New Game Plus in Luminary

New Game Plus in Luminary is the bridge between finishing Refractive Entertainment’s Early Access campaign slice and the long Hall of Heroes era — repeatable Tier difficulty, remixed rewards, and narrative replay with carried progression. Steam Early Access launches August 11, 2026 at $19.99 USD with roughly half the final two-kilometer-square OpenZone, but NG+ and Tier systems activate once you defeat the available end boss on that territory. This guide explains what carries into NG+, how Tier difficulty differs from first-run story, town upgrade persistence, proficiency behavior, and co-op planning so your group does not fork saves accidentally.

NG+ sits alongside — not instead of — Tier farming detailed in Hall of Heroes and Endgame. Many players alternate weekly: push Tier on their primary save, spin an NG+ file for build experiments, or replay story for friends who bought Early Access late.

What unlocks when the campaign ends

Defeating the main end boss typically opens three intertwined systems:

1. Tier difficulty — Stepped challenge tiers remix enemy health, damage, and affixes on familiar camps, Life Trees, and Towers.
2. New Game Plus — Restart narrative content with adjusted scaling while retaining selected progression.
3. Hall of Heroes interactions — Centralized tracking for accolades, cosmetics, and high-tier recipe unlocks tied to Tier clears.

Couch co-op is planned after Early Access but is not available at launch — online three-player drop-in co-op remains the group format for NG+ and Tier content per How Co-op Works.

The Tier 2 golem fight already appears in Combat Basics video coverage; endgame elites reuse similar break-bar cadence at higher numbers.

New Game Plus versus Tier difficulty

Players confuse these systems regularly:

Tier difficulty — Same save file, same story completion flag, harder repeat runs on existing geography. You select Tier level before entering a region or Tower. Loot tables shift toward endgame crafting mats for Blacksmith and Arcanist.

New Game Plus — New campaign playthrough on a save that already beat the end boss. Enemy scaling adjusts; cutscenes and quest flags replay; carry rules determine whether your +10 weapon enters the first NG+ chapter at trivial power or meaningful power.

You can Tier farm without ever starting NG+. You can NG+ without pushing max Tier — though most players combine both for variety.

What carries into NG+ at Early Access launch

Exact carry rules may tune in launch-week patches — verify Steam notes after August 11. Pre-release interviews and demo-adjacent materials suggest the following pattern:

Likely carries

• Town upgrade tiers affecting Blacksmith, Armorer, Arcanist, and Chef globally.
• Weapon and armor inventory above starter tier.
• Proficiency accumulated across Sword and Shield, Bow, and Magic Glove from Proficiency System.
• Account-wide unlocks tied to Hall rewards from Hall of Heroes and Endgame.

Likely resets or scales

• Regional liberation flags may reset so you replay Tower channels and Life Tree rescues.
• Quest act gating may replay narrative beats even if gear is strong.
• Temporary consumable stockpiles may clear or partially carry depending on balance.

Bank ore from Mining Ore Routes and critter plus fish ingredients from Animal Catching and Fishing Routes before confirming NG+ — immediate post-restart Chef spikes help.

Town upgrades and NG+

Town progression — vendor tier unlocks, recipe lines, and hub craft stations — is designed as long-term account investment. NG+ replay without losing Blacksmith ceiling means your second run focuses on story enjoyment and build testing, not re-grinding hub basics from Level Up and Town Vendors.

Shared progression across solo and online co-op means town state stays aligned when friends drop in mid-NG+ chapter — read Shared Progression before hosting.

If a patch ever splits town tiers between NG+ cycles, Refractive will document it on Steam; until then, treat town upgrades as permanent time investment.

Proficiency and build re-spec in NG+

Proficiency grows by weapon use, not menus. Starting NG+ with high proficiency in all three weapons from Weapons Overview lets you experiment with swap-heavy routes through story content that once demanded careful gear checks.

NG+ build strategies:

Weapon laboratory — Push only Magic Glove through Acts you previously melee-cleared, raising glove proficiency for Tier farms.

Speed run — Over-geared NG+ with Bow kiting for narrative replay when helping new co-op friends catch up.

Balanced re-learn — Match Weapon Tier List recommendations for current patch balance rather than nostalgia picks.

Respec rules if any exist at launch — confirm in-game menus. Until documented, plan paths using Melee Build, Ranged Build, and Magic Build pages before committing rare mats.

Tier difficulty after NG+ unlock

Tier is not a separate map — it is the same OpenZone with higher stakes. Expect faster enemy windups at Tier 2+, slower break bars without coordinated co-op interrupts, and reward tables shifting toward endgame ingots.

Increment Tier only when primary weapon and Armorer slots match the recommended power band from Weapon Tier List. Chef meals from town gathering loops are mandatory at top tiers, not optional min-maxing.

Solo Tier climbing remains viable; groups reduce revive downtime and add break-bar overlap. NG+ veterans often return to Tier 1 story zones at Tier 3 difficulty for mat-per-minute farms once geography is memorized from World Overview.

Co-op NG+ etiquette

Before any player selects NG+:

1. Confirm all party members finished the end boss on compatible saves.
2. Agree whether the host NG+ locks guests out until catch-up — some ARPG conventions apply; verify Luminary’s drop-in rules at launch.
3. Split gathering duties: fish, critters, ore before restart.
4. Announce Tier level when mixing NG+ story guests with Tier farm veterans — mismatch frustrates both sides per Roles and Party Tips.

Drop-out cleanly after sessions so hosts bank loot without hanging sessions.

Demo players and NG+ expectations

The Very Positive demo ends before end boss or NG+ access. Demo patch 0.10.32.0071 teaches combat and town loops only. Early Access purchase at launch-week discount — starting ten percent with deeper wishlist milestone cuts up to twenty percent at 250k wishlists per developer Steam news — unlocks campaign conclusion leading into NG+ and Tier.

Use demo time on Getting Started and Demo Walkthrough for habits, not endgame planning.

When to start NG+ versus Tier grind

Start NG+ when you want narrative replay, alternate build fantasy, or to escort new friends through story with over-level gear. Stay on primary save Tier farming when optimizing mat-per-hour for Blacksmith max tiers before back-half map expansions in Early Access Roadmap.

Weekly template many groups use:

• Weeknights — Tier Tower attempts on main save.
• Weekends — NG+ chapter with friends who missed launch week.
• Patch days — Re-read Weapon Tier List after balance notes.

Long-term outlook

Refractive targets roughly one year of Early Access toward 1.0 with remaining map territory, balance passes, and planned couch co-op. NG+ carry rules and Tier ceilings may expand — monitor discord.gg/NNrurAT5um and the Steam store page for major system posts.

NG+ is optional adventure, not a completionist trap — stop when replay stops being fun, help newcomers liberate first Towers, and return when patches move the ceiling.