The first week and a half of New World have been a doozy. From incredibly long queues to a legion of AFK squatters, reviews of the title itself were secondary to the issues plaguing it. Now, the game is dealing with something we’d all expect from an MMO–toxic players. While some MMOs are known for their more positive communities (we’re looking at you, Final Fantasy XIV), it’s impossible to gather large groups of humans together in a completely anonymous world and not expect some problems to break out. Already, players are scamming each other out of massive quantities of gold, as detailed on the New World subreddit over the past few days.
The game divides players into three distinct factions at war with one another, with the goal being to control different areas. Players can create companies, or guilds, that represent their faction. Declaring war with another company can grant direct control over settlements and surrounding lands. A company that owns a territory can profit from taxes earned by players using its crafting stations or trading items, though companies without land must rely on people’s generosity–hard to come by in an anonymous game world. And that’s the problem: there’s nothing stopping the leaders of a company from just running off with all that donated gold. Greed has already stolen some people’s hearts, and the problem only seems to be getting worse.
Another thing to note about New World is, unlike an MMO like World of Warcraft, New World has no chat restriction that stops those in warring factions from openly communicating with each other. Do you think they’re saying nice, friendly things? They aren’t. Admittedly, while people are being terrible to each other, it does add a little spice to the experience.
New World is now available to play on PC. If you’re about to jump into the adventure, live by the golden rule–and don’t worry, queue times are getting better.