Welcome to SEASON 04 - CRITICAL CORRUPTION! Though we have gained great ground against the rampaging Lithophage in the past months, it remains a constant threat - and to make matters worse, reports of alarming new mutations are starting to come in.

Let’s get right into it!

With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew




The Plague Hearts you have encountered previously have evolved. They will now turn into Lithophage Corruptors - ravenous, fully mobile abominations that spread Rockpox wherever they go. They appear impervious to normal gunfire, so you will need to use the Cleansing Equipment to get through their exterior shells and expose their soft, inner core.


A result of increased Rockpox infection of airborne fauna. The infection has changed the internal workings of its host to allow for Rockpox Larvae to sprout and thrive within its body.

As if the Goo Bomber wasn’t bad enough already: The lithophage has spread to the volatile excretion this critter is so loved for, expanding the reach of the disease at a high rate.

The Rockpox Acid Spitter has turned its already impressive bio-projectiles into a highly infectious Rockpox vector, and with a suppressed pain response and high dose of combat pheromones the Rockpox Spitter poses a far greater threat than before!

The Rockpox Exploder has had profound mutations to its body, thickening its skin and reducing its volatility in turn of being filled to the brim with highly contagious Lithophage spores. Being caught in the blast zone will instantly infect any dwarves nearby, so stay clear of them at all costs!



A powerful, heavily armored beast with a grasping tail, capable of pulling in any enemy and goring them against its massive horns. Take care around this one!


The malicious cousin of our old friend, the Glyphid Spitter. This one fires heavy globules of rancid biomatter, which spread out in a wide area around impact. Mind your step and try to ignore the smell!


You will now be able to recover crates of high powered jet modules in the caves. Attach these to your boots and turn them into fully functional jet boots, giving you a much-needed leg-up during any hardships you may encounter!


Back home, a bit of redundant machinery has been cleared out, opening up the Space Rig a bit more - which handily allows plenty of space to install a training terminal for the coded locks you will encounter on the Jet Boot crates. It would appear some smart-aleck has even seen fit to build an arcade cabinet to fit it into. Bring lots of credits!


This potent ale reportedly instills a sense of adventure and lust for challenge in whoever drinks it, randomizing all equipment and cosmetics for the duration of a mission. Drink it at your own leisure!


At the Loadout Terminal, a new option to randomize all your gear and upgrades has also become available, enabling you to quickly set up challenges for yourself. Why would anyone do this? Well, never let it be said we do not wish to enable our employees!


Additionally, you can now copy and paste loadouts for a smoother experience when experimenting with new weapon and mod combinations, without the hassle of redoing everything from scratch!


Some of your armors now come with a new option: Toggle between sleeveless versions of most of your owned sets! This does not count for DLC Armors or armors that are already sleeveless.


A new track called “Journey of the Prospector” has been added to the game as mission background music. We hope you enjoy it while prospecting the depths of Hoxxes.


Thanks to the hard work of the folks at R&D, all semi-automatic weapons now come with fancy input buffering. This will make it easier to consistently maintain a high rate of fire, especially on weapons like the Subata, M1000, and EPC.


The Subata has long been in need of an update. As always if you unlocked any of the removed upgrades their cost will be refunded.

• Increased base weakpoint damage bonus (from 1.2 to 1.25)
  
• Reduced base ammo (from 160 to 144)

• Reduced the bonus of the T1 High Capacity Magazine upgrade
  
• Moved the T1 Reload Speed upgrade to T3
  
• Increased the bonus of the T2 Ammo upgrade
  
• Increased the bonus of the T2 Damage upgrade
  
• Removed the T3 Damage upgrade
  
• Added a new 2-Round Burst upgrade on T3
  
• Moved the T3 Ammo upgrade to T4 and increased it's bonus
  
• Increased the bonus of the T4 Hollow-Point Bullets upgrade
  
• Removed T5 Acid Coated Bullets upgrade
  
• Added the Neuro-Corrosive Catalyst upgrade to T5
  
• Added a Blowthrough Rounds upgrade to T5

• Added a "slow" effect to help with enemies that are immune to stun
  
• Changed the rate of fire penalty from a flat value to a percentage

Hipster OC

• Reduced the RoF bonus to compensate for the RoF boost from the input buffer.

