In New World went live on November 2, 2022, with the restart servers. MeinMMO author Anny Bader took a look at the MMORPG as a completely new player.
New World was released in September 2021. I was indeed interested in the game but hesitated to make my purchase. Initially, the MMORPG had enormous player numbers with long queues, but then it suddenly became less populated.
When I heard about economic exploits, empty servers, boring quests, and the tedious leveling process, it turned me off, and I decided to steer clear of New World for the time being.
Recently, when the restart servers went live, where every player starts from scratch, I took the plunge. Also because I heard that New World had improved significantly and was no longer as monotonous. With the Fresh Start, a new, clean economy is also ensured.
At the launch of the new servers, I arranged to meet a few veterans who wanted to start anew. The server launch was relatively bumpy, but it was probably nothing compared to the release in 2021. Amazon quickly realized that four servers were not enough and delivered additional ones at a minute’s notice, so no one was stuck in endless queues. Currently, all of them are being played diligently, whether newbie or veteran.
Monotonous Quests and Slow Leveling Would Have Scared Me Off at Release
Players who experienced New World before the Fresh Start often complained about the quest design. They were repeatedly brought back to the same location. Cutscenes were significantly less frequent at the beginning.
My own experience is entirely different. I spawn on a coast, do a few things there, and learn the basics, such as crafting at the campfire. Shortly after, I am somewhere completely different; my path from NPC to NPC feels smooth, and I rarely have to backtrack. I am so briefly in the starter area that I even forget to craft my tools. I only get the opportunity to do that a few levels later.
The dialogues are voiced, and there are interspersed cutscenes in comic style that visually remind me of Borderlands. Additionally, my screen occasionally turns red, and I hear the voice of Isabella, leader of the Corrupted. She tells me my mission is doomed to fail. I do not share her opinion.
My level is steadily increasing; I reach level 10 in less than an hour. Even later, I level up quickly and have now reached level 40. For some veterans, it is even going too fast now, as they are used to it being different from before: Leveling used to be very sluggish and took forever.
Since an update in summer 2022, leveling from 20 to 50 has become faster, and since the Fresh Start, the required experience points between levels 35 and 55 have been further reduced. Some hardcore players were already at level 60 after 18 hours.
Personally, I find it motivating to progress steadily, which is why I like the current leveling process. Earlier, the tediousness would have likely demotivated me and ultimately driven me away.
In the video, you’ll see a few tips for your start:
I First Test All Weapons and Professions
Unlike before, you now have much quicker access to all weapons. You can find them directly in the starter area since they are just lying around. I found a few, while others I received through quests.
I quickly had one of each weapon and tried them out in peace. The reset of skills is free up to level 20. This was also the case before, but there were hardly any weapons to test. You usually only received them later.
Ultimately, I decide on spear and musket, a build that is said to be good for the leveling phase. Even later, all attributes and skills can be reset again, but then it costs some in-game currency.
Also, with the professions, I first try everything and am impressed by the variety. The fact that you can level everything you do in New World keeps me engaged. I find the music aspect particularly cool – it feels like playing a round of Guitar Hero. It’s not very useful, but I still receive a buff that allows me to gather more items for an hour.
However, due to the fast leveling of my character, I quickly reach areas where my life skills are insufficient. For instance, I kill a bear and cannot skin it because I need skinning at level 50 for that. So I have to take care of my life skills separately. They also level up quickly, but they go up to level 200, and particularly woodcutting soon becomes too monotonous for me.
Although I Like New World, There Are a Few Issues
Even though I like it a lot, New World is not a perfect MMORPG and comes with some issues despite the restart:
- Various bugs – resources sometimes cannot be harvested, the achievements interface is visually bugged, sometimes quests are not displayed correctly
- The group finder totally annoys me. Everyone wants to be a damage dealer, there are hardly any healers and tanks, no one wants to wait long, and people just leave the group. New World does offer a solo option for the quest, but I don’t find that optimal for an MMORPG
- To keep the level of my main quest, I have to complete almost all side quests
- There are no mounts, and instead of swimming, my character wades through the water. This happens very slowly, which is quite annoying in the swamp area.
New World Probably Would Not Have Liked Me at Release, but I Love It Now Except for a Few Minor Issues
Regarding the things that annoy me as a newcomer in New World, veterans will probably chuckle. At launch, the MMORPG had so many issues that I would have joined the wave of angry players and left the game quickly. I wouldn’t have had the patience to level up and quest.
But I really like New World in its current form. I can overlook small bugs, and instead of using the group finder, I guess I have to use the old-school method and talk to my fellow players to form a group.
I will definitely continue to play New World and look forward to upcoming content, especially Brimstone Sands.
Anny Bader
MMORPG author at MeinMMO
What do you think about the restart servers in New World? Did you start anew, or are you also completely new? How do you like the game with all the changes? Do you think leveling is going too fast now? What level have you reached? Feel free to let us know in the comments here on MeinMMO!
