Expedition Agartha Loot it or lose it

You launch an expedition with whatever you chose to bring. Bandits and beasts stand between you and the treasure, and other mercenaries are out there too, hunting the same ruins. A good run means walking out with everything you looted. A bad one means your weapons, armor and findings are gone, all of it. That is the whole deal: the richer the haul, the harder your hands shake on the way to the extraction point. There is a stash at base camp for what you want kept safe, so the real question each raid is how much you are willing to risk.

Parties of three launch expeditions together, fending off foes and covering each other on the way to the extraction point. Watch your swings: friendly damage is on, so a careless heavy attack can clip the person you came to protect. Between raids there is a base camp with shops and crafting stations to upgrade together, and quests to split up. One player can even rescue a fallen teammate's items if they get there in time. Few things bond a group like carrying a friend's hard-won loot home for them.

Every fight is swords, not triggers. Light attacks, heavy attacks, blocks and dodges, all costing stamina, all readable: a fight is a duel of decisions, not a stat check. Commit to a heavy and you might win it outright or eat a counter. Kick someone's block, dodge out of a combo, or parry at the right moment and turn the whole exchange around. Because combat is skill-based, a well-played mercenary with modest gear can be dangerous to anyone. The combat is the part people keep coming back for.

Back at camp, loot becomes progress. Break down weapons and armor for materials, upgrade your crafting stations, cook, inlay weapons and armor, and learn skills that shape how your mercenary fights. Gear comes from a range of warrior cultures, so how you look and how you play are both choices. Perma death makes it sting: a fallen mercenary is gone, and you outfit the next one from what you managed to stash. Losing a character hurts, but building the replacement is half the game.