PWI Genesis

Genesis is the fourth expansion for Perfect World International. It was officially announced on October 22nd, 2010 and released on March 2nd, 2011. It was initially announced to be released in the last week of February in 2011, but due to final polishes for the expansion, it was delayed to March 2nd. The main feature of the expansion was the release of the Earthguard race, along with two new classes - the mystic and seeker. Guild Bases were also released.

Many features did not make the expansion; along with Guild Bases, a 40v40 Faction Battle system had been briefly described in some news posts but it was never released to the game. There were also no new dungeons in the expansion despite them being announced initially.

Story

"There will be a time when the beautiful world will cease to exist as we know it today.

The land of Perfect World will suffer destruction the likes of which has never been seen. The world will be torn apart, leaving massive crevasses across its surface. The oceans will rage with turmoil and the tides will swallow everything in their path. The races of the world, thrown into chaos, will not understand what is happening to their beautiful world."

The time of the prophecy has come.

However, within the depths of the underground, an ancient race of people with arcane powers and innate psychic abilities has foreseen the coming of this post-apocalyptic world. In knowing the future, they have dedicated their lives to prepare for such a day. The time has now come for them to emerge from the underground. They must join the other races of Perfect World and fight alongside them through the coming disaster.

Players will be able to participate in helping to restore the world back to its Perfect state. What changes has the destruction brought upon our Perfect World? What new challenges await you? Prepare yourself for Genesis!

News Releases

Several news releases were made specifically for the expansion.

On October 22nd, 2010, Perfect World revealed the expansion on its official site. It announced many of the new features, such as the Earthguard race, the seeker and mystic classes, new areas, dungeons, monsters, gear, and Guild Bases. Some concept art was also teased. No release date was announced at this point.

Several more news posts appeared on the official site later on showcasing the various features.

• October 26th, 2010: The two new classes were revealed, showing for the first time how these classes would look through concept art.
• November 2nd, 2010: The Earthguard seeker was showcased. The seeker was described as a dominant warrior who deftly manipulates a colossal blade; their sword skills a sight to behold. In the post, it was revealed that seekers would have blade engravings, attack stances, afflictions, and a ranged attack named Blade Blastwave (likely renamed to Ion Spike).
• December 9th, 2010: A teaser site and a CG trailer were both announced. This teaser site is only available on internet archives. The teaser site detailed the major new features coming to the game, as well as some screenshots and concept art. At this point a release date was also announced - February 2011.
• January 4th, 2011: New unique dances for the two classes were shown. The dances were unique in that they were motion captured. It also teased the release of special dances activated by wearing certain fashion sets. These fashion sets were later revealed as the Sapphire Set for males and females in a later news post.
• January 11th, 2011: A few of the seeker's skills were revealed, along with short videos of the skill animations. The skills shown were Northern Sky Sword (renamed to Northern Sky Waltz), Heart Burning Sword (renamed to Soul Shatter), and Lord of Sword (renamed to Yataghan Vortex).
• January 18th, 2011: A special behind the scenes video was created to give players insight into the development process of the expansion.
• January 18th, 2011: A few of the mystic's skills were revealed, along with short videos of the skill animations. The skills shown were Soul Absorb (renamed to Absorb Soul), Cloud and Mist (renamed to Comforting Mist), and Valiant Avatar Emerges (renamed to Devil Chihyu).
• February 1st, 2011: The Runecrafting feature was showcased. The new crafting skill was described to be able to create consumable items that apply buffs to a weapon of your choice.
• February 1st, 2011: A new official release date was announced - March 2nd, 2011. Originally the expansion was due to release in the last week of February, meaning that the expansion was delayed by a week. A new gameplay trailer was also revealed in the post. This gameplay trailer was also shown in another post made on February 8th, 2011 which did not include any new information about the expansion.
• February 15th, 2011: An overview of Guild Bases were revealed. It described how to create a Guild Base, the currencies used within the base, and the five wings inside the base. It also made a brief mention of 40 vs 40 Faction Wars, however this feature was never released.
• February 22nd, 2011: A general sum up of each of the main additions and changes coming to the game was posted. On the same day, a Dev Diary post was made which included a short video on the main features coming to the game.

Just hours before the day of the release on March 2nd, 2011, multiple blog posts were made to the official site. One such post revealed the flyers that Earthguards would use - kites. They had been previously mentioned in the teaser site, but had seldom been shown other than in trailer videos. These flyers were released to the Boutique. The second blog post announced the release of the expansion.

Notable Features

Main article: Genesis Patch Notes

Additions

• New Race: A whole new world opens up as a new race rises from below. Experience Perfect World through the eyes of the Earthguard.
• 2 New Classes - Become a heavy sword wielding Seeker, or the magical Mystics who summon monsters to fight by their side!
  • The Earthguard will receive their Demon/Sage content in a future update.
• New Area: There is new land to explore, stretching along the south-west area of the map, including the Earthguard starter city Tellus City.
• New Manufacturing skill: Runecrafting. Used to create runes which can buff players through their weapons.
• Guild Bases added. Level 3 Factions can now set up their own base of operations. Inside this base your faction will have access to exclusive daily events and be able to craft powerful items found only inside the base.
• Leveling Guide added. Whenever you level up, you will now be greeted with help text that gives you suggestions about mobs you should kill, gear you should obtain, and quests you should complete.
• The UI has had a complete overhaul, along with a slightly-tweaked font.

Changes

• Territory Wars changes:
  • There are 5 new territories for factions to fight over.
  • The Territory Map has been reset to default.
  • Territory War rewards have been reverted; now instead of rewarding Mirage Celestones, territories will now reward Ten Million Big Notes, depending on their tier.
• Items in the Supply Stash have been updated with several new items. Please note that some gear now have a time duration.
• Minor localization changes.

Known Issues

• Territory Wars: While the rewards remain as 10 Million Big Notes, the text on the TW map still says Mirage Celestones. This will be fixed in a future update.
• The Event Calendar has been disabled for the time being. This will be returning in a future update.
• Duke Blacke is once again shouting an overwhelming amount. This will be fixed in a future update.

Videos

In-game Previews

Dances:

• Earthguard Dance - Female Mystic
• Earthguard Dance - Female Seeker
• Earthguard Dance - Male Mystic
• Earthguard Dance - Male Seeker
• PWI Genesis: Sapphire Set + Barb

Skills:

• PWI: Genesis - Northern Sky Sword (Seeker)
• PWI: Genesis - Heart Burning Sword (Seeker)
• PWI: Genesis - Lord Of Sword (Seeker)
• PWI: Genesis - Soul Absorb (Mystic)
• PWI: Genesis - Cloud and Mist (Mystic)
• PWI: Genesis - Valiant Avatar Emerges (Mystic)

Images

Screenshots

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  Tellus City.

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  Spire of Awakening.

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  Tellus City.

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  Spire of Awakening.

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  An Earthguard wearing the Sapphire Set.

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  Spire of Awakening.

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  A weapon with a rune applied to it.

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  A weapon with a rune applied to it.

Concept Art

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  The mystic.

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  The seeker.

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References

Expansions
PWI The Lost Empire PWI Age of Spirits PWI Rising Tide PWI Genesis PWI Descent PWI Sirens of War PWI New Horizons PWI Eclipse PWI War Front PWI Elysium PWI Neverfall PWI Wonderland PWI Redemption PWI Wings of Rebirth PWI Northern Realms PWI Dawnlight PWI The Wildwalker PWI Fountain of Fate PWI Divine Fury PWI Seal the Sky