Explore the Reaches: Moonbreaker 101
Hello Moonbreakers,
Your adventure into the Reaches is about to begin! With Early Access fast approaching on September 29 (3pm PT / September 30, 12am CET / 7am KST), we wanted to give a detailed rundown of what you can expect from Moonbreaker during Early Access and beyond, as we journey toward the 1.0 launch together.
Just one quick reminder before we start: as Moonbreaker is an Early Access game, expect that a lot of things will change as we go, including anything mentioned in this article. So sit back and relax, because we’ve got a lot of info to go over!
What do I get for buying Moonbreaker during Early Access?
By purchasing the base game for $29.99 USD, you’ll get the full game, a special Early Access Profile Image, 15 Cargo Run Contracts, and all three starting Captains to build your rosters around. These Captains are Extilior, who will start off in your collection, along with Astra and Zax, who can each be claimed for free from the in-game store.
Your first 10 Crew will be available immediately in your collection, and you will be able to significantly add to that collection using the 10 free Boosters that come with the base game. Once you complete the introductory missions, you will also have enough Blanks to purchase an additional seven Boosters.
Each Booster contains three Crew of varying rarity. Any duplicate Crew pulled will be converted into Merits, which can be used to purchase any Crew you’re missing individually or upgrade the rarity of Crew you already own.
With the provided Crew and Boosters, utilizing your Merits, or by completing some early levels of the Season Track, you should be able to unlock all 38 of the first season’s Units at the common rarity or higher. All players will also have access to painting with a default set of paints and all paint tools included as standard.
For players who want to further support the game in exchange for some extra goodies, a Founder’s Pack is available for an additional $24.99 USD. This pack includes an exclusive Astra Skin, three additional sets of paints with five colors each, 1,000 Blanks to pick up additional Boosters and Cargo Run Contracts, and 170 Pulsars to spend on whatever else you might want in the store!
In addition, access to our Season Tracks will be free, allowing you to earn a lot of great rewards at no extra cost.
What game modes are currently available to play?
Select a Captain, build your Roster, and face off against an opponent in Moonbreaker’s primary PvP game mode. Once the match begins, you’ll choose from a selection of Ship Assists and see your randomized beginning Bridge Crew available to deploy. From here, the rest is up to you! Synergize your Crew’s unique abilities to protect your Captain and assault the rival team. First player to defeat the opponent’s Captain wins!
If you want to get a little practice in with a new Crew before facing a live opponent, you also have the option to enter into an AI match. Rules and gameplay are the same against AI as real opponents, but the turn timer is disabled.
If you’re looking to put your critical thinking to the test, our single-player, roguelike mode, Cargo Run, is there to challenge your skills as a tactician. When Cargo Run starts, you’ll choose a Captain with a minimal, pre-configured Roster, which you must command through a five round gauntlet. Any Crew you lose during this game mode will be out for the remainder of your run and you can only replenish your available Crew by picking up select cargo containers that drop around the map. These cargo can also contain team power-ups and temporary or individual Unit buffs. Can you lead your rag-tag Crew to victory against each stage’s Boss and Crew?
Cargo Run requires one Cargo Run Contract to start, which can be acquired through various means as explained below.
We’re always looking into new game modes as well, so stay tuned to see what’s coming next!
What does all this XP I’m earning get me?
Now that you’re in and playing games, you’ll start to earn Season Track XP. Any Season Track XP earned will contribute toward the active Season Track and unlocking any rewards!
Your individual Units can also earn Mastery XP, which is gained by bringing them into PvP and vs AI matches. The more you play with those Units in battle, the higher your Mastery level will climb, and your opponent will know just how adept you are with that particular Crew! Mastery XP also accumulates to improve your overall Player Level. Player Levels come with bonus rewards and unlocks such as Blanks, Booster Boxes, and Cargo Run Contracts.You can also unlock unique Profile Images for your account by reaching a certain Mastery level per Unit.
How does the Season Track work?
Moonbreaker’s Season Tracks are your way to collect cool stuff for your account by earning in-game XP and unlocking the track’s tiers.
Season Tracks can contain Profile Icons, Banners, Boosters, Paints, Decals, Paint Jobs, and even new Skins for your Captains. As we mentioned above, the Season Track is free, so you’ll be unlocking and collecting just by playing the game.
Not everything in a Season Track will be exclusive, so expect to see some things put back up for sale at some point in the future.
The Season Tracks will last for roughly four months each, so you’ll have plenty of time to progress through and unlock your rewards. It’s also worth mentioning that Season Tracks are there to reward you for playing, so be sure to let us know what you’d like to see added or improved in the future!
What can I expect from Moonbreaker Seasons?
Moonbreaker Seasons dictate our major content drops for the game.
About every four months, a new season will begin and with it we will debut a new Captain, several new Crew to collect, new Maps, new Skins and cosmetics, new Ship Assists, Cargo Run Bosses, and as mentioned, a new Season Track.
Captains in future seasons can be unlocked by redeeming the Blanks you’ve earned while playing the game or by buying Pulsars. Each new Captain will also be released alongside a new audio drama to introduce them and further the story of the Reaches.
Do I have to keep spending in order to stay competitive?
In a word, no!
For starters, Units in Moonbreaker have the same power, abilities, and deploy costs regardless of their rarity. Higher rarity Units will have a different glow/aura, SFX, and even new particle effects for Legendary Units.
When you receive Crew through a Booster, they will be assigned a random rarity of Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, or Legendary.
