New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion is officially here – and so are the queues

New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion has officially launched this afternoon, and if today is anything like last night, players can expect queues as the hype train leaves the station. There are worse problems for an MMORPG to have, we suppose.

“In Rise of the Angry Earth, the southeastern tip of Aeternum, formerly known as First Light, has fallen. Once a welcoming place for newcomers to Aeternum, the fields have been ravaged by the fury of Artemis and the Angry Earth. No one is certain what has become of the people and villages that once populated the area, and a deadly barrier has kept all but the most intrepid from attempting to find out. This abundance of earthly powers has awakened the mighty Beast Lords, a new possible adversary facing the people of Aeternum, but with them also comes a boon – the secret to taming and riding animals.”

The expansion – the game’s first paid release since its launch two years ago – includes the new story content, mount system, level cap bump to 65, flail weapon line, a new gear tier, the Savage Divide expedition, and the Elysian Wilds – fka First Light – plus everything baked into the third season, like the expertise revamp and do-over for the Edengrove and Great Cleave storylines.

Servers returned at noon, and since there were no preorders, everyone is scurrying to buy the expansion right now. It’s around 30 bucks if you already own the game or 70 for the expansion plus the base game, though we’re guessing if you have some patience you’ll be able to pick up that bundle cheaper on Black Friday. Do note that if you buy it while you’re logged in, you’ll have to relog for it to work properly – and it’ll require a “full client download” when you do.

New World’s Rise of the Angry Earth expansion is officially here – and so are the queues

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New World’s first expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, launches October 3 with mounts, flails, new housing, and more