Hyper Light Breaker starts off a bit slow, but once players get some upgrades going, they’ll be able to fly through those cycles with significantly less trouble. Meta-progression is a common feature in many games in the roguelike genre, and this one is no exception.
Meta-progression commonly refers to upgrades or improvements players can make outside of regular game loops, and in many roguelike games, they’re usually small but significant boosts. Here are the progression paths players can expect in Hyper Light Breaker.
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Progression in Hyper Light Breaker
There are a number of ways for players to make progress in Hyper Light Breaker, and the majority of these come from NPCs and interactions players make back at base. It’ll take time before players reach a point where they can be truly overpowered, however, so patience is going to be important here. The main ways of advancing your meta-progression is by upgrading the following:
- Vendors and Vendor Affinities
- SyComs
- Exes
- Vault
Vendors
The merchants inside the Cursed Outpost in Hyper Light Breaker sell items that players can use during their expeditions into the Overgrowth. By default, only the Blades merchant will be available, but once players start collecting resources, they’ll be able to unlock the Rail and Holobytes vendors as well.
Players can also improve their relationships with vendors by offering Golden Rations to them. Improving your affinity with a vendor will unlock new features and bonuses for their shops, including the ability to upgrade equipment.
SyComs
SyComs are the robotic drones that follow every character in Hyper Light Breaker. These guys determine your Breaker’s base stats and core passive ability — for example, Vermillion starts with the Gunslinger SyCom, which gives him stronger ranged weapon damage and a unique passive that lets him score consecutive critical hits.
You can upgrade the stats of your SyComs by spending materials you collect in the Overgrowth. Additionally, you can unlock additional SyComs that provide a different core passive and base stat distribution.
Exes
These are permanent upgrades that affect certain parts of your Breakers’ kit, such as medkit capacity, hoverboard and glider energy, and more. You can upgrade your Exes by speaking with Pherus Bit, the NPC right in front of the starting point in the outpost.
Exe bonuses may seem small, but they become more noticeable and impactful later on. However, you can only equip a limited number of these bonuses as determined by your free Exe Slots.
Vault
The Vault is basically the player’s stash, and while this in itself doesn’t contribute much to your progression, keep in mind that you can store equipment you buy or find during a run for later use. Since weapons and Holobytes can break, getting some extra gear in Hyper Light Breaker is going to be a good idea more often than not.
- Franchise
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Hyper Light
- Developer(s)
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Heart Machine
- Publisher(s)
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Arc Games
- Multiplayer
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Online Co-Op
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 4
- Early Access Release
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January 14, 2025
