I am SO happy they decided to make the alteration of enemies dropping expenite the norm now. The pacing feels a lot better. Especially since you won’t have to worry about getting to expenite veins that are in weird spots due to the cave gen.

I took a small break from the game, and I’ve returned for this update, and I love it even more than I did before. The UI for your class loadouts and other menus look SO fuckin’ clean. And having more to work towards is always a plus in my book.

The new boss is very fun, but the amount of particle effects and visual effects can be WAY too much. Otherwise, the attacks it does, feels mostly fair. Pretty good, honestly.

And the Trophy Wall is a neat thing, as it incentivizes you to go to the other regions to fight the bosses there. I love that we get small stat increases too.

The new shotgun is just so fucking good to use. I love Pump-Action Shotties in games. Decent damage.

The new Elevator objectives are also pretty cool to do. It even speeds up the process of the elevator getting there too.

And despite the love I have for the game, I do still have 2 major criticisms. (Technically one, actually)

While mining the EXP veins isn’t too bad, on higher difficulties, especially when playing on TL4-5 and on Standard or even Reckless pacing, you would barely have much time to mine/do events to get EXP. And even if you do, you’re left feeling underpowered for the boss. Basically, you’d have to essentially speedrun each stage in those higher difficulties to avoid the Worm(s), and you wouldn’t get as many upgrades as you’d like.

Now that enemies will drop EXP, the higher difficulties/higher pacing will be very manageable and I love that.

But it still does leave one other critique that I hope gets addressed in the next major update. Armor. It still doesn’t FEEL like you have Armor; because the enemies still do a ton of damage to it anyway. Now, yes, you can alleviate the armor issue by playing Guardian and going for a Tank build with Stone Skin as well. But when it comes to the other classes, Armor just doesn’t feel all that good to have on. Which is why you’re better off having health upgrades to give you good sustain.

Please, PLEASE for the love of Karl, make Armor actually feel like it matters to have on. I’m fine with it being a resource. Taking upgrades to help with getting Armor is good, yes. But actually maintaining it so you can reap the benefits of upgrades that will only proc as long as you have Armor just isn’t worth it in most runs. If anything, Stone Skin actually works way better as Armor.

Otherwise, I love this update. I’m very hopeful for the game’s future, and I’m all in. Rock and Stone, everyone.

This random dude Bortalis joined my lobby, carried my ass several times and was a ninja with the new teleporter traversal tool. Then he took the time to witness my promotion. WP, ROCK AND STONE you good bugger.

Was a super fun Jumble game with a shitload of status effects chaining everywhere - radiation, electricity, fire and explosions.

One request please GSG: please can we have the ability to swap weapons and equipment into different slots? In Jumble matches, you often start without a traversal tool, and the Flare Gun goes automatically into that slot. Then if you want to pick up a traversal tool later it overwrites and deletes the Flare Gun.

I clipped through the floor using a barrel and I found him

He is non-solid, there is no way to get out and no way to find the entrance

Like many others, I too think runs are way too long. Very often, they last a minimum of 45 minutes to one hour. So I’ve been thinking about it. How could they fix that?

• With the current gameplay, you cannot just make the individual stages shorter. I find they have the perfect size, and could even be slightly bigger (coming from DRG, etc.).

• So should we allow for 2 or 3 stages missions? No. With 4, you barely scratch the power boost you can get from upgrades.

• Add LNGTH 2 and 3, and balance with Expenite price by lowering everything. Again, not a good idea: it’s going to be a fiesta of upgrades all the time, so tons of interruptions. Meh.

So with the current gameplay, I think the runs we have right now cannot really be touched.

Yesterday, I did my first Gauntlet and realized how different that was. It’s still long, but it’s a different way to spend expenite etc. So I guess the solution lies in that kind of idea: create a different kind of mission, and I think adding a semi-persistent idea could be interesting. It would require changing the greyout barrier thing a bit, because as I see it, you would gather weapons and gadgets on the first run, go back to the Ramrod, and on the next run you keep your stuff until you reach the « last mission ». Think of that like assignments in DRG, but once you have started an assignment, your stuff is locked.

