New World PTR Gold Acquisition Nerfs

 Pew. Pew. Pew. New World is nerfing individual gold gain in the latest PTR update.  As it's a bit buried in the thread here is a full copy of the text:

In this PTR update, we added a few economic changes which help maintain a healthy balance between coin going in and out of the economy.

We’ve seen significant increases in coin generation from economy updates in our July and October updates. With many returning players impacting our world economies, we see a need to get the balance of coin generation and breadth of rewarding activities back to healthy balance. Specifically we are reducing coins earned from Lost Sack of Coins to 250 per bag, and returning Trade Post tax to 5%, the standard in player driven marketplaces in
MMOs.

We removed Lost Sack of Coins from elite chests as the chests are very rewarding on their own now, and have chosen to make Darkness Breaches the only source for players to get Lost Sacks of coin and removed them from all chest drop tables. Tuning of the economy is ongoing in New World, and we’ll make adjustments as needed to ensure balance for long term health.

We are also correcting a trend where we’ve seen a supply outpacing demand for T5 Iron Hide, making it less valuable than other tiers of hide due to it’s excessive availability. We will be cutting the quantity per Iron hide drop by ~50%. As always we are continuing to heavily monitor the economy and will continue to work towards continually improving it and keeping it healthy!

1. Reduced coin in Lost Sack of Coins to 250 per bag down from 500.
2. Lost Sacks of Coins no longer drop from any chests. They now only come from Darkness Breaches.
3. Increased tradepost tax to 5.0% from 2.5%
4. Reducing T5 hide drops by roughly 50%

 First, I want to commend Amazon Game Studios (AGS) on the transparency in the change.  These are the sort of changes that can sneak into test servers and create chaos if not "announced" by the developers.  AGS is out front on this one letting players know and explaining the why behind the changes.

 I like the changes over all even though it will hit my wallet hard (I make the majority of my money on the trading post).  Inflation (and deflation) was getting a bit out of hand lately on the legacy servers (not sure how its going on fresh start servers).  Anything that helps drive gold out of the game is a good move at this point.

 With that said this is going to be a hard one to swallow as a community because we still have the Windsward/Everfall-owning companies netting millions of gold a month.  As long as these mega-rich companies exist then the top end items we are all chasing are still going to be out of reach for the average folk but laughably NOT out of reach for the rich folk (seriously 300k is no different to 500k for a best-in-slot item for the richie riches).  Nerfing individual player gold rates isn't going to change that top end problem but will put players further behind getting there as we have to spend more to just exist in the game day over day.

 Is there a solution to this problem that doesn't upset the community?  Probably not.  It's needed change to fight inflation which erodes the economic foundation, but its going to cause debate in the community and put the have-nots even further against the companies-that-have-everything.  Sure there are recent changes that affected the bottom line for companies, but it also brought up other companies into the ranks of "making more gold than a company really needs".  

 Really the only change that will change this is to get rid of gold as a reward for territory control or spread the gold reward out to the entire faction. As long as the tax money funnels into a single company it will continue to cause problems for this game and drive changes to nerf individual gold acquisition.  Seriously if they just caused tax gold to disappear millions of gold would just poof out of existence.  

 In it's place could be some alternate form of currency specific to upgrading towns and forts or maybe, and I know this is crazy, something that benefits the entire faction.  Maybe I'm just crazy factions should have more of a purpose and reward for being in them?

 Anyways; pew pew pew to your money bags.  What are your thoughts?

Is Ashes of Creation over complicating systems?

 Something has been nagging at me since the last Ashes of Creation developer update.  On one hand it was awesome to see Ashes change to a gathering model of "every tree can be chopped down", yet on the other hand I worry Ashes is planning to layer too much complexity on top of the system.  This came to the forefront of my mind this past weekend as I "chopped and chilled" in New World.  Sometimes simple is the best answer.

