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NIGHTFALL - v0.8.5 PTS Patch Notes

27 View2023-08-13

Development has decided -- we're doing VIVIANNE ARKHAM as our next survivor!

Here are the patch notes coming in next week's PTS:

New Survivor: Vivianne Arkham

Vivianne Arkham is a child prodigy who, after seeing numerous news reports of various people going missing in her town, she decided to investigate on her own. She began to study the mist, knowing that it somehow plays a role in these disappearances. She eventually came to the conclusion that it was causing these missings, but she didn't inform the rest of her town. The only way to confirm her theories: test it for herself.

She walked alone in the woods, just like how most of the people she studied disappeared, like Ponnea Jezz, Steve Narrere, or Alex Jones. She found the mist shortly in front of her, waiting. Without hesitation, she bolted inside, and her theory was proven correct.

Personal Perk: Fast Travel

At the start of the game, Vivianne receives two blue torches. Place a torch on the ground to begin constructing a portal. Place the second torch in a farther location to finish constructing the portal. The torches will dissolve into the ground, creating a warped floor beneath. If a survivor steps on a warped floor for 3 seconds, the survivor will teleport to the other warped floor. The warped floors will dissolve after the exit gates or powered or the hatch is opened. The killer can not destroy a warped floor, but before the portals are constructed, the killer can destroy the blue torch to completely cancel Vivianne's ability.

Vivianne will be available for free in the PTS for testing, but during full release, she will need to purchased with either 60 Shards or $1.99.

New Map: Arkham Observatory

The Arkham observatory is Vivianne's family workplace, where they observed the city from a faraway location as a part of their job, working for the city. The Arkham Observatory was also where Vivianne would do her studies on the many victims of the mist before she was taken as well. The mist managed to locate the observatory and take it into its realm as well.

Hex: No Way Out - NERF

Development has found the Hex: No Way Out perk to be way too powerful, and can potentially hold the game hostage on maps like Shackhouse, Ironworks, or Mineshafts. We have decided to nerf Hex: No Way Out, and we're testing the nerfs in the PTS.

Previously:

For the first 60 seconds after the last generator is completed, exits are blocked from being opened. Killer will receive a permanent 1x speed amplifier until the Hex is cleansed.

New:

For the first 40 seconds after the last generator is completed, exits are blocked from being opened. Killer will receive a permanent 1x speed amplifier. If the Hex is cleansed, the Killer's speed amplifier is removed, and the exits are unblocked.

The cost to purchase Hex: No Way Out has been increased to 85 Crystals (was 75)
The Scientist - BUFF

After observing gameplay with the Scientist and seeing how incredibly weak he is against most team compositions, we are buffing the Scientist's power. Although there is no exact way to completely negate the random deaths he endures after teleporting a lot, we can delay it.

Previously:

Have 16 ender pearls that refill every time you run out. 10 second cooldown.

New:

Have 48 ender pearls that refill every time you run out. Receive a Totem of Undying at the start of every game to delay the death effect. When dying, teleport to the center of the map, no matter how close a survivor is to it.

We hope the Scientist buff would considerably strengthen him in most games and make him more fun and enjoyable for all players.

Other info

After that, we pretty much find the game good where it is. To narrow it down, there will be a new survivor with the ability to teleport and help her team teleport that can be completely negated if the killer catches it early enough, there will be a new map, a nerf to Hex: No Way Out, and a buff to The Scientist.

The PTS will open to everyone who has played the game at least once before on August 19, 2023, otherwise exactly one week away from the timing of this post. Vivianne Arkham and the new map will be playable. The PTS will close on August 26, developers will make any final buffs, nerfs, reworks, or changes, and then will officially release to all on September 9.

Other things we are planning for v0.8.5 but are NOT in the PTS:

Making The Miner and Billy Nelson free

Since NIGHTFALL's release in May 2022, the very first purchasable and unlockable characters were a new killer, The Miner, and a new survivor, Billy Nelson. Over the past year and a quarter, nobody could access them without a purchase. Now, we have 10 killers and 8 survivors in the game, so we found that the time is right to make him free. With the release of v0.8.5, The Miner & Billy Nelson will be accessible to all players. For players who purchased the Miner or Billy Nelson before this patch, your shards will be 50% refunded.

Expansion of Ironworks of Misery

Our very first map, the Ironworks of Misery, has been found to be really small over the months, and very killer-sided. NIGHTFALL is a highly team-based and strategy game, but it also relies on the atmosphere as well. Coming in v0.8.5's live release, we will slightly expand all corners of Ironworks of Misery, add more trees and vault loops, and maybe a smaller building. During this time, the map will be unplayable as we prepare for these changes.

Removal of Mori's

After we observed a game where a mori was in play, we found that it is very unfair for the targeted survivor of the mori, dying sooner than normal because the killer brought a pay-to-win offering. Coming in v0.8.5, but not in the PTS, we will completely remove Mori's. The mist is banishing them.

Thank you for reading this tiny patch! We are so excited to release Vivianne into the game and bring more diversity to our survivor catalog.

Stay tuned for the October developer update next month. We plan on hosting a Halloween event with Halloween challenges to unlock returning Halloween limited items, and a new chapter (Killer and Survivor, no map)

We might also do a late anniversary event this month mixed with a comeback event just for funsies.

Upcoming