Hello Paxians,

We’re excited to announce a limited-time PvP test event taking place in Lyonnesse. Starting tomorrow, October 23, and until the deployment of our upcoming content update Proving Grounds on November 5, the PvP province Lyonesse will be open to building.

You read this right! You’ll be able to place a plot in the PvP province, start building there, and fill your chests with pure iron ore. Beware, though, unlike in the other provinces, other players can attack you while you’re on your plot!

Why are you running this test?
We want to assess players' interest in PvP and building in the PvP province. We’ve read quite a lot of feedback from people who want “real PvP,” and we’re offering you a taste of it. We also want to observe the strategies solo players and clans are developing to conquer the PvP province and use the resources at their disposal in the best possible way.

The upcoming wipe gives us a good opportunity to organize this event, as everything will be back to normal after maintenance ends on November 5.

How long will this test last?
This temporary test event will last until the maintenance planned on November 5 and the deployment of our next content update, Proving Grounds.

If I’m idling or building on my plot, am I safe?
You’re not! Your plot does not protect you from other players’ attacks - unless, of course, you build walls high enough that no one can climb.

Can other players destroy my buildings or steal my resources?
The permission system applies like in other provinces, and unless you set everything to “public” or give access to your clan members, other players won’t be able to access your belongings.

I don’t have any remaining free plots. Does that mean I need to release one to be able to place a new plot in Lyonesse?
We will not provide any additional plots for this temporary test event. If you’ve already placed all your available plot(s) in the world and want to claim space in Lyonesse for yourself, you’ll need to release one before heading there.

With the upcoming wipe, what happens to the plot that I used to build in Lyonesse as part of this PvP event?
Once the next content update is deployed, your plot in Lyonesse, like all other plots, will be wiped, and all the resources and items on it will be returned to you in the Redeeming queue[support.playpaxdei.com].

It’s the perfect time to fill your inventory with pure iron ore, right?

After the maintenance on November 5, can I still place plots in Lyonesse?
This event is temporary, and once the maintenance is over on November 5, you will no longer be able to place a plot in Lyonesse. Depending on its success, though, we might consider revisiting it during Early Access.

We’re looking forward to your feedback about this event - we’ve made a dedicated thread on Discord[discord.com] with a few questions for you to answer.

Got any cool screenshots or videos of your “building” adventures in Lyonesse? Feel free to share them in the same thread.

Get prepared for battle!

Pax Bellum vobiscum!
The Mainframe Team

We’re happy to announce Pax Dei’s first major content update, Proving Grounds, will be released on November 5 at 9 am UTC. We already anticipate a 4-hour maintenance for deploying the update.

The prominent theme for this first Verse (content update) is enabling players to experience adventure earlier in the game via a series of connected features & changes: a world revamp bringing enemy camps closer to Home Valleys, reworked enemy factions, gear rebalanced, new spells and equipment... supported by all-around improvements to the combat feel.

It’s not all combat, nor new characters: the introduction of the Journal will help navigate crafting recipes; the revamped world map comes with a new biome to explore and a new resources distribution - yes, you will have to re-learn your surroundings.

This change in resource distribution is also a necessary step for the future economic system. We’re also making several under-the-hood changes, including upgrading the game to UE 5.3. For a detailed list of the changes coming to the game, we’ll post full release notes as we get closer to the update.

As mentioned previously, the geography of Pax Dei is changing[playpaxdei.com] with this update, making a world wipe necessary. All details on the wipe and answers to your most pressing questions are in the dedicated FAQ[support.playpaxdei.com]. That’s a lot of reading, so here is a quick summary.

• Proving Grounds will be deployed on Nov 5, introducing a revamped world map.
  
• All current shards will be deleted. A new set of shards will be available after the update.
  
• Existing plots will be removed, but we’re keeping their content for you. You’ll get all your materials back in a special inventory called the Redeeming queue.
  
• Clans are wiped and will have to be created again after the update.
  
• Your characters are untouched. You’ll need to select a new shard to play in (along with a new name if yours is already taken).

Check the dedicated FAQ[support.playpaxdei.com] for more information.

After the wipe, we’ll open a fresh set of shards (list below). We highly recommend that you liaise with your friends and clan members to decide in advance where you want to go. You can already access the dedicated Discord channels and roles for these shards.

