Featured Article
This article has been recognized for its exceptional quality and comprehensive coverage.
Overview
City Tycoon is a progression system in Neverness to Everness that tracks the player's progress in owning and developing properties across the city of Hethereau. It consolidates all economic, property, and lifestyle activities into a single progression track. As players invest in businesses, complete odd jobs, purchase properties, and participate in city activities, their City Tycoon level increases, unlocking new features and rewards.
The system is designed as a long-term lifestyle loop that runs parallel to the game's combat-focused progression. It starts small, with players renovating a coffee shop near their home base, and scales up to owning luxury mansions and running profitable businesses across the city. The tagline captures the arc well: from running a hole-in-the-wall cafe to owning a penthouse overlooking the skyline.
City Tycoon Level
The City Tycoon system has a level-based progression that gates access to new features and activities. Leveling requires meeting specific requirements such as completing commissions, acquiring certain resources, earning income, and engaging with business activities. Each level milestone unlocks new capabilities.
Confirmed Unlocks
Feature | Description |
|---|---|
Garage | Vehicle ownership and customization; purchase cars and motorcycles |
Property Ownership | Ability to purchase apartments, mansions, and seaside suites |
Hunter Exchange | Access to hunter-related trading and reward systems |
Hobbies | Activities like fishing, racing, mahjong, delivery, and more (see Hethereau Hobbies) |
Chiz (Level 18) | Unlocks the S-Rank Cosmos character Chiz for free |
Activities unlock progressively as the City Tycoon level increases. Beta testers reported only being able to unlock the first few tiers during limited test periods, confirming that the system is designed for sustained long-term engagement rather than rapid completion.
Chiz: Free S-Rank Character
The most notable City Tycoon reward is Chiz, an S-Rank Cosmos character who is unlocked at City Tycoon Level 18. Chiz is a shy banker affiliated with the Pink Paws Bank who doubles as an urban guide. She is one of the few S-Rank characters in NTE that can be obtained entirely for free, without any gacha pulls.
Chiz's Awakening effects can also be fully progressed through in-game activities rather than requiring duplicate gacha pulls. The official NTE Global announcement confirmed: "All her Awakening Effects can be progressed in-game." This makes Chiz the most accessible S-Rank character in the roster.
Properties
Players can purchase multiple property types across Hethereau using Fon (the in-game currency). Properties serve as personal spaces for decoration, character interaction, and passive gameplay bonuses.
Property Types
Type | Description |
|---|---|
City Apartments | Compact urban living spaces; the most affordable entry point into property ownership |
Luxury Mansions | Spacious high-end homes with more rooms and decoration capacity |
Villas | Large standalone properties with extensive customization options |
Seaside Suites | Waterfront properties with scenic views |
Properties are purchased through in-game housing centers. Each property comes with bare necessities and can be furnished with items found while exploring the city or purchased from stores. All owned properties have a quick-teleport function, allowing players to fast travel to any home they own.
Decoration and Furniture
Properties start empty and can be customized with furniture, collectibles, and decorative items. Furniture is acquired through exploration, shop purchases, and special activities. The decoration system allows free placement of items to create personalized living spaces.
The developers confirmed in their launch roadmap that the housing system will be expanded with better furniture placement controls, improved interaction, and additional decoration options for the April 29, 2026 launch.
Property Bonuses
Owned homes provide gameplay bonuses beyond aesthetics. Properties unlock anomaly trinkets that grant passive buffs, and they generate modules for use in character building through certain anomaly creatures. These bonuses incentivize property investment even for players primarily focused on combat progression.
Shop Management
Players can run their own store in Hethereau with full business management capabilities. Shop management involves three core activities:
Activity | Description |
|---|---|
Inventory management | Stock your shop with goods and materials. |
Pricing strategy | Set prices for your products to balance profit margins and customer traffic. |
Promotions | Run sales and promotional events to attract more customers and boost revenue. |
Shops generate passive income over time. The revenue starts small but grows as the player's business empire expands and they invest in upgrades. Character Life Skills can also influence shop performance. For example, Hathor has a Life Skill called "Practice Makes Perfect" that influences customer purchasing preferences and increases base dish prices.
Beta feedback noted that the business simulation section needed revenue tracking graphs to help players understand whether they were running a profitable operation. This UI improvement is expected for the launch version.
Income Sources
The City Tycoon system provides multiple avenues for earning Fon:
Source | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
Shop Revenue | Passive | Owned shops generate income based on inventory, pricing, and promotions |
Active | Taxi driving, barista work, deliveries (see Part-Time Jobs) | |
Odd Jobs and Races | Active | Various city activities and vehicle racing events |
Active | Combat missions that reward Fon and materials |
Income from shops starts at a low rate but scales as the player invests in upgrades and expands their portfolio. Players who do not want to manage their own business can still earn Fon by working as part-timers at other shops around town.
Character Placement
Characters with a bond level of 4 or higher can be placed in owned properties. Placing a character in an apartment, mansion, or business unlocks unique interactions that deepen the bond further. The higher a character's bond level, the more responsive they become to player requests.
Confirmed Interactions
Rock-Paper-Scissors challenges with placed characters
Physical interactions (for example, petting characters when they are seated)
Hand-holding while walking through the apartment and nearby city areas
Phone calls and text messaging with companion characters
Inviting characters as city companions for exploration
The launch roadmap promises additional companion interactions, including the ability to invite Chiz to activities and a new first-person perspective for hand-holding sequences.
Vehicles
The garage is unlocked through City Tycoon progression. Once available, players can purchase vehicles from dealerships using Fon. Vehicle types include regular cars, muscle cars, supercars, sport bikes, motorcycles, and scooters. Vehicles can be customized at garages with visual mods (bumpers, spoilers, tires, body color, decals) and performance tuning (handling, top speed, acceleration).
Connection to Other Systems
City Tycoon does not exist in isolation. It connects to several other NTE systems:
System | Connection |
|---|---|
Character acquisition | Chiz (S-Rank Cosmos) is unlocked through City Tycoon, bypassing gacha entirely. |
Character bonds | Bond level 4+ characters can be placed in properties, creating a feedback loop between the bond system and City Tycoon. |
The starting coffee shop near Eibon is one of the first City Tycoon investments, tying the system into the early narrative. | |
Combat progression | Anomaly trinket bonuses from homes provide passive combat buffs, and homes generate character-building modules. |
Vehicle system | The garage unlocks through City Tycoon; vehicles are purchased with Fon. |
The cooperative heist dungeon connects to Chiz's lore at Pink Paws Bank. |
Tips
Invest in your first shop early. Even small passive income adds up over days and weeks of play.
Prioritize reaching City Tycoon Level 18 to unlock Chiz. She is a free S-Rank Cosmos character with fully progressible Awakening effects.
Furnish your properties for more than just aesthetics. Anomaly trinkets from homes provide real combat bonuses.
Place high-bond characters in your properties to deepen relationships and unlock unique interactions.
Use part-time jobs as a supplementary income source while your shop revenue grows.