New World: Aeternum News

Greetings, Adventurers!

New World Update 1.9.3 downtime will begin at 11:00PM PT (6:00AM UTC) on May 9 and includes fixes to Gear Set Slots, Springtide Bloom, and more. Downtime is slated to last approximately 1 hour.

[h2]WORLD EXPERIENCE[/h2]
[h3]SPRINGTIDE BLOOM[/h3]

• The Beekeeper and Springtime Ruffles apparel sets have been broken into individual purchases inside of the Springtide event shop.
  
• Added a Heartrune charge to the Wispy Wasp swarm.
  
• The Springtide Premium Token recipe (the one where you exchange Wispy Wasp Goo) is now listed as "Premium Token" in the crafting menu.
  
• Players can now get 4 Springtide Jingle coin bags a day, up from 3.
  

[h2]QUESTS[/h2]

• Periville Guards now drop the Intact Spear Haft quest item in the ‘Book Three: Parodos in the A Spear to Pierce the Heavens’ questline.
  
• Returning players who have only completed part of the original MSQ can now speak to Yonas to resume it in Brightwood.
  
• Removed 3 deprecated lore notes from Elafry Pyrgo which caused the game to soft-lock on interaction.
  
• Invisible collision has been removed once again from the entrance of the Crystal Cavern.
  

[h2]GAME MODES[/h2]
[h3]OUTPOST RUSH[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that caused players to unintentionally bring game-mode specific items like powder kegs into the open world.
  

[h3]Empyrean Forge Expedition
[/h3]

• Commander Marius's magma ball hazard will now display a secondary ring to denote the area in which the impact shockwave will cause minor damage and stagger the player.
  

[h2]ECONOMY, PROGRESSION, & GEAR[/h2]
[h3]GEAR/ITEMS[/h3]

• Fixed an issue that caused items in purchased Gear Set Slots to return to player inventories on login.
  

[h3]Economy[/h3]

• Open world Elite chests in Level 55+ Varangian POIs now have a 75% chance to drop a Flame Core, down from 100%.
  
• Open world Regular chests in Level 55+ Varangian POIs now have a 10% chance to drop a Flame Core, down from 20%.
  
• Unstable Casts now costs 3 Flame Cores to craft, down from 10.
  
• Players can now craft 6 Unstable Casts daily, up from 3.
  
• Improved quality of items generated by Unstable Cast from the Flame Core Forge. This was done by removing PvP perks and Resistance perks.
  

[h3]Season Pass[/h3]

Update: We will disable 5 Season Activities that proved more challenging and costly to complete than intended. We anticipate this change will make your Activity Card progression easier.

The 5 impacted activities are:

• Craft 10 items using Poultry Thights.
  
• Craft 10 items using Sumptuous Rabbit.
  
• Craft 10 items using Prime Armadillo meat.
  
• Consume 10 Tier 5 Tradeskill Consumables.
  
• Consume 10 Tier 5 Resistance Consumables.
  

Fixed an issue where level 60 players sometimes would not receive the "Just Getting Started" task in Chapter 1.

Added several new Season Pass activity tasks:

• Kill 10 enemies in Mykrguard
  
• Kill 10 enemies in Imperial Palace
  
• Kill 10 enemies in Malevolence
  
• Kill 10 enemies in Eternal Pools
  
• Kill 10 enemies in Beds of Ta-BitJet
  
• Kill 2 named enemies
  
• Kill 20 elite enemies
  

Adjusted the following PVP Season Pass activities:

• Earn Flawless victory in PVP arena was changed to Earn 1 victory in PvP arena
  
• Earn 1000 pvp experience from valid player kills was changed to earn 100 pvp experience from valid player kills.
  
