Naughty Dog is readying the third (and final) DLC release for The Last of Us, and now they’re finally ready to talk about it. The Grounded Bundle will be available as a free download for Season Pass holders and as five separate DLC packs for everyone. All Grounded Bundle content will also be included in The Last of Us Remastered for the PS4.
The centerpiece of the Grounded Bundle is Grounded Mode ($4.99), a brutal new challenge for the single-player campaign that ups the difficulty to new heights. According to Naughty Dog, the AI in Grounded Mode is “relentless, smart, and brutal” making survival “near impossible.” To showcase their toughness, players will receive a new Trophy upon the completion of Grounded Mode.
The bundle will also include the Reclaimed Territories Map Pack ($9.99), which will add four new maps to the game’s multiplayer mode. “Wharf,” “Capitol,” “Coal Mine,” and “Water Tower” will reintroduce players to locations that are “familiar yet unfamiliar” to those who have completed the single-player campaign.
The Grounded Bundle will include five new weapons. Four will be available as part of the Survivalist Weapon Bundle ($5.99) and a single gun, the Full-Auto Rifle, will be available as a free download for all The Last of Us players. If you spring for the Survivalist Weapon Bundle, you’ll receive the Specter, Double Barrel, Enforcer, and Launcher.
Finally, a pair of Skills packs ($3.99 each) will be included in the Grounded Bundle. The Situational Survival Skills Bundle will enhance your maneuverability while the Professional Survival Skills Bundle will make you a more deadly combatant.
Naughty Dog has announced a release date for the Grounded Bundle yet, but they did announce that the Last of Us Season Pass will no longer be available after May 13, so a May/June release (ahead of the Remastered version’s “Summer” launch) is likely.
More details about all the maps, weapons, and Skills can be found after the break.
Reclaimed Territories Map Pack
- Wharf: Set in the rusted-out docks where Joel encountered Robert, the Wharf map features close quarters gameplay, two snipers nests, and a giant boat. It’s full of good opportunities for climbing, flanking, and stealth.
- Capitol: Set in Boston, the Capitol Map features indoor and outdoor gameplay. It encourages the intelligent use of flanking.
- Coal Mine: Set in Colorado, Coal Mine is a winter map that’s spotted with abandoned buildings. It’s a spacious map that has long lines of sight and a bridge that’s a perfect perch for snipers. The dynamic snowstorm obscures the view so be on your toes.
- Water Tower: Set in Lincoln, PA, the Water Tower map features two primary chokepoints for some deadly face-to-face confrontations. It’s mainly an outdoor map with a few indoor areas and some very unique lighting. It might seem open, but it’s really a tight map that’s perfect for close quarters melee.
Survivalist Weapon Bundle
- Specter: A silenced assault rifle that’s great if your style is stealth stalker.
- Double Barrel: Classic, deadly, double-barrel shotgun.
- Enforcer: Highly accurate pistol but will cost you an extra loadout point.
- Launcher: A weapon that fires small explosives, in the vein of a home-made potato gun.
Situational Survival Skills Bundle
- Agility: Climb, vault, and move while crouching faster than you could before. At level 3 you are nearly impossible to hear while moving.
- Awareness : See enemy nametags before they see yours and enemy nametags remain on screen for several seconds when taking fire.
- Fortitude: Downed? Level up this skill and it will help you survive longer as you’ll take longer to bleed out, crawl faster, and have more health when downed. At higher levels you’ll start with an extra health pack, and earn extra parts each time you heal.
- Scavenger: Automatically pick up ammo and supplies and see increases in drops from enemies with this valuable skill. At level 3 enemies sometimes drop a random crafting ingredient.
Professional Survival Skills Bundle
- Gunslinger: Equip this skill to start each spawn with more pistol ammo as you level up the skill.
- Bomb Expert: Your bombs will explode more quickly and you’ll be immune to the stun of your own smoke bomb as you level up this skill.
- Executioner: If your play style is the higher the risk, the greater the reward, then this is the skill you want. Earn more parts for shiv kills and special executions, and get extra shiv uses every time you craft a shiv.
- Damage Marker: Good at hitting your targets? This is the skill for you as you’ll automatically mark any enemies you hit and earn double the parts for making.
