Amazon’s upcoming MMO New World continues to shovel coal into the hype engine as it inches towards its July 23rd beta. David Verfaillie, the head of player experience for the game, offered up some details about New World’s combat, PvP, and PvE options in an MMORPG interview while a video piece showed off the PvP War mode.
In the interview, Verfaillie touted precision damage models as a way that the game’s action combat stands out, with simulated hit volumes for actual weapons on the server and simulated defensive capsules per limb for the character, meaning positioning, blocking, and timing is important. Getting acclimated to this new form of combat is done through PvE, as monsters first slowly telegraph then offer shorter telegraphs and varied attacks, forcing players to learn when to block and when to roll away.
Verfaille also talked up New World’s classless character system, where the weapons, armor, and attribute points determine playstyle. There are weapon types that focus on support like staffs or ranged weapons like bows, and every character will eventually be able to carry three different weapons to switch to based on the situation. Verfaille also touched on progress systems like the previously detailed mastery system and weapon perks and gem slots that can be worked towards in crafting.
As for PvP, the interview highlighted the opt-in nature of PvP when players join factions and flag themselves for open world combat. Verfaille also confirmed that there will be unique rewards for doing so, such as slightly increased XP and unique factional rewards, but PvE players will have things to do like POIs and Invasions. As for stats balancing, PvE and PvP balancing will be combined. Speaking of PvP, the preview of the 30-minute War mode can be seen below.
