New World Heart Of Madness Update Adds Blunderbuss, New Main Story Quests: Full Patch Notes

The latest update for Amazon’s MMORPG New World will arrive on March 29, and it looks to be the biggest update to the game since launch, both in terms of new content and the huge range of quality-of-life changes.

At the forefront of the update is the conclusion of the game’s current main story, with a new quest that will lead players to the new Tempest’s Heart expedition to confront Isabella. Tempest’s Heart won’t be easy, however, with Amazon recommending players be level 60 and have a gearscore between 550 and 570 in order to succeed.

The other star of the update is the new Blunderbuss weapon, the first weapon in the game to scale with strength and intelligence. A close-range powerhouse, the Blunderbuss has two distinct skill trees to choose from, with one more focused on AOE damage and crowd-control abilities while the other is about dishing out damage at extremely close ranges. It will be the second new weapon added to the game since launch. In a recent email interview with GameSpot, New World creative director Dave Verfaillie said the team is looking to add a new weapon to the game “every six months or so,” but that the cadence of new weapons may slow down over time as the game’s weapon portfolio expands.

While the new expedition and weapon are definitely highlights, there are a huge number of other changes that should go a long way towards making New World a more enjoyable experience. Those changes range from the removal of costs associated with moving items in storage between towns, the ability to check your inventory while moving, and the addition of infinite low-tier ammo for ranged weapons, just to name a few. Verfaillie said the changes in both this update and other recent friction-reducing updates are all part of an initiative “to remove anything that is getting in the way of fun and doesn’t add to the experience.”

This update also adds new activities out in the open world, such as Vista View paintings that can be found in each territory that, once discovered, can be displayed in a player’s in-game home, as well as new roadside encounters. No update is complete without balance changes, and the Heart of Madness update has plenty of that too, with changes to the Life Staff and Fire Staff.

Amazon recently revealed New World’s 2022 content roadmap, which includes a new zone, the Greatsword weapon, new events, and 3v3 PvP arenas. Verfaillie said looking ahead at the next six months, the New World team will be focused on continuing to polish the experience by tackling issues like lag and dysync, making transaction systems more robust in order to avoid exploits that could harm the game’s economy, and the creation of new content. You can read the full patch notes for the Hearts of Madness update below.

New World Heart Of Madness Full Patch Notes

SPOTLIGHT

MAIN STORYLINE FINALE QUEST & TEMPEST’S HEART EXPEDITION

The main story questline picks up as you pursue Isabella back to Shattered Mountain. The final quest, The Heart of the Tempest, is given by Yseult Meredith, located at Mountain Home Outpost in Shattered Mountain. Additional repeatable quests can be taken from Mara Rosa, in the cathedral just south of the Expedition entrance.

The final showdown against Isabella has arrived, as you delve deep into the Tempest’s Heart Expedition. Pursue the Tempest into a corrupted dimension of reality, through the twisted capital city of Myrkgard. Discover the secrets of her past while you dive deeper into her corrupted mind.

The Tempest’s Heart is an endgame expedition for 5 players. Recommended for level 60 players with Gearscores between 550 and 570.

NEW WEAPON: BLUNDERBUSS

The Blunderbuss is a ranged weapon that offers high-mobility coupled with potent close-to-mid range damage. It’s the first weapon to scale on strength and intelligence, making it a good companion for bruiser or mage builds.

Adventurers will be able to progress through two weapon mastery trees, allowing the player to choose between two distinct playstyles.

• The Containment tree is all about closing the gap and unloading hot lead into your enemy’s face.

• Conversely, the Chaos tree focuses on keeping your distance and bombarding areas with explosive AoE damage.

Alongside the release of the Blunderbuss weapon itself, we’re also releasing a new Legendary Weapon Quest series. Upon reaching Level 60 and the maximum skill level with the new firearm, players should seek out Wang Tang Zhi in Ebonscale Reach settlement to start this epic endeavor.

WORLD EXPERIENCE

WORLD ADDITIONS – REWARDING EXPLORATION

New experiences have been added across the world for players to discover.

WORLD PAINTINGS – VISTA VIEWS

Two easels can be found in each territory. Upon interacting with these easels, players will be given a painting of the view for their house. If a player loses their painting they can reacquire it by visiting the same easel again 24 hours later.

