The Season of the Guardian is the new season for New World, bringing the Winter Rune Forge, new Artifacts, general updates, and more!

This page acts as a comprehensive breakdown of the Season of the Guardian in New World, including its release date.

Season of the Guardian releases on April 2, 2024.

The Winter Rune Forge is the new Seasonal Trial where you can join up to 10 players at max-level and fight your way through a gauntlet of enemies that get increasingly difficult. Earn unique rewards for solving Rune puzzles and from defeating bosses like the Icy Construct and an Ancient Ice Guardian.

8 new Artifacts are available for players to experiment with, and are as follows:

Sin - Hatchet

Corruption: Debuffs last 25% longer. (Works on both weapons)

Defile: Deals 2% more damage per debuff on target. (5 stacks max)

Venom - Spear

Poison Tipped: Heavy attacks with either weapon cause poison dealing 20% weapon damage for 5s

Tempest Fury - Great Axe

Momentum: Successful attacks gain 3% movement speed for 3s. (Works on both weapons and stacks 10 times)

Nature's Wrath - Medium Chestwear

Nature’s Blessing: Empower expires 200% faster but you deal 20% more damage

Gilli's Gravity Gauntlets - Heavy Glove

Whenever you take damage, gain a charge that increases the damage of your next attack by 3% (max 10 charges)

Ironheart - Heavy Legwear

When not in heavy loadout, gain 20% more max health

Creed Boots - Light Footwear

Ambush: Deal 15% more damage and 25% critical chance as long as you haven’t hit the target within 20s

Phoenix - Amulet

Phoenix Revival: When you receive lethal damage, avoid death and become invulnerable for 2s (180s cooldown)

Based off of player feedback, the entirety of New World's main story quest has been updated. With a better starting experience, new narratives, additional quest variety and more, there's never been a better time to get into the game!

Two Seasonal Events are set to return during the Season of the Guardian!

Rabbit's Revenge

Springtide Bloom

In this 20v20 game mode exclusively for players at Level 60+, you can ride your mounts as you battle for control of various resources and fortifications.

Starting with the Season of the Guardian, you'll be able to select from two pre-set controller layouts! This comes alongside a host of new features and settings, including:

Aim Assist

Target Friction

Slower reticle speed as you cross over a valid target

Enemy Target Lock

Lock the camera onto an enemy

Freeform Movement

Allows running in all directions, including towards the camera

Use Camera Direction for Melee Attacks

With this setting off, melee attacks and blocks can be performed in the direction of your character, instead of the camera's direction

New radial wheel

Specifically for player emotes, issuing commands, and setting up your camp

Shift modifiers

Faster access to all combat abilities

Improved UX navigation

You can look forward to the following improvements in various aspects of the game once Season of the Guardian launches:

Ingredient updates

Revamped Cooking progression

Tweaks to the Legendary Fish recipe

The removal of split attribute food

A brand new combat and animation system

Set to improve performance in "high traffic areas" like OPR and Wars

If you wish to read about the Season of the Guardian in full, you can do so via the official New World websites Season of the Guardian blog post.