Main Story Quest Update Deep Dive
newworld.comGreetings, Adventurers!
Experience fresh narratives, more quest variety, and a few new surprises as you put an end to Isabella’s campaign of corruption. The final main story quest (MSQ) update will release alongside Season of the Guardian on March 12. Join Senior Narrative Designer Lula Lucent for insight into their development process, philosophy, and more.
The Angry Earth are my favorite part of New World. Because of their mysteriousness I always wonder how they perceive and experience life. The addition of Phaeris as a new NPC is probably my favorite change. Her appearance is brief, but impactful. We see how she struggles with being different within the Angry Earth Hivemind, balancing her nature with the expectations of the collective. Similarly, the very narrow peek into the mindsets of the Blighted is super interesting, and creates even more mystery.
Well, this is a request crying out for an overly-lengthy response. But I can summarize since my design philosophy is strongly wrapped up in what is needed to revise something like the MSQ ending. We knew where our penultimate story arc was happening, Ebonscale Reach. We knew where the absolute ending would be, Shattered Mountain. I worked backwards from our current assets and locations, and sought to give them life and meaning alongside cool new things to do there!
Once that narrative skeleton was approved by our supporting teams, I fleshed it out one piece at a time by asking myself, which NPCs were involved in each quest, what resources did I need to request from others, and how could I turn all the chaotic madness in my head into the artful guise of order? One of those questions remains unanswered to this very day...
Take the best elements we already have, repurpose and lean into them. For instance, Isabella clearly sees herself as the savior of humanity. In her own mind, she is the hero of the story (not the player). I made sure to create moments to showcase her in a commanding position. Not the least of which
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