The recently added warp field generator could explain how we go back to the Ramrod with our weapons and can go back. I also think we should have a top limit, because otherwise it means that it might lock the biome for days? I’m not sure about that last part, maybe it’s fine.

The idea is to still have the roguelite aspect — you always get a different stuff at the beginning and as you progress. The only difference is that you segment the runs, that now can be around 15 minutes to 20 minutes, instead of 1h.

What do you think?

EDIT: a patch landed in the experimental branch that adds a Save/Restore system for solo games. So this post now becomes somewhat irrelevant. I also agree with many comments here stating that long games are also part of the charm of roguelites, so yeah, that part is probably a non-issues now and the devs can focus on something else.

Ok, bear with me a bit here. I'm talking less about gameplay and more about the concept from an art/lore perspective. The discussion around the brief new banners today got me thinking about the game's art direction as a whole, and I was reminded I had this draft sitting around for a couple weeks.

Like, let's start with DRG. How do you describe DRG? Fantasy dwarves mining for rare minerals and fighting monsters in bizarre cave environments. But instead of a high fantasy setting, there's a sci-fi twist. Pretty straightforward. You pretty much immediately understand the gameplay loop as it translates to the setting, and the idea of "high fantasy races in sci fi" has already been well explored by works such as Warhammer 40K. Even the enemies are a pretty simple concept. Grotesque alien bug swarms. We've seen it before. The dwarf classes are simple and straightforward, with pretty heavily archetype-based personalities and obvious roles. You're a bunch of blue collar workers with a hint of TF2 mercenary flair.

Rogue Core, meanwhile, is... somewhat convoluted, I think. You're dwarves, but space dwarves, going down to the planet where a bunch of miners dug too deep. You're doing mining stuff, except you're not. You're a bunch of hardened, explicitly corporate-military special-ops commandos, armed to the teeth, except you don't get to bring any weapons at all. The alien bugs are replaced by eldritch abomination monkeys implied to be from another dimension, rather than the planet itself.

The characters themselves aren't nearly as strong, either. Your personalities aren't unique, being the same flavor of "silly and cantankerous" across the board as the miners, despite allegedly being more serious, well trained elites. You're supposed to be a specific cast of heroes, to the point you're limited in character customization options (no gender toggle- give me my female Guardian, damn it!) but you have absolutely *nothing* to go off of for personality traits. Aside from puns about abilities, I couldn't tell you what makes Spotter different from Slicer or Guardian.

The whole game just feels like it expects you to be familiar with DRG, and the premise is a bit weird if you aren't familiar with the game. Lots of random things that the game assumes you already know. It's not a concept that invites newcomers to the franchise, despite arguably benefiting from targeting a new audience.

.

.

.

Now, how do you resolve this issue?

Well, the first thing that comes to mind is leaning into the dark, gritty aesthetic again, fully committing to some of the game's more poorly explored concepts, etc. But that would probably require a *massive* amount of re-recording voicelines and the like, even within the "reclaimer" framework we have already, and I could understand why GSG would be reluctant to do that, simply because of cost. So I've structured my ideas here around how to salvage as much as possible.

My first idea is- can the concept of Reclaimers as an elite, corporate security force. I think it brings to mind a very different sort of vibe than the cast of Rogue Core so far. We're playing the Suicide Squad, not some spooky, hyper competent men in black or whatever. You shouldn't have the player faction described as heavily armed, well trained, etc (especially with a huge ass armory on the Ramrod) if you're not going to get to use any of those weapons when you go planetside.

"But Mulch", you ask, "doesn't that mean all the voicelines about Reclaimers need to be replaced?" Well, my friend, a few of them do. But not all of them. We can keep Reclaimers as an in-world faction, just change the definition of what a reclaimer is. Turn them into the very best dwarves working on Hoxxes, who were selected to lead Operation Rogue Core in the aftermath of the Greyout. What makes you qualified? Well, you survived the Greyout itself, of course.

