In New World, the Fresh Start took place on November 2nd. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch was right in the middle and leveled a new character for the first time since December 2021. He was impressed by the many changes during the start, but there are still issues now.
New World has made many adjustments to the start in the last 12 months. However, such adjustments can be quickly overlooked by veterans, although they are essential. If an MMORPG cannot convince in the first hours, many players already leave without ever seeing the endgame.
In keeping with the Fresh Start, I leveled a new character, waited in queues, and took a closer look at the changes. And I really like a lot of it.
The start is much smoother, the travel paths have been reduced, and the story is now equipped with cutscenes. Additionally, an Isabella constantly whispers in my ear, explaining why my mission will fail and the Corrupted will dominate the world. Atmospherically, New World has gained an incredible amount.
However, unfortunately, Amazon has overdone it with some adjustments or overlooked some important issues. The biggest sticking point for me: the leveling speed.
The start is short and varied
After creating the character and the short tutorial, I still land in the same three beaches in the game world in New World. However, the quest guidance there has been significantly revised. I no longer have to run back to the same camp constantly, but meet the NPCs to hand in and take quests always near me. This saves time and feels good.
The number of quests in the starting area has also been reduced, but in return, the number of experience points has been increased.
Everything feels more linear, structured, and thought out. In addition, the respawn times of the mobs have been reduced, eliminating unnecessary waiting times. This makes the start infinitely better.
A small highlight is the many weapons that are scattered throughout the starting area or given as rewards for quests. I can already test every weapon from New World with level 3 and then settle on my preferred playstyle. With my first character in 2021, I had only sword, bow, and life staff to choose from.
The developers have also come up with something new for the main story. My screen often turns red, and a voice tells me that my entire mission is doomed to fail. The Corrupted are too strong, I am too weak, and evil always wins.
This voice belongs to Isabella, leader of the Corrupted and final boss of the dungeon “Heart of Storms”.
This whispering is complemented by a cutscene around level 6. Cutscenes were previously only present in some endgame content of New World, but now they are also sporadically included in the quests of the first 25 levels.
The three factions in the game also received another positive overhaul. They now have their own headquarters with a fast travel point. Moreover, there are new quests where you have to prove yourself for the faction.
If desired, one can also do the quests of all three factions and only decide on one at the end. This gives additional experience points, though I never needed them. Because New World has more side quests per area than necessary, I can constantly chase after a new task.
Additionally, many changes improve the overall gaming experience, including additional fast travel points, lower travel costs, faster running on the paths, and much more. If you’re only interested in the adjustments, you can find an overview here:
Problem Number 1: The Leveling Speed
However, it is precisely with the quests – or rather the associated experience points – that my first and by far biggest criticism lies. You level up far too quickly.
Essentially, you only have to follow the main story and accidentally do a few side quests, and you’ll reach level 40 in under 10 hours of gameplay. The first player reached level 60 after just 18 hours.
At launch, the leveling phase was very slow, but now with the story having received more love and players identifying more with the quests, it just feels too rushed.
I really noticed this when joining the factions. While I joined a faction at level 9 at launch, the quests are now designed for characters of level 17. However, the playtime until then remains the same.
Some will be glad that the leveling time is so quick, but I see it critically because many players with little experience and low crafting levels and sometimes poor equipment are trying to rush directly into the endgame dungeons.
Problem Number 2: Everything is Too Easy
My first hours in the alpha of New World were brutal. Everything felt more like a survival game; I had to dodge constantly and died multiple times in the first levels. At launch, there were already numerous adjustments, but you were still constantly thrown back by enemies or had to actively dodge.
With the Fresh Start, everything felt somewhat easy. This may partly be due to my experience, but completely new players also confirmed this feeling to me. I did not die a single time until level 40, and only with bosses did I really pay attention to dodging their attacks.
While New World caters to new players this way, the difficulty level should eventually increase during the quests. But so far, it feels more like kindergarten than a dangerous MMORPG.
This issue is currently even circulating in the forum. Players are complaining that the content at level 60 suddenly becomes way too hard and that they feel too weak.
Problem Number 3: Unfixed and New Bugs
The launch of New World was plagued by queues, bugs, and exploits. The Fresh Start went much smoother; new servers were opened faster, and there was no exploit that destroyed the economy.
Bugs still exist. Many players struggled with error messages like “Unable to Login” or were occasionally thrown out of the game with a black screen. There is also a problem with the display of buffs and debuffs that simply does not work for some players.
Some users also complain about bugs in crafting that were introduced with Patch 1.7.1. For example, the 24-hour cooldowns do not reset correctly.
In addition, there are many small issues:
- I myself could not see the achievements in the interface for several days because there was a visual bug.
- Some resources cannot be gathered correctly.
- The quests of the other factions do not disappear from the quest log when you join a faction. While this does not limit gameplay, it is annoying to look at the map.
New World is Much Better Today, but Remains New World
The list of changes to the start of New World is long, and most of these adjustments are successful. Anyone who left the MMORPG due to boring quests, lack of story, and economic exploits should consider returning. The developers have also improved enemy diversity in the meantime.
But New World remains true to itself – in all good and bad things. Not everything is perfect, as seen in the difficulty level and leveling speed. The grind still plays a significant role, and while the combat system has been smoothed out, it still consists of the same fundamentals. If you don’t like that, you wouldn’t want to start again in 2022.
Overall, however, New World has developed significantly over the past 13 months. Players appreciate this. Currently, as many people are playing on Steam as last seen in December 2021. The future also looks very promising on paper.
For me, New World is thus one of the best MMORPGs on the market right now, and the new entry and the new area Brimstone Sands are a lot of fun for me.
Alexander Leitsch
MMORPG expert at MeinMMO
In 2023, there will be further updates for New World. Already, a raid boss, new weapons, new dungeons, and even a new crafting skill have been announced. Additionally, leaderboards for PvP and mounts will be introduced. More details can be found here:
New World shares first roadmap for 2023 – Announces raid boss and new crafting skills
