Amazon Games is releasing a Public Test Realm for New World, giving you the chance to try out new updates and patches before the devs push them live. The developer explains on its blog that the first PTR will be live today (November 10) at 12pm PST / 3pm EST / 8pm GMT. Servers will be limited at first, with one world being available in the US East region and another in central Europe.
This time around, Amazon is testing a new weapon called the Void Gauntlet. It allows you to support your allies or attack enemies, making it a DPS / support hybrid weapon. “It’s the first weapon to scale on both intelligence and focus, making it a great pairing with the Life Staff and other magic weapons,” Amazon says. “The Annihilation tree focuses on maximising damage at close range and revolves around Void Blade, a summoned blade of corrosive void energy. The Decay tree offers ranged healing and debuffs and revolves around Orb of Decay, a dual-phase projectile that can debuff enemies and heal allies.”
Amazon is also looking to add some enemy variety and a new types of foe. You’ll notice a new group in the game called the Varangian Raiders, consisting of hewers, scouts, knights, and archers. Their level ranges from 16 to 20, and they hail from the north. You’ll be able to find out more about the Varangian Raiders through a new mission supplied by Abigail Rose in Western Everfall.
You should also notice more variety in baddies around Aeternum, too. Amazon says it’s adding the Withered Swarmancer, Beetle, Lost Shaman, Pirate Alligator, Ancient Guardian Pyromancer, and enhanced Corrupted Laborers to add some “unique combat encounters” to the lower-level open-world experience.
Alongside the release of the Void Gauntlet, you’re getting a new legendary weapon quest series. Once you reach level 60 and maximum skill level with the new weapon, seek out Antiquarian Abbington in Reekwater to start the quest. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need to have completed the Magaki’s Strategem in Shattered Mountain and Legatus Fulvius’s quest series in Reekwater to qualify for it.
Amazon has also given the main storyline quests more variety, with new task types and quest variants such as wave events, destructible objects, and proximity nodes for tracking.
There’s even something for you PvP players. Amazon is testing three new types of faction missions. Control points task you with capturing locations of interest in forts, Intercept is about defeating enemy faction members and collecting their tears (oaft), and War Camp loot requires capturing hidden plans at an enemy’s war camp. Additionally, almost all PvP missions will reset on death rather than being forfeited, and poach tasks have been removed “for a better directed set of PvP missions”.
Finally, we have a trading post update. All posts have been linked and unified so you can buy and sell the same results from any trading post in the game. “Fees for buy and sell orders are defined by the settlement that you’re posting from,” Amazon says. “Additionally, transaction taxes on purchases you make are defined by the settlement in which you are making the purchase. Items listed in sell orders that expire return to the settlement from which they were posted.”
So how do you access the new PTR? Amazon says everyone who owns New World automatically gets access to the secondary PTR app. “The PTR is not compatible with the live game, so you will need to download a separate client (and have the hard drive space required to support it),” the developer explains. “From there, we will have special worlds available within supported regions. Not all regions will initially be supported. Access is on a first-come, first-served basis. There may be queues.”
If you’ve not got into Amazon’s latest game yet, or need some pointers, our New World beginner’s guide is a great place to start. For more open-world games, you can follow the link.