Double Barrel OC

• Replaced the small pellet damage bonus with a large bonus to Blast Wave damage
  
• Added a shot spread penalty
  
• Made both shots fire simultaneously and updated the weapon stats and ammo display to clarify this
  
• Changed OC type from Clean to Unstable

Spinning Death OC

• Reduced the ammo penalty

Snowball OC

• Reduced ammo cost
  
• Affected targets cannot warm-up for a short time after getting hit

Shield Battery Booster OC

• Removed overheat recovery time penalty
  
• Added a significant shield regeneration bonus

• Replaced the clean Manual Guidance Cutoff OC with the new unstable Rocket Barrage OC

Plasma Burster Missiles OC

• Guidance system update prevents missiles from hitting the ground while swarming around a target
  
• Increased the number of hits a single missile can deliver before expiring

Carpet Bomber OC

• Changed the explosion radius bonus from a flat to a percentage to significantly expand it when taken together with the AoE Range upgrade
  
• Changed the damage bonus from a flat to a percentage for an increased maximum when taken together with the AoE Damage upgrade

Neurotoxin Payload OC

• Reduced the AoE size bonus
  
• Added an ammo penalty
  
• Removed the direct damage penalty
  
• Increased the AoE damage penalty slightly

• Fixed E priorities to prioritize reviving a down dwarf over shield boosting him
  
• Fixed an issue where the dwarf would talk about getting more canisters when inserting the 2nd fuel canister in the Drilldozer
  
• Made Patrolbots stand still while you hack them
  
• Centered a Rockpox particle that was unaligned in a M.U.L.E on the Spacerig
  
• Made it so Exploders only explode once in missions with Volatile Guts, instead of twice
  
• Fixed a bug with changing languages that made it so not everything changed when it should change
  
• Fixed the wrong mission control progress shouts playing during the Lithophage Meteorite event.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused scouts flare gun to not damage small enemies such as shredders, maggots and rockpox blisters
  
• Fixed a bug that caused Breeders to become invisible when frozen
  
• Fixed a bug that caused cave leeches to sometimes be silent for clients
  
• Fixed a bug that caused leeches to not look frozen when frozen
  
• Put the red light on the leeches back where it should be (not floating like a weird orb outside its mouth)
  
• Mactera corpses now dissolve like other enemies instead of just popping out of existence
  
• Fixed a terrain bug that caused swarmer hole debris to show up in rooms without any actual swarmer holes.
  
• Tweaked the terrain generation around the caretaker to improve variety and allow biomes and cave generation to have a greater impact on the area
  
• Made it so Rock Cracker pods can’t land inside each other
  
• Fixed that drop pod would sometimes land inside the walls
  
• Fixed that the grappling hook would sometimes cancel its shot and have to recharge when you shoot and sprint or land while sprinting.
  
• Fixed a bug that caused rejoining clients to not be able to see the blast sphere on previously active and still active C4
  
• Removed the little IFG label from the IFG that could be seen by other players but not the person throwing it
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the Nishanka Boltshark X-80 Broadhead bolts to not apply the correct amount of radial damage
  
• Fixed a crash caused by host getting grabbed while holding a grenade
  
• Fixed a bug that caused sounds to loop when triggering ‘Today's special’ beer effect
  
• Fixed a bug that caused the ‘Show network stats’ option to reset
  
• Fixed some incorrect visual stats for the Warthog Auto 210: Magnetic Pellet Alignment OC
  
