PWI Northern Realms

Northern Realms, also known as Arctic Warfare, is the fifteenth expansion for . It was officially released on June 10th, 2020 with no prior announcement beforehand. The main features for the expansion include a new area called the Northern Realm, which is a continent located to the north of the Midlands. The Northern Realm includes its own PvP system where players can join one of two Allegiances. Other features include new land in the Western Steppes, a new Boundary called Pious Sky, a new dungeon called Altar of Saintess, and a new equipment piece named the Cosmos Conduit.

News Releases
The first and only news post made for the expansion was on the day of its release, June 10th, 2020. This news post went over many of the features being added to the game, including a new region called the Northern Realm where players would join Allegiances and wage war against each other, a new type of equipment called the Cosmos Conduit, a new Boundary called Pious Sky, and a new dungeon called the Altar of Saintess. The remainder of the post goes over the official patch notes for the update, though some additions and changes were not included in this news post such as skill changes for each class.

Notable Features
Additions
 * New area - Northern Realm. Players can join an Allegiance and battle against each other for Merit and Gold Blade Tokens. This is a cross-server map, however only the Twilight Temple and Etherblade servers share a map; the other servers (Tideswell and Dawnglory) do not have a shared map.
 * New dungeon - Altar of Saintess. This dungeon has two different endings and gives players Saintess' Tears which can be traded for items such as Dull Zenith Skull Shards, Bless Boxes, and Soulgems.
 * New Boundary - Pious Sky
 * New Western Steppes area to the east of the map - Nicada.
 * New equipment - Cosmos Conduit
 * New skills for Technician and Edgerunner (1 buff skill and 1 sanctified skill each)
 * Sacred Spirit: Royal Sky are now available in the Gemini Plains west of Polydeux in the Western Steppes.
 * New title quests for the Island of Broken Dreams and Village of the Dreaming Cloud.
 * Venomancers can now purchase skins for some of their Legendary Pets

Changes
 * Ulfgard is closed.
 * 6v6 matches for Arigora Colosseum have been closed for the time being.
 * Players doing 3v3 Arigora Colosseum matches will now use the Advanced Light Blessing equipment from Battle of Survival.
 * The maximum Boundary requirement for the daily quests Flame of Vengeance, Reborn In Fire, and This War o' Mine have been changed to Royal Sky X.
 * Pets for venomancers, mystics, stormbringers, and seekers have had their systems adjusted. For mystics, stormbringers, and seekers, their pets are now completely AI-controlled. For venomancers, they are able to customize their pet's skills to be performed in a certain order or not be used at all, and evolved pets inherit much more of the venomancer's stats.
 * Skill changes for most classes. Most notable are:
 * Mystic: All summons now are summoned for a time limit rather than permanently, and have a long cooldown (180 seconds). The Heal Summon skill also has a long cooldown (180 seconds), but heals the summon fully.
 * Venomancer: The Heal Pet skill now has a long cooldown (~60 seconds), but heals the pet fully. Pets also have their own permanent Guardian Charms which restore their health if it falls below 50%.

Known Issues
 * Tundra Campaign: Players cannot earn Arctic Warfare stacks while in a Chariot. In addition, players currently in Chariots cannot properly send Allegiance (World Chat) messages.
 * Northern Realm: Hourly events regularly bug out and award the player with a seemingly random amount of Merit and Gold Blade Tokens prematurely, resulting in players receiving rewards twice for a single event. On the first event every Wednesday, players will instead earn no Merit or Gold Blade Tokens despite qualifying for the event
 * Advanced Endless Universe: The monsters in the first part of the Balance AKA Light/Dark mode of the dungeon do not spawn at the same time, which makes it difficult for players to complete the challenge.

Celestials Update
The Celestials Update is a content update for PWI Northern Realms. It was officially announced on December 9th, 2020 and officially released on December 16th, 2020. The main features for the update include a Celestial Infant system where players can raise Celestial Infants for use in battle, a dungeon called The Whispering Mausoleum with a randomized map similar to Quicksand Maze, a Chrono Hunt Battle Royale which consists of 3-player teams and will replace Battle of Survival, and a Codex system where players can add fashion, flyers, mounts, and pets to their collection while saving space in their existing storage.

News Releases
The content update was first officially announced through a news post on December 9th, 2020. The news post simply linked to a teaser site for the content update while also mentioning a new PW Passport App that would be available for testing soon.