RAFFLEBONES THE LOOT COLLECTOR!

Rafflebones rummages around Aeternum for lost treasures and goods. He will spawn all around the map at various levels in every territory. When players encounter Rafflebones they will have 45 seconds to kill him in order to get rewards or else he’ll flee! Players will always be awarded a named weapon. Additionally, level 60 players will be given Obsidian Gypsum on kill of any level Rafflebones. Rafflebones that are found in zones that go above level 60 will award level 60 players 500 Umbral Shards.

STINKY THE HUNTER

Stinky the Legendary Hunter can be found wandering around the swamps of Weaver’s Fen throughout the day, while at night he retreats to his humble abode. Stinky can drop three named items for level 30 players: Stinky’s Keepsake, Stinky’s Sharpshooter, and Stinky’s Hatchet.

THE FORGOTTEN YETI

A population of yeti didn’t get the memo that the Winter Convergence has passed and can be found wandering the frozen wastelands of the Great Cleave. These Yeti drop level 45 standard elite rewards.

ROADSIDE ENCOUNTERS

New random roadside encounters can be found along routes in Weaver’s Fen and Restless Shores.

UNBOUND ISLAND

Revamped the layout and encounter experience for Unbound Island in Cutlass Keys. Go forth and uncover the curse of Benjamin Boatswain’s ill-gotten treasure! (For early level 30 players).

ANDROMETUS

Revamped the layout and encounter experience for Andrometus in Weavers Fen. Blight continues to spread from Lepus, threatening to consume Aeternum. (For mid level 30 players)

OPEN WORLD

• Doubled the storage bonus for all tiers of Storage Chests. Chests that used to provide 200 weight of bonus storage now provide 400 weight, etc.

• Adjusted the description on Storage Chests to better indicate the benefit they provide.

• Adjusted the description on Trophies to better clarify the actual benefit provided by these items.

• For the starting beach experience in Windsward, the Watcher now offers players a choice of 4 weapons from a weapon rack to better suit their playstyle.

  • Players can choose between a Warhammer, Fire Staff, Bow, or Hatchet.

  • Each weapon also comes with chest armor, light healing potions, and some rations.

• Durability loss has been updated. Now only your equipped items will take durability loss when you die.

• Territory Storage

  • Removed the cost associated with moving items between territory storage

  • Your faction no longer needs to own both territories in order to transfer items between your storages

• Player to Player collision

• Fast travel is now more responsive when traveling short distances.

EXPEDITIONS

• Updated the queue requirements for Expeditions to require only 1 person at the entrance, allowing the other members to enter from their current location in the world.

• Fixed an issue where boss music would stop playing after a party wipe in the Dynasty Shipyard Expedition.

• Updated Expedition Victory banners to play unique SFX.

NOTABLE WORLD BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue with Edengrove faction missions in progress that could not be turned in after a new build was released.

• Added the “Active Bonuses” section to the Faction Mission Flyout.

• Fixed an issue where players can’t accept certain community goals after they refresh on the project board.

• Added a fix to address crashes in the objective system.

• Added an auto grant to Faction Advancement Quests when players switch factions.

• Fixed an issues where gatherables didn’t always sync properly to the client.

• Fixed an issue where Nekumanesh and Barkimedes quest pins appear off to the side of the map if they are unpinned and re-pinned.

• Reduced difficulty in early game POIs and MSQ path through level 15.

• Fixed several areas where players could drown on land.

• Tier 4 housing added to Reekwater and Ebonscale Reach settlements.

• General fixes for:

  • Collision

  • Bad death planes

  • Camp placements in allowable areas

  • Holes in the world

  • Floating objects

  • Flickering or missing textures

  • AI and gatherables under terrain or cliffs

QUESTS

QUESTS UPDATES

• New soloable quest options are available for the MSQ to allow players to progress without running certain expeditions.

• New quests leading players to the Legendary Blunderbuss weapon reward have been added.

• New Faction Missions targeting Corruption Breaches can now be found in all zones.

• Starting beaches were updated and weapon racks added to give players more choices on their preferred combat direction.

• Added Gypsum as a reward to level 60 quests in Shattered Mountain, Reekwater, and Ebonscale Reach.

