We wanted to take a moment to address what’s been on your minds since the Update 1.4 announcement and livestream.
We know many of you were expecting the new map to arrive with the Water Wars DLC in the form of the Polar Cap. That’s perfectly understandable, considering the original DLC description referenced the Polar Cap as a location for the Water Shippers faction.
Our intention was to release the Polar Cap map as a free update alongside the Water Wars DLC, same as Chapter 3 saw the release of the Raiders of the Broken Lands DLC and the free update introducing new story content and endgame improvements.
We firmly believe in keeping the DLCs to optional cosmetic content, while new features, gameplay, locations, and story content are released for free to the benefit of all players. It’s better for the game’s long-term health and we also know that’s what you, the players, want based on the feedback we received after Chapter 2.
So why was the Water Wars DLC released now, but not the Polar Cap map?
During the past several months, our internal development priorities have shifted as we focused on addressing game systems and endgame feedback. The Polar Cap map is a huge amount of work, and we want the quality level to be what you expect from us.
We are still very much actively working on the new map, but this shift in priorities meant having to move it further out in the release plan.
We still wanted to deliver the Water Wars DLC to ensure Season Pass holders got it on time. There are separate teams and professions working on the DLCs and the new map, so rest assured, this is not a matter of prioritizing the DLC over the map. The Water Wars DLC is ready to go, and we will release it alongside the free Update 1.4 which includes new content such as Wind Pass, The Old Quarry, and new Landsraad missions.
Our goal is also to release an experimental version of self-hosted servers with Update 1.4, pending results from PTC. Self-hosted servers will give you more control over your experience, not only allowing you to host your own server, but also tweak many different gameplay settings such as harvesting rate and experience gain.
As we said on the livestream, Update 1.4 is not a Chapter update. This is a smaller update we’re releasing while we continue to work on the bigger things coming later. Aside from the Polar Cap map we have a lot more cooking including new features, new content and the continuation of the main story.
So, what is the Polar Cap map?
The Polar Cap is a sizeable survival map that expands the endgame, and we are releasing it as a free update late this year. It introduces new survival mechanics, new locations, new types of resources, new loot, new stuff to craft, and a new standalone storyline.
For those of you who enjoy the survival loop in Hagga Basin, you’ll find plenty of new and exciting things to discover here. You’ll probably not be surprised to learn that it’s cold. Damn cold. This shift from having to deal with the scorching heat of Hagga Basin to the freezing cold of the Polar Cap holds a lot more challenge than you might expect, requiring new and clever ways to survive.
We look forward to revealing more about the Polar Cap later, but in the meantime, here is a short video giving you an early look at this cold, unforgiving biome.
We can’t wait to tell you more about the Polar Cap and everything else we’re working on. Next week, we’ll also have an update for you on server migrations.
We appreciate you sticking with us and continuing to provide us with your feedback.
See you on the sands, Sleeper.
– The Funcom Team