New shards:


If you want to know more about what our team is working on, we’ve recently published a series of articles: on combat[playpaxdei.com], the introduction of the Journal[playpaxdei.com], or the changes coming to the world[playpaxdei.com]. We will publish more details on the upcoming changes in the following days.

This is just the start - we’re already working on the next updates to the game. We’ll have more news for you shortly after the deployment of Proving Grounds. Stay tuned!

Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team

Hello Paxians!

Last week, we announced the world of Pax Dei is about to be reshaped, with adjustments to its geography, distribution of biomes and resources, and points of interest. The changes are significant enough that they will require a wipe with the upcoming content update.

So this week, let’s take a closer look at what our team of world-builders has been working on lately.

Since the start of the Early Access, you have now roamed through every corner of Gallia, and our World team has received a ton of feedback. Here are a few of the things we learned along the way and how it’s helping reshape the world - in the literal sense.

By shielding the home valleys with mountains, we wanted to grant them a sense of coziness. In retrospect, we pushed it a bit too far - they can feel walled in at times. So, we’re adjusting the new terrain to have a more open and natural feel, encouraging exploration and travel.

Many cliffs are now less steep, making mountain climbing slightly less lethal, and we added more mountain passes to make moving from one area to another easier. On the lethal side of things, we also changed the fall damage system to make it more predictable.

We’re lowering some of the mountain ranges, which, combined with the other changes, opens up some impressive vistas.

We’re adding details to make a few valleys more unique. For example, Nones in Inis Gallia now has an aqueduct spanning a river.

Here and there in the Heartlands, we’re reworking rock formations to make them more suitable for building. We noticed that a lot of the cool castles were placed in such areas, and we’re trying to encourage that.

Lastly, we're enhancing the roads. You'll now see more variety, from simple dirt paths to the paved ‘king’s roads,’ and we've increased their number to provide more routes across the land. This will also help reduce the chances of areas being blocked off by a few plots.

As an example, in Lavedan, a path from the home valley to the wildlands was easy to block.

Now it looks like that:

Soon, it will look like this:

The new map of Gallia brings an opportunity to enhance how our biomes function, aiming to improve overall progression while making the Wildlands and Heartlands more distinct.

The Heartlands now feature a more limited range of three base biomes, along with two advanced biomes. While the base biomes remain consistent across the Heartlands, the advanced biomes will vary between different Heartlands.

In the Wildlands, we’re introducing a new biome: the Corrupted Plains. This land is tainted by demonic forces, where you are more likely to encounter the Cult of Zeb.

We’re also rolling out several updates to give each biome more character:

• Ancient trees will now populate enchanted forests like the Whispering Woods.
  
• Strange growths will be found in demonic biomes such as the Corrupted Plains.
  
• The trees in the Eerie Pine biome are getting a fresh, new look.
  
• Music will adapt based on the biome and time of day, further enhancing immersion.

As you might have noticed from these examples, we’ve also renamed some biomes to give them more distinctive identities that better reflect their inhabitants. Rest assured, however, the names of the Provinces and home valleys remain unchanged.

One major focus for us in the upcoming patch is to allow players to find adventures earlier in the game. As such, the most important changes we’re making are to the positions of PvE encounters.

We are introducing numerous enemy camps throughout the provinces. Several camps in the home valleys are designed for solo or duo play, making them ideal for early progression. These camps are tied to specific biomes and grouped in clusters of five to seven small encounters. Some biomes will have many sites, while others will have few or none.

We've also added some entry-level cave dungeons in the home valleys. Additionally, we are rebalancing the distribution of enemies to ensure it aligns with their respective biomes and creates a more logical progression. High-tier enemies will primarily be found in high-tier biomes. In other words, the Cult of Zeb won’t have much presence in the home valleys.

The Inquisition faction is getting a complete revamp with a new look – still a work in progress – along with new camps and strongholds. Although the Inquisitor Citadels aren’t ready yet, they will serve as mid-tier dungeons in the future.

The Lost Souls, our ghostly enemies, are being progressively redesigned and will now only appear in haunted biomes – both in the Wildlands and select home valleys.

