stuns enemies. You can warp around the battlefield!
Hunter's Mark: 1 Charge - This marks every enemy within range and allows you AND YOUR FRIENDS to see them through walls. You have an additional crit chance against marked enemies.
Mender's Aura: 1 Charge - AOE Heal (great for team-play).
Now, BOSS weapons come with mods already attached. These cannot be removed, so with a boss weapon you gain a unique primary fire and a boss mod.
Example of Boss Mods:
_HIDDEN_WEAPON_NAME_: Banishing Shot - Banishes enemy to the Shadow Realm where it cannot hurt you. When it re-appears, it is debuffed for X seconds and takes additional DMG.
_HIDDEN_WEAPON_NAME_: Flamethrower - This is... literally... a flamethrower.
OK, so on to Trinkets. This is standard accessory stuff. Wear a ring that gives you +10 base crit. Wear a necklace that gives you health regen. ETC. These are more of your flavor slots. You find these by completing quests, exploring the world, purchasing them from vendors, etc. Each biome has a set of Trinkets attached to them so if you go through Earth, for example, and don't get the one you wanted, you can reroll JUST Earth in Adventure Mode and play a different seed/roll of that biome. Maybe it will spawn!
TRAITS are our stat points. So in many RPGS you wanna level up Stamina, or level up Crit Chance, or level up Movement Speed, you get a talent/skill point and pop it in. The only main difference for Remnant is that you need to DISCOVER most of these traits. You start with a few (there's a default, and then you get a few by picking your archetype and completing the tutorial) but the remaining have to be discovered through questing, exploration, or defeating bosses. You want quicker reload speed? You might have to defeat a boss to unlock the ability to level it up. You want faster fire speed? Maybe it's attached to a side-quest. You want to increase the effectiveness of your armor? You can do it, you just have to earn the right to do it!
And on top of all that, you need resources. Resources are gained in pretty traditional ways: Explore, Break Stuff, Kill Stuff, Do Stuff for People. Kill harder stuff for better stuff. ETC.
OH, and I guess another question is... "why do I want all this stuff?". I can't really say 100% outside of "so you can do better" but I will say there will be other ways to play... and having the best stuff while playing in those other ways... will be highly beneficial.
Hope that helps!
how many different types of weapons are there?
do epic/legendary tier equipments change gameplay in a meaningful way or are they just bigger numbers stuff?
See above. Lot's of ways to adjust your playstyle outside of JUST bigger numbers. We haven't really shown any of the fantastical stuff just yet. I'm hoping we do so soon!
Loot wise, are they differentiated via stats purely or do they also carry visual changes as well? How is character progression translated graphically in the game, if any?
This is a great question. So, the biggest thing we've done here is the way MODS interact with your weapons. If you have a basic pistol and slot Hunter's Mark on it, it will have a very distinct graphical change. This graphical change will also apply to the Shotgun, or the Coachgun, or the Magnum. You'll always be able to tell what mod a player has on their weapon by simply looking at their weapon. It's a definite graphical upgrade beyond just a skin. There is actual new modeling done to represent EVERY mod on EVERY weapon. It's true!
So what you're saying is that we're getting Remnant Truck Simulator. Nice!
100%!
I'm definitely interested in this, but I can't find any information on Pro/ X1X support and resolutions. Does it have enhanced console support? I have a great TV and just can't justify 1080p—or lower—games in this day and age :)
I honestly can't answer that as I don't know. I think this information will be released as the people in charge figure it out. I sure hope all that stuff exists! =)
- trag
