New World PvE

 I made a lengthy reply on Reddit about PvE opportunities in New World Aeternum.  It gained some traction and has been shared a few times on different subreddits.  I wanted to capture a version of it for the blog and long term keeping.

The question asked: "Just bought it! How is the PVE? Is the loot drop rewarding as well?"

My answer:

PvE during leveling is a good experience; you will get a lot of enjoyment out of that.  The game has some of the best "cinematic experiences" for expeditions (aka dungeons) and personally my first trip through some of them such as Tempest Heart were a visual treat (though "story mode" expeditions are very easy challenge wise).

The "rewarding loot drop" depends on who you ask.  New World has a classless system where your build is determined by your gear.  Gear is variable with 3 perks, a gem slot (except on some special items), and which attribute bonus (INT, STR, CON, etc) it has.  What is "best" for a piece of armor, a weapon, or a jewelery thus has variability.  It is not like other games where that one raid drops that one tank sword that every tank has to get.

The game also drops a lot of gear and I mean A LOT; more in the line of a Diablo type game than a normal MMO.  Most of that gear is randomly generated and is basically garbage that you will just salvage.  That goes all the way through end game where a lot of gear drops are just underwhelming.

The game does have a system called "loot biasing" where gear from many end game chests (elite, expedition, etc) will match close to the gear you are currently wearing. So if you are heavy armor with INT as your highest attribute you will likely see heavy armor with INT as the highest attribute.  Unforutnately this comes up short because it doesn't consider weapons and armor drops with weapon perks for other weapons. I personally feel like this is a miss that they should fix with the system.  A heavy armor piece with INT is great if thats my build but if it drops with a flail weapon perk and I don't use a flail its just one more piece of gear I need to salvage down.

But that is just the gemeral loot drop system.  There is lots of "named" items in the game that drop with locked in perks and many end game named items let you upgrade the item to 700 gear score and set the 3rd perk to your choice (there are "perk buckets" with rules so its not any perk, but lots of options to choose what the 3rd perk is).

Then there are artifacts tied to specific content.  Often it drops after a few tries and has pity mechanics so you do get it to drop. Artifacts are end game armor, weapons, and jewelery that you will build entire builds around.  It feels good to get an artifact to drop after working towards it!  And there is a ton of artifacts in the game now and are in every lane of gameplay from solo PvE to group PvE.

Expedtions are a main PvE end game activity; specifically the mutated version.  Each week new expeditions get mutated and have levels 1-3.  "M3" aka mutation level 3 is the hardest.  Mutated expeditions are where many artifacts are obtained and they drop a ton of other rewards, but as mentioned its hit or miss on how great those drops are (most not so much).  Mutated expeditions are also a good way to get dark matter drops for end game loot upgrades which is a necessary part of the end game.

More recently they added the first raid to the game.  It is 10 person and is the hardest end game PvE content.  Many players complain about it being too hard for casual groups if that gives you a sense.  Personally I think its spot on; hard for a pick up group to complete but not impossible; while still being challenging for organized groups.

The raid offers gear up to gear score 725, the new max, and drops rare schematics for crafting which is where a lot of the true best end game gear comes from outside of artifacts.  The artifacts that drop from the raid are also sought after; some pick up groups solely focus on just getting past the first boss just to get folks the artifact that boss drops.  The issue though is the raid drops rewards only once per week; once done with your weekly run there is no reward for repeating.

There is also a 20 person sand wurm "raid" that is a single boss fight with good end game drops as well.

With that said there is tons of ways as a solo PvE player to get 700 gear score gear and it's not hard.  While 725 is the new max; 700 is more than capable in PvE and PvP.  Artifacts can all be upgraded to 725 so many folks end up with 3x artifacts (max you can have in a build is 1 weapon, 1 armor, and 1 jewelery artifact) and 700 on the rest.

While not your traditional "rewarding loot drops" of other MMOs you can set your sights on the gear you want and work in PvE towards it.  Crafting is also a source for tons of end game gear and plenty of PvE activity can be done to earn gold to fund your own crafting or buy from crafters/trading post.

