PWI Eclipse

Eclipse is the eighth expansion for Perfect World International. It was officially announced on December 1st, 2014, and released on December 16th, 2014. The expansion saw the release of a new race, the Nightshade, and two new classes named the duskblade and stormbringer. Other features included an overhaul to the starting zone for new characters, two new instances that would be randomly generated, a UI overhaul, and more.

A content update titled Riptide was later released on August 18th, 2015.

Story
Created by the son of Pan Gu, the Reapers once guarded the Celestial Vale. Bound to the life of the Divine Child, they defended him until he was mortally wounded in battle. With the last of his strength, the Divine Child freed the Reapers from his service and sent them to Perfect World. Now known as the Nightshades, they draw upon the power of the moon to battle evil in all its forms.

News Releases
The expansion was first mentioned in a news post on the official game's website on December 1st, 2014. It announced the release date to be on December 16th, 2014. It revealed the Nightshade race along with the Duskblade and Stormbringer classes. It also mentioned the Celestial Vale starting area where new characters would begin their journey, which would replace the Astral Domain starting area. Two new instances would also be released with a unique random instance system that would reward players with materials for new Rank 8 second cast gear. Many interfaces and quests would also be optimized to make things easier for newer players.

The news post also stated that more posts would follow which would explain these new features in more detail, however no other posts relating to the expansion were made other than promotional ones.

On December 17th, 2014 the expansion was announced as released in a news post. Some promotions were also mentioned in this post such as a raffle and an item to boost characters to level 95, however no other new information was released.

Patch Notes
Patch Version 829, Released December 16th, 2014

New Features
 * New Race: Nightshades! Descended from the guardians of the Divine Child, these beings can call upon the power of the moon to assail their enemies.
 * New Classes: Duskblade and Stormbringer! The Duskblade is a fast melee class that can string together combos, while the Stormbringer is a caster class that calls down the fury of nature itself.
 * New Starting Zone: Celestial Vale! All new characters will now spend their first twenty levels in this brand-new zone, which also includes the new Lightsail Cave dungeon.
 * New Dungeon: Quicksand Maze! The lair of the terrifying Nightmares, this dungeon's layout changes randomly each time you enter! Quicksand Maze has multiple level brackets, ranging from level 50 all the way up to Mirage Sky X.

Gameplay
 * The Reward Chest has had many of its rewards updated, along with a new daily reward that grants a pair of free, time-limited guardian and spirit charms.
 * All quests in Perfect World have had their level requirements adjusted to bring them in line with the new starting zone, which takes all new characters to level 20. Many quests have also had their objectives adjusted to require considerably fewer kills and/or quest items.
 * Level 80-89 Bounty Quests now require killing monsters in the Wraithgate and Hallucinatory Trench.
 * Level 90-99 Bounty Quests now require killing monsters in Eden, Brimstone Pit, and Twilight Temple.
 * The Crazy Stone quest has had its rewards updated.
 * New daily quests have been added for levels 83-95.
 * The Paperclip for Villa questline has been optimized.
 * Crafting skills are now learned at level 28 instead of level 5.
 * A new Title Quest has been added in Emerald Dragon Gulf. Players can accept it at 635, 656.
 * New forges in Archosaur allow you to reforge and upgrade max-level gear, including Rank 9 and Warsoul items.

NPCs
 * All skill trainer NPCs have been removed.
 * Many NPCs have moved to new locations within their cities.
 * Many NPCs have received graphical updates.

User Interface
 * The interface art has been updated.
 * The world and territory maps have been updated to include the new Nightshade city, Dawnglory.
 * The Skills interface has been updated. Instead of traveling to skill trainer NPCs to learn new skills, you can learn them directly from the Skills pane.
 * Sheomay and the Newbie Guide have received an update.
 * You can now use the mouse to zoom and rotate your character in the Fitting Room.
 * The main menu can now be set to appear on the side of the screen instead of the bottom.

Bug Fixes
 * Fixed a bug in which the chat window would sometimes freeze.
 * Fixed the Marketplace icon for Leopard Capris.
 * The Genie Skill Frenzy is no longer called Enrage in the Learn Skills pane.
 * Miscellaneous text fixes.
 * The Sundrop and Tiger Lily fashion sets have returned to the Marketplace.
 * Venomancers can no longer learn an invalid Swimming Mastery skill.