The map has been updated with new icons indicating which factions control enemy camps and ruins, and new icons for customized marks have been added.

Overall, these changes aim to create a more natural PvE experience with a clear progression that rewards exploration.

We have more in store for you, but we also want you to discover some of the new content for yourselves. We should be able to provide a date for the patch in the coming days, so stay tuned!

Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team

Hello Paxians,

We’re continuing our journey through upcoming changes that are planned for later this year. We have many topics to explore in the coming weeks, and today, we’d like to introduce a new feature that will enhance your crafting experience - the Journal. Let’s take a closer look at what’s in store!


Your go-to resource for crafting is simply named the Journal! This new feature not only has the functionality of better tracking for combat and crafting skill progression but also adds a wealth of new information that enhances your overall gameplay experience. Note that everything listed below is still Work in Progress, and subject to change until it’s being released.

• Unlocked Recipe Tracking: The Journal now lists all recipes your character has unlocked. This makes it easier to set crafting goals and track your progress.
  
• Ingredient Overview: You can now see all the ingredients you’ve picked up and those required by your recipes, allowing for better inventory management and preparation.
  
• Unlock Notifications: Whenever you unlock a new recipe, a notification will link directly to the Journal, providing instant access to recipe details and which crafting table you need to use to make it, streamlining your crafting process.
  
• Interactive Ingredients: Clickable ingredients within the recipes offer further information, enhancing your understanding of crafting needs.
  
• Sorting and Filtering: Search among your recipes to find exactly what you need quickly, making the crafting process smoother than ever.
  
• Recipe Pinning (coming in a future update): Keep track of your current crafting projects by pinning recipes to follow along with, an enhancement planned for a later update.

The Journal aims to improve usability and visibility while giving you better control over your crafting progression. When you pick up an item, you can instantly check the Journal to see what it can be used to make, making the crafting journey more intuitive.


Here is a screenshot from our latest combat test session.


Our teams are hard at work putting the finishing touches to the upcoming content update, and our goal is to release it within a month. It will take us another couple of weeks to check everything is ready, and then we will be able to confirm the exact date.

With this content update, we’ll be changing the geography of the world of Pax Dei, allowing us to introduce a new biome, review the resource distribution, change existing and add new PVE locations. We are also adjusting the borders of the Home Valleys in the process.

These changes require that we release all the plots, as most of the places where they are currently placed will be transformed after the update. Your current home could end up at the bottom of a lake, or below a mountain! Fear not, the content of your plot won’t be lost: we’re working on a mechanism that will allow us to transfer it back to their owners after the update. Also, you’ll be able to keep your characters.

We’re sure you have a lot of questions. We’ll be posting more about the upcoming changes very soon, and all the details regarding the wipe will be included in the official announcement of the content update.


Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team

Hello Paxians,

We're amazed every day by the beautiful structures you've built since our first Alpha, the building system is one of the most highly engaged in Pax Dei so far. As such, we thought you might be interested in knowing a bit more about the tech behind the system - which is probably one of the most complex systems in the history of video games.

Currently, the hottest home valley zones have around 400,000 building pieces. With a total of 24 home valleys per world, there are many millions of pieces in each world. The typical build rate is 10,000 new pieces per week in a single home valley.


In a networked multiplayer game, the replication system is used to ensure that all the players have a consistent and up-to-date game state. In other words, It receives the input information of a player and distributes it to other players.

The building data size for a single home valley is currently around 30MB. That doesn’t sound like a lot, right? But let’s say we have 100 players - we are now talking about 3GB of data that needs to be managed by the server, the client (the player’s machine), and our replication system.

This amount is so massive that it needs very special handling in all stages of the game’s pipeline. If we use Unreal Engine replication for gameplay, we can’t use it for the buildings. The backbone of our building replication is the Repli backend server - aptly named ‘Repli’ - which sends build data from the world database to the clients and the servers.

When logging in, both the client and the server connect to Repli, which first sends the current full state of the zone. As we said, initial data is currently around 30MB in the largest zones. After the initial state replication, the client and the server listen to new build events from Repli. We use gRPC streaming as a communication channel to build events from Repli. We won’t go into detail about gRPC here but, simply put, it ensures all parties involved, the server, Repli, and the clients, communicate correctly and understand each other.


