Neverness to Everness version 1.0’s second half launches May 13, 2026 with Hotori’s banner, a free battle pass event, and the single best quality-of-life fix the game has shipped since launch. Pinkpaw’s Heist escape points no longer close randomly mid-run, Jiuyuan’s heal actually works now, and players who couldn’t drive specific cars for literal years because of a cooldown bug can finally get back on the road.
If you’ve been waiting for Hotori or just grinding Fons for the next limited character, this patch also drops 300 gems as maintenance compensation plus 10 standard pulls sent directly from Hotori herself. The new Contract event lets you pick any character you own, complete daily tasks with them for two weeks, and walk away with roughly 300 gem pulls and 60,000 Fons without opening your wallet.
NTE Version 1.0 (Phase 2): Patch & Event Tracker
| Category | Item / Feature | Details | Tactical Advice |
| New Banner | Hotori (S-Rank) | May 13 – June 3 | Milestone rewards at 50, 120, and 200 pulls. |
| Event | Contract Event | 18-Level Battle Pass | Don’t pick MC: Use a character you are currently building. |
| Rewards | Maintenance | 300 Gems + 10 Pulls | Check in-game mail immediately after login. |
| Heist Fix | Pinkpaw’s Heist | 6 Fixed Exits | Exits no longer close mid-run; plan your routes! |
| Major Fix | Car Key Bug | Cooldown Reset | All 99,999s lockout timers have been cleared. |
| Buff | Jiuyuan (Support) | Heal Scaling Fixed | She is now a viable S-tier support for sustain teams. |
| Farming | Easter Egg Quest | 20k Fons Reward | Visit crashed car near Music Boss (1 PM – 5 PM). |
Hotori Banner Goes Live May 13 With Three Milestone Rewards
Hotori becomes the second limited S-Rank character in Neverness to Everness starting May 13, 2026, with her banner running through June 3. The milestone system works exactly like Nanally’s banner, meaning you earn cosmetic rewards at 50, 120, and 200 pulls.
At 50 pulls, you unlock an umbrella glider skin that works on every character except Aurelia. Unlike Aurelia’s exclusive glider, this one transfers across your entire roster. At 120 pulls, you get a Blizzard V4 bike skin, and at 200 pulls, you receive Hotori’s character outfit (which absolutely does not look like a specific other gacha character, according to players who have definitely noticed).
None of these cosmetics include special effects or unique animations, so if you’re only pulling for visual upgrades, manage expectations. The outfit is nice, but it’s the same tier as Nanally’s 200-pull skin.
There’s also a new $15 bundle in the shop that gives you 10 exclusive Hotori dice, matching the pattern Perfect World established with the first limited banner. If you’re planning to pull anyway and want a slight boost, it’s there. If you’re free-to-play, the Contract event is about to hand you enough resources to make serious progress.
Contract Event Gives You 300 Gem Pulls and 60K Fons for Using One Character
The Contract event is basically a free 18-level battle pass that runs for two weeks starting when Hotori drops. You pick one character at the start (anyone you own), lock in your choice, and complete daily and limited-time tasks using only that character.
Daily tasks refresh every day and include things like clearing Rabbit Hole content, giving a gift, visiting Nakupa’s Fountain, exploring the Witch’s House, taking a photo, claiming coffee shop rewards, and defeating eight enemies. Limited tasks are one-time objectives you can knock out over the full two-week window, such as running heists and finishing specific story content.
Total rewards add up to roughly 300 gems worth of pulls (180 from one set of tasks plus 120 from another) and 60,000 Fons. For context, that’s enough Fons to buy one of the mid-tier vehicle skins or save toward a future character if you’re hoarding resources.
The catch is you have to pick your Contract character smart. Once you confirm your selection, you’re locked in for the entire event. If you randomly pick someone you never use, you’ll waste time leveling them just to finish daily tasks. Pick a character you’re already building or someone you genuinely want to invest in. You cannot pick the main character (MC) because the event treats MC as the person forming contracts, not the one being contracted.
A second event is scheduled to launch between May 21 and May 28, appearing during the final week of the patch. Details on that event haven’t been officially shared yet, but expect it to follow the same pattern of combat objectives and rewards tied to the current banner cycle.
Pinkpaw’s Heist Escape Points No Longer Close Mid-Run
This is the update everyone who farms Pinkpaw’s Heist has been asking for since launch. Escape points have been completely overhauled. Instead of exits randomly closing while you’re mid-heist, the game now spawns exactly six escape points at the start of each round, and all six stay open for the entire run.
When you load into a heist, some escape points will be closed by default, but the six that spawn open will never close. If you run past an open exit and remember where it is, you can loop back to it later without worrying it vanished while you were grabbing loot. This removes the worst RNG element from the mode and lets you actually plan routes instead of gambling on whether your nearest exit will still exist when you need it.
The change makes Pinkpaw’s Heist feel like a skill-based stealth mode instead of a dice roll. If you’ve been avoiding heists because the random exit closures kept getting you caught, this patch fixes that problem entirely.
