We summarise all information about New World concerning beta, gameplay, factions and crafting and list our more in-depth articles about the Amazon MMO.
New World is the new big MMO from Amazon Game Studios and will be released on Steam on 31 August 2021. Awaiting us is a role-playing sandbox mix with an open world in a dark fantasy setting during the colonial era, PvE and mass battles.
With all the advance information about the beta, gameplay, story and PvP, it’s easy to lose track of everything. That’s why we’re summarising everything you need to know before the release of New World and listing our articles on all the topics that will allow you to dive deeper into the world of Aeternum.
Contents List
- Beta, costs, subscription: How to play New World
- Gameplay: What to expect in New World
- What New World has to offer for story fans
- The MMO has become a completely different game
- Amazon and Twitch: Features for streamers and content creators
- These are the system requirements
Table of Contents
How do I take part in the current beta?
The launch date for New World is 31 August 2021 on Steam. However, interested parties can register for the upcoming beta before then. However, this does not guarantee access by any means. How you are guaranteed to take part in the closed beta, what content it offers, how long it lasts and where it takes place
Do I need a subscription to New World?
You do not need to subscribe to play New World. The MMO runs on a Buy2Play model, so you only buy it once and then have no further obligatory costs. There will be an in-game shop, but it will only offer optional cosmetics. You can already earn them via Twitch Drops if you link your account, play the beta and watch the streams.
On which platforms will the MMO be released?
New World will be released exclusively on PC via Steam. So you don’t need your own launcher or an Amazon account.
Which editions are available and how much do they cost?
The Standard Edition costs around 40 euros, the Deluxe Edition around 50 euros. New World is available on Steam or Amazon.
The Deluxe Edition includes:
- Woodman Armour Design
- Woodman throwing axe design
- A Great Dane pet
- Rock/scissors/paper emote
- The New World digital artbook
In addition, there are the following Bonuses for pre-orderers:
- Isabella’s Amulet (more damage against over supernatural enemies and resistance to weather attacks).
- Fistbump emote
- Guild Crest Set
- The special title “First Expedition “
All bonuses are only available in the release version. Pre-orderers will also receive secure access to the closed beta of New World. You can also get first impressions of the game via our screenshot gallery:
Gameplay: What to expect in New World
How the Open World Works
New World takes an unusual approach for an MMO in some respects. Instead of dungeons and raids, for example, it relies much more on events, bosses and fat loot in the middle of the open world.
These are virtually surrounded by an onion principle: We fight our way through several layers of increasingly stronger enemies until we reach the core where the party really gets going. Nevertheless, there are individual classic dungeons to explore.
The open world is also divided into different zones in which the three factions Marauders, Alliance and Syndicate fight for supremacy. You can dedicate yourself entirely to your faction and complete PvP and PvE content for them. But you can also explore, level, craft, fight monsters and more on your own.
According to the developer, New World is supposed to be a game where you set your own goals instead of just following a world-saving story. During the rather monotonous beta quests, we still lacked a bit of motivation, but a little role-playing game trick helped us get going:
Is New World an MMORPG?
The MMO contains a whole bunch of role-playing elements. At the beginning, we create an avatar in the character editor and go with him or her into the big wide world. Battles, crafting, quests, guilds and other RPG elements await us there. However, our character itself has no skill tree and no class, although we are allowed to distribute skill points. This makes New World not a classic role-playing game, but rather a hybrid form.
Why is the combat system unusual for an MMO?
The battle system also breaks out of the usual MMO pattern. Instead of tab targeting and classes, we get a skill-based combat system à la Dark Souls and skill trees for our weapons that determine who we are.
You do distribute points to stats such as strength or agility as you level up, but you are completely free to do so and can also completely change your mind later (for a price). The stats determine how well you can handle individual weapons. If you use them regularly, you unlock points for the weapon, which open up new abilities for you.
This replaces a typical role-playing class. With the weapon, you can change them very easily. Also, you only have three skills equipped at any one time instead of a whole MMO bar.
What can I expect from the PvP and factions in New World?
What will the factions bring
You have to decide on a faction early in the game. Marauders tend to be hooligan types who value strength, glory and honour, while the Syndicate is a brainy advocate of truth and progress. The Alliance, on the other hand, is dedicated to religion, righteousness and justice.
