When I first reviewed New World after it launched in 2021, I found myself at a bit of a crossroads with the Amazon MMO. There were parts of New World that I loved, from the setting and backstory of the Eternal Isle, to the resource gathering and robust crafting that showcased its roots as a survival MMO before the team changed course.
However, the bits I didn’t quite feel were up to par, namely its grindy progression and forgetful story, really soured any enjoyment I had to continue playing past my initial review period. I would duck my head in over the course of the next year, keeping up with some of the game’s new features and additions, but it wasn’t until the revamped new player experience and the Brimstone Sands update last year that it felt like New World’s developers really hit their stride.
Fast forward to today, where the first paid expansion, Rise of the Angry Earth, is firmly in the rearview mirror, New World’s developers at Amazon Games Studios are full speed ahead on what’s next for the MMO. Despite the launch of the expansion, it wasn’t as smooth as many would have hoped (but magnitudes smoother than the first few months the MMO was on the market by comparison).
Originally I had planned on reviewing the expansion, and then doing an overall re-review of New World, but the more I played Rise of the Angry Earth, and thanks to a quest progression bug when it first came out that forced me to start from scratch effectively, the two reviews collided into one - with this now effectively being a review of the expansion, but the experience in New World as a whole.
A Whole New World
I firmly believe the New World players can jump into today is night and day better than the one that launched in 2021. And that’s not to say the initial iteration was bad. It wasn’t. Rather, it felt somewhat incomplete and unfocused. The team was still grappling with the change from a hardcore PvP survival MMO to a more story-driven MMO where PvE and PvP play could coexist equally. The story just wasn’t there. The way quests were designed and positioned didn’t feel carefully thought out. The grind didn’t feel rewarding.
Yet all that feels changed today and has carried on into Rise of the Angry Earth. Going from the original leveling experience to one today, the story with the Knights of the Round, the intrigue with Isabella and Captain Thorpe, and eventually the big reveal with Adiana and the establishment of the Bramble Wall all felt stirring and, well, fun to be a part of. I wanted to help Morgaine uncover the mysterious Myrddin and his doings to fend off the Corruption alongside Adiana and the Angry Earth.
It was made easier thanks to the revamped questing experience that brought me from Monarch’s Bluff all the way to the steps of the new settlement in Edengrove, which might be my favorite new location in New World.
Caliburne Capital, as it’s known, only has four small houses that look like Yurts, but I love the central building dominating the town. Everything from the crafting stations, the Inn check in point, and the marketplace just outside all being nearby this central yurt makes the small town easy to navigate and use. I found myself saving up for one of the properties there in Caliburne to make my own - others can have the crowded streets of Oxboro or Corinth - I’ll take the wind turbines and vistas surrounding the settlement up in the north.
However, the largest change to New World is the region of Elysian Wilds, which effectively replaced the original starting zone of First Light. The new, revamped region is a sight to behold, and the first time through the Bramble Wall was almost like stepping into a whole new world.
It’s bioluminescent plants spewing ethereal, primal light as the roots and tangles of the Angry Earth devour everything in my path - Elysian Wilds is alien. While spots of the vanilla game felt like the Angry Earth had twisted its way around the vestiges of civilization found throughout the map, it all felt like controlled chaos. Seeing the crumbling ancient ruins dot Aeternum, some of which decayed with age while others, especially in a place like Edengrove, they felt like they were being slowly reclaimed - it as an example of a constrained Angry Earth.
Elysian Wilds, however, is Angry Earth unleashed, the shackles removed by Artemis’ anger and power. It’s primal. It’s feral. It’s wild. And I love it.
Hints of the old First Light still exist, with the people who once made the zone their home floundering, either finding themselves consumed by the Angry Earth itself or going mad fighting against both it and the rise of the Beast Lords and their return to Aeternum. One of my favorite things to do during the expansion was to ride around Elysian Wilds, trying to identify the old remnants of civilization, as well as taken in the new sights that could come to dominate all of Aeternum if Artemis gets her way.
Mount Up
The world is so much easier to traverse thanks to not only the addition of more Spirit Shrines that act as fast travel spots, but namely the addition of mounts. From the very first time I trekked from Windsward to Everfall and back for the original incarnation of Yonas, I grumbled to friends on the Discord call that New World absolutely needed mounts. I was oftentimes told that would ruin the MMO, since the world was “small” compared to Azeroth, Middle-earth, or Eorzea in other games.