The teaser site contained daily Arc Codes with random rewards, as well as information on the Celestials System, a new dungeon called The Whispering Mausoleum, a Chrono Hunt Battle Royale, and a Codex System for use with fashion, flyers, mounts, and pets. The teaser site did not include any indication of a release date, except that it would be coming in the month of December indicated by the URL of the site.

The content update's first feature preview was posted on December 14th, 2020. The news post contained information on the Chrono Hunt PvP event, which revealed its requirements would be lower than its predecessor Battle of Survival. It also featured the Codex including a screenshot of the interface. Collecting certain amounts of fashion, flyers, mounts, or pets would yield rewards including titles and unique fashion pieces.

The second feature preview for the Celestials Update was posted the next day on December 15th, 2020. The post covered information on the Celestial Infant/Celestial Reincarnation system and the Whispering Mausoleum. Rewards for the Mausoleum include items such as Soul Stones, Zenith Skulls, Zenith Skull Shards, LV7 Glyphs, LV4 Glyphs, and other items. The news post also revealed that the content update would be released after the maintenance occurring on the 16th of December.

Notable Features
Additions
 * New Celestial Infant system. Players can adopt and raise a Celestial Infant to eventually use in battle.
 * New Battle Royale - Chrono Hunt. This is a cross-server battle royale where players join teams of 3. Rewards include Chrono Sand and Chrono Flux.
 * New quest chain in Northern Realm - Glacier City Mystery. This quest chain has 5 different endings and can be repeated to experience all endings.
 * New dungeon - The Whispering Mausoleum. This dungeon is randomly generated similarly to Quicksand Maze. Rewards include Soul Stones (for Celestial Infants), Zenith Skulls, Zenith Skull Shards, Glyphs (level 4 and level 7) and more.
 * Codex for Fashion, Aerogear, Mounts, and All-Class Pets. Players can build up their collections in the Codex to receive rewards while saving space in their inventory and other places of storage. Players can also use the Codex to try on most fashion, aerogear, mounts, and all-class pets.
 * New Ornaments are available:
 * Players can upgrade their Jaden Necklaces/Belts using 2 Jaden Crystals.
 * Players can upgrade/reroll their Destroyer Warsong Belt for better stats.
 * Players can upgrade their Puzzle Cube Badge·Broken to a new necklace named Destiny.
 * New Boutique items - Monthly Card and Growth Fund Box. Players can receive Azure Cosmos Dust which can be exchanged at the Blessing Agent in south Archosaur for Fashion, Mounts, Aerogear, and more.

Changes
 * Battle of Survival has been removed.
 * 6v6 matchmaking is now available again. Players will use their own equipment in 6v6 matches (3v3 is unchanged).
 * Level 100 Bounty Hunter I bosses have been changed to Tyrant Prince Mushi (Flowsilver Palace), Lord of Disaster Soulshriek (Icebound Underworld), Natya Veda (Dawnlight Halls), and Lord of Paradise (Uncharted Paradise).
 * Master Bounty Hunter bosses have been changed to Night Templar Kivon (Icebound Underworld), Lethal Vengeance (Twilight Temple Revisited Part 1), Shining/Dull Twilight Treasure Twilight Temple Revisited Part 2), and Ultimate Whispering Relic (The Whispering Mausoleum).
 * Level 100 Bounty Hunter I rewards have changed; You now receive a guaranteed War Avatar Pack A, and a possible Bounty Nice Guy Card. Silver Coin rewards have been reduced.
 * Master Bounty Hunter rewards have changed; You now receive a guaranteed War Avatar Treasure Box. There's also a possible Soul Guide Incense x1 reward for Shining/Dull Twilight Treasure and Ultimate Whispering Relic quests.
 * Many dungeons and regions have had their quest requirements removed. Players can simply enter these maps and dungeons without completing pre-requisite quests. Players will still need to complete the quests if they want to experience the storyline quests.
 * Homestead quests for level 9 and level 10 Mastery have been adjusted.
 * Skill Books are no longer needed for Sage/Demon skills and Aware of Vacuity skills; these skills can simply be leveled up using Spirit and Silver Coins.
 * Bidding Hall changes: Skill books removed from Bidding Hall, new mounts and fashion sets added.

Known Issues
 * Hyper EXP Stones cannot be used in Frostcovered City.