Soulmask: Beyond Gravity is here, and it makes Shifting Sands float

Burning Highland: Welcome to the New Endgame

The final region of Shifting Sands is the Burning Highland. Don’t expect a friendly atmosphere there, though.

Extreme conditions, dangerous creatures, and Sand Bandits make this area the new endgame stage. Added to this are Ancient Dungeons, Holy Ruins, Floating Island Ruins, as well as new Pyramid Ruins and Pyramid Dungeons. Starfall Fields also gets an additional Pyramid Dungeon.

New Bosses, Holy Ruins, and a Huge Warship

The Burning Highland holds not only new areas but also some of the update’s biggest challenges. A Sand Bandit Chief has barricaded himself inside the final pyramid along with his massive warship. To progress, you’ll have to fight your way through cannon fire, land on the ship, and then take it down from the inside.

The new Holy Ruins are no walk in the park either. The inverted pyramid consists of four dungeon areas, and you’ll need to activate their mechanisms to open the path to the center. There, a new mechanical Ancient Guardian awaits you—one that fights significantly faster and more unpredictably than previous Guardians. On top of that, deadly poison gas doesn’t exactly make the journey through the ruins any more pleasant.

Three New Masks, Three New Playstyles

What would a major Soulmask update be without new masks? Beyond Gravity brings three of them: Shadow Hunter, Desert Overlord, and Enforcer.

The Shadow Hunter mask harnesses Bastet’s powers, offering high mobility, improved dodges, and summoned phantom cats
Desert Overlord transforms you into a walking sandstorm: Enemies near you take damage, and in Mimicry mode, your strength increases as your HP drops
Enforcer, on the other hand, plays entirely with gravity. Enemies can be weakened, controlled by gravitational forces, and even lifted into the air. Short spatial jumps are also available

The Floating Island and the Finale of Shifting Sands

The Floating Island now awaits you above the desert—and with it, the true endgame of the DLC story.

If you collect the required 14 Divine Crystal Fragments, you can restore the Core Module and uncover the secret of the so-called “Sun God” deep within the Floating Island. There, the final battle of Shifting Sands awaits you, in which gravity and space play a rather important role.

Your Own Floating Islands? Oh yes

Why just look at floating islands when you can build one yourself?

With the new Floating Foundations, you can lift your own structures into the air. Add to that the Water Vapor Collector, which can supply your clan with water even when there isn’t a well or river in sight. This should be particularly interesting for creative server communities.

Tribesmen Are Finally Easier to Manage

In addition to the endgame, work has also been done in other areas. The Training Ground now features a function that allows Tribesmen to learn new masteries. At the same time, the Tribesman Work Assignment UI has been revamped and expanded to include a new job status view. This should make it much easier for you to see exactly who’s doing what in the tribe right now. Additionally, the map now displays the progress of Exploration Points per region.

Gene Recovery offers a second chance

Another new feature is the ability called Gene Recovery.

If your character is seriously injured or in a Feign Death state, you can use this to restore all HP. Afterward, there’s a 60-second cooldown. However, the ability isn’t available in War Mode. This makes PvE excursions into any suspicious-looking ruins at least a little less final and dangerous.

The new Soulmask endgame awaits you

Soulmask: Beyond Gravity is less of a minor content update and more the missing endgame for Shifting Sands. Burning Highland expands the world, three new masks unlock new builds, and with Floating Island, new ruins, and dungeons, there’s truly plenty of content for all clans who thought they were done with the desert.

On top of that, there are floating bases, new tribe features, and some handy QoL improvements. In other words: Once again, there are more than enough reasons to round up your tribe and explore Burning Highland on your own GPORTAL Soulmask server.