The Robots and Guardians DLC is coming to Stranded: Alien Dawn on 7 November, and we can't wait for you all to play it. This DLC adds a brand-new scenario to the game, plus new items, robotic defences, new recipes, and two new characters: the android Hope 9000, the heart and soul of the new scenario, and new survivor Henry Caldwell.
In this deep dive we'll be taking a closer look at what you can expect from the new Guardians scenario.
Let's get started:
Guardians Scenario
In the new Guardians scenario you'll be managing a group of 3 rebels who have recently liberated Hope 9000, the galaxy's first sentient android. Now on the run from the manufacturing consortium that created Hope 9000, the rebels have are forced to take refuge on an uncharted planet to regroup and must now find a way to safeguard the essence of humanity that exists within her.
The rebels have to battle the elements and hostile forces while Hope expands her skills and sentience. The manufacturing consortium will be sending non-sentient robots, combat drones, and mobile turrets to destroy both the rebels and Hope, but luckily the rebels can repurpose the robotic enemies and build robots of their own.
Your group will be on its own at first so choose your starting 3 rebels wisely. Hope can carry out tasks, but you can also have your rebels construct service robots to deal with cooking meals, harvesting resources and more. There's luckily the potential for provisions and help! Your rebels can build a Trading Pod and use it to trade with passing ship, or even find ways to recruit new survivors.
Your main goal for the scenario is to survive long enough for Hope to develop full sentience and attain an Intellect skill level of 10. Conversely, if she sustains irreparable damage, the scenario will result in defeat.
Best of luck, survivors!
Hope 9000
As mentioned, Hope 9000 is the galaxy's first sentient android and a massive scientific breakthrough for the people who created her. She shares similarities with both humans and robots, while also being distinctly different from both.
In the beginning of the Guardians scenario, Hope will be a blank slate. She will share some basic skills with her human companions, but with limited proficiency. She'll be restricted to performing physical activities like harvesting and hauling resources, and Intellect tasks like Research and Observation.
As she accumulates experience and engages with the other characters, she'll progressively unlock new skills and acquire new traits. New traits include things like increased experience, faster movement speed, or increased manipulation efficiency, to name a few. She can even participate in combat if you decide to open up that particular skill. Any damage taken will require the use of Spare Parts to fix her up.
Being a robotic lifeform, Hope 9000 initially won't need sleep sleep, but she does requires energy substances called SilicaEnergel. She can also consume raw Silicon and Liquid Fuel, which come with negative side effects. If you find Energy Crystals we recommend you harvest and store as many as possible, as those are her favourite! Much like her human companions, Hope has a Happiness meter that can be affected by boredom and recreational activities. She'll even have favourite consumables and activities!
Robotic Enemies and Defences
Unique to the Guardians scenario are new robotic enemies. As mentioned previously, the manufacturing consortium is sending everything they have to destroy Hope and the Rebels. Starting off, you'll be facing down combat robots armed with both ranged and melee weapons. Eventually, you'll also be facing down flying Battle Drones and Mobile Turrets. Luckily, the rebels can repurpose these technological marvels for defence.
Your Battle Bots will work the same as any human survivor in combat. You can also leave them as stationary guards focused solely on defence. If you do they will attack any threats that come within range.
Flying Battle Drones are exactly what it says on the tin: When deployed against you they will attack from the air. As defensive forces they'll remain at their respective drone stations until a threat is detected. Then they'll take to the air to engage with both ground and aerial targets. They'll be a fantastic defensive measure against flying enemies, so make sure you have a few backing up your rebels.
Last, but definitely not least, are the Mobile Turrets. These are literally machine gun and laser turrets on legs that can cause devastating damage to your base if you're not careful. They can be very effective siege machines when deployed as enemies, but also very effective defenders when on the rebels' side.
If you're keen to see how all of this works in action we have some exciting news! On 6 November at 15:30pm GMT, the community team will be joined by developers from Haemimont Games for a run-through of the new scenario, and the rest of the new update on Twitch and YouTube. We'll see you there!
And that's it for the Guardians scenario Deep Dive. Let us know what you think in the comments! Don't forget to join the Stranded: Alien Dawn Discord and you'll never miss any news! You can also follow the game on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, or join the discussions on Steam and the Frontier Forums.
