Massive Pax Dei update overhauls nearly every part of the MMORPG

The idea of a world where everything is made by players is a compelling one, and it’s something Pax Dei is attempting to make manifest. Similar to other social survival titles like Conan Exiles, Rust, or Valheim, Pax Dei contains a huge open world filled with monsters to slay, humans to fear, resources to gather, and plots you can build upon. Released back in June, its first content update has now arrived, and almost every aspect of the game has been altered, but be warned – there’s a downside too.

The biggest and most obvious change hitting Pax Dei in the Proving Grounds update is to the world itself. The topography of the MMORPG has been radically altered, getting rid of some impassable cliffs and making everything feel more open and natural. Mountain passes are now in, making reaching different regions easier, and new paths will stop essential routes from being blocked by player buildings.

There’s a downside to all this, however, as the changes have been so far-ranging that player progress in the sandbox game has had to be wiped. Characters themselves are saved but your buildings, bases, and anything you’ve built appears to have been removed. It’s not all bad news, as you’ll be able to reclaim the items you used in your buildings, but it does mean if you spent a long time on a particular base, it could be a little galling to see it now removed.

Combat’s also an area that’s seen some heavy improvements with this update. Melee in general should be more responsive and accurate, with improved targeting when there are multiple mobs attacking you. Looting has now been made more fair, with the game deciding who has permission to loot a corpse in an effort to stop ninja looting. There’s been some pretty hefty rebalancing for enemies and their locations, and there’s plenty more too.

As Pax Dei is a game where you’ll be spending a lot of time gathering resources, that’s all been made a little simpler too thanks to one quality of life update. Now you can simply press one button to begin chopping wood or mining ore, with your character performing the action until the resource is depleted or they run out of stamina. Finally, gathering enough wood won’t take you all day, so rebuilding your dream home should be far easier.

The Proving Grounds update for Pax Dei is out now. If you’d like to take a look at all the changes, head over to Steam for the complete list of what’s new.

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