PTR: Brimstone Sands Release

15 September 2022
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PTR

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 our next large release and would like to once again invite you all to participate in the next cycle of our Public Test Realm (PTR)!

PTR

The Public Test Realm (PTR) is a limited-availability server-set that will give players 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. 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. Nonetheless, hundreds of changes have already been made — with more to come — and the full release notes will be shared on release day.

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 today. 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, with them 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.

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!

Major Updates

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

Brimstone Sands Zone

Brimstone Sands is a new zone unlike anything else in Aeternum. Look forward to 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 is now long fallen to ruin, and few of those original inhabitants remain except for the mysterious sorcerer Imhotep, with whom players must work with to solve the desert’s mysteries.

The most immediate threat in Brimstone Sands is posed by the deranged remnants of the Roman Empire's 19th Legion. What exactly befell the Romans must be discovered, but they have fallen to Corruption and now besiege the ancient ruins of a mysterious Pyramid known as Ahket. They are certain that within, they will find the secret to their redemption and the long-awaited resurgence of the Roman Empire.

The Ennead Expedition

Players must challenge the Corrupted Legion head-on and delve into Ancient Ruins where they will face the vigilant Anubian Guardians and solve hieroglyphic puzzles to achieve new power.

When the sands settle, players will have explored ancient mysteries with Imhotep, defeated powerful Sand demons, and perhaps, if they persist, restored the rightful ruler who can finally bring order and hope to the region after centuries of chaos.

Heartgem Abilities

Adventurers can now further customize their playstyle through Heartrune Abilities:

  • Detonate: Overload yourself with Arcane energy to detonate and deal significant damage. Players can move and attack while the ability is active.

  • Grasping Vines: Punch your hand into the ground to unleash vines around you and root all nearby enemies.

  • Stoneform: Turn yourself to stone and become immune to staggers, knockdowns, stuns, roots and slows. Players can move and attack while this ability is active.

  • Cannon Blast: Whip out a large, handheld cannon and fire a cannonball that explodes on impact for high damage.

  • Dark Ascent: Sprout Corrupted wings and fly up into the air, hover briefly, and then slam back down into the ground, dealing damage to all nearby enemies.

Players must fully charge their Heartgem to activate an ability. Various combat actions like dealing and taking damage, blocking hits, and healing allies will charge your Heartgem. The charge resets upon use. Experiment with and upgrade each Heartgem to find a favorite.

Revamped Starting Experience

We’ve completely redesigned the early levels of New World, so players who start the game or roll a new character will experience brand new stories and quests. Player feedback on quest variety, AI variety, more streamlined questlines with less running back and forth, and improved storytelling in those early stages of the game helped bring about the following changes:

  • Quest flow through zones has been optimized, with NPCs who move around and a central story thread that takes players through each region of the game, unlocking side content to pace out the experience.

  • We’ve added a variety of new quest dynamics, from wave events to tracking and traversal challenges, puzzles in the ruins, unique interactions with the world, and dynamic events players will encounter.

  • We’ve revised onboarding to stay focused on the central storyline, introducing the legacy of King Arthur in Monarch’s Bluffs and a curse and famine from the sorceress Medea in Windsward. Players will still converge on the Hermit Yonas to start on the path to becoming Soulwardens, but the Yonas quests have all been consolidated in Everfall. The Hermit himself is now more mobile, while the story and quest flow vastly improved.

  • We’ve also added a lot more character to the zones and settlements in Monarch’s Bluffs and Everfall, new enemies, new major locations, and new challenges in the quests and open world.

Greatsword Weapon

Get ready for a new weapon — the Greatsword. This two-handed blade utilizes stances to adapt to different situations. Learn the risks and rewards of each option to survive in battle. Both Weapon Skill Trees feature versatile tactics for varied playstyles:

  • The Onslaught tree embodies relentless offense and focuses on defeating enemies before they can take you out.

  • The Defiance tree excels at aggressive defense that can survive and deal damage against multiple opponents.

The Greatsword scales evenly with Strength and Dexterity, making it a good pair for many other martial weapons.

Of course, that’s not all! You can review all of the upcoming changes for this patch by checking out the full PTR release notes, shared within the PTR sub-forum.

PTR CLIENT ACCESS

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

PTR BACKSTORY LOADOUTS

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.

PTR FAQ

HOW DO I ACCESS THE NEW PTR?

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.

CAN I PLAY WITH OR TRANSFER MY LIVE CHARACTERS TO THE PTR?

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.

CAN I PROVIDE DESIGN FEEDBACK REGARDING WHAT’S INCLUDED ON THE PTR?

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.

I HAVE A PROBLEM; HOW CAN I CONTACT CUSTOMER SUPPORT?

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.

I DON’T WANT TO PARTICIPATE IN THE PTR, CAN I REMOVE THE APP FROM MY LIBRARY?

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.

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