New World has seen delay after delay, all of which have been chalked up to the need to implement more mid-to-late game content for players to enjoy. While the Amazon made MMO is on its way towards a summer release, it took some time this week to explore its vision for some of that PvE content, namely its Expeditions.
New World has had a beta last year letting players check out the (new) world Amazon Game Studios is creating. Since then the team has been hard at work taking the findings from that beta as well as the subsequent alphas and getting the MMO up to a place it can finally release. After being delayed out of the Spring of this year, the team is showcasing some of the upcoming content players can expect to take part in with its Expeditions feature.
Expeditions are five-player instanced dungeons which will see parties take on monsters, learn more lore of the world of Aeternum, and more. Last month the team broke down its design philosophy behind PvE content, and the Expeditions feature follows that core pillar of creating content that "gives purpose" and drives player immersion.
"Last month, we introduced Expeditions: five-player instanced dungeons that will take players to the darkest corners of Aeternum. There, your party will face dire threats, learn more about the source of Corruption, expose the Angry Earth’s ulterior motives, reveal the deeper menace behind the Lost, and delve into the secrets of the ancient Guardians. Players can expect challenging battles which require skill and team coordination to complete. With the release of the Amrine Excavation and the Garden of Genesis, we wanted to share our vision for Expeditions in New World and the lore behind both of these experiences."
Take a deeper look and explore our vision behind ?? Expeditions in New World! Read up!??? https://t.co/a0GTPPmlPo pic.twitter.com/aaUZmI4kds
— New World (@playnewworld) March 31, 2021
As such, Expeditions will involve from three-to-five players and provide what the team at Amazon is calling a "change of pace" from the other activities found throughout the Eternal Isle. This is good, as we've noted in our previews that some of the PvE content simply wasn't engaging enough and felt like it lacked direction, even those quests that send you to far-flunged locations on the New World map to find something.
The team at Amazon broke down a few of the Expeditions players can expect to see, such as the Amrine Excavation, a site of a famous archeology dig that has seen its team vanish for a while now. Players will explore the dig site, searching for the team and discover what happened to them. Additionally, The Garden of Genesis sees players explore a woodland area in Eldengrove to contain the spread of the Blight, which threatens all of Aeternum.
Alpha players are able to go hands on in the new Expeditions, though it'll be a while before we see this opened up more to the public as the Alpha is still under NDA. New World also teased that these two instances aren't the only ones being added to the MMO, as more Expeditions will follow as development continues.
New World is now being released at the end of August after being delayed out of the Spring earlier this year. There will be another Beta being held a month before in July for those who have preordered to check out the MMO in action before the full launch a month later. While we all hate game delays, it actually isn't all that bad as it (should) mean a more stable game launch. In theory.
