A FICKING GAMES PROJECT · CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT
AETHERLOCK
Descend. Loot. Extract. Forge.
Build a loadout worth bringing home. AETHERLOCK is a sci-fi co-op extraction roguelike with a 15-floor campaign, a separate endless arena, and Aether-Forged equipment that gives Legendary gear new combat effects.
HOW DEEP WILL YOU GO?
Enter solo or with a squad. Fight through procedural environments, collect gear and resources, and decide when to extract. Back at the hub, develop your equipment before putting it to the test again.
DESCEND
Move floor by floor through a shifting sci-fi complex where danger and opportunity increase the deeper you travel.
LOOT
Search the environment for gear, components, resources, and upgrades that can change the direction of a run.
EXTRACT
Secure what you have earned—or stay longer and put it on the line for a chance at something better.
THE DESCENT
15 FLOORS. FIVE GUARDIANS.
The campaign spans five three-floor bands, with a guardian on floors 3, 6, 9, 12, and 15. Each band asks more of your build, your movement, and your team. Boss victories open the way forward and bring guaranteed gear rewards. Extract between pushes to protect your haul, improve your loadout, and return better prepared. Defeating the floor-15 guardian unlocks the hub’s Aether Forge.
FLOORS 1–3 · BUILD THE RUN
Gather resources, improve your loadout, and face the first guardian on floor 3.
FLOORS 4–9 · PRESSURE RISES
Push through the middle bands, with guardians on floors 6 and 9 opening the next stretch of the descent.
FLOORS 10–15 · PROVE THE BUILD
Survive the final bands and their guardians on floors 12 and 15. The final victory unlocks the Aether Forge.
BACK TO THE HUB
Bring your extracted equipment home, then spend an Aether Lock Key to launch a separate endless arena attempt.
HUB-ENTRY ENDGAME
THE ENDLESS ARENA
The arena is a separate mode launched from the hub. Spend one Aether Lock Key for the party to begin a fresh arena run with the equipment you have brought home.
Survive escalating waves of regular enemies, elites, and bosses across a modular battleground. Between waves, preview the next challenge and its rewards, ready up together, or extract. Enemy defeats and wave clears build your squad score, giving you another result to chase alongside your loot.
OVERCHARGE THE NEXT WAVE
Choose an Overcharged wave to face tougher enemies for increased Aether, better loot odds, and a higher score multiplier. Consecutive Overcharged clears build the bonus through three tiers. Completing a normal wave resets the chain. Your party must agree on the next wave choice before the countdown begins.
EARN AETHER CORES
Arena boss rewards include Aether Cores, the material used at the Forge. Keep pushing for more, or extract between waves with what you have earned. Extraction is unavailable during an active wave.
EXTRACT OR RISK IT ALL
Extraction keeps your carried gear and the full Aether earned during the run. Death costs carried gear and a share of your run-earned Aether. Every deeper floor and extra arena wave adds another decision: keep building the reward, or bring it home.
Do you leave with what you have—or risk it for something better?
BUILD. UPGRADE. RETURN.
Build through six rarity tiers, from Common gear to Aether-Forged equipment with its own combat Aspect.
COMMON · GRAY
The starting point for a loadout.
UNCOMMON · GREEN
Early upgrades for the descent.
RARE · BLUE
Gear for a coordinated campaign push.
EPIC · PURPLE
Stronger equipment for demanding fights and arena runs.
LEGENDARY · GOLD
Powerful gear and the base for forging.
AETHER-FORGED · ORANGE
Legendary equipment enhanced with a compatible combat Aspect.
LEGENDARY GEAR · COMBAT ASPECTS
THE AETHER FORGE
Once unlocked, the Aether Forge gives you new ways to develop eligible Legendary equipment and attachments. Spend Aether Cores to reroll stats, roll or change a compatible Aether Aspect, or apply an Aspect you have already learned.
An Aspect turns a compatible Legendary item into orange Aether-Forged gear. Six combat Aspects offer different ways to shape a build: Glass Magazine boosts damage as ammunition runs low, while Grave Relay carries a burning enemy’s remaining fire damage to another target when it dies.
Dismantle an Aether-Forged item to destroy it and permanently learn its Aspect, then apply that knowledge to another compatible Legendary base. Each item carries one Aspect; equipping duplicate copies of the same Aspect does not stack its effect.
CO-OP EXTRACTION
STRONGER TOGETHER
Aether Lock can be tackled alone, but coordinated teams can combine builds, cover weaknesses, share responsibilities, and survive encounters that become increasingly demanding as the descent continues. Teamwork can take you farther—but everyone still has something to lose.
CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT
AETHERLOCK is an independent game in active development at Ficking Games. The campaign, arena, Overcharge, and Forge are part of the current development build, with balancing, content, presentation, and gameplay testing continuing.
Follow the project for gameplay, screenshots, development updates, and future release information.