The recent Global Closed Beta brought in the largest number of players we've seen yet. It was truly incredible to see so many Wayfinders curious to explore Evenor and provide constructive input! Each playtest has been instrumental for us to enhance and improve Wayfinder, all because of your feedback. It’s tough to imagine what Wayfinder would look like without our remarkable community supporting us every step of the way, and we cannot thank each of you enough. [previewyoutube=URMMYEp6HQE;full][/previewyoutube] Here are just a few numbers from the Global Closed Beta: [list] [*] 183,691 Hunts completed with Bosses slain [*] 13,600,000 Enemies killed (with 852,000 Baby Spiders being squashed) [*] 415,000 Expeditions into Lost Zones completed [/list] [h3]Global Closed Beta Takeaways and Next Steps[/h3] While we’ve fixed close to 2,000 bugs since that test, we’ve also been hard at work adding things based on your feedback into the game so it’s ready for when we hit Early Access this summer! [previewyoutube=2_DbP97pWrE;full][/previewyoutube] [b]Combat Movement [/b] As cool as sliding past your enemies without a care in Evenor looks, sometimes that’s not the intention. We’re disabling forward movement if the target is in active hit range to avoid overstepping and sliding past them. This will prevent players from directly intersecting with enemies less often, with the added benefit of improved visibility. [b]Targeting[/b] Stick to your intended target! We’re fixing a targeting issue with all weapons that was most felt when using two-handed weapons. Sometimes in combat, players would slide attack, but move past their intended targets and frequently switch targets. We’re making changes that will allow players to stick to their desired target more consistently as well as making lock-on camera improvements. Additionally we’re fixing a bug where dead enemies would remain a viable target unintentionally and could cause players to remain targeted on the dead enemy and keep sliding past their intended target. [b]Defensive Maneuvers[/b] Previously, players could only parry, block and dodge at specific frames during melee attacks, and understandably that didn’t feel great when reacting to enemy attacks. We’re improving the interrupt windows significantly so players can parry, dodge and block at any frame during melee combat to improve flexibility and responsiveness. We’re also working on standardizing the attack warnings to make it easier to correctly time interrupts across all enemy types. [previewyoutube=ZC7TSSFqHCo;full][/previewyoutube] [b]Short and Long Term Progression[/b] In Wayfinder we want you to feel like you’re always progressing and getting stronger in the world. One thing we heard loud and clear from players is they want the ability to pick and choose the order of their abilities to unlock, so we’re making that change right away. Additionally, while we have a lot of systems in place for progression, one that we think needs clearer goals for players is long term progression. We don’t want you to feel like you're missing out when not playing your “main” character or favorite weapon, so we’re folding in some of our planned systems for character progression and implementing them on an account level. This means more meaningful long term progression beyond small stat boosts into full blown abilities and power-ups you can earn at the account level via “Archetype” and “Armory” level progression systems. We’ll have more on this later! [b]Echoes[/b] The Echo system is something that we love about Wayfinder and while feedback from players has been positive, it’s clear that it can be confusing at times. We’re going to be simplifying Echos by organizing them into clear categories such as attack, defense, etc. We’re also going to introduce a broader range of Echoes that are not just “stat sticks” and allow for even more diverse builds. [previewyoutube=4miT2RuTfzg;full][/previewyoutube] [b]Enemies and Enemy Variance[/b] With millions of enemies felled in the last beta, we received a ton of data and feedback to pour over. What we found is that encounters with our broad range of enemies need more variance. For example, a small monster could have the same time to kill as a much larger mini boss you’d find in a Lost Zone event. We’re going to be addressing this by having a bit more variance in enemy encounters: players should expect to find weaker, swarming enemies alongside more powerful foes. This should improve the dynamics of gameplay and make for an even more engaging experience. [previewyoutube=MqQlu3fOFsc;full][/previewyoutube] [b]Social Systems[/b] At its heart, Wayfinder is a social game. We heard a lot about the limitations to in-game chat and we’re implementing a series of quality of life improvements to our entire chat system. First and foremost, you’ll be placed in your region’s chat by default so you can better coordinate a Lost Zone expedition or just compliment someone on their dye choice. Global chat will still be there, but won’t be what everyone sees upon logging in. We also are enabling localized chats. This means that if the system detects your language as Brazilian Portuguese, you’ll be in with other players who speak that language. You can also opt into a language if it’s not selected by default. We’ve also improved our spam detection across the board, and yes– you’ll be able to resize the chat window so you can see the memes easier. [previewyoutube=P1STCeS0_fs;full][/previewyoutube] Furthermore, we heard you loud and clear that sometimes you just want to play with your buddy... In Early Access when queued as a duo, you’ll have the option to fill your party (by adding a third Wayfinder) or proceed into the unknown with just the two of you. [h3]ICYMI - Previous Improvements[/h3] We were thrilled to take action and add a number of other highly-requested features and improvements prior to theGlobal Closed Beta. Some of these features included adding a spry new jump-dash as well as a movement speed increase, a complete camera system overhaul, the addition of a Material Codex, performance optimizations and more. For more details about these features you can read about them [url=https://www.playwayfinder.com/en/news/gearing-up-for-early-access]here.[/url] [h3]Wayfinder’s Future and What’s To Come [/h3] While Wayfinder has gone through many changes since you first set foot in Evenor, we continue to develop the game with a vision of a long-lasting, online multiplayer action-RPG that is free and fair for all. Feedback from players like you will continue to play a vital role in Wayfinder’s evolution. [previewyoutube=Tmz7RL5K6es;full][/previewyoutube] Don’t forget to wishlist Wayfinder to be the first to know when Early Access is available this summer. We’ll have information coming soon on Founder’s Packs and everything you need to know to prepare, so stay tuned! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1171690/