New World Implements Extra Challenges In The Form Of Expedition Mutators

Adventurers in New World looking for a greater challenge can now try their hand at Expedition Mutators, which increase the strength of Normal and Named enemies in an expedition. There will be a unique set of expeditions and mutations every week, with 10 difficulty levels apiece. You'll need a Mutator Orb to attempt one, and you'll receive one for completing the normal version of an expedition, with the ability to craft another once per week or purchase them from the Faction Shop.

Mutations for enemies in these expeditions can take the form of offensive abilities, such as setting players on fire, or defensive abilities, such as being resistant to a certain elemental type. They can also receive new abilities or heal one another, or apply curses to players, which can deplete their mana or force them to group together to "cleanse" themselves to avoid exploding. Your score in a mutated expedition will be based on your completion time, kills, "Named" kills, team wipes, and respawns, and there are bonus multipliers you can earn, as well.

Also in today's update: Gear can now be upgraded from GS 590 to 625 by using Umbral Shards, and all expeditions have received greater rewards. Additionally, in reaction to player "frustrations," Fast Travel costs have been lowered for long-distance trips, and six new shrines have been added to the open world.

Finally, taxes are going up (booooooo!). They were greatly reduced, due to "server clock issues experienced last year" -- which is one issue with the game I never heard about, but it's easy to see how it would have gotten lost among all the others. In addition to that change being rolled back, housing tax minimums and defaults are all doubling. You can learn more about that, and all the other changes in January's update, on the New World site.