We have deployed v1.7.1, a major Challenge Rift runtime update that moves the system far beyond hub access and into a complete playable server-side loop. This release introduces the obelisk-to-rift flow, donor build transformation, Challenge Rift HUD bootstrap, boss completion handling, Edira reward logic, weekly leaderboard synchronization, and several stability guards for timers, portals, progress tracking, and profile previews.
Challenge Rift Runtime Flow
- Obelisk Portal Activation: players can now interact with the Challenge Rift obelisk inside the weekly_challenge_hub, triggering the official Challenge Rift entry flow and spawning the rift portal after a short activation delay.
- Full Rift World Entry: entering the rift world now activates the Challenge Rift run state, applies the donor build, prepares the competitive HUD, and starts the run using the weekly target timer instead of the generic Greater Rift timer.
- Challenge Rift Guardian Phase: the Rift Guardian now spawns when Challenge Rift progress reaches the required threshold, locking the progress state correctly and preventing generic Greater Rift HUD rebinding during the guardian phase.
Competitive HUD & Timer Contract
- Official Progress Bar Bootstrap: rebuilt the Challenge Rift HUD packet sequence so the client receives the required quest, counter, synced data, timed event, dungeon finder, progress, glyph, and kill counter messages only after the rift world has fully loaded.
- Correct Weekly Target Timer: the visible Challenge Rift timer now binds to the active weekly target time instead of the standard rift duration, ensuring the stopwatch and runner comparison remain aligned.
- Stable Runner Split Anchor: the green/red runner comparison now uses a fixed weekly target anchor for the entire run, preventing the bar from shrinking or jumping incorrectly during kill and orb progress updates.
- Smoother Progress Orb Behaviour: Challenge Rift progress orbs have been tuned to reduce excessive runner split jumps, creating a smoother and more readable competitive bar during active runs.
Donor Build Transformation
- Hub Entry Donor Apply: the Challenge Rift donor template now applies as soon as the player materialises in the Challenge Rift Hub, transforming skills, passives, legendary powers, level, paragon, profile data, and visual identity before the rift begins.
- Witch Doctor Test Donor Fixture: the hardcoded TestForChallenge donor has been rebuilt into a coherent Witch Doctor / Helltooth-style profile with correct active skills, passives, legendary powers, level 70, paragon 800, visual equipment, cosmetics, and Hero Details support.
- Soul Mirror & Hero Details Proxy: the server now proxies Challenge Rift donor profile data while inside the hub and rift, so the Game Settings / Soul Mirror panel shows the donor build instead of the player’s normal character.
- Safe Restore Lifecycle: original player loadout and visuals are restored after Edira reward completion, session exit, disconnect, or abandon paths, while remaining protected during hub-to-rift and floor-to-floor transitions.
- Purple Transformation FX: added a new sustained purple transformation cue on Challenge Rift Hub entry, using timed visual waves to make the donor morph feel more intentional and less like a generic explosion.
Completion, Edira Rewards & Leaderboards
- Boss Kill Completion Flow: killing the Challenge Rift Guardian now triggers the success end-screen popup, the official completion banner, timer reset, completion weather, and final run-state snapshot.
- Edira Reward Interaction: after a successful guardian kill, Edira is armed with the correct completion conversation in the Challenge Rift Hub. Speaking to her finalizes the reward flow, restores the player’s original build, and grants the configured completion rewards.
- Weekly Leaderboard Sync: Challenge Rift completion times are now recorded into the weekly leaderboard system. Better times update the active weekly target so future lobby data, in-rift timer binding, and runner split comparison remain synchronized.
- Idempotent Reward Safety: leaderboard and completion writes are protected so repeated completion calls cannot corrupt the weekly record or duplicate unstable state transitions.
Hub Practice & Portal Stability
- Challenge Rift Hub Practice Monsters: added controlled practice targets inside the Challenge Rift Hub, including small attackable packs and a larger dummy monster for skill testing before entering the rift.
- Tracked Practice Respawn: hub practice actors now respawn through tracked world actor IDs instead of global monster SNO rules, keeping the system isolated to the Challenge Rift Hub only.
- Reliable Monster Reveal: added fresh reveal passes after client load completion so hub practice monsters remain visible and targetable even when early actor reveal packets are ignored by the client.
- Clean Challenge Rift Floor Portals: Challenge Rift floor 1 now suppresses unwanted town or New Tristram entrance portals and preserves only the intended forward floor portal. Later floors may still provide proper backtracking where appropriate.
- Independent Challenge Rift Density: Challenge Rift monster density now uses its own configuration path, allowing CR floor tuning without affecting standard Nephalem Rift or Greater Rift density.
Failure Handling & Run-State Guards
- Timer Expiration Failure Path: if the Challenge Rift target timer expires before the guardian is killed, the run is now marked as failed, the timer is stopped, the failure state is broadcast, and rewards or leaderboard completion are prevented.
- Stale HUD Cleanup: returning to the Challenge Rift Hub after a failed run now clears old timer, progress, and HUD flags so a broken or outdated bar cannot reappear on the next attempt.
- Progress Lock Protection: kill, orb, boss completion, teleport, portal, and hard-resync paths now respect Challenge Rift active, completed, and failed states before sending progress or HUD data.
- Localization-Safe Failure Messaging: failure announcements avoid missing client localization keys, preventing raw “Missing” text from appearing in-game.
Active Development Notes
- Live Donor Expansion: the test donor visual override is complete. Full live extraction for custom and auto donor modes remains under active development and verification.
- Failure Branch QA: the new timeout failure branch is implemented server-side and remains under live gameplay verification to confirm popup, timer stop, hub return, and stale bar cleanup behaviour in all edge cases.
Expected gameplay impact
- Playable Challenge Rift Loop: players can now move from lobby to hub, activate the obelisk, enter the rift, build progress, spawn the guardian, complete the run, return to Edira, and claim rewards.
- True Competitive Feel: the Challenge Rift HUD, timer, progress bar, runner split, and weekly target now behave as a dedicated competitive mode rather than a modified Greater Rift shell.
- Safer Character Handling: donor transformation, profile preview, visual override, and restore logic are now isolated from the player’s permanent character data.
- Cleaner Hub Experience: the Challenge Rift Hub now supports donor preview, practice targets, obelisk entry, and stable return paths without leaking standard adventure or campaign state.
If you notice instability, please report hero name, zone, UTC time, whether the issue happened in the hub or inside the rift, and whether .offline was active in Support.
- Zethrone Team
