While New World’s overhaul and expanded relaunch as New World Aeternum was meant to re-establish the MMO as one of the genre leaders, the initial excitement for it has been wilting. On Steam at least, player counts have been gradually tailing off ever since the initial Aeternum spike last year, but with the game’s upcoming Season 8 update, it’s introducing some high-risk, high-reward gameplay in new Hardcore worlds and testing out plenty of new PvP experiences too.
While Season 7 was all about PvP-focused seasonal worlds that would keep players on their toes at all times, New World Aeternum Season 8 – titled Season of the Divide – is all about survival, high stakes, and lightning-fast progression. Hardcore Seasonal Worlds are a new kind of limited-time experience in Amazon’s MMO that will see you jump straight in as an “unfallen” character. The goal here is to cheat death as long as you possibly can – the longer you survive, the more elite rewards you’ll earn.
However, as soon as you die, you will lose your unfallen status and be unable to earn these rewards. There will still be other items for you to unlock, and your Hardcore experience will become easier after death, so there’s still incentive to play. However, it’s designed to be a true test of your skills and survivability.
Another draw of these Hardcore Seasonal Worlds is that progression is extremely rapid. “Leveling and gearing up is faster than ever in this limited-time world with a completely different, streamlined main questline to follow,” Amazon says. “Artifact equip limits are lifted, allowing players to power up like never before.”
There’s once again a big focus on PvP in Season 8, with several preview events arriving throughout the season trialing new modes and maps. There’s a 10v10 Capture the Flag mode, which features powerups and jump pads to add new dimensions to PvP gameplay. A new 3v3 Arena map is being shown off. An experimental battleground for Outpost Rush is also getting unveiled, which disables gear perks and cranks everyone up to max gear score to put things on a more even playing field.
Elsewhere in Season 8, Coral Divide enters the fray as a new Outpost Rush map. It’s described as “a vibrant, ocean-themed arena designed to emphasize verticality, tactical flank routes, and intense center fort clashes.”
There’s also a new Barbershop feature for additional character customization, seven new Artifacts, a new season pass, and much more. You can find the full announcement post here.
New World Aeternum Season 8 will drop on Tuesday, May 18. However, the Hardcore worlds won’t go live until “early June,” according to Amazon.
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