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New World: Aeternum News

New World is Now on Sale for 50% Off

Greetings, Adventurers!

New World is now on sale for 50% off through Steam and Amazon until 10AM PST on November 8. We recently celebrated our first anniversary, and will continue to make the game even more accessible through frequent updates based on player feedback. Following the release of Brimstone Sands and Fresh Start Worlds, now is the best time to start your adventure in Aeternum. Here are some insights for you to get started, learn more about major updates and events, and see what’s next.

[h2]NEW PLAYER GUIDE[/h2]



We chatted with BDLG and Redbyrd, the creators of Newworldfans.com, to help new players make the most out of their experience. Unfamiliar with New World? No problem.

“Take it slow and don’t get overwhelmed,” BDLG said. ”You will learn as you go. It is 100% okay to not know anything when you start. That’s part of the fun. Enjoy the ride and the knowledge will come.“

Check out our full interview with BDLG and Redbyrd for more in-depth tips.

[h2]FRESH START WORLDS[/h2]



Conquer untouched territory, amass vast wealth, and forge new reputations when Fresh Start Worlds come to Aeternum on November 2. All characters, coins, and loot must originate in these servers. That means no powerful or rich Adventurers can transfer into any of the new worlds. Join one as soon as they launch to enjoy a blank canvas with the rest of the community. What will you claim?

[h2]REVAMPED STARTING EXPERIENCE[/h2]
The first 25 levels of the game were overhauled based on community feedback. Here’s what to expect:

  • Start the adventure with friends: Players spawn in one of several zones at the beginning of the game. Head to a friend’s location to play early quests together.
  • Multiple ways for solo and group players to progress: There are different objectives for certain quests that give you the option to remain solo or join a group of players depending on your preferred experience.
  • Diverse objectives to keep gameplay fresh: Objectives range from puzzle and traversal challenges to unique interactions with the world and dynamic events. There’s always something new to find.
  • An epic adventure surrounding the mysteries of Aeternum: Conquer new enemies, obstacles, and locations to reveal the truth about the eternal isle.


[h2]MOST RECENT MAJOR UPDATE: BRIMSTONE SANDS RELEASE[/h2]
New players can look forward to enjoying our largest release yet once they get closer to level 60. Brimstone Sands is a vast new zone featuring a variety of unique quests that span distinct points of interest such as the Ennead, unforgettable enemies like the giant sandworm, and more of Aeternum’s secrets. You never know what you’ll discover next.

[h2]WHAT’S HAPPENING NOW IN NEW WORLD: RETURN TO AETERNUM[/h2]
Watch your favorite Twitch streamers forge a new legacy into their very own fresh start worlds in Return to Aeternum. Four teams will race to complete server-wide objectives across all aspects of the game. Follow thrilling adventures, gain access to unique Twitch Drops, and see which world will level up the fastest from November 2 to 18. You can also track live stats, team positions, and more on the Return to Aeternum webpage.

[h2]WHAT’S NEXT FOR NEW WORLD: OCTOBER TEAM UPDATE[/h2]
Our October Team Update video teases some of the updates, quality of life improvements, and player requested changes coming to Aeternum next year. Watch the video or catch all of the highlights in our recap article.

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

New World Update 1.7.1

Greetings, Adventurers!

New World Update 1.7.1 downtime will begin at 11:00PM PT (6:00AM UTC) on November 1 and includes fixes to Brimstone Sands quests.

[h2]WORLD EXPERIENCE[/h2]
[h3]NOTABLE FIXES[/h3]
  • Castrum Principium spawn rate has been adjusted to better match other Elite mobs.
  • Fixed an issue that made Helvan the Navigator in Monarch's Bluffs unbeatable.
  • Fixed an issue that caused players to get stuck at weird angles when opening the inventory while going prone.

[h3]BRIMSTONE SANDS[/h3]
  • Tomash and Ghazi now have additional dialogue to inform players they need to complete the "A Selfless Nature" quest to access the Brimstone Sands Main Story.
  • Updated the quest requirements for “A Selfless Nature” to ensure players are not blocked for the “Blessings of the Earth” quest.
  • Removed the ability to place Camps around the “Brimstone Under Siege” quest location.
  • Reduced the amount of Iron Hide received when Skinning Valley Lizards.
  • Fixed an issue with “Demon’s Cauldron” that caused players to get teleported back from the Crystal.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the damage barrier around Brimstone Sands to continue after death.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Brimstone Sands Outpost Trading Post to not link to Storage.

