At an Amazon Games press event, we were given an exclusive look at the endgame of the upcoming MMORPG New World. MeinMMO author Mark Sellner shares his impressions with you and shows what he really liked.
What did I play? During the approximately three-hour event, I had the opportunity to check out three different endgame scenarios. I was accompanied by at least one developer each time and had a blast.
I got to play an alpha build of the game. So it was not yet at the state that the upcoming beta will have. Nevertheless, the game mostly ran smoothly and had only a few bugs.
One thing in advance: I was equipped with a new character before each new game mode, who was fully geared and completely skilled. So I had absolute freedom regarding equipment and weapons, but I can’t yet provide any information on how hard the path to this equipment might be.
Packed with the best weapons and armor in the game, we were able to try out three different endgame scenarios:
- The PvP mode Outpost Rush: an exciting adaptation of the “Domination” mode known from Call of Duty. There are three outposts that must be captured and held. The longer you hold them, the more points they give. The team that reaches 1000 points first wins.
- The Lazarus Instrumentality – An Expedition. Expeditions can be compared to raids, so this is a PvE element.
- Neufreudenfeuer – An Open-World POI. An interesting point in the open world that can be explored later in the game.
How long were we allowed to play? The event lasted about three hours. So I could spend roughly an hour in each of the game modes. A bit less in Outpost Rush, as it finished earlier. Longer in the expedition because we really got knocked around.
The endgame of New World shows: How fun failure can be
The three game modes that I could try out differ greatly from each other. However, I had a lot of fun in all three. They all had in common that even a defeat is not associated with frustration and gnashing of teeth, but still brings a certain enjoyment.
Outpost Rush – PvP with Tactics and Planning
What can Outpost Rush? The demo starts with the PvP mode Outpost Rush. I get to create a character and customize it as I wish. I have all the equipment I need in my inventory. I can also freely distribute my skill points and adjust the character entirely to my preferences.
The video briefly introduces the mode:
I decide to go for a hybrid melee and ranged fighter with heavy armor, a large two-handed axe, and a rifle for distance. For my skill points, I mostly rely on strength and dexterity – because who needs defense when the opponent falls quickly enough?
While I equip my character, the developers explained to us what it’s all about. There are three outposts on a medium-sized, instanced map. Each outpost gives the team a few points per second once captured. The team that reaches 1000 points first wins.
But it’s not just about PvP. There are also some other ways to be useful to your team. For example, if I don’t feel like fighting, I can just go chop wood. With the wood, I can improve the defense of the captured outpost and even set up cannons.
If I’m not into PvP, I can fight NPC bosses off the main routes. If I win, I can summon them at my outpost to use them for defense, or even for attack. For instance, a huge bear might suddenly jump into the battle with me and crush my enemies. Strong!
The cool thing about this is that I can also be useful to my team in this way if I don’t want to brawl with other players. It’s an interesting way to achieve certain PvP successes or items just by peacefully chopping wood. For me as a dedicated PvE player, this is more than a welcome change, as I usually come off worse in direct conflict with other players.
If you die in battle, you must respawn at a held outpost. If you currently don’t hold an outpost, you must run back to the fray from the beginning, so you are out of the action for a good while. By the way, we play Outpost Rush in two teams of 20 players each. When my team ultimately wins the fight, it feels really good.
Expeditions – No raids, but still challenging
What can the expedition? Next up is the second endgame scenario, an expedition. This time in much smaller groups. I get to create a new endgame character again. To see more of the different playstyles, I choose to be a mage this time. With ice and fire spells, I want to show the NPCs in the raid who’s stronger – and I haven’t died this often in an instance in a long time!
The expedition in New World is played with five players. Here I was accompanied by two developers, who took on the key roles of tank and healer. Two more editors from other sites joined me to deal damage together. Euphoric from Outpost Rush, I eagerly enter the expedition.
At the other end of this bridge, about five skeletons are staggering towards our group. Now, as an engaged MMORPG fan and PvE player, one naturally thinks: “Skeletons? Pah! What weak enemies have been thrown at us!” But I am mistaken. Very.
The said handful of skeletons held our group up for a good 15 minutes. My poor mage died at least 20 times, and before I could see the first boss, I had to ask the developer how to repair my armor.
After we finally defeated the welcoming committee, we immediately experienced the first puzzle of the expedition. Here we must stand on certain symbols on the ground to open the door to the next path. If you stand on the wrong symbol, more of those devilishly tough skeletons will appear. I probably don’t need to mention our countless deaths again.
After more skeletons and minor puzzles, we come to the first boss, who impresses with some tricky mechanics, but unfortunately, we have to stop after the third attempt because the allotted time is up.
One of the developers assures me that it’s easier if you have played your character up to that point and know what you’re doing. An elegant way to tell me that I apparently do not know – but hey, I tried. So mage is not for me.
Despite the countless deaths, it’s still a lot of fun, and once you master your character better and know what the deal is, I believe you can really get a lot of enjoyment out of it.
At the launch of New World, there will be a total of six such expeditions.
By the way, here is the conclusion of GameStar from this event:
Beautiful, vast world with (soon) much to discover
What can the open world? Once again I get to create a new character to explore the open-world point of interest in the same group where I was in the expedition. This time I choose damage again, just not as the mage. Fully skilled in dexterity and armed with a bow and spear, I set off for Neufreudenfeuer.
The location resembles a quarry where the curse of the New World story has raged. Skeletons can also be found here, but there are also human workers with glowing red eyes who will also serve as opponents.
Most normal enemies in this open world section are far easier than what we encountered in the expedition. The red light in the eyes of the workers can usually be extinguished with a well-aimed headshot from my bow – but I have to be careful here as well.
If the enemies get too close, my victory is not guaranteed. In general, the rule for the combat system in New World is: block and dodge, otherwise you are quickly dead.
In this open-world area, there is not much to see gameplay-wise. We can kill a few enemies, fish, and chop wood. Besides, I can admire the beautiful environment. The developer assures me that the area in the finished game will be filled with quests and other tasks.
However, in my alpha build, there is still nothing included, so I can’t say how good these quests will feel in the end.
My personal conclusion
What have I taken away? I admit, I had previously paid much less attention to New World than I should have. As you can gather from the text, I feel more at home in PvE, and the initial announcement of New World focusing on PvP left me quite cold.
However, after being able to play a bit of New World, I am now really excited about the game. The skill system feels coherent and varied, as does the fantastic combat system. Ironically, I had the most fun with the PvP mode. This definitely means that Amazon Games has done a lot right here.
I do not wish to give a rating of the individual systems and the technical state of the game just yet. I was able to play an alpha build that is still far from the final version of the game. There were some technical errors and visual elements that bothered me, but these were minor issues that the developers can still fix before the game releases on August 31, 2021.
I had a lot of fun with the demo version and am now very much looking forward to the release. If you want to get a glimpse of the game yourself, you can sign up for the beta starting July 20 (via NewWorld.com). Pre-orders will automatically participate. In the beta, the full extent of the game will be available, and you can explore the island of Aeternum until August 2.
What is New World? New World is an MMORPG developed by Amazon Games Studios, which will be released on September 28, 2021. Originally announced with a focus on PvP, the decision has now been made to offer PvE content and create a truly well-rounded MMORPG.
The game features the following aspects:
- Three factions at war with each other
- Fortresses that can be attacked and must be defended
- A class system where you are what you wear
- Player housing, with a sophisticated crafting system
- An exciting story centered around the resource Azoth, which can grant immortality
- Dungeons, raids, and open-world quests
Everything, and I mean really everything about New World has been collected by us at MeinMMO for you.
