Greetings, Adventurers!

Learn more about the development of the Empyrean Forge through Level Designer Pride St. Clair and improve your experience with tips from 3 of your favorite New World content creators: Grumpyyrose, Sherlock Gnome, and YaBoiWiilly. We also compiled key insights like Mutation stats based on community performance.

Following the release of Cross-World Expeditions with improved Group Finder, our completion rate for this Expedition run through the Group Finder increased from 80% to 95%. We’ve compiled the following stats based on your performance in the Empyrean Forge.




“Empyrean Forge and Glacial Tarn were developed as sister Expeditions, something we were unable to talk about in our original Empyrean Forge development diary,” Pride said. “The challenge of designing these two in tandem was actively considering both halves. They had to converge in the same space without overshadowing the other’s complexity or intrigue. Within Empyrean Forge, you can see the promenade of the Glacial Tarn’s exterior and the great Ancient pyramid that stands as the centerpiece of both Expeditions because these spaces were developed to fit snugly together.”

“Unlike the industrial fire and natural ice, the expression of the aesthetics were not defined early in the design process. For Empyrean Forge, we were interested in exploring what industry and machinery looked like to the Ancients who once ruled over Aeternum. They were capable of building massive machines of destruction, such as Chardis of Lazarus Instrumentality, and manipulating primordial magic - the building blocks of reality. Though we’d seen their works fallen to rubble and scattered throughout the world, we had yet to see how these creations came to be. This made exploring the Empyrean Forge an exciting opportunity for us.“

“Empyrean Forge marked many firsts for us as a Design Team, including new foundational mechanics like player communication and unique environmental obstacles and interactions that we still build upon today.”


“Communication is crucial before launching your Expedition,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Discuss with your team whether you're aiming for speed, a high score, or a safe gold run. Setting expectations early is key to a smooth run. Understanding your team's skill level is also imperative for success. This insight allows for optimal allocation of Constitution, armor ratings, and stat points.”

“Proximity voice chat makes New World stand out amongst most other MMORPGs,“ Grumpyyrose said. ”It’s super helpful to communicate game plans. Talking with your team can also establish good vibes and strengthen patience for one another.“


“Make sure you bring the right consumables like Human Ward Potions, Honing Stones, Attribute Food and Infused Health/ Regen Potions,” Grumpyyrose said. “Adding Rubies to your Armor/Jewelry, and having a Flame Protection Amulet is super helpful due to the amount of fire damage in forge.”

“Maximizing your damage output and survivability with the right gear is crucial,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Have a DPS focused main build paired with a secondary that offers utility. Starting with 50 to 100 Constitution is a solid foundation. Opting for 50 CON medium with either Attuned Leather Pants or the Natures Wrath Artifact can be another viable option. It’ll offer a similar DPS output with 100 CON light builds but with far more survivability.”

“A well-thought-out team composition significantly boosts your chances of success. Typically, you'll want at least 2 Great Axes for versatility in a PUG run, an Enfeeble Spear for applying Rends and Weakens, and a Void Gauntlet for Empower and additional Rends. The right mix can be the difference between striking gold and a premature exit.”


“We designed the Empyrean Forge as though it were a long-decommissioned factory suddenly sprung back to life,” Pride said. “The disrepair from centuries of neglect now served as a hazard for players to contend with. Reanimated machines grinded, churned, and crushed once again, now divorced from their original, forgotten purpose.”


“Lava flooded the ancient chambers, spilling from broken pipes and pumped through broken pistons, blocking the player’s progress throughout the Expedition. The pistons, in particular, were an obvious choice as a gameplay obstacle. They were designed to only harm the player when they slammed down onto their base, which led to some interesting design problems and demanded strict synchronicity between the player clients and the server so no player saw a piston’s incorrect state.“

“Take your time when crossing through the lava and piston sections,” Grumpyyrose said. “Both cause instant death and prevent revives. I have fallen into the lava or timed the pistons wrong one too many times and got smooshed, oopsies!”

“Tackling the puzzle before engaging with Ser Ducas can be a much safer approach,” Sherlock Gnome said. “First, go down the stairs carefully to progress the Quest Log. Next, go back up and make your way to the combination puzzle. The tank can then carefully jump off the cliff to stand on the button. Do not aggro Ser Ducas to make the most of this strategy.”


“We knew we wanted a puzzle with two parts—the cypher and the lock—but nothing like that existed in New World,” Pride said. “We also didn’t want to force players to run back and forth from the solution to the lock, like placing the solution to the puzzle on a wall in one of the hallways. The other outstanding obstacle was implementing randomness to the solution, so players couldn’t memorize it and brute force the encounter on subsequent playthroughs.”

“These puzzles require teamwork, communication, and some memory,” YaBoiWiilly said. “One person must stand on a platform to learn the code. They’ll then share it with their team, who must match the symbols to open the lock.”


“We wanted to peel the curtain back on not just the Ancient’s forgotten machinations, but also the other creatures and beings that inhabited the hidden world of magic,” Pride said. “Ifrit and the Heel exist outside of the Ancient and Corrupted archetypes, representing something far older and more essential than those two warring factions. From a design standpoint, we wanted the creatures to feel like they were a part of, if not entirely born of, the energies that power the Forge. Narratively, this is simple. They’re creatures of flame, living amongst the lava of the dilapidated forge. Mechanically, however, we knew we wanted them to reflect the broiling chaos at the heart of the Expedition.”

“The enemies are not only strong, but crafty,” YaBoiWiilly said. “You get thrown into a gauntlet of pistons, lava, and the Heel. Patience is a virtue here, so be precise with your movement.”

“The Heel exists as part of the obstacle course that begins after using the dial puzzle to open the door to the forge and ends upon entering Ifrit’s arena,” Pride said. “The Heel has a much larger awareness range than similar Elementals, allowing it to harass players as they attempt to cross hazardous bridges and avoid being crushed under the Forge’s tempering pistons. In this way, it feels more integrated into the actual level design itself- not just a simple encounter, but one that leads the player through the obstacle course and can complicate their traversal as they progress.”


“A pro tip is to have your healer pull aggro from the entrance, allowing them to heal safely while the rest of the team maneuvers through the obstacles,” Sherlock Gnome said. “This strategy prevents ghosts from targeting your group as you navigate to the platform.”

