Next Atlas Update Will be a Big One, But It Won't Be Here Until March

The Atlas team has published the latest "Captain's Log" to update players on plans for the next major update to the game. It begins with a note about recent patches that have brought about changes to the game to simplify and reduce the "steepness of the climb necessary to experience some of the later game content". From there, the letter discusses changes coming with specific regard to land ownership and protection and introduces the ISO Blackwood map coming with the March update.

Players have benefitted from recent patches that included tweaks to weight, structures and a variety of quality of life improvements designed to smooth the difficulty curve for new players. In the March update, players will notice changes to the Land Claim / Ownership System. The plan is to introduce new mechanics, including the addition of an upkeep requirement. More about specific changes will come in the next game update.

Additionally, the team will be tweaking the offline raiding system to reduce its effectiveness in order to increase PvP in defense of one's property or while attacking. "Our plan is to introduce game mechanics which will funnel PvP taking place during online hours".  

The March Update will be available on a Public Test Realm before it hits live servers. The team will iterate on the patch based on player feedback "ensuring that we're able to deal with any critical concerns prior to the update hitting our live servers". 

Lastly, the March update will also include the ISO Blackwood biome, a "twist" on the Equatorial biome. It includes "dark jungles, caves, alcoves, villages, homes and farms, an interesting array of animals and a new concept called The Mire". ISO Blackwood is a standalone map that can be hosted on a single server.

Check out the full details on the Atlas site.