We're looking for Test Subjects for our Eternal Return 1.0 Official Launch Experiment!
Test Subjects can join the experiment until Monday, July 17th at 7:59 AM (PT). Those who participate on the experiment will receive a special gift after Official Launch!
Check out the Official Launch Experiment Website to see all of our on-going events! You can also find the details to participate on our Eternal Return goods raffle. What are you waiting for? Don't miss this opportunity and participate on the experiment!
[Eternal Return 1.0 Official Launch Experiment]
1. Recruiting Period
Until Monday, July 17th, 2023, 7:59 AM (PT)
▶▶ Eternal Return 1.0 Official Launch Experiment [See More]
2. Official Launch
Weds, July 19th, 10:00 PM (PT)
[Maintenance Period Information before Official Launch]
Starting on Monday, July 17th at 7 PM and until Wednesday, July 19th 10 PM (PT), an Eternal Return 1.0 Countdown will be held to prepare for Official Launch.
During this time, Eternal Return will not be available, so please keep this in mind to avoid any inconveniences.
* All products with a defined period of use applied to the above period will be extended by 3 days.
Thank you for understanding.
Dev Stream NP Coupon
Hello Lumia Island Survivors,
Here's the coupon we revealed during the Dev Stream!
Thanks for always sticking with us!
Eternal Return 1.0 Dev Stream Coming Soon!
Lumia Islanders!
We're one day away from our Dev Stream, which will be all about Official Launch.
As always, thanks for playing and we hope to see you there!
14th Dev Journal
Hello Lumia Island survivors!
In today’s Dev Journal we will be introducing Operator Nadja!
Eternal Return is quite a complex game. At the moment, the many systems and user experience (UX) are fairly roughly placed, making it challenging to learn. While players may pick up the game step by step, they may still find themselves a bit lost in in-game situations.
Strategy games require constant decision-making in rapidly changing situations. The increasing depth of the game means that a wider variety of such situations can arise, and the factors to consider when making decisions become more complex. So there's a dilemma: the game has to have obstacles to be interesting and fun, but if it gets too complicated it can become difficult to play.
This is where having a visible indication of your next move becomes very important. The magnetic field that many Battle Royale games employ is a very clear indication of where you need to go. "If I'm on the edge of the field, I need to be prepared to get out of it somehow", so usually players intuitively realize that they need to move toward the center of the circle. In the MOBA genre, the three lines act as signposts, each with a minion marching toward the opposing tower.
The path you see isn't necessarily the best choice - even in the games above, it's sometimes more important to use the edges of the magnetic field to gain an advantage or to reach important strategic objectives outside the tower. For beginners, though, it's important we make viable choices visible. At the moment, Eternal Return doesn't have pathing guides outside of the early looting phase, After finishing their builds, players are left in an open space. The game even has a Hyperloop, which can take players to the other side in an instance. While the free and open environment is a pro for some, it's also a source of anxiety for beginners, not knowing where to go or what to do.
When we're not sure what to do, history books tell us that schemers usually have 3 plans just in case one doesn't work: A, B and C. Modern consulting firms also rely on the Rule of Three to provide three alternatives. That's what Operator Nadja does: when you have no visible path and a lot of freedom, she gives you three safe choices that you can make at that moment.
Eternal Return is surprisingly easy if you have a friend to guide you through it, and giving you orders like "hunt now," or "move to Hotel because Alpha is coming soon," is a great way to help you get through the game, even if your friend's tier isn't that high. The options that Operator Nadja gives you don't have to be the best ones, they just have to be good enough so that players can follow them.
In fact, leading the player in this way in a game with a high degree of freedom is not a new strategy: the Mission System found in RPGs is a good reference. Missions in RPGs also give you a few things you can do at the moment, rather than giving you the most efficient answer, and Operator Nadja is an enhanced real-time Mission System.
Operator Nadja reminds you to stay on the path in Early Game. All images and voices in this Dev Journal are still under development with no post-production work done.
If your Saved Plan doesn't work out well, she advises you to use a Remote Drone.
If you finish your Saved Plan early in team modes, Operator Nadja advises you to join your teammates. She'll also let you know about incoming Special Materials. Operator Nadja can even warn you before a meteorite spawns.
After it spawns, she will tell you to go for it.
When a player gets within a certain distance of a Meteorite, the Operator's message changes.
"There's a Meteorite nearby. Go get it!" But, since the object often moves closer and then further away depending on the situation, this type of proximity notification will only alert you by voice, no text.
If the player collects a Meteorite, she also recommends equipment upgrades.
When you enter a Battle Zone, there won't be a separate UI for it anymore, and Nadja will directly become the operator on the Battle Zone.
If you lose a teammate, you'll also be presented with Escape options.
In addition, Operator Nadja will also give you up to three pieces of advice for different situations. You'll see the top advice in order of priority, but if you want, you can press a button to see the middle and bottom advice as well.