• Fixed a small skinning issue with the mk5 armor
  
• Fixed a skinning issue with the Waster weapon framework
  
• Fixed a bunch of typos
  
• Bosco now makes a sound, and has improved visuals when vacuuming
  
• Rockpox waves now have a small chance to spawn during normal missions
  
• Increased the difficulty for spawned enemies near plague towers and during cleaning
  
• Everyone can now be dead for 0.5 seconds longer before a mission fails
  
• Mission control should no longer mention sending down drop pods on salvage missions
  
• Sabotage missions can now have mutators - like they were supposed to
  
• The core infuser now carves the terrain around it when you complete the machine event
  
• The LithoVac and the LithoFoam now have a shiny hologram above them when dropped
  
• Thrown objects will now carry some of the player's momentum
  
• Changed the cleaning pod placement, now they can only be placed on terrain
  
• Added some extra breach effects to Heartstone after the final break
  
• Fixed Flying rocks appearing in phase 3 of the Heartstone fight
  
• Improved streamer mode, and made ambient space rig music controlled by each client instead of the host
  
• Barrels that do not go through the Hoop now explode instead of just popping out of existence
  
• Added game version and mission seed numbers to cave HUD
  
• Loadout UI in the escape menu now also shows armor and pickaxe modifications
  
• Fixed an issue where the pop-up for Color Vision Deficiency options in the options menu would appear beneath other option UI bits
  
• Fixed a bug that caused perk tooltips to sometimes not show in the equipment terminal
  
• Updated the credit list to include new community translators
  
• Changed driller monochrome armor paint job to yellow tones instead of blue
  
• Changed the ordering of DLCs in the DLC menu. Now newest is first on the list.
  
• Optimized the drop pod dice
  
• Improved shadows on the space rig
  
• Optimised weapons and devices when not in use
  
• Added more newsticker messages on the trade terminal
  
• Added a new fire sound for the Subata 120 when using the 2-round burst modification
  
• Changed Armskore Coil Gun OC Hellfire description to make it reflect the fact that it increases charge time, not reduces it
  
• Fixed the Boomstick T2 Rate of Fire upgrade also reducing the reload speed
  
• Hexawing now dies instantly when frozen.
  
• Fixed goo cannon only consuming 1 ammo every other full charged shots if done consecutively
  
• Fix for bug where breaking one armor plate on some enemies, would make some other armor plate unbreakable
  
• Fixed enemy armor sometimes still being breakable when it shouldn't be (ex. when frozen)
  
• Made the praetorian(normal, ice, rockpox) spit particles better match the attack hitbox
  
• Fixed Thermal exhaust feedback overclock for plasma carbine not staging damage upgrades correctly

We are now less than a day from the launch of Season 04: Critical Corruption! And we also have a bit of exciting news on the Ghost Ship Publishing side of things - specifically, both Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor and Spellrogue will have playtests starting next week!

You can sign up for a chance to get invited to each playtest on their respective Steam pages.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1990110/SpellRogue/
Playtest details here

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2321470/Deep_Rock_Galactic_Survivor/
Playtest details here


We’ve been playing both games a lot in preparation for the playtests, and we are very excited to get the playtests rolling and start sharing them properly with you all out there. Sign up ASAP though, as there might not be room for everyone yet - It’s a playtest after all. There will be plenty of other opportunities to join other playtests if you’re not among those chosen this round, so do not despair if you do not make it - we will of course keep you all posted.

And by the way, since we can already hear you writing the posts on Reddit and Steam: No DRG development time is impacted by either Survivor, Spellrogue, or any other property Ghost Ship Publishing is delving into. Rest assured that what we do on the publishing side is in addition to what’s already happening at Ghost Ship Games - not at the expense of it. And also, these are passion projects for us. These are games we wish to publish, because we love them, believe in them, and wish to assist in helping them find their well-deserved playerbase.

Now, go get prepped for Season 04: Critical Corruption, and see you at the playtests! Rock and Stone, Miners!