Yet when I first met Jochi Khan in the northern steppes of Everfall and was given my first mount, New World felt transformed anew. Now instead of taking fifteen or twenty minutes to run from one area to the next in search of a quest objective, I was there quickly thanks to my new horse mount. Getting across a region no longer feels like a slog where my time in-game was spent paying more attention to the YouTube video on my second screen instead of what was happening right in front of me. Now thanks to being able to zip around New World’s Eternal Isle, it’s so quick that oftentimes I don’t care to turn that second monitor on at all.
I’ve written about this a few times already since our preview back in August, but New World feels transformed thanks to mounts. I no longer feel like my time is being wasted just running back and forth. This is helped thanks to the way Amazon is building its quests, moving quest givers around, and limiting the literal back and forth you have to do. Still, the times when I’m riding around doing town tasks or Seasonal objectives, everything feels much more frictionless thanks to being able to mount up and venture forth.
I do appreciate, too, that there is some life skilling here with my mount. The more I spend completing races, using mount vittles, and more, the more I’m rewarded with more horse stamina or base mount speed. It’s not something I’ll likely find myself maxing out for sure, but dipping into a race or two while moving around a zone adds even more fun to the simple act of traveling that I’l always enjoy.
I have started plotting my routes in Everfall and Brightwood based on horse races I know are near me.
The Rise of the Angry Earth
Obviously, the actual questing experience of Rise of the Angry Earth is crucial to a successful expansion. Thankfully, the excellent revamped style of questing that has come to define New World since it started its questing revamp is carried through here. Quests flowed well, never feeling like I was going out of my way for something, or there was a lot of unnecessary back and forth - the zone flows really well.
However, as much as I’ve enjoyed the story in New World since I had to start over, Rise of the Angry Earth’s overall arc felt like something of a letdown. It’s not bad - but it is predictable, with its larger beats falling flat for me as a result.
It also doesn’t help that it was pretty short-lived - once I got to level 60 on my new character and started Rise of the Angry Earth, I was basically done with the story within a day and a half of questing, with some side quests and Elite chest runs thrown in for good measure. There also wasn’t anything pressing in the main story that couldn’t be done solo, which was a shame.
I like the idea of the Soul Trial as a way to present pivotal fights within the narrative, but I do wish there was a way to do them either with a small group or a full expedition group, upping the challenge but upping the reward as well. Soul Trial fights, such as one against a Mammoth Lord, fell flat as they didn’t present as much of a challenge as I hoped. The climactic fight did, but it only took one or two tries to get the patterns down and take down the boss with relative ease on that third try.
The few Elite zones in Elysian Wilds are awesome to run through, though, giving some challenge when hitting level 65. The Elite Chest runs that have come to define part of New World’s endgame are also well-designed, and I really dug running around, smiting mammoths or Corvids to uncover these powerful chests. It reminds me heavily of those early roaming parties right after New World launched that would move from zone to zone taking out corruption portals, and they were even more fun if you and your buddies were brave enough to flag yourself for PvP. Watching a chest run devolve from fending off the elite level enemies to fending off each other will never not be boring - getting tangled up in one of those fights is equally exhilarating and was some of the most fun I had during my entire playthrough.
The other standout part of Rise of the Angry Earth is down to the new Expedition. The Savage Divide is an excellent dungeon to run with other players - and seriously, I’ll never not be a fan of laser mammoths. I do wish, though, that this was an essential part of the main storyline like expeditions were in the early days - especially as the premise of The Savage Divide does fit right into the storyline New World: Rise of the Angry Earth is telling.
The conceit here is that by making it an optional activity outside the story itself, Rise of the Angry Earth is soloable for those players who just abhor grouping. But the fights within The Savage Divide might have felt more impactful overall if they were woven into the campaign instead of feeling like a sideshow.
Expeditions are still important to do, especially if you’re looking for the best gear - or the ability to use the Gypsum Kiln to craft Expedition gear. Mutated Expeditions can also provide a challenge and are an incredible way to keep running what is effectively the same dungeon, fresh over time.
Artifact Gear also add a new wrinkle to the endgame activities too. These pieces of gear, from armor, trinkets and weapons, are powerful additions to a player’s arsenal, but they require some questing and leveling to unlock their full potential. Chasing these Artifact items is part of the fun once the level cap is reached, and once you get them the job’s not complete. I appreciate that it gives even more purpose to playing after I’ve completed an expansion, and these named items will almost become the new chase items for PvP and high-mutated Expedition groups.
Given that Artifacts can be obtained a number of ways, through the open world, Seasonal Reward tracks, and Expeditions, there is some refreshing variety to the grind here. The drops aren’t all relegated to the new zone, either, as some Artifacts, like the Freya’s Francisca Hatchet, can drop in previous endgame Expeditions, or even The Abyss Greataxe, which drops when closing corrupted breaches. By tying these powerful items to every day activities players might do anyway, the variety helps lessen the feel of the normal end-game gear grind other MMOs might suffer from.