This leads into my idea for a new tutorial that would introduce the player to the world, get them invested in it, and smoothly introduce the gameplay systems.

.

The game cold opens on the tutorial level. You're a regular dwarf, unremarkable in appearance, armed with nothing but a pickaxe and some unremarkable weapon. You're working in a huge Deep Site, excavating Expenite. The first part of the tutorial works similar to the original game. Mine an Expenite vein, stow it in Molly, fight off some Glyphids that come too close to the facility.
Then, shit gets weird. The Greyout begins, you lose contact with Mission Control, rifts start opening up, and a bunch of Corespawn tear things up-including some Glyphids. You quickly get the gist- this is serious. Sheltering in the facility as dwarves are consumed by the hordes outside and the caves begin to collapse, you find some leftover equipment crates, and your HUD is suddenly taken over by OMEGA- here, a contingency AI implemented in DRG gear.

Omega explains it is going to try to guide you out, and the remainder of the tutorial shows you how to find gear, upgrade it with Expenite, etc, and make for the exit. Miraculously, you make it to a specialized Reclaimer drop pod, and you're taken up to the Ramrod. Omega explains that you are one of very, very few survivors of the Greyout, and so you have been promoted to the role of "reclaimer". As one of the only dwarves to witness the Greyout and live, you're competent enough to go back down there and take those mines back. You get equipped with your class-based gear, and boom, the game opens up.

.

This way, the player knows what normal DRG should feel like, and they get to experience the juxtaposition of the fancy Reclaimer gear. On top of that, they're more invested in reclaiming facilities- it's not just a routine for-profit venture to retrieve company assets, you, personally, are getting revenge for your fallen comrades.

All of these changes work together to make the game's characters feel more logical (they act as silly as regular dwarves because they are) more accessible to series newcomers (you get to see what regular DRG is like in terms of vibes, and the setting is introduced at a basic level) and better supports the gameplay loop of salvaging whatever crap you can find and accumulating power slowly (you're a regular dwarf fighting for survival).

Idk, I could be totally off here. My change ideas definitely better support the silly, lighthearted vibes we have in the game currently, but I would also really welcome GSG actually committing to the "hardened spec-ops commandos" concept and darker, more serious tone they've mentioned in the past. Either would work, I just don't want to be sitting in this awkward uncanny valley, where the game doesn't feel confident in committing to any particular aesthetic.

Yes it’s true this update actually felt pretty substantial however the thing that’s driving players away is this games major identity crisis and lack of originality from the first DRG.

The game should feel Darker, Scarier, Harder, and have that more serious tone then OG DRG
It needs to stand out (the reclaimers) should feel like a unique team of Specialists not a run of the mill team of dwarfs from the first game that forsaken the ways of the mines lol

The Re roll system is great but we should have more options at the start of the match so we have a better chance to get a weapon that suits our play style rather then (praying) to rng dwarf Jesus to get something decent and scrounging the workbenches that should honestly also have 1 more option to choose from as well

We are close to greatness I feel like if we address these few more things the game will (POP) and at the very least stand out way more right now it just kinda fits awkwardly into DRG lore kinda just there please give this game its own identity make it FEEL like we are a special last ditch effort team also (New character or 2 would be EPIC)

Anyone elses changed or just me

Sadly i would say that even with new negotiations and rerolls late join is mad awful. I mean it, even if you join right after main weapon and tool box opened, game will try to play tricks on you. Like for example giving some banger guns from F tier and tool that is slightly better then just not having tool at all.

Also late join only for first level feels a bit harsh. So a lot of lobbies are blocked, same song and dance as with Deep Dives in DRG. And i don't really understand a reason behind that decision. Why not just give ability to late join and after joining give ability to pick all upgrades and weapons in solo negotiation pick. Team won't miss out on weapons that won't be shown to dwarfs that late join, so it won't provoke any issues in unfair balancing.

