The New World Brimstone Sands Update Launches Today

Time to see where all that listening got Amazon Games I suppose, as today marks the launch of the Brimstone Sands update to New World.

Brimstone Sands

A year and a couple of weeks after the launch of New World Amazon Games is back with their first expansion-like update to the game.

The hallmark of the update is the Brimstone Sands zone, from which the update takes its name.  Pegged as being 2.5 times the size of the Everfalls zone, it features new territory to control, new mobs to fight, a new story line, an new expedition (dungeon), a new weapon, new Heartgem abilities, and, as mentioned so prominently in the post I highlighted earlier today, new architecture.

In addition to the new zone, there is also a revamped starting experience which includes:

• 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.

The are also a pile of quality of life fixes:

• Adjusted XP curves for multiple gameplay aspects:
  • Character Leveling: Greatly reduced character XP required after level 20.
  • 140% reduction through Level 45, then 160% reduction through Level 60.
• Town Projects: XP rewards have been reduced by 75%.
• Faction Missions: XP rewards have been increased by 125%
• Lore Notes: XP rewards have been increased by 200%.
• Gathering: XP rewards have been increased by 200%.
• POI Discoveries: XP rewards have been increased by 200%.
• Gathering Trade Skills: XP rewards have been increased by 125%.
• Corruption Portals: XP rewards have been increased by 150%.

That is actually a pretty common feature of MMO expansions, reducing the requirements needed to get to the new content.

There is also a huge list of things marked as “fixed” for this release in the patch notes.

Now the question is whether or not any of this makes the game worth returning to.  I know some people have gone back… enough that the collapse of servers down to the bare minimum has come back to bite Amazon.  There are long queues and, while they have handed out free server transfers, that always requires coordination with friends and guilds and what not and most people just try to stick where they are unless they have no attachment to anybody on the server.

Our group is not currently tempted, but we’re just getting into Wrath of the Lich King Classic and will probably remain there into the new year.  However, it will be interesting to see how others react to the update and whether or not it gives the game the legs to be sustainable.

Related:

• New World – Brimstone Sands patch notes
• Tales of the Aggronaut – Brimstone Sands Drop Day