Major Patch Notes: The Celestial Throne

Patch Type: Major
Patch Name: The Celestial Throne Update
Release Date: 6/16/2022
Version Number: 1.1

Preamble

The Celestial Throne has descended. The team has been working away and we're thrilled to introduce our largest patch yet.The biggest addition to Zenith in this patch is the concept of Instanced Dungeons and Raids. In addition to overworld content, you can join forces with other Zenitheans and tackle 3 dungeons and 3 raids in private instances!This update also has dozens of hours of new quests, several new systems, new items/currency, and quality of life enhancements we have been eagerly working on (like left-handed controls!).There were some features we refined, like moving the in-game referral screen to the sign-up flow and new ways to craft/improve items. There were also some bugs we patched, like the "speed flying" bug and broken armor modifiers.As this build is still being tested and balanced in our private PTR -- we expect there to be many improvements and balance changes before going live on the 16th

Warnings/Cautions

• We’ve fixed the “speed flying” glitch and restored gliding back to its intended state
  • “Speed flying” was a glitch that essentially broke the way gliding was designed to function. It was never meant to be a feature in the game. That said, we're always looking for ways to improve the gliding system so you might see some more updates to it in the future! We know users like moving fast and having competitions, so rest assured we will be continuously looking for ways to improve the feeling of gliding and velocity
  • [6/12 update] To make sensitive and basic gliding more fun to compensate, we've increased the maximum velocity without exploits by 25%, we've reduced stamina drain by 20%, we've increased the amount of takeoff velocity you can accumulate significantly, and we've reduced the cost of jumping significantly as well. All of this should lead to a much smoother, legitimate, gliding experience

• The in-game referral page has been moved to the sign up screen
  • When you first create a Zenith account you'll have the opportunity to enter a referrer as a part of the process. The referrer will no longer be entered while you are in-game.

• Game Balance
  • Essence Mage Tank
    • Right now, due to a bug with certain essence mage tank abilities giving 100% lifesteal and an infinite shield, we know that EM tank is overpowered in many situations. We are looking for ways to shift the balance so that EM tank is still really fun and plays the same, but is more in line with other class utility. Ideally, we'd like to reduce the lifesteal percentage and make the shield not last as long. As of the release of this patch note, we still haven't come up with a way to do this, as the change is not trivial and we wanted to get this out a week before launch, but in the interest of transparency, please note that there will be additional balancing changes
      • Reduced Essence Mage Tank Culling Beam max damage and reduced the ammo refill rate from 6.6s to 8s
      • [6/14 Update]:
      • Decreased Spirit Burn damage by 26%
      • Antimatter Shell now correctly fades after 5 seconds
      • Fixed an issue that was causing Antimatter Shell to give more shield than intended

  • Added 2.5% stagger damage to fully charged Essence Mage DPS Searing Shots
  • Changed level scaling so that enemies can be 7 levels above you before the hard cap takes place
  • [6/12 Update]
  • Increased experience gained from repeatable quests by 20%
  • [6/14 Update]
  • Reduce healing aggro generated by 20%, increase tank aggro by 28%
  • Essence Mage DPS:
  • Lightning Strike now grants a [20% AP] shield for [5s].

New Features/Systems

• Instanced Dungeons and Raids
  • Parties of agents can now test their mettle in instanced dungeons and raids! Currently dungeons require 4-person parties and raids require 8. (Not enough players in your party? Check out Matchmaking below!) Dungeons and raids can be unlocked via several methods including all new quest lines, and they have multiple difficulty ranks.
  • Artifact dungeons have 3 ranks of difficulty, and Celestial Throne raids have 2 ranks. You must have sufficient item level

• Matchmaking
  • Our new matchmaking system allows you to queue for dungeons alone or with a party that is under the size limit. You'll be matched with other players and then your complete party will join the dungeon together.

• Roulettes and roulette rewards
  • Roulettes provide a way to get extra rewards for playing random dungeons and raids. Join a roulette to be placed with other players in a random dungeon. In addition to the original rewards, you'll gain bonus rewards for participating via roulette!

• Daily and Weekly Dungeon Rewards
  • The first time you complete a dungeon that day you will get bonus rewards. You can keep playing them and receive the original rewards as many times as you like, but you'll only receive the bonus rewards once per day/week. Daily and Weekly rewards will be crucial in your quest to gear up and get the most powerful armor in the game

• Daily and Weekly Quests
  • Certain NPCs now offer quests once a day and once a week with special rewards!

• [6/15 Update] Collectible Counters will be added in a later patch
  • Your inventory now contains a counter that lets you keep track of how many collectibles (like Amara’s Tears) you've found in each zone.

• Headgear
  • Headgear with stats (not just cosmetic) is available for multiple armor sets

• Item Levels and Infusion
  • Armor and weapons still have a level, which determines whether you can equip it at your level. Now they also have an “item level”, or ilvl, which contributes to their effectiveness. Enhancement stations now have an “infusion” option that lets you increase the item level of a specific piece of end game gear that can only be found in the raids. In the future many other types of armors will be infusab

• Left handed controls
  • Any UI menus with pointers and abilities that require a single hand can now be used with either hand. To switch hands when using a menu, click with the other hand and the pointer will transfer to that hand.

