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)! [u][b]PTR[/b][/u] 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 to be investigated further, and may come 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 servers will officially open today, January 6, at 2 PM PST (10 PM UTC). Servers are limited — there will be one world available in US East and one world available in Central Europe. 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, all worlds will shut down and be wiped clean. You will still see the New World PTR application in your Steam library, but there will not be active servers until the next time we announce a test. 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 [url=https://forums.newworld.com/c/public-test-realm/89]PTR sub-forum[/url] (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 regarding the following changes: [b]Expedition Modifiers: Mutators[/b] With this PTR release, we are introducing a new end-game feature: Expedition Mutators! Mutators change the familiar by augmenting “Normal” and “Named” Enemies found within expeditions, changing the way encounters play out and what strategies players should consider before battle. And as combat changes, so do the rewards! New bespoke gear and resources can be found, providing additional means to increase your power level. This system is intended to rotate through a unique combination of Expeditions and Mutations each week, with 10 difficulty levels per Expedition Mutation. Players will be challenged to climb the ladder, with the aim of eventually reaching the max difficulty. However, during this PTR cycle, these rotations will be placed on an accelerated schedule so that everyone will get a chance to play a variety of mutations on several end-game Expeditions. Please be advised that “Recommended Gear Score'” levels for a Mutated Expedition is important, as it directly factors into enemy scaling — and by consequence, your chances of success. Please note: This combat scaling is individual per player and separate from the base difficulty increases in health and damage. We expect higher difficulties to be extremely difficult, and so we will be very interested in group outcomes and scores — especially from those who consider themselves highly competitive or highly skilled. To accommodate for this month’s PTR playtesting, players will be given a starting 600 Gear Score loadout. Entering a Mutated Expedition On the PTR, all players will be issued a generous sum of keys to run Expeditions. Upon approaching and interacting with the Expedition Menu, players will be able to see the type of mutator available, the mutation level, Gear Score recommended to advance, and lastly if they meet qualifications for entry. Scoring & Advancement Score is performance based, taken from a combination of categories. Score is also a shared value for group members. The following categories count towards the group’s overall score value: [list] [*] Time: The better the time, the better the score. Calculated at the end of a run. [*] AI Kills: A target value for killing a predetermined amount of enemies within the Expedition. [*] Takedowns: A target value for killing “Named Enemies” within the Expedition. [*] Team Wipes: Each team wipe during a boss fight reduces the score by a significant amount. [*] Respawns: Each respawn reduces the score by a moderate amount. [/list] There are also Bonus Multipliers for run efficiency, minimal respawning/wiping, speed, and taking down all targets. These are calculated at the end of the Expedition run. The score ranks are Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Advancement through each Mutator difficulty level requires reaching a predesignated level of proficiency within the highest achieved level. Higher scores mean advancement to higher difficulties, which in turn lead to bigger rewards. Expedition Mutator Schedules During the duration of the PTR test cycle, one of the following Expeditions will be mutated every 48 hours: [list] [*] Dynasty Shipyard [*] Garden of Genesis [*] Lazarus Instrumentality [/list] Furthermore, we feel that the following scheduling mechanics are also worth spotlighting: The difficulty level for each mutated Expedition is tracked separately, and will persist across mutation cycles. There are a total of 8 different mutation combinations that will be randomly cycled alongside the 48-hour Expedition rotation. The Expedition-interact menu will display the current mutation available. Expeditions Changes With the release of Expedition Mutators, we’ve made some balance changes and updates to existing content. We’ve made Expeditions more enticing by updating rewards and drop-rates, bringing them in-line with other end-game activities: [list] [*] Drop rates for “Named Enemies” in Expeditions have been significantly increased. [*] T5 gear have been added to Dynasty Shipyard loot-tables when playing in the mutated Expedition. [*] We’ve also adjusted certain enemies counts: [*] Lazarus Instrumentality: Reduced the number of enemies when sealing the Ancient Azoth Portals in the Ostium. [/list] 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 based on a main attribute: CON, DEX, INT, FOC, and STR. In addition, we’ll also be issuing a large sum of orbs to facilitate the Expedition Mutator runs with our accelerated scheduling. In the event all orbs are exhausted, re-roll a new character will provide you with an additional set of orbs. To help manage the sudden onset of new items, we advise that you please do not open all provided caches at once or 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. Lastly, during the final week of testing, a new loadout will be provided with a maxed out Gear Score of 625, allowing for a renewed take on level 10 difficulty Mutations! To take advantage of this offer, a new character will need to be created. [u][b]New Features[/b][/u] Umbral Shard Equipment Upgrade System With this release, we’ve added Umbral Shards to the game. Umbral Shards are a mysterious, powerful resource that enable you to take an item with a Gear Score of 600 all the way up to a Gear Score of 625. Raising your equipment’s Gear Score in this way is critical if you want to dive into higher-difficulty Mutated Expeditions or gain a competitive edge in PvP. We have also increased the Expertise cap to 625. There is an earnable soft cap at 600, which you can reach in the same ways as before — such as Gypsum Casts and defeating powerful enemies. With this update, crafting a Gear Score 600 item will also raise your Expertise if you are not already at 600 for that item. Going from 600 to 625 requires Umbral Shards, which can be acquired in 3 ways: [list] [*] Completing Mutated Expeditions. [*] Crafting a Gear Score 600 item when your Expertise with that item is also at 600. [*] Opening a Gypsum Cast when your Expertise for that item is also at 600. [/list] Umbral Shards can only be applied to an equipment piece if both of these 2 conditions are met: [list] [*] The equipment piece is Gear Score 600. [*] Your Expertise for that piece of equipment is also 600. [/list] Outpost Rush Balance Changes We think the summoning of Brutes proved to be too frequent and too easily handled by solo players alone. We want this to be more of a group effort, so we’ve increased the cost by 50%. Brute Summoning Stone cost has increased from 500 to 750 Azoth Essence. Combat Updates [list] [*] The following combat-related changes have also been made within this update: [*] Bow: Fixed an issue that allowed players to instantly jump-cancel the bow shot recovery. [*] Void Gauntlet: The “Blessed” item perk is now available on the Void Gauntlet. [*] Ammo Refund: Effects from abilities, perks, and the attribute bonus that refunds ammo now has a 2-second cooldown. [/list] Fast Travel Costs We’ve heard your frustrations with the cost of Fast Travel, and this release includes an update that dramatically reduces the distance factor in the amount of Azoth required for each trip. Accordingly, the Faction Control Point bonus associated with Fast Travel now reduces the distance factor to zero. [u][b]PTR FAQ[/b][/u] 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.