TYFP

I participated in the closed Beta and had a blast. There are some minor kinks to work out but the game is very close to a launch-able state. 

I’ll break down my review into sections below but I’d like to start with a general overview and what my intentions were during the beta.

General Overview

I played almost every day of the test, and was with my company the entire time. I participated in several wars, both fighting for my faction and as a mercenary for a different faction. I have the benefit of being in a company that has a very active and knowledgeable officer cadre, and benefited greatly from it.
I leveled to mid game, as I didn’t take advantage of any of the exploits people used to rush through levels.

I reached mid mastery on several weapons as well, and went through a couple different respecs to try different builds.

Character Builds

This is one area that while it is functional, the meta was pretty easily figured out. By stacking CON stats and ignoring others stats you very quickly overwhelm incoming attacks, and eventually reach a point where no one, no matter what the stack, can do enough damage to kill you, and results in the meta being tank builds slap fighting each other for eternity. The only other builds are speccing for a main stat for play in war or dungeons; usually dexterity if you’re DPS and focus if you’re a healer.

In war the tank build or healer build becomes the norm, and you see piles of tanks camping on the capture points with nuclear heals coming in. 

While this is the apparent meta now, and is very disappointing to see; it’s important to remember that we haven’t seen sustained endgame content and so as itemization of crafted items and higher level reward items comes into play we may see the optimal builds become more varied.

PvE

PvE is fun, and the environments are varied. The skill level for defeating AI mobs is very low though, and after a few hours you have your enemies and yourself pretty much figured out. Skeletons and zombies on their feet have a couple set attack patterns for their weapons. The half zombie torsos have their sets. The wolves have the same moves, etc. 

Bosses in excavations are a bit more varied at first, but then you realize they are being used as elite open world enemies in other areas. The strategies to beat them usually revolve around kiting them, but there are a couple mechanics you have to deal with that are a bit more creative than big monsters charging at you.

PvP

PvP is where this game really shines, as there are multiple ways to enjoy it, and it can be enjoyed at almost any level, in fact the only hard level requirement is that you must be level 60 to participate in outpost rushes, which I have no experience with.
The game utilizes a flagging system, where you opt in and out of PvP while in a town. You receive a small EXP buff as long as you are questing with your PvP flag enabled. Most importantly is their PvP scaling, a much maligned system in other games but absolutely necessary and quite rewarding in its implementation in New World.
Unlike in WoW where you were given false information on your HUD compared to what was actually happening, the scaling takes place immediately and in your stats, not your damage, so you never see an instance where you deal 1000 damage but they only take 50. The system allows all players, regardless of level, the opportunity to participate in the critical territory mechanics that are one of the main points of the game. Without the PvP scaling in prior alpha testing high level players griefed lower level players so badly that people quit the test in large numbers. In this current stat, higher level players still do have some noticeable advantages: they have higher weapon mastery which gives them more abilities and passives, more gear affixes from bonuses and gems, and more equipment/item slots, as well as higher level consumables.
There is an ongoing battle on the forums right now between the majority of people who support keeping the scaling, and roughly 10% of the population that want scaling gone. Their argument is that because they grinded to a higher level they should be able to one shot low level players. Obviously, this is the toxic behavior that ruined PvP centric titles in the past, and makes New World PvP a test of skill and not gear. The territory control mechanics in the game are very satisfying when you are in power and definitely put a fire under your ass to take territory from people abusing tax systems and town upgrades.

The game leads to some interesting power dynamics and shaky alliances, all of which are every bit as dramatic as a Game of Thrones plot, but wherein people meme on each other and teabag the fallen.
Some interactions can be exceedingly toxic between rival companies or factions, since there is no boundary in communications, and sometimes even between companies in the same faction. You can choose not to personally engage in this behavior, but regardless of your faction, these interactions and personal dramas will paint your game world and your experience, for better or worse.

There are currently some checks against a sole faction conquering the entire map, however it remains to be proven to work long term. The main deterrence to engaging in wars is cost, however some companies are able to raise funds for wars quite quickly.

Duels are fun, especially the implementation of group duels. 

Open world conflicts are varied and interesting, as they can start with something small, like a small group of enemies killing a lone enemy. They come back to the same area to finish their pvp quests with friends, and before long, multiple large groups are patrolling areas of the map, taking choke points and roads, and calling out positions in voice comms in discord.

Combat and Weapons

The combat is very simple compared to tab/target MMOs you are most likely used to. Instead of a horde of hotkeys to click, you have 3 abilities to use per weapon equipped, and you can carry two weapons, so you switch between 2 sets of three buttons to press. Some have diminished attack power coupled with a status effect, and some have amped up damage. You learn these abilities as you level up your weapon mastery levels. In addition to these abilities there are lots of passives to unlock as well and these can drastically change the way you fight.

The testers and forums attempted to create various metas out of the weapons, and aside from using the sword/shield as a tank or life staff as a healer, people would usually find new ways of using different weapons to break assumed metas pretty quickly. Ultimately by the end of the test, the meta was actually worked out by the same person who broke down the constitution build meta. By making yourself tanky, and then using the great axe and hatchet, you are almost undefeatable, unless someone has such a higher skill level than you that they are able to sustain themselves through perfect play while you make so many mistakes that you effectively beat yourself. The basic gist of this is that this weapon combination boosts your effect life pool, your run speed, and grants you crowd control that prevents enemies from escaping or dodging.

Crafting

Coming from FFXIV to this game leaves the crafting system feeling very boring, you simply click the recipe name and a craft button if you have the materials. Where this game’s crafting is done well, is that you have choices of materials to farm or use, and you can select your own affixes by using special crafting items. In the early game, your crafted items are significantly underpowered against dropped or rewarded items, however once you are able to access rarer materials and have higher skill levels you can craft some decent enough items. 

New World is in pretty good shape right now, and the biggest problems people have with it tend to be more about their hurt feelings that they can’t grief newbies. The character progression system needs some work to shift it away from such a demnted meta. The pvp scaling could use some tweaks (there have been several instances of lower leveled classes being able to severely disadvantage higher level players), and the territory control systems might need a reworking at later server ages. They will need to keep a close eye on population balance to avoid faction imbalances from getting out of control.

But overall, New World is fun to play, the world is fun to explore, the story is somewhat plain, but is enjoyable. The deeper relationships formed between allies and enemies, especially at the company and faction level.

That’s all I have for now, the beta test was fun, and the game is in a pretty polished state. I can’t wait to see you all in Aeternum.