Killzone Shadow Fall: Your Questions Answered

As Killzone Shadow Fall gears up for PS4’s November 15th launch in North America, we caught up with Game Director Steven Ter Heide to get answers to your burning questions across single-player and multiplayer.

We reveal new details on co-op, dedicated servers, weapons, DualShock 4, and much more. Enjoy!

@ShawnMacLean: Is Killzone Shadow Fall a good entry point to the Killzone franchise? (source)

Steven Ter Heide: Absolutely! In many ways, Killzone Shadow Fall is a fresh start for the franchise — the game takes place some thirty years after the original Killzone trilogy, so most of the characters and story arcs from those games have passed into history. And while die-hard fans will appreciate the nods to earlier Killzone titles, no knowledge of the Killzone universe is required to get into the story.

@nick_serio: How long is the campaign? (‏source)

STH: Killzone Shadow Fall’s campaign should last well over 10 hours for most gamers.

@DGuetta52: Will Killzone’s campaign be co-op? (source)

STH: No, the campaign will not have a co-op mode. However, we’re planning to release a separate Online Co-op Expansion Pack after launch; it will add a new wave-based game mode, in which up to four players take on hordes of enemies in special arena maps. For more information about the Online Co-Op Expansion Pack, please refer to our Season Pass announcement.

@LB_Ed: Any plans for split screen support? Playing a game has always been more fun locally then online. (source)

STH: We currently have no plans for split-screen support.

@Mr_Tom_B: Will Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer run on dedicated servers, or peer to peer? Will there be peer-to-peer hosting at all? (source)

STH: We are running with dedicated servers to handle the transfer of data between clients.

@IronSir: How will the level system in multiplayer work? (source)

STH: We have a Challenge-based system, where completing one of the 1,500 Challenges will increase your rank by one. We will continue to add new Challenges after launch.

@MrFredchr: Why did you choose to remove XP and levels? (source)

STH: Levels are part of the game, as completing one of the 1,500 Challenges increases your rank. However, we felt XP was less about skill and more about time, so we designed a new system with a greater emphasis on skill.

@Fishrock123: Any news of vehicles in the multiplayer? (source)

STH: Killzone Shadow Fall multiplayer will not have any vehicles (such as Exoskeletons or Jetpacks) at launch. We wanted to ensure that player-created, custom Warzones work on all multiplayer maps, and the inclusion of vehicles would have introduced too many new variables and exceptions to guarantee this.

@BucktownzFinest: Since there are Warzones to join, does that mean there’s no standard matchmaking? (‏source)

STH: Not sure what you mean by standard matchmaking, but when you select a Warzone, the game will then look for a suitable match to join.

@WilliamPeter417: How many weapons are available for customization for multiplayer mode? (‏source)

STH: Killzone Shadow Fall will have 22 weapons at launch, and pretty much all of them can be enhanced with various attachments.

@HamseD: Since all the weapons are unlocked, what about the attachments? (source)

STH: Attachments are not unlocked by default — you can unlock them by completing Challenges.

@TheWroster: ‏How will the DS4 touchpad work in this game? (source)

STH: For singleplayer we are using the touchpad to select the mode the OWL is in. It can be set into four different modes with quick swipes on the touchpad. For multiplayer, we use it to bring up menus.

@double_T_azn: Will there be more hand to hand takedowns than what we’ve seen in previous trailers? (source)

STH: We have a variety of melee moves, including combo kills where you take down two enemies in quick succession, or a dropdown melee. The dropdown is also available in multiplayer.

@double_T_azn: Will there be bonuses for transferring Vita saves for Killzone: Mercenary onto the PS4? (source)

STH: No, we have no plans for connectivity between Killzone: Mercenary and Killzone Shadow Fall.

@nurseman22: My question is: where have you been all my life? (source)

STH: Right here in the studio, working hard on Killzone Shadow Fall!