This article was sponsored by Rend.
Winning in Rend means triumphing over the factions that oppose your own, but other players are hardly your only threat. The world itself is out to get you, and it's filled with creatures that can kill you in an instant. With that in mind, let's take a closer look at the biomes and beasts that make Rend so colorful and dangerous.
Both your initial spawn point and your faction's base are located in Hearthhome, a grassy, hilly, and relatively safe biome. Sweet melons and gilded flowers pepper the ground, and grazing beasts like tusked Grunters, bulky Yxen, and skittish Frabbits can be found everywhere, many of them lured in by Hearthhome's central lake. At worst, you may run into a pack of Prowlfangs. Outside of the magic shield surrounding your base, Hearthhome is the closest thing to a haven you have.
But don't get too comfortable. Bordering Hearthhome is the thickly forested Stagswood, which is filled with creatures as massive and imposing as its trees. Territorial Ursas, swift Wargs and graceful Stags rule this lush land, and between them and the thick trees, it's easy to get lost, or worse. It's worth exploring though, because the Stagswood is home to valuable lumber and ore you can use to reinforce your base and improve your gear. You'll also find deep cave systems which can yield even rarer resources provided you're equipped to explore them.
The further you get from Hearthhome, the more exotic and dangerous the world becomes. Look at Myrkfen, for instance, a poisonous swamp overgrown with thorny vines and covered in smog so thick it could choke an Yxen. The environmental hazards of Myrkfen will put a serious drain on your health, stamina, hunger and thirst. And if that wasn't bad enough, aggressive creatures like bottomless Glutts, swarming Waspreys and tricky Allidons will stalk you every step of the way as you trudge through the thick mud.
One look at Myrkfen and you'll know it's hazardous, but some biomes are deceptively beautiful. The windswept plateaus of the Highlands resemble Hearthhome in many ways, but this rocky biome is far more dangerous. Its considerable altitude makes for cold days and freezing nights, and with such a fierce climate only powerful creatures can manage to survive in the Highlands. Packs of massive, raptor-like birds called Rocs own the cliffs, and you'll have a hard time bringing down even a single indomitable Hammerhorn. And if you stick around for nightfall, perhaps searching for this biome's plentiful gold and iron veins, you'll have to deal with prowling, nocturnal Wildcats.
On the far, far end of the spectrum, you'll find Dreadveil, a decaying wasteland drenched in poison and ripe with fungi. It's a wonder anything lives here, and after a few minutes in Dreadveil, you'll wish nothing did. Eight-legged Arachnixes cover the area in wire-like threads, flocks of shrieking Banshees can always be heard, and you can hardly move without a leech-like Festerwig lunging at you. The rewards for conquering this inhospitable biome include blood orchids and fine spider silk, but you'll have a hard time making any headway. And here's the kicker: Rend is home to even more and even stranger environments just begging to be explored.
Rend will launch on Steam Early Access on July 31. You can find more information about Rend on its official site.