• New AI/Combat mechanics
  • Ring-shaped AOEs: circular AOEs that you can stand in the middle of
  • Stacking AOEs: an AOE that is placed on a player. Any players that join the target player will share the damage.
  • Bullet Hell: enemies can now rapidly fire projectiles
  • Traps/Environmental Damage: watch out for lava, steam vents, poison pools, and more!

New Content

We are excited to introduce 6 new instanced dungeons to the game and a plethora of new questsIf it's been awhile since you've visited the world of Zenith and you'd like to access the new content, we suggest visiting Skysong Summit, where you'll find the "Surveyor" under the giant castle -- she will give you instructions on how to unlock each of the dungeons!

• Instanced Artifact Dungeons (4 person)
  • The Forsaken Reliquary: Strange sounds have been heard from deep within the Forsaken Reliquary. Investigate what's brewing and protect the Obsidian Fortress!
  • The Seething Depths: The Seething Depths has been overrun with enemies, delve the dungeon and confirm the artifact is still in place.
  • The Vault of the Ancients: Flashing lights have been seen emanating from within the Vault of the Ancients, venture inside and find out what’s going on.

• Raids (8 person)
  • The Infernal Core: The heart that keeps the Celestial Throne afloat - the Infernal Core feels like a living organism. Fiery vents blast out superheated flames that forge the weapons used by Sidion's machine of war, all under the watchful glare of the Forgemaster Vulkane...
  • The Pillar of the Architect: A testament of Zenithean engineering, this impressive technical construct is now in a state of disrepair. Its crew of robotic workers have long since succumbed to corruption of their AI, becoming something much more lethal than their programming intended.
  • The Defiled Gardens: Once a lush oasis in the center of the Celestial Throne, this horticultural facility has become overgrown, and twisted elemental creatures now roam its halls.

• Overworld Artifact Dungeons
  • The Forsaken Reliquary: located in the Obsidian Fortress
  • The Seething Depths: located in Radiant Coast
  • The Vault of the Ancients: located in the Emerald Desert

• Armor Sets 3 epic, and 1 legendary per set
  • Blade Master
    • Dark Omen
    • Myrmidon
    • Dragonhunter
    • Ancient Hero

  • Essence Mage
    • Astromancer
    • Primalist
    • Wandering Wizard
    • Ancient Magician

• Weapons
  • [6/16 Edit] Artifact Weapons -- beneath the Celestial Throne lies a new friend who will lead you on your quest for these powerful endgame weapons. In the future, you will be able to empower these things to become even more powerful!
    • Blade Master
      • The Falling Star (DPS)
      • The Falling Star (Support)
      • The Falling Star (Tank)

    • Essence Mage
      • Deadly Nova Trigger
      • Defending Nova Trigger
      • Healing Nova Trigger

• Endgame Currency (acquired from dungeons/raids)
  • Mark of Thaedris
  • Mark of Ancients
  • Fractured Armor Pieces and Celestial Armor Pieces

• NPCs
  • "The Surveyor", they meet you at the bottom of the Celestial Throne, and then race you to the top with new quests!

• Zones
  • The Approach: the base of the Celestial Throne, climb to the top if you dare!
  • The Celestial Throne: a gigantic floating tower that has appeared above the Obsidian Fortress

• 20+ new quests
• New music for dungeons and raids and new zones

Feature/System Updates

• Guilds
  • Only relevant buttons are now visible (ex. “Create” is hidden when the guild is already created)
  • Creating guilds now has a cancel button so you can change your mind
  • Guild creation now waits for the result and only switches back to the guild list when guild creation was successful
  • When guild creation fails, you get a message why it failed

• NPCs
  • Improved animations and SFX for multiple NPCs

• Movement
  • Smooth Turn now has a sensitivity slider

• Synthesis
  • New synth stations added to Nexus District for endgame gear

• [6/13 Update] Updated artwork for Mark of Sidion

Resolved Issues (change sets)

• [ZEN-3400] Fix all broken godstone modifiers (24222)
• [QA-241] fixed good-smoothie quest missing HUD title (23566)
• [QA-240] fixed basil noodles to my buddy completing with only 2 of the 3 required items (23566)
• [QA-93] fixed missing salted basil cracker icon - using temporary stand-in (23566)
• [QA-228] fixed offer text in Leaves of Red to reflect updated zone name (23566)
• [ZEN-3400] Fixed Armor modifiers not modifying armor (24733)
• Sporadic cooking station bugs (24757)
• [ZEN-3458] Some hairstyles appeared broken when wearing headgear (22729)
• [ZEN-3448] Fixed: Doom godstone bug that caused it to deal way too much damage (24308)
• [ZEN-3400] Fixed Erupting Spring Heal over Time: Was flat 20 HP per tick, now is AP 40% per tick as in description (24674)
• Numerous performance and framerate fixes
• Improved graphics (ex. better textures) in several areas
• Patched several exploits

