Revision 4

This article covers how a session of Fragmentary Order is intended to play. The developers frame the project as a hardcore combat simulator with depth across weapons, health, and economic systems rather than a streamlined extraction shooter for casual audiences. Pacing is targeted at roughly two to three times the speed of Escape from Tarkov, positioning the design as a deliberate counterweight to lighter shooters in the same space.

Core Loop

Each session is built around a four-step rhythm. A player accepts a contract from a corporate or factional employer, drops a Replicated Entity into a contested zone, fights or sneaks toward the objective, and tries to reach an extraction point alive.

The loop is not strictly linear. Many runs mix all four activities together rather than handle them one at a time. The core rule is that nothing comes home unless the clone reaches an extraction point intact.

Combat

All combat is player versus player. The opposing forces in a session are not scripted enemies, alien creatures, or AI bots; they are other operators piloting their own clones from their own bunkers. When two operators meet in a contested zone, both stand to lose the gear their clone is carrying.

Health is described as a complex, layered system rather than a single hit-point bar, intended to reward careful play, situational awareness, and proper field treatment of injuries instead of run-and-gun trades. Weapon behavior is similarly described as advanced, with realistic handling and a heavy emphasis on simulation rather than arcade feel.

Weapon Customization

The team has positioned weapon modification as a centerpiece of the experience, using the word excessive to describe the depth of attachment, internal part, and behavior options on offer. The stated goal is a system in which two operators can carry the same base weapon yet build it for very different roles: long-range marksmanship, close-quarters breaching, or suppressed scouting. No specific firearms, manufacturers, or attachment slots have been publicly confirmed.

Maps and Mobility

World design is split into two broad bands. See Maps and Scale for the full discussion. The larger maps are intended to be roughly four to five times the size of the largest maps in Escape from Tarkov, with vehicles confirmed for traversal. Smaller close-quarters maps are also planned, so encounters can range from long-distance ambushes on the big maps to dense interior firefights on the tighter ones.

Economy and Progression

Long-term progression is built around what the team has called a neo-economic structure. Players accept contracts from corporate and factional employers, build reputation with each, accumulate credits, and gradually unlock new layers of the world. The flow of credits between players, factions, and infrastructure is central to the design. The CORIE framework structures and prices the contracts; its guiding principle that value is defined by risk shapes which jobs pay well and which ones are routine.

Faction relationships matter beyond a numeric score. Standing with a given employer influences what gear becomes available, what zones are reachable, and which storylines open up next. The backdrop for all of this is the year 2251, under a fracturing Core monopoly.

How RepEnts Fit

The player never deploys in person. Every action in a contested zone is carried out through a Replicated Entity, a disposable clone soldier piloted remotely from a fortified bunker. When a clone dies, that body is gone, but the operator lives on and can deploy a fresh one into the next contract. This separation lets the design commit fully to high-stakes loot rules without ending a player's career on a single bad fight.

Unconfirmed Details

Because the project is still pre-alpha as of the April 2026 reveal, large parts of the design have not been publicly described. Open questions include:

• Named maps, biomes, or locations.

• Named weapons, manufacturers, or model designations.

• Specific vehicle types and controls.

• Specific contract templates and mission archetypes.

• Currency naming details and any secondary currencies beyond credits.

• The internal structure of the health system.

• Player counts per session, session length, and matchmaking rules.