Pax Dei: Major Update Prepares Crafting, UI & Performance

MMO Pax Dei Developers Prepare Major Update

The Pax Dei team is actively working on the next content update, which will arrive on the public Arcadia test server in the coming weeks. Unlike large-scale overhauls, this patch focuses on fine-tuning existing mechanics—the developers aim to make gameplay smoother, clearer, and more expressive.

Crafting System Improvements

Special attention is being paid to the two most player-requested aspects of crafting. While work is still ongoing, some changes may not make it into the first round of testing. The main goal is to make the item creation process more rewarding and balanced.

A Master Crafting mechanic is being introduced: when exceptionally successful in crafting an item with an Item Power stat, a player can permanently enhance its characteristics and earn the title of master creator. Such an item gains unique identity, and the Item Power bonus stacks with enchantment effects. This means truly outstanding gear will be a rare combination of masterful crafting and enchanting.

For professions related to creating food and potions (where Item Power is absent), the team plans to develop special "exceptional success" mechanics later.

In parallel, a large-scale experience rebalancing is underway for five key professions:

Leatherworking;
Blacksmithing (Weapons);
Tailoring;
Blacksmithing (Armor);
Armorsmithing.

Now, the experience gained for creating an item better reflects resource costs and effort. More expensive recipes grant more experience, but cheaper ones remain a viable leveling method. Finished products in most professions yield more experience than intermediate components—this encourages completing full crafting chains. The exception is Blacksmithing: there, intermediate components still provide significant experience to maintain smooth progression.

Furthermore, recipe level distribution has been reworked—players will gain access to useful items more consistently, without harsh progress "gates." However, the leveling curve itself remains unchanged—only the experience for specific actions is being adjusted.

Improved Communication and Self-Expression

The developers are enhancing communication tools: new slash commands simplify group management, chat, clan interactions, and emotes.

Characters will gain more individuality through new emotes: "Insult," "Show Respect," "Let's Go!" and "Summon." Additionally, a Moods tab will be added, allowing players to choose a permanent facial expression. The selected mood persists until changed, and emotes now include a basic facial animation that can be slightly altered by combining with different moods.

Updated Character Menu

The character menu interface has been redesigned for ease of daily use. It is now located on the right sidebar, aligning with the overall UX design concept. Hovering over elements displays tooltips with detailed information, maintaining readability without screen clutter.

The Equipment tab no longer takes over the camera—the character is displayed directly in the menu along with their name and average Item Power. Selecting an equipment slot shows only suitable items, reducing unnecessary actions.

The Stats tab has been expanded to include additional metrics with unique icons. The Skills tab has been moved from the journal to the character menu to consolidate all hero information in one place.

Simplified Clan Management

Clan tools have also received an update. The clan menu now uses the same right sidebar and tooltip system as the character menu. Players without a clan will see options to join or create one, while clan members get more convenient access to announcements, member lists, and applications.

Clan settings (changing heraldry, leaving, or disbanding) have been moved to the top right corner of the menu. Permission changes are not yet included in this update but remain a priority for the future.

A More Readable World

Visual adjustments have been made to resource displays across different biomes. Small or hard-to-notice objects have been transformed into larger clusters; others have been resized, recolored, or reworked for better visibility. Non-interactive plants have been toned down to reduce visual noise, and some resources have been completely remade for higher quality.

The goal is simple: make important objects easier to spot without breaking the world's natural appearance. Finding resources that were previously extremely difficult to see will now be easier—but experienced players will still be able to gather more, relying on knowledge and skill.

Performance Optimization

The team is working on improving performance, especially in combat scenarios. Updates include fixes for several rendering issues identified based on community feedback. The aim is to make intense battles smoother and more responsive.