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MMO Friday Fight Episode 1: New World Aeternum Vs. Throne And Liberty

Mitch Gassner Updated: Posted:
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Welcome to the MMO Friday Fight. In each episode, we’ll ask one of the many questions plaguing the MMORPG community. I will then offer up two common opinions on the matter before I toss my own two cents into the ring. Then we’ll unlock the comment section below and let the real fight begin.

To start things off, I’ve got a simple one for you: Are you going to play the new and improved New World Aeternum or go with the new kid on the block, Throne and Liberty? Okay, maybe it isn’t that simple after all.

New World was shaky when it was first released. Repetitive and dull quests and limited weapon styles were but two of Joseph’s complaints in his review. Since that time, New World has slowly gained traction with each update. Now, with Amazon Games’ soft reboot set to arrive on October 15th, New World Aeternum could finally catch fire and be the game we always hoped it would be.

Throne and Liberty, also published by Amazon Games, released on October 1st, giving it a two-week head start on New World Aeternum’s relaunch. T&L got off to a good start during its paid early access and followed that up with an average of over 200,000 in its first week, with a peak of 336,000 concurrent players over the weekend. But Steam reviews are currently mixed, so only time will tell if the player base will abandon ship and head to Aternum.

Me? I played a bit of New World during the beta session before its original launch, but it didn’t stick. I don’t always have a ton of time to put into an MMO, so I decided not to waste the cash on what looked like a PvP-focused endgame that would require more time than I could commit to.

Now, with a new focus on solo play, New World Aeternum has caught my eye. Massively Multiplayer doesn’t always have to mean that you must play with others. With Aeternum, it looks like I can go solo when I only have a few hours a week to play and then head into group play when I have more time on my hands.

Still, I’m sticking with Throne and Liberty, at least for now. The graphics are beautiful. The weapon combos provide a variety of playstyles, my favorite being the healing properties of the wand paired with the offensive capabilities of the staff. I am also enjoying the leveling process and am happy to see that there is a lot of PvE content to keep me busy while I slowly make my way to level 50, even though Amazon Games has made it easy to hit max level in just a day or two if that is your desire.

So what about you? Are you on my side, ready to give Throne and Liberty a chance? Or do you think I’m an idiot for buying into (figuratively) a free-to-play MMO when there’s a perfectly good alternative in New World Aeternum? You know, I could split my time between both MMOs, but there’s not much of a fight in that, is there?


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Mitch Gassner

Part-time game reviewer, full-time gaming geek, Mitch was introduced to Pac-Man and Asteroids at Shakey's Pizza in the '70s and has been hooked on games ever since. Mitch has always had an opinion to share on anything gaming, but it wasn't until 2018 that he began his writing side hustle. Mitch currently writes about gaming and tech for MMORPG and Gamespace.com. You can find him on X @mitchgassner.