“Full Opals with an Amulet of Protection matching the Mutation are recommended,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Flame Protection is advisable for encounters with Ifrit and Marius.”

“Aim for 40% to 63% protection by equipping Tier 5 Gems across all Armor and Jewelry, complemented by a Protection Amulet,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Consider switching to a Flame Protection Amulet for the boss fights.”


“Having 2-3 Gear Sets tailored to your main build allows for full Mutation-specific protection,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Equip gear for Flame and Slash protection during boss encounters to increase your chances of survival. You’ll also want to prepare multiple Gear Sets to optimize your Gem sets for each boss along with the proper team combination. This will make M3s far easier and more consistent, no matter who joins your group.“

“Timing your dodges can be life or death during an M3 so stamina management is massive here,” YaBoiWiilly. “Remember practice makes perfect. Keep trying to get better.”

“If you are struggling with M3s, you should bring a higher CON and more gear with defensive traits such as Enchanted Ward and Elemental Aversion. I always keep Gemstone Dust in my hot bar,” Grumpyyrose said.

“Focus on teamwork and effective communication to vastly improve your performance,” Sherlock Gnome said. “You can even record and review VODs to help identify areas of improvement.”


“For Ifrit, we had a single driving theme in mind from its initial concept - bullet hell,” Pride said. “We wanted a fight that was less about managing aggro or leading the boss to safe spots and more about spatial awareness and player dexterity. Ifrit uses both stationary hazards and timing challenges to force players to prioritize damage and movement in equal measure. We hoped this design would give damage dealers a more involved fight, and be a rewarding experience for players who enjoy more active combat.“

“Dodging and movement is the most important part of this fight,” YaBoiWiilly said. “The boss has multiple AOE abilities ranging from Flame Waves, Fire Bombs, and Flamethrowers. Some of the abilities also leave a lasting impression on the battlefield, so position yourself for success.”

“This battle becomes significantly easier with Flame and Slash Protection,” Sherlock Gnome said. “Be vigilant of bombs dropping from the sky — they're deadly. The tank should position their back to the Flame Waves. This will allow the DPS player to more effectively anticipate and dodge.”

“With the Flame Waves you can go prone to avoid them," YaBoiWiilly said. "But be careful! Bombs can still drop on your head."

“As a ranged player it’s natural to stay far away,” Grumpyyrose said. “However after the first phase, I get closer and use my melee weapon for the remainder of the fight. During the final 2 stages, Ifrit shoots flames and rotates. Follow the rotation up close to stay safe and maximize damage.“


“Commander Marius still retains some of this chaotic energy, forcing players to contend with a lava filled floor or pancaking lava boulders that fall from the ceiling,” Pride said. “Still, his mobility and lethality put the tank back in the driver’s seat, asking them to find safe spots away from hazards while also making sure Marius doesn’t turn his attention to the squishier members of the party.”

“Keep Marius on one side of the entrance door for more predictability since he’ll always go back to the same place,” Sherlock Gnome said. “For ranged strategies, designate the healer or a DPS to stand farthest from Marius. This will dictate his spin direction. For melee strategies, position the healer behind the tank to ensure Marius spins toward the tank instead of the DPS. Look out for red dots over your head. These indicate accumulated Flame Stacks and can one shot your team when exploded. Dodge his slam attacks to avoid fatal damage.”

“You'll have to avoid mini volcanoes, Commander Marius spinning around the room, falling boulders, and rising lava,” YaBoiWiilly said. “Melee will have a tough time, so run range if you can. It can seem like a lot is happening, but pay close attention. There are indicators for when the lava boulders land and which direction they will go, as well as ample visual and audio ques that telegraph his other abilities.”

“Ranged players rejoice yayyy,” Grumpyyrose said. “I stick to the platforms during this whole fight and attack from a distance. Be aware of where the tank is and rotate to other platforms as necessary. Phase 2 and 3 (I like to call these the flaming meatball stages) is when the platforms get more dangerous. Be aware of where the last meatball has landed and rotate as needed. If you play the inner corners of the platform, you’ll find safe pockets to avoid the falling meatballs.”

“Make friends, join groups, and experiment with different builds and tactics for another layer of enjoyment,” Sherlock Gnome said. “New World is designed for shared adventures with Company members, existing friends, and new acquaintances you meet along the way. Who will you take on yours?”


Conquer the Empyrean Forge for a chance to receive the following loot drops:

• Minor Heartrune of Fire Storm
  
• Empty Hearth Amulet
  
• Red Hot Slag Ring
  
• Charcoal Earring
  
• Fire of Life - Life Staff
  
• Snowmelt - Ice Gauntlet
  
• Brightdark - Void Gauntlet
  
• Volcanic Staff - Fire Staff
  
• Firepoker - Spear
  
• Knightslayer - Rapier
  
• Firefight - War Hammer
  
• Blast Shield - Kite Shield
  
• Trickshot - Hatchet
  
• Old Longbow - Bow
  
• Shredder - Blunderbuss
  
• Flamespout - Musket
  
• Commanding Strike - Great Axe
  
• Enduring Will - Longsword
  
• Strikeback - Greatsword
  
• Rending Flail - Flail
  
• Dragonsteel - Heavy Chestwear
  
• Insulating Helm - Heavy Headwear
  
• Darkshroud Leggings - Heavy Legwear
  
• Counterbalancing Boots - Heavy Footwear
  
• Scaled Gauntlets - Heavy Gloves

Defeat Commander Marius in an M3 Mutation for a chance at the following items:

• Fire Lord's Cuirass - Heavy Chestwear
  
• Fire Lord's Great Horned Helm - Heavy Headwear
  
• Fire Lord's Cuisses - Heavy Legwear
  
• Fire Lord's Greaves- Heavy Footwear
  
• Fire Lord's Vambraces - Heavy Gloves

Make sure to follow each content creator for more guides, tips, and other original New World content:

• Grumpyyrose
  
• Sherlock Gnome
  
• YaBoiiWilly

We hope you enjoyed this deep dive into Empyrean Forge. Let us know what you’d like to see in future analytics articles. Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in Aeternum!

Greetings, Adventurers!