[h3]QUESTS[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that made Faction rank up quests unavailable.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from completing the Overseer Zane encounter.
  • The “Hope Manifest”, “Executioner”, “Tracking the Huntress”, “Falmea's Wrath”, and “Keen Temper” quests now immediately register as complete when players craft the specified weapons.
  • Fixed an issue that caused the Heartforge Guardian to not spawn in the "Trial of the Heartforge" quest.
  • Re-enabled the “Roar of the Manticore” quest.
  • Re-enabled “The Queen's Brood” quest.

[h3]EXPEDITIONS[/h3]
  • Dynasty Shipyard: Raised Keg health to make defend objectives less difficult to pass in high level mutations.

[h2]COMBAT/AI[/h2]
[h3]NOTABLE FIXES[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the player to be unable to attack after Harvesting until they performed the same Gathering action or relogged.
  • Fixed an issue where certain abilities could be performed without triggering their cooldowns.
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes caused Young Scorplings to fall through the world.

[h3]PERKS[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused Runeglass Gem perks to prevent Life Staff perks from working.
  • Added a speculative fix for Runeglass Taunt Gems not working properly with Berserk, Riposte, and Defender's Resolve AOE taunts. We will continue to monitor the forums to see if players are still encountering this issue after the update.

[h2]GAME MODES[/h2]
[h3]PVP ARENAS[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused some players to incorrectly receive a leaver penalty when exiting 3v3 Arenas.

[h3]WAR/INVASIONS[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused Wars and Invasions to sometimes fail to reschedule properly after a server crash.

[h2]ECONOMY/PROGRESSION[/h2]
[h3]GEAR/ITEMS[/h3]
  • Added Infused Gypsum Greatsword Cast.
  • Re-enabled Legendary Greatsword "Rough Edge" recipe. To better match similar crafted Greatswords, it is now Bind on Pickup instead of Bind on Equip.
  • Re-enabled Legendary Greatsword "Craftsman's Passion" recipe. Its final perk is now Angry Earth Bane.
  • Fixed an issue that caused Brimstone Elite Named enemies to not drop Obsidian Gypsum.

[h3]REWARDS/LOOT[/h3]
  • Apophis' Treasure Trove is now a reward in the “A God Awakens” quest. Apophis no longer gives Weapon Mastery or experience on kill.
  • Desert Rose Prismabloom now always grants 1 or 2 Cyan Pigments and 1 or 2 Green Pigments. Players also have a chance to receive 1 or 2 Red Pigments.

[h2]TRADE SKILLS[/h2]
[h3]CRAFTING[/h3]
  • Detonate Heartgem recipes no longer require Sapphire and instead require more Sulfur.
  • Nightveil Gear Score 600 patterns no longer require a Trade Skill level of 150.
  • Fixed an issue that made Nightveil patterns Bind on Pickup instead of Bind on Equip.

[h3]GATHERING[/h3]
  • Reduced the quantity of Sulfur Chunks received from mining Sulfurwig.
  • Reduced the amount of Skinning experience gained from Young Scorplings and Armadillos.

[h2]UX/UI[/h2]
[h3]NOTABLE FIXES[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused the same item to show up multiple times in the Outpost Rush Caches reward screen.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented latent characters from rejoining their original world if they were at the character limit for that world. Latent characters can now return to their original worlds even if those worlds are locked.

[h3]SOCIAL[/h3]
  • Updated the Faction user interface. It now direct players to the Faction Initiation Quests to unlock Faction Switching.

[h3]IN-GAME STORE[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused the item purchase confirmation to not appear.

[h3]QOL[/h3]
  • Fixed an issue that caused notifications to appear more than once on the Landing Screen.


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

PTR: Starstone Barrows/Amrine Expedition Mash-up

Greetings, Adventurers!

Aeternum is an ever-evolving world, and as such, we continue our efforts in providing an assortment of ongoing new features, content, and changes. Similar to the activities leading up to our latest major update, we are approaching the release of our next large release and would like to invite you all to participate in the next cycle of our Public Test Realm (PTR)!

