Nexus Clash

Greetings, Nexals!

At various points, players have pointed out (most recently here) the idea of a compact Nexus with less complexity, one character per player and a shorter cycle. In the coming days we will be introducing the Arena Shard, a game mode running alongside the regular world in which we can experiment with these ideas. For the next two months, new characters who participate in the Arena will fight, level up and claim territory in a closed-off plane that is a microcosm of the wider Nexus universe. At the end of this, a winning team will be determined and (if it's well-liked) we can do another round of it. Details to follow in a FAQ below.

EDIT: This event is now live! The entrance is at 40,31 Cordillera!

When does the Arena event start?
Round One will begin on June 11, 2023 (this Sunday), in the early afternoon American time (evening European time). There will be a global announcement when this happens.

How do I put an alt into the Arena?
The entrance will be a portal at the yacht Agriphila, at 40,31 Cordillera.

Characters who enter the Arena must be Level 1 mortals. The owner of the character must have at least one other character who is at least Tier 2 (so the inescapable arena isn't a newbie trap) and must not have another character in the Arena. Dark Pacts cannot be brought in, and characters may have up to a dozen of the following: books, potions, non-innate weapons, ammo, armor, amphetamines, spellgems and demonic boons/ices.

Once inside, characters live their whole lives in the Arena. There are no exit portals, but releasing a character will remove it from the Arena. All Arena characters will be returned to the regular game world when the round ends.


How does the Arena play differently than the regular Nexus?
All characters in the Arena will respawn within it, regardless of class or Guild affiliation. The Arena is a small, high-pressure plane containing a broad range of Nexal items and terrain. It is our hope that a compact world where everyone is leveling up at once will make for a fast-paced, competitive Nexus.

Characters in the Arena do not join Factions, but choose their infusion alignment at Level 10 via Guilds, whose shrines can be found at the most obvious locations associated with each side. Evil characters cannot be in the Forces of Good and Good characters cannot be in the Forces of Evil. Only Transcends can be in the Forces of Free Will. Arena characters without a Guild affiliation do not infuse. There is no Active Infusion in the Arena, only Passive Infusion.

CP caps out at Level 30 inside the Arena and Ranks cannot be earned there, so there's no advantage (or disadvantage) to bringing a character with a bunch of stat grinds and no advantage to grinding inside.

Some skills that teleport you across planes, influence where you respawn, or relate to active infusion are disabled for purchase inside the Arena. (Infuse, Greater Infusion, Stepping of the World Gate, Portal Cleaving, Word of Recall, Hellspawn, Transcension, Empyreal Bond, Phylactery, Dark Pact).


Is this well-balanced?
Probably not! It's a fairly simple shakeup of gameplay that draws entirely on existing content. We're throwing a lot of changes at gameplay at once (no strongholds, no Ranks, passive infuse only, a compact world, a definite endpoint) and what that means is hard to predict. We look forward to finding out. The worst that can happen if it's a total disaster is that we do just the one round of this. A small event with a definite endpoint is the perfect sandbox to try changing some things up.


When does the round end?
Round One will end (and a winning team will be declared) on August 11, 2023, two months after the start date. The team in possession of the most infusion territory inside the Arena will be declared the winner. What the win conditions are may be made more complicated and layered in future rounds.

Should we continue with a Round Two, the nature of Round Two's map (and likely what the mechanics quirks are) will be impacted by the winner of Round One. We're certainly open to suggestions as to what should be different from regular play in Round Two.