Some of your favorite Store skins like the Titania’s Regalia, Oberon’s Armor, and Dark Scion are back for a limited-time. These items can be obtained in exchange for Marks of Fortune until 6AM PT (1:00PM UTC) on April 4. Following this enchanting selection of Dusk Fae apparel, additional player requested skins will cycle through the Store each month. Let us know what you want to see unvaulted in the future.

Check out the full selection, including armor skins, weapon skins, emotes, and more below.


“While Aeternum is rife with corrupted souls, one can also find delicate and enchanting magic among its many spirits.”
Includes:

• Titania's Regalia
  
• Oberon's Armor
  
• Dark Scion

This bundle is pro-rated, so if you’ve already purchased something in the bundle, that will reduce the cost.

Cost: 36,000 Marks of Fortune


“The results are both unpredictable and enchanting when using weapons blessed by the spirits of the wild.”
Includes:

• Twisted Undine - Musket skin
  
• Sleeping Spindle - Rapier skin
  
• Spiritgem - Hatchet skin
  
• Nymph Smasher - War Hammer skin
  
• Dusk Fae Fire - Fire Staff skin
  
• Icesnap - Ice Gauntlet skin

This bundle is pro-rated, so if you’ve already purchased something in the bundle, that will reduce the cost.

Cost: 34,500 Marks of Fortune


“Thyne e'rie lant'rns attracteth flutt'ring spirits, and can draweth one's attention f'r most wondrous lengths, until rest and dreams ov'rtake thee.”

Cost: 20,000 Marks of Fortune


“The mystical spirits that guard the land that have imbued this toolset with their knowledge of how to best harvest its resources.“
Cost: 15,000 Marks of Fortune


“Your fine guests will feel right at home in these lavish and enchanted furnishings.“
Cost: 10,000 Marks of Fortune


"Pull for all you're worth! Pull like you're back at sea, hauling the mainsail aloft."

Cost: 4,000 Marks of Fortune


"For a job well done."

Cost: 4,000 Marks of Fortune

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

Greetings, Adventurers!

This article was updated on March 22: Season of the Guardian will release on Tuesday, April 2. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to resolve issues based on PTR feedback and work together towards even more enjoyable experiences in Aeternum. You can also look forward to the full release notes at the end of next week.
Thank you for playing the Season of the Guardian PTR. To better address your feedback on the upgraded combat & animation system as well as issues identified through the PTR and internal tests, Season 5 will be delayed. We appreciate your support as we continue to resolve issues and work together towards an even more enjoyable release. Stay tuned for an updated Season 5 release date in the near future.

Here’s how each feature has been reshaped based on your PTR feedback. Other changes, noted below, will require more time to implement and release in a later update. Our team will continue to work hard on these additions for a more seamless experience. Thank you for your insightful commentary, patience, and understanding.


Many of you shared concerns that the invulnerability perk will make Healers and Ranged DPS overpowered. Taking this feedback into consideration, we updated the Phoenix Vengeance perk so that when a player receives lethal damage, they will temporarily avoid death, become invulnerable for 4 seconds, and then die. Following a second PTR release which provided these changes, we received and acknowledge further feedback regarding the sustained interest and viability of the perk with these modifications at play.

As a response, we will take another pass at the design of the Phoenix Vengeance perk, but due to timing, will plan to release further changes in an update following Season 5. You can expect the following adjustments (values not final and subject to change):

When you receive lethal damage, avoid death and regain 100% of your max health. You will then become inflicted with Vengeance. This reduces healing by 100% and deals 12% of your max health every second until you die or get a kill. (180s cooldown).


Most feedback suggests the Poison Tipped perk should only apply its Damage Over Time effect to heavy melee attacks for more compelling risk versus reward combat. We agree with your sentiment. Now the perk will only apply to heavy melee attacks.

We also saw recommendations to re-balance Venom Spear separately for PvP and PvE, as some of you felt the DOT effect for ranged attacks was balanced in PvE activities. However, we want to limit the amount of functional divergences for between PvP and PvE, so we’ll likely consider adjusting the item’s stats such as Damage % or Status Effect Duration instead.


The Nature’s Blessing perk split player opinion. It removes Empower status effects in exchange for an always active base damage increase. This can be a trade off or completely beneficial depending on the prevalence of Empowers. For example, the Spear has several Empowers, which if combined, equal 50% Empower. However, to achieve that 50% Empower, you’ll have to either use two specific abilities or dodge frequently. It can be perceived as a net-loss if you look at max Empower uptime, but with the Artifact you can swap your abilities and passives to obtain that additional damage without utilizing those Empowers. You can even maximize the bonus damage 100% of the time unlike with base Empowers where it is only possible as long as you use those abilities, though there are cooldowns to consider.

For now, we believe the Artifact is powerful but not essential. It has the added benefit of promoting different playstyles through trade-offs. Given the divided feedback, we will not make any changes for the time being. We’ll continue to monitor its usage and make revisions in the future if necessary.


It was apparent from your feedback following the first PTR update that some fine tuning was needed with the Upgraded Combat & Animation System (aka Slayer Script). While your reports helped us identify many of the bugs and issues, we will continue to test and improve this system for Season 5.


Players noted some awkwardness with the current version of Controller Support, specifically the pre-set controller layouts and accessibility options. Although no major changes or updates will be coming with Season 5, we will continue to make improvements for the controller experience, like custom controller mapping and speech to text, in future updates.


We heard your feedback regarding the Cooking Trade Skill changes, and made several adjustments to address the two largest concerns: the increased amount of resources required to craft dishes, and the fast depletion of Fishing Hotspots where Legendary Fish can be found. As such, cooking recipes will now require 3 materials for 3 dishes (opposed to 5 materials for 3 dishes) and the number of fish that can be caught from Fishing Hotspots has been increased. As a bonus, we’ve also decreased the respawn time for Fishing Hotspots!

We will continue to gather feedback, so please keep it coming. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on this new feedback article format. Thanks for your support and participation! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

Join up to 10 max-level players in a bone-chilling gauntlet of increasingly difficult enemies. This Seasonal Trial requires teamwork to overcome Rune puzzles, slay an Icey Construct, and fell an Ancient Ice Guardian for unique rewards. Here’s an interview going behind the scenes of the Winter Rune Forge, plus a deep dive featuring the Art Team’s process.


