5 things I wished I knew when I started playing New World

Aside from some technical issues, Amazon Games Studio's New World, its massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG), is actually quite enjoyable when it runs well.

There is so much to discover and explore in the world of Aeturnum, coupled with pretty engaging in-game mechanics.

Like any other MMO game, there is just so much to do, and this may overwhelm a newcomer to this genre.

Even for experienced MMO players, it is not very clear from the get go what you should be concentrating on in New World. To help with that, here is a little list that I compiled while playing the game of things that I wish someone had told me before or when I first started the game.

1. Experiment with all weapon types from the get go.

When you start a new character in New World, you are given the ever-basic sword and shield combo to master the combat system in the starter zone.

Once you get into the real world of Aeturnum, however, you will notice that there are other weapon types available for you to choose from, like the Musket, Bow, Rapier, Fire Staff, Ice Gauntlet, Warhammer, Battle Axe, Hatchet and the Life Staff.

Each of these weapon types has a different playstyle — melee weapons such as the Warhammer are hard hitting, while the Hatchet allows you to be nimbler with your melee attacks.

Even ranged weapons like the Musket and Bow have stark differences between them, with the Musket acting like a typical hit-scan rifle (where your cursor is at is where you'll hit) , while the Bow is a projectile-based weapon (think virtual physics, it will take time for your arrow to reach the target and you need to account for your target's movement etc). I could go on about the differences between all of these weapons, but you can find that out yourself.

To make matters even more interesting, each of these weapons have a primary Attribute that will increase its damage and versatility. Some weapons may also have a secondary Attribute that will boost its damage, but in a much less effective manner. It is up to you to see which are the best combinations to suit your playstyle.

Why I implore you to start experimenting from the get go is that Attribute point resets are free till you hit character level 20, after which it will cost some gold if you do want to respec your character.

And here’s another kicker: each of the weapon types have their own level system as well.

This means you have to use a particular weapon often to unlock more points for its skill tree, and each weapon has two very distinct skill trees.

You are able to mix and match these skills from each skill tree, however, making it suit your usage. You are also able to respec your skills for free until your weapon reaches level 10. After that, it will cost some Azoth for you to respec.

Early game mobs are pretty forgiving for you to experiment on with these weapons, so do give them a whirl before you decide on your main two weapons for the rest of the game.

2. Pay attention to your armour weight

Besides weapons, one other thing that you will need to juggle and pay attention to is your armour weight. New World has an armour weight system that will give you different benefits depending on the total weight of your collective armour pieces.

There are three categories - Light, Medium and Heavy.

Managing your armour weight to be in the light category will grant you 20% extra damage, with a fast and far-reaching roll as your dodge.

Medium will grant you 10% extra damage, enhances your crowd control skills by 10%, and turns your dodge into a hop instead of a roll.

Heavy will enhance your crowd control skills by 20%, gives you 15% more blocking stability, and will take up more stamina while dodging (with it being a duck instead of a hop or a roll).

Each of the individual armour pieces (gloves, helmet, chest piece, boots and pants) also come in three different weights, and will affect the total weight of your character.

What the game doesn’t tell you is that you do not need to have all your armour pieces to be Light to stay in the Light category. You are able to mix and match the weight of each armour piece to tweak your collective armour weight.

You will also want to pay attention to the armour stats as well, as heavier armour will generally have more damage resistance points compared to its lighter counterparts.

3. Level up your Trade Skills

There are many various activities that you can do in New World. From fishing, to mining, to chopping wood, all of them will allow you to level up your Trade Skills.

Trade Skills are an extremely important part of the game, as some trees can’t be chopped if you do not have a high enough Logging level, some ores can’t be mined if you do not have a high enough Mining level, and some items can’t be crafted if you do not have the specific crafting skill at a certain level.

My advice is to NOT neglect any of these Trade Skills (except maybe Furnishing), as they make the game easier for you in the long run.

In the same vein, do not be afraid to use your resources to craft items to level up your crafting skills. You may not need the current low-level items at the crafting stations, but you will definitely need some of those higher-level late game items that can only be accessed if you have a high enough crafting level.

Resources can be re-farmed to be used at these crafting stations, so don’t be afraid to use what you have in the early game.

4. Learn to budget your Azoth

Azoth is a currency in game that will allow you to fast travel to many points on the map. Depending on the distance of the fast travel and also if the fast travel location is in a rival faction’s territory, the Azoth cost can vary.

Azoth is also used in other scenarios, such as respec-ing your weapon skills. It is also used in item creation — you are able to increase your crafted item’s stats and quality by pumping in Azoth.

Sounds like a normal thing for an in-game currency, right?

The big kicker here is that you are only able to carry a maximum of 1,000 Azoth at any point of time. There is no way to increase this cap in-game right now, so budgeting the amount you have is very essential.

You are able to get 10 Azoth as random drops when you kill an enemy, and can sometimes also acquire an item drop called the “Vial Of Suspended Azoth”, which gives you 50 Azoth. In addition, you do get Azoth from completing quests as well.

However, while it does seem like it is easy to acquire Azoth, it’s the rate that you spend it that may leave you in a precarious situation.

Fast traveling to further regions can cost hundreds of Azoth, while crafting items will also use up hundreds of them if you want good quality ones.

As you may not get an item with the stats that you want even if you spent that Azoth (thanks RNG), you will definitely be tempted to re-roll your crafting, so the cap of 1,000 Azoth will diminish very fast from my experience.

5. TAKE YOUR TIME

Do not rush trying to get to the end game.

Sure, the end goal of New World is to get to the maximum level of 60, but getting there will take a while. The game is designed to be a slow grind, and trying to power-level your way to 60 will only serve to burn you out.

Instead, you can experiment with crafting, increase your Trade Skills, explore the map, and slowly do the given quests to explore the world of Aeternum.

A lot of the activities will net you experience points anyway, so doing all of them will ensure an enjoyable time while getting to the max level.

Party with friends, try running around the world in Player vs Player mode, do quests together, experiment with your crafting, attempt to catch a legendary fish.

These activities are much more enjoyable in New World than to power-level your way to level 60. You will get there eventually, and you'd would want to get there experiencing the amazing gameplay that New World offers.

Dominic loves tech and games. When he is not busy being headshotted in VALORANT or watercooling anything he sees, he does some pro wrestling.

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