New World: Aeternum Items

New World Aeternum received a small update on the evening of November 3rd, and it's great to see that the game is still being maintained.

This might not be the last update, as the promised new weapon hasn't been released yet. However, given the current situation, will it even appear? So let's take a look at the main content, the issues addressed, and the overall direction of this update.

Main Content Updates

Reekwater Area Enhancements

A major update to Reekwater area was performed, including fixes to Siren Skull, and Barrel Explosion Systems, as well as improvements to overall stability. This was originally part of a planned large-scale overhaul of Reekwater.

Perks Fix

• Disdain Infliction I: The power of Disdain Infliction I perk has been reduced, possibly removing the additional damage it previously dealt to monsters.
• Beloved II: Fixed an issue where the extra damage from Beloved perk wasn't working.
• Life Stealer's Draw II: Added a 0.1-second cooldown to Life Stealer's Draw II perk to prevent a single activation from triggering multiple life steals.
• Protector's Blessing: Fixed an issue where Protector's Blessing foot and leg items had duplicate perks.

Perk Balance Adjustments

• Nerfed the maximum strength of the old Enchanted Ward, making it weaker than the new Enchanted Ward, but both can still stack.
• Buffed the new Refreshing Move II effect (from 1% to 2%) and increased the activation time of the old Refreshing Move (from 0.2 seconds to 0.4 seconds).
• Reduced the duration of the old Sundering Shockwave (from 10 seconds to 7 seconds).

Mechanistic Adjustments

The trigger conditions for all Protection Perks have been changed from "not equipped" to "on active." This means that these effects no longer apply when the shield is put away (e.g., when switching off-hand weapons), fixing a mechanism that could be abused.

The maximum effect of Grit Ward II has been increased to 2.4%, and the maximum effect of Grit Ward I has been reduced to 1.8%, allowing two Toughness Armor perks to negate additional damage from other perks.

Elemental Aversion II perk has also been updated to match the values of Physical Aversion II. Finally, an issue where the elemental damage of Sapphire Damage Conversion Gems did not scale with attributes has been fixed.

Expeditions Fixes

• Fixed a bug affecting the first raid boss, Jester, along with pathing issues that caused bosses to get stuck and reset raids.
• Progress issues in Dynasty Shipyard Expeditions have been fixed.
• Fixed issues with Minor Heartrunes not dropping from dungeon bosses and incorrect Umbral Crystals reward amounts in PvP tracks.

Economy

Nighthaven Faction Influence Race has finally been implemented, and the level 65 main quest chain is no longer blocked after abandoning push quests. Additionally, the reward expenditure for Territory Wars has been adjusted; the reward for occupying Nighthaven has been increased to 15%, while other areas have generally seen a decrease.

The tips earned from playing instruments have been changed from Primary Input to Secondary Input. This was actually to prevent players from earning large amounts of New World coins from other players by auto-playing at monster farms.

However, this change now feels somewhat ironic, as very few players come those farms anymore. It also indicates that the developers once tolerated the behavior - they simply didn't want players profiting excessively from it.

That concludes the main content of this update. Aside from some game content fixes and balance changes, there's nothing new. So, is there still hope for the promised new weapons?

The Future Of New World Aeternum

Currently, the most pressing question for New World Aeternum player community is whether any other company can acquire it. While it is technically available for sale, significant practical obstacles exist.

Firstly, as an original IP, New World lacks brand recognition and carries the negative reputation of its disastrous launch, making it far less attractive to potential buyers than established IPs like The Lord of the Rings.

Secondly, New World uses a custom engine (originally CryEngine, then Lumberyard, and finally Azoth). This engine is highly niche, requiring external development teams without prior experience to learn how to use it effectively. Any company acquiring the game would almost certainly have to take over the original development team as well, requiring them to train new employees.

However, the official announcement of development halting coincided with the layoff of most of the team, significantly reducing the project's value and likelihood of being acquired.

Finally, if the parent company sells the game to another company that successfully operates and revitalizes New World, it would prove the parent company's operational and marketing failures, rather than the game itself, causing even greater damage to its brand reputation.

Given the improved state of New World Season 9 and Season 10, its chances of success in someone else's hands are not low, and someone within the parent company could already be aware of this, making a sale even less likely, as the company likely wishes to avoid player ridicule and humiliation.

With a large number of core personnel leaving, it will be difficult for the current maintenance and operation staff to continue developing new weapons. Therefore, the new weapon - the dagger - may become a promise that New World can never fulfill to its players.