With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

Hi Miners,
Today we gather to bid a heartfelt farewell to Troels Rodhe Jørgensen, the sound designer of Deep Rock Galactic, who has decided to embark on a new chapter in his career. Troels was one of the first hires for Ghost Ship Games more than 6 years ago and his mark on the game should not be underestimated!



From the moment you step foot into Deep Rock Galactic's cavernous depths, you're immediately engulfed in a rich tapestry of sound that transports you to an alien world. This immersive soundscape is the result of Troels’ meticulous craftsmanship as sound designer.
Troels has truly breathed life into the game's vast underground environments, ingeniously combining natural cave acoustics with futuristic technology. The clinking of mining tools, echoing footsteps, and the distant sound of an approaching swarm of glyphids form a symphony of sound that adds a remarkable layer of immersion to the gameplay experience. Troels' ability to strike the perfect balance between atmospheric ambiance and intense action sequences is nothing short of genius.

Troels has furthermore masterfully produced the epic synth soundtrack that Sophus Alf has composed for DRG. The soundtrack carries an unmistakable signature, blending futuristic synths with soaring orchestral arrangements. Troels' keen understanding of the game's industrial sci-fi setting and the gameplay dynamics shines through in the production, as it seamlessly transitions from moments of tension and suspense to triumphant crescendos - making the gaming experience truly unforgettable.



As a final salute from Troels, I present you with JOURNEY OF THE PROSPECTOR. This track started as a simple idea, where I wanted to see if we could make a DRG song with Banjo! The idea was to get some classic gold miner vibe going in a synth track. The sketch for this was left unused for a long time, but after Troels announced his departure from Ghost Ship, Troels and I planned to turn it into a song worthy of the soundtrack of DRG. A swansong from Troels if you will. The track will be added to Vol. 2 of the soundtrack on Steam in the coming days (Spotify later) and in-game aswell with the release of Season 4.



Hope you like it!

Finally let us express our deepest gratitude for the passion, dedication, and artistry that Troels poured into Deep Rock Galactic. He has left an indelible impression on us at Ghost Ship Games, and the countless players who have ventured into the depths of Hoxxes.

Good luck in the future, Troels! I’m sure you will make other games sound as awesome as DRG! And finally, my fellow dwarves, let’s raise our pickaxes for Troels in a resounding: “Rock and Stone!”.

With Love
Mikkel Martin Pedersen
Game Director of DRG



As a final note I will kindly ask you all to help me out! There are simply too many sound effects that stand out for me to mention them all in this blogpost, so please help me out and let Troels know which sound effects you really like in the comments section below!

Season 04: Critical Corruption is only weeks away (two weeks, to be specific)! You may have already tuned in for the premiere of the brand new Narrated Trailer, but just in case you missed it, here it is:




Let’s break down this critically corrupted collection of new features, shall we?


Remember those plague hearts you collected during Season 03? Well, they have evolved into hulking, ravenous monstrosities that you and your team will have to take down. As opposed to most of the native wildlife on Hoxxes, these beasts do not respond to gunfire - you will have to use the Cleansing Equipment designed for fighting the Rockpox on this thing in order to bring down its bulletproof exterior and blast away at its vulnerable core. Take it down and bring back the plague hearts for Scrip to spend in the Performance Pass. Never let it be said that Deep Rock Galactic does not reward good work!


While the Lithophage is evolving and posing an even greater risk, Hoxxes itself seems to have released new hazards to our work environment in the form of two new horrors:


The Stingtail will grasp potential prey with the claws of its long, prehensile tail, and yank the victim straight onto its frontal horns, goring it to death. This horrific beastie is a surly bastard, and packs a punch like a dump truck. Like most of Hoxxes’ wildlife, we recommend putting it down on sight.


This toxic horror lobs globs of rancid biomatter, causing septic discharge to be spread in a wide area on impact. Much in the vein of the Glyphid Spitter, this thing can be a menace at a distance so take it down fast. And try not to think too hard about the source of the putrid matter it launches at you.



