Before the release ofNew World: Aeternumearlier this month, I wrote abouthow Amazon might have ruined one of the game’s best features- its PvP action combat. Thankfully, the main problem - PvP aimlock - was massively reduced in a launch update that slowed down the camera movement and made it easier to stealth away from enemies by increasing the speed at which nameplates vanish into the undergrowth. As a result, PvP in New World is still very, very good. Quite possibly the best of any MMO on the market.
There are multiple ways to fight your enemies in New World. During the first few days after launch, open-world PvP was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in a game for some years. Players flag-up for PvP to get an experience boost and a gathering boost. Once they’re flagged, you and anyone else who is flagged can fight anywhere in the open-world. And so chaos ensued. I was out on a simple quest to a nearby PoI to destroy some supply boxes when two players from the Marauders - the disgusting green faction, nothing like the mighty purple Syndicate - began to chase me down.
The battle between the three of us raged for the next 15 minutes. My spear and bow weapon combination gave me a lot of utility - I could use the spear to temporarily knock one of the two down, then use the bow to get some distance. It was pretty unlikely that I’d be able to kill either of them. During a brief lull in the fight, I mounted up and put some distance between us. As I slowed down, expecting them to leave me alone, I saw them both charging down the road towards me. The hectic horse chase that followed was hilarious, with huge leaps from cliffs, crashing through streams, before reaching the haven of Everfall town, where PvP is disabled. I gave them both a salute and went on my way.
PvP Endgame
On a more organized level, PvP is separated into the Arena-like Outpost Rush mode and guild warfare. Outpost Rush was a bit of a disaster during the launch of New World: Aeternum (and still is) because queue times were quite long as people spent time leveling, gathering, crafting, and otherwise playing the game. Guild warfare, however, has been amazing.
Early on, my faction was able to declare war on Everfall. This was a pretty big deal as Everfall is one of the most valuable towns in the game, with plenty of player traffic-generating revenue via the trading post and crafting stations. The war was a tense, closely-fought thing. We were able to take the first three objectives - points outside of the fort’s walls - before trying to push into the fort itself. The shotcaller of the guild tried their best to organize a relatively rag-tag group of players, but with five minutes to go, we hadn’t managed to find a proper foothold.
In one last desperate push we all charged through the main gate into the centre of the fort. In a huge ball, we set up around the capture point. The enemy poured over us with spinning blades and fireballs, but we stayed strong - mostly thanks to our healers keeping us alive. Time seemed to tick down very slowly, but with the last few seconds to spare we were able to capture the fort. It was a great feeling, the kind that only MMOs deliver - a sort of unity with all these random players, that you’d just been a part of something bigger.
Compared to a game like Throne And Liberty, New World really offers more individual agency during fights. In Throne,you are either part of a zerg, or you aren’t. What you specifically choose to do on the battlefield actually has very little impact on the battle as a whole. It’s all about macro plays, like tanks moving together, people casting AoEs at the same time. In New World, if you pop off, you can really be the make-or-break of a situation.
It’s this sort of thing that I wish New World did more of. More open-world guild-versus-guild events would be excellent. At the moment, combat is all tied to influence rushing (where you try to complete missions in a region to allow your guild to declare war on the opponents) and, as a result, warfare can feel a bit one-dimensional at times. As the game goes on and more players get geared, actually getting into a war can be difficult for new players. Most company slots go to the best-geared players, and the mercenary slots to the most-geared and best fighters in your faction.
I would love to see New World lean just slightly more into its PvP. More events for players of different levels, new battle maps, and maybe some different guild-v-guild gamemodes. Even in its current state, though, the PvP is extremely fun. If you haven’t tried it out yet, get geared, join a faction, and head to the battlefield.