If you've had a general overview of all the new content in New World Season 10, you'll know that most of the new playable modes are PvE and best completed in a team. But have you considered the possibility of tackling them solo?

Season 10 adds new PvE modes, including Catacombs and Isle of Night raid. The raid retains the 10-player group system and is extremely difficult, it's best not to enter solo. However, Catacombs completely allows you to try solo play.

Theoretically, a three-person team is the best composition for exploring Catacombs - DPS, tank, and healer, perfect. But the game doesn't actually force you to always stay with your teammates.

So if you have the time and are willing to challenge yourself, you can try leaving the group and exploring Catacombs dungeon solo, following our upcoming guide, and see if you can successfully bring back the rewards!

Catacombs Mode Mechanics Overview

This mode has a 30-minute time limit. During this time, you need to enter the corresponding dungeon and continuously kill enemies to unlock the boss. Defeating the boss will advance you to the next level, and this process repeats until the time runs out.

Increased levels not only mean facing more dangerous enemies and bosses, but also granting you more rare rewards upon victory.

The boss's room is marked with a skull icon on the dungeon mini-map. You need to thoroughly explore other rooms to find levers to open the door to the boss battle.

Each run of Catacombs features several bosses, but their combat mechanics are not entirely original to Season 10; rather, they are designed based on all the boss battles in the game so far.

To successfully collect all the rewards from the dungeon, at least one person in the party must leave alive. This means that if you're exploring solo, you must survive to the end. Alternatively, you can choose to retreat before the timer expires to avoid additional losses.

How To Explore Catacombs Solo?

You'll need to make various preparations to solo successfully, such as upgrading your character's gear, mastering additional tips based on the inherent mechanics, and more. We'll introduce the specifics below.

Memorize All Map Layouts

Each time you explore a Catacombs dungeon, you'll face a completely new map, but this "new" only applies compared with the previous exploration; the total number of maps isn't infinite.

If you explore with a team, you can split up when encountering unfamiliar dungeon layouts, reducing the probability of encountering unknown dangers and finding the boss faster.

However, if you go alone, exploring unfamiliar areas will consume more time. Therefore, it's best to play a few times in a team or check relevant guides to familiarize yourself with all Catacombs dungeon maps, saving time and getting straight to the boss fight.

Ideally Obtain All Buffs

In addition to various enemies and boss rooms, there are rooms within the dungeon where you can obtain additional combat buffs: Idol of Ascension and Aspects.

Defeating enemies yields an item called Splintered Souls, which can be used to exchange for damage and maximum health boosts when entering rooms with Idol of Ascension.

Aspect rooms feature multiple statues offering various buffs. At a party, everyone should prioritize the best buffs for their playstyle. However, if exploring solo, you can choose based on your character's strengths and weaknesses.

Leave Bosses For Later

Since the difficulty of subsequent levels increases with each boss defeated, it's recommended not to rush to kill them after unlocking them. Prioritize defeating weaker bosses to avoid failing early on due to overly difficult regular levels.

Once you've acquired sufficient buffs through exploring the rooms, you can focus on clearing bosses!

It's important to note that since dungeon layouts change each time, and a boss's difficulty depends not only on its level but also on whether you possess attributes that counter it, there's no absolute priority ranking for boss challenges.

Possible bosses in the dungeon include:

• Snorok Ice Fist
• Grundgul The Regent
• Soul Eater
• Neishatun
• Kurok
• Hadish Azar, Keeper of Flame
• Nereid
• Fulgoris

Crafting Suitable Build

Since Catacombs is a PvE mode, craft builds should prioritize improving PvE attributes in skills, gear, and perks.

In solo mode, without support, your build needs to achieve a balance between damage output, defense, and self-healing. A deficiency in any one area will hinder exploration.

Since each boss is different, we recommend using a general solo Catacombs build crafting approach, then combined with different skills and armor to target specific damage outputs or switch to more flexible/stable movement methods.

Don't Be Fixated On Solo Play

The solo playstyle we describe assumes all party members are split up, as the system will force team matching. While you can explore the entire Catacombs solo, if you encounter danger after running out of respawns, it's best to call for your teammates immediately.

Summary

In general, completing Catacombs solo is entirely feasible, but it's not the most efficient way to obtain rewards.

The best dungeon clearing strategy is to first split up and eliminate enough regular enemies to collect a large amount of Splintered Souls, then regroup to defeat the boss with additional buffs. This will increase everyone's survival rate.

That concludes our introduction. If you are confident in your abilities, please follow our suggestions and start experiencing solo Catacombs exploration now!