Zenith: Nexus News

Release Date: April 11, 2024

We're excited to bring Season 2: Frostrealm to Infinite Realms!

Season 2 brings fresh content including a new biome, a new boss, brand new lightning gesture magic, new cosmetics, and bugfixes. More info below!

[h2]New Content[/h2]

• Added 3 new Adventure Gate layouts
  
• Added 3 new Pandowl Gate Winter Biome layouts
  
• Added new Pirate Bandit and Navarre Armor Cosmetics sets
  
• Added new Unique armor set for Season 2
  
• Added lightning elemental branches to skill tree
  

[h2]Feature/System Updates[/h2]

• Added new Season Rank and Season Level Prestige displays to inventory stats panel, main menu character selection, and above players' heads
  
• Created new set of Unique modifiers for gear
  
• Allowed Unique modifiers to drop on any piece of Unique gear (though still locked to that item)
  
• Added Tempest Push spawn projectile on impact modifier
  
• Added Bow Cosmetic reward to Agent Rank rewards
  

[h2]Season 2 Reset Details[/h2]

• Character Level and Skill Tree (and Accrued Skill Points) will reset.
  
• Character Agent Rank progress will reset.
  
• Characters retain all Zen, Dust, and unlocked / purchased cosmetic items.
  
• Previously acquired gear items will be automatically converted into dust.
  
• For all "Unique" gear items acquired during the previous Season, characters will get to keep them as cosmetic items.
  
• Characters will start with the default Starter Gear.
  
• Characters that reached Level 10 or higher in the previous Season will gain a "Season Rank", indicating how many past Seasons the character participated in.
  
• Characters will gain a "Season Level Prestige" indicating their character level in the previous season. In other words, each Character will get its own "Season Level Prestige"
  
• Level 0-9 = Novice
  
• Level 10 - 30 = Bronze
  
• Level 31 - 50 = Silver
  
• Level 51 - 75 = Gold
  
• Level 76 - 99 = Diamond
  
• Level 100 = Legendary
  

[h2]Resolved Issues[/h2]

• Fixed enchantment tomes being usable on incorrect rarities. Enchantment Tomes will now correctly be limited to only be usable on items of the same rarity or 1 rarity below
  
• Fixed Unique items appearing in Enchantment menu
  
• Fix item upgrading not properly increasing item stats
  
• Fixed item power showing in enchantment cost screen for basic dust
  
• Fixed Toxic Alchemist cosmetics issue
  
• Fixed PSVR2 Tutorial being blocked by not recognizing jumping
  
• Drastically reduced memory usage in IR
  
• Significantly reduced load times for IR
  
• Fixed issue where players on Quest 2 would frequently get stuck in the air in IR on login
  
• Improved proximity chat while in the city and in the islands
  
• Performance and Memory improvements for TLC
  

[h2]Known Issues[/h2]

• If you have the bald hairstyle and play out of body mode it’ll show you without a head
  

[h2]Infinite Realms[/h2]

• Rare grapple hook momentum bug where momentum stops while grappling, if this occurs using the alternate hand will correct the issue
  
• Some headgear doesn’t preview in inventory
  
• The PVP start duel button isn't working
  
• You may encounter some minor performance issues when using higher rarity item modifiers on standalone
  
• You may encounter some performance issues at higher levels, this is being investigated
  
• Your Season Rank may not display correctly for others until the second time you login
  

[h2]The Last City[/h2]

• Lighting in certain areas will be slightly off like in the Infernal Core (some geo is black), and housing on PCVR, and shading on some objects from certain angles or at specific times of day
  
• Housing will show a grid on initial load in. The grid will continue to show if the house doesn't have a floor
  
• We are aware of an issue with buffs and debuffs that can result in your movement controls being inverted though this has been improved it may still be possible.
  

We're excited to announce Season 2: Frostrealm for Infinite Realms is coming soon! The current release window is March 28 to April 3, 2024. We'll confirm the release date next week.

Season 2 will bring fresh content including a new biome, a new boss, a new element for gesture magic, new cosmetics, and bugfixes. More on this soon!

Till then, here's exactly what happens when a new season begins in IR:

• Character Level and Skill Tree (and Accrued Skill Points) will reset.
  
• Characters retain all Zen, Dust, and unlocked / purchased cosmetic items.
  
