Hallowed Concepts, the fourth expansion for Risk of Rain 2, is now available for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S; it includes two new playable survivors and a new collection of timed challenges for the action roguelike. The expansion has been released by 2K and Gearbox Software and takes players deeper into the world of N’Kuhana, introducing new areas in Petrichor V.
In the Trials of N’kuhana offered by the expansion, players are faced with a choice while playing: either continue seeking rewards in the separate pocket realms or go back with the power that they have already gathered. Although each trial has its own aims and rewards, all of them use the same timer.
There are three types to deal with: Winnowings of Survival concentrate on enduring suffering, Predation is about hunting prey, and Mortality centres on a race for the survivor’s soul. Since the same clock is carried over from one challenge to another, if you attempt another Trial you will use up more of the time that is available.
The two new survivors propose different methods of dealing with such situations. Acolyte is a close-range fighter who uses a glaive and whose abilities are based on exchanging health for power; part of the health she loses, together with any healing she receives, is saved up so that she can recover it later when she is attacking enemies. Her Sacrifice special marks a target and channels the Death God’s power through it for a burst of damage, bringing her combat abilities together around a single enemy.
Enforcer, meanwhile, returns from the original Risk of Rain with a shield-based skill set that combines defence, movement and support. Steel Protection blocks attacks from the front and can parry projectiles back to their source. With Shield Tackle, he can close the distance and jump into the fight to cover other survivors; Rally Point offers another way to defend by hurling nearby enemies away with a shockwave, then leaving a barrier that renews each time an enemy is killed.
The Hallowed Concepts section also features curses, enemies and stages as players look into the secrets of the N’tormat; the places involved are the Damp Caverns, which are returning, the villages of Tenebrous Quagmire and the sacred ground of The Lurid Basilica.