Join Environment Artist Carlos Lopez for a glimpse into how the Art Team brought our latest Seasonal Trial to life.


Level Designer Zachary Holm, Lead Artist Brian Patenaude and I brainstormed the layout for this Trial. We were all enthusiastic about the thought of dropping down from the ice floor after an intense fight. I took inspiration from the worlds in Dark Souls and Metroid Prime, specifically their sense of scale. My goal was to immerse players in a grand area while instilling the feeling that you're just a small person walking through these historically significantly structures, each wall complete with its own story. Looking at older Trials, I wanted to make the art unique without contradicting Aeternum's established aesthetic.


The initial idea of the chasm was too simplified — You drop through the ice, fight a boss, get the rune and leave. I wanted the chasm to feel like the structure below once had purpose above ground but eventually collapsed and fell, giving the player the ability to partially climb back up or use the dilapidated structure as a path down. Depending on where the player fell, this would add a sense of exploration.


The bridge section follows a similar philosophy. What once was a functioning part of a previous civilization now becomes a gameplay element. Players parkour along the fallen bridge thanks to a new path of giant stalactites that have fallen from the ceiling. There’s also a sense of wonder as the player takes in a view of the gigantic cavern and teases of ancient structures. As you venture deeper, these structures slowly reveal that this isn’t a typical cave. The word grand had to play a role in every part of it.


I designed two paths at the bottom. The first is clearly locked, yet dangled in front of the player. Hopefully the intrigue of the vast, long destroyed bridge behind those gates makes them say “I want to go there,” despite the other path being the only accessible route forward. This designated path leads down a hall into an ever-expanding Ancient room lined with broken walls on all sides.


Honestly, the Design Team’s Rune puzzle placement was a great reason to give the Art Team a bit more love on the upper sections of the map. Typically, we’d focus all of the detail on the ground where players primarily look. Now there’s a chance for players to naturally appreciate their surrounding environment.

The hope is for players to say something like, “finally! I get to see what is on the other side of this locked gate" after finishing that second fight. We want to exceed player expectations with even more interesting and diverse areas filled with memorable boss battles and visual clues teasing Aeternum’s past. Please let us know what you think of the Winter Rune Forge Trial design as we continue to work hard on new areas.


Conquer the Winter Rune Forge for trial-specific rewards like a new Artifact, 6 Named Weapons, 3 Named Armor Sets, and more.

Every time you strike down both bosses you’ll earn the following:

• A random weapon or armor piece at their level from the Frostforged set
  
• Sapphire Gypsum

Twice per week you’ll get even more rewards for completing this trial, including a chance to uncover the Tempest Fury Artifact. You’re guaranteed to net 1 piece of Named Gear (all upgradable), 150 Dark Matter, and 4 pieces of Frostforged gear upon each of your two completions. Weekly rewards reset at 5 AM local time on Tuesday. For example, if you grab one special cache at 4:58 AM, you’ll be able to earn another at 5:01 AM.

• Tempest Fury Artifact - Great Axe (10% chance)
  
• Faction Token Bundle (50% chance)

• Icecleaver - Warhammer
  
• Frozenpoint - Spear
  
• Snowburst - Musket
  
• Chilled Meteor - Flail
  
• Moon of Healing - Life Staff
  
• Sun of Knowledge - Fire Staff

• Frostweaver - Light
  
• Freezeframe - Medium
  
• Ice Guardian - Heavy

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

Greetings, Adventurers!

Controller support is coming to New World. Choose from two pre-set controller layouts to enhance your New World experience. As part of optimizing New World for controller play, we've introduced the following new features and settings with additional functionality (such as rebinding) coming soon. We also caught up with the Development Team for even more insight into all things controller.

Aim Assist

• Assists with aiming ranged attacks.
  
• Available only on a controller and exclusively against AI enemies (PvP aim assist will be reevaluated for future seasons).

Target Friction

• Reduces reticle speed when hovering over a valid target.
  
• Available only on a controller.

Enemy Target Lock

• Enables you to lock the camera onto an AI enemy (PvP target lock will be reevaluated for future seasons).
  
• Supported by both controller (move the right stick to switch between multiple targets) and Mouse and Keyboard (Middle Mouse Button and Mouse Wheel Up/Down) input methods.

Freeform Movement

• Allows running in all directions, including towards the camera.
  
• Holding Block/Aim will revert to normal strafe navigation.
  
• Activating Target Lock will strafe around the locked target.
  
• Defaulted to "on" only while using a controller input device.
  
• In addition, backwards movement has been sped up in normal strafe navigation.

Use Camera Direction for Melee Attacks:

• When off, allows melee attacks and blocking in the direction of your input/character facing instead of camera facing.
  
• Defaults to "off" only with while using a Mouse and Keyboard input devices.

Improved Accessibility

• New radial menu for quick access to commonly used functions like emotes, commands, and camping.
  
• New Shift modifiers for quick access to all combat abilities.
  
• UI Help Bars and shortcut buttons provide an improved user experience while navigating the UI with a controller.

Adding target lock makes for some great combat gameplay; dodging and circling around is very fluid, and moving between locked targets is easy with a flick of the right stick. We think players are going to enjoy figuring out new ways to approach combat when controller support is launched.

Controller provides a greater scope of quick actions via shortcut buttons, shift modifiers (combos), radial menus, etc. that you can’t apply easily with mouse and keyboard. We’ve also added a toggle option for “while holding” buttons, such as Block/Aim.


We started by setting the bar based on games we felt were gold standards for our genres — third person action gameplay, and a complex RPG UI. That’s where a lot of the big changes like a new camera/movement mode and target lock came from. Significant work went into streamlining both gameplay and the UI. New World wasn’t initially designed for controllers.

There was a LOT of work from figuring out how to fit all the functionality onto a gamepad (thus radial menus and shift modifiers), to condensing the UI, adding shortcut buttons to every interface, and so on. With the paper design done, it then came down to building the supporting tech (for new things like haptics tied to audio cues, cursor magnetism, etc.), redesigning and implementing the UI, and finally getting the feel of movement, combat, and menu navigation right. We’re still tuning that last part, along with future updates like button remapping.