• Added map pins for Trial Quest NPCs for the Faction Advancement quests.

• Removed the level threshold requirements from Main Story Quests.

• Updated the “Intro to Factions” to be more streamlined and include new map/overhead icons for NPCs.

• Moved the NPC for the “Down Payment” quest away from Corrupted Portal spawn location.

NOTABLE FIXES

• Fixed various issues where quest NPC VO was being cut off and had echoes.

• Fixed issues where quest objectives would loop and not allow players to complete the quests.

• Fixed multiple issues where resetting a quest prevented the completion of the quest objectives.

• Fixed issue preventing Powder kegs from being placed in “Shivering Timbers”.

• Fixed issues with Tiger despawning and AI jumping into walls in Ebonscale quest “Shrine Cleansing”.

• Fixed issues where expedition orbs failed to be rewarded after completing certain quests.

• Fixed an issue in Mourningdale where two quests could be granted simultaneously, blocking the progression of one.

• Fixed an issue in the quest “Contained Night” that resulted in progress not occurring after crafting.

• Fixed an issue where quest VFX would be active for all players on certain quests.

• Fixed issues where quests could have blank objectives.

• Fixed issues involving the “Destiny Unearthed” quest.

• Increased the size of hit boxes for Malign Nodes found in “Malign Dominion” quest.

• Fixed an issue where quest items were not collectible and objective markers were missing in “Ixia’s Blessing”.

• Fixed issues that resulted in inconsistent formatting in the HUD and journal for quests.

• Fixed descriptions for several quest items that were incorrect or confusing.

• Fixed issues where players would collide with invisible objects at Daughterwell in First Light.

• Fixed issues where the quest descriptions didn’t match the actual POIs name.

• Clarified the requirements for “That Beautiful Stench” quest.

• Fixed an issue where objectives on a subquest would carry over to the next subquest.

COMBAT & AI

GENERAL AI UPDATES

• Updated AI target acquisition in the open world to avoid targeting players who are not actively engaged in a fight.

  • Initial target acquisition remains unchanged with the AI attacking the first player they detect.

  • Once an AI has their initial target, they will only evaluate additional players if they take an aggressive act (attacking the AI, taunting, healing a player fighting the AI, etc).

  • Expedition, Invasion, and Outpost Rush AI do not use these new target acquisition rules. Those AI will acquire targets as they have in the past.

• Introduced a grace period to AI aggro on spawn.

  • This will prevent AI from aggroing on players until 5 seconds after their spawn begins, or until they are damaged.

  • This delay affects AI that spawn naturally in the open world. Expedition AI and AI spawned by events (such as Corrupted Breaches) are unaffected by this change.

• Fixed an issue causing AI to target players who used a taunt ability just prior to entering Death’s Door.

• Fixed an issue preventing AI from targeting another player after their target vaulted over an object.

AI ENEMY UPDATES

GENERAL AI UPDATES

EXPEDITION AI

• Amrine Excavation

• Garden of Genesis

MUTATORS & MUTATED AI

• Difficulty of elite named AI have been tuned down, while bosses have been tuned up.

• Tooltips for major curses no longer appear on Mutator difficulties less than 9.

• Desiccated

  • Fixed an issue that would sometimes stop Combustible chains from continuing to chain if there were valid targets.

  • Fixed an issue allowing Combustible to deal damage to invulnerable AI.

  • Fixed an issue causing the Combustible timer to show the wrong text when hovered over.

• Eternal

COMBAT

GENERAL COMBAT UPDATES

WEAPON SHEATHING:

• Fixed an issue where the sheathe and unsheathe animations for weapons would loop if the player started or stopped moving while one was playing.

• Fixed an issue where the player’s weapon could remain equipped instead of sheathing when in the prone position.

AMMO UPDATES:

• Infinite Ammo: T1 Flint ammo is being replaced by an infinite resource. Players can now fire ranged weapons (Musket, Bow and Blunderbuss) without equipping ammo.

  • If no ammo is equipped, an ammo counter will not be displayed on the reticle and the weapon will still be allowed to fire.

  • If players have a higher tier ammo equipped in a game mode that provides infinite ammo (such as Outpost Rush) an infinity icon will appear on the reticle instead to distinguish it from having no ammo equipped.