Flailing About
One aspect of Rise of the Angry Earth that I’ve some to enjoy immensely since it launched is the new Flail and Shield weapon spec. As someone who started out as a Rapier and Bow, I’ve gravitated a bit with this newer character, opting for a Blunderbuss and Flail and Shield.
And man, the Flail feels impactful. From the very first time I slammed the ground with my void-powered Arcane Smite, I was hooked. Jumping into a group of enemies that normally I’d want to kite around with my Rapier or Bow, I would slam the ground with Smite and immediately pop Arcane Vortex, cleaning up quite a few of the enemies and gaining some life back in turn. Trip, my third chosen skill, would help with crowd control if a group got too close, but oftentimes the first two skills would do their job.
In groups, thanks to popping some attributes into Focus, I could operate as an emergency AOE heal for our tank and such thanks to the Cleric mastery skills - adding much more utility to the class. Pairing it with the Blunderbuss takes incredible advantage of focusing on strength as well, and early on, this pairing felt incredibly overpowered. A recent Blunderbuss nerf has helped change that, but those early days were wild.
The Greatsword is another weapon I usually have at hand to swap to while using the Flail and Shield, as the pure AOE DPS that can be dispensed with the Buster Sword style weapon can mop up enemies left after the initial volley by the Flail.
The Flail, though, even by itself, just feels good to use. Everything from the incredible animation work with the weapon to the fact that its light combo feels like it’s an AOE all its own, it’s an incredible addition to the roster. I feel like since New World launched, the new weapons the team has added to the MMO since then have all been pretty solid.
While I’m less enthused by the Void Gauntlet (though the Flail gives another Focus option for those Void Gauntlet users), the way the Greatsword, Blunderbuss and Flail have all taken part in my normal rotation when I feel like gravitating away from my Dexterity-focused character builds, and the abundance of Azoth, as well as armor sets I gather now makes respeccing a breeze now, especially when needing a quick change for a group makeup.
While I eventually moved back to my Dex build to finish the review, having the Flail/Blunderbuss build as a backup in sticky fights, or as a change of pace, is excellent. I can't wait as the weapon gets more refined as development goes on.
Final Thoughts
After finishing Rise of the Angry Earth, I did feel somewhat deflated if I’m honest. While the next season is upon us, and the story will continue - the cliffhanger the main story left us on is an intriguing thread to theorycraft - it all felt a little sudden. Mind you, I have spent the last month and then some leveling up through what New World has to offer, but an argument can be made that Rise of the Angry Earth felt too short.
Another argument can also be made that the initial launch is jus the beginning, this being a live service game afterall. New seasons, storylines coming with Grace O’Malley’s Crows and more can and wlll most assuredly be added to pick up the storylines and uncover what’s next for New World and the Eternal Isle.
Looking back at the whole experience, from washing up ashore Monarch’s Bluff and moving through Arthurian legend, fighting the corruption, all the way to fighting the Beast Lords that have helped reclaim First Light for the Angry Earth, it’s been a wild ride. And a largely great one.
As it exists today, this version of New World is a much better MMORPG than when Amazon first turned the servers on in 2021. The team seems to have taken player feedback to heart and tried to improve their MMO in meaningful ways, and this is reflected in lessening the grind, revamping the leveling experience and creating new, creative stories that capture the grandeur of the concept of an Eternal Isle swirling in the mists of the Atlantic.
While some might take issue with the fact that Elysian Wilds is a revamped, repurposed zone in place of First Light instead of a wholly new landmass, I think the direction the developers took here is much more compelling overall. Instead of sending players to a far-flung region of the island, the team effectively revamped two zones, turning Edengrove into a controllable settlement (with the incredibly picturesque Caliburne Capital) and made First Light compelling to visit again. It’s alien, foreign, wild - and an incredible testament to Amazon’s fantastic art direction with New World.
As I close the chapter on this review, I’m left excited as to where Amazon’s MMO is headed next. This is the exact opposite view I had when I left New World after my original review almost exactly two years ago. I can’t wait to dive back in and earn more Artifact items, take part in Outpost Rushes, or keep Caliburne Capital in the hands of the Syndicate on El Dorado. Despite my issues with the expansion’s story or the fact that it can all be done rather quickly, I’m excited for the future of New World.
In many ways, this feels like the version of New World that Amazon really wanted to launch. It’s not perfect, and many times bugs and issues can leave it feeling a bit messy. But it’s a great MMORPG, and now is the perfect time to hop in if you’ve been on the fence.
Full Disclosure: A copy of the expansion was provided by PR for the purposes of this review. Reviewed on PC (Steam).
