New World is currently in beta. If you want to check out Amazon’s new MMO and are coming from World of Warcraft, you will notice some differences. MeinMMO reveals what is significantly different in New World compared to WoW.
What are these things? New World does many things differently than its MMO and MMORPG competitors. This ranges from its mix of survival, RPG, and MMO to factions and PvP, to the class system.
WoW has shaped the genre like hardly any other MMORPG. However, New World apparently intends to take little to no inspiration from it. Since New World particularly appeals to MMO players, some followers of World of Warcraft will surely want to look around Aeternum.
As a WoW player, however, you will need to throw over a good part of your experience and learn anew how to actually play New World.
1. You have an active combat system and can miss
As a WoW player, you will first have to get used to the controls of New World, as the systems have hardly any similarities:
- WoW uses “Tab Targeting,” so you select a target and use abilities and spells on it when you are in range.
- New World features an active combat system, meaning you strike yourself, have to aim correctly, and may hit multiple enemies with a normal attack under certain circumstances. You also have to block and dodge independently.
In New World, you are also only able to select three abilities at the same time, which keeps things relatively simple regarding what you can do. While the system is different, it does not overwhelm you with dozens of new mechanics right away.
Unlike in WoW, there is no indicator to show whether your attack is in range and hits. So be sure to have enough range with your weapon and aim properly with ranged weapons.
Don’t be too frustrated if it feels a bit clunky at first. Once you get used to the new weapons, the controls will feel easier. For beginners and newcomers, we have some tips here, and further down in the article, you will learn more about combat and classes:
2. Quests do not lead you to the next “hub”
When starting a new character in WoW, you are welcomed with long questlines that start new quests or even lead you to new areas. Essentially, you only need a “starter quest” that continually supplies you with content until the endgame.
In New World, while there are also ongoing quests, there are hardly any continuous lines that guide you through the world. Instead, you have settlements where you find various generic quests.
These quests often send you to the same locations, but almost always within the same area, and rarely to outside areas and new regions. There, you are supposed to gather quest items or kill enemies without really following a story.
Instead, you help the settlements or your factions. Most quests in New World are thus “accompanied grind.” It does not matter much where you are—the quests are nearly identical in every area.
Only your starting area determines in which zone your main questline is and where it initially plays out. The story itself spans more across the entire world, instead of being focused on individual areas. Fundamentally, you have a single main story with many side quests, as you might know from single-player RPGs.
3. Anyone can pursue any profession and do so anytime
Crafting is one of the most important features of New World. Among other things, you receive the best items in the game through professions and craft essential consumables. Crafting is not just an auxiliary aspect; you can even level up through gathering and crafting.
Unlike in WoW, you do not have to commit to two professions; instead, you can do everything at any time. You only need the right tools and the right crafting stations.
Professions are not something you learn from a teacher, but you “can” simply know them. You level them up through use and find corresponding materials everywhere in the world. Crafting in New World is more comparable to survival games like Conan Exiles or Valheim.
If you want, you can excel as a weaponsmith or alchemist by intentionally leveling up that profession and only collecting resources for it. Ultimately, though, you can learn everything if you invest enough time.
4. You cannot craft everywhere – and you shouldn’t
When crafting, you must keep in mind that you will need better stations for later levels. These are fixed in the settlements managed by the factions and guilds that currently control that settlement.
It may happen that for a new weapon, you need a forge of level 4, but your town only has a forge of level 2. Then you will have to find a settlement with a better forge and carry your materials there.
However, it is essential that you always pay a fee when crafting. This is displayed at the station in the bottom right corner and goes into the treasury of the guild that controls the settlement.
Therefore, it is advisable to only craft in towns controlled by your faction. This way, you do not inadvertently support your competitors’ war efforts.
5. There are no classes – you are what you wear
When creating a character, you cannot choose a class but only customize your appearance. This is intentional, as unlike World of Warcraft, New World does not offer classes in the traditional sense.
While there are roughly tanks, DPS, and healers, they define what they are through their equipment. Various weapons are available to you, which you can choose between and level up.
These weapons determine what role you take on. With a life staff, you are a healer, with sword and shield you absorb damage, and with a musket, you deal damage from afar.
You can also choose your armor freely. There are light, medium, and heavy armor, which determines how much you can withstand and how well you can dodge. With light armor, you can perform a dodge roll, while heavy armor tends to hinder you.
This also means that you can switch at any time. You gain experience with corresponding weapons and unlock active and passive abilities. There are skill points, but you do not have to commit to a role with talents and classes; you can switch at any time.
6. Story in New World is not as important as in WoW
As a WoW player, you are likely spoiled by a story that is told to you in every area and every dungeon. After all, the MMORPG is based on the entire story of Warcraft, which now encompasses dozens of books, comics, and short stories.
WoW builds on an existing world, while New World is still establishing its universe. However, you only learn relatively little about the world, other than that there are some “undead”, you cannot die, and something is tainting the world.
The game itself does not force the story on you. You can find some information in quests here and there, but most NPCs are busy surviving and even suggest not to dig too deep into the past.
Story snippets can be found scattered throughout the world in the form of diary pages and books that you can read. Lore is entirely optional; gameplay is clearly at the forefront.
Dungeons in New World tell their own stories that complement the world. In WoW, the dungeons are intertwined with the lore, and the story is the driving factor for why you advance into places like the Molten Core or now into the Sanctum of Domination.
7. PvP has 3 factions and decides how the world looks
Unlike in WoW with Horde and Alliance, you have 3 factions to choose from in New World:
- The Syndicate, inquisitive alchemists
- The Marauders, a group of mercenaries and pirates
- The Covenant is a religious alliance that wants to drive “evil” from the island
Similar to WoW, the factions fight each other, but you choose your faction within the game and can even change it every 120 days. The choice is thus not permanent, and you can play with your friends in other factions.
If you can’t decide, we advise you on MeinMMO on which faction in New World is right for you.
The factions only become important in PvP. Syndicate, Marauders, and Covenant fight for control of various areas and settlements of Aeternum. Guilds within a faction manage the cities, which also has some implications for you:
- Taxes for housing and crafting fees are collected by the guild that controls the respective city
- The guild decides how high the taxes and fees are
- With the gold, the guild can make upgrades – so you could inadvertently support your enemies if you’re not careful
Open PvP is optional, although there are many forts that you can hold or attack with your faction. In wars, the settlements are contested and occupied by the winning guild – this is the pinnacle of open PvP, in which you also do not have to participate unless you want to defend your city.
The major PvP mode in the endgame, Outpost Rush, is again instanced. Here you gather resources in closed battles and experience a siege in a 20vs20 match that resembles survival games.
When does New World come out? If you haven’t played the beta yet or want to play, the release is not far off either. New World will be available for PC on August 31, 2021. You only have to pay once and then have access to all content, as well as a cash shop with cosmetic items. Unlike WoW, you do not pay subscription fees.
For WoW players, of course, the endgame is always important, as raids and dungeons are a highlight in every expansion. New World also offers some content here that we have already looked at for you:
The endgame of New World was kept secret for a long time – we have played it