[h2]PTR[/h2]
The Public Test Realm (PTR) is a limited-availability server-set that grants an early look at upcoming features. These preview builds are snapshots of upcoming major releases and are not final versions — you may encounter bugs, crashes, missing text, or other issues. Between our internal testing efforts and your reports, we hope to catch and resolve all serious issues before they reach the live servers. Hundreds of changes have already been made — with more to come — and the full release notes will be shared on release day. However, not every bug or feedback piece will be actioned on before release — some changes need time to be investigated further, and may arrive in a subsequent patch or two.

To help with the feedback process, all newly created PTR characters will have the opportunity to instantly level to select level-ranges outfitted with appropriate gear and items.

The PTR is now officially open. To maximize world population and encourage group play, we will open with two worlds available (“US East PTR 1” and “EU PTR 1”) for this playtest cycle, located within US East and EU Central regional datacenters respectively. You may have to change your client regional selection from the main menu in order to discover your intended test world. Existing test characters have been wiped for this cycle, to ensure thorough testing of the early game experience changes and ensure feedback is evaluated at the same difficulty benchmarks as we roll out new features across the next several weeks.

If you encounter a bug, exploit, or have suggestions to improve a feature or piece of content, we’d love to hear your feedback on our PTR sub-forum (you can also utilize our in-game feedback tool). We will do our best to address as much of your feedback as possible before the content update makes its way to our live servers. Your participation will help us to deliver awesome content and updates in the future!
[h2]
MAJOR UPDATES[/h2]
During this iteration of the PTR, we look forward to hearing your playtest feedback on the following changes:

[h3]NEW MUTATED EXPEDITION - STARSTONE BARROWS / AMRINE MASH-UP[/h3]


This new take on Starstone Barrows includes a special appearance. Players will revisit parts of the Amrine Expedition and face both the intrepid Simon Grey and Foreman Nakashima. Challenge the Expedition to find out more.

[h3]CRAFTING AND REFINING STATION TIER CHANGES
[/h3]

We are making two major changes to improve the Trade Skill leveling experience:

The Forge, Outfitting Station, Workshop, and Arcane Repository now offer Azoth discounts for relevant recipes.
  • Tier 3 = 20% discount.
  • Tier 4 = 30% discount.
  • Tier 5 = 45% discount.

Certain recipes will no longer be gated behind tiers:
Crafting Stations
  • Most procedural weapon and armor recipes.
  • Arcane Repository - Stat potions (Health, Mana, Regeneration, and Focus) and elemental recipes.
  • Kitchen - Health and mana foods

Refining Stations
  • Tier 3 unlocks - Recipe level is less than or equal to 100 and not legendary.
  • Tier 4 unlocks - Recipe level is 150 and not legendary.
  • Tier 5 unlocks - Recipe level is 200 or legendary at any recipe level.
  • Stonecutting - All gemcutting is no longer gated, but gem fusions remain gated behind relevant tiers.

[h2]ROLLING PTR UPDATES[/h2]
Stay tuned to the PTR section of the forums for updates on when the following features will become available:

[h3]JOINING COMPANIES UNFACTIONED[/h3]


Players no longer need to be in a Faction to join a Company, but Companies must still declare a Faction. Non-Faction-affiliated members may not become the Governor or participate in Wars.

[h3]GROUP FINDER ACTIVE LOBBY COUNTS[/h3]
Players can now see the number of active lobbies for each Expedition, both on the Map tooltip and the Expedition Entrance screen.

[h3]SHELL COMPANY MITIGATION[/h3]
We will implement the following changes to make shell Companies less effective at owning multiple territories:

Daily War Limit
  • Players will have a limit of 1 defensive War and 1 attacking War per world (resets daily at 5AM server time). These limits will apply to both even if you have two different characters in the same world.

War Roster Restrictions
  • Participating Companies will have a limited number of Mercenaries they can recruit.
  • Attacking Companies: Up to 40 mercenaries.
  • Defending Companies: Up to 15 mercenaries.
  • The remaining slots are reserved for their Company members.

Company Switching Cooldowns
  • When leaving a Company, players will start a 72 hour cooldown on fighting in a defensive War and earning Influence for any Company toward War declaration eligibility. The cooldown begins once a player leaves. Any Influence earned will still count towards the player’s Faction.

[h3]LEADERBOARDS[/h3]
Leaderboards will reward players, Companies, and Factions across the following categories:

  • Mutated Expeditions
  • Faction War
  • Vs. Environment
  • Vs. Players
  • Trade Skills

Every category contains subcategories. For example, Faction War includes Territory Control Score. Finish in the top 10 of any Leaderboard at the end of weekly, monthly, or quarterly rotations for exclusive skins, achievements, and titles. Rewards cannot be earned in the PTR.

