Perfect World held a special preview broadcast today (the 18th) ahead of the launch of 'Neverness to Everness' (NTE), a new urban fantasy open-world RPG developed by its subsidiary, Hotta Studio. The development team appeared on the broadcast to share game details and introduce pre-launch events.

Urban Life in 'NTE': Where the Mundane Meets the Anomalous

The broadcast began with an introduction to the world and key concepts of NTE. The 'Anomalies' frequently mentioned in the game refer to all supernatural and surreal entities that have existed in the world for over a millennium. While the 'Circle' has continuously contained and managed them, a massive anomalous disaster 40 years ago brought them to the public's attention. Consequently, the Anomaly Management Bureau under the Circle has taken the lead in containing and eliminating these threats.

'Hetero City,' the main stage of the game, houses the headquarters of the Anomaly Management Bureau. Wertheimer Towers are erected throughout the city to monitor readings and periodically detect and manage anomalous phenomena. Hetero City is home to various 'Espers' and Anomalies, with Espers ranging from those with human-like appearances to those with physical mutations. Players arrive in Hetero City as 'Esper Zero,' discovered by the Bureau in the midst of an anomaly while suffering from amnesia, and begin to encounter the city's diverse daily life and anomalous events.

As a modern urban setting, Hetero City offers a variety of vehicles, including cars. Once a vehicle is purchased, players can visit tuning shops to modify both the exterior and interior, customizing it to their own specifications. Players can also invite other characters to ride in the passenger seat while driving.

However, players must be cautious; if they repeatedly hit other cars or objects, or threaten pedestrians while driving, Peacekeepers will be dispatched to make an arrest. Vehicles can be purchased or requisitioned with the cooperation of citizens. Sometimes citizens may be uncooperative; threatening them allows you to take the vehicle, but Peacekeepers will be notified and dispatched.

If arrested by Peacekeepers, players are taken to a detention center and held for a certain period depending on the severity of their offense. They can be released by paying bail, serving time, or performing labor, or they can attempt to escape.

Beyond driving and jail time, players can navigate Hetero City using public transportation and acquire various types of housing. Through gameplay, players can collect furniture and decorative items to customize their homes, invite other characters to hang out by the pool, or engage in various interactions. You can even hold hands with invited characters and explore the city together.

These features were partially revealed in the previous CBT, but the official launch version features refined voice acting and motion capture to enhance immersion. For instance, NPCs passing by will react differently if they notice the camera. A dating feature has also been added, allowing players to invite characters to specific locations.

Funds for enjoying city life can be earned through 'City Tycoon' activities, which involve completing various missions. Players consume 'City Vitality' to take on side jobs like delivery, taxi driving, shop management, fishing, or playing in a band to earn 'Ponz,' the currency needed for city life. For the official launch, rewards such as costumes and various cosmetic items have been added to City Tycoon content, and multiplayer elements have been strengthened in some activities to allow for fun with friends. Additionally, reaching a certain City Tycoon level grants the S-rank character 'Cheese' for free.

Combat System with Elemental Synergy and a 90-Pull Pity System

The second part of the broadcast covered key in-game information, including NTE's elemental and combat systems and the character gacha system.

NTE features six elements: Light, Spirit, Main, Phase, Soul, and Dark. Forming a party with characters of different elements and triggering support skills activates the 'Esper Cycle' effect. As characters deal damage in combat, the cycle gauge accumulates; once full, the character window for a compatible character lights up. Switching to that character triggers their support skill and the cycle effect, applying debuffs or dealing additional damage to the enemy.

During combat, pressing the dodge button when a red light appears just before an enemy attacks triggers an 'Extreme Dodge,' followed by a special 'Extreme Counter' attack using basic attacks. When an enemy uses a special skill, a red circle warning appears; hitting the enemy with an attack at this moment triggers a counter-attack, parrying the enemy's strike and stunning them briefly. By reducing the enemy's 'Collapse' gauge to zero, players can leave them groggy and continue attacking unopposed. Some enemies have elemental weaknesses, so using support skills or Esper Cycles that target these weaknesses is more effective at depleting the Collapse gauge.

Key progression and combat content in NTE includes 'Anomaly Boundary' for growth materials, 'High-Risk Commissions' for challenging boss fights, and 'Beyond the Orbit,' a challenge mode that resets periodically. Players can also approach various anomalies scattered throughout the city to experience new gameplay based on unique rules and mechanics.