• Ammo rarity/damage tiers have been updated as follows:

  • T1 Infinite (Previously Flint) = 1.00x damage.

  • T2 Iron = 1.05x damage.

  • T3 Steel = 1.10x damage.

  • T4 Starmetal = 1.15x damage.

  • T5 Orichalcum = 1.20x damage.

• Flint Arrows: These arrows have been removed from the game due to the addition of infinite ammo. Any Flint Arrows previously created will become Iron Arrows. Additionally, any Flint Arrows posted on the trading post will be canceled and returned as Iron Arrows to the player who posted the listing.

• Ammo weight has been removed.

• Increased maximum stack count for ammo from 500 to 1000.

WEAPON UPDATES

BOW

FIRE STAFF

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from interrupting repeated light attacks with a block.

• Burning: Updated the burning debuff applied by several fire staff abilities.

  • Increased damage tick rate from 1.5s to 1s.

  • Decreased maximum stacks from 10 to 5.

  • Increased damage per stack from 3% weapon damage per tick to 6%.

  • Updated tooltips for all affected abilities.

• Burn Out: This ability now ends early if it traverses into deep water.

GREAT AXE

HATCHET

• Raging Torrent

• Feral Rush

  • Energizing Feral Rush (Item Perk): Fixed an issue where this perk would not apply the stamina gain on both hits of Feral Rush.

  • Feral Rush now ends early if it traverses into deep water.

ICE GAUNTLET

• Heavy Attack: Fixed an issue where heavy attack could be charged with insufficient mana and a light attack would be performed at the end of the charge. The functionality has been changed so that attempting to charge without sufficient mana will instead trigger a light attack immediately.

• Fixed an issue that prevented players from interrupting repeated light attacks with a block.

• Entombed

• Heavy Freeze: Fixed a typo in the description.

• Ice Spikes: Fixed an issue where the Mighty Spike visuals would not appear in some circumstances.

• Wind Chill: Fixed an issue where this ability could trigger the Defiant Freeze passive even when canceled.

LIFE STAFF

• Orb of Protection: Fixed a text error with the tooltip that stated it healed for 10% weapon damage when it actually healed for 8%. Actual healing values were not changed, only text was corrected.

• Sacred Protection: Fixed an issue which caused this passive to deal durability damage to the equipped weapon when swapping.

• Spirits United: Fixed an issue which caused this passive to deal durability damage to the equipped weapon when swapping.

• Sacred Ground:

  • Blessed (Upgrade):

    • Changed the name of this upgrade to be “Anointed” so as not to be confused with the item perk of the same name.

    • Fixed an issue where this upgrade provided healing through Ice Gauntlet’s Entombed ability.

• Basic Attacks:

• Divine Embrace: Fixed an issue where the channeling UI element did not match the actual casting time of the ability.

MUSKET

• Shooter’s Stance

  • Fixed an issue where Shooter’s Stance was increasing the meter for the “Censored” mutator if the player entered and exited the stance without ability going on cooldown. It will now only increment of the meter after the first shot is fired while in Shooter’s Stance.

  • Marksman: Fixed an issue where this upgrade was not functioning properly.

• Back it Up: Fixed an issue where this passive was disabled while using Sticky Bomb.

• Critical Reload: Fixed an issue that caused the sound effects for this passive to play incorrectly. Improved reliability of hit counting.

RAPIER

• Tondo: Fixed an issue where using Evade to cancel Tondo could result in the damage being dealt without showing the VFX.

• Flurry: Fixed an issue where this ability was unable to be canceled using Fleche.

• Fleche: This ability now ends early if it traverses into deep water.

• Momentum: Fixed an issue where the visual effects for this passive would persist even if the rapier was sheathed or swapped.

SWORD AND SHIELD

• Leadership: Fixed an issue which caused this passive to deal durability damage to the equipped weapon when swapping.

• Leaping Strike: This ability now ends early if it traverses into deep water.

• Counter Attack: Fixed an issue that caused this ability to stop functioning and display 0s for all of its values.