 Before I jump into where I see issues I want to say I am optimistic that the approach Ashes is taking will combat the problem of bots.  Simple systems are easier for bots and complex systems are harder for bots.  If any change Ashes makes helps drive down bot activity then it may be worth keeping.  Note: "we'll just ban the bots" is not a plan and has not worked to solve the bot problems for any MMORPG or other type of game... ever.

 The main changes that Ashes is layering on top of their gathering system are surveying and variability based on world conditions (time of year, node status, etc). Surveying will be a skill players improve that helps them survey the landscape and identify resource nodes and details about those nodes.  This combines with the nodes being variable based on world conditions; complimentary systems to drive engagement for gatherers.

 My first concern with complexity comes from surveying.  Instead of going off what a player sees it seems like players will be encouraged to "stop and smell the roses" so-to-speak (i.e. survey first to find the good nodes to then harvest).  I like but don't like this concept.  Sometimes (actually most times for me) players just want to smash rocks, chop trees, and not have to think about it all too much.  Adding in a pre-system to gathering feels like it takes away from that feeling that drives a player to want to chop down a tree in the first place.

 Surveying also has me worrying more and more about bots.  Is surveying go to be fun enough in itself for a player to want to do over and over (and over and over and over and over - as is the tradition with MMOs)?  I think there is real risk it just becomes something either a player "sets and forgets" while they get a coffee refill or worse it becomes a reason to encourage botting even more as in theory it will highlight to a bot the nodes to go harvest.  I need to see more from the system to tell me this will be fun and engaging for players otherwise it will fall into bot-category in my opinion.

 The variability based on world conditions does have some promise to combat bots as resources will not always be in the same spot in the same area in perpetuity like they are in games like New World.  It will also reward players that stay knowledgeable on the state of the world and what is going on.  Combined with the "open world PvP" (which I honestly don't think will stick, but for argument we'll assume they do) this could really set gathering as a job players can be known for.

 However, I question how this complexity may discourage players from just sitting back and enjoying the actual activity.  There is something to be said for the simplicty of New Worlds gathering; see a rock - hit a rock - get smaller rocks and maybe a gem.  See a tree - hit a tree - get logs and maybe some sap.  Maybe the blue glowing tree requires a higher skill level to chop and it tells you that when you approach.  No pre-scanning an area, no needing to break through a top layer to see whats underneath, and really no wasted time or movements.  Players just chop one tree to the next and it is ever so satisfying!

 Sometimes simple is just better.  What do you think?

 

 

Sunday 11/13/2022 Post

 Still the two-time reigning NFL MVP.

Cheeks can un-clench now.

Crowfall: Going Dark on Nov 22nd

Crowfall is going offline Nov 22nd (what a birthday present for me!).

Hello Crows!

Over the past few months, we’ve been evaluating the current state of Crowfall. One of the biggest challenges has been the sheer amount of development effort required to build new campaigns and keep the game running daily. In order to refocus our efforts from live operations to development, we have decided to take the Crowfall live service offline for the time being.

On November 22, 2022, at 11 AM CST, Crowfall will go dark, and the game servers will be unavailable. Until the service goes offline, take this time to try out all of the cool buildings, mounts, and emotes for free in the Crowfall store.

We're going to use this time to map out the future of the game. We have yet to determine what that looks like, but we are investing in and rethinking every part of the game - from the core technology and tools to art, design, and gameplay. Nothing is off the table.

We'll share the plan with the community as it shapes up.

We want to thank Crowfall players for their support, feedback, and patience since Monumental purchased the game.

The Crowfall Team

 Not surprising to be honest.  The game launch was lackluster and struggled to find an audience.  I don't feel the game was unplayable but it really didn't offer anything to your average player.  To be honest if you wanted to enjoy any part of the game you needed to be part of the in-crowd and the in-crowd had all sorts of exploitation to game the system which made it irritating to be part of.  I had an enjoyable run but as a mostly-solo player being forced into waiting around for guilds to do something meant there was nothing for me in the game.

