Major updates coming to Wayfinder in Early Access phase

The development team behind Wayfinder has announced a series of critical updates and enhancements in response to community feedback from its recent Global Closed Beta last month. I got to play the Closed Beta and had a fantastic time with both the game itself and my new friends. I received a report today that indicates that the team resolved nearly 2,000 bugs discovered during the Beta. More significantly, they have been working relentlessly, sifting through player feedback to prioritize their action plan for the Early Access phase of the game.

The beta phase saw a surge of activity with gamers globally recording impressive figures: 183,691 Hunts were successfully completed with bosses overthrown, a massive tally of 13,600,000 enemies were defeated (which included 852,000 Baby Spiders), and a whopping 415,000 Expeditions into the game’s enigmatic Lost Zones were successfully undertaken.

Now, with all eyes on the Early Access phase, the team has disclosed their roadmap for improvements and additions to the game:

Combat Movement

Addressing a significant player concern about overstepping and sliding past targets during combat, the developers are making a strategic modification: forward movement will be disabled when the target is within the active hit range. This not only reduces players directly colliding with their enemies but also enhances overall visibility in the gameplay.

Targeting

The targeting system is getting an overhaul to allow for more consistent adherence to players’ desired targets. Additionally, lock-on camera improvements are on the way, likely to contribute to a more immersive gaming experience.

Defensive Maneuvers

The team is also introducing improvements to interrupt windows. Players will soon be able to parry, dodge, and block at any frame during melee combat. This move is expected to add flexibility and responsiveness to the gameplay, elevating the thrill of combat situations.

Short and Long-Term Progression

Responding to feedback, the team is also introducing changes to the character progression system. Players have indicated they would prefer the ability to selectively unlock their abilities. In response, the team is redesigning the system to accommodate this preference.

Echoes

To streamline gameplay, Echoes will be more systematically organized into clear categories such as attack and defense, thereby reducing confusion for players.

Enemies and Enemy Variation

The developers are also looking to introduce more variation in enemy encounters to make gameplay more dynamic and challenging.

Social Systems

Significant Quality of Life (QOL) improvements are coming to Wayfinder‘s in-game chat system. Players will default into their region’s chat at launch, with global chat remaining available but not as the primary interface seen upon logging in. Furthermore, localized chats will be available and detect a player’s language to connect them with other players speaking the same language.

The Early Access phase of Wayfinder is shaping up to be a significant milestone in the game’s development. The team’s commitment to taking onboard player feedback to shape the game’s future promises an exciting, community-driven evolution.