ICARUS Week 36 Update: New Critical Hit System, Target Dummy Mission, and Workshop Crossbows

Enemy weak points (and strong points) just got a big overhaul with the Week 36 Update. A new training mission will let you experiment with these changes on target dummies, which you learn to craft as a reward. To top things off, crossbows and bolts finally come to the Workshop –and with the Inaris brand, you know they pack a punch!

New Critical Hit and Damage Feedback System

If you played one of the Scorpion Boss missions, you have encountered an enemy with more than the usual two damage zones — resistant, normal, and critical. This system has been expanded and now affects to all the denizens of Icarus.

Depending on whether you hit an Extra Weak, Weak, Normal, Hardened, Extra Hardened, or No Damage part of a target, the damage you deal now can be modified in many more ways. Also, you will not be left to guess about the modifier: special icons will show you which type of area you hit.

New POTSHOT: Training Mission

The new mission this week is a shooting-gallery training course in the Forest biome on the Olympus map. This mission lets you experience the new critical hit and damage feedback systems in a safe environment. Several test weapons are provided, or you can bring your favorite from orbit.

If you can achieve a high enough score, your reward will be Blueprint Recipes for the Wooden Bear and Bullseye Target Dummies. Craft them on your outpost for target practice, or to thoroughly confuse the bear population.

Inaris Crossbows and Bolts: Now in the Orbital Workshop

Inaris is well known for producing top-tier tools and weapons. No longer is the Larkwell bow the only high-power ranged weapon that you can research and craft in the Workshop. Enter the Inaris crossbow line, which includes a strong model and a fast model to fit your style and need.

The strong version delivers slow-but-massive damage, while the fast version sends bolts faster, but with lower damage. Speaking of bolts, packs of 25 are now available for purchase in the Workshop. Just what a space station needs: more pointy things.

Future Developments

RocketWerkz reports they are hard at work on dedicated servers. They are currently working out all the ways gamers will interact with them, such as what happens if your host-friend finishes the prospect while you are offline.

Progress on new content continues to evolve at a rapid pace. Lots of caves were added to the new map, as well as interesting possible features like underground rivers, icicles, geothermal pools, and fog effects. The HIGHRISE mission is still in the works, and it looks like the new Moa creature may be a mount.

Here are some of the other interesting changes buried in the patch notes:

• The repair speed modifier was fixed and now increases repair speed instead of decreasing it
• Extractors and drills will remember their state after reloading a prospect
• Tier 4 Heaters and Coolers are 5 degrees hotter and colder, respectively
• A new dialog system was implemented to help better align subtitles with the speaker’s audio
• The ‘wet’ modifier and drinking buff no longer prevent a prospector from catching fire; they just reduces the chance