Starship Troopers: Extermination Update 1.8 launched December 1, 2025, delivering one of the game’s biggest content drops since its October 2024 release. The patch adds a frozen Critical Strike map called Boreas where bugs evolved in toxic ice after a meteor strike, a Company Progression system letting groups level through 50+ tiers unlocking cosmetic rewards, TAC Fighter air strikes that require defending Fleet Relays for devastating bombing runs, and perhaps most importantly, the ability to disarm Bombardier suicide bugs with perfectly timed knife strikes to their nerve stems.
Developer Offworld described Update 1.8 as a collection of content, performance, optimization improvements, and bug fixes designed to keep the 16-player co-op FPS fresh for Mobile Infantry troopers fighting across the far-off frontlines. The patch addresses long-standing community requests while introducing new mechanics that change how players approach missions on Valaka, Agni Prime, and the new Boreas battlefield. If you’ve been waiting for reasons to jump back into the fight against the Arachnid menace, this update provides several.
Welcome to Frozen Planet Boreas
Boreas is a toxic frozen wasteland hit by a Bug Meteor that allowed the Arachnid menace to evolve in extreme conditions before Federation forces arrived. The Critical Strike map features deep canyons running between plateaus populated with caves, emphasizing verticality more than previous maps. The art team deliberately created a Bug-ridden planet with no Federation presence, showing what happens when the bugs completely infest a world without resistance.
The visual design breaks from typical frozen environments that use realistic blue ice and white snow. Instead, Boreas features deeper greens and cyans mixed into the ice to communicate its toxic nature. The Bug Meteor serves as a central landmark referencing the 1997 Starship Troopers film, with oozing bug gore providing material contrast against greenish-blue ice and sparkling snow. Troopers can orient themselves using the meteor visible from one plateau while additional planets appear on the vista from the other side.
Environmental temperature contrasts play into the atmosphere. Caves feel warmer than the frigid exterior, creating tactical considerations about where to position during bug swarms. The frozen methane and toxic conditions explain why Frozen Drones and Frozen Warriors appear as enemy variants specific to this planet. The development team wanted players to feel genuine coldness when exposed outside versus the relative warmth of cave systems.
TAC Fighter Strikes and Fleet Relays
TAC Fighter Strikes represent a new mission objective that fundamentally changes battlefield dynamics. Federation Fleet Command dramatically improved their combat support packages to enable Close Air Support missions for embattled Mobile Infantry units. These fleet assets maintain steady bombardment of the battlefield when properly coordinated, turning the tide during overwhelming bug swarms that would otherwise wipe squads.
The TAC Fighter Support mutator appears on missions across Valaka, Agni Prime, and Boreas. Unlike simple call-in abilities, TAC Fighters require constructing and defending Fleet Relays on the battlefield to coordinate strikes. Once built, a small detachment of troopers must commit to protecting the Relay from bug attacks. As long as it remains operational, TAC Fighter strafing runs periodically bombard the battlefield, racking up experience points for every bug obliterated.
This creates interesting tactical decisions. Do you split your 16-player team to defend the Relay while others push objectives? How many troopers do you commit to defense versus offense? If the bugs destroy the Relay, you lose air support until rebuilding it or completing the mission without that advantage. The mechanic rewards coordination and communication rather than just individual gunplay skills.
Company Progression Through 50+ Tiers
Update 1.8 introduces a brand-new Company Progression system letting organized groups of troopers level up together through 50+ tiers. Companies unlock unique emblems and frames to proudly display Federation identity, creating long-term goals beyond individual player progression. This social feature encourages players to stick with dedicated squads rather than constantly playing with random matchmaking partners.
While specific unlock details weren’t fully revealed in patch notes, the progression system apparently tracks company-level achievements and contributions from all members. Companies earn experience through missions, objectives completed, bugs killed, and support actions performed collectively. The cosmetic rewards provide visible status symbols showing which companies have been grinding together effectively versus newly formed groups.
DualShockers interviewed the project lead who explained that Company Progression lets Troopers band together, level up their Company, and unlock custom rewards. The system aims to foster community building and give dedicated player groups reasons to keep fighting together across dozens of hours rather than treating every mission as disconnected from previous efforts.
You Can Finally Knife Bombardiers
Perhaps the most satisfying addition is the ability to disarm Bombardier suicide bugs with perfectly timed melee attacks. These explosive enemies normally charge troopers and detonate on contact, dealing massive area-of-effect damage that often kills multiple soldiers simultaneously. The only reliable counter was shooting them from distance or accepting casualties when they reached your defensive line.