Our team has many different types of players, so we went back and forth on how “hardcore” or complex to make controls. Some of the developers have played New World for years on Steam controllers. They hoped to support every range of custom input possible: double-taps, multiple modifiers, gyros and touchpads, multiple button combos, plus everything mixable and nestable (e.g. a two-button modifier on a two-button combo double-tap), some of which is a real nightmare for UI to dynamically display (we like to have the input prompts on-screen). Limited time and resources meant focusing on what the majority of our players prefer, but we’d love to allow that level of customization in the future!


There was the matter of transferring the MANY keyboard inputs of a complex MMORPG to a handful of controller buttons (and thus the radial menus, shortcut buttons, shift modifier, etc.). In addition, we had to make changes to the camera and visual cues for controllers to read and play better during combat. That said, we did find these changes actually transfer well back to Mouse and Keyboard.

We will launch with multiple preset button layouts but trying to find the best default was a challenge. Having more player data earlier would have helped drive these decisions. Haptics is considerably different across controller types, too, which we discovered late in the process.


It was a scary moment when we realized New World’s system for generating and controlling haptics — vibration is tied to game audio — would NOT work with DualSense controllers. Luckily, as the deadline loomed and we debated either delaying gamepad support (BOOOO!), or releasing with no haptics for PS5 controllers (also BOOOO!), a scrappy developer managed to find a workaround. Whew. Haptics turned out nicely on all gamepads. For future releases, we’d like to find ways to go even further with some of the more nuanced gamepad systems.


For the Season 5 controller launch, we will not allow target lock and aim assist in PvP due to balance concerns. This is something we will continue to evaluate and iterate on in future seasons. Please share your feedback in our Discord after you try it out. Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in Aeternum!

Greetings, Adventurers!

Join Lead Seasons Designer Patrick Smedley and Senior Systems Designer Tony Morton for a taste of the changes coming to Cooking and other Trade Skills in Season 5. Look forward to ingredient updates, revamped Cooking progression, Legendary Fish recipe tweaks, the removal of split attribute food, and more. Let’s dive in.


From recipes and ingredients to food, buffs, and other items like Dye, Cooking can be complex, especially for players less familiar with the Trade Skill. Let’s start with how we’re simplifying some of the options.

At launch Cooking was front-loaded with an enormous amount of potential combinations for food buffs. We were very much in the discovery phase of understanding how this would impact players throughout their early travels in Aeternum. Now, after millions upon millions of hours played, we have a far better idea of how players structure builds and use consumables.


There are 5 Tiers of food. Almost every Tier offers both split and full attribute options, but most players only use pure attribute food. To simplify things, we’re going to sunset split attribute food in Season 5. This goes for both the consumable food, learned recipes and physical recipes that may be in your inventory.

The last thing we want is to remove items and wipe them from the player’s inventory. Instead, we’ll swap those ingredients for more desirable options.

Take the Pesto-stuffed Turkey Breast as an example. This Tier 4 food gives players a Strength and Intelligence bonus. When Season 5 goes live, it will be replaced with Clam Chowder, a Tier 4 pure Strength food. In any scenario where an item is being deprecated, we will replace it with the same Tier of item that shares the main attribute. Since the Pesto-stuffed Turkey Breast gave more Strength than Intelligence, we’ve swapped it with a Tier 4 Strength food.


What about recipes? The physical recipes in your inventory will be swapped using that same logic. However, you’ll lose access to any known recipes as they’ll be depreciated.

We will do a pass on our Trade Skill food too. While we enjoy having multiple tiers of Gathering food, the low-level tiers never made a big impact. As a result, they will also be sunset. Any player who is Level 15 in Season 5 can consume Tier 5 Gathering food for a more impactful buff on their Gathering Luck. Any Gathering food or recipes will automatically upgrade to the Tier 5 variant.


When reviewing all of these items there was a glaring issue that we haven’t been happy with for a long time—many updates and new recipes have rendered Fishing less useful than intended. These changes aim to make Legendary Fish more meaningful.

Upon the release of Season 5, Legendary Fish recipes, like Fried Albenaja will become the most potent food in the game. Here’s an example of how their values will change.

Tier 5 Dex Food - Fried Albenaja (+40 Dex)

• Duration 40 minutes
  
• Requires Cooking Level 200 and Player Level 60

Tier 5 Dex Food - Chili con Armadillo (+40 Dex)

• Duration 60 minutes
  
• Requires Cooking Level 200 and Player Level 60

Tier 52 Dex Food - Banana Pudding (+48 Dex)

• Duration 50 minutes
  
• Requires Cooking Level 205 and Player Level 61

Re-ordered to show intended progression:

Tier 5 Dex Food - Chili con Armadillo (+40 Dex)

• Duration 40 minutes
  
• Requires Cooking Level 150 and Player Level 45

Tier 52 Dex Food - Banana Pudding (+44 Dex)

• Duration 40 minutes
  
• Requires Cooking Level 205 and Player Level 61

Tier 5 Dex Food - Fried Albenaja (+48 Dex)

• Duration: 40 minutes
  
• Requires: Cooking Level 250 and Player Level 65

To further improve the meaningful impact of Legendary Fish, we changed how Luck works in the Fishing Trade Skill. Legendary Fish will be worth the extra effort to catch given upcoming changes. We’re going to do a full pass on Fishing and give the Trade Skill even more love in a future update alongside another Deep Dive.


We also revamped XP generated from Cooking recipes for even more satisfying progression. Recipes, in general, will generate way more XP than they have in the past. Our goal is to maintain an enjoyable leveling journey and motivate players to craft a little of everything for that First Craft Bonus rather than a ton of one thing.

Ingredient descriptions will now detail where items can come from and be found. Instead of a generic description like “Basil leaves, used to add a bright, aromatic note to cuisine,” players will now find more helpful information such as “Cooking Ingredient. A rare item gathered from Herb Plants found in Everfall, Brightwood and Brimstone Sands.”


Less items means less recipes to find. After reviewing the possible locations of each recipe, we’ve significantly adjusted their drops rates. While it may take a little longer to find some, there are a LOT less to locate meaning duplicates should appear far less frequently.

This is only the first Trade Skill rework. We’ve learned a lot since launch and continue to gain a better understanding of what our players craft and where they allocate resources. Expect more major reworks to just about every Trade Skill, with the exception of newer ones like Riding, in future Seasons.

