In August 2020, many players were able to try out the new MMO New World and report on it without NDA. After that, the game disappeared back into Alpha. There have been ongoing reports and information about progress from this Alpha. MeinMMO editor Alexander Leitsch has summed up what has changed since the test almost 11 months ago.
What has changed in New World? In summer 2020, New World seemed unfinished to many. Especially the quest system and the general endgame content were criticized. We at MeinMMO also recognized many good approaches, which still needed a lot of refinement and some innovations.
That is exactly what Amazon has been working on in the last eleven months, implementing some significant innovations.
- New weapons to allow for more variation in the combat system
- 6 dungeons, whereas there were none in summer 2020
- New incentives for open-world PvP
- The new PvP mode Outpost Rush
- Adjustments to quests to make them more attractive
But besides these major changes, there have also been many small detail adjustments that we will delve into further. You can find all information about New World in this overview.
Changes to the combat system and weapons
What has changed in combat? In recent months, New World has received four new weapons:
- The spear offers two talent trees, allowing you to use it either as a melee weapon or as a throwing weapon.
- The great axe, with which you can deal a lot of damage and multiple hits or control opponents and prevent them from fleeing.
- The rapier, with which you can either add a lot of bleeding or evade and counter a lot.
- The ice gauntlet, with which you can either deal a lot of damage or control your opponents well.
But not only new weapons have been implemented. In one of the first updates in December 2020 global cooldowns were removed. Now every weapon has its own cooldowns for abilities. This update also brought better hit detection, better animations, and generally smoother combat.
The trick with the Life Staff, which allowed you to quickly move across the map during the test, has also been fixed.
In January, there was also an adjustment that allowed you to switch between only 2 instead of 3 weapons in combat.
In every update during the Alpha, of which there was at least one each month, adjustments have also been made to the balance of the various weapons. In addition, the AI is now said to be smarter than it was in 2020.
6 new dungeons, new endgame areas, and fishing
What has been added for PvE players? For those who want to go through New World as PvE players, there are some new features to look forward to. The big highlight was the new dungeons, which were gradually implemented and are called “Expeditions” in the game.
The first expedition, the Amrhein Excavation, is aimed at players level 25 and above. It features two bosses, various ghostly creatures, and a puzzle you must solve. MeinMMO was convinced after the first test:
In addition to the Amrhein Excavation, there should be 5 more dungeons available at the release of New World:
- Destroyer Obelisk – For players level 35+
- The Depths – For players level 45+
- The Garden of Genesis – For players level 60+
- The Shipyard of the Dynasty and the Lazarus Instrumentality, both of which still require an unknown level
What is there besides dungeons? With the updates, 2 new endgame areas were also introduced.
The first new zone is called Reekwater and resembles a dark Neverland from Peter Pan, where crocodiles, pirates, and mermaids await you. Along with Reekwater, the side activity fishing has also been introduced.
The area Everfall, on the other hand, has a more Asian style. It is aimed at players level 51+ and there you mainly encounter the Corrupted, who have gathered their fleet there. Additionally, you can expect the fallen empress in the ruins of the city.
Additionally, Amazon has implemented minor innovations such as an achievement system and titles. The bosses in the open world have also been adjusted to make them a bit more challenging, and there are rewards for reaching specific milestones while leveling up.
New incentives for open-world PvP and a new mode
What changed for PvP players? With the big shift from PvP survival MMO to an open-world game with more PvE content, there was a major innovation: Open-world PvP became completely optional. However, it seemed almost unnecessary in the first test in summer 2020.
Amazon recognized this as well and made some adjustments to PvP:
- Forts in the open world can now be conquered again. You just need to flag for PvP, storm the fort, and take the capture point.
- However, the fort will then be marked as “contested” on the map. This way, players from the other two factions can hinder you from capturing it.
- Whoever controls a fort brings bonuses to their faction. In the corresponding area, all players of the faction receive 5% more XP and 20% more influence. Additionally, each fort provides a unique global bonus, including reduced fast travel costs and tax reductions. Furthermore, the storage of settlements is connected when one faction controls multiple of them.
- The instanced wars continue to take place. Whenever these fights around a fort occur, captures in the open world are disabled for 60 minutes.
In addition, a new instanced PvP mode has been introduced: the Outpost Rush. In this mode, two groups of 20 players each fight against each other for control of 3 outposts. The goal is for the first team to collect 1,000 points.
Outposts can be captured and then defended and upgraded. Killing players also gives points. You can get a detailed insight into the new mode in this video by the developers:
New quests, better narrative structure, and voice acting
What has changed in quests? The quests were considered one of the biggest construction sites for New World. Initially, they basically consisted only of players needing to kill a certain number of enemies and simultaneously collect a certain number of items.
Quests were more like a side task to the main path to max level: the grind on monsters and events. But that should no longer be the case.
The new quest system is built on 4 pillars:
- Through the quests, players should gain an identity and tasks
- Players should experience the story of Aeternum through quests
- Players should be kept constantly engaged
- Quests should celebrate progress
In a major overhaul, especially the game entry and the main story up to the Azoth Staff have been significantly revised. Additionally, new quests have been introduced, through which players can earn stronger weapons and armor.
Voice acting in English: Another innovation in quests is voiceovers. During the beta, these are expected to be available in English. It is currently unclear whether there will also be a German dub.
You can get a first glimpse of the voice acting in this tweet:
Revisions in crafting and trading between players
What has changed in crafting? The January update focuses primarily on adjustments to the crafting system:
- A number of new and rare materials have been introduced.
- There are over 100 new named weapons and 50 new named armor pieces in crafting.
- Crafting stations visually grow with the settlement as it develops.
- Many recipes have been adjusted so that general ingredients also work. Instead of carrots, a general vegetable suffices to create the corresponding food.
- More flexibility has been added to the system, allowing players to decide whether to invest more or less Azoth for a higher chance of bonuses. You should be able to decide how much of the rare materials to invest for a chance at a higher armor value.
- The unlocking of plans has been revised.
- Equipment no longer becomes useless and discarded automatically when durability reaches 0.
At the same time, the buff food has been changed to now have food that either improves your attributes or restores health. This has been clarified.
What is new in player trading? While players could only trade with each other through the marketplace during the first test, direct trading between players is now also possible.
Character customization, user interface innovations, and much more
What else has changed?
- There are new options in character creation
- The key mapping has been adjusted so that you can now jump with space and sprint more with SHIFT
- New armor and weapon skins have been generally introduced
- The compass has been revised, now displaying orientation points with names and only a distance indication
- Options for color-blind players have been added
Even though the article is already quite long, we have not yet covered every little detail. However, all important innovations and adjustments are included.
In addition to all these innovations, there were already some interesting contents at the start of the test in summer 2020, including the PvE events in the open world, the invasions of the Corrupted, housing, the wars for fortresses, or the boss arena with the Spriggan.
All these contents can be tried out starting July 20 in the closed beta or starting August 31 upon the release of New World.
What do you think of the development of the MMO? Do you give New World a chance? And what are you particularly looking forward to?