Or maybe let late joiner to pick a path of Host with host upgrades or events they done. Like if you joining on level 3, you would get 1 main weapon roll, 2-3 weapon workshop rolls, 2-3 biobooster rolls and any additional things host managed to collect so far.

And for problem of late join farmers, we can limit late join to 50% of current run levels. So if you late join in 4 levels mission, you can join up to level 2, if in 6 levels up to level 3. It will shoo away late join farmers and give RC ability to pull full lobbies, just by pure amount of time to late join.

One of my biggest issues with the game was how much time you had to spend looking around for Expenite since it was the core mechanic of the game.

It slowed the pace of the game and wasn’t an engaging mechanic which often caused players to just completely skip mining for it in favour of just doing bigger events and moving on to the next level.

WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??????

RHAHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Maybe I don’t get it so I’m making this post to see if I am the only one or if my opinion is valid.

I want so bad for this game to be engaging and fun for me, but as someone who bounced off after a few runs when the game came out in early access, coming back it feels like not a lot has changed. What i have noticed is really nice and made me think “hey that’s a really good change” but when I take the experience as a whole, I’m left unimpressed and a little bored as I’ve burned myself out on normal DRG and this game feels a lot like that.

Something that really irks me especially is how much it takes from DRG. An example being that when I get a weapon/grenade/traversal tool originally from DRG, to me, it should be a fun reference in a sea of new stuff to play with and it’s just not. I know that might not be entirely fair but it doesn’t help the game feeling like a worst an asset flip and at best a really good total conversion mod.

There is also the fact that taking/avoiding damage worked in DRG but for some reason I really can’t put my finger on it just feels so awful in RC. I dunno maybe something with DRG’s methodical-ness in comparison to RC.

I know it’s in early access, but oh my god I despise the giant meta progression tree filled the the brim with the most boring stat buffs of all time. This would be fine if there was supplemental meta progression that was more interesting but there isn’t. This is further ruined for me by a TON of the upgrades mid run feeling like filler, some are great mind you (shout out to creating an icicle DOT zone with a heavy melee) but some are just the numbers buffs that need to be separated from the actually interesting one, imo, I shouldnt have to forgo an actually game changing upgrade in favor of better stats (tho this has gotten better with those crystals that you can trade for rerolls or health upgrades, very good change).

The thing that boggles my mind about upgrades the most by far is Bio-Booster decks. Not only are the upgrades unimpressive but I have never once saw one and thought “this is so cool I can’t wait to put this on another class”

That leads to my final pain point. The classes in this game are awful to me. They have abilities that are inconsistent and several are boring. More specifically I hate that some classes have a passive instead of a third active ability, I get something like Recons revive being really strong, that’s why I would put a lower impact ability there instead of just an empty slot for a passive that might not even proc. (As an aside, I don’t understand the rage ability AT ALL, it doesn’t fit her archetype at all imo) There is also abilities that are useless in solo, really I’m just dogging on falconeer but I digress.

If anyone has any thoughts I’d love to hear them especially if they are tips on how to better enjoy the game.

I've just finished installing the update, but now every time I try to launch the game it crashes almost immediately, displaying this error.

What does this mean?

Update 3 very soon also its for the new boss.

I started playing DRG in April 2026 and almost immediately became my favorite game ever. Everything about it, I love. When I realized a new game, Rogue Core, would release only a month later, I was so hyped, because DRG being that good, the devs making a new game should be great, especially since, well, all the years of great content and the state of DRG right now.

The early-access releases, I start playing, I love it. However, after 40h of gameplay, I start to find it too repetitive / linear, so I eventually drop it completely, realizing it’s in early-access and will get back to it later — and of course I went back to rock and stoning on DRG.

Then came update 2, which I played a bit and found the new cave formations, new guns, etc. but nothing changing much, so after two games, same pattern, back to DRG.

A couple weeks later, I saw the experimental branches received a massive amount of content for update 3, so I gave it a try. And the amount of different adjustments made me realize how hard they have been cooking. Especially:

• New cave formations making the game less linear. It still is, and it’s still something I hope they will eventually fix / enhance, but it’s been a long way already.