The Operator UI is also automatically minimized when you are in combat. Of course, you can manually minimize it while out of combat by pressing a button.
While Operator Nadja can be a great help to new players, some of the descriptions can feel like unnecessary nagging for experienced players. For this reason, we'll have the feature enabled for new players, but once they have reached higher levels, Nadja will even advise you to switch to the Expert Preset. Selecting the Expert Preset will remove some of the beginner's guides and focus on guides that are helpful to experienced players, such as announcements regarding Objectives.
When you select Custom Games, you can also choose to do only the operations you want depending on your preference!
We still can't introduce all of Operator Nadja's facial expressions and voice as they're still in production, but we hope you'll find her to be a reliable guide for your trip through Lumia Island! The next Dev Journal will be about the third update for Characters. Stay tuned for more! Thanks for sticking with us as always!
*All preview images released in the Dev Journals are subject to change during the development process.
Today's Dev Journal will cover revamps and changes to the Credits System and Game Phases. We’ve covered a number of topics related to Credits and Game Phases in previous Dev Journals, and today we’re going to collect and summarize them all! Please keep in mind that the details, such as amount of Credits and the order of the objectives, are still subject to change.
First off, the goal of this Credit revamp is to organically integrate the many game systems added over the past two years into a single currency called “Credits”. Whereas before it felt more like a "hunter-gatherer economy" system based on finding and crafting materials, which was slightly complemented with Credits, we're now going full "Capitalism"!
We're not just adding more uses for Credits, we're making sure that most actions in the game are tied to them just as most human activity in capitalism is tied to money. We want to give you clearer feedback on how you're investing your resources and what you're accomplishing. The Credit unit is set to become much larger than it is now in order to address different credit-earning situations.
The primary source of Credits will now be Wild Animals. Previously, Credits were obtained in small quantities so the system felt more like it was made for saving up Credits for a special material until you had enough to buy it. Now with the need to use Credits more frequently, it will become more of a usual goal for players to collect them, while a herd of Wild Animals will become a tasty objective to refill your Credits!
Now, when Night/Day changes, Paid Credits will expire, and Natural Credits will be given to you in little amounts at regular intervals. While both types of Credits have a thing in common, they have quite different play implications. If you're a few Credits short when you get to the Transfer Console, you'll have to wait. And even if you don't have the exact amount of Credits you were looking for, but you have a similar balance, you'll still be able to slowly make your way toward it.
Combat is also a good way to earn Credits. You can earn Kill Credits when you eliminate or assist in eliminating other players. Kill Credits are meaningful in Early Game, but due to the Reward System introduced in the previous Dev Journal, if an enemy has Legendary Equipment, you'll earn more Credits based on the number of kills.
In addition to that, you'll also get Credits for Killing Objectives such as Alpha, Omega and Dr. Wickeline.
As Credits will become used more actively, Transfer Console will change as well. The name "Transfer Console" suggests that it sends you a box, but we've received feedback that many people mistakenly think it's a device that sends them somewhere else, and that it doesn't accurately describe what it really is. So we're changing the name of Transfer Console to “Kiosk”so that it intuitively reminds you of a place where you can buy things. And while Kiosk doesn't necessarily mean a store, we're sure you are more familiar with them, especially in recent years as food ordering devices.
Also, the number of Kiosks has been doubled, with a total of 8 on Lumia Island. Cooldown after its use has also been removed, so you can now make consecutive purchases at Kiosk, bringing it closer to the actual meaning of a store.
"On top of that, we're adding 9 Campfires; you can also loot campfire kits from hunts, making Campfires fairly accessible. Kiosks and Campfires are strategly placed so no matter where you are, you'll at least be able to find them by moving to a neighboring area. Of course, you may actually have to travel longer distances due to Restricted Areas. (The specific placement locations may be adjusted later.)
We aimed for them to be frequent enough that you can use them as a basis for planning your mid to late-game travels once you've completed your Saved Plan.
You can also purchase Special Materials, Escape Rootkits, and revive teammates! All at Kiosk!
Teammates Paid Revival will be available at Kiosk from Day 3 until the final Restricted Area. In Team Modes, you can still die on Day 1 and 2, and automatically respawn after a period of time, but on Day 3, Operator Nadja will let you know that the automatic respawn is over. With this new paid option, you'll get one more chance to revive after Day 3, and the "save a teammate" nostalgia will spawn from the first iteration of the revive system.
Teammates Paid Revival is a change that goes hand-in-hand with the simplification of Escape. On Day 3, we'll start selling Escape Rootkits alongside Paid Revivals. So now, when you lose a teammate, you'll have two options: a larger map or more frequent escapes to make up for the increased number of survivors due to paid revivals. Of course, if you're low on Credits, whether you escape or respawn, you'll have to hunt more. (The exact time for available phases for Paid Revival and Escape may be adjusted for balancing purposes.)
On the other hand, Battle Zones will be significantly reduced in importance and will only take place once during the game, on the night of Day 2. The end of the Battle Zones will mark the end of one phase, and a new phase will begin on Day 3 with no auto-revives and the ability to escape.
