For EmotionalThinker

Image to go with my reply on Reddit to this comment.

You can see my buy orders historically at 2 gold and sell price at 10+

Data courtesy NW Market Prices

Rethinking New World's Progression (Season 3/Expansion)

 New World hit the rest button on gear and progression for Season 3 and their expansion: The Rise of the Angry Earth.  The new progression system is friendlier players and eliminates many barriers to end game items.  However, I can't help but feel like much of the end game loop is made pointless by how it works and there was an opportunity to better design the progression path.

 First we need to note that the gear score (GS) max rose from 625 to 700 so 700 is the top end of progression.  Then we can look at the current buckets of progression.

• Expeditions
• Regular - up to 675 GS
  
• M1 - up to 700 GS
  
• M2 - up to 700 GS
• M3 - up to 700 GS
• Artifact - always drop at 700 GS (multiple methods
  
• Gypsum Kiln Named Item Upgrade - 700 GS
  
• Gypsum Kiln Named Mutator/Expedition Replica - 700 GS
• Crafting - for all intents and purpose - 700 GS
• PvP tracks - mostly 675 GS, but up to 700 GS
• PvP caches - up to 700 GS

 As you can see most all content drops up to 700 GS which seems great until you consider the "up to" part and compare to the ability to "upgrade" named items.  Named item upgrades also allow a third perk to be selected giving more variety.  Getting that awesome 699 GS drop is fleeting as most players likely are going to slot in a 700 GS kiln-upgraded named item.  

 Now look at that pile of other 690+ GS legendary items that just came out of that mutation run or PvP reward cache... and it's all worthless.  No one is buying it on the market (not that much of it can be sold since its mostly bind on pickup) and you aren't going to use any of it except as a temporary stop gap in some builds.  We are right back where we were with past New World: most legendary item drops are nothing more than something you salvage.

 I think a lot more items could have been made useful and a more natural progression curve experienced through a few simple tweaks I've noted below.

 The big change: remove named item upgrades in the gypsum kiln.  Instead use the same recipe and materials to allow a player to change the 3rd perk on a named item but keep the same GS level.

 Next change the GS reward range of each type of content.  

 Expeditions should have been 625-660 for regular, 660-680 for M1, 680-695 for M2, and 690-700 for M3 (artifacts can drop at any mutation level still).

 PvP tracks reward up to 700 GS but higher GS chance the higher the track level you are.  Artifacts drop as they do today on the tracks.

 Crafting can mostly remain as it is, but I'd dial back recipes like shard of pride and chromatic seal allowing a 700 GS craft.  Instead have it be in the 680+ range.  Leave the 700 GS perfect crafts for the perfect recipe. It's too easy to spend a fraction of the time, effort, and materials using the other crafting methods to get 700 GS crafts.

 With these changes, suddenly all of those 650+ GS drops become very interesting.  You may use a 681 GS weapon for a week in M2s until you get a 690 to drop.  You would likely take that 675 PvP reward track option because there isn't easy to mint 700 GS options.  If you do mutations you are slowly working up the GS reward levels.  So many more items become useful.

 Instead what we got was a system where on day 1 of expansion launch I logged in, farmed up a named fire staff, and immediately upgraded it to 700 GS, meaning 99.9% of all drops for my main build's weapon were going to be worthless to me.  Excepting the daily cooldown and 5k gold cost; chromatic seal upgrades of named items is the "cheat" of end game progression.

 Don't get me wrong: I don't mind folks being able to get into end game gear quickly but like the other day where I completed multiple M2 expeditions (the 2nd hardest content in the end game) and I am staring at a pile of 25+ legendary items that I will never use, never sell, and in turn will just scrap.  The simple change of the kiln upgrades not skipping to 700 GS would make many of those 25+ legendary drops possible useful drops.

 Again, I want to emphasize that I like where the game is at with progression.  It is easier and faster than ever before to get into new end game builds.  However, it is not much of "progression" system... it is very much "skip to the end" just like the last system with waiting to upgrade from 600 to 625 via umbrals... just now its dark matter and named items.

 

Thursday 11/23/2023 Post

 Uno reverse! Packers beat the Lions on Thanksgiving!

Also a poem...

