There’s plenty of excitement aroundRisk of Rain 2now that Alloyed Collective has been announced. It’s safe to say thatRisk of Rain 2’s Seekers of the Storm DLCdid not get off to the greatest start, but the new developer showed its determination to turn things around, and the expansion now sits as a highly regarded piece of content alongside Survivors of the Void.
With Solus taking the spotlight in the next expansion, Gearbox has free rein to explore whatever it likes.Risk of Rain 2doesn’t often get large content updates, but many fans are assuring the studio that it should take whatever time it needs to make Alloyed Collective the best it can be. Still, that hasn’t stopped wish-listing, and there are tons of ideas floating about like little Empathy Cores.
A New and Returning Survivor in Risk of Rain 2’s Alloyed Collective
Previously, Seekers of the Storm brought Chef back into the mix fromRisk of Rain 1. A lot of the speculation about the new expansion points toHAN-D returning inRisk of Rain 2’s Alloyed Collective, as some fans believe the final shot of a Drone being grabbed is a signature of HAN-D’s love of using Drones as weapons. It would make sense, as the expansion is set to explore Drones a lot further, adding new customization and build options, so HAN-D would be a perfect Survivor to complement this.
The new Survivor is much more of a mystery. Given the Solus theme, it can be speculated that it could be some kind of salvager, a character who uses machinery and Scrap to their advantage. Scrap is certainly a mechanic that has some more room to explore, as at the moment it is only useful for trading items, but there’s nothing to stop it from being used as a consumable for other purposes. Indeed, thenewRisk of RainSurvivor could even be of Solus originthemselves. Though it might seem a little absurd at first, there are far stranger Survivors such as Heretic out there, and a controllable floating orb would certainly be distinct.
The Boss of Alloyed Collective Could Be a Big Departure From the Rest of Risk of Rain 2
One of the biggest additions coming with Alloyed Collective is a new endgame boss, and speculation is rife about what it could be. Previous content has focused heavily on the difficult relationship ofRisk of Rain 2’s Mithrix and Providence, and the many characters seeking to idolize them, such as False Son, but Gearbox seems to be using this new expansion to tell its own story. With little lore on the Solus units, they’re the perfect canvas for creating a new type of final boss. Gearbox has described it as “reshaping the endgame,” which isn’t supposed to be taken literally, but it is hopefully a boss that is more than just a big enemy.
The trailer names an enemy called Solus Wing, which some have suggested could be the final boss. It wouldn’t be the first time that the final boss has been featured prominently before release, as Seekers of the Storm did with False Son, so it’s possible.
Other, more out-there comments suggest the boss could be an entire stage, referencing theRisk of Rain 2’s Solus Mother Unit, a part of the Solus faction that has not yet been seen in the game, and all the Solus constructs originally came from. Survivors could well be fighting on top or inside the Mother Unit itself, destroying it piece by piece as they get swarmed by defenders, which would be an incredibly cool departure from the norm.
How Alloyed Collective Could Explore the Solus More
Siren’s Call introduced the Solus and Vulture enemies and established the relationship between the two. On Petrichor 5, the Vultures have hacked the Solus to defend their nests, turning what was once a neutral third party into another defender for the planet. But Alloyed Collective will likely be exploring new angles to Solus beyond them being thralls to Vultures, giving them their own distinct identity.
As mentioned, the Solus Mother Unit would be a big contender for expanding on the Solus lore, and some players hope they will get to see the mothership in one form or another. Whatever it ends up being, the sheer variety of new stages in Alloyed Collective should give an excellent insight into the faction.
Gearbox has described them as “betrayed and abandoned,” not meant to survive the planet, and a lot of the indications seen in stage screenshots show the places that the Solus make their homes have been ravaged, littered with hollow shells and drilling works. Some fans have speculated that this is what has caused such a variety of new Solus constructs inRisk of Rain 2’s new expansion trailer, as the abandoned constructs adapt to their new environments, making do with the scraps of previous iterations to improve themselves.
Alloyed Collective Could Improve Drones for Good
Drones will be getting a big revamp in the upcoming expansion, with a new station set aside for modifying Drones to better suit particular playstyles. This is quite a big change forRisk of Rain 2, as Drones have previously been quite RNG-dependent, relying on players finding first the right type of Drone, acquiringRisk of Rain 2’s red item Spare Drone Parts, and being able to keep them all alive somehow if they wanted to make a build around Drones. It’s also unusual becauseRisk of Rain 2has very few customization options like this. Outside the Lunar Bazaar and Artifacts, there are no easy ways to simply improve aspects of a character outside of getting lucky item and printer spawns.
HAN-D’s affinity for Drones could give them more synergy with Drones than they had inRisk of Rain 1.
One of the new Drones hinted to be coming is a Drone that throws things. Whether this means throwing objects or enemies isn’t yet known, but it will certainly have some interesting consequences given the game’s dodgy physics. As there are seven Drones confirmed to be coming, there are a lot of options, such as making Drones that give shields to players, or ones that act as bomb Drones, blowing themselves up in the face of foes. Whatever they are, more ways to makeDrones a legitimate build inRisk of Rain 2outside spamming The Backup would be incredible for some Survivors.