[h2]PTR CLIENT ACCESS[/h2]
This special preview client will be made available for download through the stand-alone Steam application, “New World Public Test Realm” (which should already be in your Steam library if you own the main game). When the test period is complete and the main New World game is updated with the previewed content, the PTR world will shut down and may be wiped clean. You will continue to see the New World PTR application in your Steam library, but there will not be an active server until the next time we announce a public test

[h2]PTR BACKSTORY LOADOUTS[/h2]
Upon character creation on the PTR, players will be given multiple caches of special armor and weapons. Each cache has a designation based upon a general build and a main attribute: CON, DEX, INT, FOC, and STR.

To help manage the sudden onset of new items, do not open all provided caches at once, or you’ll risk becoming encumbered! Instead, equip all provided bags and then follow-up with opening each cache deliberately. Any undesired caches can be dropped or deposited into your personal settlement storage.

[h2]PTR FAQ[/h2]
[h3]HOW DO I ACCESS THE NEW PTR?[/h3]
Everyone with a copy of New World will be automatically granted access to the secondary PTR app. The PTR is not compatible with the live game, so you will need to download a separate client (and have the hard drive space required to support it). From there, we will have special worlds available within supported regions. Not all regions will initially be supported. Access is on a first come, first served basis. There may be queues.

[h3]CAN I PLAY WITH OR TRANSFER MY LIVE CHARACTERS TO THE PTR?[/h3]
Unfortunately, no. These are separate ecosystems, so at this time it is not possible. However, to make testing easier, we will occasionally provide our play-testers with special accommodations such as instant levels, special gear, etc.

[h3]CAN I PROVIDE DESIGN FEEDBACK REGARDING WHAT’S INCLUDED ON THE PTR?[/h3]
Preview game builds on the PTR are finished with their core development and are in their final phase of testing and bug fixing. Our main focus at this phase is improving quality, although we will appreciate any feedback you have to share.

[h3]I HAVE A PROBLEM; HOW CAN I CONTACT CUSTOMER SUPPORT?[/h3]
Our policies and Code of Conduct cover the PTR, and in-game moderation will continue to be supported. Unfortunately, due to the temporary and potentially unstable nature of the PTR, general Customer Service assistance through both Live Chat and through the Support Website will not be available.

[h3]I DON’T WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PTR, CAN I REMOVE THE APP FROM MY LIBRARY?[/h3]
Don’t worry, no offense taken. Players can manage visibility of the New World Public Test Realm Steam Library entry. Opening up the game options (right-click > Manage) offers the “Hide Game” function.

Thanks for your support and participation! We'll see you in Aeternum.

Fresh Start World Rollout Plan and FAQ

Greetings, Adventurers!

Missed out on your chance to claim untouched territory? Interested in establishing your foothold as the reigning champion of the land? Take your first steps on a fresh, blank slate when Fresh Start Worlds come to Aeternum on November 2!

We are excited to release the rollout plan for Fresh Start Worlds and an FAQ for any additional questions or concerns.

[h2]ROLLOUT PLAN[/h2]


Find out when each world will launch below. You can also view our forum post to see each wave in your local time:

[h3]WAVE 1 – NOVEMBER 2, 4:00 PM UTC[/h3]
  • Central Europe | Artemis
  • South America | Artorius
  • US-East | Medea
  • US-West | Yonas

[h3]WAVE 2 - NOVEMBER 2, 5:00 PM UTC[/h3]
  • Central Europe | Gawain
  • US-East | Myrddin

[h3]WAVE 3 - NOVEMBER 2, 6:00 PM UTC[/h3]
  • Central Europe | Apophis
  • US-East | Devourer

[h3]WAVE 4 - NOVEMBER 2, 7:00 PM UTC[/h3]
  • Central Europe | Cleopatra
  • South America | Gaea
  • US-East | Amarah
  • US-West | Ennead
  • Australia | Sutekh

[h2]FRESH START WORLD FAQ[/h2]

[h3]Q: HOW LONG WILL THE SERVERS BE LOCKED FROM TRANSFERS FROM EXISTING SERVERS? WILL PLAYERS IN THESE FRESH START WORLDS BE ABLE TO TRANSFER OUT OF THEM?[/h3]
A: There will be no transfers of existing characters into Fresh Start Worlds. We plan to allow transfers from a Fresh Start World to a legacy world at a later time.

