In the second part of the video below, Leala and Katy look like they have a real cathartic chat about some of the more exciting things being announced in June. Of course, I can only say “look like” because 90% of the conversation was censored out! Which is fair enough, there’s still three weeks to wait.

The hints are to be had in the words that were allowed to remain, however, and we have a few thoughts about what could be coming.

Katy: “… you definitely can’t forget that we’re including a new …. (censored) …. like, I know that when we introduced the Sandwurm before that, folks were a little concerned because it was … “

Hmm, a new what? From the context of the comment about the Sandwurm, it sounds like a new Raid encounter. But what were players concerned about? I know that right now, players are concerned about the low level of the loot but I don’t think that’s it, because she says “when we introduced”. Maybe concerned about the difficulty? Or concerned about not being able to form a group of 20, maybe it’s a reference to the new Raid being incorporated into the Activities finder.

Katy: “… something that we introduced in Rise of the Angry Earth that I think people were really excited about … “

This is a tricky one. I’ve been racking my brains to think of what people were really excited about in Rise of the Angry Earth. For me it was Mounts … and Artifacts … and … yeah, got nothing. I think the underlying fundamental changes to Gear Score and crafting were a positive improvement and I always enjoy doing the quests that come with new content. But the whole process of closing First Light and replacing it with what felt like a half-done new land was not exciting, just disappointing and something many players are still bitter about. So I almost feel dread at the thought of whatever this spoiler might be. Maybe they’re just talking about finishing off some of the things that felt rushed, like the Artemis Boon drops, or Edengrove city only having one house plan style.

Katy: “the really cool and exciting thing for people who have … already purchased the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion”

I’ve been puzzling on this one for a while. There’s a whole lot of censored speech before this and I wonder why the need to specify people who have already purchased the expansion. Does this imply it balances something that people who have not purchased the expansion will be getting? I don’t want to raise any hopes, but could it mean a new monetisation model, perhaps free to play with a premium subscription? Or, to the other extreme and honestly more likely, could it just mean that the new content will be limited to people who have the RotAE expansion?

Leala: “… new ways to play my main … “

Is this comment a confirmation of the popular rumour that New World will be released on console? If it is, I hope we get crossplay so it revives the population for the existing players.

Leala: “… make a fresh start with a new character and experience the game in a new way.”

This seems to confirm Scot Lane’s answer that Fresh Start servers will be coming soon, from the April Community Q&A – 13:10 [Scot] “I can’t really say when, but we think, we love the last fresh start; we thought it was … it went really well, so you can expect another round, but I really can’t get into the details on when.” Sounds like the “when” might be announced in June.

Leala: “Everyone is going to love it.”

I hope so 🙂