Known Issues

• When entering an instance, players sporadically stay in Global chat.
• Workaround: Manually switch to Party chat.
• Some platforms experience occasional crashes, e.g. when entering and leaving a few instances.
• Water in Galian Valley doesn't always render properly and sometimes disappears.
• Some of the water in Skysong Summit does not render properly on some platforms.
• Loot pops out of chests in different directions, sometimes you may need to reach into a wall to grab it if it lands behind it.
• There is a bug where godstones appear as level 1. This is a visual glitch; no progress has actually been lost.
• Workaround: Kill a few mobs and the level will appear correctly.

UPDATE: Hotfix 1

Resolved Issues:

• Fixed chest loot spawning in random directions and sometimes getting stuck in walls
• Changed when the music starts on the Celestial stairs
• When entering instances, everyone automatically switches to party chat. FYI: When leaving instances, you always are returned to global chat, so if you want to be in Party or Guild chat, you need to switch channels after leaving the instance.
• Adjusted ilvl 42 and 47 weapons made in synth stations to have better stats than the older epic weapons from synth stations
• Changed the appearance of the level 47 synth station launchers: used to look like Waverider's Cannon, and now look like Demon Catalyst
• Fixed public events not despawning enemies after finishing an event (ex: Arboruht)
• Instance UI icons now update with your role and as you level up
• Amara's Tear counter is here!
• Artifact dungeon attunement quest lines no longer require the Main Story Quest completion but are still gated by level.
• "Castle in the Sky" quest no longer requires completing the 3 Instanced Artifact Dungeon quests beforehand, which means players can unlock the fast travel point as soon you reach the top. It also no longer unlocks the Infernal Core on completion
• The "Infernal Core: Defeat Vulkane" quest at the entrance to the Celestial Throne now requires the 3 Instanced Artifact Dungeon quests to be completed beforehand. It will also unlock the Infernal Core raid when you accept the quest.
• Fixed water sometimes not rendering in Galian Valley.
• Fixed the Nagas not respawning in second Infernal Core puzzle room.
• Added instructional text to "Kill the Titan" quests that explains you must join an instance to fight the Titans

UPDATE: Hotfix 2

Resolved Issues:

• Fixed Main Story Quest hint panel to show the correct location of the next NPC (it was bugged and always said "The Underside").
• The Seething Depths Rank 3 now correctly unlocks after 20 Rank 2 completions.
• Increased The Forsaken Reliquary resurrection limit to 12 to match the other Artifact Dungeons.
• Fixed bug where enemies in higher ranked dungeons/raids were not scaling difficulty properly.
• Fixed bug where Firestarters in the Infernal Core raid disappeared from players' hands if it collided with any mob.
• Fixed Issue with Water Elementals respawning an additional time each time the Seething Depths boss is engaged.
• Fixed issue with water in Seething Depths boss room continuing to rise after the boss is defeated.
• Added roles to Artifact Weapon quest names to make it more clear which weapon you are getting (DPS, Tank, Support)
• (Daily Artifact Weapon Quests) Fixed a bug where melee LoadR Bots did not count for the quest.
• (Daily Artifact Weapon Quests) Added text to Journal indicating some enemies are not counted towards the kill total.
• Disabled self-revive in instances when the party is out of respawns. This helps prevent players from ending up in a broken, half-revived state.
• Changed the text on the popup that appears when you cannot rejoin an instance to make it clear why you can't ("You left an instance with no lives remaining, sorry!").
• Fixed bug where leaving an instance while dead didn't count against the total party resurrection count.
• Fixed bug where leaving an instance while dead would respawn you if you rejoined.
• General stability and performance improvements

UPDATE: Hotfix 3

Resolved Issues

• Fix bug with Protector's Vow removing buffs from other players
• Changed matchmaking ui rewards to show cooldown on each individual reward
• Celestial Stair: Adjusted position of approach zipline before chains to make it easier to grab the chains
• Fixed incorrect names for some locations in the quest logs and map hint panel
• Centered the buttons on the collectible UI
• General stability and performance improvements

UPDATE: Hotfix 4

Resolved Issues

• Fixed quality setting for PS5 to avoid LOD-popping and billboard trees
• Server/shard optimizations to minimize server crashes
• Added dungeon boundary system
• Added blocking collider in Reliquary chest room
• Fixed an infinite mana bug (Moment of Clarity)
• Fixed incorrect rewards for Reliquary Dungeon Rank 3

UPDATE: Hotfix 5

Resolved Issues

• Fixed bug where daily and weekly quests were not resetting for some players
• Fixed an issue where raid bosses would sometimes stop animating in the middle of a fight
• Fixed bug that sometimes caused cheat detection to trigger accidentally
• Miscellaneous performance improvements and bug fixes

UPDATE: Hotfix 6

Changes

• Security updates