After a little bit more digging, and reading some of your theories on Discord, I've discovered that the gem in the polaroid was, in fact, an accessory of Chiara's.



Chiara, the Fallen, will head over to Lumia Island sometime during the Open Beta. She's bringing her trusty bible to the island, ready to condemn her enemies. Looks like she also found some time to stop at the hair salon - that pink/blue dye job is looking brilliant if I do say so myself.

We'll be displaying some more of Chiara in the future, so be sure to stick around. You can pop into the Official Discord Server as well for quick updates.

The game will be undergoing maintenance today at 10PM PDT. It is expected to last for about 10 minutes.
(Maintenance may be extended if needed, please check our announcements for more information)

The Hotfix will fix the following issues:

• Hyejin passive skill after being downed was applying fear with only 1 stack instead of 3.
  
• In some areas, skillshots were being shot in unexpected directions.

No more keys needed, just you and the island. Download the Open Beta right from the steam store here!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1049590/Eternal_Return_Black_Survival/

You can jump right in and play whenever the servers are open - you can check the server schedule right here: https://playeternalreturn.com/schedule

Servers open everyday from July 29th 2 AM PST to September 22nd 9 PM PST
KR server: 2 AM to 10 AM PDT
NA server: 4 PM to 10 PM PDT
(EU and SA servers open in between for Custom Games and vs IA modes only)

We’ve got a couple of events going on during the Open Beta. Join in and win some sweet sweet Steam Gift Cards!
See here for some more details:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1049590/announcements/detail/4096538607434363341

We’ve made some changes to the game since the CBT, check out all the patch notes here:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1049590/announcements/detail/4096538607433470538

There’s also still some time left to pick up a Founder pack and back the game! You’ll get some really cool stuff, so check it out while you still can!

Founders can now redeem all the stuff from their packs now! We’ve sent out emails with instructions on how to do so, so be sure to check your spam folder if you haven’t seen yours yet.

We’ll have some additional info in the #founder-chat of our Discord server. See instructions on how to get your Founder role here to access this channel.

Click here to see the founder pack

Wishlisting us on Steam is ridiculously helpful for us. Please wishlist us and recommend us to your friends so we can continue to try to make the best possible game for everyone to enjoy.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1049590/Eternal_Return_Black_Survival/

For this Open Beta, we are hosting 2 events that will run for the whole test. Participate in the events to win Steam gift cards! It's simple! Either share your gameplay guide with us or submit an Eternal Return video on Youtube. See below for details about the two events:

Players can create and upload Steam guides in our Community Hub describing their build and strategy.

Every week, the creator of the guide with the most votes will receive a $10 Steam Gift Card.

*Guides can be posted until September 21st 12 AM PST, and will be reviewed each Friday. GMs will share the guides on Monday (up to 2 guides per language will be picked).

• Upload a Steam Guide on Eternal Return's Closed Beta Community Hub (https://steamcommunity.com/app/1378310/guides/), make sure it fits the requirements below! You can submit several guides during the duration of the event.
  
• Submit the link to your guide in this form:https://forms.gle/Jhr4HoJamX9QoBzW6
  
• Share your guide with the community and ask them to vote!
  
• If your guide is the most voted guide of the week, you will receive a $10 Steam Gift Card.

1. Guides must be written clearly and should contain images for better understanding.
   
2. Guides will be required to be categorized using the tags offered on Steam among the following categories:
   • Characters
     
   • Crafting
     
   • Co-op
     
   • Gameplay Basics
     
   • Walkthroughs
     
   • Weapons
3. You must select the language your guide is written in before submitting your guide.
   
4. Include your username and what the guide is about in the title (ex: "Aesop's regen Magnus guide", "Building Dual Swords like a Pro, by GeeBly")
   
5. Some tips to make you character guides per weapon great:
   • Target equipment (weapon and armor) displayed with their name and icons
     
   • A screenshot of the best route to follow
     
   • A skill point allocation chart. Example: 1E, 2Q, 3W, 4E, 5E…
     
   • Some extra tips about food, traps, cameras, combat style, etc.
6. Suggested themes for guides are: character guides and strategies on how to win in Solo, Duo or Squad modes.

Every week the best player-made Youtube content will be selected and displayed in Eternal Return's Community Highlights Youtube playlist. The content creator will receive a $10 Steam gift card.

Video selection will take place every Friday, starting August 7th. Videos submitted on a Friday will be considered for the following next week.

