Funcom’s The Secret World is gearing up for the release of Issue 13 this week and there are quite a lot of things that are happening. Issue 13 is a brand new issue that people can purchase. It comes packed with five new missions, a host of achievements, rewards and more.
We had the opportunity to speak with Funcom’s Romain Amiel about Issue 13, something he and the team are clearly very excited about.
“Issue 13 will feature new missions, new stories and is the last we’ll do in Tokyo for a while. It is not like Issues 9-11 where players followed the main story of the game that started from TSW’s launch. This one is going back to a little more like we did in Issues 5-7 with stand-alone missions and the stories of some NPCs.”
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“There are a lot of NPCs players like that players would like to know more about and what they’re up to. We created a whole new story with a cohesive link to tie it all together and we’re going back to the horror theme as well. As the story expands, you see more of the creepy factor we like over here.”
Issue 13 has five new missions, each with its own cut scene. There is a chain of four missions that are thematically tied together and one fun bonus mission that features Ricky Pagan, a delusional rocker that guards the park.
Tokyo NPC Harumi is where Issue 13’s journey starts. ‘Rum’ is a typical gamer and she needs help hacking Orochi security. Players will try to reach rooftops in Tokyo to hack through satellite uplinks to give her better access for more information even though no one knows exactly why.
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As the mission goes, players will be introduced to a new character, a robot called Security 5. It is a mech that will send players out on missions to find out the effect of filth on machines. Players will fight cyborgs and will realize that there’s something off about them and this is the point where Romain says the mission takes a bit darker turn. Are cyborgs fully machines? Are they part human? Players will delve into where cyborgs come from.
These questions will lead to a new area in Tokyo, a deserted hospital. This mission is told via the investigation system with a lot of riddles to solve, key codes to guess and find. There are lots of things to read – testimonials from doctors and nurses – to build the story and the tension as the clues lead to the morgue. The morgue has a lot of creepy shadows and environments.
“The intention of the final mission is to be role-play heavy. It will allow players to explore the psyche of their own characters, to explore their backstory with Easter eggs and surprises along the way. It allows characters to tell who they were before they became Secret Worlders. We wanted players to express themselves more.”
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The fifth mission is a bonus mission and is unrelated to the other four main missions. Featuring Ricky Pagan, players will have the opportunity to earn his special motorcycle if successfully completed. To sweeten the deal, it’s part of the normal purchase package – not tied to the collector’s edition of the issue. Other missions that Ricky sends players on will reward a pet and costume items as well, including a wieldable and usable boombox that plays music for all to hear.
Players wanting to take part in Issue 13 need to have Aegis unlocked but as long as gear is appropriate for Tokyo, it can be experienced. Issue 13 is a stand-alone and earlier issues are not required.
Curious about Issue 13 bring the last in Tokyo for a while, we had to ask Romain: if this is the last time visiting Tokyo, what is next in 2016?
“I’m going to say something that won’t get me in trouble, I hope,” he began. “Originally one plan was to go into Season 2 and go on with the main story of the game from the end of Issue 11 where Lilith was taken away and a new person is mentioned. But I wanted to try instead to react to feedback from Issue 11. Players felt cheated that not everything was answered, more questions were raised, and Issue 11 did not live up to marketing hype. We want to revisit older characters to tell more stories about the characters players like best. We will do a few issues like this. These will be stand-alone missions that delve into stories of these characters. I have the next one planned and am really, really excited about it.”
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In addition to Issue 13’s arrival in The Secret World, players also have other fun, limited time activities to check out:
Christmas Events will be repeats of the Christmas events added since the beginning of the game – Apocalypse event added in 2012 and Krampus from 2013, our main Christmas event.
Romain explained, “We added our own TSW twist to the Krampus legend. People will have to hunt for a few that are hidden throughout the world. They are tricksters who will disappear in the middle of the fight with the objective for players to stop them from going through a portal or to enter the portal itself into Krampus’s world. We’ve also added The Christmas Conspiracy added in 2014 based on The Magic Flutes.”
Part of the holiday fun is the new Christmas bag that can be purchased or earned and ties into the Christmas event. These can be packed with goodies to please even the most discerning TSW player.
Lastly, a brand new feature is making it into the game in the form of The Gifting System where store items can be gifted to other players. Items come packaged – gift box and wrapping – to be opened by the recipient. With Christmas right around the corner, it was the perfect time to add this to the store.
Issue 13 and the other events and activities coming with this week’s update will give The Secret World players a lot to experience over the coming weeks as the team goes on a well-earned holiday break. Come 2016, there seems to be a lot more in store for everyone, including new content and more expansive, deeper knowledge of key players in the game.