I will be curious if Crowfall comes out of this dark period.  I could see the cost to re-develop not being worth it, but that would really make me wonder why it was acquired in the first place.  As an early backer on Kickstarter I do want to see Crowfall realized into a live service game so hopeful they are taking the down time to make a serious development effort around the game.  If they do relaunch I'll be there to give it a try.

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 7: Greatsword Part 2 )

For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition 
• Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems 
• Part 4: Greatsword 
• Part 5: Nightveil Hallow 
• Part 6: Revamped Starting Experience

Part 7 (maybe 4.5): Greatsword Part 2 - read on!

 In my first impressions post about the greatsword I mentioned I had not yet played with it. Well that has changed and I am here to tell you all about it.  I grabbed one off the market and hit the weapon experience grind spots to make it to weapon level 20.  Then I took it into some PvP.  Holy **** this weapon is good!

 The greatsword feels better than any weapon I've used in New World.  The hit tracking and mix of capabilities it brings are phenomenal.  Its flexability between defensive and offensive capability is unrivaled.  I now want every weapon to feel as good as greatsword does.

 I want to key in on the hit tracking for the weapon; sometimes called homing or seeking.  New World has an action oriented combat system so players hit where they are aiming.  This is fine and good with ranged weapons, but it is problematic for melee attacks, especially in PvP, so to compensate the game helps melee attacks cheat a little bit by locking onto their target.  Greatsword seems on another level as far as its tracking and was much easier to ensure hits with.  Combined with some great mobility skills and I was slaying enemies left and right.

 Another key that makes greatsword great is the area of effect of the light and heavy attacks.  The attacks swing far and wide and have superior reach compared to other weapons.  Where with a warhammer I can rarely hit a target right in front of me I have NO ISSUE hitting with greatsword. I also understand why I've been getting wrecked in PvP by greatsword; it literally doesn't seem to be able to miss!

Watch out - greatsword coming at ya!

 Contributing to the "don't miss" is also the greatsword abilities, at least from the Onslaught tree, is that the player has agency over all parts of the attack.  For example there is Cross Cut which is a three-part attack.  Instead of being locked into an animation that goes in one direction I can twirl and twist my camera and character around to ensure the three attacks land on target.  There are also other attacks where bonus attacks can be triggered mid animation.  It feels so good compared to weapons like warhammer where you have zero control once that animation starts and your opponent can literally just "walk away" from the attack in PvP to avoid it.

 I am in love with the greatsword now and rapidly building towards a medium bruiser build with great axe.  Even without gear or experience I was instantly wrecking players in PvP and that was just taking my frontline tank build and swapping in a greatsword fully specced in onslaught.  With heavy armor you often feel so underpowered for damage but greatsword makes up for so much of that its crazy.  And I've seen the defensive tank build with greatsword and the defensive skill tree; literal unkillable turtles.

 Greatsword: 12/10!  Note: I fully expect a nerf as this is crazy strong and explains why every 3v3 arena, OPR, and open world encounter seems to heavily feature greatswords.

 Have you tried greatsword?  Agree/disagree?  Leave a comment.

 

 

 

"This build. Has. It. All." and Melee Sucks! (New World: Greatsword/Great Axe Build)

 Don't have much for today so just going to highlight a greatsword/great axe build I saw on YouTube (snarky comments about melee sucking included!).  Based on my experience getting wrecked by greatsword players in PvP this definitely seems like a legit "has it all" build to quote the video's creator.

Enjoy!

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 6: Revamped Starting Experience)

 For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition 
• Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems 
• Part 4: Greatsword 
• Part 5: Nightveil Hallow

Part 6: Revamped Starting Experience - read on!

 With the Brimstone Sands update there was also a massive change to the new player experience and the level 1-25 quest and related storyline.  This also includes big changes to zones and some towns.  Big visual changes are also part of the package.  While I have not done much of the new experience I do have some thoughts from the part that I have done.