VOID GAUNTLET

WAR HAMMER

ITEMS

• Vial of Wyrdwood Sap: Fixed an issue where the the perk granted by this item was referred to as both “Gathering Restoration” and “Gathering Recovery” in different parts of the UI. It is now called “Gathering Recovery” in all instances.

• Chain Elemental Perks: Fixed an issue where these perks did not indicate the amount of damage the chain effect deals. They now list that the chain deals 11% weapon damage.

• Damage Ward Perks: The Abyssal Ward perk provided by Amethyst gems previously had a higher damage absorption rate than other gems which provided elemental defense. In this update we are bringing up the values provided by all gems across the board in order to normalize this change. Gems that provide physical resistance have had a smaller increase, as physical damage tends to be more common.

  • Abyssal Ward: Adjusted damage absorption provided by this perk from 2.5%/3.5%/5%/6% to 3%/4%/5%/6%

  • Thrust/Slash/Strike Ward: Increased damage absorption from 2%/2.5%/3%/3.75% to 2%/3%/4%/5%.

  • Arcane/Ice/Fire/Nature/Lightning Ward: Increased damage absorption from 2%/2.5%/3%/3.75% to 3%/4%/5%/6%

• Fixed an issue where weapon passive abilities such as Sacred Protection were being removed when consuming potions after the weapon was sheathed.

• Blood Letting (Ring Perk): Increased bleeding duration bonus from 5% – 15% to 10% – 30%.

• Burning (Ring Perk): Increased burning duration bonus from 5% – 15% to 10% – 30%.

• Divine (Amulet Perk): Fixed an issue where this perk bonus was being removed on death.

• Plentiful Shells/Plentiful Arrows: Updated the descriptions for these perks to add clarity and a previously unlisted 2s cooldown.

• Retaliate: This perk has been reworked from giving a damage bonus for 3 hits after being hit 3 times to giving a 2s damage bonus after getting hit 1 time. This will not refresh while already active.

GENERAL COMBAT BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where shield blocking SFX would be heard instead of the equipped weapon’s blocking SFX.

• Fixed an issue where weapon sheathing and unsheathing SFX would not always change after equipping a different weapon.

• Fixed an issue where a player could drop below 0 mana.

• Fixed gates missing VFX upon destruction

• Fixed cannons missing ground effects upon impact.

• Fixed the Darkness Portal VFX in Outpost Rush.

• Fixed an issue where Baroness Hain would not play SFX on some special attacks in Outpost Rush.

• Fixed an issue where incoming healing efficiency modification was incorrectly being capped at 50% instead of 100%.

GAME MODE UPDATES

• Game mode items such as the Outpost Rush consumables will now auto-equip to your hotbar when purchased, providing there is an empty slot available.

• Players can now queue for Wars and Invasions from their map.

ELITE BOSS ARENAS

• Increased the quantity and quality of rewards that players will receive from reward caches granted from Elite Boss Arenas.

• Successfully completing a boss arena now rewards 50 Umbral Shards.

WAR

• Defenders will no longer be able to respawn on points A, B, and C. They can only respawn inside of their Fort.

• Increased the quantity and quality of rewards that players will receive from reward caches granted from War.

INVASION

OUTPOST RUSH

• Removed the downed state from Outpost Rush. Players will now immediately die when hitting 0 health.

• Credit for killing a player now goes to the player who kills an enemy instead of the player who puts them into death’s door.

• Players will now receive score credit for contesting a control point.

• Teams can now see the enemy progress towards a Corrupted Brute Token on the map.

• The Outpost Rush tutorial pop-up for building gates has been restored.

ECONOMY, CRAFTING, & REWARDS

ECONOMY

CRAFTING

• Corrected the Buttercream Pudding category to Attribute Foods.

• The amount of materials required to craft Elite Arena Tuning Orbs has been reduced. They now require 3 Runestones instead 5, and 3 of the orb-specific materials (

  Firefox, Fancy Shell, or Glowing Swamp Moss), also instead of 5.

• Tooltips for crafting mods have been updated to show the proper ranges based on gear score.

• The crafting mod selector popup is now sorted alphabetically.

• New perks and new perk items have been added to the world.

• Fixed an issue where the Upgrade option was erroneously available for Tier 4 items.

• Fixed the description text for Guardsman’s Insignias.

