Dying Light: The Following -- Everything you need to know

One year since the zombiepocalypse survival-horror game Dying Light jump-scared onto the scene, its developer Techland has put the finishing touches on the bloodcurdling expansion, called The Following.

With Dying Light: The Following's release date now a little more than a week away, Techland has presented below a question-and-answer guide for fans, answering some of the most frequently asked enquiries regarding the expansion.

Dying Light: The Following's release procedure is a little more elaborate than most. This expansion will outright replace last year's game across all digital storefronts, and gradually it will succeed the original at physical retail, too. Meanwhile, those who own the original can upgrade to the expansion by purchasing The Following as DLC.

Along with this, there's a second-tier expansion available too, called Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition.

To offer more insight on this, as well as answer questions about what the new expansion contains, below is a Dying Light: The Following FAQ guide, with all answers written by Techland.

Dying Light The Following

What's Dying Light: The Following and how can I get it?

"Dying Light: The Following is a massive expansion to Dying Light, which introduces a host of new features, including a vast new map, drivable and customizable buggies, and a new mysterious storyline."

What character level should I have for Dying Light: The Following?

"A character level of around 18 or more is recommended when starting Dying Light: The Following. However, you can choose to play it at any point after completing the main game's prologue."

Can I start Dying Light: The Following without playing the original game?

"You will have to complete the prologue part of Dying Light before you can jump into Dying Light: The Following."

Can I play Dying Light: The Following without completing the main story from the original game?

"Yes, you can. However, story-wise, you will get the best experience if you know the full story of the original game."

Can I transfer my character to Dying Light: The Following?

"Yes, you will be able to transfer your character and progress from the main campaign to Dying Light: The Following and vice versa. You can then develop that character further in both the main game and the expansion."

Are their any new enemies in Dying Light: The Following?

"Yes. On top of the existing foes that players encountered in the original game, there are various new enemy types with new behaviors and attack patterns."

Will parkour still be present in Dying Light: The Following?

"Yes. Parkour is still a vital tool for survival in Dying Light: The Following, both as a means of movement and as a weapon."

What options do I have to customize my dirt buggy?

"Players will be able to unlock and install various buggy upgrades, both defensive and offensive. Among them you will find a ramming bar, a mine dispenser, a flamethrower, a larger fuel tank, and much more. There are also multiple tiers of car parts, that players can equip onto their buggy. These improve the vehicle's performance, for example handling or durability. Last but not least, there are also multiple paint jobs and various dashboard collectibles."

What is the Driver Rank?

"Your Driver Rank is an additional skill tree in Dying Light: The Following that opens once you obtain your dirt buggy. This skill tree has various upgrades and skills that are unlocked through points earned by driving, running down enemies, performing stunt jumps, etc."

What is the Trust Rank?

"Trust Rank appears in Dying Light: The Following. It is an indicator of how much the locals trust you. You earn trust by completing various tasks and missions that help the community. These vary in difficulty and therefore in the trust points rewarded. By unlocking additional trust levels, players will open up new quests, abilities and rewards that will allow them to progress further through the story."

Can I travel between the new map and the original ones?

"You will be able to freely transfer your character progress between the base game and Dying Light: The Following at any point through the main menu."

Dying Light had plenty of Easter eggs. Can I expect more in Dying Light: The Following?

"Yes. Plenty."

Can we play Be the Zombie in Dying Light: The Following?

"Yes, the Be the Zombie mode is available in the expansion's new map. Veteran Be the Zombie players will notice various balance changes to adapt the Night Hunter character to be able to deal with the new environment and dirt buggies."

How many players can play together online?

"Both the Enhanced Edition of Dying Light and its expansion, Dying Light: The Following can be played in co-op with up to 4 players. A fifth player may also join in the game's PvP 4v1 mode, Be the Zombie."

I have more questions. Where can I ask them?

"You can ask all your questions on the Dying Light Facebok, Twitter and community forum. As our follower or subscriber, you will be the first to receive all the new information as it comes out."

Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition

What is the difference between Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Editon and Dying Light: The Following?

