You're not going to like what's inside Elite Dangerous' Thargoid Maelstrom clouds
We've got all the exclusive details right here
Elite Dangerous finally lets its players inside its mysterious Thargoid Maelstrom clouds today thanks to the arrival of Update 15, but having now seen what's waiting inside thee huge gas giants, you know what? The Thargoids can keep this corner of the galaxy. I'm getting the hell out, because I do not have the space legs to tackle the enormous nasties lurking at the centre of them. But I can tell you about them, though, as Frontier Developments have shared some exclusive sneaky info with us about what players can expect to find when they finally make it in there.
As hinted at in our Update 15 post last week, there really is something enormous hiding inside these Maelstrom clouds and now we can reveal that they're, appropriately, called Titans. Enlarge the screenshot below and you'll see your tiny, tiny, tiny ship flying toward one of its central glowing yellow vents for scale. Not that luminous red one in the top left corner. The teeny weeny one just off centre.
A Titan makes a heck of a racket on approach, too, like an orchestra of alien tubas gargling mouthwash. They'll send your ship's navigation systems into meltdown, too, cementing their status as very much a 'hear it before you see it' kind of threat. But they're really too big to miss. Eventually, their starfish-shaped bodies will emerge from the gloom, and the full scale of what you're dealing with will be made plain.
You can fly right up close to the surface of a Titan and weave between its tendrils if you're careful, but you'll need to keep an eye out, as there will be other Thargoid ships patrolling the Titan as well, and I have a feeling they won't take too kindly to you nosing about. The Titan itself is armed and dangerous, too, capable of sending out hordes of laser fire, caustic missiles and more - including other Thargoid ships from within its deep, cavernous belly.
“Commanders have only begun scratching the surface when it comes to investigating the Titan at the start of Update 15," Frontier tell us. "It's huge, packs a ton of firepower, and is capable of deploying scores of Thargoid ships if it detects that its perimeter has been breached. This is the highest-level combat challenge we’ve ever given players in Elite Dangerous – but there are still avenues for solo players and those who want to explore with the arrival of the Titan. It’s not entirely combat-oriented as an addition to the game."
Frontier aren't saying what those "other avenues" are just yet, but with Update 15 out today, it's probably only a matter of time before the community discovers them for themselves. One thing they do tease, though, is that "a large part" of what commanders must now figure out in Elite Dangerous is what the Titans are, how they work and what humanity might be able to do in order to defeat them. "And the intrepid Commanders able to make this journey, explore the inner Maelstrom and come face to face with the Titan will be vital in the next stages of the story," they say.
I look forward to seeing players work all this out now Update 15 is live, as well as how Frontier plan to develop their Titan threats going forward. In our post last week, senior producer Samantha Marsh said the studio had been planning these Titans for "a very long time", so don't expect there to be a lot of easy answers now they've been revealed.
Elite Dangerous is available now on Steam and the Epic Games Store for £20/€25/$30.