• Make a video about Eternal Return and upload it to your Youtube channel (make sure to add "Eternal Return" to the name of your Youtube video and to add the game category).
  
• Submit your video link to this form: https://forms.gle/9Mt6kUVJ4K9TB5Kt9
  
• Each week, one video per language (all languages are welcome) will be selected to be featured in our playlist.

1. Content must be created by you!
   
2. The title of the video should include the name of the game as whole or in its short version (ER) and the category should be under Eternal Return.
   
3. Videos created around bugs or defamatory content will be excluded from selection.
   
4. Character Gameplay, Tips, Guides, Tutorials, Outplays, etc, are highly recommended.

In the case of many high-quality videos being submitted, the selection of videos may be extended to more than one person per week.

This event will be open until the Friday after the end of the Open Beta, with the last content selection on September 25th (Friday).

Steam Gift Cards are in the currency of the country of purchase.
The Eternal Return team is located in South Korea, so Gift Cards sent to our event winners will be based on Korean Won (KRW).
The amount you will receive is converted by Steam to your currency according to the current conversion rate from KRW. This is out of our hands and is Steam policy.
For example, if sent a KRW 10,000 Steam Gift Card, you will receive approximately $8.50 USD.

[Note] Steam provides Gift Cards in KRW as follows:

• KRW 5,000
  
• KRW 10,000
  
• KRW 25,000
  
• KRW 50,000
  
• KRW 100,000

Lumia Island welcomes its 12th character: Hyejin!

• When Hyejin hits an enemy with a skill, they receive a calamity. Upon reaching 3 stacks, Three Calamities is activated, fearing them for 1/1.5/2 seconds. Feared enemies cannot receive Three Calamities again for 5 seconds.

• Hyejin casts a Charm of Despair in the targeted direction, dealing 100/125/150/175/200 (+0.3 AP) damage to the first enemy hit, and reducing their movement speed by 50% for 1 second.
  
• She can recast the skill to cast another charm.
  
• Cooldown: 20/18/16/14/12s, Recast Time: 2s, range 11.75m

• Hyejin summons a Charm of the Prophecy in the targeted location that stays at the location for up to 3 seconds. Charm of Prophecy ignites after the max time, or if the skill is activated again, dealing damage to enemies in range and rooting them for 1 second.
  
• Charm of the Prophecy damage increases while on the ground, dealing 15/20/25/30/35(+0.3 AP) to 140/205/270/335/400(+0.3 AP) damage.

• Hyejin casts a Charm of the Nomad in the targeted location, dealing 45/70/95/120/145(+0.3 AP) damage to enemies hit.
  
• Activating the skill again teleports Hyejin to the location of Charm of the Nomad, dealing 45/70/95/120/145(+0.3 AP) damage to enemies upon landing.

• Hyejin focuses for 1 second, summoning 5 Omens, and dealing 150/275/400(+0.7 AP) damage to enemies in an area around her.
  
• The Omens spin around Hyejin for 20 seconds, each dealing 100/140/180(+0.5 AP) damage to enemies hit. Omens are consumed after hitting an enemy.
  
• While focusing, her movement speed is reduced by 30%. Hyejin can teleport to her Charm of the Nomad location while focusing.

• Character and wild animal collision range increased. All skill shot's hitboxes have been improved.
  
• Character “peeking range” is now wider, making it easier to target an enemy.
  
• Targeting range of melee weapons with Attack Move (A + click) increased, making kiting for melee weapons a bit smoother.
  
• Corrected a targeting error due to differences in terrain. Fixed a bug where skill direction was slightly wrong when your mouse was in a location that was higher/lower than your character, like buildings.
  
• Corrected an issue with incorrect projectile trajectories if the projectile's length or width differed from the skill area indicator.
  
• Branches, stones, and potatoes are not affected by collision anymore. You can step on these collectibles or use movement skills without being blocked.

With Duo and Squad modes, we also introduced the "downed" state. We realized that this "downed state" could use some more clarity.

• When downing an opponent, it will count as a "Kill", and most of the effects related to enemy kills will be activated: players will gain experience from eliminating a player - including weapon and armor masteries and player kill count will increase. Effects that are activated on kills will also be applied once you down an enemy. (ex: Jackie's passive)
  
• When "full killing" a player in a downed state, kill effects and passives will not be activated. You will only be able to loot items from their corpse.
  
