Combat in Exterminauts is built on the idea that the crew's firearms are industrial equipment first and weapons second. Alongside conventional guns, the arsenal is made of heavy-duty utility and repair tools repurposed for slaughter, which the developers describe as industrial-grade gunplay.
Conventional Firearms
The developer's own content notes confirm that players use ordinary firearms such as shotguns and rifles in addition to the specialist tools. No models, stats or lists have been published.
Special Weapons
Four special firearms inspired by blue-collar tools have been named in the announcement material. Each is described as delivering a distinct elemental or physical effect rather than plain damage.
Weapon | Confirmed Detail |
|---|---|
Ice Gun | Named in the announcement key features. Cooling effects are confirmed as a build direction, with developers describing a loadout aligned entirely around freezing enemies. |
Electric Gun | Named in the announcement key features. |
Anti-Gravity Gun | Named in the announcement key features. |
Foam Gun | Named in the announcement key features. Acid foam is referenced separately in the developer's content notes. |
Special weapons are described as being carried on the back and used situationally rather than as a primary. Developers have also referred to elemental damage as the point of the category: the tools are meant to create openings and let a crew shape the fight, not simply out-damage the target.
OVERDRIVE
OVERDRIVE is the game's signature system. It is a large power clamp worn on the worker's waist, drawing on Polymorphic Plasma energy stored in a backpack battery. Its purpose is deliberately multi-purpose, covering both fighting and working.
Use | Effect |
|---|---|
Overcharge a special weapon | Clamping onto a special weapon puts it into an overcharged state with firepower far beyond its normal output, capable of clearing a group of enemies at once. Described as a decisive trump card rather than a rotational ability. |
Shock an enemy directly | The clamp can be attached to a creature to deliver an electric discharge. |
Interact with the worksite | Used to hack terminals, open doors and activate ziplines, which ties it directly into the repair objectives in Contracts. |
Note on naming: the store copy, the official site, the developer video and hands-on coverage all call the system OVERDRIVE. The English announcement release refers once to Overclock abilities in the same sentence position, while the Japanese translation of that same release renders it Overdrive. OVERDRIVE is treated here as the system name.
Gadgets and Grenades
Gadgets and grenades are both confirmed. Deployable turrets have been demonstrated, used to cover one approach while the crew handles another. Gadget deployment speed and cooldown are explicitly named as things a build can improve, which implies a broader deployable category than turrets alone, though nothing further has been named.
Building a Role
There are no classes. A crew member's role is assembled from a shoulder patch called an Emblem plus a combination of weapons, gadgets, MODs and passive abilities. Two example builds have been described by the developers.
A gadget-focused build that shortens deployment times and cooldowns so the player fights around turrets and other placed equipment.
An element-focused build that aligns grenades, special weapon and main weapon on a single cooling element in order to specialise in freezing enemies.
Because contracts field different creatures with different weaknesses and different effective damage types, loadout choice is contract-dependent. See Co-Op for how crews are expected to coordinate their builds.
Movement in Combat
Confirmed combat movement includes sliding, shooting while sliding, rolling and zipline traversal. Given that friendly fire is enabled, repositioning is defensive as well as offensive.
Appearance and Customisation
Exterminauts wear orange-based workwear with high-visibility striping, a large tool belt, a hammer and a helmet fitted with breathing apparatus. A red ring around the helmet is a shared design motif that persists across equipment changes so the crew always reads as Exterminauts. Individual costume parts and colours can be changed, including away from orange.
Not Yet Confirmed
No complete weapon list, no weapon stats, tiers, rarities, ammunition types or attachment systems.
No MOD names, effects or acquisition method.
No Emblem names, count or unlock structure.
No gadget names beyond turrets, and no grenade types.
No cooldown, charge or resource figures for OVERDRIVE.
No weapon or gear upgrade tree detail beyond the fact that upgrades are bought on the Rig.
No cosmetic system detail: no skin names, no acquisition method, and no statement of whether cosmetics are monetised.