Biome 5

Conquer Returnal's Biome 5, the Fractured Wastes! Learn how to navigate the Hub Room, find Hadal Keys, and grab permanent upgrades like Promethean Insulators and Hadal Ballasts.

Alright, welcome to Biome 5, the Fractured Wastes! This place is a bit different; you'll pop into a Hub Room pretty much right away. From here, you've got three main doors to choose from for your objective. Each of these paths holds one of the three Hadal Keys you'll need. Keep an eye out for another door in the Hub Room that needs a regular key – if you've got one, use it! If not, make sure to save the next key you find for it.

Behind that locked door is a pretty important Permanent Upgrade: Promethean Insulators. This is one of those upgrades that's technically missable on a run, though you can always come back later with another key. What it does is let you walk through that nasty reddish-black goop you've seen in earlier biomes. Super handy!

One of the three main objective paths will lead you to a Challenge Room. You'll likely *have* to do this on your first playthrough to snag one of the Hadal Keys. Seriously, this room is no joke. The first two waves are tough, but the third wave is where things get really hairy. Expect about four Frost Severed enemies to spawn, and you'll need to be on the move constantly, weaving in shots whenever you can.

Once you've collected all three Hadal Keys, head back to the Hub Room, go up the stairs, and claim your next upgrade: the Permanent Upgrade: Hadal Ballasts. This one lets you walk underwater. Remember all those tempting pools with loot at the bottom in previous biomes? Now you can dive in and grab 'em. Just a heads-up, you don't actually swim; you just walk around on the seafloor like you're wearing heavy boots.

Now, you'd expect a boss fight here, right? Nope! Instead, you take your new Hadal Ballasts and jump into that big pool of water in the middle of the Hub Room. This little dip will send you straight to the next biome. Weirdly, no boss in this one!

Biome 5 Enemies

Let's break down who you'll be up against in the Fractured Wastes:

• Frost Turret — These guys launch three ice balls that create slippery ice patches. If you slide on the ice too long, you'll stumble and take damage. Best bet is to jump and aerial dash away. They're also super easy to rush down and melee.
• Frost Kerberonyx — The wolf-like enemies from Biome 2 are back with a frosty twist. They're more aggressive and will constantly try to get in your face. They've got the charging laser attack, plus a new purple ring attack that can come after they've been staggered or just from a ground stomp. Always jump over those purple rings!
• Frost Drone — Basically the annoying drones from Biome 3, but somehow even more irritating. On top of their rockets and kamikaze dives, they can now create expanding red rings on the ground. They do need to channel it for a second, but the rings seem to move faster than usual. Try not to get overwhelmed; take them down quickly, even if it means sacrificing some Obolites to avoid taking damage.
• Frost Severed — These Severed enemies have a few new tricks. Get too close, and they'll blast you with AOE ice that damages you if you stand in it. They can also create purple rings after a slam attack. Most of their other moves are familiar.
• Malformed Severed — Honestly, these guys have so many attacks it's hard to keep track, but they definitely throw out a lot of obnoxious purple laser attacks.
• Frost Machina — Expect homing beams, bullet spam, and now they can lob red ring attacks everywhere. Seems like ring attacks are a theme for these frost variants!