New World was originally supposed to focus strongly on survival elements and especially on building your own fortresses. These were to be defended in wars against other players. Now the new MMORPG Havenhold (PC) has been introduced, which wants to combine the fortress aspect with action-packed gameplay.
What kind of game is this? In Havenhold, you represent a hero from a bygone era and explore a world that has been completely destroyed. Together with other players, you should rebuild it and defend your conquered areas against other guilds.
- You collect experience points to improve your character. There will also be special quests to level up your skills.
- You can fight powerful bosses in special instances. The developers also mention puzzles and riddles that need to be solved.
- The combat system is supposed to be action-packed, with blocking playing an important role. There will also be combos with other players.
- Crafting potions and items will include mini-games. For example, you will have to stomp on the materials at the right moment – a bit like in Guitar Hero – to crush them.
However, the main feature will be PvP. The world is divided into different zones that can be conquered. In the core of the zone is a construction area where you can build your own fortress. You determine the layout of castle walls, can set up towers and other weapons for defense, and set traps to make it more difficult for your enemies to attack.
The battles for the fortresses take place in the open world, but only at times set by the defender. However, such battles can last several hours until one side has won.
By the way, the title was originally announced under the name Starkeepers, but had a slightly different focus.
You can watch the latest teaser for Havenhold here:
The Alpha 0 is already over, larger tests are set to begin soon
Who is behind the game? The studio is called Wolfpack Games and consists, according to their own statements, mainly of developers who have a lot of experience in MMOs and place great value on social interaction.
Behind the game are three co-founders from China who established the studio in 2021:
- Sheldon Wang previously worked at Leyou Technologies, which owns Digital Extremes (Warframe), among others.
- Footman Liu was a developer at Dragon Oath, a Chinese MMORPG that had a peak of 2 million active players per day.
- Stephen Wang, who has primarily worked as a banker and analyst.
The studio itself is also located in Beijing, and the team was also at Gamescom this year and is proficient in English.
Where does the MMORPG stand currently? Havenhold launched Alpha 0 in October, allowing friends and acquaintances to test the game. In the coming weeks, a larger test is planned, which is why the studio is now presenting itself more strongly.
To participate in the test, you can register on the official website.
When will the game be released? Havenhold is supposed to be released only for PC and on Steam. There is currently no official release timeframe. It is also unclear how the MMORPG plans to finance itself in the long term. Most developers come from free-to-play games.
New World allowed players to build fortresses themselves
Why does the game remind me of old New World? In the original version of New World, players were supposed to claim smaller areas and build their own fortress at the settlement point.
The screenshot of the map immediately reminded me of Amazon’s MMORPG:
The focus in the original New World was on building your own walls, siege weapons, and setting traps. Furthermore, battles were to be fought in the open world and not, as they are now, instantiated.
However, exactly this aspect was removed over time.
In our video from February 2019, you can still see the building feature at minute 5:
In addition, Havenhold is supposed to offer an action combat system with a strong focus on blocking, which New World also planned.
What do you think about Havenhold? Does this MMORPG generally appeal to you? Or is there something that puts you off?
However, Havenhold is not the only game currently being worked on: All 65 MMORPGs currently in development for PC.