Here is simply what happens after a player swings their construction hammer:

1. The client sends a build request to the Unreal server;
   
2. The server does some permission checks to verify if the build request is allowed;
   
3. If the server allows it, it then sends the build request to the backend;
   
4. The backend does its own checks to allow or refuse the build request;
   
5. Once allowed, the building piece is added to the main world database;
   
6. The build event is sent from the database to our custom Repli backend server;
   
7. Repli will send the build event to both the server and the client;
   
8. The server and all the clients in the zone - here, the Home Valley - spawn the building piece;
   
9. The server does the integrity check that the structure still holds;
   
10. The client calculates integrity as well to display it in the UI.

Massive data replication is one of many challenges. After the client has all 400,000 pieces of the home valley, the 30MB package we discussed earlier, we need to make them visible. Your computer must draw them, and here comes the second big challenge.

It would be impossible to use a system that draws 400,000 pieces one after the other. We need something tailored to suit our needs. The two key elements we use are instanced static meshes (ISM) and area managers.

ISM are used to draw several, even thousands, of pieces in one draw call, instead of drawing them one by one.

Area managers, the parallelepipeds boxes in the video below, control all props and building pieces in their areas. They handle the creation and destruction of building pieces and props, integrity calculations, and other things, including the ISM.

The area managers look at all the standard building pieces in its area - not the crafters nor the containers - and sorts them spatially. Then, they insert them in custom instanced static meshes. And now the magic can happen.

That being said, we are not done yet. In addition to buildings, we have containers, crafters, and decoration pieces that need to be drawn, and most of them have their own gameplay functionality. All these props are standard Unreal actors, but contrary to the buildings you can see from pretty far away, they spawn only around the character inside the streaming distance.

In the video below, you can see how the area managers are working and how the props become visible or not. Each box you can see is an area manager. As explained above, each area manager controls its own area for ISM and integrity, but they also control the visibility of the prop actors - crafters, containers, and other decoration pieces. Depending on the position of a character and the streaming distance of its client, the manager will activate or deactivate the visibility of all its prop actors.

In the video, red shows the area managers that deactivate the props’ visibility and cyan the active ones. Purple shows the ones pending ongoing activation, and magenta the ones pending ongoing deactivation.

There is another type of prop that needs special treatment: lighting sources. When your character is close to them, the lights are running through the Unreal Lumen lighting - the dynamic global illumination system from Unreal Engine 5 - to improve immersion. However, the lights are switched to lightweight light cards at a certain distance to improve performance. Some valleys have more than 20,000 lights that you can observe simultaneously!

Of course, we also have some constraints on the server side. One single Unreal Engine server can handle only a maximum of 150-200 players, and if more players want to be in the same village, then we need to create some server instances. That’s another area where having some custom systems helps a lot. Our replication system allows the buildings to be visible across all the server instances and in real time! If one player builds in one server instance, then all the players in the other server instances see the building changing at the same time.


Spawning all this building stuff around the player without visible lag is complicated and is done over several seconds, even minutes, sliced into many frames. Also, as you might have guessed from our step-by-step process above, the integrity calculation is a very complex process. Our servers also stream world content, so integrity calculation needs careful setup so that all supporting landscapes are there before they even start. Creating only physics states for pieces needs to be done without delay, and after that, querying overlaps from physics and actual integrity calculations need to be done iteratively.

Now you know why when logging in, you often can see the landscape first, then the buildings, and finally the props.

Players have been building much faster than we initially anticipated. The whole system has seen many optimization passes so far, and we still have many tricks up our sleeves. The current system should work fine until around 500 000 pieces. After that, we will start seeing new issues that must be solved. Good news, though! We already have plans to scale the system to 1 000 000 pieces per zone. But, that is a story for another time.

In the meantime, you can keep building and follow these tips [discord.com]from players who have mastered our systems and environment to create gorgeous structures!

Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team

We know combat hasn’t been the strongest aspect of Pax Dei so far, but we’ve been hard at work behind the scenes, almost starting from scratch, to establish the foundations for a solid and dynamic combat system going forward. While this next content update will introduce some exciting additions, it’s just the beginning - significant improvements are on the way.

