Hi Prospectors, 

Thanks for your feedback and bug reports. We’ve got another update to the 1.0.5 unstable branch for you to sink your teeth into, and we’re feeling close to pushing this release to main. We’re especially keen to hear your thoughts on the changes we’ve made to the Triarch Warden. 

• Armoured bots now apply a stronger push force, helping them shove other bots aside rather than being pushed around.

• Triarch Warden adjustments:

  • Added longer delays between actions to give you more openings to deal damage

  • Prevented it from walking into you during the laser phase

  • Reduced laser damage by 30%

  • Increased laser warm‑up time by roughly 20%, giving you more time to react before things get melty

• Increased reroll drop chance across all planets. 

• Updated stats for the GSO Stabiliser Wheel - it was previously identical to the Hawkeye Inline Raptor Wheel. It now has increased grip and improved turning speed

• Set the new GEO Minelayer back to prototype status (not ready for release yet)

• Added the new Salvage Optimiser block

  • 10% increased scrap

• Fixed a rare crash that could occur during Survival Mode

• Fixed layout issues in the Graphics Settings menu

Hi Prospectors,

For players who are new to Payload Studios and our games, we sometimes run an unstable branch before launching the full version for everyone. It’s a chance for us to identify any bugs or balance issues, and it’s also an opportunity for you to feedback and discuss your thoughts on our Discord server.

Whenever a new unstable version is available, we’ll make it clear by including “Unstable” in the title of the Steam blog post, as well as in the information box below.

I suspect this is an update many of you have been waiting for. Block Banning and Block Recycling have now been added to the game. We go into more detail below on how each system works, but together they give you two powerful new tools to help refine and optimise your builds.

Thank you again for all your feedback and bug reports. Over the past couple of weeks we’ve been able to fix a good number of issues. And if we haven’t quite reached the ones at the top of your list yet, don’t worry, 1.0.6 is already in the works, with plenty more improvements on the way.

Without further ado, let's get in to the detail:

Unwanted blocks can now be recycled during the Drop Pod build menu. Recycled blocks provide rerolls based on the block and rarity. Structure blocks only provide a fraction of a reroll, requiring multiple to be recycled, while a legendary block provides many rerolls when recycled. Progress towards a reroll is kept throughout a run, so you can freely get rid of unwanted structure blocks now, and keep the progression towards a new reroll. To help you track your rerolls we are now showing your count and max on the build menu so you know when to recycle and when to hold off because you are full up. All these extra rerolls will be quite useful as part of the new banning system, below! How to Recycle in 3 easy steps:

1. Drag a block from your Tech or Inventory into the jaws of the recycler.

2. Observe the value of the block as you hover over the recycler.

3. Press and hold the block in the Recycler to remove it and receive the value immediately.

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To help players who want a more curated experience, we have added the ability to ban blocks when they are offered from a crate using the same resource that you use to reroll results. The prompt lives right next to the reroll button, and can be undone by clicking it a second time before a crate choice is selected. Banned blocks will no longer be a result that can be rolled from any crate offerings for the remainder of the current run. The system also pays attention to what weapons you ban, giving you less blocks that share a weapon tag with the banned block. This starts as a very minor bias - banning a single weapon would have a negligible impact on any result, but can add up over the course of a run. This allows for concentrated bans effectively eliminating a particular weapon type, for example. Of course, banning with the same resource used to reroll changes the balance of that resource, so we are injecting more of that resource into the game.

Ways to get MORE Rerolls:

• Block Recycling - see above!

• Character Skills and Max: the skill that provides Rerolls at the start of the run has been doubled, maxing out to 10 for a fully upgraded skill. The Max Rerolls characters can have has been increased to 15 (from 10), except Mikela who starts with a max of 20.

• Increased enemy drops - an increased number of reroll drops per run.

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• Reduced the Luck requirement for the “Good Luck” objective from 100 to 85.

• Reduced the unlock requirement for the Stun Weapon Mount from 100k to 20k.

• Fixed the contract to unlock Bastion Tracks so it now requires 85 total Grip rather than +50% Grip modifiers.

• Renamed Ranger XXL Flak Gun to Ranger Shotgun, as it is a Ballistic weapon rather than an explosive.

• Resolved duplicate names: the GEO Corp “Quantum Aegis Core” is now called “Mammoth Density Generator”.

• Updated Rangefinder Core descriptions to clarify that it affects Ballistic and Energy weapons.

• Firestorm Core now increases the rate of fire for all weapons.

• Molotov Launchers can now be placed in all rotations when mounted on the side/front/back.

• Corporation Logo Blocks now increase the chance of receiving blocks from their associated corporation.

• Updated the Mammoth Density Generator (formerly GeoCorp Quantum Aegis Core):

  • Added the “Massive” tag

  • Increased health bonus from 20 to 40

  • Reduced boost strength by 5

• Added a new controller prompt at the start of runs.

• Added a gamepad option to disable forward/backward movement on the left stick.

• Improved several map icons for better legibility.

• The contract screen now shows which character is required to unlock each contract.

• Added the number of Boss Kills to the Survive mode end‑of‑run screen.

• End‑of‑run screens now show docked drones on your tech for better screenshot opportunities.

• Added our community playtesters to the credits.

• Increased the size of smaller text to improve readability on Steam Deck.

• Improved collision around the Triwarden’s legs to reduce cases of getting stuck.

• Removed Fullscreen from Vulkan graphics options due to severe issues on Steam Deck and PC.

• Stunned Legion bots no longer rotate to face the player.

• Fixed a frame‑rate degradation issue in Survive mode.

• Potential fix for a crash when upgrading weapons on the Triple Threat Corrupted Block.

• Fixed an issue preventing buffs from being picked up on the Dust Bowl planet.

• Fixed lingering shield VFX from Jean‑Pierre after his tech was destroyed.

• Clarified the text for the Easy Desert objective to indicate that base encounters must be completed in a single run.

• Respawning while flipped now correctly rights your tech.

• Fixed missing muzzle flash effects on some multi‑barrel weapons.

• JP’s wheel/booster penalty‑reduction skill now applies correctly to all relevant effects.

• Fixed extreme lighting issues in the front end when using Vulkan drivers.

• Fixed a crash/hang when driving out of the red dome during the Triwarden Boss fight.

• Fixed an issue where weapon stats and tags didn’t update correctly when moving weapons on/off Precision Mounts.

• Fixed a duplicate block issue in one of the BFT block packs.

• Fixed an issue where some skin menu buttons would randomly appear green.