Neverness
to Everness

What Is NTE — And What Is a Gacha Game?

Neverness to Everness (NTE) is a free-to-play, open-world action RPG developed by Hotta Studio — the team behind Tower of Fantasy — and published by Perfect World Games. It launches globally on April 29, 2026 for PC, Android, iOS, PS5, and Mac.

If you have never played a gacha game before, understand this upfront: the game is free, but it generates revenue through a randomized character acquisition system called a gacha (from the Japanese word for a capsule toy machine). You spend in-game currency — earned for free through play, or bought with real money — to 'pull' for characters. You do not choose who you receive; the game runs a probability roll. That is the entire business model.

NTE distinguishes itself by being considerably more transparent and player-friendly than most games in this genre, for reasons this guide will explain in detail. It is not pay-to-win for standard content — but it does reward both engagement and strategic spending. Going in with clear eyes about how it makes money will protect both your wallet and your enjoyment.

The World of Hethereau

NTE is set in Hethereau, a stylized modern city where the supernatural has bled into everyday life. Strange phenomena called Anomalies manifest across the city — a glowing umbrella in an alley, blue flames tearing through midnight streets, distorted zones that warp reality.

You play as the first 'unlicensed' Anomaly Hunter, a new member of the antique shop Eibon, which takes on civilian Anomaly commissions to stay financially afloat. The tone is a blend of urban fantasy, X-Files-style mystery, and slice-of-life city living. Think less Genshin Impact and more a supernatural GTA with deep character mechanics. The city is compact enough to drive across in a few minutes but dense enough to stay interesting.

Beyond combat, you can drive and customize cars, own properties and businesses, compete in races, interact with characters through a text messaging system, and simply live in the city between missions. This is the game's strongest differentiator from every competitor in its genre.

Platforms & Cross-Progression

NTE supports full cross-progression across all platforms. Your account, story progress, characters, and currency carry over seamlessly whether you play on PC, PS5, iOS, Android, or Mac. Log in on your phone during a commute and continue on your PC at home without losing anything.

China server launches April 23; global launches April 29. Both versions support cross-progression but run on separate servers with some region-specific content differences.

Understanding the Currency System

NTE uses six currencies total. Most are secondary progression resources you will accumulate naturally. Two of them are the ones you need to understand and protect.

Annulith

The main premium currency — equivalent to Primogems in Genshin Impact or Astrite in Wuthering Waves. Earned slowly through gameplay, events, and exploration. Also purchasable with real money. This is the currency you guard carefully.

Fabricated Dice

The actual items you use to enter the Gacha Fair (the pulling interface). Think of Fabricated Dice as equivalent to 'summon tickets' in other games. Annulith converts into Fabricated Dice. The game also distributes Fabricated Dice directly through events, login rewards, and the daily mail system.

Everything Else

The remaining four currencies are progression-related resources used for character leveling, module upgrades, and shop purchases. You will accumulate these naturally through play and do not need to manage them actively as a new player.

The Gacha Fair — How Pulling Works

Instead of a simple pull animation, NTE uses an interactive board-game system called The Fair. When you spend a Fabricated Die to pull, your character moves along a looping board game path — similar to Monopoly — and lands on tiles that grant rewards. Two side loops branch off the main loop for elevated rewards.

Soft Pity at Pull 70

After 70 pulls without an S-rank, the board physically transforms into a 'Modified Board' where the probability of landing on an S-rank tile jumps to approximately 19.5%. This is a visible, tangible representation of soft pity — most games hide this behind invisible math. The result is anticipation instead of anxiety.

Hard Pity at Pull 90

If you have not received an S-rank character by pull 90, it is guaranteed on your next roll. Full stop. No exceptions.

No 50/50 — Why This Matters

In most gacha games, pulling an S-rank from a limited banner gives only a 50% chance it will be the featured character — the other 50% is a random standard-pool character. NTE removes this entirely. Every S-rank pulled from a limited banner is guaranteed to be the featured character. This dramatically reduces the worst-case scenario for f2p players and makes resource planning straightforward and reliable.

Free Pulls at Launch

New players should expect approximately 80 to 90 free pulls from pre-registration rewards, tutorial completion, and early launch events. That is 8 or 9 multi-pulls before spending a single dollar — more than enough to hit early pity milestones and build a functional starting roster.

Standard Banner Selector

The standard banner includes an S-rank selector after a certain pull count, allowing new players to choose one standard S-rank character. Prioritize characters that fill elemental gaps in your roster and have confirmed long-term relevance in endgame content.

Should You Reroll?