To ensure that unlucky streaks don’t get you down too much, you’re guaranteed a Legendary drop at least once per 20 Boosters, as indicated by the bar at the top of the screen.
Boosters and future Captains can also be purchased using the Blanks you earn by just playing the game.
Outside of Boosters, Crew can also be unlocked and promoted to higher rarities using the Merits you get for acquiring duplicate Crew from Boosters. You can also demote Crew to get some of those Merits back so you can buy or promote other Crew that you’re interested in from the Unowned Units screen.
Once I buy the game, will there be any extra costs?
You’re supporting us at our earliest stages, so we don’t want you to have to pay for anything beyond that!
The base price should get you every Unit available at Early Access Launch, allowing you to build whatever roster you want. You will also be able to earn cosmetics from the Season Track, and paint your Units in near unlimited ways to customize them without having to pay anything extra.
With that said, we know there are a lot of people out there who love the extra.
If you love extra, the Founder’s Pack offers an exclusive Astra Skin not available anywhere else. We’ll also be selling Pulsars, which can be used to purchase additional Cargo Run Contracts (these can be earned as well), Boosters to unlock new or higher rarity Crew, cosmetics such as alternate Captain Skins, and other cool cosmetics in the future.
As we move toward the 1.0 launch of the game, we may add to or change the ways in which earning and unlocking cosmetic content works based on community feedback. But we will always be sure to let you know when those changes are coming.
So wait, we’ve got Blanks, Merits, Cargo Run Contracts, Pulsars…
It can be a lot. Let’s break them down for you quickly.
 | Blanks are your earned currency. Sometimes referred to as a “soft currency.” You’ll get Blanks when you play games, through Season Track rewards, and through other in-game events. Blanks can be used as a way to purchase Boosters (for new Crew), Cargo Run Contracts, and even future Captains as they are released, so they’re always good to save up! |
 | Merits are how you unlock and promote Crew directly. You’ll automatically receive Merits whenever you get a duplicate Crew of the same or lower rarity from a Booster. Those Merits can then be used to promote the rarity of Crew you already own or purchase unowned Crew outright without having to find them inside a Booster. |
 | Cargo Run Contracts each give you one full attempt at the Cargo Run game mode, which we talked about above. You’ll be able to claim one free Cargo Run Contract in the store each day during Early Access. Additional contracts can be purchased using Pulsars or unlocked through your Player Level, the Season Track, etc. |
 | Pulsars are your cold hard cash. Sometimes referred to as a “hard currency.” These can be used to purchase anything available in the Moonbreaker Store. They are acquired through direct purchase and are not typically earned through gameplay, events, etc. |
My painted Units are modern masterpieces worthy of a fine art museum. Is there any way to share and let someone else use my paint jobs?
Other than sharing screenshots of your incredible work on our Discord, Reddit, or on social media, we don’t currently have a way for you to let other players enjoy a design you created.
We’re exploring a few different options to make this happen and hopefully we'll have more updates for you on this feature down the road. You can check out our current roadmap of community suggestions on Nolt.
You keep talking about the 1.0 launch. When can we expect that?
A large part of the Early Access journey is for us to actively respond to your feedback in a live service environment in order to prepare the game for its inevitable full release. It probably goes without saying that there is no concrete timeline for how long this process will take, but we’re anticipating that Early Access will last roughly one-to-two years.
For all intents and purposes, the game will be “live” once Early Access starts. We will be adding new Crew, Captains, and Cultures seasonally, implementing balance adjustments, and regularly adding, improving and changing features based on your feedback, which we are largely collecting on Discord, Reddit, and Nolt.
Once we hit our comfort level of where the game is at, we will announce the 1.0 release of the game and any significant changes that may come with it. We lovingly embrace Open Development, so enjoy the ride and send us any and all feedback you have so we can work toward the 1.0 goal together!
Okay, you win. Sign me up!
Your support means everything to us!
Moonbreaker will be available on Steam Early Access starting September 29 (3pm PT). If you want to help now, head on over and add us to your wishlist, and start following our social channels to be the first to hear about updates, new features, Season information, and more!
I can’t wait for Early Access, where can I learn more?
We’ve got some great events coming up where you can get to know some of the people behind Moonbreaker and see the game in action!
Brandon Sanderson & Charlie Cleveland Livestream
September 27, 5pm PT (September 28, 2am CET / 9am KST)
Learn more about the story behind the Reaches during a special livestream featuring best-selling fantasy author and creative mind behind Moonbreaker’s lore, Brandon Sanderson who will be joined by the co-founder of Unknown Worlds and Moonbreaker’s Game Director, Charlie Cleveland.
Moonbreaker Launch Livestream
September 29, 3pm PT (September 30, 12am CET / 7am KST)
We’ll be streaming live across our channels right after we push the big red button to open Moonbreaker’s servers to the world. Come help us celebrate with trailers, Q&As, and more!
On behalf of all the teams at Unknown Worlds and KRAFTON, we can’t thank you enough for supporting our latest game. Seeing your excitement has been such a thrill for all of us who have worked on Moonbreaker and we believe the best is still yet to come.
We wanted to share this information as clearly and with as much detail as possible so you can make an informed decision about purchasing the game in Early Access. If we left anything out, please let us know on our Discord.
As always, everything here is a work in progress. At the end of the day, we want to make a game that is something we can be proud of and, most importantly, one that you enjoy playing. So, let us know what you think!
Now strap in tight, because ignition has started and this ship ain’t stopping until we hit the Reaches!
See you on September 29! (3pm PT / September 30, 12am CET / 7am KST)
--The Moonbreaker Team