If you’ve got about an hour to burn and are curious to learn about the current and upcoming plans from the devs of New World, then you’re going to be a big fan of a December team update video, which brings together several of the devs from Amazon Games to talk about where the game is heading next and which features are being worked on.
The roundtable features a rotating group of devs that talk during each of its segments, along with director Scot Lane and world experience lead Mike Willette among them. The first segment grants an overview of what New World is trying to become, with Lane once more stating that he wants a game where PvE and PvP complement each other, along with affirmation that feedback on adding more things to do is heard loud and clear.
The video then addresses the specifics about new features. One of these is the addition of mutators, which are augments to named enemies in expeditions that will arrive on a weekly schedule. Groups will be able to see which mutators are in effect before entering an expedition and can expect to see things like exploding enemies, different curses, or pools of effects that enemies leave on the ground.
A segment related to balancing talks up the game’s February update and changes planned for certain weapons. Among those called out are improvements to the fire staff’s fire mage tree and better CC for the ice gauntlet. The segment is otherwise full of explanations for design decisions.
Another segment offers details on upcoming new weapons, starting with the blunderbuss, which is described as a more “chaotic” run-and-gun weapon, then with the greatsword, which will feature a stance switching mechanic. There is also a brief mention of daggers being the next weapon to release, but that is much further down the dev pipeline. Finally, a question about using shields with other one-handed weapons merits the response that it is much further away from being a reality as it’s “a really large endeavor.” Consequently, players can expect the blunderbuss to release “really soon,” followed by the greatsword.
Finally, the video touches on endgame progression systems, discussing the changes to the High Water Mark system (which is now known as Expertise), explaining the decision to scale gear down instead of raise the gear score cap, talking about the Gypsum system, and discussing crafted endgame gear features like the addition of Timeless Shards that let players affix a stat perk to a crafted weapon or armor item.