[h3]Q: CAN PLAYERS IN FRESH START WORLDS TRANSFER TO ANOTHER FRESH START WORLD?[/h3]
A: Not at this time.

[h3]Q: WILL THERE BE A 3RD CHARACTER CREATION SLOT OR WILL I NEED TO DELETE A CHARACTER TO ACCESS THESE FRESH START WORLDS?[/h3]
A: Players will have a third character slot added on November 2nd. Any and all character slots may be used toward Fresh Start servers or Legacy servers but you cannot have more than 1 character per world.

[h3]Q: IF THE FRESH START WORLD POPULATION DROPS, DOES THAT MEAN IT’LL BE MERGED ON A LEGACY SERVER OR WILL IT BE MERGED WITH ANOTHER FRESH SERVER?[/h3]
A: We will never merge any Fresh Start Worlds into legacy worlds.

[h3]Q: HOW MANY FRESH START WORLD WILL THERE BE?[/h3]
A: All regions will have at least one fresh start server. Please see above for the rollout plans.

[h3]Q: IF I’M BANNED ON A LEGACY SERVER, CAN I START A NEW CHARACTER ON A FRESH START WORLD?[/h3]
A: Bans are account-wide.

[h3]Q: WILL THERE BE A WORLD FOR SEA/OCE?[/h3]
A: At this time, we do not plan to open any additional regions.

[h3]Q: WILL THE NEW LEVELING EXPERIENCE BE AVAILABLE ON FRESH START SERVERS?[/h3]
A: All new content, including Brimstone Sands and the Revamped Starting Experience, will be available on these worlds.

[h3]Q: WILL NIGHTVEIL HALLOW BE AVAILABLE ON FRESH START WORLDS?[/h3]
A: No, but all future events will be available.

[h3]Q: WILL WORLD POPULATION BE HIGHER ON FRESH START WORLDS?[/h3]
A: No, Fresh Start Worlds and legacy worlds will have the same maximum population cap.

[h3]Q: WILL FRESH START WORLDS HAVE A DIFFERENT BUILD OR MODERATION POLICY FROM LEGACY SERVERS[/h3]
A: No.

[h3]Q: WILL THERE BE A DEDICATED PVP ONLY OR RP ONLY WORLD IN THE FUTURE?[/h3]
A: We do not have any plans to create a PvP Only or RP Only world at this time.

[h3]Q: WILL FRESH START WORLDS BE LANGUAGE TAGGED?[/h3]
A: No, they will not be language tagged.

[h3]Q: WILL FRESH START WORLDS CHARACTERS BE ABLE TO ACCESS ALREADY PURCHASED ITEMS?[/h3]
A: Yes, account-wide items like promotional and in-store items will be accessible.

[h3]Q: HOW DO I DIFFERENTIATE A FRESH START WORLD FROM A LEGACY WORLD?[/h3]
A: Fresh Start Worlds will be tagged at the world selection screen.

[h3]Q: IS THERE AN OFFICIAL AMAZON GAMES FORUM OR DISCORD SPECIFICALLY SET FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN FRESH START WORLDS?[/h3]
A: No.

[h3]Q: WILL THERE BE QUEUES FOR FRESH START WORLDS?[/h3]
A: We have queue mitigations in place but you should plan to experience queues on your Fresh Start World.

[h3]Q: WHAT IF ALL FRESH START WORLDS ARE SET TO FULL?[/h3]
A: Servers may become locked between waves due to world capacity and queues but we will monitor worlds closely, especially during and right after the rollout phase to ensure that players can join a world in their preferred region.

[h3]Q: ARE FRESH START WORLDS THE SAME AS RETURN TO AETERNUM WORLDS?[/h3]
A: We will release Fresh Start Worlds at the same time as Return to Aeternum Worlds. Return to Aeternum servers will be reserved for event participants. Once the event ends, they will also be accessible to the public.

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

Beware Baalphazu: Nightveil Hallow Event and Development



Shapes in the mist! Shrieks in the night! The demon Baalphazu, Marquis of Terror, and his horde of ghoulish Pumpkinites are spreading a living nightmare across Aeternum! Aid Salvatore the Mad in his quest to banish these foul terrors and collect a bounty of Nightveil Hallow rewards!