Next, the character gacha system was explained. Gacha in NTE is presented as rolling dice on a board, featuring a 90-pull pity system with no off-rate spooks. If the featured S-rank character does not appear within 70 pulls, the drop rate increases. In pickup banners, players can obtain not only characters but also various cosmetic items like costumes based on the number of pulls. Byproducts from the gacha, called 'Directionless Artifacts,' can be exchanged for gacha resources and other items.

'ARC' equipment can be obtained using a different currency called 'Triple Keys,' with an S-rank guaranteed at 60 pulls and the featured pickup ARC guaranteed at 80 pulls. The pull count toward the guarantee is permanent and carries over to other ARC banners. Some ARCs can also be obtained once through in-game play.

Meanwhile, to reduce the burden of character breakthroughs, 'E-Hwan' has adopted a system where awakening effects are not fixed, but can be freely selected and activated after a breakthrough. For example, you can choose to activate a '2-breakthrough' option while at '1-breakthrough' status, rather than being restricted to the 1-breakthrough option. Furthermore, you can swap and select different breakthrough options as needed depending on the situation.

The first pickup character is 'Nanari Collins,' an Anomaly Hunter from Avon. Nanari is a Spirit-element S-rank character who enters an 'Electromagnetic State' when using her skills. In this state, she can walk freely on walls and ceilings, and her basic attacks deal Spirit-element damage. Upon activating her Ultimate, she summons the construct 'The Second' to deal area-of-effect Spirit-element damage, and for the duration, her basic attacks pull enemies in slightly while dealing additional Spirit-element damage.

Hotori, the manager of Avon, also appears as a featured character. Hotori is a Light-attribute S-rank character with the ability to manipulate time. When Hotori enters battle, an 'Open Clock' is displayed, and energy accumulates over time. Once the energy is full, she can cast her ultimate, 'Surging World,' which deals Light-attribute area-of-effect damage while simultaneously stopping time. During this state, Hotori can draw her tachi to unleash more powerful attacks on enemies, with each strike accumulating stacks. Once the maximum number of stacks is reached, the time stop ends with a powerful finishing blow. The Nanari pickup event runs from the server launch until May 13, and the Hotori pickup event runs from May 13 to June 3.

Visual and Optimization Improvements, Plus a Porsche Collab and More Events

The final part of the broadcast introduced improvements based on CBT feedback, launch events, and various rewards. The official launch version offers a comprehensively improved experience, including detailed character screens, ray tracing support, a first-person perspective option while holding hands during character interactions, improved controller feel, and better key customization.

Notably, increasing your City Tycoon level unlocks a music player, allowing you to play your favorite tracks while driving or at various other moments. Along with the music player update, new tracks will be added through collaborations with 'Persona 5: The Phantom X' and 'Tower of Fantasy.' A collaboration with Porsche has also been confirmed, allowing players to drive the Porsche 918 Spyder in-game. Beyond in-game content, offline collaborations are also planned, with Nene Chicken and GS25 announced for the domestic market.

Regarding rewards, all global pre-registration and social media milestone goals have been met, and those rewards will be distributed. Additionally, for the official launch, the first five 10-pulls on the permanent board will be 20% off. Within these 50 pulls, players can pick and pull their desired permanent S-rank character, and the pity stack on the permanent board will not reset after the pull is completed.

Furthermore, a starter attendance event will provide the A-rank combatant Umitsuki, the S-rank ARC 'Moment of the Galaxy,' and 12 'Dice of Truth' (limited gacha tickets). Additional event rewards are granted as the account level increases, totaling 10 'Dice of Truth,' 35 'Dice of Deception' (permanent gacha tickets), 25 'Triple Keys' (ARC gacha tickets), and 300 Phantastones. Leveling up in City Tycoon grants 'Cheese,' Cheese's ARC, and awakening materials. Players can earn over 120 pulls through gameplay, and a total of approximately 470 pulls can be earned throughout the 1.0 version period.

Additionally, to celebrate the official launch, 1,600 Phantastones and 10 'Dice of Deception' will be sent via mail, and 600 Phantastones will be given through broadcast events. During the 1.0 version, Nanari's costume 'Academy Star' and Cheese's costume 'Breath of Green Bamboo' will be discounted. Pre-download opens on April 27 at 11:00 AM. Through the 'Hetero Settlement Guide,' players can guarantee an A-rank ARC via pre-pulls, and if an invited friend pre-registers, players can enter a raffle for various prizes, including a PS5.

NTE will be released on April 29 for mobile, PC, and PS5. Further information can be found on the official community.