Jiuyuan’s Heal Actually Works Now
Jiuyuan (also called Gio Yen depending on localization) has been bugged since launch, with her healing effect either not triggering correctly or healing for amounts that didn’t match her kit description. The patch notes confirm this was a known issue and that it’s been fixed.
If you’ve been running Jiuyuan and wondering why she felt underwhelming compared to other supports, this is why. Her heal should now work as intended, making her a legitimate option for sustain-heavy teams. Test her in Rabbit Hole or Tower of Adversity content and see if the numbers finally line up with what her abilities say they should do.
Car Key Cooldown Bug That Bricked Accounts Is Gone
Some players hit a game-breaking bug where their car keys registered cooldowns exceeding 99,999 seconds, effectively locking them out of driving specific vehicles. The bug persisted even after logging out and back in, meaning certain cars were just unusable until the developers intervened.
This patch resets all broken cooldown timers back to normal. If you’ve been stuck walking everywhere because one of your favorite cars became inaccessible, you can drive it again after this update goes live. The bug only affected specific vehicles per account, so most players could still drive other cars, but for anyone who lost access to a limited or paid vehicle skin, this fix matters.
Shop Owner Stages Got Nerfed After Player Complaints
Stages 1-5, 2-5, and 3-4 in the Shop Owner minigame have been made easier based on player feedback. If you’ve been stuck on any of those levels, the difficulty reduction should help you push through without needing perfect execution or specific character builds.
The patch notes don’t specify what changed mechanically, just that the stages were adjusted downward. This likely means enemy health pools, damage output, or objective timers were relaxed. If you own Python (a character referenced in the video as trivializing Shop Owner content), you probably won’t notice the difference, but for players without strong DPS units, this matters.
Other Fixes That Clean Up Annoying Bugs
The patch also addresses several smaller issues that have been frustrating players since launch:
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Hospital Anomaly floor collision fixed: Players kept falling through the map in the hospital area. That collision bug has been patched, so you should no longer clip through floors mid-fight.
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Anomaly furniture auto-sweep reset bug: Some accounts weren’t getting their auto-sweep feature to reset properly for Anomaly furniture farming. This has been corrected.
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Overworld mob drops not appearing: Certain player accounts weren’t receiving loot drops from enemies killed in the open world. This is now fixed.
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Nani’s basic attack loop bug: Using Nani’s special ability caused her basic attacks to continuously loop without player input. This has been resolved.
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Natalie co-op physics bug: In co-op sessions, Natalie would randomly fall through the map or fly into the sky. The patch fixes this issue.
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Tower of Adversity buff duration errors: Some buffs in the Abyss-style Tower of Adversity mode had incorrect duration values. These have been corrected.
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Aurelia city skill description update: Aurelia’s city ability description has been updated to accurately reflect what the skill does.
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Photo mode border toggle: You can now disable borders in photo mode if you want cleaner screenshots.
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Co-op recommendation feature: The game now includes a matchmaking recommendation system to help you find co-op partners more easily.
Hidden Side Quest Unlocks 20K Fons If You Know When to Check
There’s a hidden Easter egg side quest tied to a crashed car near the music boss location in the city. If you visit the area between 1:00 PM and 5:00 PM (likely in-game time, though the patch notes don’t specify real-world or game-world time), you can collect a quest item and complete a short objective chain that rewards roughly 20,000 Fons.
This isn’t a huge payout compared to other farming methods, but it’s free money for showing up at the right time. Mark the location on your map and swing by during the time window to grab it.
New Car Skin Costs 5 Million Fons and Performs Worse Than You’d Expect
A new animated car skin for 5 million Fons (or 1,680 paid currency) has been added to the shop. The skin features Hotori artwork and includes animated visual effects, which is rare for NTE vehicle cosmetics.
The problem is the car itself handles poorly compared to other vehicles in the same class. Unless you’re specifically collecting every Hotori-themed item or you want the animated skin for screenshots, this is not worth the Fons investment. Save your currency for character pulls or future limited items instead.
If you absolutely want it, wait until you’ve completed the Contract event and see how much Fons you have left over. Spending 5 million on a cosmetic for a low-tier vehicle is a tough sell when that currency could go toward future weapon or character upgrades.
What to Do First When Servers Come Back Online
Log in immediately after maintenance ends to claim your 300 gems and 10 standard pulls from the in-game mail. These rewards expire or get buried under other notifications if you wait too long.
Start the Contract event and pick a character you’re already building or someone you’ve been meaning to level. If you’re planning to pull for Hotori, wait until you have her before locking in your Contract choice so you can use her to complete all the daily tasks.
Run a Pinkpaw’s Heist to test the new escape point system and confirm it feels better than the old RNG closures. If you’ve been avoiding heists because of the frustration factor, this is the patch that makes them playable.
Check your car keys and make sure any previously bugged vehicles are accessible again. If you lost access to a paid skin or limited vehicle, confirm the cooldown timer reset properly.
