There is exciting news out for New World Aeternum today with their announcement of the "Nighthaven" update, coming with Season 10 on October 13th! A new zone, a new raid, new procedural dungeons, increased gear score, new perk customization for gear, new set bonuses for items, the return of a gear-upgrading system, and even more changes than I can list right now. It is a massive update and has me excited!
It is no mystery that New World is my favorite MMO and that my main complaint has been a lack of fresh content to enjoy and goals to work toward. This update brings a massive influx of not only new content but also changes that reset the starting line on goals. It's awesome to see us getting both content and rewards progression in the same update!
Let's dive into some of the updates:
There is a new zone, Nighthaven, and a level increase from 65 to 70. The zone will be werewolf- and vampire-inspired, which fits very well with much of the Lost aesthetic already in the game. The "vampire hunter" look has been a notable fashion possibility since New World launched. There is mention of werewolf creatures, which should mean new enemy types to fight (I honestly can't remember the last time we got a new enemy type).
The storyline that ended in the Elysian Wilds will continue with a new arc in the new zone, and I am assuming this will carry players to level 70. It is good to have new levels to go with the content, but I hope there is a bit more investment required than what level 60–65 offered. Many players leveled to 65 in just a matter of hours after the release of Rise of the Angry Earth.
A new game mode is also being introduced: Catacombs. This is the procedurally generated dungeon experience that was hinted at previously. Catacombs will challenge groups of up to 3 players with procedurally generated expeditions that continue to ratchet up the challenge level the longer players survive. The farther players make it, the greater the reward. I like that it will be 3 players and not require full 5-player groups. Three has always felt like a sweet spot for the game. I also like that, in order to get the rewards, one of the group members must exit successfully, which should lead to fun decisions on when to give up and escape—and who will make the run for it. As a tank, I suspect it won’t be me jetting for the exit.
A new raid, Isle of Night, is being added. This will be good for those players that enjoy raids. Personally, I’ve never done the first 10-man raid, Hive of Gorgons, so I’m not sure if I’ll jump in here. It’s not ruled out, as I have access to organized groups that run content, but raids just aren’t usually how I like to spend my in-game time. Though, as we’ll see with the progression updates, I may need to make some time for this raid.
Which brings us to a ton of progression changes for the endgame. Gear score is increasing to a max of 800 (up from the current 725). Along with that comes the concept of set bonuses for certain gear obtained from endgame content like raids. Mix and match the set bonuses to get even stronger results from your gear. Additionally, perk charms and gear will let us change out not only the gem slot but also the other perk slots. Many of those charms will be crafted, keeping crafters relevant. A new perk type, infix, will also be available, similar to what makes current artifacts unique with their perks. Oh, and perks have gone through a hefty overhaul, so expect an entirely new approach to builds in the game!
If that wasn’t enough, they are also adding back a version of the umbral system where gear can be upgraded from 700 GS to 800 GS. Multiple changes were made to (hopefully) make the system better. The currency is now in a wallet instead of an inventory item, with a limit of 1,000 so they can’t be hoarded as in the previous system. This should encourage players to spend them! I know I was guilty as sin of not spending my hoard of umbrals in the last version. The rate at which they can be earned will be time-gated, which is disappointing but an understandable design decision to slow progression and even it out among the player base.
Tucked away in the notes about progression and gear is that they are doing away with attributes on gear. All attribute points will now be granted as players level up to max level. Gone are the days of getting an amazing armor piece for your greatsword build only for it to have a +FOC attribute bonus making it worthless. This will also allow them to tie attributes to the gear set feature, so now when changing gear sets it will also change your attributes. Nice!
Also included is another new Outpost Rush map called The Tower. It was literally years from launch until we recently got the Coral Divide map, and now we are getting yet another! It’s almost like Amazon Games is listening to all the player demand for more maps for one of its best game modes! The map will be available during a preview weekend event later in September.
The best part of all of this? It’s a free seasonal update. New World continues to deliver amazing value with some of the friendliest monetization in the entire MMO genre. Buy the box, play, and get great updates like Nighthaven for free!
Note: this post was edited with the help of AI (ChatGPT). The thoughts are my own. The grammatical correctness and em dashes (—) are the AI.