We look forward to your feedback in the Season 5 PTR. As always, we’ll continue to balance and tune as we see how players interact with these systems. Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

Learn more about the development of Garden of Genesis through Lead Expedition Designer Darren McKinsey and improve your experience with tips from 3 of your favorite New World content creators: ArsheeTV, TrickTrick, and vXBlackSwanXv. We also compiled key insights like boss stats based on community performance. Let us know what you’d like to see in future analytics articles.

Garden of Genesis was one of our first Expeditions. It helped pave the way for new gameplay mechanics such as defending objectives, exploring optional chambers, and conquering unique boss elements.


Whether it’s your first or five-hundredth time entering Garden of Genesis, here are some tips for even more enjoyable runs.


“This is an Angry Earth Expedition, so weapons like the Fire Staff and anything that deals Slash Damage are preferable,” TrickTrick said. “My recommendation is to have all three DPS players use light loadouts with a combination of Great Swords, Great Axes, and Spears. The Spear is one of the best weapons for Mutations due to its unique utility kit — weakening enemies so they deal less damage (Enfeebling Skewer Perk) while breaking their armor for your team to inflict more damage (Perforate ability).”

“For clumping the mobs, the Great Axe will be your go-to, thanks to abilities like Gravity Well. The Great Axe can make large fights manageable and easy since the mobs won't be spread all over the place.”


“For tanks, ideally, you want to go in with heavy gear, plus the Sword and Shield and War Hammer.” TrickTrick said. “Make sure you have a Carnelian in both weapons and pick the abilities that taunt enemies. These two weapons will provide an incredible amount of survivability and utility for the team.”

“Remember to hold your AOE Taunts and use them after you are done pulling or when you are ready to fight. If you use them too early, the taunt might run out before the fight starts, creating unnecessary inconveniences. Taunt too late and your DPS or healers may instead aggro the mob, making encounters even more difficult.”


“They should go in a light loadout for extra healing,” TrickTrick said. “Life Staff is your primary healing weapon. If you feel comfortable helping with more than just heals, you can use a Void Gauntlet or Flail. You can also use your off-weapon abilities to provide utility and buffs to your team.”

“A Void Gauntlet with abilities like Oblivion can greatly increase your group’s performance through Damage and Stamina support alongside debuffing enemies. As for Life Staff abilities, Sacred Ground is your main healing ability and Splash is amazing since it has a team cleanse. The third ability is up to you.”


“Blight Tinctures are a must for new players since when you are Blighted you’ll have -50% Less Damage, -75% healing reduction and take damage 1.4% HP over time for 3 minutes,” ArsheeTV said. “Incense will help reduce your chances of becoming Blighted.“

“Recommended Consumables: Angry Earth Coating (+15% damage, use in both weapons), Angry Earth Ward Potions (+10% resistance), Honing Stones (+7% damage), Attribute food, and Dessert Sunrise,” TrickTrick said. “Remember to reapply when they run out.“


“My gear will always include refreshing and weapon Perks for whatever role I am running,” vXBlackSwanXv said. “Mutations have elemental damage that is very easy to mitigate by either carrying around an Amulet or swapping Gems based on the element type.”

“Enchanted Ward is a must on all 5 pieces of armor to reduce damage taken by every type of attack,” ArsheeTV said. “You must Gem toward the Mutation type. If you want to be successful as a team you’ll need over 35% resistance between M1 to M2 and a combination of Rends and Weakening stacks to avoid one shots.“

“Constitution is your friend,” vXBlackSwanXv said. “Do not go into an Expedition with low Constitution thinking your DPS will be incredible. A dead DPS does no DPS.”


“Remember, everyone starts somewhere,” vXBlackSwanXv said. “You won't be a pro the first time you run a Mutation. Give yourself some credit for having the courage to run it and don't give up. Communication helps immensely. If you can avoid going into an M3 with a random group, do so until you have the mechanics down.”


“The game gives you plenty of time to complete Mutations, so take your time, clear the rooms little by little, and collect every gatherable,” TrickTrick said. “They are very important for your score.”

“The optional side chambers were another first for us,” Darren said. “There is something very special about the idea of a secret chamber. It conjures images of mystery and discovery. This opened up a lot off design questions like whether the rewards would be good enough and if players would even discover how to get into the first optional chamber. That sounds silly in retrospect because almost everyone knows about the chamber now! There’s a sense of satisfaction from crafting these secret rooms and knowing players explore them.”


“The development of objectives for players to defend required a lot of balancing and technology exploration,“ Darren said. ”Getting it to work was a challenge. We were up against launch deadlines but felt defending an objective was a good pace breaker, plus a natural fit for the environment. One of the biggest obstacles was getting enemies to balance their attacks between players and objectives. Do they always attack the sapling? Do they peel off the sapling easily?“

“Make sure the group saves their CC (crowd control) abilities to use on the big mobs before they get to the sapling,” TrickTrick said. “Interrupted or taunted mobs will stop attacking it. Keep the fight away from the sapling at all times.”


“We put a lot of love into Alluvium Marl, the Caretaker,” Darren said. “He was sort of this sad figure to us, an Angry Earth caring for a lost garden which was infiltrated by the Blight. His intro animation and voice over calls this out and the atmosphere of the knee-deep water is amazing.”

“The boss designer really pushed the boundaries of our tech with the cage gameplay—opening up the option for players to go all in. The Caretaker is still a favorite. This player choice really pushes the fun factor. I love watching groups make that choice, especially when success comes down to a tense, last second slash.”

“Split your team in two once the Caretaker enters the nature barrier phase at around 60 to 70% health,” TrickTrick said. “The tank should be the only one inside the barrier since they can break his Stamina bar with heavy attacks alone.”

“After the tank has stopped the group wipe, mobs will spawn outside of the barrier,” TrickTrick said. “It's the DPS and healer's job to take care of them. If they don't, the team will be overwhelmed once the barrier comes down.”

“See if you can defeat Marl before the barrier goes down, but I don’t recommend it for beginners,” TrickTrick said. “If you don't have enough damage, the Caretaker will take care of you.”

“Back in 2021, this boss had 171 player kills (34 wipes) in one Expedition instance, so don’t take it personally if the Caretaker gets the best of you,” ArsheeTV said.