I personally really like that as a mostly solo player I can play this game and match the hardest of the hardcore in builds and capabilities on my character.  Having a group makes it easier to get stuff like the raid or mutated expeditions done, but not a requirement at all in this game.  That is the biggest selling point for me.  As I said I am 4,000+ hours in, have maxed everything, have a maxed build I love playing, and dabble in PvE and PvP.

Season 7: New World PvP Servers

 By the time you are reading this the New World season 7, Season of the Conqueror, will have launched and with it a new set of seasonal PvP servers.  These limited time seasonal servers feature accelerated leveling and a special ruleset that will change each season.  This season will focus on PvP with forced PvP flagging after level 15 and with new gear that drops on death.  Will the PvP crowd finally show up for a PvP focused update in New World?

 The New World team has a long post detailing the PvP servers, but for context here are the main points:

• PvP flagging is forced on at level 15
• Leveling speed is increased
• Special equipment can be crafted for reduced material costs that is stronger than normal equipment but the equipment drops on death and has durability so can break.

 This is basically as close as New World will have gotten to it's original intention to be a PvP focused sandbox with gear dropping on death.  The question is will this be enjoyable and worth the time?

 A big issue I have with the approach here is that these are seasonal servers where I need to start a new character from scratch.  I have 4,000 hours in this game, almost all of it on a single character, so my immediate interest in a new character is limited.  Throw in that the PvP server goes away at the end of the season in a couple months and the draw is even weaker.  Why get invested in something that is repeating what I've already done and that is going away?

 Also the more I looked at the details the more I wondered about the changes made to support PvP.  The main change is the introduction of the ethereal crafting and conqueror's gear.  I like that the gear will drop on death and can change hands, but the bonuses mentioned in the post seem questionable on whether its worth the hassle to obtain/keep.  Why deal with gear you can lose when all of the other gear in the game is going to be available?

 The main issue with the PvP-drop-on-death gear is that there are only a couple weapons and only heavy armor pieces at the end game.  So if you want to play a build that doesn't fit that criteria then you will use gear that doesn't come with the associated risk of being lost.  Add in the skill ceiling in New World's action combat I suspect we will see a lot of players taking zero risk with "no-drop builds" and letting their skill overcome the gap in gear.

 I do like that they are unlocking mounts and heartrunes without players needing to complete the quests, but it seems well short of the number of changes I'd of expected to foster PvP.  One of the big issues I've seen discussed is that instanced content such as expeditions, 3v3 arena, and outpost rush will all be available and be available as cross server to those on the PvP servers.  There will be players on PvP servers that sit in town doing instanced content on repeat, gaining gold and experience (PvE and PvP), and then maybe roll out to PvP when the itch strikes.  That seems like a huge miss on a PvP server where you want players out in the world.

 As a seasonal server it seems like a big miss to keep cross server activity and instanced content.  The focus would have been better on getting players into the open world and hitting points of interest to drive conflict.  Why not take the ethereal crafting concept and extend it to provide access to all the gear that drops in expeditions or other instanced content?  Why, why, why keep instanced content on the seasonal PvP server!?

 If New World gave me a PvP server that was just the normal game with always on PvP and let me transfer my character to that server I'd be all over it.  I think being PvP flagged adds a ton to the game.  But all of the adjustments to make these seasonal worlds "different" don't seem to drive much in the way of PvP and thus I question whether it's worth the effort.  I am on the fence and not sure I'll partake.

The Angler No More

 Unfortunate news for fishing game fans.  Call of the Wild: the Angler has announced an end to development on the game.

 Anglers,

It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the end of development for Call of the Wild: The Angler. The Angler will remain playable both online and offline in its current state, and you’ll still be able to purchase and access the base game and all DLC content across all platforms. The big difference is that there won’t be any new content or updates moving forward.

Our vision with The Angler was to create a fresh take on the fishing sim genre, inspired by our love and passion for fishing and open-world games. It’s given us so much joy seeing your appreciation for the worlds we created and excitement in catching something new with each big update. We wouldn’t have made it these two-and-a-half years if we hadn’t listened very closely to our passionate community, and for that passion, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. However, maintaining the audience size necessary to support the continued development of this ambitious game proved more challenging than expected, so it’s time for the team to move on to other projects.

