New World Season Five, Season of the Guardian, is set for launch on March 12th, and the team dives into what’s to come, from an overhauled main story questline, controller support, a new Trial, mounts in Outpost Rush, and more.
The update is mostly focused on new core gameplay, but there are some technical updates as well. The usual refreshes of the Season pass, Activity Card, and new challenges and rewards are coming.
The Winter Rune Forge is the next Trial on the way. This 10-person max-level instance is similar to the Hatchery in a few ways. It is a 10-person trial that requires teamwork to reap rewards. Your group will face continuously more difficult enemies as you go through the trial. Bring both your skilled fighters and your skilled puzzle solvers, because you'll have to solve Rune puzzles and defeat some icy enemies, including an Ancient Ice Guardian.
Eight new Artifacts are on the way, with bonuses like 25% duration extension for debuffs, movement speed buff on successful attacks (up to 30%), and additional damage dealt. The Phoenix amulet is a standout, and the official description says it all: “Phoenix Revival: When you receive lethal damage, avoid death and become invulnerable for 2s”.
The main story quest gets fully updated, and the team has also revamped the starting experience with a number of improvements as well, new narratives, and increased quest variety. Mounts are coming to Outpost Rush. Prepare your best mount options to ride into battle and capture some territory.
Controller support is finally coming to New World. There will be two preset controller layouts, and the team is introducing several features and settings to optimize the game to play well for those who choose to use a controller setup. The options include aim assist, enemy target lock, freeform moving, and improved accessibility features.
The technical end as well, the team has also upgraded the old combat and animation system for performance Improvement. This process targets high density areas like Wars and OPR. This will also be the basis for combat improvements going forward.
Finally, prepare for returning events like Rabbit's Revenge and Springtide Bloom, with new updates and improvements.
Anyone itching to get the first taste can jump into the PTR when the first phase of it opens this Wednesday, February 14th.