Creating a game like Pax Dei requires an iterative approach, and this is particularly true for combat. More updates will follow as we continue to refine the combat system.

With that in mind, let’s dive into some upcoming changes in the next content update.


First off, moving around the world will feel smoother. One major change is that running, not walking, will be the default movement speed. Currently, when your character is idling a bit, their movement is changed to walking instead of running.

Of course, we will keep the run/walk toggle - and the ability to sprint. And for those who prefer the current system, there will be an option in settings to re-enable it.

Additionally, swimming will be less taxing, as we plan to reduce the stamina cost for moving through water.

Last but not least, falling damage will be refactored to ensure consistency so you can better predict how much a fall may hurt.


Melee combat is receiving a lot of love. 

When engaged in combat, your character will automatically face a target based on the direction you're looking in. Moving and rotating toward enemies during combat will allow for smoother movement in combat and target changes.

As part of improving responsiveness, we’ll also add a bunch of new early exit conditions for melee attacks. You’ll be able to interrupt your melee attacks by taking other actions like spellcasting, blocking, jumping, or performing special melee attacks. Most will only be available during the anticipation phase of the attack, but performing a special melee attack allows an animation to cancel from a regular melee hit directly to the special attack.

Many weapon animations will be retimed or remade to improve responsiveness and add forward momentum to attacks, making it much easier to hit moving targets with your attacks. You will also be able to aim attacks up or down to strike enemies at different elevations.

Hit detection will also be improved to better match actual weapon motion. For example, spears will deal damage in a line-shaped zone, while great axes will strike enemies in a circular radius, making the weapons feel more distinct.

Right now, it can be very difficult to hit fleeing animals and even frustrating. These changes should give a better feeling while hunting animals… and players. And speaking about PvP, we also consider testing a significant change where characters will be slowed down for a few seconds when hit by another player.

Additionally, blocking will come with more meaningful consequences. Holding the block button will prevent your stamina from regenerating (though food and potions will still work), and it will also force your character to walk, adding a bit more tactical depth to defensive play.

Equipping / unequipping items will be much easier thanks to an added input queue system that delays the equip action until it can take place. We will also increase the number of possible actions that can happen simultaneously with equips and unequips.


For spellcasters, spell targeting will be reworked to be much more accurate, and the target will remain displayed during the entire casting process. This change ensures that you’ll always know whether your spell is aimed at the right player or enemy in case our improved targeting fails you.

Similarly, as with melee, spellcasting will be given a responsiveness pass to ensure the player always remains in control. You will be allowed to cancel spellcasting at any time during the spellcasting phase by moving, jumping, melee attacking, blocking, or equipping something else - allowing you to pre-cast spells or adapt to changing situations mid-battle.

Spells will also have casting bars to make it easier to read what spells your opponents use in PvE or PvP. This will allow you to make better decisions over which spells to interrupt.

Plus, we will add early-game spells, unlockable from loot in small PvE camps, offering more options to small groups and solo players.


Many enemies will have their attack animations revisited, making it easier to anticipate their moves. These changes will add more telegraphing before attacks are performed, giving you a better chance to react.

Several user interface improvements will be made to give players more information during combat. Both enemy and player nameplates are going through changes to be more informative.

Enemy nameplates will indicate how powerful they are. The current implementation, as you can see in the video segment, shows their ‘level’ - which is somewhat ironic in a game where characters don’t have a level, but it is a first implementation on which we need to iterate. The goal is, of course, to help you assess whether you can handle the fight or… flee. The color of their health bars will also reflect if they are neutral or hostile.

These new nameplates will also be used by players and will be more readable in PvP, indicating at a glance whether an opponent is friendly or hostile.


We’re also making significant updates to the camera system. Camera collision events have been smoothed out, reducing the “jumpiness” you might experience when some objects block your view.
Additionally, if the camera gets too close to your character, your avatar will fade out to prevent your view from being blocked - and yes, this feature will also be present in the building mode.
Finally, we are adding camera smoothing to the melee system to handle sudden character movements during combat and make it more immersive.

