Wayfinder has been in Early Access for nearly a year and the developers at Airship Syndicate have had to make some hard decisions as they work hard to salvage the future of the title. After publishing was taken over from Digital Extremes earlier this year, the team has stated that they’ll stay committed to the title with a near complete overhaul, dropping their online monetization monetization model and making broad changes to the way the game plays with its Echoes update as it looks to relaunch the game for new players on June 11th, 2024.
The update, available to Founders for testing, aims to gather feedback and fix bugs before the game's return to Steam. Notably, this update marks a shift in the game's monetization strategy, removing their original monetization model for a buy-to-play model. Players will now unlock content through gameplay, and Founders will receive exclusive rewards based on their past in-game purchases. The introduction of Founder’s Coins, which can be spent on unique items, ensures that early supporters will be well-rewarded. Some rewards players will be able to purchase with Founder’s coins are mounts, pets, and Wayfinder styles.
The Echoes Update is also the introduction of the Wayfinder Rank system, which encourages players to diversify their gameplay. This new system replaces the old weapon mastery mechanic, offering an account-wide progression with rewards that include talent points, increased stats, and more.
Another major change is how players gain access to new characters and weapons. Before, it was difficult to unlock the characters for free, as it took collecting a myriad of items, and a long grind before you would finally access your desired character or weapon. Instead, you’ll find new Wayfinders in the gloom, but Niss, Silo and Wingrave will all be available for new players once they complete the tutorial. Kyros, Senja, a new Wayfinder Grendel, and more will inevitably be unlocked as you progress.
The Echoes Update also aims to enhance the game's overall experience with extensive changes to loot, weapons, and armor. Echoes are now unique based on creatures, so you’ll only be able to equip a single echo obtained from a particular creature. Additionally, slot types are locked now, so you can only equip certain echoes to their corresponding slots.
The new armor system ties cosmetics to gameplay rewards, providing stat bonuses and collection-based unlocks. There has also been a major expansion of the Frostmarch zone where new hunts, quests, and a revamped main story will offer players more content and challenges.
To round out the update, thousands of bug fixes and performance improvements are included in the Echoes Update as Airship Syndicate attempts to create an engaging experience for past and future Wayfinder players. The new update will go live on June 11th as part of Wayfinder’s re-release as a buy to play game.