The Lithophage is spreading to more of the native wildlife on Hoxxes, causing newly infected versions of known enemies to appear. Get ready to fight Rockpox Breeders, Bombers, Spitters, and Exploders - A solid reminder that we need to rid Hoxxes of this alien disease once and for all.



R&D is proud to announce that they have gotten testing-related injuries down to within acceptable tolerances, so are now declaring their newly-developed Jet Boots fit for service - Miners, it is time for liftoff! Locate the crate while on missions, unlock them, and watch your head after takeoff.
However, we urge all miners to keep in mind that gravity is still the number one cause of employee injury on Hoxxes, so keep your wits about yourself when airborne.



To train employees in the unlock mechanism on the Jet Boots crate, you can find a simulation of the lock challenge on the Space Rig behind the bar - just look for the arcade cabinet. Try not to waste too much time on it, Miners - we’ve already had to pry it from R&D so they could actually finish those Jet Boots on time.



A new brew will be available with the launch of Season 04: The Randoweisser! This brave new concoction will, upon drinking it, randomize your equipment and cosmetics for the duration of a mission. Management noticed a trend of going on missions with randomized equipment and naturally assumed alcohol was involved. This new beer should now optimize the process.


A new option will be available in the Loadout terminal, allowing you to randomize your gear and upgrades. R&D tried several different AI algorithms to generate optimal loadouts, and came to the conclusion that a simple roll of the dice remained the best option. Time for a challenge, Miners!


The regular Mk1 - Mk5 armors, as well as the Scale Brigade set, now have sleeveless options. It may not be a Firing Range, but at least you can now have your very own “gun show” on the Space Rig.



Management has approved a new Performance Pass, to reward your efforts against the Lithophage. Earn Season XP to unlock rewards, and turn in Plague Hearts from Rockpox Corruptors and Meteor Events (yes, they still happen during this new Season) for Scrip to spend in the Cosmetic Tree. The conversion rate set by Management is 6 Plague Hearts will yield 1 Scrip, which can in turn be exchanged for the new Infected Weapon Framework and other exciting rewards.


The Decontaminator Pack received some tweaks based on community feedback before being approved for release, and is now looking mighty spiffy, in our opinion. Stand out in the fight against the lithophage with this new set of Weapon Frameworks, alongside the Decontaminator Paintjob. Wishlist now and get notified when it goes live alongside this new Season.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2416900/Deep_Rock_Galactic__Decontaminator_Pack/

Season 04: Critical Corruption arrives on Steam on June 15th, and on Consoles on June 22nd. If you cannot wait till then, the Experimental Branch has just gone live as well.

It’s time to clean up this plague that has corrupted Hoxxes for good. Suit up, Miners! Rock and Stone!

With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

You have waited patiently for us to reveal what you will get to experience in Season 04, and you won't have to wait much more - the Narrated Trailer for Season 04: Critical Corruption drops tomorrow, Thursday June 1st at 1 PM CEST here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5jl2ML7pe0

Following the premiere of the Narrated Trailer, this new season will be available on the Experimental Branch before its release on Thursday, June 15th.

What is that mawed monstrosity the dwarves are fighting? What's that coming out of their boots? Tune in tomorrow and find out!

Also, thank you to everyone for your support and feedback on the update to the Decontaminator DLC Pack we posted yesterday. We have been reading them all. We are really happy with where the DLC Pack is now - a heartfelt thanks for being part of this journey with us.

Rock and Stone!


With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

Last week we announced our next upcoming DLC - the DECONTAMINATOR PACK - and as usual we’ve been following along on all your feedback in the wake of it. Turns out a good chunk of you didn’t feel it was up to our usual standards - in particular the titular Weapon Framework itself, and the accompanying Paintjob. We had a bit of a nagging feeling ourselves that this new pack wasn’t up to the standards required of a DLC pack, and reading your comments confirmed this.