Battle Zone Rewards will also change to Special Materials instead of Mythic Accesories that can only be found there. Of course, there are still some benefits to the winner of the Battle Zone as a place to settle the first half of the Game Phase, such as Kill Points and Combat Mastery. However, the removal of rewards that can only be obtained on the Battle Zone should improve the inherent problems with rewards.
Tactical Enhancement Modules, which are sold at Kiosk and drop on Battle Zones, are items for upgrading Tactical Skills to Level 3. You can earn Credits through hunting and battles, and you can use them to instantly upgrade your Tactical skills up to Level 2 or order materials through Remote Drones. Both of these functions, which consume Credits remotely, can be used from the VPad.
Additionally, as more Credits are spent, Remote Drones become more accessible than ever. Right now, top-ranked players are quite comfortable with the idea of building Cameras and Traps with their late-game Credits.The problem with cameras and traps is the gap between the top and bottom players. The top players were overutilizing late-game summons, whereas lower-ranked players rarely did. Now,
with VPad suggesting excessive materials on Saved Plans, materials recommended by Saved Plans creators, Cameras and Traps, and more, you can make better decisions on what materials to call on. Air Supply Boxes are also getting a makeover. Previously, they felt like lesser objectives compared to Meteorites and Trees of Life, but now they're getting a major upgrade.
There will be three types of Air Supply Boxes: Food, Epic and Legendary Boxes, with Food Boxes serving as the first "Supply" Box. Food Boxes will spawn in Early Game and will be an easy way to get food apart from Campfires.
Epic Boxes will now only contain Materials. Because Epic Materials are all Special Materials, such as Meteorites and Tree of Life, every Epic Box is will be worth more than just an objective. However, there will be fewer of them than before.
Legendary Boxes will only contain Equipment. You'll get 1 of 4 Air Supply type Legendary Equipments: Head, Chest, Arm, or Leg, all with Selective Stats that chooses the higher stats between Skill Amplification and Attack Power.
On a different note, the previously announced plan to limit the Hyperloop distance has been canceled after internal testing. But, Hyperloop will be temporarily disabled when Satellite Radar is activated. This prevents players from using Satellite Radar to see where enemies are and using Hyperloop to instantly travel after them. As the map expands, the number of objectives that appear will increase, limiting players from easily targeting empty objectives. To obtain objectives, players will need to pay more attention to securing the area beforehand. Of course, if you do pre-empt and the Satellite Radar confirms that there are no enemies nearby, you should be able to reliably obtain them without unexpected intervention.
Overall, Day 1 is the time to get your main equipment. Previously, Day 1 was exceptionally long to secure Early Farming time, but we've now shortened it. The timing of the first Meteorite spawn has been moved to the beginning of Day 2, allowing all of Day 1 to be used as a build-up time. Day 2 will feature Initial Objectives, with Battle Zones wrapping up the first half of Night 2. Due to the delayed start, teams entering Battle Zones may have basic weapons as well as some Legendary Equipment. On Day 3, you'll enter the second half of the Phase with Escape and Paid Revivals activated. Furthermore, we are shortening the duration of Wickeline's Buff, so it'll be harder to get it in the final Restricted Area. Of course, the Buff is still valuable because you can use it to get a head start on the Buff Legendary Equipment drops when you kill Dr. Wickeline, but we're making sure that the Buff is not directly linked to victory!
So there you have it! An introduction to the various Credit System and Game Phase changes. Stay tuned for the next Dev Journal, which will focus on Operator Nadja!
As always thank you!
*All preview images released in the Dev Journals are subject to change during the development process.
Web Points(WP) are event points that can be obtained and used throughout the Season 9 web events
0.87.0b Hotfix
We will be rolling out the 0.87.0b Hotfix at 20:00 (PT).
*Some changes may not be applied to tooltips or Practice modes.
[Fixes]
Sound effects will now be applied correctly to Laura's Default Skin.
0.87.0a Hotfix
We will be rolling out the 0.87.0a Hotfix at 00:45 (PT).
*Some changes may not be applied to tooltips or Practice modes.
[Fixes]
Tether Item Skill will now be correctly applied to Claddagh Ring Mk2.
Get Estelle's New Skin through her Special Event, Estelle's Fire Drill!
Hello Lumia Island survivors!
Are you ready for another fun Season 9 event? Estelle sure is! Come see what Estelle's Fire Drill is all about!
In this event, you'll pick a team to join and fight with other players to come out on top! Through the Daily Missions, you'll receive Extinguisher Stickers which will help your team rise up the leaderboard. Based on your team's daily place, those Extinguisher Stickers will give you Fire Chief Stamps. The more stamps you have, the better your team does!
You can check which place your team is in through real-time updates on the event page. You can even score 3 special emotes, Estelle's new skin, and based on your team's ranking, a new profile icon!
Time to do your best and help your team clench first place!
