Welcome to Septimont, the city of heroes and glory, where the brave soar to great heights while cowards grovel in the mud. In Version 2.4 of Wuthering Waves, Kuro Games introduced a brand-new territory as part of the Rinascita map and story expansion. Despite being set within the same region, Septimont stands out with its unique style, beliefs, and rules, contrasting sharply with Ragunna City.
Both cities draw on Italian motifs, but while Ragunna evokes Renaissance aesthetics and perhaps the Vatican with its church and faith-driven vibes, Septimont transports us back to the era of the Roman Empire. Septimont is essentially Rome in the world of Wuthering Waves, its name a clear nod to the eternal city is built on seven hills.
The first thing that strikes you upon setting foot in this land is its monumental architecture, interwoven with works of art glorifying the gladiators of the past. One glance is enough to understand that this is a place that worships warriors, not sentinels or any other godly forces. The only non-human protector of this city is Arsinosa – a vigilant Echo warrior that watches over the City of Glory.
Kuro Games continues to enhance both the visual and performance aspects of Wuthering Waves, with Septimont marking the pinnacle of their development journey so far, showcasing what they can achieve with their tools. This place is simply stunning. The location design, building styles, NPCs, and even the music perfectly capture the aesthetics of the Roman Empire, with perhaps a hint of Sparta.
The presence of high-tech and Echo elements doesn’t disrupt the vibe; instead, they add a unique, personal touch to the city. Despite its serious premise, the City of Glory breathes freely and embraces life whenever possible. Tourists are welcomed, and citizens revel in shows and participate in various events, all while upholding the path of honor. Septimont appears to be evolving from the rigid traditions and beliefs of its ancestors.
The Great Agon is no longer a fight to the death but a grand spectacle, a tournament to crown the greatest warriors, serving primarily as entertainment for the crowds. As an ancient Roman poet once said, “panem et circenses”—people need bread and circuses to distract them from broader problems and political issues. Septimont seems to embody this principle, with its citizens too engrossed in intrigues, shows, and random skirmishes to notice the looming danger threatening the city.
The 2.4 update brought back Cristophoro, who had disappeared for quite some time, and finally revealed his true desires. The entire story behind the scenes of Great Agon and the City of Glory is shrouded in darkness, created by the wicked Sonoro. While Rover enjoys the fun, easy fights in the arena, Fleurdelys faces danger on the other side, witnessing the true state of affairs.
The story arc in Septimont isn’t that long, not yet at least, but it brings significant changes to how WuWa treats Rover. Here, we finally see that Rover isn’t the one to swoop through every obstacle and solve everything alone. They take on a more supportive role, aiding Fleurdelys’s cause and giving Lupa a chance to reclaim her rightful place—the life stolen from her in this twisted tale.
This is certainly refreshing. The almighty Arbiter finally heeds Changli’s advice and learns to rely on others, trusting them to handle problems independently. How long will this trend last? Only Kuro can answer that, but this approach creates more space to develop the personalities of other characters on their own terms, not through the lens of Rover’s presence.
Lupa is a great example: in the second part of version 2.4, she shines with new personality traits compared to the lovesick puppy vibes she gave off in the first part, sniffing around Rover and running in circles.
The new update introduced several permanent challenges and game modes to keep players engaged between story arcs. The first is a straightforward combat challenge where performing combos earns points, unlocking special buffs for characters. It’s not groundbreaking, with difficulty mainly tied to bosses’ hit points. It’s a nice addition to the existing tower modes, especially if refreshed periodically. The rewards are satisfying enough to encourage repeated attempts.
Another major addition is the Echo Fighting Simulator, built on deck-building mechanics. It’s reminiscent of past Genshin Impact events where players assembled teams of mushrooms or other mobs to watch them fight. This mode might appeal to deck-building fans, but it feels raw and clunky. The AI noticeably cheats, and balance is questionable at higher challenge levels, though victory is achievable with time investment.
However, the Echo fights are quite dull and lack dynamism. Repetitive animations quickly become annoying, and the deck requires minimal changes from default sets to complete the main content. Ultimately, you’re left watching similar fights repeatedly, which would be torturous without the speed-up button. It needs tweaks and patches to be more engaging if Kuro plans to keep and develop it; otherwise, it’s just bearable enough to complete once.
The biggest drawback of this patch is likely the sudden performance issues that frequently occur during cutscenes and occasionally in fights. The game generally runs smoothly but stutters on random animations and dialogue moments. These are brief, likely one-second glitches, but they weren’t present before. If system specs haven’t changed, the issue lies with the game, and hopefully, the developers are aware and addressing it.
Kuro Games continues to experiment and improve, exploring different approaches to various aspects of the game. While visuals, animations, and cinematics grow more impressive with each update, performance and gameplay experiences remain inconsistent. Events and game modes outside of battles have been a persistent weak point since the fishing event, but I’m confident Kuro can and will address these issues in the future.