'Rerolling' means creating a new account, spending the free launch currency to pull, and restarting if you do not get the character you want. In games with a 50/50 system, rerolling is unreliable and tedious. In NTE, because there is no 50/50, a single pity cycle guarantees the featured character — making rerolling significantly more efficient.

Who to Target

Focus on S-rank characters that are meta-relevant in endgame boss content. Avoid building around 'rhythm-heavy' characters like Chis unless you are already comfortable with the base combat system — their skill ceiling is high and their payoff is inconsistent for new players.

Combat Deep Dive: The Esper Cycle

At its core, NTE combat resembles a blend of Genshin Impact, Zenless Zone Zero, and Wuthering Waves — you control one character at a time from a three-character team, swapping between them to chain abilities. What makes it distinct is the Esper Cycle system.

Basic Moves

Every character has three fundamental actions: a Normal Attack, a Skill with its own cooldown, and an Ultimate that charges through combat. Building your rotation around maximizing Skill and Ultimate usage is the baseline for strong damage output.

Elemental Reactions

NTE features six elements. When you combine adjacent elements on the Esper Cycle wheel — by having two characters of adjacent elements both contribute damage to the same enemy — you trigger a reaction. These are not cosmetic. They are your primary power multiplier.

Advanced Trio Reactions

Two special reactions trigger by combining the effects of standard reactions: Charge (Blossom hitting a Remora-marked target — grants ultimate energy per hit, exceptional for sustained DPS rotations) and Discord (Nova and Scorch simultaneously active on a target — compounding elemental pressure). Building a team around accessing these trio reactions is the hallmark of an optimized endgame composition.

Off-Field Passives — The Critical Mechanic

Every character has a unique Esper Cycle Passive that enhances reactions. Critically, this passive is active even when the character is on the bench. This means your full three-character team is always contributing to combat output, even though only one is active. You are optimizing off-field contributions as much as your active carry — this is the cornerstone of advanced team building.

Consoles, Modules, & Awakenings

The Console

Each character carries a Game Boy-style Console. Inside it, you place Modules using a Tetris-style grid. Modules boost stats and provide passive bonuses — but their shapes must physically fit the available grid space. This creates a spatial optimization component: a 'perfect' layout requires planning the physical arrangement, not just selecting the strongest pieces. Modules are the primary driver of character power in NTE.

The Awakening System

When you obtain a duplicate of a character you already own, it converts into Awakening materials. Using these unlocks Awakening Slots on the character — but rather than forcing you down a fixed path, each slot activation presents a choice from 6 Awakening effects. You pick one. You can freely switch your chosen effects later.

The Chinese community analysis from beta testing specifically highlighted the Awakening system as a deliberate step away from predatory constellation mechanics — where other games effectively require 6 duplicates to unlock a character's complete kit. NTE's approach is the right way to do it.

Arcs — Your Characters' Weapons

Arcs are NTE's weapon system. Each character equips one Arc, which boosts core stats and provides a passive ability. Certain Arcs are designed to synergize specifically with certain characters, but most have a general-purpose use case as well.

Arcs are obtained through the Arc Banner, a separate gacha banner. A-rank Arcs are guaranteed from Arc banner pulls. S-rank Arcs are powerful but represent expensive premium content.

Team Building & Elemental Reactions

Building a competitive team means answering three questions: who is your main damage dealer (carry), who extends their damage through reactions (enabler), and who keeps the team alive or amplifies output further (support)?

Standard Team Architecture

A competitive team uses 2 to 3 elements in proximity on the Esper Cycle to consistently trigger reactions. The goal is to set up reactions with your off-field characters while your carry benefits from the buffs they create. A mono-element team gets zero reaction value and falls behind in efficiency.

General Principles

Your carry needs the best Modules and the most compatible Arc. Your enablers should be characters whose off-field passives and Esper Cycle positioning directly feed your carry's reaction output. Support units providing healing, shielding, or Cycle Rate generation are valuable in hard endgame content but often optional in story and exploration.

The Open World — What Else Is There?

NTE is not just combat. Hethereau has genuine non-combat content that distinguishes it from nearly every competitor in its genre.

Vehicle Gameplay

Cars are fully customizable, used in delivery missions, open-world traversal, and competitive races. Racing generates in-game income and event rewards. Certain chassis options reference real-world iconic JDM models.

Property and Business Ownership

You can purchase and manage real estate in Hethereau. Owned businesses generate passive in-game currency over time, collected during your daily login. This is both an income mechanic and the game's deepest lifestyle customization layer.

City Commissions and Exploration

Side missions scattered across the city earn character experience, exploration currency, and lore. Some Anomalies are hidden in corners and reward unique loot unavailable elsewhere. The Chinese community estimates that full f2p exploration across a major version can yield over 170 limited banner pulls in total. Explore thoroughly.

