Mysteries, mysterious structures, and a lot of questions – that’s what the story around New World offers you. With its dark fantasy environment, the game tries to captivate you. We at meinMMO explain the story, its interconnections, and what narrative the game wants to tell us.
This is the setting of New World: The story takes place in the 17th century and shows elements of the colonial era. Technological progress is still in its infancy, as the most innovative things in the game are cannons or muskets in their early stages. However, magic and sorcery do exist and are used by the inhabitants.
The world around you is more gloomy than idyllic. Ruins decorate the barren spots of the map, and mysterious monsters and figures inhabit Aeternum, the island where the entire main story takes place.
Myths and legends speak of a “source of eternal life” that is located on this island. This liquid is called Azoth and promises the user great power and eternal youth. But every coin has two sides, and Azoth also shows its terrible side effects, proving that the alluring advantages are only parts of its true power.
This is how your story begins in New World (Warning: Spoilers ahead)
How are you involved in the story? Right in the intro of the game, a dark scene plays out for you. Two men meet in a rundown tavern. One of them, a survivor of the last expedition to Aeternum, tells that the myths and legends about the said island are true and incredible riches can be found.
This survivor hands your captain Thorpe a mysterious box, the content of which remains (as yet) a mystery. With new insights and the box under his arm, the captain starts the expedition to Aeternum. You are part of his crew, lured by the scent of the promised riches that await you in the new land.
But you will quickly be brought down to earth, namely, that this journey is a fight for survival. The ship is attacked by an unknown force and capsizes. You wake up on a dark and infected shore, and a tutorial awaits you, which gives you a first glimpse into the world and game mechanics of New World.
In most MMOs, you are the chosen one who is supposed to save the world from destruction. In New World, it’s no different. The main mission tells your story and how you confront the great evil.
This is how it continues. After this brief plot, you awaken and find yourself stranded on a shore. You realize that the tutorial was only a kind of dream or bad omen and want to warn the island’s inhabitants of the immediate danger that was visible in the form of a red plague.
After unsuccessful attempts to warn the coastal settlements of the impending doom, you are introduced to a supposed madman, Yonas Alasar, who knows more about the threat than anyone else on the island. Over time, you learn more and more from him about the secrets that the island holds.
Azoth, the key to immediate power – or ruin
What is Azoth? You learn from Yonas that the “source of eternal life” is the so-called Azoth. This resource can be found all over the island and alters the laws of life and death. The monsters you find on the island are mostly deceased beings that have been mutated into lost entities by Azoth.
Furthermore, you learn in the story about a ritual that can make you immortal, allowing you to confront the plague. However, this comes at a high price, as you bind your soul forever to the island and cannot find redemption. You are aware of the dangers and still decide to use this power.
The corruption and the ancients: On the path to immortality, you gain tools like the Azoth staff to combat the so-called corruption, a dark, slimy plague with piercing red traits. The origin of this plague is unknown, but one thing is clear: Corruption is the dark side of Azoth, tainted by the anger and evil of souls.
It takes over the bodies and souls of living beings and causes mutations. All reason is erased, leaving only hatred and a lust for destruction. A red substance surrounds you, marking the corrupted.
The ancients, to whom Yonas also belongs, were the guardians and inhabitants of Aeternum long before we discovered the island. Their technology and magic were powered by Azoth. Through rituals, they could create immortal warriors and foot soldiers who still guard the ruins today in the form of skeletons.
According to rumors, the corruption arose from a failed experiment of the ancients. Their greed for more power and Azoth was their downfall. Throughout Aeternum, you can find paper pages telling bits of this story.
Corruption spreads – The world is in danger
Is the island of Aeternum doomed? To defy the danger, you need an army. You now try to persuade all three factions that fiercely wage war against each other to set aside their conflicts and stand against the corruption.
You eventually succeed, and you are ready to march north with united forces, as the origin and core of the corruption is suspected to lie there. But suddenly you receive a letter from your former captain Thorpe, in which he challenges you to a duel and demands the mysterious box that he lost at the start of the expedition.
The past must be buried: With the knowledge that your former captain is now corrupted, you hurry to the Unstable Coast to free him from his suffering.
To do this, you must complete the expedition “The Shallows,” where you will ultimately face Thorpe as the final boss.
It was all just a trap: After you return victorious, you find your base burning. You learn that it is not Captain Thorpe, but a much more powerful enemy behind all the corruption. Her true name is “Isabella,” and during your absence, she has overrun the base with an army of the corrupted.
You try in vain to rush to your friend Yonas, who was able to briefly stand up to Isabella, but you arrive too late. You look into his glowing red eyes.
His mind has already been consumed by the corruption. You know that only death is the salvation and prepare to strike.
Hope is dwindling. Is doom certain?
Your master and friend Yonas, who showed you the way, is no more. Your army has been defeated, the base lies in ruins, and the morale of the survivors is dwindling. Just before all hope seems lost, the words of Captain Thorpe come to mind – The mysterious box, its contents must be the key.
What is the content of the mysterious box? After you follow the clues to where the box is located, you also learn about its content. Half of Isabella’s soul is sealed in the box. This Isabella, who leads the corruption and is erasing all living things with her power.
Once her soul is fully restored, her true power will be unleashed.
With her new power, she could even leave the island and spread the corruption throughout the world. With this new understanding, you search for the mysterious box as quickly as possible and ultimately discover that the so-called “Angry Earth Creatures” are hiding the box and protecting it from Isabella.
The island itself turns against you in the story
Who or what are these “Angry Earth Creatures”? The island itself is described as an organism. To contain the dangers, Mother Nature created Earth Creatures, which try to restore balance. They destroy any threats and spare neither humans nor corruption.
With this knowledge, you hurry to the center of the Angry Earth Creatures – Edenhain, the birthplace of the mentioned species. But even there, you quickly realize that Isabella was one step ahead of you. The so-called Mother Source, the heart of the Earth Creatures, has been attacked and partially corrupted.
An alliance between humanity and nature? Why has the corruption not been able to spread outward? Nature itself has erected a so-called “storm wall” around the island to contain the plague and keep it on the island. Now, however, as the Mother Source has weakened, the plague can advance outward.
A massive fleet, led by Isabella, is set to sail soon and embark on a major invasion outward. With the help of the Earth Creatures, you sabotage the ships and cripple the entire fleet. For this, you must complete the expedition “Dynasty,” where the fallen queen of the dynasty awaits you as the final boss.
To stop the corruption, you must infect it
An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth: You discover that corruption affects Earth Creatures differently than all other beings. When the Azoth of the Earth Creatures connects with the tainted Azoth of the corrupted, a bright green plague – the so-called “Blight” – is created.
The “Blight” infects everything it comes into contact with and spares even the corruption. You devise a plan to fully infect the Mother Source with this bright green plague and thereby redeem the entire island from corruption, as the source has stretched its roots into every corner of Aeternum.
The Source Guardian as the last bastion: With a clear goal, you gather the favor of nature and assemble an army. The Mother Source is, of course, well protected, and to reach it, you need a lot of firepower. In the end, you will face the so-called “Source Guardian,” who is extremely powerful and wants to erase you from this planet.
After you defeat the boss, nothing stands in your way anymore, and you infect the source to put a stop to the corruption. Here, the story comes to a temporary end. More content will surely follow in future patches.
What do you think of the story of New World? Have you experienced it yourself or did you just rush through? Let us know in the comments below.
