Following an eventful February, Blowfish Studios has released a major Early Access update for their sci-fi action RPG Phantom Galaxies, introducing the first version of Patrol missions alongside other improvements.

What Are Patrols?

Patrols are new co-op missions that bring new multiplayer gameplay for players to enjoy while fighting to claim varied rewards. According to the announcement, this marks the first major content release for this year, making it a crucial step forward in improving the game’s PvE gameplay.

To play this new mission type, simply complete or skip the ‘Target Practice’ tutorial mission in order to gain access to the Patrol Terminal on Halberd-001, where you can find it outside Castillo’s room, to the right of the Starfighter Console.

For the time being, the terminal only includes one mission, with the developers looking to add more variations in the future. Before starting a mission, you will be able to see various details such as the location, objectives and more. Once you start the mission, the game will put you into a matchmaking queue, randomly assigning you to a team that can have a total of 4 players. While this is the only way to play for now, the studio will look to add in a party system in the future so that you can play with your friends, though if you time it right, you may have a chance of matching up with your friends in this way as well.

Once everyone has readied up, you’ll be transported to the mission map to complete your objective, which for this first version consists of surviving 8 waves of enemies. There is no friendly fire to worry about, but there is no in-game communication either, so for the time being, the developers have set up voice channels in the game’s official Discord server that you can use to chat with your teammates if you manage to recognize each other.

This early version will continue to be updated upon, with the developers planning to add more enemy variety, new locations, optional objectives, rewards and more.

Rewards

If you successfully complete one mission without quitting midway or disconnecting at any point, you will be rewarded with 1000 Credits, 50 XP, 150 Activity Points, and 1 ASTRAFER. This represents the allocation for this initial phase which could potentially change in the future. There is also a daily personal cap tied to your account, meaning that every day you can earn a total of 2500 Credits, 100 XP, 300 Activity Points, and 1 ASTRAFER. The official post states that ASTRAFER rewards are distributed from the global PvE ASTRAFER pool. There is no limit to the number of missions you can play per day.

What Else Is New in the Latest Update?

Next to this fun new game mode, the latest patch, version 5.1.3, also brings with it the first set of Ranger-made gear, introducing 4 new items alongside a rebalance of every weapon. Tutorials have been updated, new VO lines have been added, the maximum Power Level cap has been increased and many more changes have been made to provide a smoother and more polished gameplay experience.