New World Head Of Player Experience Talks About Combat, Learning Curve, And PvP
The first New World beta test is just a little over a month away and eager fans are devouring every scrap of information about the upcoming 17th century survival MMO. Last week, Head of Player experience David Verfaillie sat down with MMORPG.com to talk about the game’s key features including combat, crafting, new player experience, and PvP.
According to Verfaillie, they want to make combat stand apart from other action RPGs by making it more engaging with heavier attacks that have a noticeable impact on the enemy. They also made the hit system more precise to encourage players to be more strategic with their attacks. “We simulate the hit volumes for actual weapons on the server and simulate the defensive capsules per limb for the character,” he explained. “So what that does is create a very precise combat system where positioning timing, and all those factors really make a big difference in the outcome of battle.”
Of course, the combat system will take a while to get used to, especially blocking, which isn’t normally done in other MMORPGs. The devs hope to ease new players into blocking through PvE mobs. The first mobs that players take on will have slow, well-telegraphed attacks, gradually increase in difficulty and attack speed as players progress through the game.
Verfaillie also touches on the game’s open class system where players can freely choose their weapons, armor, and attribute point distribution to match their playstyle and their preferred role in combat. Players will also be able to wield up to three weapons that they can switch up depending on the situation. “So for instance, if you're dealing with, you know, a group of archers high up on a perch, you might switch to your sword and shield so you can block the incoming arrows is you sort of close the distance. If there were like a group of easier enemies all charging you, you might go with the fire staff and do large amounts of AOE damage to whittle them down.”
As for PvP, Verfaillie says that player will be able to opt-in to open-world PvP by joining a faction and flagging themselves for PvP combat. Players can then stay flagged until they decide to opt-out. Opting-in to PvP will allow players to take on PvP missions for their faction. Players also have the option to completely stay away from PvP and just stick to PvE missions and Invasions. Players, however, will need to flag themselves for PvP to join Territory Wars.
While we’re on the subject of Territory Wars, you can watch out a new 30-minute gameplay demo of the game’s key PvP feature just after the jump. Closed beta testing starts on July 23rd.