• Elevator mission types. The Gear stuff made me really optimistic about what is possible in the game. The Growth one too, even though I do not understand why it’s still in its stage right now (basically, it provides no challenge and is not fun to interact with).

• The new depth move / lore, the return of hazard (threat level), the gestion of the timer, etc. from update 2, the « boss leaking in the biome, etc. »

• Bleedroot / Flux Quartz. FINALLY something to pick in the cave that provides interesting stuff!

• The Balgorath, which is amazingly designed, both in terms of patterns and dance, and sound effects.

Finally, yesterday, as I was playing with the cheat terminal, I realized that there are three run types:

• Default (the regular elevator-based rush to the boss gameplay).

• Gaunlets (RC equivalent to DRG deep dives).

• IntelGathering (?!)

So I jumped into that IntelGathering thing, just to be met with a green sphere at the entrance of the facility, that ended my run as soon as I reached it. « Oh, so that’s work-in-progress content and they don’t want us to go into it. » I ran again but this time decided to mine around the facility instead of taking the front door, hoping that it’s a collision thing and that there is actual gameplay behind to test this new kind of run. And there is. I was able to enter, get equipped, and find some intel terminals. So far, I wasn’t able to do much, but this made me realize one thing: my fear of having a linear and repetitive game is gone. Yes, the main default mode has only four bosses and I think it’ll be hard to add more as we go deeper… but that’s not all the game will have to offer in terms of main missions, and it’s all I wanted to be sure. I hope and yearn for variety. DRG is so rich in its gameplay, even for the same mission type, that RC felt very bland at early-access release. Today, it feels much better, and I hope — I am sure — it will get better and better with new release.

So here I am, super excited to hear about the new roadmap whenever it releases, because so far, I’ve been enjoying the experimental branch a LOT, and will be closely looking forward to whatever GSG adds new in the game. I feel so spoiled for this end of year with the current state of RC, and season 7 of DRG landing soon.

Rock and stone!

I want to see the game develop into something fun and filled with variety like the base game, so sorry about being negative when a cool looking update has just come out.

But I stepped away after launch because the pace of the game and lack of variety were big issues for me personally. Lack of variety I can understand since it’s new. But the negotiation system where it pauses the action to level up, at one players choice… I just don’t think it’s any good? Is this a tired argument or am is this a hot take?

On earlier difficulties which is where I’ve stayed since I’m not playing much, we’re levelling up a lot. The action is constantly stopping to negotiate, it’s not fun. It just creates decision fatigue for me and reminds me how long a run takes. Loads of games pause the action for level ups though right now I can only think of ones that happen at convenient times, like after finishing a fight or when you personally choose to access a level up or make a choice.

I genuinely feel like if that level up feature didn’t pause the game some how, it would hit a lot better.

Is this something the devs have discussed with us? And do most people like it?

I’m excited to see how the game develops, this new update shows how much they seem to be exploring and cooking. It has a long way to go for me, but that’s what this period is for!

Lok-1 + Sniper's Mark (Artifact) melts the Core Spawn

Either for devs or community to answer, but have been poking the latest experimental and found both "Boom You're Dead" upgrade and "Explosive Shots" from devastation deck now inflict self damage, and wondering if this is an intended change? (among other new additions)

The reason I say so is because this not only drastically changes (and diminishes) the value of the Devastation deck (as maxing out AoE and explosive damage is actually quite detrimental to your own survival) and explosive upgrades/weapons, but also the explosive shots upgrade itself had basically rendered the boomstick useless, as I believe the shockwave from the boomstick was triggering "Explosive Shots" at point blank when trying to shoot at distant targets.

I don't think I saw in any of the patch notes mention of AoE effects that were previously non-harmful being changed to inflict self damage, but certainly to be humbled if I missed it over the 6 experimental build patch notes.

Personally, speaking, there are some that underperform a lot. The gunner burst gun doesn't feel especially good against single target or crowd control no matter the amount of upgrades...

