New World Plans To Remove Expertise System And Umbral Shards In Season 3

Amazon Game Studio has dropped another Balance of Power episode for New World’s ongoing Forged in Aeternum video series. This time around, the developers talk about major balance changes coming in the open-world MMORPG’s third season.

Of particular note is the removal of the expertise system as part of the team’s efforts to streamline progression and make it less stressful for players. The team is also looking into possibly revamping or removing Umbral Shards and have more powerful gear simply drop at higher levels instead.

According to the devs, a certain piece of gear might be useful to a character at one point but not necessarily in the long-run. This forces players to choose whether they want to spend Umbral Shards to crank up its gear score or save them up for more suitable long-term gear. Having higher-tier gear just drop as they progress through the game removes the need to choose altogether.

Creative Director David Verfaille, Lead Seasons Designer Patrick Smedley, and Senior Product Manger Drew Higbee explain further in the new Balance of Power episode below.