The Galaxy Expands. The fourth Distant Worlds 2 expansion brings two new playable factions - the naive and energetic Atuuk and the mysterious Wekkarus.

The Atuuk are the youngest in the galaxy and only recently discovered faster-than-light travel before the Cataclysm halted their exploration of the stars. They are highly sociable and are eager to become part of the galactic community to prove that they too can achieve greatness. The Atuuk have lofty goals, though often overestimate their own abilities to achieve them. They more than makeup for their diminutive stature and unimpressive intellect with a high population growth and the ability to focus their entire society on a singular goal - their Great Direction. When given purpose, theres little the Atuuk cant achieve while following one of the seven Great Directions … even if they often get distracted a bit too quickly by the next great thing.

Atuuk forego the normal procedures of government leader changes and instead choose a Great One - a character whom Atuuk society pick to lead them on their Great Direction. Periodically, as Atuuk change their Great Directions to pursue new goals, a new Great One may arise who better embodies Atuuk interests and will instead become the new Atuuk leader. In preparation for the inevitable leader changes Atuuk characters will show Great Potential and ready themselves to be one of the possible Great Ones.

Unique Features

• Unique mechanics tied to the Atuuk Great Direction - a cyclical change of focus for Atuuk society that greatly improves their abilities in a singular area of their empire, ranging from improved research to greatly enhanced combat strength, and many more, while also providing an increasing number of victory objectives to prove their greatness to the galaxy. Periodically, Atuuk will need to choose a new Great One from a pool of their own marked with Great Potential to lead them on their Great Direction. Some Atuuk may have reservations on the direction the Atuuk are taking with Direction Doubt, though this is only temporary.

• The Atuuk are a happy faction that plays well on the galactic diplomatic stage, though they are naive, gullible, and quite dim-witted, which means they dont excel in any particular area when not following one of their special Great Directions.

• Additional and surprising bonuses and effects when pressing the big glowing Red Button on their science stations

• Atuuk construction standards arent quite up to snuff compared to the other galactic players, so their ships will experience unexpected malfunctions while traversing the galaxy.

• Bonuses to combat when outnumbering their opponents when fighting on the planet surface. There are a lot of Atuuk!

• The Intergalactic Welcome Center makes the Atuuk empire more attractive for all migrants and tourists, thus strengthening the bonds of interstellar understanding

• Collection of Great Things - a unique facility that gathers all the wondrous things the Atuuk have gathered in their travels and exploration that improve their overall happiness and research.

• Special thematic Character Traits for their entire lineup of characters bringing out the flavor of the Atuuk faction

• Their unique story gives them an advantage when dealing with some of the factions in the galaxy to help them form strong bonds and long-standing treaties.

• Atuuk are the first faction to be completely immune to psychic effects, making them a useful ally for anyone fighting psychically-capable factions

The Wekkarus are a secretive and ancient faction that have lived in the galaxy for millennia. Their history is shrouded in mystery, though there are whispers that their ancestors fled a terrible threat that has waged a timeless war against them. As such, the Wekkarus prefer to keep to themselves, fortifying their Deep Ocean cities and colonies with Defensive Caverns and trapping unwanted spies in Deep Labyrinths. Perhaps the most alien aspect of the Wekkarus is their unique ability to call upon and manifest ghosts of their ancestors to aid them in moments of stress, be it combat or moments of crisis for their characters. These ghosts will either directly join their Wekkarus brethren or provide powerful boons that help them navigate the dangers of the galaxy. Given their ancient history and otherworldly wisdom, the Wekkarus also possess several unique technologies which open up even more ship-building possibilities.

Unique Features

• In times of stress, during combat in space and on planet surfaces, as well as certain character actions, the Wekkarus summon their ancient Ancestors for aid. In combat, these ancestors will manifest as ghost ships and troops that can tip the scale in the Wekkarus favor. Character Ancestors will either manifest at a location that most requires their aid or will provide boons to strengthen diplomatic ties or protect their spies from danger

• Due to their ancient mastery of space travel, their ships are faster and harder to hit, but are more delicate and fragile when taking hits. This also makes them more adept at new engine technologies

• The Wekkarus have a slew of unique technologies for their ships, including their signature Pulse Wave Cannon, the high-powered Constrictor tractor beam, and special shield enhancement component - the HydroCore Capacitor

• Living in the dark depths of Ocean and Deep Ocean planets, the Wekkarus have bonuses to counter-espionage and mining rate. Their unique habitats allow them to dig into the cores of the planets they live on and discover previously hidden resources

• Defensive Caverns facilities make the Wekkarus a tough nut to crack for any invading force, while unwelcome spies will find themselves lost in the labyrinths of Wekkarus cities

• The special Wekkarus connection to their ancestors will occasionally improve the skills of their scientists, letting them uncover hidden knowledge more quickly

• Special exclusive Spy and Scientist traits accenting Wekkarus secrecy and otherworldly wisdom

• Powerful unique artifacts will reveal themselves in the Wekkarus story, which directly strengthen the connection to their ancestors. The artifacts have basic effects for any faction that lays claim to them, though only the Wekkarus can utilize their true power

• Due to their mysterious origins and unique biology, Wekkarus are more resilient to the effects of psychic weapons and abilities than most other factions of Distant Worlds 2

Each of these new factions also comes with their own special storyline and unique story locations, adding to the possible exploration events and to your knowledge of galactic lore. The Atuuk will take you on a path of discovery and revelation as the Atuuk are introduced to the wonders of starfaring and realize who their friends are, while the history of the Wekkarus will take you on a quest to find powerful ancient artifacts that will lead to earth-shattering truths about their origins and a terrifying connection to the greatest threats to the galaxy.

The Galaxy lives on