PREVIEW: New World's Brimstone Sands Brings The Greatsword And A Zone 3x Larger Than Any Before It

This fall, New World will be releasing its largest update so far with the addition of the Brimstone Sands zone. Along with this new zone comes a new weapon in the greatsword and a revamped new player experience. If you’re a current player of the game, or have been thinking about returning, this is the update you’ve been waiting for. The fall update will also be a great time to be a new player in New World. Let’s take a look at all of the coming changes and additions that have me so excited about the future of this MMORPG.

BEHOLD, A VERY BIG NEW ZONE

Brimstone Sands is the new zone coming in the fall update, and it’s huge, coming in at 3x the size of any other zone in the game. It is tuned for fresh level 60 characters to enter, and contains areas for players up to the current gear score cap of 625. Both the level cap of 60 and the gear score cap of 625 will remain the same with this update. I’m glad to see the level cap and gear score remain the same seeing as I’m still on the grind to 625 after taking a break from the game just before the gypsum system was introduced. Games like Guild Wars 2 prove that you don’t have to increase these caps every time you make and update or add new zones to a MMO.

The new zone looks fantastic and is filled with architecture and influence from Egyptian history and mythology, as well as a Roman flair throughout. It’s the best of both worlds, and keeps the zone from feeling stale with just one theme. Players must deal with the corrupted remains of the Roman 19th Legion, who came to Aeternum from Alexandria with Mark Anthony and a dying Queen Cleopatra, while also delving into the long lost Egyptian pyramid of Ennead, the newest expedition. Brimstone Sands will pick up and continue the main storyline following the demise of Isabella in the Tempest Heart expedition.

This isn’t your boring ol’ desert zone filled with sand and scarabs; although there was definitely sand and scarabs. The introduction of the Roman elements gives player areas such as towns a unique feel from the rest of the game, and the towering pyramids in the distance are an awesome view when adventuring out in the world.

SWINGING AROUND A NEW WEAPON

New World players also have a new weapon to look forward to in the Fall Update with the release of the greatsword. The greatsword will be a strength/dexterity weapon with the Onslaught tree focusing on offense at the cost of defense, and the Defiance tree which focuses on aggressive defense. Players will stance swap when using an ability from one of the trees, giving them the bonuses from either the offensive or defensive side of the tree. The developers mentioned that the weapon should be useful to both DPS and Tank players alike.

We didn’t get to go hands on with the greatsword unfortunately, so I’ll be checking it out on the PTR along with everyone else, but the way it was described made it sound like another great weapon to pair with sword and shield for tanking, which is the main role I enjoy in the game. The Defiance tree sounds interesting, and I’ll definitely be testing it as a tanking weapon, though it will have a tough time if it wants to replace my beloved war hammer.

THANKFULLY, A NEW STARTING EXPERIENCE

Amazon Games Studios is refocusing on the new player experience with the fall update, streamlining and adding to the first levels of the game. They have promised more quest variety, more storytelling, and less running back and forth in the beginning hours of playtime. Each zone will have a centralized story leading into the main story of joining the Soul Wardens, and new quest types such as wave events, tracking and traversal challenges, and puzzles are being added. Quest NPCs will move around more, making the turning in and picking up of new quests quicker.

The starting experience for New World can be a little all over the place, and it’s great to see AGS refocusing on making that experience better. With zone-specific quests, less running back and forth, and better lead-in to the main story, it sure seems like new players will have it much better than we did at launch, which is good. Once the new player experience is ironed out the devs stated that they will be taking this refocus into the later leveling experience to make the entire 1-60 process smoother and more refined.

NEW LOOK FOR OLD ZONES AS THEY GET SOME LOVE, TOO

Oddly enough, one of the things that excited me the most was when AGS showed off facelifts for both Monarch’s Bluffs and Everfall. New World can feel a bit "same-y" when traveling from zone to zone, and it’s nice to see the developers continue to add unique elements to each zone. New areas to explore and enemies to fight will be present, but the main cities themselves are also getting revamped. Monarch’s Bluffs’ capital was shown with a medieval castle aesthetic that looked truly unique from anything else in the game and the mythos of King Arthur was mentioned. Everfall was shown with a slightly more modern brick and stone look, much different from the wood and stucco houses most capitals have. Hopefully this is a sign of more to come in the future as each zone begins to stand out with its own identity.

BUT WHEN???

New World’s fall update will be hitting the PTR in early September, with its official release on live servers slated for sometime in October.