• For the cases without Downed state (Solo mode, Last remaining survivor on a team), killing an enemy will grant you XP and effects from kills.

• From now on, traps and cameras will have a special HP bar consisting of 6-8 "segments" (twice the amount of the previous HP it had).
  
• Each weapon will have different ways of taking out summoned objects.
  
• Melee, throwing, and shuriken normal attacks will remove 3 segments of the HP bar. Dual swords and other ranged attacks will remove 2 segments. Assault Rifle attacks will remove 1 segment.

This update focuses more on improving small features. The upcoming updates will bring much more additions to team modes.

• Actions of team members will be displayed with different colors marked on the minimap.
  
• When one of your teammates uses the Hyperloop, the arrival destination will be displayed in chat.
  
• Ping shapes like the question mark and exclamation mark are made a bit more intuitive.
  
• Wild animals now don't attack downed enemies.

• Wickeline
  • Buff for killing Wickeline: 60+(Wickeline level-15) * 10 every 3 second —> 120 + (Wickeline level - 15) * 20
    
  • Partially added Wickeline's voice lines.
• Wild dog
  • Probability of dropping Lighter and Gunpowder increased 2x.
    
  • Attacks per second 1 → 0.9
• Wolf
  Attack power per level 20 → 22 (Initial AP 40 → 44)

We're adjusting masteries that have a high average compared to other masteries in order to smooth differences in player levels during a match. We also slightly increased the team mode bonus when losing a teammate.

• Crafting Mastery
  • Crafting XP reduced: Uncommon (300 —> 200), Rare (500—>350), Epic (800 —> 600), Legendary (1300 —> 1000)
• Search Mastery reduced
  • Collectibles 200 —> 160, Air Supplies 420 —> 350, Boxes 90 —> 80
• Movement Mastery
  
• Mastery gained for moving into a new area reduced 200 —> 180
  
• XP gained for killing a player reduced: 300 + 100 —> 200 per level of the dead player + 60 per level of the dead player
  
• Bonus XP per level difference with the highest level player: 12% → 15%
  
• Bonus XP in team mode following teammates that died 12%/25% → 15%/30%

• Zoom in/out on minimap: default shortcuts set to + and - keys.
  
• Toggle nickname/HP/SP feature: no default shortcut set. You can set this shortcut in the game settings.

• Tonfa weapon skill: Quick Spin
  • Damage returned before reduced defense 100/130% —> 50/70%
    
  • Now immune to damage but does not block status effects

We are trying to balance out Jackie, who can use 4 different weapons, so that she has similar effects with every weapon. We're going to increase stability for the relatively weak two-handed sword and dual swords, while adjusting core items for the relatively strong dagger.
Activating Bloodfest is one of the reasons for Jackie's weakness in team modes. The goal is to be compensated because it is more difficult, and important, to put the enemy into a downed state than attacking a downed enemy.

• Bloodfest will now be activated when downing an enemy in team modes.
  
• Jackie's two-handed sword normal attack speed increased: 0.625 → 0.65 per second.
  
• Adrenaline Burst (W)
  • HP Regen 10/16/22/28/34 —> 12/19/26/33/40

Nadine has become slightly too dependent on Monkey Wire (E) and Wolf Assault (R).
Our goal is to tone down her ult power and encourage the use of Bullseye (Q) and Squirrel Trap(W). The expansion of collision range and the improvement of traps will also help these two skills.

• Nadine bow normal attack speed reduced: 0.825 → 0.8 per second
  
• Stack of wild acquisition ratio
  • Bat, Boar 6/7/8 —> 5/6/7
    
  • Wild Dog, Wolf 10/12/14 —> 8/10/12
    
  • Bear 14/17/20 —> 12/15/18
• Bullseye (Q)
  • Now pierces through enemies.
    
  • Movement speed reduction 30% —> 20%
    
  • Min. damage 60/95/130/165/200 → 70/115/160/205/250
    
  • Max. damage 120/190/260/330/400 → 140/230/320/410/500
    
  • Attack power ratio 0.5 → 0.6
• Squirrel Trap (W)
  • Activation time after installation: 3s —> 0.3s
    
  • HP: 8 segments → 9 segments
• Wolf Assault (R)
  • Duration 10/15/20s —> 8/9/10s
    
  • Cooldown 60/50/40s —> 90/75/60s
    
  • Fixed the bug where the wolf would jump out… weirdly.

• Damage dealt by Aya in team mode reduced by 5%.
  
