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Combat and Gameplay - Version 10 vs Version 11
Aug 6, 2026, 11:01 PM
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Aug 17, 2026, 03:20 PM
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11EXODUS plays as a third-person, cover-based action-adventure RPG. Moment to moment, the player moves Jun Aslan in and out of cover, swaps the Recycler between configurations to match range and enemy type, triggers gauntlet abilities, and directs companions to flank or focus targets. Stealth, dialogue, and traversal are first-class systems alongside gunplay, and missions are designed to be solvable through more than one of them.22Combat loop44The skeleton of a typical firefight in EXODUS is:66Enter a contested space and assess the cover layout and the enemy mix.Pick a Recycler configuration suited to range: precision rifle for snipers, repeater for mid-range mobile threats, spread shot for close packs, a bomber mode that lobs explosives at grouped targets. The Recycler swaps modes on the fly.Drop into cover, suppress key threats, and use gauntlet abilities (for example the Lance, a livestone javelin that hits for heavy single-target damage) to break stalemates.Direct companions: tell them to suppress one flank, focus a Changeling shock unit, or pop a special ability for synergy.Reposition with the Railclaw if the cover layout no longer favors the squad: it pulls Jun up to ledges and across gaps quickly.88Combat is described by the developers as "hard and unrelenting". The Traveler is consistently outnumbered, so positioning, ability timing, and stealth setup matter as much as raw damage.1010Stealth1212Most encounters can be opened (or sometimes resolved entirely) through stealth. The toolkit includes:1414Specter Recycler mode. A single-shot stealth configuration of the main weapon for quiet ranged kills.Gauntlet takedowns. Silent close-quarters eliminations using the same wrist hardware that runs the Lance.Environmental setups. Tampering with lights, locks, and patrol routes before triggering a fight.Movement options. The Railclaw and the cover system together allow Jun to relocate without being detected.1717Stealth is presented as a viable approach to entire sections, not just an opener. Players who lean on it can still trigger combat when it suits them.1919Squad command2121Companions are not autonomous loadouts. The player can pause-or-direct in real time to call specific abilities at specific times. Suggested patterns in marketing include:2323Triggering Tom Vargas's marksman shot to silence a long-range threat while Jun closes distance.Sending Elise Charroux up a flank with a shotgun-class Recycler analog to flush units out of cover.Letting Salt's mech suit absorb suppressive fire while Jun repositions with the Railclaw.2727See Companions and Crew for the full party.2929Conversation and choice3131Outside combat, EXODUS uses a branching dialogue wheel with tone indicators (friendly, blunt, manipulative, and so on). The April 2026 community update provided the first detailed look at this UI, including the role companions play in conversations: their reactions can lock or unlock options, and their presence at certain pivotal moments shapes which storylines are still available later.3333The June 2026 showcase walked through one of these decisions end to end. Pinned in a control room, Jun has to side with either Elise Charroux or Tom Vargas. Elise sees an opening: vent the airlock and purge a group of hostiles while the chance is there. Tom sees the risk that innocent people are on the other side of that door. There is no third option presented, and the player has to pick a crew member to back.3636The studio uses that scene to make a wider point about consequence timing. Decisions like it echo through the crew, through the story, and sometimes through the lives of people back home. Some play out immediately, in the next room or the next conversation. Others take time to show their impact, which is where the Time Dilation framework does the heavy lifting.3838Choice is reinforced by the Time Dilation framework. Decisions made in dialogue propagate forward through years or centuries of objective time, so a small concession during a conversation can mature into a galaxy-scale outcome by the next Exodus.4040Morality and alignment4242Choices in EXODUS feed a two-path morality system. The Traveler commits to one of two alignments: Paladin, the path of virtue, where the player prioritizes others even at a personal cost; or Immortal, the path of ambition, where the player seizes power and opportunity when it serves their goals. The alignment is not just narrative flavor: it influences how non-player characters react, shapes which story and quest branches stay open, and ties directly into progression by changing which abilities can be upgraded and how the Traveler’s powers evolve.4444The choice is woven into the same systems described above. A Paladin decision in a high-stakes conversation and an Immortal one can send a mission, a companion relationship, or a faction outcome in different directions, and Time Dilation then carries that outcome forward across years or centuries of objective time.4646Traversal4848The Railclaw grappling tool is the headline traversal mechanic. It pulls Jun rapidly up to high ledges, across canyon gaps, and onto otherwise inaccessible vantage points. Outside combat it is presented as a freeform mobility option: the developers describe it as a tool that makes obstacles "part of how you move through the world". In combat it is a fast reposition that can also be used to close gaps to specific enemies.5050Gauntlet abilities in combat5252In addition to the Lance, several other gauntlet abilities have been confirmed in 2026 community updates. Eruption shapes livestone in the environment: in combat it launches enemies airborne, breaking up groups holding a chokepoint and opening short windows for follow-up Recycler shots. Precognition is a scanning ability that marks enemy positions through walls, surfaces tripwire mines, and reads patrol routes; it is the primary intelligence-gathering tool before stealth approaches. Gauntlet takedowns are silent close-range finishers, and the livestone glove is a hardened-fist melee strike for in-the-clinch encounters. The full ability roster, including how each fits into a fight, lives on Gauntlet Abilities.5454Squad ability examples5656Companion abilities are not generic damage modifiers. Each crew member's active power is a distinct piece of the squad's combat vocabulary. The May 2026 Ghost City demo showed two such abilities being called in succession by the player:5858Elise's Knockdown Missile: a heavy-ordnance burst fired from her mech suit. Smashes through livestone walls and is the squad's reliable area-of-effect opener.Salt's Ink Mortar: an indirect-fire ability that disrupts enemies holding higher ground. Useful in vertical encounters where the squad cannot easily flush a position with direct fire.6060Other companions have their own confirmed abilities and combat archetypes. See Companions and Crew for the full roster and Gauntlet Abilities for the player-side abilities those squad calls combo with.6262Field gadgets6464The May 2026 Ghost City reveal also introduced the Waystation, a lightweight deployable that lets the player resupply mid-mission and acquire upgrades without backtracking to the ship. The Waystation is the first publicly shown checkpoint mechanic in EXODUS. Its exact cost, recharge, and placement constraints have not been disclosed.6666Enemy mix6868Confirmed hostile groups across the April and May 2026 demos include the Zealots, an invading human faction occupying Celestial chambers in the stealth demonstration, and Celestial-made Changelings including the Gath seen in the deeper underground sites. Reinforcements arrive on detection in patrolled areas, which is the primary reason the stealth toolkit and Precognition are headlined as much as the Recycler is. For the faction picture, see Celestials and Factions.7070The Changeling side of that mix is broader than the Gath alone. Seven species are named officially, several of them built for labour rather than war, and some have been abandoned by the Celestials entirely. The Koven are the exception: they are the Mara Yama's soldiers, built from Changeling flesh fused with augmented machine parts. See Changelings for the full roster.7272Difficulty and accessibility7474EXODUS supports full controller input and is positioned as a story-first single-player game with adjustable difficulty. Final accessibility options have not yet been published in detail; expect them closer to the Early 2027 launch window. The Release and Platforms article tracks supported languages and platform availability.
