New World has put together yet another Forged in Aeternum video digest, and this time the topic is balance, with creative director David Verfaillie talking about where balance for PvP and PvE stands and where it’s likely going in the near future in regards to certain weapons and artifacts.
Verfaillie first opens with some general thoughts about PvP, which he says is nearing the sweet spot that was achieved with Season 3, though he admits that there are systemic things that are causing problems such as team imbalance and matchmaking issues. He also acknowledges that ranged attacks still tend to hold sway in arena and OPR and the “oppressive” feeling that gives players. As for PvE, melee still stands above other weapon types, particularly in the higher levels.
The discussion then moves towards specific artifact changes that are planned to arrive soon, with a PvP nerf to the healing of the Pestilence blunderbuss and a buff to the ranged defense of Koya’s Knee Guards specifically being called out.
In general weapon adjustments news, there are several updates coming:
- The bow and musket are going to be getting a PvE damage buff, though they’ll also be nerfed in PvP damage by “a commiserate amount” and the bow’s explosive arrow perk is getting a bug fix to stop unintended empowerment procs.
- The fire staff will see a slightly reduced flamethrower speed and a minor nerf to the empowering fireball perk.
- Finally, the void gauntlet will get increased light and heavy attack damage for the void blade melee tree.
The video then closes with a focus on equip loads: Here Verfaillie notes light loads being in a butter zone for ranged builds but melee builds will see a specific update in Season 5, admits that medium loads are in “a weird place,” and confirms that heavy loads will have an increased dodge cost.
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