We spoke to the Design, Narrative, AI, and Audio Teams for insight into each aspect of the event. Let’s find out some of the tricks that brought you this Halloween treat. You’ll also get a glimpse at early Nightveil Hallow concept art from before Baalphazu could cast their first shadow over Aeternum.

[h2]NIGHTVEIL HALLOW INSPIRATION[/h2]


“The direction of Nightveil Hallow was greatly inspired by 80’s horror movies, specifically the awesome creature-flicks and fun-spirited ‘schlocky’ tone of the era,“ said Holiday Event Feature Lead Deric Nunez. ”As a Halloween and horror-fanatic, it was a blast to work with the team to mix all the pieces that make 80’s horror so iconic and present them within the realm of Aeternum. Baalphazu and his Pumpkinites convey a theme that should hopefully feel familiar to fans of the genre and season, while Salvatore is a classic throwback to the golden age of horror cinema icons.”

[h3]EVENT GOALS[/h3]
“The goal of every holiday event is to ensure it’s unmistakable to players that a special event is happening in Aeternum,” said Deric. “With that, the playfully decorated settlements composed by Douglas Guanlao, Brian Patenaude, and Rosie Stzralkowski round out Nightveil Hallow. It is the team’s seal on our love letter to the spookiest time of year!”

[h3]REFERENCES IN THE EVENT SHOP REWARDS[/h3]


“The reverence Nightveil Hallow holds for the spooky season is most apparent in the Event Shop and incredible rewards players can earn during the event,” said Deric. “I’m certain fans of the genre will pick up on the inspirations for a few of the items, but there’s one hidden-in-plain-sight reference I’m particularly curious if anyone will catch.”

[h2]THE CREATION OF BAALPHAZU[/h2]
“When conceiving the demon Baalphazu, we wanted to hint at the existence of other parallel worlds,” said Narrative Designer Aaron de Orive. “The Netherworld is a mysterious realm of shadows and nightmares, where the dark figure of Lord Tenebrous rules over the Host, a collection of goblins, ghouls, and other terrors. Baalphazu is one of the Netherworld’s dread captains, eager to carry out the will of his twisted master by spreading fear throughout the island of immortals.”

[h3]NAMING BAALPHAZU[/h3]


“We tossed a few names around when conceiving this demon,” said Aaron. “When it comes to New World, our goal is to have creatures and NPCs that are familiar but still uniquely Aeternum. I was fond of the name ‘Belphegor’ while Deric Nunez favored ‘Pazuzu’ so it’s easy to see how we settled on Baalphazu.”

[h2]PUMPKINITES[/h2]
“Any new holiday event starts with establishing the ‘reason for the season,’ or the major shift that causes all of the associated festivities,” said Deric. “The conceptualization of the Pumpkinites was that first step toward developing the overall framework of Nightveil Hallow.”

“The idea of monstrous pumpkin creatures running amok across Aeternum was too fun to pass on and the Concept/AI Teams did a killer job developing each one to convey their own sense of personality and purpose. Of the bunch, the Pumpklin is the one I’d consider to be the mascot of the event as it’s a direct homage to the “small creature” horror films of the 80’s. I can totally see this little guy standing claw-to-claw against the Critters.“



[h3]PUMPKLINS[/h3]
“Despite being the smallest and most fodder creature of the bunch, the Pumpklins were a deceivingly intricate mob to create as they are vital to defeating Baalphazu,” said Deric. “The concept of defeating an enemy and picking up its head to throw at others was as wild to pitch as it was to develop. A lot of new tech had to be created and there were many moving parts. It was a cross-departmental effort.”

“Everyone involved with the process did such an amazing job, it’s immensely satisfying mowing them down by the dozens and seeing their heads fly across the battlefield. I’m incredibly excited the Pumpklin is now a permanent fixture of Aeternum, and can’t wait to see what other shenanigans it can get itself into.”

[h2]BAALPHAZU BOSS FIGHT[/h2]
“Controlled chaos is how I’d best describe the primary creative design pillar of the fight,” said Deric. “It’s fast and hectic, but includes a large boss space to create a more epic atmosphere in two ways — many players can participate without feeling too crowded and Baalphazu and his Pumpkinites have a lot of room to move.”

“I love how his dialogue and taunts were worked so heavily into the flow of the fight to convey both narrative and phase transitions to players. If I had to pick one specific moment of the Baalphazu fight I’m particularly pleased with (aside from everything), the presentation and performance of his final death explosion completely nailed the goal of an 80’s cult horror villain death. It is a perfect celebratory moment to close out the encounter.”