• Previously acquired gear items will be automatically converted into dust.
  
• For all "Unique" gear items acquired during the previous Season, characters will get to keep them as cosmetic items.
  
• Characters will start with the default Starter Gear.
  
• Characters that reached Level 10 or higher in the previous Season will gain a "Season Rank", indicating how many past Seasons the character participated in. More details on this next week!
  
• Characters will gain a "Season Level Prestige" indicating their character level in the previous season. In other words, each Character will get its own "Season Level Prestige"
  
  • Level 0-9 = Novice
    
  • Level 10 - 30 = Bronze
    
  • Level 31 - 50 = Silver
    
  • Level 51 - 75 = Gold
    
  • Level 76 - 99 = Diamond
    
  • Level 100 = Legendary
    

Release Date: March 14, 2024
Patch Number: 2.1.0

Note: For the most up to date release notes, visit https://zenithmmo.com/blogs/news/zenith-infinite-realms-launch

We're excited to bring a mid-season update for Infinite Realms that comes with fresh content, two new premium cosmetic sets, and various bug fixes.

[h2]New Content[/h2]
- Added 3 new Daily Pandowl Gate Layouts featuring 2 new possible mini boss events
-Added 2 new Adventure Gate Forest Layouts
- Added new Toxic Alchemist and Berserk Mecha Premium Cosmetic Sets
- Added new leaderboard to daily session gates and updated main session and boss rush leaderboards with new title rewards
- Added text signs above city gates to help direct players

[h2]Feature/System Updates[/h2]
- Premium cosmetic store is now enabled for Steam
- Updated arrow item description text to mention tapping trigger to switch arrows
- Swapped Adventure run and Boss Rush. The Adventure run is now behind the Iron Gate and Boss Rush is now behind the Silver gate
- Adjusted item comparison UI layout

[h2]Resolved Issues[/h2]
- Fixed various memory leaks
- General improvements for server stability
- Updated handling of "Spawn projectiles on impact" modifiers to reduce possibility of additional spawned projectiles getting stuck in the air.
- Fixed "Spawn extra projectiles" modifiers doubling the number of projectiles for each modifier present, instead of adding one projectile
- Fixed potential issue that could occur when closing the game through any means other than the in-game exit button when playing on Windows/PCVR
- Fixed Ice Spear damage being lower than intended
- Fixed Essence Spear projectile on impact projectiles going over enemies
- Fixed Fire Spear visuals not scaling correctly
- Fixed Limited Resurrection Session Modifier Rewards chests not spawning
- Fixed an issue which resulted in move speed modifier values being 100x intended values
- Fixed mini bosses in Pandowl Gate Public Events not dropping loot
- Fixed incorrect icons being shown when comparing items
- Fixed incorrect information being shown when hovering over Cosmetic Items
- Fixed visual issues on left hand of Shin Cosmetic Armor
- Fixed issues with some legendary armor being invisible
- Fixed tooltip on mana potion showing "rage"

The new free to play action-adventure RPG game mode, Infinite Realms, launches February 27! 🚀 

Quick Overview:

• Quick session-based multiplayer runs. Sessions stay fresh with Daily and Weekly content rotations
  
• Parkour challenges (rail grind, grapple hook, wall run)
  
• Shared XP and individual level scaling
  
• New gesture abilities
  
• Central city hub to hangout in and upgrade your gear
  

Check out the full launch details and release notes: https://zenithmmo.com/blogs/news/zenith-infinite-realms-launch

Thank you for your support! For those who owned The Last City before IR launches, you'll get these perks:

• You can receive a one-time free level boost equivalent to your highest-level character in TLC. On first-load in on a new character in Infinite Realms you'll get a pop up for a level boost. Please note: accepting the offer applies the boosting to that character only and cannot be used again; declining the offer means it won't be available for that character in the future. The pop-up will reappear on your next new character.
  
• Once you accept the level boost, you'll also have new level appropriate gear in your inventory.
  
• As an extra thank you, a set of premium cosmetic will be available in your Cosmetics inventory on your IR characters. This is separate from the level boost.
  