Roses are red
Violets are blue
So are the Lions
And they lose too

New World Invasion Screenshot

 Jumped into a corrupted invasion last night in New World. This game mode makes for some epic screenshots. We were shorthanded and didn't fill out the roster so lost the invasion in the end but it was fun.  Invasions are also a great source for dark matter; even with a loss I netted 40!

Foreground: 2 brutes and a bear on Gate A!!!
Background: Giant laser eyes on another gate!!!

 Bonus screenshot sitting in my mess of a house (poorly decorated by me) in Ebonscale Reach.

New World 60% Off Sale

 New World is on sale!  60% off the main game and 34% off the expansion!  This is a great time to jump in and enjoy what is, in my humble opinion, one of the best MMORPGs on the market!

Players who have yet to experience Aeternum can pick up New World for up to 60% off during the Steam Autumn Sale now through November 28. The Standard, Deluxe and Azoth Editions will be 60% off. Those interested in both the base game and the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion can pick up the Elysian Edition bundle for 34% off. Rise of the Angry includes mounts, a transformed zone, the Flail, and additional endgame content.

Pick a copy up on Steam or via Amazon.

Ennead M1 Screenshots (Bonus Starstone!)

 Time off from work today and I hit up the Ennead expedition in New World.  Here are a couple screenshots.

Azoth staves goes bzzzzttttt!

Victory and a giant pile o' gold!

 And a bonus from earlier in the week on a run through Starstone Barrows!

I am sure there is an important lore reason for this shattered obelisk thingy.

Sunday 11/19/2023 Post

 After some early Xmas gifts from the Chargers the Packers walk away with a W.

Turkey Screenshot

 Turkey Terror in New World! Turkulon!

One big gobbler!

Boom; great arena!

 

Reddit Prompt: Why do you play New world over other mmos?

 The question was posed on the New World subreddit: Why do you play New world over other mmos?

 There were a lot of great answers in the thread, but wanted to weigh in on my top reasons for New World.  As background  I never intended to play New World.  I happened into one of the early New World preview events while playing the Crowfall beta.  My normal road to an MMORPG involves following it for years through development and betas before I jump in.  To say I was pleasantly surprised by New World is an understatement; one backed up by my almost 4,000 hours of play time!

 So what keeps me in New World (which is likely now my most played game ever)?

 First is the combat system.  I never fancied myself for action combat (getting old with slower reflexes), but after playing New World's combat I really can't see myself going back to tab targeting.  I tried Final Fantasy 14 for a brief period and while I conceptually like the global cooldown slower combat model it just ended up boring me.

 Not only is the combat system action based but it also does NOT do the typical MMORPG thing with five hotbars and fifty choices at any given time.  Players have two weapons and only three abilities per weapon.  Then there are four consumable slots (and next patch you can no longer use consumables from inventory in combat).  Add in the light/heavy attacks from left click, dodging, and that is a max of ten possible actions to take.  That is the sweet spot.

 The combat is also based on the gear you have equipped.  No classes.  If you want to tank; put on heavy armor and grab a shield.  If you want to use a Firestaff and a Musket; go ahead.  There is a ton of opportunity to carve out the way you want to play with the weapons and armor you want to.  Not everything works great but it does work and my favorite builds prove that point.  I run heavy armor Firestaff/Sword and Shield and do everything from PvP to DPS and tanking in PvE expeditions.

 The second big thing I love about New World are the graphics and audio.  The game looks and sounds amazing.  It is hard to go back to other games or even look at newer games that are nowhere near the visuals of New World.  The sound and visuals of chopping down a giant tree in New World are unmatched!

  Then the third, and biggest attraction, for me is that I have the same opportunity as any other player to make it to the end game progression without having to be a hardcore-focused player.  Don't get me wrong; I play the game a lot so I am not casual in that aspect, but I am also not a tryhard trying to cut a minute off an M3 completion time or have my VoDs reviewed so I can make a war roster.  I can play the game the way I want and make progress and end up in the same end game spot as any other player.  

 I find New World to be rewarding to how I play MMOs and that is the top reason I stick around.

 

 

Sunday 11/12/2023 Post

 It's that time of week again where we watch the Green Bay Packers come up short.... again.  Did I say again?  So many games this year going out on a whimper.

Yes I know it's the wrong coach.

If Heartless was an advertisement!

 A little fun from Tipa over on gamepad.club where she uses some AI to generate fake advertisements for a few of the bloggers out there.  Thanks Tipa (check her blog out at Chasing Dings)!