How To Get Started in New World Aeternum

One of the most significant changes to New World Aeternum is in its class system. Instead of the previous mechanic, in which you start the MMO with a blank slate, Aeternum allows you to select an archetype. You have:

• Soldier
• Destroyer
• Ranger
• Musketeer
• Occultist
• Mystic
• Swordbearer

Despite the new archetypes, the old system of tailoring your build to your liking remains present. The archetype you choose gives you a starting point, a few buffs to specific skills, and a beginner’s kit with armor and weapons to help you jump into the story. But you’re not tied down to that play style. I’m currently running a Ranger with a bow and arrow and a two-handed sword, which doesn’t typically fit with the archetype.

That said, we recommend you choose whichever archetype offers Trade Skills that interest you most. For example, the iconic Soldier-type class starts with a minor boost to Weaponsmithing, Mining, and Smelting, which is perfect for players who want to craft and sell weapons on the marketplace.

While the new archetype system varies greatly, the attribute system remains the same as in the previous iteration of New World. You’ll still invest points upon leveling up, increasing your power level with various weapons, and boosting your total health pool.

Unless you intend to vary wildly from your chosen archetype, you’ll want to invest points into the attribute that corresponds with your class weapon type. For example, as a Ranger, I invested heavily in Dexterity, increasing my bow and spear damage—two key weapon types the Ranger utilizes in combat.

Early on, the game teaches you to hunt wild boars, skin them for their meat, and then craft rations at a campfire. Aside from this segway during the game’s prologue on the beach, it doesn’t delve deeper into the game’s hunting and cooking mechanics. However, you’ll soon learn that health potions prove rather expensive. They’re few and far between for new players, but rations require a quick jaunt into the woods or down to the creek.

Aeternum is loaded with free consumables, should you know where to look. First, find a freshwater source, such as a stream or lake, and step into the water, where you can interact with the surface to scoop up fresh water. Water heals you for 20 health per second for 10 seconds, making it a viable health potion alternative.

Then, of course, you have rations. By hunting boars, wolves, or turkeys, you can retain a steady supply of meat and travel rations that heal and buff you simultaneously.

Most players who dive into New World Aeternum will do so primarily with leveling in mind. You’ll quickly discover that combat in the MMORPG is far more action-oriented than your standard tab-target MMO, like World of Warcraft or Final Fantasy XIV. And as such, it’s more fluid and cutthroat, even in PvE.

Here are a few tips to help you succeed in leveling your character:

1. Make an effort to boost your territory standing, as some rewards allow you to increase the amount of EXP you earn from monster kills and quests, thereby enabling you to level much faster
2. In many MMORPGs, the side quests feel like filler content that takes you far away from the main story questline. But in New World, they’re frequently grouped together, allowing you to complete numerous main and side quests within the same POI. It pays to speak to every quest-giver in town before you venture out into the wild!
3. From how players talk, you would think PvP is the primary focal point in New World, but there is extensive PvE content to explore. You can tackle Expeditions, Elite Zones, or just questing
4. While not necessary, especially as a solo player, joining a faction is an excellent way to interact with the New World Aeternum community, become part of something larger, and earn fantastic rewards. You don’t have to give your faction much thought, though. Pick the one that clicks with you based on its color or theme
5. If you have the extra gold, buy a few high-level gear pieces from the marketplace to help you tackle more challenging content. You don’t need to spend too much; just find an upgrade to what you currently have equipped

New World Aeternum is a fresh start for Amazon Games and the MMORPG community that stood by the game and saw its potential. Countless streamlined improvements, new player enhancements, and quality-of-life tweaks should entice even the grumpiest fans of the genre on day one. Of course, this could leave us all wanting more, which would mean waiting with even more anticipation for Amazon’s Lord of the Rings MMORPG.