Frameworks and Armors are peculiar entities, and what might look super cool to some, might read as boring to others - and especially in the case of DLC packs, we are learning that more bling tends to be received better. You’re putting down good money for these items, and you want them to stand out - we hear you!

So, in order to make this a DLC worth adding to your collection, we decided to tweak the Weapon Framework, and update the Paintjob. We’ve focused on making the guns stand out a lot more with some brand new attachments, adding vials and digital displays to lean more into the “Decontaminator” theme.

And don’t worry, those of you already cracking your knuckles to tell us you liked the old Paintjob: The Paintjob you saw in the first trailer will be added to the next Performance Pass, because dang it, we really liked it!

Anyway, here’s a first view of the reworked DLC pack:







As always, we are very grateful for all your candid comments. Community feedback and discussion remains a huge part of developing DRG, and we always want to hear from you. Whether it be praise or critique, it’s always a good indicator if we are on the right track or not.

Just so we are all on the same page in terms of what is in the pack, since we also noticed some confusion in the comments:

The Decontaminator Pack is a Weapon Framework Pack, not an Armor pack - when you buy it you will get the Decontaminator Weapon Framework, and the Decontaminator Paintjob that you can apply to all other Weapon Frameworks, Armors, your Pickaxe, and Bosco. Check the store page for details, and wishlist it if you want to be notified as soon as it launches on June 15th (June 22nd on Consoles).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2416900/Deep_Rock_Galactic__Decontaminator_Pack/

Thank you once again for your feedback, Miners. Your engagement and dedication is what continues making Deep Rock Galactic what it is today!


Rock and Stone!
With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

In case you missed it, we just revealed the new Cosmetic DLC Pack we will release alongside Season 04 - the Decontaminator Pack!



This new DLC includes the new Decontaminator framework for all weapons in the game, alongside the Decontaminator paintjobs for all other weapon frameworks, armor, pickaxe, and Bosco. You’ll be well–fashioned to deal with the next set of horrors the Rockpox throws your way!






The DLC Pack is now available for wishlisting, so you can be among the first to show off the fancy new framework. Your fellow Miners will be green with envy!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2416900/Deep_Rock_Galactic__Decontaminator_Pack/

Until the next reveal,

Rock and Stone!


With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

We are still making our way through the more than one thousand (!) comments to last week’s Steam Post, containing our very cryptic image.
It has been an absolute joy to share your excitement for Season 04, and many of you already found the message hidden within the artwork. To reward your effort and excitement, here is the full Key Art reveal for Season 04!



Why are the dwarves flying? What is that monstrosity they are fighting? What’s in the box? Patience, Miners. All things will be revealed in good time. And soon - you may count on it.

There is one thing we can reveal, though:
The title of Season 04 is CRITICAL CORRUPTION.

Season 04: Critical Corruption will push the struggle against the Rockpox Lithophage beyond what you have experienced in Season 03. It’s time to put a stop to this plague, Miners - Deep Rock Galactic does not tolerate a toxic work environment!

And also, while not technically a reveal (wink-wink), Season 04 also has a release date: June 15th on Steam, and June 22nd on Consoles. So suit up, call down the cleansing pod, and get ready to decontaminate more than you’ve ever decontaminated. And stay tuned for more Season 04 reveals, the next of which you can watch on Friday on our Youtube channel, where we will premiere the Season 04 Cosmetic DLC Pack. You don’t want to miss it!



Until then,

Rock and Stone!


With Love
The Ghost Ship Crew

Clients should no longer get disconnected during elite deep dives, and the medbay has gotten a fancy green glow.


With Love,
The Ghost Ship Crew

- Fixed a bug that caused that clients would get disconnected during elite deep dives
- Fixed a bug where changing languages back and forth would cause some strings to not be changed.
- Changed the medbay colors from red to green
- Fixed the season countdown so that when it reaches 0, The new update will be available