The Pax Dei team is sharing more details ahead of April’s larger, closed Wilderness Alpha test, and what has changed between the first and second test, from smarter enemies to item durability, and PvP.
When it comes to testing, the first Alpha test was mostly intended to be a “peaceful loop”, introducing the first third of the game–building and crafting. The Wilderness Alpha will focus on the next phase, the second third of the experience, combat and PVP. The final third will be focusing on social elements, trade, and in-game economy. Instead of a closed test, this is set to be one of the first updates after Pax Dei enters Early Access.
In next month's test, we can expect things like a total combat revamp to smarten up the enemies and make them more formidable as opponents. This is not finished, but since the update and the test build are focused on combat, this is central to the experience. They've also updated crafting, so we can expect new crafting stations, more resources, and the introduction of magical materials, new recipes, and new options.
They've made a number of changes to the game world, enhancing things like lighting, smoother biome transitions, and other things to enhance the graphics and the immersion factor. The other major change is the addition of Lyonesse, the first all-PvP province. They promise more details soon, but this test will introduce the foundation of PvP in the game.
Some other stuff we'll see in the test include changes to make food more meaningful and balance that out, item durability and repair mechanics, a general overall balance tuning update, enhanced animations for weapons, and improved targeting, which goes along with the combat focus. They've also overhauled a number of the systems, some behind the scenes stuff that is central to the game, including the RPG and stats systems, different types of damage, both physical and magical, and spells, magical attacks, and procs they need to test.
The recent updates were shared in Discord and through videos with community streamer Eltarii. The Pax Dei team also plans on sharing a fuller breakdown on all of these in the coming weeks.