The factions have this effect on the game:
- Special missions with experience points, talers and faction tokens as rewards.- The influence for area control is increased (relevant for PvP)
- Faction weapons, armour and items you gain access to
- Higher ranks and better crafting components for crafting
- With area control: town missions to expand your settlement and reduced costs for workshops and fast travel
How PvP works
PvP in the open world is optional in New World: Enable or disable it at any time. So you can decide for yourself whether you want to have a ruckus with other players or whether you’d rather go about your day.
To increase your faction influence in the area and weaken the ruling group, you have to turn on PvP. When you have consolidated your position enough, you can finally declare war on them.
Then the 50v50 mass battles come into play: These are separate events in which you lay siege to the respective area fortress. You will use not only your own arsenal of weapons, but also siege equipment to capture and hold the heart of the fortress.
Professions, Skills & Crafting: The PvE of New World
Generally, gathering raw materials and crafting with them is first accessible to anyone who has the right tools. It is even necessary to build a camp as a revival point, for example. There you can also make tools such as an axe, which can then be used for logging.
There are also crafting stations where you can forge weapons, for example, if you have the (processed) resources with you. What you assemble yourself should later even be able to keep up with end-game loot if you invest a corresponding amount of effort and have levelled up the skill to level 200 – as with fighting, you become better when you perform an action.
Crafting also comes into play with furniture or rations, for example, without you having to choose a profession in this direction. You may craft and level everything from the beginning. However, crafting stations must be upgraded over time, which only works via the respective ruling faction.
However, you can specialise in these directions in New World if you want to:
- Gathering (mining raw materials such as wood or iron)
- Refining (melting down raw materials, processing wood, leather and so on)
- Crafting (build weapons, armour, furniture and more from processed materials)
Tannery
Sword
What will the housing in New World look like?
Of course, we can also settle down in housing. There will be settlements away from the battlefields where we can buy our own home. But for that you need a certain reputation in the area. This means that you have to distinguish yourself by helping out with city projects or completing missions.
To avoid overbuilding the MMO, several players will own the same house. However, everyone gets their own instance of the home as soon as they enter it or invite friends.
What New World has to offer for story fans
The lore of New World is a wild mix: dark fantasy meets colonial times, fairy tales mix with horror and deer from tree roots bump into adventurers armed with muskets.
But in fact, every single aspect of it is grounded in the story of New World. You are set on the island of Aeternum. Here there is a unique mineral called Azoth. Azoth amplifies everything around it – whether in a good or evil direction. Legend has it that it gives eternal life, and so you set out as one of many adventurers in search of its power. However, the island and its inhabitants resist you.
The MMO is now a very different game
PvE was not always an issue for Amazon at New World. At the beginning of development, New World was geared towards PvP purists and sandbox players. But this focus failed in the first alpha. Players felt pressured by the survival and PvP aspect, especially when newcomers were increasingly hunted down.
Amazon and Twitch: features for streamers and content creators
The streaming platform Twitch belongs to the Amazon group just like Amazon Game Studios. This enables a direct link between New World and Twitch. The following features are known so far:
- Streamers Spotlight: Players can mark themselves as streamers in New World. If you are defeated by a streamer in battle, you can switch directly to the broadcast in which you fell so ingloriously, if you wish.
- Streamer Armies: If you play on the same server as your favourite streamer, you can join their army in a mass battle by pressing a button.
In addition, the current beta may already be officially streamed and filmed. In the meantime, you can get an impression of New World live or afterwards via video, if you don’t play the game yourself.
These are the system requirements
If you have tasted blood now and want to know if your computer is powerful enough for an adventure on Aeternum, here are the official system requirements:
Minimum System Requirements
- Processor: Core i5-2400 / AMD CPU with 4 physical cores
- Graphics card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 670 / AMD Radeon R9 280
- Memory: 8 GB RAM
- Memory: approx. 40 GB
Recommended System Requirements
- Processor: Core i7-2600K / AMD Ryzen 5 1400
- Graphics Card: Nvidia Geforce GTX 970 / AMD Radeon R9 390X
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Memory: approx. 40 GB
Have you already played New World or are you planning to? What is your impression of the MMO so far? Write us in the comments!