On the audio front, we will add distinct audio cues for when your stamina is too low to perform an action and when you level up a skill. We’ll also add more grunt sounds for chained and combo attacks.
NPCs will also have more grunt variations, reflecting their health status and adding personality to the encounters with the Cultists of Zeb and the Inquisitors. We’ll also adjust the overall sound mix to improve clarity.
Looking Ahead

These changes are just the beginning - as you can see, we read your feedback, and we’ve made changes with your thoughts in mind, as well as our own experience and vision for the game. The next content update focuses on making combat feel more dynamic and responsive, but there’s much more to come.

As we continue to improve Pax Dei, we’ll work on role identity, balancing all spells, and making gear choices feel more impactful, especially when playing in groups. Expect more updates in the future as we polish these systems even further.

We’re looking forward to your feedback once the content update has been deployed to the live shards.

Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team 

Hello Paxians!

It’s back-to-school time for most of the (real) world, and our teams are more pumped than ever to add content to the game.

Our next content update will be released in the autumn!

We know “autumn” is somewhat vague. The thing is, we need a few more weeks before we’ll be in a position to commit to a more precise date - just in case we need some extra time to wrap things up.

Why don’t we release content earlier? During the past two months, we deployed more than ten patches and fixes, addressing bugs, correcting issues to ensure server stability and introducing minor changes. The autumn update will introduce larger changes and new features and, therefore, requires more time. Our teams are making good progress, and we’ll start sharing the first details very soon, as you can read below.

If everything goes according to plan, we then want to release another content update at the turn of the year.

Rest assured, even though we don’t always have the time to respond to your feedback and suggestions, we do read and consider everything. So please continue to send us your thoughts about Pax Dei! Some of the discussions on Discord have already been incredibly insightful.

Was the Early Access released too early? Maybe, although, as we stated, this is Early Access in a very real sense of the term; a beta for our game, and we never intended to have everything available on day one. We needed to validate some of the assumptions we had before starting to introduce key features, and that was always going to take time.

Seeing how players engage with the game as it is today - still very raw and missing some critical systems - is vital in steering development. We thank you for your patience as we work on adding the missing pieces to the game, and improving what’s already there.

That being said, let’s move to the “what the devs have been cooking” part.

We recently shared some details on what the team is currently focusing on. Make sure to read the post[playpaxdei.com] if you haven’t already, or to refresh your memory.

It’s still a bit too soon for us to give you fully-fledged patch notes for the autumn update. That said, some things have progressed enough that we’ll be able to share more details in the coming weeks. Here is a sneak peek (see images & videos below):

• Combat improvements: improved responsiveness and readability, improved hit detections, improved nameplates, ability to cancel attacks and spellcasting, and more!
  
• Early PvE experience rework: more accessible enemy camps, better readability on their overall strength.
  
• Rework the Inquisition, the Cultists and the Lost Souls enemy factions to give them more character and some uniqueness.
  
• Crafting system enhancements: addition of a journal (formerly the Compendium) to compile all your known recipes in an easy-to-consult way, quality of life improvements, rebalancing, etc.
  
• Lore: the world of Pax Dei has a history that waits to be unveiled. It is coming.
  
• Quality of life changes: compass, new emotes (in a loop), addressing ninja looting, new building pieces, new signs, a recycling system for crafts, one-button wood cutting/mining, and more.

We’re not sure yet if they’ll all make it to this upcoming content update, the one after or a future update though, so please bear with us. Note that way more things - big and small - are being worked on and we will provide additional updates soon.

Stay tuned as we dive deeper into these topics in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience Paxians!

Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team

In an article describing our vision for the game[playpaxdei.com], we said that Pax Dei is not a single-player game and that we designed it to encourage group play. This often gets misinterpreted as ‘it is not possible to play Pax Dei solo.’ It is not exactly what we meant. Single-player games are intended to be played alone, but playing solo does not mean playing alone.

In an MMO, there are other players—yeah, okay, that’s not breaking news—and their characters are bound to specific Worlds. This specificity draws a line between multiplayer games and MMOs; it is one of the core ingredients that makes MMOs unique. The fact that your character is bound to a World means you will come across the same Clan and players regularly. In the long term, it creates a unique culture for each world.

Every MMO player has stories about their world, either because it was a kind of rockstar world where some of the biggest clans were competing, or because it was THE roleplay world, or the most welcoming to new players, or the one with the biggest dramas, etc.