"Dying Light The Following - Enhanced Edition is a new and immensely enhanced version of the original game. It features a brand-new difficulty level called Nightmare Mode, 250 special Legend Levels to unlock, all-new Bounty system, and a massive expansion pack titled Dying Light: The Following. On top of that, the Enhanced Edition includes all previously released DLCs, community-made maps, many gameplay enhancements, and more. For the full list of content click here.

"Dying Light: The Following is the expansion pack that takes the core gameplay of Dying Light and morphs it with a range of new features: a vast new map to explore, drivable and customizable dirt buggies, an original mysterious storyline, and more."

When will Dying Light The Following - Enhanced Edition launch?

Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition and Dying LIght: The Following expansion pack will be released on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One starting February 9th, 2016. Steam users around the globe can start playing on February 9th, 2016 while launch dates for other platforms will vary slightly between countries. Check the infographic below for more info:

Will the retail version have all the content on disc?

"Yes, all the content announced for Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition will be on the disc. The only exception are the select community maps on consoles, which will be available as downloadable content. Since we plan an extensive post-launch support, additional content released later will also require a download."

How many more hours of gameplay do I get with Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition?

"First of all, you can expect around 10 hours to finish the main story of Dying Light: The Following, and another 10 if you wish to go through all the sidequests, challenges and secrets from the expansion. As for the enhancements, the Legendary Levels alone give you at least 50 hours of gameplay. With the Nightmare Mode, community maps, and the Bounties added to the equation, you can get 100 more hours out of the Enhanced Edition."

What are Legend Levels?

"Legend Levels are a progression system of 250 levels that players can earn, which give players new stat boosts, unique emblems, additional skins and gold tier weapons. Legend Levels are unlocked once players max out 1 of the 3 base level skill trees. All XP players earn from that point on will be put towards their Legend Level rank."

What are Bounties?

"Bounties are special in-game challenges that activate once you've beaten the main storyline. There are 3 categories of Bounties."

1. Basic Bounties are fun tasks that players can complete while exploring the quarantine zone or while doing quests e.g. cut off X amount of zombie heads, remain undetected throughout the night etc.
2. Daily Bounties change everyday and ask players to explore the extremes of what Dying light offers. e.g. figure out and climb to the highest point in the game.
3. Community Bounties are group tasks that the entire Dying Light community will be contributing to over the course of a few days.

Completed Bounties will give players vast XP boosts as well as selected rewards."

What changes does the Nightmare Mode bring?

"Nightmare Mode is the next evolution of Hard Mode. It increases the difficulty of the game even further through various factors, such as removal of over-powered easter egg weapons, player stamina depletion through combat and parkour, and a high XP penalty for dying. All additions from the Hard Mode are also included: more perceptive and aggressive enemies, longer nights, reduced minimap enemy detection, and lower loot frequency."

Have the PC requirements changed for the Enhanced Edition?

"The requirements have stayed exactly the same. If you played the original Dying Light on your PC, you should be able to run Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition."

Will the game feature HUD customization?

"Yes, players will be able to turn on and off certain elements of the HUD, as well as use stylish screen filters to adjust the visuals of the game to their liking."

Will community-made maps be available on consoles?

"Yes. Select community-made maps will be available at launch for both PlayStation 4 and Xbox One users, with more coming in the future updates."

I already finished Dying Light. Is there any reason to replay it?

"The newly introduced Legend Levels, Nightmare Mode and the Bounties system all introduce new mechanics and challenges after you max out the core game, so you can experience the game anew and continue playing almost indefinitely after beating the story. And don't forget about other gameplay improvements, such as enhanced enemy AI or new parkour animations, which make playing much more immersive."

Can we expect new gold-tier weapons?

"There will be new gold-tier weapons, both as part of the Enhanced Edition and in Dying Light: The Following. The newly-introduced Nightmare Mode also offers a higher chance of finding gold weapons if you are up to the challenge."

How many new weapons can we expect from Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition?

"Around 100 new weapons or blueprints have been added in. They can be found in the Enhanced Edition of the base game, in the expansion pack, and via the new Legend Levels. These new weapons include additional gold-tier weapons, new melee weapons, new craftable elemental upgrades, additional ranged weapons and a selection of new throwables."

Will the game be supported with new content after launch?

"Just like with the original game, we will continue to support Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition after launch."