We understand that this may come as a surprise, and want you to know it was not an easy decision to make. Although the excitement of new content and updates has come to an end, we hope you’ll still enjoy reruns of in-game events and playing online with friends old and new. There’s much to explore in the five reserves as well.

It’s difficult to leave a project that was driven by so much passion, and we’ll always hold it dear, but we’re bringing our experience and expertise to new horizons within Avalanche Studios Group, so please cheer us on! We’re proud to say that our hard work and dedication brought the beauty of fishing (and boatloads of bad fishing puns) to players around the world.

A special shoutout to our moderators, who endured the aftermath of the Gold Green Sunfish and the Carpsucker Hunt of ‘24 (iykyk). And of course, the members of our Player Council, who put countless hours into feedback on updates and making them as good as possible for the rest of the Angler world.

Once again, we want to thank you all for the hours you’ve spent fishing so far, for all the feedback you’ve left us and all the fantastic memories and memes created so far!

Here’s to the great catches we’ve shared and to those that are still to come!

// Team Angler

 I had an on again / off again relationship with the game as you can see in my posting history for the game.  I enjoyed playing but felt the game came up short on being a great fishing experience.  At the end of the day it under delivered on the fishing experience so many of us fishing gamers wanted.  I will remember the times I got to digitally fish with my son but beyond that it was a forgettable arcade-like fishing game.  The good news is it sounds like it will still be available to play offline and will support mulitplayer for the foreseeable future.

Ashes of Creation Alpha 2 Pros Cons

At the end of my post covering the recent Narc-induced Ashes of Creation drama I alluded to considering paying to join the Alpha 2 testing for the game. This possibility took by brain to the same place it goes for all decision making: a pros and cons list!

Reasons NOT to pay to join Alpha 2

1. I've been burned by early access purchases before. Previous experiences have left me wary of spending money on games that are incomplete or fail to deliver on promises.
2. If the game never launches, what did I pay for? There’s always a risk the game could be delayed indefinitely or even canceled.
3. Paying to test a game incentivizes the developer to delay the final release. The financial support from testers could reduce the urgency to complete the game.
4. Early access trends are divisive. Many gamers dislike this model, and continuing to support it might perpetuate a trend some feel hurts the industry.
5. It’s a test, not a game. Bugs, performance issues, unfinished content, and limited features are to be expected, making it far from the polished experience of a launch-ready game.
6. Progress is temporary. Wipes, bugs, exploits, or other scenarios could reset any progress made during testing.
7. Toxic behavior is reportedly rampant. Reports of issues like mob training, ganking in towns due to no safe zones, and other toxic behaviors are happening frequently.
   
8. The cost is a significant lump sum. Spending $100+ upfront is a risk, especially if I end up disliking the state of testing due to bugs or performance issues.
9. Pressure to justify the expense. If I pay, I might feel obligated to play regardless of whether I’m enjoying myself, just to “get my money’s worth.”
10. Interest may wane. If there’s a long gap between test phases, I might lose interest.
    
11. There are better uses for the money. As my mother used to say “there are starving kids in Africa.”

Reasons TO pay to join Alpha 2

1. Launch periods are magical for MMORPGs. While this isn’t the full launch, it’s a formative period in the game’s life, offering a unique chance to experience its evolution firsthand.
2. Trusted content creators are enjoying it. Multiple creators I respect have expressed how much fun they’re having in the alpha, even after exhausting its limited content.
3. The cost is comparable to a subscription. If treated as a subscription, the $100+ cost could equate to less than $10 per month of access, assuming ongoing and reliable playability during the testing phase.
4. I’ve spent more on less promising games. Compared to other early access games I’ve supported, Ashes of Creation shows far more potential.
5. Financially, it’s not a concern. The cost is manageable for me and wouldn’t create any financial strain.
6. I want to influence the game design.   I see Ashes as a game that I will play and testing would give me a better avenue to provide feedback to hopefully shape the game to my desired outcome.
7. It would make my opinions more informed. I’ve criticized the game a lot, and playing it would give me firsthand insight to back up or refine my perspectives.