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

See the original blogpost announcement from February 1, 2024 here: https://zenithmmo.com/blogs/news/introducing-zenith-nexus-and-our-f2p-strategy

Hey everyone,

Today we’re ready to share the new direction of Zenith. Recently, we covered our Design Pillars and The “Why”, sharing that we had to make a choice between making fundamental changes or putting the game on ice. I’d like to shed some more light on what that looked like:

We broke Zenith down into its best and worst parts, debated for hours and hours over weeks and months what can and can’t make it into Zenith Nexus. What pieces worked well together and what didn't. We evaluated how we can best provide polished content with a small, passionate team. We pored over the player data and written feedback, noting where players spent most of their time and where they were churning (leaving the game, never to return again). We observed the direction of the VR market and its growing younger audience.

Reimagining Zenith was an incredibly arduous process. And now where we’ve landed is looking quite different…but we are genuinely thrilled by the prospects of the new direction!

As we sourced feedback from the private 1:1 user testings, limited pre-alpha, and hundreds of players in the Closed Alpha (happening right now), the new version of Zenith began to take shape into something of its own: a new game mode.

So looking forward, what does this mean for Zenith?

[h2]Introducing Nexus[/h2]
Zenith: Nexus - The collective name for our two game modes, Zenith: The Last City and Zenith: Infinite Realms. Zenith: Nexus will be free, opening the doors to millions of new players. Your game will automatically update to Zenith: Nexus when we launch the next update.

Zenith: The Last City - The open-world VR MMO we all know and love. This is not going anywhere and will still be available for purchase at the same price as DLC. Existing Zenith players obviously retain their ownership of The Last City, and any progress they made prior.

Zenith: Infinite Realms - A new season-based free to play procedural action-adventure RPG with co-op sessions, a revamped locomotion system that pushes the boundaries of immersive play, redesigned social playground and more! We’ll unveil more in the coming days. For now enjoy this teaser on the new locomotion system: https://imgur.com/jIwZM4k

Zennies - A new virtual currency coming to Zenith. This is to allow players more opportunities to express themselves and access seasonal content. A small cosmetic shop will be available when Zenith: Infinite Realms launches with more being added all the time.

TL;DR - A player can hop into Zenith for free and play Zenith: Infinite Realms while having the option to purchase Zenith: The Last City as DLC. If you purchase The Last City before Infinite Realms launches, that’s still yours to keep and not going anywhere. We’re also thinking of ways to reward those who played The Last City before Infinite Realms launches.

Going free to play will boost the social multiplayer experience. The new virtual currency and shop will open an avenue for revenue we never had before. With an arcade-like experience that’s more accessible than ever we’re inviting millions of new players to Zenith: Nexus and potentially The Last City too.


[h2]Tackling the Impossible[/h2]
The decisions we’ve made to get here we do not take lightly. We take full ownership of what Zenith: The Last City succeeded and failed at and aim to bring all its learnings into Infinite Realms and beyond.

To all of you, our community, and especially the dedicated players that stuck with us, those with hundreds if not thousands of hours poured into Zenith: The Last City…

We see you and we appreciate you sticking with us. As a community and dev team, we tackled one of the hardest game genres to build (MMORPGs) in one of the most difficult mediums (VR) and truly made it our own. Your feedback shaped The Last City into the most beloved VR MMORPG of all time. How many VR MMOs out there allow you to swing around, make friends across the world, explore an open world, run raids, customize your house, battle in PVP, cook, play chess?


[h2]Respect the Grind[/h2]
Although Zenith: Infinite Realms is an entirely new game mode, we’re excited to give The Last City players an exclusive opportunity to boost their first character in Infinite Realms to match the level of their The Last City character as well as the first paid cosmetic on the store for free. We’re also looking at ways to reward the item grind. We care about all your investment, and want to make sure you can enjoy both experiences as much as possible.


[h2]From the bottom of our hearts: Thank You.[/h2]
Together, we left an impact on the history of VR and immersive experiences, built friendships that will exist beyond any game's life cycle, and formed an inclusive welcoming community we should all be proud of. Let’s continue building the future of Zenith hand-in-hand.

For a little while it’s going to be difficult to ignore the playback tape of Zenith: The Last City – what went well and what didn’t over the past 4+ years. It can make us sad to think about, but we’ll continue to reflect and take away learnings and feedback for years to come.

We hope you’ll be open to giving Zenith: Infinite Realms a shot. We truly believe it has something refreshing and fun for everyone to enjoy.


From,

All of us at Ramen VR