New World: Azoth Salt and PvP Reward Tracks

 In New World's big PvP update earlier this year they introduced PvP reward tracks and a new currency called azoth salt.  This salt can be earned from instanced PvP modes such as arenas or outpost rush, but is also earned for having your PvP flag on while adventuring in the open world.  The salt is then used to buy items from the PvP reward track, but only after a player earns experience points to unlock a track level.  The current situation is most players have maxed out azoth salt (you can have up to 100,000 total) but have nothing to spend it on since salt is earned a lot faster than PvP tracks are earned.  Here are some ideas to change this system up.

The biggest change that could be made is how the PvP tracks work.  Each level has three unlock points and until you make a selection all PvP experience is lost.  This is just a bad design and I've lost so much PvP experience because I forgot to buy something from the reward track and thus open the next track up to receive experience.  There is also the possibility early on before a player builds up a pile of azoth salt that they can't buy a reward in a track so have to decide whether to lose out on PvP experience to wait for more salt or just move on and lose the reward.  Also worth noting is the rewards unlocked are random each time so passing over a best in slot item is a real risk and it may be a long time before you see it again.

New World PvP Reward Tracks

The better way for PvP tracks to work would be to have a vendor you get access to different tiers of rewards as you level up and can just use the azoth salt to get those targeted rewards.  There can still be a chance to get it at a reduced cost via random track reward, but also offering it for a higher fixed cost from a vendor makes a lot of sense. 

Also PvP tracks need to be changed so PvP experience rolls over to the next track.  It's an ultimate feel bad if you lose 1,999 out of 2,000 experience because you only needed 1 experience to max out that track.

Consistent predictable progression with a sprinkling of random reward is always the best bet in this type of game.  Amazon Game Studios (AGS) added a similar method to this idea with materia from expeditions.  There is a chance to get a named drop from an expedition but if you don't luck out on that drop you still earn materia for completing the expedition.  Once you have enough materia you can craft the named drop you weren't lucky enough to have drop.

Another idea for azoth salt is to let us salvage it.  Just off the name alone I'd love to be able to salvage it into azoth and salt.  Azoth for all of the new ways we can use it in crafting and refining; salt as a key ingredient in cooking that is not nearly as widely available as it should be.

Azoth Salt Vials

 

Making other uses for azoth salt would go a long ways as well.  Since it's PvP related letting it be converted into faction tokens would be a good idea.  AGS also seems to like adding new functions to the gypsum kilns so maybe a kiln recipe that includes azoth salt.  Anything that allows me to use it outside of just the PvP reward track would be an improvement.

At my current azoth salt gain rate I will never run out if all I am buying are rewards off the PvP track.  I will continue to be at the salt cap feeling bad that any new salt I earn is being lost to a blackhole.  Reducing how much salt I earn is NOT a good idea as I don't want to have to make decisions about progressing a track so I don't lose experience if I have to wait around for salt to come in to get a track reward.  Keep the current salt gain rate and just give us new stuff to do with it!

Are you a sweaty azoth-salt-drenched PvP player in New World?  If so what are your thoughts?  If not what do you think?