Vigor - In Season 3 you confront the Rivals

Hei Outlanders.

Welcome to the third Battle Pass season for Vigor. The new season brings in a ton of new things for all the Outlanders in post-war Norway, both for seasoned veterans and fresh Shelter-builders alike. There are things teased even in the first announcement of Vigor that weren't yet in the game, and now is the chance to finally see them and enjoy the new things. You were asking for facewear, new game modes, the Sawmill map, and much more. We delivered on at least those I mentioned; let's check what's in.

Season 3: Rivals

We call the third Battle Pass season Rivals. And it has many meanings in Vigor – the remnants of police forces, or their impostors salvaging uniforms, still try to uphold some law in post-war Norway. Sometimes even in a watcher-judge-executioner style. Their rivals are all the free elements, people living on the road, enjoying the beauties of the no-longer-inhabited landscape. Be it simple Outlanders, bikers, or even criminals, these people stir chaos in the eyes of self-imposed lawmakers and deserve to be punished. Not everything is just black and white, there are even lawful cops and bikers in the Outlands, just trying to rebuild their homes. And there are blood hungry types as well, aiming to cause mayhem and kill as many opponents as possible, ideally in the Shootout.

The Shootout

We placed Shootout on a small part of the Sawmill map – a new map you might have seen in the trailers before. Shootout is a new wind of change. Veterans will find another way to flaunt their skill, while new Outlanders may use it to learn the ropes of gunplay more efficiently. While Encounters focus more on looting, Shootouts (without any surprise) focus on shooting, clever movement and adaptation. We devised the new game mode to help us polish combat mechanics, and we feel that it's the right time to expand it for everyone. Shootout is going to be a seasonal event in Rivals season, which means we are looking forward to your feedback on whether we should keep it later on, or what direction should it expand to. It is a round-based game mode, completely opposite to Encounters – the more kills you earn in ten minutes, the better your score. There are additional elements improving your score and standing in the victory screen. As Shootout is a seasonal event, it awards you with XP based on your performance, and with a hefty sum of food as well. As Shootout is completely combat skill based, it doesn't depend on the loadout, and the Charity Box leaderboard is going to show the combat skill as well.

Silenced Weapons, Titles & Facewear

While Shootout may be a good proving ground to test new weapons, the fresh additions actually excel in the Encounters. The reason is simple, we added a trio of silenced weapons – PSS as a reliable sidearm, MP5-K SD3 for close quarters combat and SVU to eliminate long-range threats. All come with rival variant of skins to show your allegiance, and the same goes even for other selected weapons. There is another way to show your support as well – as you progress through the Battle Pass, you are able to obtain titles to showcase. Select the most fitting one and display it in the lobby. And as always, there are plenty of customization options to join the cops or bikers. We finally even added the long awaited facewear in various shapes and styles – be it goalie masks, balaclavas, shemags or aviator glasses. Are you up to the challenge to look great at the end of Shootout and show others your class?

While you may find the plans for both consumables in the Battle Pass, you'll find them in various spots in the Outlands as well. Should you want to get to them quickly, a handful of new events providing Battle Pass XP may come in handy. I already mentioned eliminating the Threat before, which provides you with a hefty sum of XP. The same goes the other way around, if you are able to become a threat. And there are two Rival events for duos as well – either being the protector to your teammate, or taking revenge upon their killer.

Nintendo Switch & More...

There's a lot more news within the new season, and even outside of it. We recently announced Vigor is coming to Nintendo Switch and the Closed Beta starts tomorrow. That results in some optimizations, even for the Xbox version of the game, and we adjusted the user interface to be better legible as well. We would like to take a moment to thank all the Outlanders on Xbox, as you made all the improvements possible. We are still looking forward to your feedback – Shootout is a big addition we brought in, and whether it stays, evolves, or disappears depends entirely on your opinion as a community.

See you in post-war Norway