• Participate in 3 arenas was changed to participate in 1 arena
  
• Deal 100000 damage or healing in arena was changed to deal 50000 damage or healing in arena
  
• Earn 5000 azoth salt was changed to earn 1000 azoth salt
  
• Complete 2 pvp faction missions was changed to complete 1 pvp faction mission
  

Adjusted the following crafting Season Pass activities:

• Craft 5 tier 5 weapons or apparel was changed to craft 3 tier 5 weapons or apparel
  
• Consume 10 tier 5 coatings was reduced to consume 2 tier 5 coatings
  

Adjusted the following Season Journey tasks:

• Rush of Victory II - Reduced required Outpost Rush wins from 10 to 5
  
• Holding the Fort - Reduced required Invasion completions from 2 to 1
  
• Worldwide Warrior - Reduced required Open World player kills from 50 to 15
  

Adjusted requirements for multiple Season Journey challenges:

• Outpost Rush Domination - Reduced required Outpost Rush wins from 100 to 30
  
• Serial Killer - Reduced required kills from 500 to 100
  
• Contesting the Control Points - Reduced required Faction Control Point captures from 50 to 30
  
• Legendary Craft - Reduced required craft amount from 125 to 100
  
• Give Me Gold or Give Me Death - Renamed to Mutation Master and changed required Expedition rating from Gold to Silver
  

[h2]UX/UI[/h2]
[h3]QOL[/h3]

• Removed the Gear Set Storage tooltip commands when your character is under level 25. These previously showed if you had purchased an additional Gear Set Slot with another character.
  
• Added translations for the Fire Storm Heartrune tooltip.
  
• Added additional translations to the Territory Planning Board UI.
  
• The Main Menu has returned to its standard music soundtrack.
  
• Fixed an issue with Leaderboards where the rewards countdown message displayed earlier than intended, stating that the current season had ended even though it was still in progress.
  

[h2]SOCIAL[/h2]
[h3]GENERAL[/h3]

• Fixed a rare issue that prevented players from turning off their PvP flag.
  

[h2]AUDIO[/h2]

• Lowered the amount of echo when an NPC spoke within a small interior space.
  

Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

The PTR is crucial for finalizing releases, but some upcoming content remains secret. Should we surprise players in exchange for less bug tests? The answer can vary, but QA always makes the final call on if a release is ready to go live. Check out the video below to learn more about the challenges behind quality assurance and then read on for an in-depth look at the journey of a patch note.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]THE JOURNEY OF A PATCH NOTE[/h2]
QA Manager Michael Corpora went on to walk us through the path of a bug:

“On December 6, 2022, we pushed the Winter Festival update to live servers. The Winter Convergence world event was core to this release. This was also the first world event to repeat since the New World launch. As such, we already documented and updated a test plan to account for any changes. For example, additional quests were added to engage new and returning players. When finalizing the content, we verified changes with characters that had participated in the original event along with new characters. Defects were identified and resolved, and then those fixes were verified in builds leading up to the release.“



“However, following the release we received player reports that the first 3 Winter Convergence quests were not accessible for some players. After looking through all of the reports, our investigation found that quest completion data for unrelated main story quests had been reused in the update for these new quests. This particular scenario was outside of the test coverage for the Winter Convergence update.”

“Once identified, we created characters with this quest completion data to verify that they were not offered the new quests. The next step was to implement a fix and create test scenarios to verify that both the Winter Convergence quests and the main story quests functioned correctly for all characters, including those who had already participated in the live event. This fix was then merged into a patch.”



“We ran all test scenarios again to verify the fix in the actual build before it went live. Once approved, the patch was released to players on December 8, 2022.“

What’s something that you can’t wait to see on the PTR? Let us know on Discord, Reddit, or the YouTube comments section. Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

Immortality comes at a cost. Aeternum is infested with lethal enemies ranging from the Ancients to the Angry Earth. Some Adventurers lose their will and become one of the Lost, while others give into the seductive whispers of power that foster Corruption. Even maintaining humanity can mean fending off a seemingly endless onslaught from the Varangian Knights. No one is safe on the Eternal Isle, but there’s still hope.

Join the Narrative Team for an in-depth analysis of the enemy families in the video below:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

[h2]Varangian Knights[/h2]
We caught up with Narrative Designer Aaron de Orive to explore another enemy family—the Varangian Knights.

“When conceiving of a human enemy faction, the idea of an order of villainous knights was discussed. Ultimately we decided on the Rus’ Varangians, who were Norsemen that settled in Eastern Europe. We wanted these fierce warriors to have connections to King Artorius, first as enemies and then as uneasy allies. We also wanted their leader to be an impressive figure, someone as formidable as Artorius himself. That’s how the mighty Warlord Varik came to be.”