Now, a ten-fold increase in Trooper cojones allows the deft (and daft) to surgically disable a Bombardier before they explode. A swift knife strike to their nerve stem disarms the Bombardier and kills them without triggering detonation, letting skilled players escape their otherwise all-but-certain demise unharmed. This requires perfect timing and positioning since you need to be close enough to melee but fast enough to strike before they blow.
The mechanic rewards aggressive play and mastery over passive safety. Players who learn Bombardier timing patterns and animation tells can neutralize these dangerous threats solo rather than requiring focused fire from the entire squad. It also creates epic moments when you successfully knife a Bombardier charging your position while teammates watch in horror expecting the explosion, only to see you standing victorious over the disarmed corpse.
XP Economy Rebalancing
Update 1.8 dramatically increases experience point rewards for support actions that keep teams alive and functional. These changes address long-standing complaints that players focused on pure combat scored far higher on leaderboards than those performing critical support roles like building, repairing, healing, and resupplying teammates.
Major XP adjustments include rearming allies jumping from 10 XP to 25 XP, resupplying allies increasing from 5 XP to 25 XP, repairing structures improving from 2 XP per 3 seconds to 5 XP per second, and reinforcing structures going from 1 XP per 3 seconds to 10 XP per second. Overcharge actions now grant 25 XP instead of 5 XP, healing allies with First-Aid Stims doubled from 5 XP to 10 XP, and reviving downed teammates increased from 10 XP to 25 XP.
The most dramatic change is Paying Respects jumping from 5 XP to 50 XP, encouraging players to honor fallen comrades. Similarly, the I’m Doing My Part achievement increased from 10 XP to 50 XP, and I’m on FedNet News went from 5 XP to 50 XP. These changes create healthier incentive structures where support players earn competitive experience with front-line fighters rather than feeling punished for choosing necessary but under-rewarded roles.
Spotter Training Gets Buffed
Spotter Training received significant improvements making the Sniper specialization more valuable for team compositions. Specially trained Snipers can now call dibs on targets they spotted first, earning 1 XP per bug scanned instead of the previous 2 XP per 5 bugs. The Galactic Front Objectives now count individual bugs scanned rather than instances of XP earned, providing clearer feedback about contribution.
Most importantly, Spotter Training scan duration increased from 10 seconds to 20 seconds. This means marked targets remain visible to the entire team twice as long, dramatically improving the utility for coordinated squads. Snipers who properly scout enemy positions and mark threats provide actionable intelligence that persists long enough for teammates to reposition and focus fire on priority targets.
The changes transform Spotter Training from a minor perk to a genuinely valuable team asset. Previously, the short duration meant marked enemies often died or moved before teammates could capitalize on the information. Twenty seconds provides enough time for squads to communicate, coordinate, and execute strategic plays based on intelligence gathered by dedicated scouting players.
Quality of Life Improvements
Update 1.8 includes numerous quality of life changes that smooth rough edges from the base game. Loadout select now displays tooltips showing exactly what weapons, utilities, and perks are equipped for each loadout. This removes guesswork about how each configuration has been customized, letting players make informed decisions during mission prep rather than remembering nine different loadout setups off the top of their head.
Weapon modifications now show tooltips during loadout select and customization, clarifying what modifications are equipped on firearms before entering missions. Combat Stim Fabricators received new orange color schemes to differentiate them visually from other fabricator types, reducing instances where players accidentally grabbed the wrong stim flavor during chaotic combat situations.
Various audio bugs got fixed including Epulse weapon firing sounds continuing when out of ammo, Morita II with Full Auto modification playing extra firing sound effects when the trigger is released, and Underbarrel Shotgun not playing correct sounds when viewed in third person. Level geometry improvements fixed imprecise meshes, floating lights, Z-fighting, and collision issues across multiple maps.
Bug Fixes and Known Issues
The patch addresses dozens of bugs that plagued previous versions. Fixed issues include scan pulse using two charges on activation instead of one, weapons not equipping after placing nukes in Hive Hunt, players unable to detonate thermo charges they placed before dying, Pilum Rockets not dealing correct damage amounts, and flamethrowers not damaging the back half of Tanker bugs properly.
Bombardier corpses with the Hard Shells mutator no longer permanently hang around unable to be cleared, instead automatically fading out after short durations to prevent physics optimization problems. Napalm now correctly sets troopers on fire when they should be burning. First Aid Stims apply properly even when players move quickly or get hit mid-use. The Plasma Launcher Underbarrel no longer receives extra ammo if users get downed mid-charge.
Known issues that persist include scan pulse not correctly counting scanned bugs despite the intended fix, Tankers still being distracted by Lure Grenades and Nuclear Det Packs when they shouldn’t be, and Epic Store users having friends lists not show up though companies can still be used to join games. The development team acknowledges these problems and is working on solutions for future patches.