 First the biggest part that jumps out is the visual changes to towns like Monarch's Bluff.  Gone is the rickety fishing village vibe replaced by a castle worthy of King Arthur.  While its a shock initially the feeling wears off quickly once you realize, for the most part, the layout and structure is the same.  It is also wore on me as far as theme as it does not feel like the New World I know and love.  I wouldn't say it takes away but I actually liked the fishing village vibe.  For new players this is likely not an issue as the general feedback from many new players is "I love it!".

 There are also other big visual points of interest in the revamped new player experience up through level 25.  The "castle worthy of King Arthur" is a recurring theme here as players run across massive castles everywhere. Visually stunning when viewed from afar but again, for the New World OG like myself, it just feels out of place when we still have literal "slapped together boards" towns like Reekwater.  

Castle; pretty!

 Fortunately the new points of interest are explored on the back of new and interesting quests.  There is still the "loot X chests" quests, but there is a variety of new quest experiences to go with them.  There are escort quests, go blow stuff up quests, dodge under the lasers quests, and plenty of interesting find and kill things quests.  This carries through level 25 before going back to the originaly-release-experience to level 60.

 I will give credit to the team for the new quest designs and experience up to level 25 but players will be in for a culture shock as they get to end game and are back to the "loot chests" loops.  Personally I have no problem with the "loot chests".  The chests are really just a driver from point A to B and where New World has always won me over is all the stuff that happens between A and B; especially if you are PvP flagged.

 In conclusion: 5/10 on the revamped experience; at least for this New World OG.  I can understand other players returning to the game for fresh start, who were expecting a different experience, heaping praise on the changes.  For me though it is a skin on top of what existed and a skin that feels misplaced.  Once the full experience is put together from 1-60 I will re-evaluate.

 Have you tried the revamp?  Playing on a fresh start server?  Leave a comment or ten.

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 5: Nightveil Hallow)

 For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition 
• Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems 
• Part 4: Greatsword

Part 5: Nightveil Hallow - read on!

 A little untimely as the event is over, but I wanted to share my thoughts on the Nightveil Hallow event that was part of the Brimstone Sands update.  Nightveil Hallow was New World's Halloween Event and it brought bubbling cauldrons and an open world boss to fight.

Bubbly!

 The first noticeable part of the event were the large bubbling cauldrons in each town; visually stunning and thematic!  Next to the cauldrons was an event vendor and quest giver.  One of the changes I liked with this event was that there were only two reputation levels and players could quickly get to the second level just by completing the questline.  This meant all reward levels were available to players without any grinding required which was very nice considering the massive amount of other new content that was also available at the same time (new zone, new expedition, new weapon, etc).

 To get tokens for the event players were tasked with defeating Baalphazu and his cast of minions.  Baalphazu was an open world boss fight that takes a large number of players to defeat as not only are you fighting Baalphazu but also his never ending waves of creatures.  A good number of tokens were rewarded for each kill and combined with ease of access to reward tiers it meant with some part time effort players could get the rewards they wanted from the event.  This was a big win compared to other events that required constant daily grinding to get the best rewards.

 The fight had a few unique mechanics; mainly throwing pumpkins at him to break his defense down so players could take down his life (if the defense bar was not depleted via pumpkin tossing he had greatly increased damage reduction).  Creepy crawly pumpkin headed enemies would spawn and once killed dropped the pumpkins that players could pick up and chuck.  Baalphazu also featured a few tricks with a pull and bomb mechanic followed by cascading damage waves.  There is nothing like seeing 50+ players all of a sudden get sucked in and then wiped out!

 Since the fight was open world and lots of players were interested in killing Baalphazu the fight was never much of a challenge and just a question of "how long".  While there were the mechanics with waves of spawning minions and the pull-everyone-in-and-bomb-them there was always enough players left alive or coming back (since you could create a camp right next to the boss spawn) to keep the fight going.  

