Prophecies of Ash erupts today - The Gamers' Temple

From Ubisoft:

Governors, it’s time to take on the hottest challenge yet in Anno 117: Pax Romana’s Prophecies of Ash DLC. Out now, Prophecies of Ash introduces the volcanic island Cinis, a new resource and production chain, a new deity, and much more.

New Islands
Prophecies of Ash adds six new islands to Anno 117: Pax Romana, expanding Latium to the north. This includes three medium and two small sized islands, as well as the continental island Cinis. The largest island in the game to date, Cinis offers roughly twice the building space of the largest island in the base game. It features many more mountain and river slots than other islands in the game, has several large beaches perfect for building harbors and fisheries, and boasts a large volcano.

To settle on Cinis, you can either sail to its shores and build a Trading Post, or you can start a new game and select the island as your starting region.

Cinis also offers a new trader: Caecelia. An oracle and longtime resident of Cinis, her missions will help you get familiar with the island and volcano gameplay, and she’ll barter with you for obsidian and their products. She also has three specialists:

Gisella, Wine Whisperer – boosts grape fertility
Seasoned Snatcher – boosts sturgeon population
Caderina, of Extraordinary Prospects – adds a full silver deposit to the mountain range and boosts their productivity

New Resources and Production Chains: Obsidian and Coal Mines

Obsidian is a new resource in Anno 117: Pax Romana that is produced by the volcano on Cinis. You can harvest obsidian by:

Collecting it as a byproduct from mines and quarries after the volcano erupts
Collecting it from rocks that fall from the sky during an eruption (though we recommend Cinis citizens staying indoors during the event for their safety, and collecting the rocks after)

Once collected, Obsidian can be used in three ways to benefit your empire:

Production of Statuettes, a new item
Production of Latrunculi, a new item
A valuable trade item for new specialists in Caecelia’s harbor

Coal mines are another new feature with the Prophecies of Ash DLC. Unlocked through the new deity Vulcan, coal mines can be built in any mountain slot in the game and don’t require specific island fertility.

Weathering the Volcano

Looming large over the island, the volano on Cinis has a massive effect on gameplay, erupting at irregular intervals, initially sowing destruction but eventually reaping productivity buffs. It has five distinct phases:

Calm – the volcano is dormant with no effects
Prelude – light tremors radiate from the volcano, causing possible light damage to nearby buildings
Eruption - Mountain slot production chains halt production and falling rocks can damage buildings across the whole island
Volcanic Winter – Farm and fishery productivity is decreased, obsidian deposits are replenished, and happiness/health/fire safety levels are decreased
Bloom – after a cleansing rain, farms experience productivity buff aligned with soil level, and happiness is increased

Every eruption raises the soil level across Cinis, boosting farm productivity. Initially, the maximum soil buff is capped after three eruptions, but can be increased to five through research. The increased soil level will also increase obsidian yield in mountain slots.

At any time, the volcano phase can be toggled off. This will eliminate the disruptions caused by the prelude, eruption and volcanic winter phases, but will cause soil levels and corresponding farm productivity buff to decrease over time. You also have the option of adjusting the difficulty level of the volcano, determining how much damage tremors can cause and how much obsidian is generated each eruption cycle.

New Deity: Vulcun

Unlocked through the research tree, worshipping Vulcun offers a number of buffs:

Increased production for all mountain slot buildings
Provides additional workforce
Improves fire safety
Allows the construction of coal mines
Strong area buffs for smelters

Friend Referral Program
From now until May 17, you can refer a friend to play Anno 117: Pax Romana and receive Fame Points, which can be redeemed in the in-game Hall of Fame to unlock cosmetics, music tracks, and more.

One referral = 30 Fame Points
Two referrals = 50 Fame Points
Three referrals = 90 Fame Points

If your friend accepts the referral, they will also receive 30 Fame Points to their account. Anno 117: Pax Romana offers several ways to play with friends, including PvP, co-op, campaign co-op, and hybrid multiplayer. Cross-platform play is fully supported.