The new MMO from Amazon, New World, has released a developer diary as a video. This explains what the MMO is actually about and how players can find their play style. Because there will be no traditional classes in New World.
How is the play style defined? The developers make it clear: There are no classes in New World. The play style is determined by which equipment and weapons the player carries.
The Player Experience Lead, David Verfaillie, explains:
“New World is completely classless. You choose how you want to play by customizing your equipment. The weapons you choose also affect your play style.
Players will have a lot of options to decide what they want to play and how they want to play it.”
It continues: New World adapts to the play style of the players. Whether they want to be the best blacksmith or the best swordsman, both are possible through the progression system. Players just have to do what they are best at.
New World: Equipment makes the player, not the class
What does this mean? This is the same approach that other “classless MMOs” use, such as Albion Online.
If a player puts on plate armor and grabs a sword and shield, he is simply a warrior, and his stats in the corresponding skills increase faster than if he grabs leather armor and a bow and acts like a ranger.
The nuances of such systems are important:
- Is there an “overall cap” on points that forces specialization
- or can a character truly be “good at everything”?
- What combinations are possible and sensible?
- Are classic archetypes (plate and melee/leather and ranged) so strong that custom builds (plate and ranged) are possible but pointless?
All of this will probably be revealed later.
Azoth as the most important magical resource
What is New World actually about? The world of “New World” is roughly divided into two areas:
- in the south of the island, players will settle
- in the north of the island, “Corruption” awaits them
In the game, it apparently revolves around players working their way from the south to the north, to the heart of the island, and claiming land for themselves. However, the Corruption in the north will not make it easy for them but will resist and fight back. Players’ settlements will apparently be attacked.
In the video, it seems that these settlements already exist and are spread across the island and do not have to be founded first. Housing is expected to be an important feature in New World.
The goal of the confrontation is the resource “Azoth,” a mineral that lies in the earth and grants supernatural abilities. What exact effects the possession of Azoth has on play style is still open at the moment. It is conceivable that with “Azoth,” supernatural skills of the players are unlocked.
It gives the impression that combat and crafting skills will become important in New World. The focus lies heavily on terms like “settling,” “building a home,” “exploring and conquering,” but also on “fighting” and “fighting back attacks.”
The developer diary surely answers some questions but also raises new questions in detail.
We will surely learn more about New World in the coming months. A beta of New World is planned for April 2020, with the release already set for May 2020. The developers have ensured that by then, the most important questions regarding gameplay, systems, and mechanics will be answered.