Riptide
Riptide is a content update that was announced on August 4th, 2015, and released on August 18th, 2015. The update focused on the Primal World primarily. This included a new area named the Silent Sea, the release of the Shifting Sky Boundary level, two new passive skills, a judgment mode for Flowsilver Palace, and a new Star Chart system. Nightshades also received primal skills in this update as well as some tweaks to existing skills.

The Riptide content update was not accompanied with a story.

News Releases
The Riptide update was first announced on August 4th, 2015 in a sneak peek news post. The post revealed the new Silent Sea area, which also included screenshots. It also showed off some new mounts and all-class pets coming to the game. A release date was not mentioned in the news post or any other news posts before Riptide was released.

Another sneak peek was posted on August 11th, 2015. This post mainly focused on Star Charts, equippable charts that could increase player stats including Spirit. It mentioned the various ways to enhance a Star Chart, and showed off images of the different flares a player could get depending on the amount of stats their Star Chart had. At the very bottom of the post was a brief mention of Flowsilver Palace Judgment Mode, which implied that it would award players with items to help enhance Star Charts.

On August 13th, 2015, an interview with PWI's Chief Designer was posted to the game's official website. This interview covered many of the new features that were coming with the content update. Some new information was revealed, such as Nightshades having some skills balanced and receiving new skills, a new boundary level, and even a cross-server faction war in an upcoming update. Some concept art of a large creature and the new area were also shown.

Riptide was eventually released on August 18th, 2015, and a news post was made on August 19th just hours after the update. In it contained an announcement trailer which had been released on August 4th, 2015, along with links to all other news articles that were related to the Riptide content update, including events and promotions.

Patch Notes
Patch Version 880, Released August 18th, 2015

New Features
 * New Area: The Silent Sea! Explore a new region of the Primal World, and aid the aquatic Riptide against their enemies, the Shoka!
 * New Boundary: Shifting Sky! Continue to improve your Boundary level and rank up your passive skills as you progress through an all-new quest chain in the Primal World. Players who have reached Astral Sky X can talk to Shifting Sky Envoy Yara in Kirin Town to progress.
 * New Historical Phases! Four additional Historical Phases have been added in the Primal World. Completing the tasks for these phases will award Vitae and Star Chart-related items.
 * Star Charts released. These mystical items will allow you to further increase your stats. Talk to Light Emperor Alexander in Kirin Town to get started!
 * Flowsilver Palace Judgment Mode released. If you're looking for a challenge, try this new mode. In addition to increasing the difficulty even beyond that Deicide Mode, bosses will gain new mechanics. Judgment Mode also features a new boss after defeating Tyrant Prince Mushi: Belle Leun, the Mad Princess.
 * Note that if you receive Flowsilver Coins in Judgment Mode, you cannot also do so in Deicide Mode. If you receive Flowsilver Coins in Deicide Mode, Judgment Mode will only reward Star Chart-related items.

Skills
 * New Passive Skill: Corrosive Cold. Causes your attacks to increase the cooldown on your target's charms. Skill books can be crafted at the Sacred Cauldron in Kirin Town.
 * New Passive Skill: Purity of Essence. Increases your maximum Health. Skill books can be crafted at the Sacred Cauldron in Kirin Town.
 * Primal Nightshade skill upgrades are now available at the Sacred Cauldron in Kirin Town.
 * Duskblade Skill Changes:
 * Blood of the Nightshade now reduces ranged damage by a greater amount, reaching its maximum value at 8 meters.
 * Increased the ranged damage reduction of Reaper Form.
 * Reflection of the Moon now generates 150 Chi, up from 20.
 * Stormbringer Skill Changes:
 * Lunar Shadow now lasts 25 seconds, up from 20. The duplicate's survivability has also been increased.

Quests
 * A new Title Quest has been added in Silk Ridge.
 * The Spring Harbinger has moved on. The Summer Harbinger is now offering quests in his stead.
 * Daily quests in the Primal World now award additional Vitae, as well as Star Chart-related items.
 * Quest rewards for the Astral Sky questline have been increased.

War Avatars
 * Nuema can now be increased to Tier 8.
 * Bosses in Undercurrent Hall can now drop Tier 7 Nuema.