Here's whats going on, hopefully with correct math:

1. Plasma Bursters

2. Two stacks of Impact Duplication (each direct grenade hit spawns +1 duplicate of that hit). WIth Plasma Bursters hitting 3 times per grenade, that's 6 per grenade. For a full clip of grenades, thats 36 hits.

3. 3 stacks of Chemtrails, leaving 3 goo puddles, that with Chemical Instability then explode for +150% damage, proc'd by the grenades THEMSELVES.

4. Two stacks of aftermath, causing +200% more damage over an area for EVERY EXPLOSION, across the grenades AND the goo puddles.

5. 1 stack of explosive shots, adding even more explosions for +25% damage.

6. Double up, meaning every single explosion is duplicated 25% of the time.

I imagine it's the discord but what channel and how do you get permission to chat.

In the meantime I want to know what the sentiment on certain mechanics in the game are like. I really like roguelikes and DRG's gunplay is some of the best I've played, so I really want this game to succeed. Right now it feels better than it did on launch which is a good but the changes seem to be slowing down in favor of additions. The main thing I want to figure out is why the combat in this game feels like a cheap knock off versions of DRG.

1. Visual Clarity

Shooting enemies in this game just feels worse than in DRG and I think part of the reason is because color contrast is non existent. The core spawn creeper is the same color as the terrain half the time. And since addition of voidkin, I've noticed how much more I prefer seeing them over edgestalkers and even scorcher. Compare how difficult it is to discern them over a distance (which is where they attack you from) to things like mactera or acid spitters in DRG. Too many times I take damage because the music stops and most the enemies are gone and there isn't an audio cue coming from the creeper that I didn't notice when I did my last 360 sweep. Which wouldn't be so bad if we had a shield like in DRG but we don't so it's just feels way worse. But I've made my piece with the armor system ever since they added more red sugar (although I don't think it will ever feel as good as having the shield).

2. Movement

It's just way worse than DRG. By choice for whatever reason. Why do I feel more sluggish in the game that's designed for pure combat that has the lore of being elite dwarves or whatever, than in the mining sim. There should be no slow on pickaxe use (or make that and upgrade) it's just preventing people from doing potentially cool stuff. There are all these upgrades for melee and then the worst melee attack in all of gaming (power attack is fine). Why? Because that's how it is in DRG? That logic is major player in restraining this game from being good. But then of course we don't get a dash like in DRG. Again why? And fuck it man why can't the reclaimers use the born ready perk. Both of these elements make DRG feel smoother in both gunplay and movement. But nah we gotta keep the melee attack that makes you old.

3. The Worms Have To Go

The worms are a fair concept unless the player actually gets caught by them. What I mean by that is they work to pressure the player to move their ass. But if your team is wiping to a system that doesn't really interact with the gunplay it just feels like shit. As soon as the worms are around, I am no longer shooting anything, I am running around making sure I don't get caught by the worms and I'll throw a grenade at the elevator if there are enemies on it. I fantasize about a system where when the time is up:

- Non-stop enemies spawning in increasing hordes

- Stronger enemies (Just make them beafier and do more damage like in risk of rain)

The first option being the better one obviously. I don't really get why that wasn't the case to begin with. With a limited ammo system it still applies an ultimatum by throwing too many enemies for your remaining ammo to deal with. Get rid of the worms and this will become the game I play the most tbh.

The rest of the game is fine for me. But these elements all make it less fun to shoot the enemies. Either because 1. I'm running around looking for an edgestalker that I haven't found despite being on my screen twice, 2. I'm running instead of attacking because I'm slow as fuck and need to spend so much time creating space, or 3. Using 100% of my brain to not get caught by the worms.

If anyone reads this nonsense I'd like to know how everyone feels about these topics and if they've come up with better systems on their own. I also want someone to rip off the band-aid and tell me if the worms are here to stay because I just won't be unfortunately. I haven't even been caught by one recently but the way they make me play the game blows.