So what comes next?  To answer truthfully: I am not sure.  There is an itch I want to scratch by diving in, but a more rational side saying "you don't need to test the game; be patient".  Come back to the blog to see what side wins out!

Monday Screenshots: Winter Warrior No UI

 Every now and then I like to hide the UI in New World and sit back and admire how great the game looks.  I took a shot during the Winter Warrior event that is finishing up in the near future.

Later on I grabbed a no-UI shot in Cutlass Keys. If you look closely you will see a couple different players ascending the tower in search of doubloon-filled chests.

This game looks so great at times!

Sunday 1/12/2025 Post

 The Green Bay Packers put up another embarrassing loss in the playoffs and it was evident from the moment the opening kick off was fumbled and egregiously awarded to the Eagles even after numerous replay reviews showed clear recovery by the Packers.

Am I being fair to Ashes of Creation?

 If you browse my history of Ashes of Creation blog posts or read many of my comments on Reddit in the Ashes of Creation subreddit, especially around the recent Narc controversy, you will get a sense that I am critical of the game.  Skeptic, even, would be a good word to describe my view of Ashes.   But am I being fair in my criticism and skepticism?  Probably not but I need to get some things off my chest.

 In order for this to make sense you need to be up to speed on the drama created by Narc, a popular Ashes content creator on Youtube, who announced he was done with the game and can no longer recommend backing the game financially.  In the video Narc makes a range of points backed up by video.  Watch his video first:

 Steven Sharif, who started Intrepid Studios and is spending his own money to make Ashes a reality and serves as the creative director, did not take kindly to Narc's video.  First he responded publicly on Reddit and then he took to live streaming the current alpha test to disprove Narc's statements (with a specific focus around Narc's comments about the desert zone expansion).  It's along stream and can be watched here:

 Asmongold, a very popular and often considered toxic MMO streamer, then reacted to Narc's video. Surprisingly Asmongold stayed fairly neutral and wanted to hear more from both Narc and Steven on the topic.  First watch the original react video.

 Asmongold was able to then line up impromptu interviews with Narc, Steven Sharif, and Thor (Pirate Software) and get more of each side's view of the matter on the topic.  Another long video to watch but as the top comment on Youtube states "If you think I’m going to lay here watching this for 3 hours and 40 mins then you would be correct.".  So get watching.

 Once you've watched the above, which is an investment of time for sure, you should have the context for the rest of my thoughts shared below.

 First I want to point out that Ashes of Creation is a crowd funded game in a time period where there is not a great opinion of crowd funded games due to rampant fraud, scams, and failure to deliver related to crowd funded projects. Yes, Steven Sharif is making up the difference for development costs from his own pocket but the game is still at it's core a crowd funded project.

 Second it is worth noting that Ashes is charging for access to test the game.  Originally this was via more traditional crowd funding packages which were taken down for sale before the test was set to begin.  Right after the packages were taken down and assumed you could no longer buy access to the alpha test Steven announced new test-only access was available to purchase.  Charging for alpha access has been a bone of contention ever since.

 I mention the crowd funding and charging for alpha testing access because it sets the stage for a powder keg in the environment.  Add in a defensive, cult-like following for the game who practically worship Steven Sharif and it was inevitable something like Narc's video was going to set it off.

 The stage was set.  We have a crowd funded game with a feisty community and a "savior of all things MMORPGs" figure in Steven Sharif.  Toss in a spark of "I am quitting because the game isn't delivering what we paid for" from Narc's video and BOOM.

 My initial reaction to Narc's video was one of confirmation of my skepticism that Ashes of Creation could deliver the game that Steven has promised.  Or at the very least that the game that Steven promised was even farther away than we had hoped.  I wouldn't say I rushed to defend Narc's position but I did make many comments on Reddit that ended up defending his position.

 I still somewhat identify with Narc's points he made in his video but after seeing Steven's response, mediated by Asmongold, I can see where Narc cherry picked footage that exaggerated the point he was making.  In essence, Narc was not being fair to the progress the game has actually made.  The game came up short on his expectations but through words and selective video he overstated his opinion.