“Varik was a founding member of the legendary Knights of the Round Table, and he and his warriors traveled to Aeternum with Artorius in his quest for the mystical land of Avalon. Varik fought by Artorius’s side against the Corrupted Myrddin during the Wars of Crimson Madness. When the forces of Corruption seemed on the verge of victory, Varik and his Varangians retreated into uncharted areas of Aeternum, and there established a new Varangian stronghold.”



“Known as ‘The Hammer’ for the strength of his blows, Varik is a warrior without equal. His goal is to unite all of Aeternum under his banner, but in order to accomplish this, he seeks the secrets of Myrddin’s magic. Despite having resulted in the wise magician becoming the Crimson Sorcerer, Varik believes that mastering Aeternum’s power is the only way to ensure complete control over the island. And he is determined to do so regardless of the cost.“



Which enemy family would you like to know more about? If there was an enemy family that you could ally yourself to, or manifest elements of, which would it be? Let us know on Discord, Reddit, or the YouTube comments section. Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

This month’s Balance of Power discusses the Fire Staff, Ice Gauntlet, and Bow, plus other changes coming in the next balance patch. Join us for our reaction to the Season 1 meta, the overall state of balance in New World right now, and discussion of the balance between melee and ranged.

Check out the video below for a full breakdown of all things combat:

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

What are your ideas for how to improve less popular or underpowered perks? Let us know on Discord, Reddit, or the YouTube comments section. Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

New World Update 1.9.2 downtime will begin at 11:00PM PT (6:00AM UTC) on April 25. With the Corrupted Rabbits vanquished, the Springtide Bloom event will now blossom throughout Aeternum.

[h2]SPRINGTIDE BLOOM[/h2]
The Time of Awakening has arrived. Springtide Bloom calls its children to share an ancient secret capable of granting true freedom. Help the enigmatic Bloom Herald unravel the mysteries of the ethereal Wispybloom on April 26 through May 23 and collect Springtide's fertile bounty of event-specific rewards. Harvest with caution, as swarms of vile Wispy Wasps guard the blooms with fury!

Truth Seekers must be level 25 or higher to embark upon the quest for enlightenment. Check out the full reward and lore breakdown for more details.

• “When conceiving the Springtide Bloom event, there was an opportunity to introduce some new mysteries to Aeternum,” said Narrative Designer Aaron de Orive. “The idea was to invoke a Folk Horror vibe by introducing the Children of Bloom. These individuals, dressed in creepy beekeeper robes, would tend the Wispyblooms that appear during this time of year. The blooms themselves would be harvested for their pollen, which the Children claim would allow individuals to achieve harmony and break free of the island.”
  
• “Now whether those were just the deranged beliefs of a strange cult or something that held some aspect of truth remains to be seen. However, voices and strange laughter can be heard when picking the blooms. And the leader of the Children, the Herald of Bloom, claims that ‘The Folk’ are watching and waiting to enter Aeternum. Exactly who or what these entities are must remain a mystery for a while longer.“
  

[h2]WORLD EXPERIENCE[/h2]

• Adjusted tracker text to fix typos and display all objectives at once for new weapon quests that target single locations. Players can now do the objectives in any order.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the player character’s hair to appear brighter than intended in shaded areas.
  
• Fixed an issue that blocked players from entering the cave for the quest Dearly Beloved.
  

[h2]AI[/h2]

• Fixed a character collider issue that prevented some wolf, boar, and lion attacks from hitting the player.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused boars to break away during certain attacks. They have now remembered how to fight back with their full arsenal!
  

[h2]COMBAT[/h2]

• Fixed an issue that caused the Firestorm Heartrune materia recipe to not correctly display its category name in the Stonecutting station.
  
• Updated the description for the perk "Nimble" to be more clear about it increasing the regen rate. Nimble will not increase flat stamina gained from things like the Spear's "Invigorating Crits" passive.
  
• Reduced the red color intensity of enemy spells and abilities.
  

Armor:

• Slightly increased armor mitigation for both medium and heavy armor.
  
