If the isle of Aeternum is known for anything, it is mysteries.

Indeed, the island itself is the grandest mystery of all – located somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, protected by the ever-churning Stormwall. While people from seemingly all ages and regions find their way here eventually, so too do many of the animals native to each corner of the Earth. At this point in time, it is highly likely that adventurers have encountered most of them. But there are rumors of another, more hidden creature.

To whit, and of late, a certain Dr. Aenwyn has been raising much ado throughout the settlements (even as far north as the outposts of Shattered Mountain) about a “Grate Discovery To Rival All Known Discoverys”. Her atrocious spelling aside, the volume of her voice does make this pronouncement intriguing.

A new animal? Here, on Aeternum? And yet, located exactly where…?

Everywhere, she claims! She has supposedly seen not one hippopotamus, but rather myriad hippopotamuses of every shape and size roaming freely the island. The descriptions do make the mind boggle, question her sanity, and – dare we say – pique an interest most profoundly. Even saying the word feels a kind of magic after listening to one of her presentations. Hippopotamus. Hippopotamus! How utterly fascinating they must be! Within those five syllables is contained a bizarre and majestic world that may, perhaps, outshine what strange things have already been chronicled in Aeternum.

Yet where there is new knowledge, there will surely be skepticism. Bystanders were quoted as having said, after leaving her talk in a huff when she refused to answer even basic questions from the audience:

“That just sounds like a bear!”

And: “We need proof!”

As well as: “Is she actually even a doctor, does she have a valid certificate, and is it from an accredited institution at all?”

Undeterred by dwindling listeners, including the occasional growing mob, Dr. Aenwyn continues onwards. You may spy her out in the fields of Everfall, down in the muck of Reekwater, or squatting atop a dune in Brimstone Sands with the most curiously pensive expression imaginable. She squints. She wonders.

Is that an uncatalogued, as-yet undiscovered breed of hippopotamus over yonder?

Off she dashes, pursuing her dream again with a passion that – if it cannot truly be understood – can certainly be appreciated. This will surely be a lifelong quest for the good doctor, but the mystery of hippos on Aeternum may never truly be solved in even our eternal lifetimes.

Wow, a real hippo! I can bearly believe we found one in just under 1,000 days. Continue your adventurers across Aeternum with your very own Hippo Burley mount, available now through the in-game Store.

We had to ask ourselves how to take this fun idea and blend it into the style and look of New World: Aeternum, where as of yet, hippos do not exist. That kernel led us to have a little extra fun with this mount. If you decide to get it, I hope it will bring a smile to your face (as it does for us) when you're running around on a giant bear in a hippo costume.

We were looking to hit something entertaining and ridiculous with the hippo bear design. We explored a few different stylized options before trying a couple costumed ideas, as we wanted to push the comedy and turn this item into something players would really get a kick out of putting on their mount. In the end we settled on a costume made of stuffed, baggy cloth stitched together, that would sit awkwardly on the bear but not obscure it.

Where will your search for hippos take you next? Thanks for your support and we’ll see you in Aeternum.

Greetings, Adventurers!

New World: Aeternum Update 1.1.2 downtime will begin at 11:00PM PT (7:00AM UTC) on November 5 and last approximately 2 hours. Baalphazu has been banished back to the darkness, marking the end of Nightveil Hallow. This update also includes rendering changes as well as fixes to some quests. Check out the full release notes, including other notable fixes, below.

• Fixed an issue that caused players to receive more PvP Experience than intended in the Cursed Mists zone.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented progress in the Syndicate: Trial of the Scrivener quest and Faction rank advancement.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused several repeatable Expedition quests to not contribute to the "Repeat Offender" Season Journey task.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused players to phase into certain objects when accessing menus while vaulting.

• PC DX12 Beta Client:
  
• Added FSR native resolution TAA (Temporal Anti-Aliasing) only mode
  
• Added FSR sharpness control
  
• Improved the stability of our DX12 renderer
  
• FSR - Console/PC DX12:
  
• Improved visual quality of the FSR upscale
  
• Fixed rendering artifacts that could occur during FSR upscaling
  
• Fixed an issue in which emissive materials were not properly rendering, causing an unintended blue glow on several weapons.
  
• Fixed an issue in which some weapon effects would appear overly blown-out, especially in heavy combat scenarios.
  
• Fixed Depth-of-Field shimmering in certain lighting conditions (most notable during in-game cinematics).

• Identified and fixed a rare crash that could occur if a player's client has a corrupted install which causes certain texture files to be invalid. In these cases we will instead render a basic white texture, allowing players to proceed into the game. Players who see this white texture should validate their installation files afterwards to try to correct any prior installation issues.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented players on PC from progressing if they had Old Wounds ready for turn in before the release of New World: Aeternum.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused the 3v3 Arena end of match UI to not display properly.
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented nameplates from appearing.

Thanks for your support! We’ll see you in Aeternum.