 I hesitate to say Narc flat out lied because at the end of the day he was ultimately sharing his opinion.  No amount of Steven flying around the world and showing things off will convince Narc that his opinion was wrong.  More importantly it is not hard to see that Narc had higher expectations due to the past developer updates and a lack of specificity about what was coming to the alpha test's .  When you are charging for access to a test and have a history of creating "fear of missing out" around crowd funding packages then the expectation of the buyer is always going to get a bit more weight from me.

 So I think Narc created a misleading video and based on his follow up comments assumed more viewers would have watched previous content to have a bigger picture of his view point.  In the end though Narc had expectations based on what he saw and what he heard that were not met.  This was the straw that broke the camel's back for his diehard interest in the game.  His video was his way to say so and that he could not longer in his own good version of faith recommend the game.

 Steven's response was one of measured response at first but veered into anger and I personally think Steven made a couple missteps when anger got the best of him but after seeing Narc's unhinged response targeting Steven (which I won't link) I will give Steven a pass.  More importantly is that Steven's response increased my interest in the actual state of Ashes of Creation because if anything positive has come out of this fiasco is a much better understanding of the state of the game.

 Also Steven can sell a compelling vision for the type of MMORPG I want to play.  Without prompting he clarified positions such as understanding his desire for PvP systems in the game that are not in line with most of the market but a game with PvP is the type of game he is making... period.  Good on him.  Stick with your guns.  I have skepticism on how it all comes together but now I know it's not an area of negotiation.  I can get behind developers that stick to a vision.

 Now how do I judge my own response?  First, I admit I took the bait and fell for Narc's video hook, line, and sinker.  I supported words like "lies" and used phrases like "legal action" when I should not have.  In the case of the legal action comments I made I will stand by them because crowd funded games are a hot topic in the legal space with many game projects being forced into refunding backers even when they are able to release games.

 My own view of Ashes is it is slow to deliver and I've been regularly unimpressed with their monthly updates so it was not hard to buy into Narc's point that the team is not delivering to previous updates that made the game seem further along than it is.  It is worth noting that Narc doubled down on the assertion when questioned by Asmongold and while Steven did show some more of the desert area I would still argue it is no where near what was shown in the preview showcase two years ago.  It is a valid question to ask why what is actually in the test two years later is lacking in comparison and how none of the stuff talked about two years ago is in yet (i.e. the desert dungeon).

 The topic around the desert area expansion is also the only real point that Steven was able to dispute via showing the current state of the game.  The other points Narc made were only refuted by "its coming later" and "game development is hard so things may change" response from Steven. Which brings us full circle to why my own view is still closer to the points made by Narc than maybe I want to admit.  

 There is a long ways to go for Ashes of Creation to become the game it set out to be and as a crowd funded game that is charging players to access test phases I am personally going to set a higher bar and be more skeptical in nature.  As Josh Strife Hayes, another well known MMORPG content creator on YouTube, once said "If a game costs 100$ I judge it for this price.".  

 Yes, this means I am admitting that much of the uproar around Narc's video is more due to Ashes charging for access than it is for the development misses towards some player's expectations.  A point that Asmongold hammered home when he spoke with Thor at the end of the "About Ashes of Creation" video.  So to a degree that means I have not been fair to Ashes of Creation's actual progress and thus puts me in the same light as Narc.

 So where do we go from here?  First, I need to get back into blogging more about Ashes and my thoughts about their development updates.  I told myself I wouldn't do it as I wanted to avoid my past mistakes made with being a WAR fanboy before it's ill-fated existence, but I'm too invested now and have said too many short sighted things to not broaden my body of work about Ashes.  Ashes is also one of the only games doing interesting things in the MMO space so I would be remiss not to pay closer attention and provide my feedback.

 Second, and probably craziest of all, this entire situation has made me consider buying into Alpha 2 access.  Why?  Because I did get misled in Narc's video and I would not have had I had more actual experience with the game.  There is a side of me that does not want to reward crowd funded games anymore but there is another side of me that says "you are just paying a subscription to play a game".  Because while it is a test, and to Steven's point "not a game to play yet", there still seems to be tons of folks like Nyce Gaming having a ton of fun testing it by playing it as a game!  New World is in a dry spell.  Throne and Liberty flamed out. I really don't have an MMO addiction at the moment so the itch is there.  I may actually do this and that will speak louder than any number of words I've put on page here.