The Starship Troopers Extermination Journey
Starship Troopers: Extermination launched October 10, 2024 after an extended early access period beginning in May 2023. The game positions itself as a 16-player co-op FPS putting players on the far-off frontlines of all-out battles against bug hordes across hostile planets. Squads complete objectives, build defensive structures, fight overwhelming enemy swarms, and try to survive long enough to extract from hostile territory.
The game draws from the 1997 Paul Verhoeven film and Robert Heinlein’s 1959 novel, capturing the satirical military propaganda aesthetic that defines the franchise. Players join the Mobile Infantry as Deep Space Vanguard Troopers fighting to take back planets from Arachnid threats through combined arms warfare mixing infantry combat, defensive engineering, and orbital support strikes.
Update 1.8 represents Offworld’s ongoing commitment to post-launch support, adding substantial content five months after the October 2024 release. The developer maintains an active roadmap promising additional maps, enemy types, weapons, and progression systems throughout 2025 and beyond. For players who enjoyed the initial experience but exhausted available content, this update provides compelling reasons to return to the fight.
FAQs
When did Starship Troopers Extermination Update 1.8 release?
Update 1.8 launched December 1, 2025 at 10 AM PT (GMT-7). The patch is available now for all players across PC platforms including Steam and Epic Games Store.
What is Boreas in Starship Troopers Extermination?
Boreas is a new frozen Critical Strike map added in Update 1.8. It’s a toxic frozen wasteland hit by a Bug Meteor, featuring deep canyons between plateaus with cave systems, emphasizing vertical gameplay and extreme environmental conditions where bugs evolved in the harsh climate.
How do TAC Fighter Strikes work?
TAC Fighter Strikes require constructing and defending Fleet Relays on the battlefield to coordinate air support. Once built, a small detachment of troopers must protect the Relay from bug attacks. While operational, TAC Fighter strafing runs periodically bombard the battlefield, killing bugs and earning XP.
What is Company Progression in Update 1.8?
Company Progression is a new system letting organized groups level up together through 50+ tiers, unlocking unique emblems and frames to display Federation identity. It encourages dedicated squads to play together long-term rather than always using random matchmaking.
How do you knife Bombardiers without them exploding?
A swift knife (melee attack) strike to a Bombardier’s nerve stem disarms and kills them without triggering detonation. The timing must be perfect – you need to melee before they explode on contact, requiring practice to master the animation windows.
What XP changes happened in Update 1.8?
Support actions received massive XP increases: rearming allies went from 10 XP to 25 XP, resupplying from 5 XP to 25 XP, repairing from 2 XP per 3 seconds to 5 XP per second, reviving from 10 XP to 25 XP, and Paying Respects from 5 XP to 50 XP among many other improvements.
What known issues remain after Update 1.8?
Known issues include scan pulse not counting scanned bugs correctly, Tankers still being distracted by Lure Grenades and Nuclear Det Packs, and Epic Store users having friends lists not show up though companies can still join games. Fixes are coming in future patches.
What platforms is Starship Troopers Extermination available on?
Starship Troopers: Extermination is available on PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. The game launched in full release October 10, 2024 after an extended early access period starting May 2023.
Conclusion
Starship Troopers: Extermination Update 1.8 delivers substantial content and improvements that address community requests while introducing fresh mechanics to keep the 16-player co-op formula engaging. The frozen planet Boreas provides a visually distinct battlefield with toxic ice environments and vertical canyon systems that change how squads approach Critical Strike missions. TAC Fighter Strikes and Fleet Relay defense objectives create new tactical considerations requiring coordination between defending the Relay and pushing objectives, rewarding teams that communicate effectively over those treating missions as mindless bug shooting galleries. Company Progression through 50+ tiers gives dedicated groups long-term goals and cosmetic rewards that encourage sticking with regular squads rather than constantly cycling through random matchmaking partners. The ability to disarm Bombardiers with perfectly timed melee strikes rewards skilled aggressive play over passive safety, creating epic moments when you knife a suicide bomber charging your position and walk away unharmed. Massive XP increases for support actions like rearming, resupplying, repairing, and reviving teammates finally reward players who choose necessary but previously under-incentivized roles, creating healthier team compositions where everyone feels valued. Quality of life improvements including loadout tooltips, weapon modification visibility, and color-coded fabricators smooth rough edges that frustrated players since launch. The patch isn’t perfect – known issues persist around scan pulse counting, Tanker distraction, and Epic Store friends lists – but Offworld’s commitment to ongoing support suggests these problems will get addressed in future updates. For Mobile Infantry troopers who exhausted the base game’s content but enjoyed the core 16-player co-op bug-blasting formula, Update 1.8 provides compelling reasons to return to the frontlines and do your part for the Federation.