Deep Rock Galactic's Deep Scan is a brand new mission in the upcoming Season 5 update. In Deep Scan, players must retrieve Morkite Seeds on behalf of Management deep under the surface of Planet Hoxxes. However, doing so is no simple task, as players must not only pinpoint the location of the giant Geode where these Seeds reside. They must also safely reach them using a brand-new machine called the Drillevator. That's just the tip of the iceberg in the sci-fi co-op shooter that's still going strong today, with Season 5 also featuring a lot more content, including a new Seasonal Event called Core Stone, a brand new DLC, and beyond.

Game ZXC recently had the opportunity to participate in a hands-on preview of Deep Rock Galactic's Deep Scan Mission with the game's Lead Game Designer Mikhail "Mike" Akopyan and Marketing Manager Aaron Hathaway. Akopyan and Hathaway also showed Season 5's Core Stone Event, some of the various new weapon Overclocks in action, and much more.

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Before diving into the Deep Scan Adventure, we gathered in the Space Rig lobby with Akopyan and Hathaway making eager "Rock and Stone!" air punches as they proudly showed their shiny new Season 5 armor, which looks an impressive set with its majestic cloak. Akopyan and Hathaway also talked about accessing Deep Rock Galactic's previous Seasons through one of the existing terminals. While we didn't actively see how the system worked in practice, it looked intuitive to use.

The developers also briefly mentioned Season 5's recently revealed DLC called Order of the Deep, another exciting feature for players to look forward to in an already massive update. After a quick trip to The Abyss Bar for a round of drinks, we set our mission course and quickly bundled into the Drop Pod to Dive into Deep Scan.

Deep Rock Galactic's Deep Scan Mission is a Rocking Good Time

deep rock galactic deep scan mission in season 5 drilling deeper

Our Deep Scan Adventure began with us using a new UI tool called a Telematic Rangefinder specific to seek out the Resonance Crystals. It's a device that is essentially a yellow bar on the left side of the screen, which pulses faster and longer the closer players get to their location. In a game of "getting warmer," we searched the twists and turns of the level's caves, which lent themselves well to the mission.

Sometimes it became necessary to combine the Telematic Rangefinder with the Terrain Finder, but for the most part, the pulsating Telematic Rangefinder led the way. It also beeps faster the closer players get. With the first Resonance Crystal located, it was time to dig down until we hit purple rocks, a sure sign the Crystal resided underneath.

deep rock galactic resonance crystal in deep scan mission season 5

The next task was to hook up our Resonance Scanner to the Crystal once we'd called it in, similar to connecting pipes in Deep Rock Galactic's On-Site Refining mission. Doing so effectively sends out more scan waves across the cave to help narrow down the location of the other crystals, although the devs said not to worry about the exact science—it just works. We then continued our "getting warmer" quest to search for the remaining Crystals, which could be anywhere with the game's procedural level generation. Despite this, finding them all didn't take too long with the three of us putting our heads together, and it's a fun experience for anyone who enjoys non-linear quest design. And that's when things took a rather exciting turn.

Deep Rock Galactic's Core Stone is an Exciting Glimpse Into Rogue Core

Before grabbing the last Crystal, our party stumbled across a large, mysterious purple stone sticking out of the ground named 'Anonymous Rock.' This was Season 5's Core Stone Event, something the developers added could appear in any Deep Rock Galactic mission, including Deep Scan. Core Stone added a dynamic and unexpected twist to the mission. Getting started was simple enough by mining the mysterious node, grabbing the Stone, and using it to summon a device that neatly collected it before flying off.

Suddenly, without warning, a massive wave of enemies appeared. It wasn't just any old cave critter, but a brand-new enemy type called Core Spawn Crawlers. Excitedly, Akopyan and Hathaway revealed these are also the basic enemy in Deep Rock Galactic: Rogue Core. Interestingly, they were less insect-like and more like alien creatures that ran, jumped, and attacked on four legs. Fortunately, Akopyan and Hathaway also had some new Overclock features to show off, including one that freezes enemies in place, which was invaluable.

During our travels, they also demonstrated an Overlook for the Deep Rock Galactic's Driller called Sticky Crystals, where players spray numerous crystal spikes wherever they want to trap and damage enemies as they run over them. While we didn't encounter any other new Season enemies, it was a real treat to come across the Core Spawn Crawlers, whose designs bode well for Rogue Core.

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Deep Scan's Drillevator is Chaotic, Co-Op Fun at its Best

After our successful side-track, we continued the Deep Scan mission by heading to the Drillevator with the Resonance Crystals. On finding them all, the Terrain Map helpfully updates with the precise location of the massive Geode. Once there, players can summon and activate the Drillevator by pressing four buttons on each side to power it up, followed by pressing the hilariously named Big Red Button to start its descent with everyone standing on it.

The Drillevator is a massively circular platform with a drill that digs deep into the terrain with a lot of shaking and rumbling, attracting enemies. We had to keep it running smoothly and protected from enemies crawling in from above, their corpses chaotically piling up as they fell. Sometimes, the Drillevator got caught on rocks, but some quick fixing did the trick. It's a fun and exciting moment that can also get deadly fast, but by no means unmanageable. The devs also said it digs down "pretty far," and it did feel like a significant but not unnecessarily long time.

As soon as the Drillevator reaches the bottom, players become surrounded by hundreds of stunning, sparkling crystals. Players now need to find green-covered Morkite Seeds and deposit them into Molly. As the Drillevator is a one-way ticket, players must use the Deep Scan's extra-powerful Mark 2 Jet Boots to escape the Geode. This means quickly powering up to ascend the Geode, then easing off to avoid overheating, something the devs warned against.

It also meant finding a suitable opening to fly back through, meaning some players might bash their heads a few times against rocks on the way out, which happened to us. Playfully, the devs reassured us that no dwarf is ever left behind, and true to their word, we escaped the Geode, ready for a quick dash back to the Drop-Pod. Deep Rock Galactic beginner players or those less familiar with the game's Jet Packs should definitely practice with those before attempting Deep Scan, but it shouldn't prove troublesome otherwise.

Overall, Deep Scan looks to be one of Deep Rock Galactic's most fun, challenging, and rewarding missions. The possibility of Core Stone and new enemies could make the mission even more dynamic and replayable. If Deep Scan, Core Stone, and other snippets seen so far are anything to go by, Season 5 could be Deep Rock Galactic's most thrilling Season yet.

Deep Rock Galactic Season 5 launches on June 13, 2024.