Since they threw in a new class, of course they needed a new starter town. They added a nicely sized island, which resides above Aerlinthe on the map. Most of the screenshots in this preview are taken on the island, and as you can see, it's gorgeous. It's not like any other town, to say the least. As with most noobie areas, veering out starts off easy, but run a little while and you will run into harder and harder monsters. I never had the opportunity to see just how hard the mobs got on the island, but I did encounter many level 70 - 80's.

The island isn't huge, but it seems plenty. Looking at the map, you can see it's about 33% larger than Aerlinthe, so there should be a ton of fun, to be had. I don't think there was anything I didn't like about Sanamar. If anything, it would be the uber tall trees, but even that just adds more character.