New World’s latest dev video is a conversation about the economy in Q2, covering crafting changes, coin balance, resource availability, and the always relevant topic of inflation.
When it comes to the economy, inflation is always a potential issue, depending on the balance between how much coin is going into the economy versus going out of it. Gold sinks and crafting are part of the conversation, and if players feel like they’re getting value for their time spent.
Balancing a big MMORPG is something that a team can’t slack on, and these devs do break out the charts in showing some of the trends for those who are interested in seeing the actual data that they’re working with.
Players wanted more ways to get gold, so they added gold caches for certain efforts. This was successful, although engagement here isn't as high as they would like it to be. Other changes include crafting tweaks that removed the requirement for a chromatic seal on higher crafting (but added another Golden Scarab to requirements). It served as a gate, and they wanted to remove that to give players more variety.
They found that people were making Prismatic Scarab items and regular golden scarabs, and Azoth inductor items, and the impact on the economy was that it made higher-end materials go up in price. This made it an effective gold sink. Always a matter of sinks and faucets to balance, the team notes.
Other changes came to making orichalcum a bit more abundant, increasing supply and decreasing prices to bring them back into balance. this also made mithril go up in price and as a result, people started using their stores more.
When asked what the three most important issues facing the economy are, inflation comes right back up again. The issue of whether that balance they have delivers value to both PvP and PVE players. They're also looking at Expeditions, to make sure that they’re rewarding enough, but no details just yet.
It is quite a technical conversation, but woven in between are important data points and answers to community questions about the economy and certain mechanics or resources. You don't have to be a data nerd to watch this conversation and get something out of it if you are in the New World community.