 I'd of preferred seeing some sort of cooldown for players killed before they could rejoin the fight.  I don't necessarily want special events to be  "hard" but I'd prefer if more of these types of open world fights didn't boil down to throwing a zerg at it and have a camp located right next to the event boss.  Same goes for Elite points of interest in the open world; they just favor zergs and camping right next for fast respawn.  A little more challenge is all I am asking for to encourage players to pay more attention.

 Over all I enjoyed the event.  It didn't ask me for a lot of my time and gave me some cool skins and an awesome house pet I stop by daily to water in my house (yes, you literally can water your pumpklin buddy - see video embedded below). Rating: 8/10

 

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 4: Greatsword)

 For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition 
• Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems

Part 4: Greatsword - read on!

  With the Brimstone Sands update the New World developers brought to the game the quintessential fantasy MMORPG weapon: big honking swords (aka greatswords).  Players can now slap overly large swords over the top of their ridiculously large great axes and warhammers to complete that anime-but-if-anime-was-in-colonial-times look.  A bit snarky, but the swords are massive and I am here with some thoughts.

 First a note on the image included.  This is one of my all time favorite fantasy images.  Not only because of the honking big sword but also the entire outfit comes together in a "don't try me bro" way.  I used this image as the base for my guild recruiting poster back in the Warhammer Online days ("ask not what your guild can do for you but what you can do for your guild").  Needless to say; I'm a fan of big swords.

 But I cannot tell a lie.  I have not actually played with the greatsword myself so this impressions post will be entirely from the perspective of a player getting repeatedly wrecked by them in PvP.  Spoiler: a new weapon released in New World is stronger than others!

 The weapon as I understand it is broken into a stance mechanic whereby players activate and stay in a stance based on skills used.  Stances bring innate advantages and boil down to a defensive or offensive stance.  This is a unique weapon compared to others in the game and the stance mechanism is allowing it to fit into multiple play styles.  In fact I'd say it has hit the trifecta: great with light armor rollie pollies, great for medium armor bruisers, and great as a tanking weapon for heavy armor.  

 Regardless of stance; one thing the greatsword has going for it is mobility with players leaping and slashing their way to their opponents.  It seems whether you play the offensive side or defensive side there is a focus on mobility with the weapon.  

 Another unique aspect of the weapon is it scales equally off strength or dexterity where as most weapons have a primary stat they scale off of and a secondary.  This equal split approach for the greatsword means players can get a lot out of both the dex and str attributes and weapons that pair with either.  This is why I think we are seeing it paired up with everything from bow to heavy sword/shield tanks.

 As far as my experience playing against the greatswords?  I have definitely learned I need to stay and fight greatswords which unfortunately is not a great proposition for a heavy armor player such as myself.  My damage is too low to get through their defensive stance and their damage is so high on offense that it shreds right through the heavy armor I wear.  I have also seen the medium greatsword/great axe bruisers dominate in 1vX situations in PvP arenas and Outpost Rush.

 Speaking of heavy armor and greatsword there are some "turtle" builds popping up that make tanks look nigh unkillable.  The defensive side of the greatsword offers a ton of versatility for the defensive tank player so makes a perfect compliment to sword/shield.  At the same time it also brings the mobility and scaling off STR so feels like a perfect match.  I may have to swap it for my warhammer in my heavy frontline tank build...

 As can be guessed so far by my comments the greatsword is in its honeymoon phase and is every where.  I think this is a good sign for future weapon designs that a new weapon can function across the spectrum but it does create a gap with the existing weapons that don't enjoy this sort of flexibility.  Time will tell.

 What are your thoughts?

 

New World Brimstone Sands Impressions (Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems)

 For my other impressions of Brimstone Sands

• Part 1: Quests 
• Part 2: The Ennead Expedition

Part 3: Heartrunes and Runeglass Gems - read on!