Because of the building system and the size of the map, the persistence and the players' imprint in Pax Dei are particularly strong—and here, we don’t even talk about what will happen once the economy is unleashed and the feudal system kicks in - and the solo players are part of this persistence.
It’s a fact that many players like to venture solo in MMOs, and Pax Dei is not an exception. If some players said that the game is, according to them, not playable solo, many have said the opposite and are enjoying their experience. So what’s the truth here?

Again, you can twist it the way you want, but Pax Dei is an MMO. And the difficulty can’t be indexed on solo players. Because of that, it will never be possible to enjoy every single aspect of the game playing entirely solo. However, there is a lot you can do. On top of the general difficulty, the game does not hold your hand, which can make it overwhelming to some. Finally, Pax Dei revolves around crafting and building, which means a lot of grinding. All in all, it can look like an impossible mountain to climb, but if you enjoy the slow pace, walking through the landscape, and discovering things by yourself, then it can be an amazing experience.

To end this (very) long introduction, we want to thank all the players who shared their experiences on Discord, Reddit, YouTube and others… As well as give a special shoutout to @Holydan and @Ancient Swamp Lord Grumpy Grim for their precious help while we were writing this article.
Now, let’s get into the specifics. Here are some of the best pieces of advice we gathered from solo players.


Finding the perfect plot is probably one of the hardest things while playing solo, as you probably don’t want to be engulfed in the middle of a big Clan that calls dibs on all the resources in the area.
So you will want to avoid the obvious zones: 

• Around the Petra Dei (the big standing stone where you first spawn);
  
• The top of the mountains;
  
• Islands;
  
• Borders of a lake…

Basically, all the places that catch the eye, especially if they are not too far from the Petra Dei, tend to be overly crowded. And if it is crowded, it means fewer resources and more people fighting for them. You also need to think about the later game, not only the start. Having a short route to the wildlands and small enemy camps close by can become extremely valuable for farming metals.

Careful with wooded areas. First, because, currently, you can’t remove trees entirely - they will come back through your foundations (Side note: this is a known issue that we are working on solving). If building a house around a tree can be really cool, building around ten can be tiresome. Second, because as there are different types of forests, your first axe won’t let you chop down pine trees. So if you want a wood house and only just started the game, don’t put your plot next to a pine forest expecting easy wood gatherings. The map gives a lot of indication of the biomes and, after a while, you will know what biome hosts what resources.

So yes, finding a good spot can be tricky. And until you know the game very well, you will probably make some mistakes. So don’t overbuild on your first plot, start by learning the basics, and unlock a few recipes and crafters. Once you reach the metal, you will know better where you want to create a more persistent base or you will just decide to only have several temporary bases, ideally placed to level up specific skills!

The inventory and the item stacks have been vastly increased - some even say too much, so gathering a bit of everything to see if it unlocks a recipe, and stacking foods that will improve your health points, stamina, and regen is always smart.

Typically, while looking for your first spot, it can be extremely useful to grab the stones and clay you find on your way - like all of them. Gneiss rocks are easy to find close to the Petra Dei, but can be harder when you get away from it, at least until you can have your first pickaxe.

Pax Dei is not fast-paced. Things take time. Playing solo obviously makes the progression slower. On the other hand, you can become far more autonomous and have much better knowledge of how things interact together.

The key thing is optimization. Don't just wait for the processing crafters to finish processing stuff. You can gather flax or hunt for hides while the iron is smelting. If you focus on, say, tailoring, don’t neglect your charcoal kilns burning because you will need a ton of charcoal when you get to smithing!


Of course, as a solo player don’t expect to go into the dungeon alone, but as soon as you can have a mix of mail and leather, you can start to take on the Inquisition camps. You will have to be very careful with your pulls and be ready to run if things get hectic.

As for gathering and crafting, there is a lot to learn. Get familiar with how enemies attack, learn to pull with a bow, and use a shield to block and bash. Don’t be afraid to craft a LOT of wooden arrows. They don't do a lot of damage, but they are very cheap, are enough to pull, and will help you level up your Bow skill.

Your blocking skill can also be critical as it has a huge impact on the mitigated damage. Check the different enemy camps, caves, and ruins. Some are easier than others and they often offer different rewards.

