New World has been on the market for almost 5 months now and has faced significant criticism. However, MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch is still online almost every day. He reveals what he likes about the MMORPG.
New World has many bugs. And yes, the player numbers of New World are plummeting. There are plenty of negative things to hang onto. But I have taken a liking to the game.
In 142 days, I have invested over 400 play hours in New World. That’s around three hours per day. I have only invested that much time in Guild Wars 2 or ESO in recent years. Both are among my absolute recommendations.
New World currently motivates me with three things:
- The successful combat system.
- The constant but easily achievable carrot in front of me. With little effort, I experience noticeable progress in my gear.
- The hope that the big turnaround is yet to come.
I will explain here what exactly I enjoy about these points and where my hopes for the future lie.
New World has the second-best combat system of all MMORPGs
I love the fights in New World. The attacks have considerable weight and I constantly have to plan my steps in advance. Due to the long animations and the few abilities, I cannot spam a dull rotation that I eventually memorize.
I am constantly challenged, especially in PvP battles. There, I never feel like I am missing additional abilities; on the contrary. Six abilities, two different attack types, blocking and dodging are more than enough to keep me on my toes.
In general, I am a fan of having to dodge attacks and aim actively. I also enjoy being challenged in my reaction speed and the fact that I can combine completely different play styles with two weapons, such as melee and ranged combat.
Only Guild Wars 2 has a better combat system for me. Here, my dodging skills are even more challenged.
Mindless grind distracts from everyday life and gives me a sense of achievement
The winter season is dark, Corona has taken my exercise and pub meetings, and everyday life has to be somehow endured. Distraction and feelings of happiness help me the most. And that is precisely what New World offers me like few other games.
In April 2021, I already wrote that I like grinding in Black Desert because it is mindless, but also rewarding. I experience the same in New World, but in a much better situation.
While I slaughtered mobs alone in Black Desert, I do everything in groups in New World:
- Almost daily I do a chest run with other people. I don’t need to know them; they are just there and walk with me.
- I regularly participate in the PvP content Outpost Rush because there are good rewards available.
- Now and then I run dungeons with my guild. They are not hard in normal mode, but provide useful loot.
The grind in New World is quite mindless. Open chests, kill mobs, and with a bit of luck, gain a competency increase. For several months now, you can also farm gypsum more purposefully to improve competency.
In about 60 to 90 minutes per day, I manage to increase my competency by 4 to 15 points. That may seem ridiculous considering the fact that you can collect a total of 2,500 competency points. But it is steady progress and “Honest Work,” as the meme so elegantly puts it.
With the new shadow shards, I can even regularly increase my effective gear score, at least on my chest and axe, both of which I have leveled beyond competency level 600. I have never received more rewards for so little effort in any MMORPG.
I am just having fun with the grind in New World right now:
- I can shake off the stress of the day and mindlessly focus on a task
- I gather good, noticeable progress
- I watch live streams on Twitch or series on Netflix, which contributes to relaxation
- I chat a little with the guild mates at the same time
Since my wife and daughter go to bed every evening around 9:00 PM, I have a good two hours to fully concentrate on myself. And I could hardly use that time better than with noticeable progress, a good series, and/or nice people online.
New World has so much potential that is unfortunately (still) not being utilized
New World has many good approaches. The combat system, crafting, the game world, and PvP all feel good at first. However, there are significant gaps in the details and especially in scope. Amazon needs to fill these gaps as quickly as possible.
What Amazon also needs to achieve is better quality assurance. The items during Valentine's Day or the chaos during server transfers are just two recent examples where the deficiencies were clearly evident.
But I still have hope that the lever will be switched throughout 2022. That the important, missing content will come. That player numbers will rise again.
There are some good approaches now, such as the major bugfix patch in February and the announced PvP arenas with rankings. A PvP arena would provide me with a lot of fun in New World.
Whether the turnaround will come will only be shown in time. But I can say with confidence: New World has brought me over 400 hours of fun for 40 euros. It was worth it all already.
What do you think of the current state of New World? Are you still actively playing or have you all moved on to Lost Ark?
