Since AGS has not provided any sort of roadmap that outlines what elements of New World they plan to focus on, I thought maybe the players could at least give them an idea of what we would like to see over the next 6 months. New World has been hemorrhaging players, but what 5 things (in priority order) could they change about the game that might either get you playing again, or keep you from dropping out like many others…
Level = 59 (Sword/Life Staff)
Time Played = 330 Hours
Focus = PVE, Harvesting, Crafting, Questing, Grouping with Friends
1) TRAVEL SYSTEM
During several sessions spanning roughly 23 hours I used a timer to determine that I spent roughly 73% of my time simply traveling. No killing, no harvesting, no crafting, no questing, nothing else…just traveling. This is an insanely large portion of game time spent walking, fast traveling or recalling to the inn. Personally, I think this needs to be reversed where only 27% of my time is spent traveling.
Remove the additional cost for weight when fast traveling and make it a flat fee on Azoth of 25-50 for each leap. Add a speed potion to the game that will increase your walk/run speed 10/20/30% (based on potion strength) for x minutes. Similar to the encumbrance potion. Incorporate a taxi service for each town that costs gold, not Azoth, to utilize. Plenty of ideas floating around the forums for how this might work.
2) CRAFTING
While I understand the reasoning behind making the lower tier materials necessary to make higher tier materials, I think it is unnecessary and drastically increases the grind for crafting. This not only causes a character to out-level anything they can currently craft, but it also negatively affects both storage and traveling due to the sheer volume of materials necessary under this system. Crafting anything below top level currently serves no purpose other than leveling skill. Refining materials are not available enough in game.
Aside from using iron to make steel, since it actually makes sense, remove all requirements for lower tier materials to make higher tier materials. Add town quests (another board or increase number of quests at current board) that would require players to craft x number of items for the war effort or whatever. This would create an item sink to help reduce bloat in trade house while providing at least one use (albeit a weak one) for lower tier items other than crafting xp and salvaging them for materials. Provide an NPC that can sell refining materials for gold (not conducive to a player-driven economy I know), and make them drop more often off mobs.
3) STORAGE
Storage is woefully inadequate, but more so if you plan to do any crafting at all. Along with the constant upgrading/downgrading of crafting stations this inadequacy increases the amount of time spent traveling (#1 above).
Increase storage capacity to 1500 or 2000 and link the storage across cities owned by your current faction. Incorporate a material transport system between cities. You should be able to automatically utilize materials in your current city, but it should take time (30-60 minutes) before you can use them from a different one.
4) GEAR SETS
To be truly effective in harvesting/crafting you have to maintain several different gear sets. Currently, you have to stop, open your bags, find the ones you need, and then equip them. Once done you have to open your bags, find the gear you need again, and equip it. This is simply ridiculous.
Incorporate a gear swapping system to make this an easier process.
5) WEAPON SKILLS
While there are multiple different weapons available for play, the depth of skill for each is fairly shallow. Three skills is not a lot, and makes combat feel fairly repetitive and boring. Currently unable to utilize shield with any 1-hander other than sword makes zero sense.
Increase hotbar total to 5, or maybe even 6, and add an additional skill tree for each weapon. This might require an increase to each weapon skill level from 20 to 30. Allow use of shield with all 1-handed weapons. Give shield a separate skill tree on its own, or incorporate one for shield with each 1-handed weapon.