NTE 1.3: three activities added to Hethereau's Hobbies — and "Shadow Hide-and-Seek" now costs Urban Stamina

A zone and a banner don't sum up the update rolled out on August 19 for NTE: Neverness to Everness. Hotta Studio is also grafting three brand-new activities onto the "Hetheral Hobbies," the category that gathers the game's city-life mini-games.

The detail not to miss, because it changes the way you spend your day: one of the three now costs Urban Stamina, the game's time resource, whereas it used to be free. Here's what's coming, and what it changes in your budget.

"Volleyball Star": the only activity that's also a dated event

This is the most visible addition, because it exists in two forms. On one hand, a permanent activity added to the Hetheral Hobbies. On the other, a limited-time event of the same name, open since the end of maintenance and until September 30 at 5:59 AM (UTC+8), i.e. September 29 at 11:59 PM Paris time.

The premise is described plainly by the studio: "sun, sand, and volleyball! Dig your bare feet into the fine sand and coordinate with your teammates to spike and defend the ball." So it's a team game, with attack and defense.

The event's rewards are listed in black and white:

• the event avatar frame "Summer Splendor";
• the event nameplate "Imaginist Court";
• Annuliths, Crafted Dice, Fons;
• Floe Cinema Tickets, Elite Hunter's Guides, and Chaotic Dye.

One point deserves highlighting: the Weekly Match mode of "Volleyball Star" pays out earnings drawn from the Tycoon's Incentive Fund. This isn't a purely cosmetic activity — it's plugged into the city's economy.

"Going Once, Going Twice... Sold!": the most reworked activity of the bunch

This one already existed, but 1.3 overhauls it thoroughly — to the point that it appears both in the list of additions to the Hetheral Hobbies and in a long line of adjustments. The details of the changes:

• a seasonal wealth and profit ranking, with associated seasonal quests and rewards;
• a room-specific condition mechanic;
• a quick chat system with preset phrases, in-game;
• 20 new collectible items and an improved spawn algorithm;
• an adjustment to item spawn rates between sessions, and a slight increase in the spawn rate of the Eternal Heart.

The last point is the one that interests veteran players: the Eternal Heart was the activity's rare item, and its rate is going up. Hotta describes the increase as "slight" and publishes no figure — no point looking for a percentage, it doesn't exist in the official notes.

Second economic link: what your display cases passively earn, in the Collectibles Warehouse, now comes from the same pool as everything else. They still pay out — but their money now has an identified source.

"Hide and Seek in the Shadows": free yesterday, paid today

This is the most abrupt change in this version, and it's easy to miss because it fits in a single line: "Added a new Hethereau Hobbies activity: Shadow Hide-and-Seek. Each round of Shadow Hide-and-Seek now costs Urban Stamina."

The word "now" indicates that the activity existed in some form before officially joining the Hethereau Hobbies, and that its move into this category comes with a cost. In concrete terms: if you were chaining rounds without thinking about it, that's no longer possible. Each round draws from the same pool as your deliveries, taxi rides, and fishing.

The good news: Urban Stamina becomes more efficient

Two measures offset this tightening, arriving just a few days apart.

The first is structural and concerns City Tycoon level 16, whose bonus has been "improved": Urban Stamina consumption efficiency officially goes from 100% to 200%. The studio classifies this change as an improvement, which indicates that doubled throughput benefits the player — twice as many activities completed in a single session. This is an end-game progression milestone, not a fix for everyone.

The second is time-limited. The "Stamina Recharge" event runs from August 24 at 5:00 AM to August 31 at 4:59 AM, server time: for one week, "Urban Stamina is consumed with doubled efficiency in Hethereau Hobbies activities." This is exactly the window to target in order to catch up on the three new activities all at once.

Note the official wording: "server time," not UTC+8 as in the rest of the patch notes. The studio makes a distinction between the two, and for this specific event you need to go by your own server's clock.

And in "999 Nights": the Trial of Valor mode

Outside of Hethereau Hobbies, the "999 Nights" mode also gets an addition: "Trial of Valor," to try out on the Warren continent. The notes don't describe its rules, but they do give a quality-of-life indication that says a lot about the intended loop: in "999 Nights," the maximum number of pieces of equipment that can be recycled at once rises to 50, and the studio mentions "several additional quality-of-life improvements."

Raising the recycling cap to 50 items only makes sense if you're gathering a lot. It's the clearest sign that Trial of Valor is a repeatable mode, not a one-time trial.

The "Wave Challenge," for those who prefer the wheel

The last time-limited activity of this summer batch: "Wave Challenge," also open until September 30 at 5:59 AM (UTC+8). It's about races: "complete racing challenges to earn rewards, including Annuliths, Fons, Floe Cinema Tickets, Elite Hunter Guides, and Chaotic Dye."

The list largely overlaps with that of "Volleyball Star," with three exceptions: the Wave Challenge grants no avatar frame, no name card, and no crafted dice. If you're after cosmetics or dice, the priority order between the two events is therefore clear.

The order to follow this week

A simple plan to avoid wasting anything: this week, try out the three activities without pushing yourself too hard, keeping in mind that Shadow Hide-and-Seek now costs stamina. Starting August 24, when "Stamina Recharge" doubles efficiency, spend down your reserve on Hethereau Hobbies — that's where the return will be best.

And if you're aiming for the seasonal ranking of "Going Once, Going Twice… Sold!", start right away: a ranked season is played over the long haul, not over a single bonus week.