New World will receive its first expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, in October. This brings a new max level, a revamped area, and mounts. But which content is actually exclusive to purchasing the expansion, and what updates benefit everyone? And can you still keep up without the expansion?
Will you fall behind without the expansion? Yes, at least in many endgame areas of the game. As the developers explained in a new Q&A, players without the new expansion will not be able to reach the maximum gear of 700. It also comes through that you cannot level beyond level 60.
This has strong implications for the gameplay:
- You can no longer participate in mutations in the dungeons because you cannot reach the necessary level and gear.
- You will also lag behind in PvP in the open world and in wars. Players at level 65 and with a higher gear score will simply have an advantage.
- You cannot enter the Elysian Wilds.
- You cannot use the new mounts.
You will only be scaled in Outpost Rush and in the PvP arenas. There, your gear will automatically adjust to gear score 675. However, you will still lag behind players with gear score 700.
Are there any good news? Yes, because the previous content will not be taken away from you, apart from the mutations and the wars. You can continue to explore the areas, try out all the weapons, and follow the story up to the expansion.
Major changes to the old content – such as Edenhain becoming a PvP zone to fight over and receiving new bonuses like storage space, or the removal of the racial perks on the gear – will also be usable for players without the expansion.
You can watch the complete Q&A in English here:
No Pay2Win, but Pay to continue the Game
What else was revealed?
- With the expansion, you should get to 700 gear faster than before
- However, you will take longer to perfect the stats. You will have to grind a lot of materials to then reforge the gear.
- The focus since the release has primarily been on PvE, but there are also ideas to bring larger PvP changes later.
- No adjustments have been made to the portal events or invasions with the expansion.
Is the expansion something like Pay2Win? This question is also raised in the video. Scot Lane, the head of New World, explains in the video that it is not Pay2Win, but he sees it more as “Pay to continue the Game”.
After all, primarily endgame content is taken and either added to or revised. The complete early game remains for the players.
Basically, it is worth it to buy the bundle of the base game and the expansion directly now. It costs €68.99, which is about the same as a new AAA single-player title.
What can I do to prepare for the expansion? The most important thing is, according to Lane, that you have fun with the game. Katy Kaszynski adds that you should definitely experience the content from Brimstone Sands, the new area that came into the game at the end of 2022.
Of course, you can also prepare more intensively, such as leveling weapons or farming special materials and currencies. How best to prepare, we have summarized here:
New World: 7 things to perfectly prepare for the new expansion
What do you think about the changes from Rise of the Angry Earth? Is it a problem that some players are excluded from the endgame content, or is this just the typical progression for MMORPGs?
