Glacial Strata

"At least one of our xenogeologists quit in a rage when research started on this region. Instead of having conventional polar ice caps, and in violation of all physical laws we know of, the continental plates of Hoxxes rest on top of a planetwide permafrost layer several miles deep. As always, DRG recommends a "don't ask" approach when dealing with the peculiarities of Hoxxes' makeup."

- Ingame description

Glacial Strata is one of the biomes of Hoxxes IV. Glacial Strata consists of a planetwide layer of permafrost. The ice making up the caves is durable, taking two hits for it to give way.

Hazards
Glacial Strata will require temperature management to prevent freezing. When a Dwarf's temperature meter reaches its lowest point, the Dwarf will freeze solid, immobilizing them and forcing them into third person. Dwarves can unfreeze themselves by alternate mashing their move left (Default A) and right keys (Default D), but it is much slower than two subsequent hits from a teammate's pickaxe.

Glacial Strata is home to quite a few unique hazards which can leave an unprepared miner trapped or downed at a moments notice.


 * Green stalactites filled with algae can be found on the ceiling of many caves. They're similar to Unstable Crystals in the Salt Pits, and will deal large amounts of damage to anything they fall on.


 * Crevasses may open up under areas that players have recently passed over, possibly temporarily trapping less mobile dwarves. Crevasses can be particularly dangerous if opened during swarms.


 * Ice vents occasionally blast cold air capable of rapidly decreasing a dwarf's temperature meter.


 * Smooth ice will cause the player to slip around, resulting in a reduced ability to stop and reverse direction.


 * Heavy snow will impede the player's movement, preventing them from running in it. Heavy snow will also reduce fall damage when landed in, helping dwarves safely drop down from small cliffs.


 * Blizzards, similar to the Sandstorms, reduces movement speed of Dwarves and creatures, while also reducing visibility for the Dwarves. Blizzards also gradually deplete the temperature meter until they pass.

Blizzard
A Blizzard start can be detected by the slow change in visibility, which lasts 15 seconds, right after that, the storm itself will start, making Dwarves x0.8 slower, and creatures x0.9 slower, as well as drastically reducing Dwarf vision, and cooling everything, it usually lasts for 30 seconds, with visibility gradually getting back to normal, and ending after 10 seconds. The start (in seconds) of the first Blizzard of a mission is decided by squaring a value between 3 and 50, with later storms having a delay of 5 - 15 minutes.

Enemies
Several enemies have a unique ice-themed variation that appears instead of their regular counterpart. Their attacks are also affected, e.g. Glyphid Frost Praetorians spew frost that can freeze Dwarves solid, instead of the corrosive acid which appears in every other biome. Glacial Strata enemy variants are far weaker to fire than creatures found elsewhere on Hoxxes, but are highly resistant to temperature reductions. Naedocyte Shockers are exclusive to the Glacial Strata and the Dense Biozone.

Ores
As with every biome, some of the Ores that can be found in Glacial Strata are determined by the mission type, such as Morkite and Aquarq. The crafting materials found in Glacial Strata are Magnite and  Umanite, with Magnite being abundant and Umanite being scarce.

Media
The following video is outdated footage of the developers demonstrating the various features of the biome.

Trivia

 * Added during the Early Access period with Update 16: Winter has come on the 31st of August 2018.