“The Blighted Greenskeeper is an early example of our team designing harder, instanced content,” Darren said. “We knew that thematically we wanted an Angry Earth boss who had been Blighted and corrupted from her purpose, but how we'd express that through gameplay was less certain. We investigated a number of gameplay elements and really liked the poison angle.”

“Early on in experimentation we also found her boulder drop ability to be really fun, although it presented unique challenges like what to do if she threw a boulder on herself. Pairing that attack with her Blight Bomb wipe ability culminated in a fun encounter that brought out the best of instanced content and New World combat.”

“Go into this boss battle with a solid tank,” said vXBlackSwanXv. “And never, I repeat NEVER stand next to your tank. The Greenskeeper has several mechanics that will wipe everyone but the tank, so best to stay behind this boss. Watch out for:

• The Slam: The Greenskeeper will extend herself and slam the ground, dealing massive amounts of damage. This will almost always hit the tank, so don’t stand next to them.
  
• Poison Tether: The Greenskeeper will tether onto a player at random and give you a few seconds before dropping a massive poison puddle AOE below the tethered player’s feet. Hug the wall quickly, farthest away from the Greenskeeper and your team as the poison puddle will make it very challenging to damage the boss.
  
• Poison Breath: The Greenskeeper will extend herself again, but instead do a scream infused with poison breath as an AOE damage in front of her. Stay behind the boss and you won't have any issues dodging this.
  
• Underground Attack: The Greenskeeper will retreat underground and pop up in random locations. Immediately group up and hold block. She will not hurt you as long as you hold it!
  
• Boulder Drop: This usually targets the farthest player from the boss. Don’t hug the wall when these land because your team will rely on these boulders to dodge her "ultimate" charged attack. Give yourself several feet from the wall to allow ample space for protection."

“Go all in with everyone around the Mutated version and bet who will die first,” said ArsheeTV. “Since the boss is fairly easy to iframe/dodge, I like to make it more difficult than it needs to be for an even more thrilling experience.“


“Garden of Genesis has one of the best healing weapons in the game, the Lifewell Channeler, and remains a fast and fun Expedition,” vXBlackSwanXv said. “Go in with friends or recruit individuals to help you the first time.“

“If you choose to not share that it is your first time, it’ll typically lead to disrespect from other players because many assume you already know everything about the Expedition,” said ArsheeTV. “Feel free to join streams like mine (shameless plugin) and ask questions. We’re more than happy to help!“

Make sure to follow each content creator for more guides, tips, and other original New World content:

• ArsheeTV
  
• TrickTrick
  
• vXBlackSwanXv

“My enjoyment throughout development reflects the Expedition’s popularity,” Darren said. “We hope players continue to enjoy it.” Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

This article was updated on March 22: Season of the Guardian will release on Tuesday, April 2. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we continue to resolve issues based on PTR feedback and work together towards even more enjoyable experiences in Aeternum. You can also look forward to the full release notes at the end of next week.
Experience fresh narratives, more quest variety, and a few new surprises as you put an end to Isabella’s campaign of corruption. The final main story quest (MSQ) update will release alongside Season of the Guardian on March 12. Join Senior Narrative Designer Lula Lucent for insight into their development process, philosophy, and more.



The Angry Earth are my favorite part of New World. Because of their mysteriousness I always wonder how they perceive and experience life. The addition of Phaeris as a new NPC is probably my favorite change. Her appearance is brief, but impactful. We see how she struggles with being different within the Angry Earth Hivemind, balancing her nature with the expectations of the collective. Similarly, the very narrow peek into the mindsets of the Blighted is super interesting, and creates even more mystery.


Well, this is a request crying out for an overly-lengthy response. But I can summarize since my design philosophy is strongly wrapped up in what is needed to revise something like the MSQ ending. We knew where our penultimate story arc was happening, Ebonscale Reach. We knew where the absolute ending would be, Shattered Mountain. I worked backwards from our current assets and locations, and sought to give them life and meaning alongside cool new things to do there!

Once that narrative skeleton was approved by our supporting teams, I fleshed it out one piece at a time by asking myself, which NPCs were involved in each quest, what resources did I need to request from others, and how could I turn all the chaotic madness in my head into the artful guise of order? One of those questions remains unanswered to this very day...


Take the best elements we already have, repurpose and lean into them. For instance, Isabella clearly sees herself as the savior of humanity. In her own mind, she is the hero of the story (not the player). I made sure to create moments to showcase her in a commanding position. Not the least of which was making the story arc in Shattered Mountain all about preparing an attack on Myrkgard itself. It simply had to be where the climax to our narrative took place. So that gave me a goal to focus on and build towards through each new quest.


Remembering what makes certain locations and characters awesome is one of the best ways. Adiana played a far more direct role in the old MSQ, but that no longer made sense with the changes in MSQ 2.2 — to say nothing of her godhood arc in Brimstone Sands and Elysian Wilds. That meant the avenue of using the Angry Earth directly as allies in the fight against Isabella wouldn’t work, so logical story changes needed to made. Hence Adiana’s current emotional state and the addition of Phaeris in 2.3.


This will sound silly, but just some basic things: don’t use cliches in dialogue, be conscious of overusing certain words, and don’t make the same type of quest two quests running. Essentially, I often remind myself to create a variety of content for players. NPCs and gameplay should both have plenty of depth.


Time is not infinite.

I joke, but it’s true. Pragmatism is really important to pair with ambition. As climactic as the ending to our story is, it was (wait for it) once an even more ambitious design document. Eventually, we had to scope. That might sound like a small defeat, but I never think of it that way.

Part of my process is to scope early, during the stage when we only have ideas and words scrawled on the page/whiteboard/brain-matter. This is the least disruptive time to change course. We work hard to ensure what our final design document looks like is attainable. The second part that keeps me optimistic — content ideas cut today are ideas we can use in the future. No good idea is ever wasted. Eventually we will find the right time and the right place to do it justice, and give players something very cool indeed.


Keep what I said about pragmatism earlier in mind for this one. When we were creating a specific boss fight in Ebonscale Reach, there was an open question on its setting. There were a lot of primo ideas, but unfortunately our top pick turned out to be impractical and didn’t quite fit the motivations of a certain fan-favorite character.

