Vehicles and Traversal
Complete guide to movement and traversal in Neverness to Everness, covering on-foot mechanics (walking, climbing, wall-running, gliding, swimming), character-specific abilities like Nanally's anti-gravity, customizable vehicles with garage tuning at New Way Car, first-person and third-person driving, realistic damage, and weather effects on handling.
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Overview
Neverness to Everness offers a wide range of traversal options for navigating the open world of Hethereau. Players can move through the city and its surrounding areas using on-foot movement mechanics, character-specific traversal abilities, and a robust vehicle system with extensive customization options. The traversal design emphasizes freedom of movement and variety, with the official website highlighting vehicles as one of the game's focal gameplay systems.
On-Foot Movement
Every character has access to the same baseline movement abilities, forming the core traversal toolkit. According to the game's Wikipedia entry, the player character can run, jump, sprint, climb, and swim. These special movements (with the exception of sprinting) are limited by a regenerating stamina bar that slowly depletes as the character continues in that movement mode.
Walking and sprinting Standard ground movement with a sprint toggle for faster travel.
Jumping A standard jump that can be chained with other movement abilities.
Climbing Characters can scale walls, buildings, and cliff faces by approaching them and holding the climb input. Climbing consumes stamina and is available on most vertical surfaces throughout Hethereau.
Wall-running Characters can run along vertical surfaces for a limited duration, covering horizontal distance while attached to a wall. Can be chained with jumps and climbs for fluid vertical navigation.
Swimming Characters can swim across bodies of water, including the ocean surrounding Unheard Shores and waterways within the city. Diving underwater may reveal hidden areas.
Gliding After reaching sufficient height (via climbing or jumping from a tall structure), characters can glide through the air, covering significant horizontal distance. One of the fastest traversal methods for crossing gaps.
Character-Specific Traversal
Beyond the universal movement set, certain characters possess unique traversal abilities that change how they move through the world.
Nanally's Anti-Gravity
Nanally possesses an Anti-Gravity ability that allows her to walk on any surface, ignoring gravity. According to her official skill description, this effect lasts for 12 seconds or until Nanally leaves the battlefield. This makes her one of the most versatile exploration characters in the game, capable of reaching areas that would require extensive climbing or gliding for other characters. Nanally's anti-gravity enables players to soar over buildings and navigate the city with ease, transforming Hethereau into a playground for vertical exploration.
Drone Flying (Bird's Eye View)
Introduced in the Co-Ex Test, a drone flying mechanic allows for unrestricted aerial exploration. This "Bird's Eye View" mode enables players to capture photographs and videos across Hethereau without movement restrictions, serving as both a traversal scouting tool and a photography feature.
Vehicle Types
Neverness to Everness features a full vehicle system with multiple categories of drivable vehicles. The Co-Ex Test expanded the vehicle roster significantly with new categories:
Sports cars Balanced vehicles with good speed and handling, suitable for general driving across Hethereau's varied road types.
Muscle cars Powerful vehicles with high top speeds but heavier handling. Added in the Co-Ex Test.
Supercars The fastest vehicle class with high performance across all metrics. Added in the Co-Ex Test.
Motorbikes Agile two-wheeled vehicles that can weave through traffic and navigate tighter spaces than cars. Lower durability but superior maneuverability. Added in the Co-Ex Test.
Vehicles can be obtained in several ways: purchased at New Way Car (the in-game vehicle dealership), rented from roadside vendors, or taken from NPCs as part of the Crime and Wanted System.
Driving Mechanics
The driving system supports both third-person and first-person camera perspectives. Third-person provides better spatial awareness, while first-person offers a more immersive experience with dashboard details and interior views. First-person driving was added in the Co-Ex Test.
Each vehicle has different handling characteristics intended to feel realistic. The game aims for an arcade-realistic balance that is fun and responsive without being a full simulation. Additional driving features confirmed in beta testing include:
Horn honking NPCs react to the horn, adding to the urban immersion.
Vehicle jumping Launching off ramps or terrain features for aerial vehicle maneuvers.
Dismounting New animations for jumping off vehicles, allowing smooth transitions between driving and on-foot gameplay.
Companion animations Character companions have their own animations when riding in vehicles.
Vehicle Damage
Vehicles feature realistic damage modeling. Collisions, crashes, and hazards cause visible physical damage to the vehicle's body. This feature has been present since the Chinese CBT in November 2024, where it was noted that vehicles suffer physical damage upon collision. Damage types confirmed in the Co-Ex Test include:
Body damage Dents, broken windows, scratched paint, and deformed panels from collisions.
Tire damage Popped tires that affect handling and reduce the vehicle's effectiveness during pursuits.
Knockback effects Hitting objects or enemies causes knockback reactions.
Explosions Severe cumulative damage can cause the vehicle to explode, destroying it entirely.
Damaged vehicles can be repaired at New Way Car service locations throughout Hethereau. Players must visit New Way to fix their cars, adding a maintenance element to the vehicle system.
Vehicle Customization
Players can customize their vehicles extensively at garage locations. According to developer interviews, the customization system includes:
Visual customization Paint jobs, decals, and body kits to change the vehicle's appearance.
Performance upgrades Players can modify the vehicle's suspensions, chassis, engine, and more to tune performance including handling, weight, and overall speed.
Customized vehicles can be shown off to other players in multiplayer sessions, and taking friends for drives is one of the game's social activities.
NPC Traffic
The Co-Ex Test introduced significantly enhanced traffic AI. NPCs now drive a wide variety of vehicles throughout Hethereau, contributing to a realistic urban flow. The AI traffic system creates a sense that the city is alive, with NPC drivers following traffic patterns and reacting to the player's actions on the road.
Weather Effects on Driving
The dynamic weather system in Hethereau directly affects vehicle handling. The developers have confirmed that driving mechanics dynamically change with the weather:
Rain Wet roads reduce tire grip, increasing braking distances and making corners more treacherous.
Snow Icy road conditions were introduced in the Containment Test's Snow Mode feature, further testing vehicle handling in adverse conditions.
Fog Reduced visibility requires slower, more cautious driving.
Vehicles and the Crime System
Vehicles interact directly with the Crime and Wanted System. Stealing NPC vehicles is one of the criminal acts that increases wanted level. During police pursuits, vehicle performance and durability become critical. The Co-Ex Test specifically highlighted vehicle explosions, popped tires, and knockback effects during pursuits as key aspects of the crime system's vehicle interactions.
Related Pages
Hethereau The city to explore with these traversal options.
Crime and Wanted System How vehicles interact with law enforcement.
Nanally Character with Anti-Gravity traversal ability.
Multiplayer Showing off vehicles, racing, and driving with friends.
Unheard Shores District with rugged terrain for traversal challenges.
Beta Test History Vehicle system evolution across test phases.