Vigor Update 1.2: Preppers is LIVE, introducing battle pass

Hei Outlanders.

The last week in post-war Norway was a big one - we welcomed Vigor Partners into a new Update Preview Program to check the content of Update 1.2: Preppers ahead of time. There's been a ton of useful feedback, both directly from Vigor Partners and from their audience. The team is working on changes and improvements based on the feedback even as you read this. We have set up everything to use Update Preview more often, showcasing news ahead of releases and teasing new things to come. Most of it is going to make it to the game soon after being shown to Partners, but some of it may need a bit of polish to be in the right shape for release to all Outlanders.

The Battle Pass

Possibly the biggest thing that made it into Update 1.2: Preppers is the Battle Pass. You may possibly know the concept of "Battle Pass" from other games, and wonder what it would bring to Vigor. We heard your feedback and realized that the progression in Vigor is not easy to understand. That's one of the factors the Battle Pass should address - nearly everything you do provides you with XP and you can clearly see your progress through the current season of the Battle Pass. Another downside we used to have is the lack of communication on what's new in Vigor. This is something the Battle Pass may help with as well. We plan to feature new things in the Battle Pass, mainly as crafting plans. The plans will eventually become available even in airdrop crates, indeed, while that may not be the case for various customizations. Play your way through the season while it lasts. And last to mention but definitely not least, the Battle Pass is another way to obtain crates of certain rarities if you are not willing to risk getting them within Encounters.

Season 1: Preppers

Every Battle Pass season is going to have a theme. The first season is Preppers: resourceful people always prepared for the worst. Be like them and get yourself a wide arsenal of makeshift weapon skins, rough accessories and even full hazmat suits in various patterns. Even the first level of the Battle Pass provides you with two hazmat suits to choose from, and the top levels even have weapon customizations to proudly showcase your allegiance. Be it a special Hammer and Sickle pattern for the Vz. 58 or even Stars and Stripes for the ES16A2, and many more along the way to the top. And as Preppers are ready for everything, they always have a strange set of tools to help their case...

Tools

We wanted to broaden the options for long-time players to utilize their skills and experience, while still keeping new players meaningful and dangerous even for the veterans. Tools provide us with such an opportunity - these one-use consumables are able to play a vital role in the Encounter, and you need to think a bit ahead while using them. Alarm traps are going to watch your back while waiting for the vault in the barred house to crack open, while contact bombs may block-out an exit from a shootout for your enemies... if used right. Still, a shot can disable both, and even hurt you if someone manages to shoot the bomb right after you place it.

And the same goes even for the Transmitter, which creates a decoy for the Radio Signal Detector. You may confuse someone, or just waste your resources in a fruitless attempt to do so. Try finding yourself tools, or their parts, in Encounters while the plans are only available if you reach high enough in the Battle Pass. Once you have the plans for everything you need, it still takes some time to craft your dream loadout. Now you can speed things up as we heard your feedback and added the so-called Crafting Boosters. Be like Preppers - always ready.

Charity Box Rewards, Shooting Range Moving Targets & More...

There are a ton of other changes and additions, I'll name just a few here. For the full list, feel free to check the official changelog on our forums. I mentioned the addition of consistent ways to get airdrop crates other than fighting for them in the Encounters. Apart from the Battle Pass, there's even an additional meaning to donated food in the Charity box - you get crates as a reward for reaching certain tiers. Keep in mind that the first season is going to require a lot more than the following as you already had a chance to donate your food before. Even more things at the Shelter got improved, take a look for example at the Shooting Range. There are new challenges and some of them feature even moving targets, which were highly requested by our community. And we even take care of colorblind Outlanders by providing additional options to the display scheme. Based on feedback, we even adjusted the number of social boosters a player can spend on an Encounter to keep the social aspect they had more intact.

Christmas in the Outlands

As the Christmas season starts in the real world, the same can be seen in post-war Norway. As with the romantic moods of our landscapes, Christmas provides the right contrast with dire fights for the life of each of the Outlander. You can see various loot spots specked with gift packages and wait for the air drop. There's even more to discover during the Christmas season in Vigor, see you all there.