• Aya's Assault Riffle normal attack speed increased: 0.625 → 0.64 per second
  
• Steady Shot (W) Attack power ratio 0.5/0.55/0.6/0.65/0.7 —> 0.4/0.45/0.5/0.55/0.6

• Hyunwoo tonfa normal attack speed reduced: 0.625 → 0.62 per second

• Magnus Bat normal attack speed reduced: 0.625 → 0.64 per second

• Damage received by Fiora in team mode reduced by 5%.
  
• Fiora two-handed sword normal attack speed increased: 0.725 → 0.75 per second

• Isol Assault Rifle normal attack speed increased: 0.625 → 0.64 per second

• Fixed a bug in which Tipsy would block trap damage.

• Yuki two-handed sword normal attack speed reduced: 0.625 → 0.62 per second
  
• From Head to Toe (Q) normal attack damage 40/80/120/160/200 —> 30/60/90/120/150

• Magnum-Boa
  • Attack Power 70 → 80
• Electron Blaster
  • Extra Normal Attack Damage 25 → 28

• Tac-50
  • Attack Power 160 → 155
• Polaris
  • Attack Power 145 → 140

• Durendal Mk2
  • Attack Power 38 → 43
• Joyeuse
  • Critical Strike Damage increase 35 → 50%

• Gentian Silver Gun
  • Attack Power 90 → 95

• Wonderful Tonight
  • Attack Power 75 → 90
• Purple Haze
  • Attack Power 75 → 85

• Bloodwing Knuckles
  • Attack Power 48 → 53
• Divine Fist
  • Attack Power 30 → 35
• Imperial Silk Gloves
  • Movement Speed 0.1 → 0.2
• Frost Petal Hand
  • Attack Power 30 → 27

• Scythe
  • Attack Power 135 → 130

• Carnwennan
  • Extra Normal Attack Damage 50 → 40

• Dioscuri
  • Attack Power 33 → 38

• Mallet
  • Attack Power 80 → 90
• Statue of Soteria
  • Attack Power 70 → 85

• Hammer of Thor
  • Attack Power 100 → 120

• Elemental Bow
  • Skill Amplification 75 → 55

• Wind and Fire Wheels
  • Attack Power 85 → 70
• Apricot Flower Tag
  • Attack Power 60 → 50
• Dharma Chakram
  • Attack Power 50 → 42
• Flechette
  • Attack Power 90 → 80

• Helm of Banneret
  • Defense 20 → 15
• Crystal Tiara
  • Defense 20 → 17
• Chinese Opera Mask
  • Max SP 150 → 300

• Dragon Dobok
  • Range increase +1m
    
  • Defense 15 → 10
• Military Suit
  • Normal Attack Damage Reduction 12 → 10
• Bulletproof Vest
  • Normal Attack Damage Reduction 23 → 20
• Battle Suit
  • Normal Attack Damage Reduction 23 → 20
    
  • Defense 15 → 18
• Optical Camouflage Suit
  • Skill Damage Reduction 25% → 22%
• EOD Suit
  • Normal Attack Damage Reduction 26 → 20
    
  • Defense 10 → 15

• Maverick Runner
  • Attack Speed 10% added
• EOD Boots
  • Defense 24 → 21

• Glacial Ice
  • Skill Amplification 30 → 20
• White Crane Fan
  • Skill Amplification 16 → 19

• Feature to skip dialogue added
  
• Box images replaced in the 1st tutorial (multiple box images now shown)
  
• Reduced the number of targeted items in the 4th tutorial and improved guides on basic gameplay features like the yellow triangle on icons, quick craft, etc.
  
• Crafting guide added for materials of the first 3 areas in the 5th tutorial
  
• Greatly decreased the number of bots dying in restricted areas
  
• Bot locations indicated on the minimap in the 5th tutorial

• Duo and Squad mode added.
  
• Custom Games chat added in the lobby.

• Added a feature to receive notifications/rewards.

• You can now access our Customer Service platform in the game settings.

• Partially fixed the bug with transparent characters.
  
• Fixed a bug that made it impossible to craft an equipment + a material that had more than 2 copies with a full inventory, in addition to making the equipment slot unavailable.
  
• Fixed the bug that made it impossible to craft new equipment or gain equipment from a corpse.
  
• Fixed the bug that applied Attack Move outside of the vision range at night.
  
• Fixed the bug that hid the security console icon in Hospital.
  