• Fixed an issue where some Potions didn’t properly apply crafting bonuses that scale with higher or lower tier ingredients.

• Shard of Lithomancy and Keeper’s Pendant now give a maximum of 25 of their stat instead of 30.

REWARDS

• Harvest, log, and mine to uncover hidden stashes of Earthly rewards. Elemental motes, coin, and diamond gypsum are now waiting to be uncovered as you gather on Aeternum.

• Elite Boss Arena keys may now drop from enemies in the surrounding Elite zones.

• Fixed an issue where Expeditions could improperly drop loot intended for areas outside of the Expedition.

• Fixed an issue causing Ancient T5 Muskets to sometimes drop from Angry Earth enemies.

• Fixed an issue causing Invasion weapon drops to be exceedingly rare. They should now be significantly more likely. This change also makes the named weapon drops from Invasion very slightly more likely.

GEAR AND LOOT

• Fixed a few visual issues with the light and medium Garden of Genesis apparel sets.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Toughened Leather Chest of the Zealot apparel set.

• Fixed a few visual issues with Tempest Ice and Void Gauntlets.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Mixer’s Hat.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Lichen Lord apparel set.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Nettle and Heartpiercer Rapier skins.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Jadeite Dragon Armor skin.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Stormbound skin.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Autumnal Lord’s boots.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Tempest Guard Shirt of the Battlemage apparel set.

• Fixed a visual issue with the Stonebark skin.

• Fixed an issue that prevented certain Tradeskill apparel items from being purchasable on the Trading Post.

• Fixed an incorrect icon for Defiled Void Gauntlet.

• Fixed an issue where the Reinforced Steel, Reinforced Starmetal, and Reinforced Orichalcum Void Gauntlet Charms were not properly displaying their names.

• Old Amulet, Rings and Earrings now have the proper Trading post categories.

• Old Amulets, Rings, and Earrings now use proper suffixes for their item name.

• Crafting Patterns now have their own trading post category.

• Updated the Life Breaker War hammer’s appearance. It was previously incorrect.

• Fixed a bug that was scaling Gear Score from Expertise level from gear awarded via Fishing Quests.

• Daily cooldowns now refresh each day at 5AM in each server region’s time zone. Weekly cooldowns refresh each Tuesday at 5AM in each server region’s time zone.

UX, UI, & SOCIAL

QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

• Updated the Main Story Quest icon to be more prominent in the Compass and when pinned to the player’s onscreen HUD.

• Updated the draw order for icons in the Compass to ensure the Main Story Quest (MSQ) icon is more prominent.

• Added a header for the MSQ when pinned to the HUD.

• Added a header for the MSQ when viewing its flyout in the map.

• Added a banner for the MSQ in the HUD when it is accepted.

• Added a banner for the MSQ in the HUD when it is completed.

• Added a “Guide” tab to the Journal.

• Updated the Fast Travel icon to more closely resemble a Spirit Shrine.

• Added a banner for unlocking fast travel at a Spirit Shrine in the HUD when it is discovered.

• Updated activated and undiscovered Fast Travel icon states in the map.

• Updated Spirit Shrine flyouts in the Map to display the name of the shrine and convey its fast travel status.

• Updated the functionality of the /help emote list to only display available emotes.

• Added a loading tip for activity cooldown timers.

• Added a loading tip for using Repair Kits in Expeditions

• Fixed various grammatical errors and inconsistent capitalization across the UI.

• The progress bar above the “Always Available Town Projects” has been removed, since those missions do not have a maximum progress.

• Player’s average gear score now appears on the player’s tooltip in the War Board.

MESSAGING

• Fixed an issue where inventory notifications displayed inconsistently for equipping and unequipping weapons during combat.

• Fixed various overlapping text issues.

• Fixed an issue with text in Spanish for the Mining Armor Luck perk,

• Fixed an issue with text in Italian where the Baroness’ arrival timer displayed incorrectly in Outpost Rush.

• Added error messages for players attempting to deposit or withdraw from the Company Treasury if they lack permissions or do not meet the minimum character level requirements.

• Updated error messages to the proper account age probation restriction rules for Trading.

• Fixed an issue where tooltips were obstructed at the bottom of the screen when viewing the inventory and Mutator Expedition information.