Note: as I wanted this post to be as pure as possible no AI was used in editing this post so I own the grammar and spelling errors!

Sunday 1/5/2025 Post

 Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

Dec 2024 in review!

December 2024 is in the books so let's take a look back at the blog over that month.

The Blog

Blogger stats for Dec: 23,527 visits

 

Note: this is the last 30 days graph as of 1/2 so off by a day or two

 In other metrics:

• Posts:
  
• Target: 15 (weekdays minus holiday weeks/vacation)
  
• Posted: 10
  
• Difference: -5 (took some time off blogging just because)
  
•  Search Trends
• "new world inferno build", "inferno build new world", "new world flamethrower build" have been gaining momentum since New World Aeternum (NWA) launched thanks to my build post: Frigid Inferno Build. I need to take this rise in the search rankings as a sign that I need to update the build for all the changes with NWA (though it mostly stayed the same).
• "new world roadmap 2024", "new world 2024 roadmap", "new world road map 2024" dropped off the search radar this month which is not surprising as we enter 2025. This reminds me I still haven't posted about the "living roadmap" the New World developers gave us.
  
• "best battlefield game", "best battlefield", "best battlefield games" is proving it has a long run as it proceeds to drive traffic to Best Battlefield!? but that may be ending soon as I found this note on my Google Search Console today.
• 
  
  
  
  
• "deadlock invite not showing up", "not getting deadlock invite", and other Deadlock invite related searches keep driving traffic.   I am amazed they still have an invite system for the game's test version with how much trouble it causes and how steep of a player count drop off the game has experienced.
  
• Last, but not least, was "quitting throne and liberty" which directs folks to, no surprise, my post on "Why I quit Throne and Liberty"
  

What I Played

For December I was back in New World smashing  faces in 3v3 arenas and outpost rush matches.  I've also spent some time hitting the winter event to get some of the rewards I've not gotten in the past (skins; gotta collect 'em all).

Marvel Rivals was a surprise hit this month for me and I've put in a good number of hours.  I really enjoy the game.  I am not sure its a long term game as hero shooters wear me out and there is not enough with Marvel Rivals to separate itself from that trend, but for December it was a big hit in my playtime.

I gave Brighter Shores a few minutes of my time and this Monday Screenshots post is all you are going to get out of it.

I also took a moment to try out Deltaforce and if you told me I was playing Battlefield 2042 I'd of believed you.  It is a literal clone of the game to the point the UIs look almost identical.  I was going to make a post about this but it is not worth the time and effort.  I do find it sort of crazy how the community is giving Deltaforce a pass

Years Ago

1 Year Ago

December 2023 marked a momentous "gamer dad" moment for me as we gifted my oldest son his very own gaming PC components and I got to watch him put it together.

The Finals surprise launched and I recorded my first win.

Groundhog Day had me thinking about modern storytelling in video games.

5 Years Ago

Dec 2019 was in the 'not a lot of blogging' era and nothing comes to mind.

10 Years Ago

In Dec of 2014 the biggest event recorded was that I upgraded my GPU.

15 Years Ago

In Dec of 2009 Borderlands (the original) was the hot game and I wrote this review.

I also decided to go back to Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning (WAR) and give it 10 more days of my time.  You can check out my "10 Days of WAR" posts by starting here.  To no surprise I was done playing the game, again, after the 10 day experiment.

 20 19 Years Ago

Technically I have 21 named years on my sidebar (since I am posting this in 2025), but mathematically December 2005 was only 19 years ago.

In Dec 2005 we were speculating the Draenei were the next race coming to to World of Warcraft which eventually turned out to be true. 

Oh and I became somewhat of an early viral celebrity with an article I wrote for the Gamergod (now defunct) website discussing why MTV was doing a better job at games journalism than actual games media.  I was mentioned in a GU Comic (now defunct) about it (which I used the wayback machine to go nab a copy of to include here and in the original post).  You can also use the wayback machine to read the forum thread for the comic.

"a guy" = me