A Balancing Act - Open Beta on the Weekend of July 4th

Secret World Legends Announcements
1

Hello, everyone!

The Buzzing’s whispers are true; balance is coming! Specifically a balance pass for tanks and healers, along with scaling of group and instanced solo content up to Elite 17 (yes, including dungeons and an Elite 17 version of Manhattan Exclusion Zone). This balance pass redefines how tanks and healers work in SWL, and as such we are holding several open beta test phases to get your feedback and identify any bugs that have slipped through closed testing.

When?

Our first beta test phase will start July 3rd, 2020 at 4 PM EST (8 PM GMT), and will end July 6th at 9 AM EST (1 PM GMT). Dates/times for later test phases will be determined and announced based on the results of the first phase.

How do I join?

Joining depends on whether you use Steam or the stand-alone client. Some of our testers have recommended making a second client install for Testlive - this is optional and requires more disk space but may result in better performance.

Going to the Best Server (Testlive)

  1. Open the folder where you have the game installed
  2. Right click on the shortcut and select “Open file location”
  3. Find the file “LocalConfig” and rename it to “LocalConfig_Live”
  4. Right click this link and Save Link As to your game install folder: http://update.secretworld.com/tswupm/tsw_testlive/LocalConfig.xml
  5. Start the game like normal, and let the patcher update the client

Going back to Live

  1. Open the folder where you have the game installed
  2. Right click on the shortcut and select “Open file location”
  3. Find the file “LocalConfig” and rename it to “LocalConfig_Testlive”
  4. Find the file “LocalConfig_Live” and rename it to “LocalConfig”
  5. Start the game like normal, and let the patcher update the client

Testing Tools

When you have patched onto the beta server (also known as Testlive) and created a character, you will be greeted by FATE, in the tutorial. Speak to him to advance your character to endgame and bypass the tutorial. In Agartha, you will find a number of vendors who will supply any item you need or want.

On Testlive, the maximum inventory size is increased - Please note that this may cause some client lag from time to time.

A “brief” overview (aka TL;DR)

This is a beta - Not everything is finished. Some features are still being worked on, FX and Audio are lacking in a number of places, and some things are broken.

  • Tanks rebalanced. Each tank weapon now has a unique identity, and proper defensive gear is now needed for your highest available Elite level
    • Fear not, we have a plan to smooth the transition when this update reaches Live. Surely you have had a chance to play around with the Glyph Exchangers? We will be giving everyone a set of Glyph Exchangers for free when the rebalance reaches Live.
  • Healers rebalanced. They are now needed for your highest available Elite level. Each heal weapon has its own flavor and playstyle
  • Several outlier weapon items and weapon types have received attention to address balance issues, and bring the overall balance closer together. For example, Blood Magic’s issues with soloing content have been addressed.
  • Loot Tables have been adjusted and updated with new items, including new Empowerment Catalysts, a rare new type of distillate, and a full new set of talismans
  • Dungeon queues have merged down into 7 queues total: Elite 1-2, Elite 3-4, Elite 5-7, Elite 8-10, Elite 11-13, Elite 14-16, and Elite 17
  • Manhattan Exclusion Zone: Elite 17 has been added, aimed at a skilled raid of endgame players, and with new mechanics to spice things up
    • Please note: Development is still in progress on the Elite 17 raid, and its loot table has not been implemented yet
  • The Penthouse mini-dungeon has made a return and can be accessed via Elite 10+ dungeon queues
  • Seek & Preserve Scenarios, and scaling solo missions (such as Venetian Missile Crisis or Rogue Agent) now scale up to Elite 17
  • The Dungeon/Scenario/Lair Key system is undergoing a rework, and opening Dungeon, Scenario, and Lair loot boxes will no longer cost a key.
  • Please note that during this first phase, the rework has not been fully implemented - there will still be a use for keys, however we are not at a stage to share specifics.

Bugs! And Feedback!

We want to hear your feedback! And we want to know about any bugs you find!

Please post all feedback and bug reports from the test at: https://forums.funcom.com/c/secret-world-legends/rebalance-feedback-bugs/117

Discussion

General discussion and speculation about these changes can be done in: Discussion: A Balancing Act

I look forward to seeing you on the beta server,
Chris “Nirvelle” Meredith

21 Likes