Social Minigames

Mahjong and other social activities exist primarily for player enjoyment but may tie into event reward tracks.

Optimizing Your Daily Playtime

The players who progress most efficiently are not the ones who play the most hours — they are the ones who play the right systems at the right time.

Minimum Daily Checklist

Claim daily login rewards. Open your mail — the game distributes free Fabricated Dice regularly through the mail system. Spend your daily stamina on priority content (Module farming or story progression). Collect passive income from any owned properties.

Stamina Priority Order

Stamina is your most constrained daily resource. In the early game, spend it on story content that unlocks new systems. In the mid and late game, shift to Module farming for your primary carry first, then support units. Do not spread stamina across every system simultaneously — focus produces results.

Events Are Time-Sensitive

Limited events are typically the best source of free Fabricated Dice outside of exploration. Make event completion a daily habit, even if it only takes ten minutes. Missing an event's expiry date is a permanent resource loss with no recovery option.

Spender Tier Breakdown

NTE is explicitly positioning itself as a 'value-war' competitor — deliberately lowering the cost per character to attract players burned by the industry's historically predatory standards. This benefits every spending tier.

Character Tier Overview

Definitive tier lists will only stabilize after the community has access to the full launch roster and endgame content. What the CBT2 analysis does establish:

Prioritize

Characters with strong off-field Esper Cycle Passives and clear elemental reaction synergies. A character who boosts the team's reaction output from the bench is often more valuable than a high-burst carry who offers nothing to off-field composition.

Be Cautious With

Units with high skill ceilings — rhythm-based inputs, complex timing windows. These characters are rated highly in skilled hands but perform significantly worse when played suboptimally. Chis was flagged during beta as a prime example of execution risk. Do not pull for high-ceiling characters until you are comfortable with the base combat system.

Lower Priority at Launch

Based on CBT2 analysis, Mint, Edgar, and Haniel are flagged as lower-value at launch — their damage output and utility are outclassed by other available S-rank options. Spending limited pulls on them when stronger alternatives exist is a long-term mistake.

Beating the Meta — Advanced Principles

Beating the meta does not mean spending the most money. It means making decisions that keep your roster competitive without chasing every banner.

Build One Team, Not Six

Spreading resources across many characters produces six mediocre units. Concentrating investment on three produces one dominant team that clears most content. Expand only after your primary team is complete.

Module Farming Is the Game Within the Game

After character acquisition, the most impactful power increases come from optimal Module layouts in your characters' Consoles. Treat this the way experienced players treat artifact farming in Genshin: systematic, persistent, and tied to specific stat thresholds rather than chasing perfection.

Elemental Composition Determines Your Ceiling

Two teams built around identical characters but different elemental arrangements will produce different outcomes. Study which of your characters' off-field passives feed the most powerful reactions for your active carry, then build the entire team around maximizing those triggers.

Save During Dry Periods

Gacha games follow a rhythm of strong launch banners, moderate mid-cycle banners, and occasionally weak banners. The community at r/NevernessToEverness and the Chinese 异环 community on Bilibili will flag when a banner represents poor value. Skipping one banner to save for the next is always the smarter long-term play. Trust that community analysis.

Pity Management Is Your Highest-Leverage F2P Skill

NTE's pity carries over between banners, so there is never a reason to spend impulsively to 'reset' pity before a banner ends — unless you actually want that character. Carry high pity counts into the next banner if you want it more. A high pity count is a powerful asset, not a liability.

Common Beginner Mistakes

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  Pulling on the Arc banner before guaranteeing the character The character is almost always more impactful than their weapon. Get the character first, then evaluate if enough currency remains for the Arc.
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  Spending Annulith in the shop on upgrade materials These materials drop through normal gameplay. The exchange rate in the premium shop is consistently terrible. Never do this regardless of circumstances.
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  Neglecting off-field characters Because NTE's off-field passives actively contribute to combat, leaving your bench under-leveled and under-Moduled is a significant and hidden power loss. The whole team needs investment.
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  Chasing duplicate copies of characters too early One copy of an S-rank is functional for all base content. Spending resources on duplicates before you have a full meta-relevant team is putting the cart before the horse.
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  Ignoring exploration One-time exploration rewards are permanent and accumulate to a massive source of free pulls over a patch cycle. Explore every new zone thoroughly.
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  Treating Awakenings like other games' constellations NTE's Awakenings are flexible, self-selectable, and balanced. You do not need six copies of a character to unlock their full kit. The game was deliberately designed this way — trust it.
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  Missing event deadlines Events expire permanently. There is no catch-up mechanic for missed event currency. Build the habit of logging in during active events even on low-playtime days.

Quick Reference