Since June 18, 2024, the Early Access of Pax Dei has been running, and the developers are working hard to eliminate annoying bugs and issues from the beautiful MMO world. But how does the sandbox adventure hold up after all these weeks? MeinMMO editor Karsten Scholz provides a mid-term assessment.

Anyone who has read my play article from the alpha test phase of Pax Dei knows: I had my issues with the game. The sandbox MMORPG plays like a survival adventure without survival struggle in the first hours, vital features such as in-game currency or a recycling system are missing, and other areas (like combat) feel very unfinished.

Since Pax Dei changed hardly at all from the alpha to the start of the Early Access phase, I passed on another report in June. However, almost four weeks have now passed, and on the official Discord, update notifications are rolling in one after another. The community has also had ample opportunity to experiment with the fantastic building system of the MMO.

So I dove back into the servers to check the status quo of the game and to look for noticeable improvements in the beautiful medieval world.

Working on the fundamentals instead of major innovations

Since the start of the Early Access phase, the developers have been working hard to bring improvements to the servers of Pax Dei. However, the focus has so far been on fixing bugs, crashes, and other fundamental problems. The next patch is scheduled to be released today, July 17, 2024, at 12 PM.

However, due to these urgently needed works on the fundamentals, there has been no time so far to implement crucial missing features – such as the previously mentioned currency or a recycling system that allows players to dismantle items created solely for leveling. The combat system still has much room for improvement. And Pax Dei hardly ever feels like an MMO.

The community is working hard

This delay in content and feature updates comes at a price. During prime time, only about 4,000 players are currently online in Pax Dei on Steam instead of 11,500 (via steamcharts.com). On YouTube, Loki464 reports on how challenging it is to continue motivating guild members to log in regularly.

For example, his guild has introduced its own currency through Discord that can be earned through activities in the game. In addition, the community regularly hosts projects and events to give members something to do and to promote professions that can currently produce little.

The perfect place for virtual strolls

The amount of time and energy the community has already invested in the first weeks of the Early Access phase of Pax Dei becomes evident as soon as you log in and look into the distance. Majestic castles line up next to magnificent villas, scattered mills, and quaint villages.

Across wide rivers, comfortable bridges suddenly span, their torches illuminating the dark night. Stone fortifications sit atop mountain peaks, casting their shadows over the valley. Sounds great, right? And it looks fantastic thanks to Unreal Engine 5 and the enormous visibility range.

And that is what has brought me the most joy in Pax Dei so far: strolling through the great medieval game world to collect resources while taking in the impressive works of the community. Also inspecting the interior from the basement to the attic for inspiration for my own wooden hut. It’s just a shame that the owners are so rarely online.

Cemetery of construction sites

In the game world itself, I only encounter other players sporadically. I already mentioned above: The numbers are declining; many interested players have turned their backs on the Early Access version or are currently enjoying summer.

Another result of this: among all the creative large projects, dozens of small construction sites are scattered about, consisting of little more than a few workstations, a fire, and some crates. There are also various other plots with unfinished houses, towers, and castles. It’s like walking through a cemetery of construction sites. That has its own charm in a way.

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So my interim assessment is mixed: While the foundation of Pax Dei was refined in the first month of Early Access, crucial features and improvements are still missing. However, the constant patches and updates from the developers also show that the team is motivated to turn Pax Dei into a good sandbox MMO.

However, this will take time. Will the community have that much patience? A game that places such a focus on cooperation to carry out large building and crafting projects needs a large and active player base. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see server consolidations soon.

What are your experiences with the Early Access version of Pax Dei? Are you part of a large community that is involved in such massive projects? Let us know in the comments! More information about the sandbox MMO can be found here: Pax Dei has started Early Access – Everything important about the scope, system requirements, price, roadmap

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