• Increased Medium armor ratings by 2.5%
  
• Increased Heavy armor ratings by 5%.
  

Fortify / Armor Bonus Adjustments:

• Shirking Fortify Perk - Increased max from 3.9% to 4.7%.
  
• Sturdy Fortification Perk - Increased max value from 4% to 5%
  
• Great Axe Fortifying Whirlwind Perk - Increased value on armor from 6.6% to 8.8%, and value on weapons from 10% to 14%.
  

Great Axe

• Crowded Protection Passive
  
• Increased from 10% to 20%.
  

War Hammer

• Outnumbered Passive
  
• Increased from 10% to 20%.
  
• Power Cleaner Upgrade
  
• Increased from 10% to 20%.
  

Sword & Shield

• Defensive Training Passive
  
• Increased from 10% to 20%.
  

Fire Staff

• Watch It Burn
  
• Temporarily disabled the Watch It Burn passive from being able to trigger off of a critical from the first hit of Meteor Shower. It will be re-enabled when a larger fix is available.
  
• Flare
  
• Reduced damage from AOE from 140% to 110%.
  
• Removed the projectile slow down.
  
• Pillar of Fire
  
• Reduced cooldown reduction value on armor from 17% to 11%, and the value on Weapons from 30% to 20%.
  

Musket

• Steady Aim
  
• Decreased how long it takes to charge steady aim from 2s to 1.5s, and from 1s to 0.75s while in Shooter's Stance.
  
• Increased response speed of accuracy markers on reticle when accuracy changes.
  

Ice Gauntlet

• Entomb
  
• Reduced Entomb's health from 75% of player's max health to 50% of player max health.
  

Void Gauntlet

• Fixed an issue that caused the Void Blade to have tracking issues with targets.
  

Bow

• Added damage fall off all bow attacks - Damage fall off will start at 40m and reach 50% reduction at 100m.
  
• Decreased the hitbox size of the heavy attack and ability projectiles from 0.33 to 0.275.
  

[h2]ECONOMY, PROGRESSION, & GEAR[/h2]
Added 8 new Season Activities to replace some imbalanced ones:

• Craft 5 items using Timeless Shards
  
• Cook 10 recipes requiring Poultry Thigh
  
• Cook 10 recipes requiring Sumptuous Rabbit
  
• Cook 10 recipes requiring Prime Armadillo
  
• Salvage 3 Tier 5 Named items
  
• Use 10 Tier 5 Weapon coatings
  
• Use 10 Tier 5 Crafting consumables
  
• Use 10 Tier 5 resistance consumables
  

• The level 100 Premium Reward now correctly lists that it grants the "Silver Wing" apparel skin set.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented players from claiming account-wide rewards (such as Marks of Fortunes or Booster tokens).
  
• The Inferno Champion's Chest previously granted more Tattered Varangian Standards than intended. It will now give 1 instead of 4.
  
• Added the ability to directly purchase Season Pass levels without purchasing the Premium Reward Track.
  
• When activating Boosters under high traffic loads, closing and re-opening the Booster Menu will now inform the player that Booster use is pending transaction completion.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the Heartrune charge to reset when swapping Gear Sets even if the new Gear Set had the same Heartrune.
  
• Corrected the level requirement to level 40 for the quest reward armors Battle's Embrace, Shrouded Intent, and Protective Wyrd. This correction will apply to all existing pieces of armor.
  
• Removed procedural gathering sets from the Named Item loot table.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented PvP Reward Track Rank 200 players from completing the "Reaping the Rewards" Season Journey task.
  

[h2]UI/UX/SOCIAL[/h2]

• Fixed a visual issue with the collar of the Tattered Snatcher apparel skin.
  
• Fixed a visual issue with the Infernal Hearth helmet.
  
• Fixed an issue where sorting worlds alphabetically on the World Select screen would sometimes not alphabetize as expected.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the internal name of a world to display in the World List instead of the public name.
  

[h2]AUDIO[/h2]

• Adjusted audio for Grace O'Malley's VO when she visits the Mourningdale tavern so that she no longer has an inappropriate reverb.
  

Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.