At this point, you will probably discover your first magic recipe and craft your first magic item. The world will then look different to your eyes.

To close this chapter, and to say the opposite of what we stated at its beginning: there are stories of players who manage to go solo into some dungeons. How do they do that? They plan. They get prepared. They remain careful. It is not easy and it is very dangerous. When you die, the corpse run part can be extremely difficult. However, these players have proven it is possible.

Writing an article about solo playing to advise on non-solo playing can be surprising, but again: playing solo does not mean playing alone.

Here, we are not telling you to join a Clan, even if you can find some who accept solo players and even some who regroup mainly solo players. What’s the point? They share hints and materials and sometimes group together to make some dungeon runs.

Though, the key point here is that you should not be afraid to interact with other players. It can be a friendly neighbor with whom you will exchange pieces of advice or a random encounter in the forest that will point you to some gathering spots or a cave that hosts a rare mob. Perhaps you have a Clan in your Home Valley open to trading basic materials - clay, gneiss, wood… - for equipment.

An Iron Axe or Pickaxe can drastically ease your progression, and even just a little armor can greatly improve your survivability. It could also be a pick-up group that will help you farm a rare in an enemy camp.

You can even meet people outside the game, on Reddit or Discord, for example, and make alliances. All in all, it is up to you, but don’t forget: in an MMO, there is a point where interacting with others can be hard to avoid.

Perhaps you don’t know it, but when you purchase Pax Dei, you can obtain a Founder role on our official Discord[discord.gg] server. This role will give you access to channels dedicated to Early Access - and a nice orange color for your nickname. Here, you will find global channels like community-help and some shard specific channels where you can find trade opportunities, player-driven events, and more.

As Pax Dei develops, you can expect to see alliances being made, wars being declared, and lists of outlaws… An MMO is about the community, and Discord is a great place for it.


We hope you enjoyed those tips for playing Pax Dei solo - If you have more, share them with the rest of the community in the ea-discussion channel!
Pax Vobiscum
- The Mainframe team

Hello Paxians,

As announced previously, we will have a new wave of plot cleaning to remove “inactive” plots from some areas. The goal is to free up space in highly populated areas, so that more of you will be able to place plots alongside your friends and clans..

This cleaning session will happen on August 21 - and the plot selection will happen on August 19. You have until August 19 to ensure your plot will not be released according to the criteria below.

This time, we’ll focus on unused plots from players who have stopped playing early in the game.
To ensure we do not remove one of the plots that you strategically placed but have not used so far - for various reasons - check our criteria for deletion below:

We will select plots that meet either of the following:

The plot owner has been inactive for a while, with minimal activity (both in playing time and interactions such as pieces and crafting events), and the clan size is small.
OR
The plot is essentially inactive, with no pieces or crafting events at all in recent times, and the clan size is small.


The criteria below are cumulative and all conditions need to be met for the plot to be deleted:

First set of conditions

• The character that owns the plot has not been active in the past 28 days (since July 22).
  
• The character that owns the plot has played for less than 120 minutes in total.
  
• The total number of crafting events on the plot is less than 50 overall, AND the number of crafting events in the past month is less than 20, AND the number of crafting events in the past 2 weeks is less than 2. To repeat: all points need to be met to qualify for deletion.
  
• The total number of pieces placed on the plot is less than 40, AND the number of pieces added in the past month is less than 20, AND the number of pieces added in the past 2 weeks is less than 2. To repeat: all points need to be met to qualify for deletion.
  
• AND the character owning the plot is not part of any clan or part of a clan with two or more members.

We’re adding a second set of criteria to plots which would have gotten through the first selection, in order to ensure we can reclaim plots that are inactive. This second set of criteria is NOT cumulative with the first set.

Second set of conditions

• The total number of pieces on the plot is 0, AND the number of pieces added in the past month is 0.
  
• The total number of crafting events on the plot is 0, AND the number of crafting events in the past month is 0.
  
• AND the character owning the plot is not part of any clan or part of a clan with two or more members.

If you think one of your plots falls in the “to be deleted category”, ensure you log in to the game before August 19, place a building piece and/or craft an item using a crafter placed on that plot.

Let us know if you have any questions.
Pax vobiscum,
The Mainframe Team