The new MMORPG New World from Amazon recently ended its two-week Closed Beta. We at MeinMMO took a look at the problems the game is still facing and what needs to be improved before release.
What is New World? New World is the new and first MMORPG from Amazon Games Studios. It is set to be released on September 28, 2021. The release date was recently pushed back by nearly a month.
How did the beta go? The beta for New World started on July 20 and was immediately very popular. Up to 187,726 players were playing at the start of the beta, which propelled New World to 3rd place in the Steam charts, even before the actual release. Many streamers were also present on Twitch, bringing over 170,000 followers to the New World category.
However, the beta was also plagued by some technical issues. Especially at the beginning, Amazon’s servers were not very stable, and players were sometimes stuck in queues for up to seven hours to play on their chosen server.
Even when players managed to log in, there were crashes in some instances, a major debate about overheated graphics cards, and performance issues. Many of these problems are typical “beta ailments”, but there are also issues that are more deeply rooted in the game. Three of these are particularly important to the community.
“One must be really dumb to not complete a quest”
What is the problem? The headline is a bit harsh, I admit. But the mission and quest design is one of the biggest problems of the upcoming MMORPG: The quests in New World feel unfinished.
This could be attributed to the original concept of the game. Most PvE content found its way into the game only over the past year. Many tasks simply follow the same pattern, with running being the key word.
- You run to a quest giver
- Then you run to the enemies you need to kill or the items you need to collect. Other quests are a rarity
- Then you run back to the quest giver
The highlight of this design are the quests that literally just make you run. For example, from one town to another to deliver something, and then back again.
The quests are monotonous, if not boring, and almost never serve a deeper purpose than to be a quest and grant experience points. This is not only disappointing but is also a critical point for players who focus on solo PvE content when deciding whether or not to buy the game.
Why it needs to be fixed: If the quests in a game do not work, a large part of the PvE content is automatically eliminated. New World offers many different ways to level up, but for players who prefer a classic route and want to level up through quests, the current situation is critical.
Especially in a new game with current standards, one almost expects quests that go deeper than “kill 10 wolves” or “collect 20 berries”. New World clearly falls short of expectations, which causes disappointment among the player base.
How likely is it to be fixed by release? The quest issue is a problem that runs deeper than just changing a few numbers for balancing. Since the release is less than a month away, it is unlikely that this problem will be addressed before launch.
However, it is conceivable that Amazon will make adjustments later on and improve the quests in the medium to long term. This would be especially important to provide new players with a better experience. It is important for New World to attract new players in the long term and to retain them even after the hype.
This is the status: Amazon should be aware of the problem with the quests. It will likely be fixed or at least improved at some point, but we do not expect much to happen before September 28.
“The combat system is a spam fest where you just hit whatever is ready”
What is the problem? The combat system in New World has undergone a lot of changes and revisions. At the moment, it is okay, but okay is not enough to keep players engaged for long.
It is controversial to really count the combat system as a problem since it also has some fans. Nevertheless, it faces a lot of criticism. The core features of the combat system are as follows:
- Two weapons that you can switch between
- Each weapon has three different skills
- It is important to dodge and block, but it takes relatively long
- Even normal attacks put you in an animation lock
However, many fans appreciate the combat system precisely because individual actions take a relatively long time. Some believe it makes for more thoughtful gameplay, requiring players to make careful decisions about attacks, memorize attack patterns, and be more tactical.
The opposing faction believes that due to the ability to switch weapons and the long time it takes for the character to block, players are more likely to just press all the buttons until the enemy falls over. (via reddit)
Why it needs to be fixed: Even though many players like the combat system of New World, it is not very helpful for a new game if the other half of the player base finds such an essential part of the game unsatisfying.
This also plays a role in PvP. New World offers many modes in PvP, where many players are supposed to meet. Dying here because you simply cannot hit your opponent even when you are right in front of them is frustrating.
Amazon would need to make some adjustments to the combat system to make it more appealing to new players and those who do not want to memorize their opponents. Simply put: In an MMORPG where you spend half of your time fighting, combat should be enjoyable for everyone.
How likely is it to be fixed by release? One month is little time to make such profound changes to a game. However, Amazon has been working on the combat system for quite some time and has already revised it multiple times. It is conceivable that some adjustments will be made before the game ultimately releases.
This is the status: The combat system is not necessarily beginner-friendly. The biggest criticisms of combat could be resolved by adjusting some numbers. We cannot say for certain whether Amazon will address this, but it’s definitely a point that can be changed more easily than the quest design.
“Traveling through the world becomes just tedious at a certain point”
What is the problem? The ‘New World’ is beautiful to look at and large. In the first few hours of play, the island is still impressive, and even later on, players often stop to simply take in the scenery. However, after playing the game for several hours, players quickly become accustomed to the environment, and the issue arises.
There are not enough fast travel points. Most of your time is spent simply walking. There are no mounts, and the fast travel points are not particularly generously distributed.
There are also hardly any spontaneous events like in Guild Wars 2 or the upcoming Lost Ark. So, you spend a large part of your time just walking.
As a result, what should be a highlight of New World, namely the world itself, eventually becomes a tedious aspect of the game, especially in terms of gameplay. This is particularly problematic for players who intend to play New World for a long time.
Why it needs to be fixed: Traveling through the world must be enjoyable, and it should be quick when you need to rush to help a friend. It’s not good for an open-world game if moving through that open world is not fun.
Compared to the other two problems, this is something that still frustrates long-term players and does not get any better in the endgame or with more experience. Here, Amazon must urgently improve.
How likely is it to be fixed by release? Setting fast travel points in the world or adjusting walking speed or stamina is fortunately not rocket science. It is conceivable that Amazon will take player feedback from the beta and is already working on this issue in order to have it resolved by launch.
In the longer term, mounts could be a possibility, but Amazon has already confirmed that they will not be present at launch. (via Gamestar)
This is the status: The problem of traveling in the world of New World is present and varies in severity, but in our view, it is not too difficult to resolve. We hope that Amazon will improve this before release.
On release a solid game
When is New World coming out? The game from Amazon is set to release on September 28, 2021, and will hopefully have implemented much of the feedback from the beta. How much exactly will be improved is still unclear at this point, however, New World is an important release for Amazon.
What still needs to be fixed? In addition to the three major points mentioned, there are many minor issues that New World should take from the beta and improve. These are quality-of-life issues, such as allowing the inventory to be used while running.
Furthermore, Amazon needs to work on the game’s performance as there were recurring issues during the beta. We can assume that many of these minor issues can be resolved before release.
What do you think about New World? Do you see any other problems that the studio needs to address? Let us know in the comments.
Streamer Asmongold, who has mixed feelings about the game, also described it as “trash” while still saying it’s a “good game”.