[h3]BOSS DESIGN[/h3]
“Baalphazu was designed to make sure any player can succeed without having to play a specific role or weapon,” said AI Designer Kevin Gu. “Accessibility is key for a spooky good time.”

“A lot of effort went into making sure the boss and his supporting cast worked harmoniously with each other. For example, the monster attacks apply healing debuffs, but offer healing when defeated.”

“Vital values were pushed to the absurd as we explored what an open world boss could look like in New World. This ‘more is better’ approach includes the bonus damage players can deal when Baalphazu becomes staggered. There’s something so satisfying about seeing big numbers!”



“I even secretly snuck in a small health buff before we locked down the boss for release, but watching the boss melt before the might of the players indicates that I should have applied ‘more is better’... more.”

[h3]APPEARANCE[/h3]
“Since the Pumpkinites lean into the more ‘schlocky,’ playful side of 80’s horror, we created a darker and more sinister look for Baalphazu to add some levity to the event,” said Concept Artist Kiana Hamm. “He was meant to be a trickster figure with ties to mysterious ancient gods, so we drew a lot from folk horror. His hooded, partially obscured face bares a terrifying grin, leaning into that trickster archetype.”



“We went through tons of iterations for different looks and body types, but ultimately settled on his branch-like wings. Reminiscent of his pumpkin underlings, they give the impression of gnarled roots ripped out of the ground. For the rest of his design, we wanted him to look otherworldly — totally different than anything else we’ve seen in Aeternum so far. He looks almost as if he’s carved from clay, beautiful but disturbing at the same time. Ultimately his design captured exactly what we wanted for this event, dark and unsettling, with a hint of Halloween fun.”

[h3]THE NEW THROWABLE OBJECT MECHANIC[/h3]
“What’s more appropriate for the season than throwing fiery pumpkin heads,” Deric said. “This mechanic creates an ebb and flow to the boss that allows players of a wide-range of skill and levels to participate in meaningful ways.”

“Developing the logistics of this mechanic and integrating it into the chaos of the fight presented an interesting challenge. We had to ensure the throwable pumpkins were visible and easily learnable. They also had to feel predictable in terms of trajectory and destination. It’s been immensely gratifying watching videos of PTR playthroughs and seeing the ‘aha’ moment when this mechanic clicks with players.”



“Beyond Nightveil Hallow, I’m excited about the future opportunity this mechanic has to enhance the variety and depth of players’ interactions with Aeternum.”

[h2]NIGHTVEIL HALLOW VOICE OVERS[/h2]
Audio & VO Producer Johannes Rasinkangas shared the story behind the voices of Salvatore and Baalphazu:

[h3]THE VOICE OF SALVATORE[/h3]
“Casting Baalphazu and Salvatore was rather unusual compared to how we typically handle that process,“ said Johannes. ”Starting with Salvatore, Aaron De Orive, and Deric Nunez had approached me with a special request. They wanted to have this voice pay homage to some of the great actors from the golden age of horror films like Vincent Price, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney. This became a rather challenging request to find just the right voice.“

“After reviewing dozens of reels from voice actors, I was chatting with one of our wonderful directors. They shared a general joy and excitement for the character, suggested some folks, and then later that day sent me an email out of the blue. Attached was a recording of an excerpt from The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe.”



“The person reading it was exactly what we were looking for. Turns out that director had asked Christopher Corey Smith to quickly do a recording. I cannot exaggerate how perfect Chris sounded. With their permission, I passed this recording over to Aaron and Deric. Much to their delight, and the initial confusion of ‘yes, that’s a perfect voice. If only we could find an actor to do something similar,’ we had cast our Salvatore.”

“Aaron and I were sitting on pins and needles, nervous but excited during the first recording session. As soon as Chris slipped into that performance, the entire crew was grinning from ear to ear. A few of us couldn’t help but chime in during breaks and pauses to sing our praises about how he sounded just like one of those golden age actors. Chris was an absolute blast to work with.”

[h3]THE VOICE OF BAALPHAZU[/h3]
“We knew from a design perspective that Baalphazu was going to be really intense and vocally very straining,” said Johannes. “So, I wanted to make sure whoever we cast for the role could handle screeches, screams, growls and more.”