• Fixed an issue where tooltips when placing furniture or camps appeared too small at 4k resolution.

• Fixed an issue where tooltips for gathering tools displayed incorrectly.

• Fixed an issue where War Hammer icons were not sized correctly.

• Fixed an issue where the Infused Silk Robe Handwraps tooltip icon did not match the in-game model.

• Fixed an issue where the Starmetal Plate Helm icon did not match the in-game model.

• Fixed an issue with the visual effects on the Heartpiercer Rapier Weapon skin.

• Fixed an issue where the Mutator icon displayed incorrectly for undiscovered Expeditions with active mutations.

• Fixed an issue where the Mutator menu displayed an unlock requirement message when the player was at the maximum difficulty.

• Fixed an issue where the highest completed rank was not visible when entering an Expedition with a Mutation.

• Fixed an issue where the inventory discard prompt displayed incorrectly when a player held the shift key over equipped items.

• Fixed an issue where the camp distance warning timer notification did not reset after making a new Camp.

• Fixed an issue where the camp out-of-range banner displayed incorrectly.

• Fixed an issue where players could receive invites to Companies that no longer exist.

• Fixed an issue where tooltip text would occasionally exceed margins of the text box.

• Fixed an issue where compass icons for Baroness Hain and Corrupted Portal would not appear during Outpost Rush.

USABILITY

• Fixed an issue in the Storage Shed where players could accidently open reward containers when holding down the shift key and rapidly left-clicking to store reward containers.

• Fixed an issue in the Storage Shed where an item could move into the Inventory when the player attempts to salvage a locked item. Added a message saying “Unlock this item to allow it to be salvaged” when the player attempts to salvage a locked item.

• Fixed an issue where players in an Expedition or Outpost Rush could not see “Help” chat messages from players in the open world.

• Fixed an issue in the social UI where players displayed incorrectly when expanding and collapsing the muted section.

• Fixed issue where the fishing UI would disappear after visiting the options screen.

• The preview window for loot bags should now always have proper quantities.

AUDIO

• Fixed an issue where a Settlement’s music tracks would not always update after fast travel.

• Fixed an issue where Firecrackers did not play SFX.

• Fixed an issue where completing a camp did not play SFX

• Fixed an issue where Spriggan and Siren event music did not turn off after defeating the boss.

• Added SFX to play when new members join a Company.

• Updated the SFX of various housing items to be quieter.

PTR NOTES

The following notes were added or changed as a direct result of internal testing efforts and players submitting feedback in the PTR. Thanks to all those who participated!

COMBAT

INVENTORY WHILE MOVING

In this update, we’re making a highly requested quality-of-life improvement: you can now move while using your inventory! Whether you’re using directional inputs or auto-run, opening your inventory will no longer stop you in your tracks. Feel free to examine your loot or swap your gear while running to your next point of interest. Be careful while you’re on the move though because you won’t be allowed to change equipment if you’re in combat. Which brings us to the next new feature…

IN COMBAT SYSTEM

The new “In Combat” System tracks when the player is actively engaged in any type of combat and restricts some actions accordingly. When a player enters combat, their health, mana, and stamina bars will become visible and a crossed swords icon will appear to the right of their health bar. While in this state, the player will not be able to change abilities or equipment. This replaces the previous functionality that prevented abilities and equipment from being changed while abilities were on cooldown. There are also a few new benefits to being out of combat.

OUT OF COMBAT HEALING

While players are out of combat they will now receive passive heath and mana regeneration. This bonus regeneration is intended to shorten the time needed to recover between combat encounters and has the following benefits:

• Gain 40 health per second.

• Mana regeneration rate increased by 100%.

• Food buff healing effectiveness increased by 150%. This bonus applies only to the longer-duration healing buff and not to the shorter-duration buff that ends early if damage is taken.

GENERAL COMBAT UPDATES & FIXES

• Fixed an issue that could cause a player to unintentionally move significantly slower than expected.

• Fixed an issue causing a player’s animation to break if they became encumbered while using weight reduction perks.

• Fire Staff

• Hatchet

• Ice Gauntlet

• Void Gauntlet

• Life Staff

OUTPOST RUSH

• You can now sign up to Outpost Rush from anywhere, press “escape” to enter the main menu then select the Modes tab.