• Fixed the bug that prevented the game from starting when selecting a character from the free rotation that was not owned.
  
• Fixed the bug where Ctrl + click pin wasn’t being removed with the Delete key.
  
• Fixed the bug that let two different team members revive the same downed teammate at the same time.
  
• Fixed the bug where after hitting an enemy with Dual Sword Rampage and reactivating the skill a second time, it allowed for continuous activation.

Ok. I was wrong. The pens weren't for note taking or writing reports, they were used for Sissela to draw her best friend, Wilson! I guess when Sisella was leaving the ER to join ER she dropped them on the ground..



Sissela, the Incurable Patient will be joining the ranks on Lumia along with her good friend Wilson (who also happens to be looking pretty expressive). Sissela is still rockin' the eye patch and handcuff necklace! ..did she steal it from Aya?

Stick around for more content for Sissela, and other characters, in the near future! Also, be sure to let us know your thoughts on the Official Discord Server

Quick note: Sissela will not be playable immediately at the start of the Open Beta, but will be unlockable a few weeks after.

We got some good news and some bad news. Bad news first: Eternal Return's CBT is over :sad:
Good news: the Open Beta will begin in about a week! You'll be able to pop back onto Lumia Island in no time (July 29th).

Thank you all for playing the CBT, you've helped us improve the game immensely over a short period of time, and we have a ton of more fantastic improvements along the way.

There's still some time left to pick up the Founder Pack and get some exclusive bonuses before the start of Open Beta!

Show your support by becoming a backer for Eternal Return!
Not only will this help to develop the game but you can also get really cool perks.

Click here to see the founder pack

Wishlisting us on Steam is ridiculously helpful for us. Please wishlist us and recommend us to your friends so we can continue to try to make the best possible game for everyone to enjoy.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1049590/Black_Survival_Eternal_Return/

Don’t miss out on any Eternal Return happenings! Subscribe to our monthly newsletter for updates right to your inbox.

And, as always,

After the current server slot closes, we'll have 3 openings left before we take a week off. Then, we'll be back with the Open Beta on the 29th!


KR server: July 21st from 2 AM to 6 AM PST (Squad mode)
NA server: July 21st from 6 PM to 9 PM PST (Squad mode)

You still have time to test it by getting a key here: #get-your-key🔑

Or participate in our events here:

https://steamcommunity.com/games/1049590/announcements/detail/2469609972665411020

Wishlisting us on Steam is ridiculously helpful for us. Please wishlist us and recommend us to your friends so we can continue to try to make the best possible game for everyone to enjoy.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1049590/Black_Survival_Eternal_Return/

GM Aesop here with the last bit of Hyejin news until she is playable at the start of Open Beta on July 29th.

Today, we're gonna take an early look at her skills and abilities in Eternal Return! Let's check 'em out:




When Hyejin hits an enemy 3 times with a skill, Three Calamities is activated, fearing them.

Feared enemies cannot receive Three Calamities again for a certain time.





Hyejin casts a Charm of Despair in the targeted direction, dealing damage to the first enemy hit, and reducing their movement speed.

She can recast the skill to cast another charm.




Hyejin summons a Charm of the Prophecy in the targeted location that stays at the location for a certain time. Charm of Prophecy ignites after the max time, or if the skill is activated again, dealing damage to enemies in range and rooting them.

Charm of the Prophecy damage increases while on the ground.





Hyejin casts a Charm of the Nomad in the targeted location, dealing damage to enemies hit.

Activating the skill again teleports Hyejin to the location of Charm of the Nomad, dealing damage to enemies upon landing.




Hyejin focuses for 1 second, summoning 5 Omens, and dealing damage to enemies in an area around her. The Omens spin around Hyejin for a certain time, each dealing damage to enemies hit. Omens are consumed after hitting an enemy.

While focusing, her movement speed is reduced. Hyejin can teleport to her Charm of the Nomad location while focusing.

Hey everyone, after putting on my best detective hat, I investigated and found out that the "logo" was actually XiuKai's signature hat!



The jolly Juggernaut Chef has a dumpling-like logo emblazoned on a lot of his equipment, like his knife and shield -- even his sandals! Perhaps it's a testament to his favorite food? He's also rocking a nice red/gold color scheme, repping his home country of China.

If you smell something delicious on Lumia Island, you might want to run away from it. Chances are it's XiuKai and he's coming for ya'.

You think he might use that wok for his skills? Let us know your thoughts on our Official Discord