New World Rolls Out Phase 1 Of High Water Mark Revamp Alongside Its First Winter Event
The first phase of New World’s controversial High Water Mark system revamp is now live, bringing significant changes to the endgame system and paving the way for phase two of the HWM update.
As part of the revamp, High Water Mark has been renamed to renamed to Expertise and will now display the latter in all UIs. A new resource type called Gypsum has also been added that can be used to increase Expertise levels in preparation for the Gear Score downscaling that will be coming in January. Kiln stations have also been introduced in all endgame zones which can be used to craft Gypsum Orbs.
“We’ve added a new resource called Gypsum that can be acquired each day by doing a variety of activities (open world named bosses, Expedition bosses, Outpost Rush, Arenas, Corrupted Breaches, etc.). Each activity rewards a different type of Gypsum that can be crafted into a Gypsum Orb. These Orbs can then be crafted into Gypsum Casts of any weapon, armor or trinket type. Opening a Gypsum Cast will guarantee an expertise bump and gear of that type.”
The HWM revamp also arrives alongside the open world survival MMORPG’s first-ever holiday event – the Winter of Convergence.
“Marked by the appearance of increased snowfall and Northern Lights in the sky this is a time of dichotomy and duality as the Winter Wanderer and Winter Warrior come to the land. Icy winds and the Winter Wanderer bring with them new armors, weapons, furnishings, skins, consumables, and a delightful ‘present gifting’ emote.”
The holiday event brings festive decorations and a whole host of seasonal activities to Aeternum, including recovering lost presents, collecting Gleamite Chunks, and exploring treacherous Ice Caves.
“Ice Caves are appearing all over Aeternum due to the Winter Warrior’s desire for a Forever Winter. The rest of Aeternum will look like these Ice Caves if the onslaught of the Warrior is not stopped. These caves will remain behind after the event as scars on the land, sources of wintry magic that refuse to melt even if the Warrior is defeated.”
For those who rolled female characters, the team has also added more “feminine” armor drops throughout the game world. There’s also an extensive list of changes, fixes, and improvements, the details of which can be found in the full release notes on the New World official site. There’s also a not-so-festive trailer waiting for you down below.