• Allowed the UI to show more than 2 rewards at once.

• Joining an Outpost Rush match after Baroness Hain has spawned will no longer display a broken timer on the HUD.

ELITE POIS

• Added a low-chance drop rate of Arena Tuning Orbs from Elite AI enemies in Malevolence, Forecastle Drift, Spires of Melpomene, and Eternal Pool.

WAR

INVASIONS

QUESTS

• Daily faction mission token rewards have been increased by 5x.

• Lowered difficulty of Corrupted Chaplain encounter.

• Killing withered beetles in Reedgill Fishery now properly gives quest credit.

CRAFTING

• The “Balance of Time” named sword crafting recipe has been rebalanced to cost less and be in line with other T3 items.

• Blight Seeds are now “Epic” quality instead of “Legendary” quality.

• Quick Salvaging a known recipe will now notify you that you already know the recipe.

• Alkahest now properly gains bonus items when crafted.

EXPEDITIONS

• Resolved an issue that was preventing some players from obtaining the second lore letter in the Garden of Genesis expedition.

• Updated Tempest’s Heart exit gate to have SFX.

• Fixed an issue where using the Book of Isabella interactable locks the player in place.

• Fixed an issue where Dynasty Expedition was rewarding less gold than other mutated Expeditions.

• Fixed an issue where Expedition quest markers move off the map when players arrive at the destination.

• Isabella Final Fight & Neishatun

  • Fixed a variety of bugs in the Expedition due to PTR player feedback and internal testing.

  • Made a variety of balance adjustments to the Isabella & Neishatun encounters as a result of PTR player feedback and internal testing.

ISABELLA’S EXPEDITION LOOT

Isabella’s Tempest Heart Expedition drops powerful new items, here are just a few highlights of the great loot players can earn:

• Isabella’s Rapier – Her cruel weapon doles out vicious damage with its keen blade and punishes enemies who dare to swing and miss.

• Blackguard’s Firestaff – This keenly-empowered staff inflicts plagued fire damage upon its victims.

• Raider’s Armor – This medium-weight armor packs on high strength bonuses and refreshing enhancements.

• Surgeon’s Ring – Wield void powers and add critical hit chance using any weapon when this ring is equipped.

• Blackguard’s Void Gauntlet – Heightened odds of critical hits augmented with plague make this Void Gauntlet worthy of the Blackguard.

IN-GAME STORE

GENERAL FIXES

• Fixed a rare server crash that sometimes occurred when picking up items off the ground.

• Fixed issue where storage chests did not acquire updated weight capacity until they were moved.

• Fixed an issue where a player’s first respawn attempt at a shrine would fail.

• Fixed an issue that could cause a game crash when the trading post was disabled.

• Fixed an issue causing players to sometimes fail to equip ammo/arrows when at the item limit.

• Fixed an issue where items sometimes dropped with an incorrect gearscore above 600.

• Fixed an issue causing unpinned quests to re-pin to map after logging in.

• Fixed an issue where players could sign up for a war that was not declared, while dead, in a territory that is in conflict.

• Fixed issues caused by players exceeding 500 unique items in their inventory.

SOCIAL

• Players can now sign up for Invasions and War from map by default.

• Fixed an issue that allowed blocked players to continue to communicate with the player that blocked them through text or voice chat.

UX AND UI

• Updated the rested XP visuals so they are more apparent when the bonus is active.

• Updated the Select Skin menu to sort by the player’s owned skins first.

• Fixed multiple issues in the UI associated with overlapping text for multiple languages.

• Fixed an issue in the HUD causing the player’s health bar to sometimes remain invisible until forced to appear.

• Fixed an issue in the HUD causing the player to sometimes see an incorrect amount of experience earned.

• Fixed an issue allowing dead players could sign up for a war that was not declared in a territory that is in conflict.

• Fixed an issue where paying taxes while dead could prevent players from using UI elements.

• Fixed an issue in the Social menu causing Friends’ online statuses to not update until after scrolling.

• Fixed an issue in the Social menu causing the description for the Twitch Subscriber Army to be unclear.

• Fixed an issue in the feedback menu causing text to not display correctly.