Greetings, Adventurers!
New World's Brimstone Sands Release downtime will begin for all regions at 3AM PT (10AM UTC) on October 18. Expected downtime is 4 hours. Discover a new zone, Expedition, revamped starting experience, weapon, seasonal event, and combat mechanic. Check out our full breakdown of the release notes for more information on all things Brimstone Sands. Here’s a brief overview for you to learn more about some of the key additions.
Brimstone Sands Zone
Brimstone Sands is a new zone unlike anything else in Aeternum. Roughly the size of 2.5 Everfalls, it features new enemies to fight, a new territory to control, and new stories to uncover.
Death hovers over the scorched wastes of Brimstone Sands, its thirst still unsatisfied even after centuries of strife and war. The ancient Egyptians first encountered the godlike Ancients here and built monuments and vast cities that were part of a flourishing civilization thousands of years in the past. Their civilization has long fallen to ruin, and few of those original inhabitants remain except for the mysterious sorcerer Imhotep, with whom players must work with to solve the desert’s mysteries.
The most immediate threat in Brimstone Sands is posed by the deranged remnants of the Roman Empire's 19th Legion. What exactly befell the Romans must be discovered, but they have fallen to Corruption and now besiege the ancient ruins of a mysterious Pyramid known as Akhet. They are certain that, within, they will find the secret to their redemption and the long-awaited resurgence of the Roman Empire.
The Ennead Expedition
Delve into Ancient Ruins to face the vigilant Anubian Guardians and solve hieroglyphic puzzles to achieve new power.
Players will explore ancient mysteries with Imhotep, battle powerful Sand Demons, and perhaps, if they persist, restore the rightful ruler who can finally bring order and hope to the region after centuries of chaos.
Revamped Starting Experience
We’ve completely redesigned the early levels of New World, so players who start the game or roll a new character will experience brand new stories and quests. We listened to player feedback about the starting experience in New World, and made the following changes:
Optimized Quest Flow
Quest flow through zones has been optimized, with NPCs who move around with a story that takes players through each region of the game, unlocking side content to pace out the experience.
New Quest Dynamics
We’ve added a variety of new quest dynamics, from wave events to tracking and traversal challenges, puzzles in the ruins, unique interactions with the world, and dynamic events players will encounter.
Streamlined Story
We’ve revised onboarding to stay focused on the central storyline, introducing the legacy of King Arthur in Monarch’s Bluffs and a curse and famine from the sorceress Medea in Windsward. Players will still converge on the Hermit Yonas to start on the path to becoming Soulwardens, but the Yonas quests have all been consolidated in Everfall. The Hermit himself is now more mobile, while the story and quest flow vastly improved.
Zone Upgrades
We’ve also added a lot more character to the zones and settlements in Monarch’s Bluffs and Everfall, with new enemies, new major locations, and new challenges in the quests and open world.
Nightveil Hallow
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 limited-time Nightveil Hallow rewards. This event will run from the launch of Brimstone Sands until November 1. Characters must be level 35 or higher to start the questline.
Greatsword Weapon
Get ready for a new weapon — the Greatsword. This blade utilizes offensive and defensive stances to adapt to different situations. Learn the risks and rewards of each option to survive in battle.
Both Weapon Skill Trees feature versatile tactics for varied playstyles:
The Onslaught tree embodies relentless offense and focuses on defeating enemies before they can take you out.
The Defiance tree excels at aggressive defense that can survive and deal damage against multiple opponents.
The Greatsword scales evenly with Strength and Dexterity, making it a good pair for many other martial weapons.
Heartgem Abilities
Adventurers can now further customize their playstyle through Heartgem Abilities:
Detonate: Overload yourself with Arcane energy to detonate and deal significant damage in a large radius around you. Players can move and attack while the ability is active.
Grasping Vines: Punch your hand into the ground to unleash vines around you and root all nearby enemies.
Stoneform: Turn yourself to stone and become immune to staggers, knockdowns, stuns, roots and slows. Players can move and attack while this ability is active.
Cannon Blast: Whip out a large, handheld cannon and fire a cannonball that deals significant damage on impact.
Dark Ascent: Sprout Corrupted wings and fly up into the air, hover briefly, and then slam back down into the ground, staggering and dealing damage to all nearby enemies.
Charge Heartgems through combat actions like dealing and taking damage, blocking hits, and healing allies. Once fully charged, players can trigger an ability. The charge resets upon use. Experiment with and upgrade each Heartgem to find a favorite.
Brimstone Sands Merch
Sandworm fans can bring their favorite monster outside of Aeternum with our new Brimstone Sands T-shirt. Check out the full collection featuring zipped and pullover hoodies in the Amazon Store.
Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.
