New World was criticized in the first open test mainly for its weak quest design. They have been working on this for several months. Now details have been released that specifically explain the adjustments to the quests. Additionally, a German voiceover has been announced.
What has been the problem with the quests so far? In the first open test in summer 2020, the quests were described as very boring and uncreative:
- Basically, they always consisted of a certain number of enemies needing to be killed while simultaneously collecting items.
- There was no coherent story or special reason to complete the quests.
- This was made more difficult by the fact that even the enemies were always “Corrupted”, just with slightly adjusted names.
The quests were criticized both loudly by the community and by us in our preview report .
Amazon then promised improvement and shared in every alpha update that the quests were adjusted and new ones added. However, we did not know what exactly had changed.
How should the quests be in the future? In a new blog post, Amazon explained how they envision the quests in the future. One innovation is the main story – also called the main quest. This main quest should guide the player through all areas, tell the story, and provide rewards in the form of equipment.
This main story will be combined with “numerous side quests”, such as quests for unique armor and weapons, which can be accepted starting at level 40.
Furthermore, the developers promised more character in the various quest givers and as a special highlight a voiceover. There is already some voiceover in English, but it is also planned to appear in other languages, including German.
4 pillars on which the quests should be based
What does the quest system look like exactly? The system in New World is supposed to be based on 4 pillars:
- Through the quests, players should receive an identity and tasks
- Players should experience the history of Aeternum through the quests
- Players should be kept constantly busy
- Quests should celebrate progress
The structure of the quests increasingly resembles a theme park MMORPG based on the first descriptions. This seems to generally reflect the direction of the game more and more:
In this context, the game entry is also supposed to be improved. The quests for the main story up to the Azoth staff have been significantly reworked. It states that the “variety of quests” has been increased.
Following the previous quests, special objectives will continue. The focus is on powerful enemies such as the Siren Queen and the Empress introduced in the latest alpha update.
First insight into the voiceover convinces
How is the voiceover? On Twitter, the developers shared a short video that also provides insight into the voice acting. However, so far it only involves the English language:
Under the tweet and also those in other languages, many positive reactions are accumulating. They find the voice acting successful because there are clear differences in the speakers and their speaking style.
While some other MMOs also have voice acting for quests, it is not always successful. However, many are satisfied with the quest givers selected here. However, this is just an initial insight and only the English language. How the German voiceover turns out remains to be seen.
What do you think about the development of New World? And how do you like the adjustments of the quests and the voice acting? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
New World is set to be released on August 31. You can find more about the release, the beta, and plans until then here: New World: release date postponed – beta comes in July.
