New World has announced another change to the equipment system. However, what is supposed to come in 2022 is viewed negatively by many fans. They fear it could primarily kill trading and crafting.
Update December 7: It has since been announced that adjustments will be made. Equipment and gear created before the patch will be exempted from crafting. More on this here: New World listens to its players, significantly weakens drastic change for 2022.
How does the equipment work? In patch 1.2, which is supposed to be released in December, the watermark system will be revised. This is a special system in New World that remembers what the strongest drop has been so far:
- The longer you go without receiving a drop with a higher gear score, the higher the chance of an upgrade.
- However, once that happens, you initially receive weaker gear until you get lucky again and reach the next watermark.
- The watermark can only be increased through drops and chests. Equipped gear, regardless of its level, does not impact it.
- From December on, you will be able to see exactly in your inventory how high your watermark is, which will also carry the name “expertise” from then on.
So far, this system has only affected drops. If you directly obtain an item with a gear score of 600 through crafting or the trading post, you immediately have a max item. But that is exactly what is supposed to change in 2022.
What does the change look like? As the developer Zin_Ramu revealed in the forum, expertise will in the future have an impact on the strength of your equipment, regardless of the gear score:
In the December update, expertise will determine the highest drops you can receive per slot, similar to how it was with the watermark system. But starting in early 2022, it [the expertise] will also determine the effectiveness of your equipment. This means, if your Warhammer expertise is 520 and you equip a Warhammer with a gear score of 550, the effective gear score of the weapon will be reduced to 520.
While we understand that this may lead to a temporary decrease in strength for some players, we believe that it will ultimately lead to a more rewarding progression loop that cannot be bypassed by purchasing gear at the trading post.
Zin_Ramu in the New World Forum
However, this announcement has not been well received by many players. They have opened numerous posts on reddit and in the forum and are protesting against this change.
“What is crafting even for?”
How are players reacting? A major point of criticism for many players is primarily crafting, which could be rendered useless.
Because if you craft an item with a gear score of 600 but have not grinded your expertise, you end up with an item that is much weaker.
- The reddit user Jerizzle23 simply asks: “What is the point of crafting then?” and receives a lot of support. With over 1,400 upvotes, this is currently the most popular comment on the topic (via reddit).
- MetaWaterSpirit goes even further in the responses and wonders why the developers keep degrading crafting. Only with the major update 1.1 were the XP for leveling significantly increased. Also, the materials that drop for crafting from chests were already reduced in October.
- The user Pretend-Challenge380 is really angry: “I have spent hundreds of hours improving my crafting to create good weapons because they made PvE so mind-numbingly boring. Now they are spitting in my face.”
Other users do not mind the crafting aspect, but are concerned about the grinding aspect. Players are now forced to increase their expertise instead of playing the way they want. Some grind faction missions or town missions to earn tokens and gold. With that, they buy gear from the vendor or at the trading post.
The user tspeicher writes in the forum: “How can anyone come up with such nonsense? There is no need to list or buy high GS weapons and equipment in the AH anymore, as everything will be downgraded accordingly, unless you already have a high GS.”
Additionally, the developers recently nerfed farming elite mobs with hidden changes. Now, however, players are indirectly forced to grind exactly those mobs.
While players are offered a new mechanic with gypsum, through which you can specifically increase the expertise of an item, it hides behind a time window. You can only collect a certain amount of gypsum, after which there is a 23-hour timer. Only after that will you receive gypsum again. This aspect also annoys some players.
“Players cannot buy strength, they have to earn it”
Are there also positive voices? Yes, the user Indica has created a thread and stated that the change is “great”. He justifies the change by saying that players cannot simply buy strength, but have to grind for it, like everyone else:
This [the change] is urgently needed. Many of us have spent over 800+ hours in this game, and we have maximized much of our watermarks, while other players could literally just reach 60 and buy the strength we have earned through grinding?
How can that be fair at all, the whole point of grinding was that I had more strength than the rest due to the time I invested, like in any other MMO. With this change, people now have to go through the same grind to get to where we are now.
I think this is a win for the game as a whole, and I personally love gypsum, as it should be a fun activity for casual players, like WoW dailies.
Indica via New World Forum
However, the negative reactions to the update prevail. Almost all of the latest 30 forum threads are about this topic and almost all are negative. Many users on reddit have already announced in threads that they will leave the game if this change is implemented.
What do you think about the changes? Do you also find them so bad or are many players exaggerating? Is such a change a reason to completely leave New World?
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