“The voice behind Baalphazu is Molly Scarpine, an incredibly talented metal vocalist who just so happens to specialize in extreme creature vocals. Molly was recommended to me initially by our Director Maddie Stratton as a ‘hey, check out this vocalist and her band. They’re really cool.’ After hearing Molly’s music, I knew we had to get her in for something awesome. Then this boss came around, handed to me as a lovely gift. I pitched Molly to our Audio Team as a possible voice, and they were on board.”

“Molly was such a wonderful person to record with and gave us a plethora of variations for each line. I just have this vivid memory of Molly shrugging and calling out that she’s doing great after being asked how she’s feeling, and then going in for the next take. Easily one of the coolest sessions I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending.”

[h2]BAALPHAZUU VOICE DESIGN[/h2]
Sound Designer Kyle Bailey walked us through his design process for Baalphazuu:

“Holiday content is always a lot of fun to work on, and I think Halloween might be my favorite,“ said Sound Designer Kyle Bailey. ”The dark and scary nature of the holiday opens up a huge amount of possibilities for sound design. You can push the envelope into weird and creative territories to enrich the experience.“

“Starting with great source material makes the remainder of the process an absolute joy. The unique vocal tonalities that Molly can achieve, in addition to the raw emotion that comes through in the recording, gave this character their own unique voice, even before the VO design.”



“We knew the voice needed to evoke terror, and strike fear into the hearts of all who inhabit the island. With that in mind, I started by splitting the voice into three separate channels for unique processing. The first layer was meant to provide clarity in the spoken line. I used very light pitch and delay processing to give it a bit of a larger than life feel, but was careful about going too far and making the lines unintelligible. This gave the voice an eerie, demonic doubling effect.”

“The next two layers were where I wanted to take advantage of the strange nature of Halloween and push it into something weird, horrifying, and unique. I was inspired by a sound we all know and hate, nails on a chalkboard. I found that you can get similar, but unique results from sliding a shower ring across a metal rod. I took these unsettling sounds and used an envelope follower, which mirrored the amplitude of the VO lines, to bring that texture into the voice.”

“The final layer was where I went nuts. I threw everything and the kitchen sink at it to see what would happen. The result ended up being a low-pitched layer with some aggressive modulation. I used a slight reversal effect along with a formant filter hooked up to an LFO to give a constant tonal shift that somewhat mimics a human voice. These three layers, along with the strong VO performance gave Baalphazu an identity of their own.”

[h2]BAALPHAZU SOUND EFFECTS (SFX)[/h2]
“After working with Molly’s vocals, I had the opportunity to go into my own creative space and finish off the character’s sound scape with the SFX,” said Kyle.

[h3]VIOLIN[/h3]
“I started with something familiar to me, the violin,” said Kyle. “The amount of emotion and expressivity you can communicate through the violin is something I haven’t experienced with anything else. But… it’s also capable of producing some of the nastiest, most unsettling screeches and scrapes to ever pierce your ears.“

“This was the starting point for Baalphazu’s base ability, the Wing Stab. The ability to control pitch and that nasty timbre allowed me to give the lead-up and execution of the attack the motion they needed. These recordings, along with the creaky, wooden branch foley for the wings and a splash of fire, gave this attack its voice.”

[h3]CHICKERING PIANO[/h3]
“Continuing my experimentation with musical instruments, I reached for a 1920s Chickering piano as source material for the Reap ability,” said Kyle. “During this attack, the ground is lit with a green flame, then Baalphazu pulls their challengers in close and summons rings of fire that damage all who are near. The piano is used in the lead-up to the pull, giving the players a tell that something is on the horizon.”

[h3]SPOONS AND STRINGS[/h3]
“I rubbed a spoon across the bare piano strings in all different directions and found that the upward direction gave a great sense of tension and anticipation,” said Kyle. “The metal spoon scraping against the metal of the piano strings provided that discomforting signature that worked so well for this character. The piano mixed with elements of fire, thunder, chains and the souls of the Neatherworld beneath, convey the sheer terror that Baalphazu encapsulates.”

“I had an amazing time working on all of the different aspects of Baalphazu. Each one introduced an opportunity to try something new, push the creative envelope, and come up with a unique sonic signature that fit with the character. The combination of deliberate casting, incredible performance, and the ability to explore new ideas created an environment for the team to flourish. These, along with a massive group effort from all the developers came together to create this great new experience.”

[h2]CONCEPT ART[/h2]
See how some of the Design Team’s concepts came to life:









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