 Heartrune? Heartgem? Runegem? Runeglass?  Apologies if you are confused as the names of the new heartrunes and runeglass gems sound similar and changed names during the testing period.  The Brimstone Sands update for New World brought some new toys to the end game.  Here are some thoughts on each.

 First we have the heartrunes (aka heart gems).  These runes grant players an extra ability to use alongside their weapon abilities which means a player has a fourth active ability at any given time.  They can be thought of as an ultimate ability as there is a charge up period before the rune can be used.  They are a neat concept and bring an extra layer of diversity to players without giving a strict power increase.

 Heartrunes can also be upgraded to give them perks for different effects (more damage, slow enemies, etc).  It is not readily apparent in game they can be upgraded but like many end game activities in MMORPGs the information is available on external websites.  The upgrades do require players to first acquire the minor version of the heartrune which are currently all part of expeditions; either dropped from the last boss or crafted via materia.  

 The materia crafting cost, 8,000 per minor rune, is pretty dumb as 99.9% of players will unlock it via completing the expedition long before they ever get to 8,000 materia.  I have no idea where they came up with this number for crafting from materia so I hope it changes otherwise the recipe should not exist.

 Another issue I find with the upgrade process is the materials required for each are all over the board in what they require; with some requiring a new "writ of adventure" which you get from faction vendor (20,000 freaking tokens) or Brimstone Sands quests.   As far as I can tell these writs only go into those five specific rune upgrades.  I am not sure we needed yet another legendary crafting component; especially one that costs that freaking much.

 The legendary upgraded versions of the runes bring a lot of variety and I can see using multiple different ones on my different builds.  There is a stoneform for defensive builds, vining to slow players down, and any number of buff/debuff in between.  There is also the standard "do damage" runes which is a bit unfortunate as I'd of hoped the runes would stick to utility and not just adding a damage ability.

 I do have a concern that the detonate (big bomb damage) is the "go to" for your average player.  I can see where the developers maybe wanted it to help break up clumps in modes like war, but while detonate is a great clump buster it is also just an extra damage spike tool that favors light armor DPS rolling all over the place killing things.  Especially with the brutal upgrade where you get higher damage but take more damage while charging; which means light dodge is basically required so you can dodge into your target right as it explodes.  

 So far in Outpost Rush it very much seems like detonate is the go to.  I have died more to it than any single skill I can remember.  The animation is also terrible in groups; you have no realistic idea if its your teams or the enemy teams detonate and if you are detonating its difficult to see if your opponent also starts a detonate.  Ideally detonate would result in your own death (i.e. you are blowing yourself up), but its just another big damage spike ability.  Sigh.

 Enough about heartrunes.  The other toy added was runeglass gems.  These new gems are used to slot into equipment the same as regular gems but bring small advantages over the regular gems.  For example; punishing runeglass brings extra damage to any gem type.  The advantages are small enough that it's not game breaking even when stacked on all gear.  

 The only downside is the runeglass cases are super expensive to craft and thus won't make much sense on PvE gear that requires constant gem changes for mutations.  They will also make top end PvP gear that much more expensive exasperating the problem of best-in-slot PvP gear being too expensive and limited to the big companies with the big gold piles.

 Some ideal changes for runeglass gems would be letting you take them out of gear so you can use them again or maybe you can slot regular gems over the top of them and swap back to the runeglass later; this way the runeglass is more permanent while regular remains dispensable.  Also maybe dial back the crafting requirements and/or make the unique materials available in more than just Brimstone Sands.  I already dread that I am going to be putting a 30,000 gold gem in my 15,000 gold weapon or 5,000 gold armor.

 Heartrunes and runeglass gems bring something for players to invest time and energy into and while offering some power creep to the "haves" vs the "have nots" it is not enough to break the game.  This is a good move in the direction of horizontal progression instead of strict vertical progression.  With a few tweaks to be friendlier to players they will offer a lot of options.  Without changes they will be longer term goals for many players.  Either way I like both and think they are a good addition to the end game.

 What are your thoughts?  Share a comment or two.