The next Major New World Update is arriving on October 18, 2022. The update was already queued to release in October, but the date remained scarce until today. In honor of that, let’s see some of the features coming to New World with the release of Brimstone Sands.
For those who didn’t participate in the PTR, Brimstone Sands is a new zone unlike anything else in Aeternum. Aside from the new zone, there are a lot of surprising weapons and other additions coming to the game.
Death hovers over the scorched wastes of Brimstone Sands, its thirst still unsatisfied even after centuries of strife and war. The ancient Egyptians first encountered the godlike Ancients here and built monuments and vast cities that were part of a flourishing civilization thousands of years in the past. Their civilization is now long fallen to ruin, and few of those original inhabitants remain except for the mysterious sorcerer Imhotep, with whom players must work with to solve the desert’s mysteries.
The most immediate threat in Brimstone Sands is posed by the deranged remnants of the Roman Empire’s 19th Legion. What exactly befell the Romans must be discovered, but they have fallen to Corruption and now besiege the ancient ruins of a mysterious Pyramid known as Ahket. They are certain that within, they will find the secret to their redemption and the long-awaited resurgence of the Roman Empire.
Below you can find some of the features that are coming to the game, including the fresh start servers that will allow newcomers to have nearly the same experience as when the game launched.
HEARTGEM ABILITIES
Adventurers can now further customize their playstyle through Heartrune Abilities:
- Detonate: Overload yourself with Arcane energy to detonate and deal significant damage. Players can move and attack while the ability is active.
- Grasping Vines: Punch your hand into the ground to unleash vines around you and root all nearby enemies.
- Stoneform: Turn yourself to stone and become immune to staggers, knockdowns, stuns, roots and slows. Players can move and attack while this ability is active.
- Cannon Blast: Whip out a large, handheld cannon and fire a cannonball that explodes on impact for high damage.
- Dark Ascent: Sprout Corrupted wings and fly up into the air, hover briefly, and then slam back down into the ground, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.
Players must fully charge their Heartgem to activate an ability. Various combat actions like dealing and taking damage, blocking hits, and healing allies will charge your Heartgem. The charge resets upon use. Experiment with and upgrade each Heartgem to find a favorite.
REVAMPED STARTING EXPERIENCE
We’ve completely redesigned the early levels of New World, so players who start the game or roll a new character will experience brand new stories and quests. Player feedback on quest variety, AI variety, more streamlined questlines with less running back and forth, and improved storytelling in those early stages of the game helped bring about the following changes:
- Quest flow through zones has been optimized, with NPCs who move around and a central story thread that takes players through each region of the game, unlocking side content to pace out the experience.
- We’ve added a variety of new quest dynamics, from wave events to tracking and traversal challenges, puzzles in the ruins, unique interactions with the world, and dynamic events players will encounter.
- We’ve revised onboarding to stay focused on the central storyline, introducing the legacy of King Arthur in Monarch’s Bluffs and a curse and famine from the sorceress Medea in Windsward. Players will still converge on the Hermit Yonas to start on the path to becoming Soulwardens, but the Yonas quests have all been consolidated in Everfall. The Hermit himself is now more mobile, while the story and quest flow vastly improved.
- We’ve also added a lot more character to the zones and settlements in Monarch’s Bluffs and Everfall, new enemies, new major locations, and new challenges in the quests and open world.
GREATSWORD WEAPON
Get ready for a new weapon — the Greatsword. This two-handed blade utilizes stances to adapt to different situations. Learn the risks and rewards of each option to survive in battle. Both Weapon Skill Trees feature versatile tactics for varied playstyles:
- The Onslaught tree embodies relentless offense and focuses on defeating enemies before they can take you out.
- The Defiance tree excels at aggressive defense that can survive and deal damage against multiple opponents.
The Greatsword scales evenly with Strength and Dexterity, making it a good pair for many other martial weapons.