I came up with a workable alternative after discovering an amazing unused art asset. Fast-forward to the next week and the environment artist blew me away by making an entire new POI to house the fight! That was not my initial more humble request, but his ambition paid off in a way that made the western shore near the Imperial Palace super memorable.


I would have liked to have had a more intuitive understanding of the scale and composition between Ebonscale Reach and Shattered Mountain. I was familiar from playing the game of course, but looking through the lens of creating new content really makes it clear how different they are. Ebonscale Reach is broad with a lot of verticality, and end-to-end is second in size only to Brimstone Sands. Shattered Mountain is very dense, which creates its own challenges.

The routing of new quests in Ebonscale Reach had to take into account traveling longer distances occasionally, whereas Shattered Mountain needed routing that was not completely linear. As far as the latter is concerned, our solution to route the player through the western side and then come in from the eastern side was an idea I would have valued realizing from the very start of design.


Oh! I have a very New World reason for answering that question, which might not apply well to other games. World Trains. The first chest run I went on was the most exciting thing I’ve ever experienced in an MMO. I’m a big fan of Imp and Myrk, so our team took a very considered approach in preserving that gameplay while trying to eke out just the right areas to let solo players experience those locations if they haven’t before. Both zones, Ebonscale Reach and Shattered Mountain, have their own unique challenges when it comes to zone flow as I mentioned before. I think we’ve managed to find the best route for the MSQ, but I’m definitely curious how everyone who regularly runs Imp, Myrk, and elsewhere feels.


I have the best book to tell you to read for our inspiration! It’s actually written by [REDACTED] and called [NARRATIVE DIRECTOR INFO-BLOCK ACTIVATED]. Not bad, huh? So I think players are going to enjoy the unique perspective of that kind of gameplay, plus sneaking around underground areas and mausoleums is always fun even when it’s not Halloween.

Thanks for your support! We look forward to hearing your feedback on the main story quest updates and will see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

We will upgrade our old combat and animation system to improve performance in areas with many players alongside the release of Season of the Guardian. This new system (which we affectionately call Slayer Script) will also make it easier to improve our combat going forward. We’ve done our best to keep the feel of the game the same, but would love to hear your feedback following these changes. From the development process to challenges, join Tech Lead Kevin Christensen for a deep dive into what this system means for the future of New World.


Slayer Script is a C++ based scripting language. It is natively compiled and dynamically loaded by New World in order to provide excellent performance as well as live updates to scripts. It can cause events (spawn enemies, play sounds, etc), respond to events (if an enemy dies, if a player enters a room, etc.), play animations, control movement, and more. A lot of work can be packed into a few lines of code.


New World has an enormous amount of objects that update frequently, making it difficult to efficiently use traditional scripting languages. A scripting language, for example Lua, is interpreted and cannot capitalize on hardware optimizations. While the execution performance of Lua is good, it would be used for hundreds of objects in New World. The overhead and memory cost was not going to cut it. We needed a solution to be as fast as possible with an acceptable impact to development iteration.

Our original character scripting system ran well during development, but eventually began to struggle with performance, memory, and runtime allocation as New World continued to grow. This led to Slayer Script as an alternative side project. Slayer Script reduced this cost to a few allocations, and its natively compiled code is very compact, which significantly reduced the runtime memory.

The initial idea was to use Slayer Script to control the player. The player is by far the most expensive game object in New World. Much of the design was focused on reading player input and controlling animations. This task was going to take a large amount of time. Turns out, the Expedition Team was the first to use Slayer Script, which didn’t require player input or animations. This is when Slayer Script changed to be a more general purpose scripting language. It wasn’t until recently that Slayer Script was used for its intended purpose.


Over 400 actions have been converted into the new system by hand to ensure gameplay remains one-to-one. Our goals were:

• Use natively compiled C++ to be as fast as possible.
  
• Reduce memory cost by decreasing the amount of state that needs to be stored.
  
• Improve scalability by using an architecture that has a smaller impact on execution for new behaviors.
  
• Be hot loadable in order to allow runtime development.
  
• Be easier to debug.

Reducing the memory cost turned out to be the easiest problem to solve. Slayer Script was designed to store the state in one location, and all of the behavior was created in a manner that can be shared amongst all instances of a script.

Scalability will be an ongoing task. Even C++ can be used in an inefficient manner. Care must be taken when adding new features, but C++ provides extensive solutions for tracking performance and observing operation execution.

The previous system was difficult to debug. Tools were created to help but being able to step through execution was not possible. Any designer with a debugger can now set breakpoints, inspect memory and step through the script’s execution. Debugging the previous system was a time sink, just due to the process. Debugging complex scripts is still hard but at least the method is easy.


The biggest challenge has been to keep iteration fast. Designers need to be able to see the results of their work quickly. With a compiled language, this would normally mean closing the game, making edits, compiling and then running the game again to see the results. Slayer Script is built into a module that can be loaded while the game is running. Dynamically reloading a module can be tricky, so any references to objects within the module must be released before the module is unloaded, and reacquired after the module is reloaded. If this is not handled correctly, the game or tools will crash.

By using C++, the memory and performance cost of the system starts out with great potential. C++ is intended to develop high performance applications and be as efficient as possible. It is a mature language with many tools to help development and measure performance.

Another challenge was hiding the complexities of C++ from the people who will use Slayer Script. C++ can be a difficult language to use, but when used as a scripting language, it doesn’t have to be any more complex than any other scripting language. There is still a lot of room for improvement on this topic. It will continue to be a goal.

We look forward to your feedback in the Season of the Guardian PTR. Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

Aeternum is an ever-evolving world, and as such, we continue our efforts in providing our players with 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 Season of the Guardian and would like to once again invite you all to participate in this iteration of our Public Test Realm (PTR)!

Read on for this PTR's features and FAQ.

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 will officially open on February 15. 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 Discord (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!

During this iteration of the PTR, we look forward to hearing your playtest feedback on the following changes:

• Winter Rune Forge
  
• Season 5 Artifacts
  
• Main Story Quest Update
  
• Controller Support
  
• Upgraded Combat & Animation System
  
• Weapon Balance Updates
  
• Mounts in Outpost Rush
  
• Season 5 Rewards Track
  
• Cooking Trade Skill changes

Check out our release notes for more details.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.