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I haven't logged onto New World for a while but last night I was looking to get some virtual fishing done and just relax for a bit. Before I could even pick a location though this call to arms appeared on the chat feed:
Who could resist the Call to Arms?
Player Names hidden to protect their privacy
The game hasn't been 'really' updated in a bit so I figured there was a lull in the community numbers and if they were saying that they needed numbers then it wouldn't be a bad thing to show up and help out.
I was surprised when I saw the amount of people that had joined when the invasion event began. All the groups were full (40 players) and there were some on standby. Quite a turn out! The invasion leader asked everyone to join the New World Invasion discord to better coordinate the players and figure out roles so I (reluctantly) joined.
Look at all these players ready to defend against the forces of Corruption!
Players Names hidden except mine. Hit me up if you're interested in PVP!
Again, I was surprised at how vibrant and active the channel was! The players were having conversation, talking about the status of other corporations(guilds) in game, and what was going on with the other invasions. Some players greeted each other with a friendly tone and others made quick comments that had others laughing. It was nice to be apart of that even if I had muted myself and was only there to receive instructions from the defense leaders.
The invasion defense was a success and many cheers were thrown around the discord channel before people started hopping off. I was about to disconnect when suddenly the defense leader began calling out names of players and my username was called!
Were we in trouble? The feeling of anxiety turned into relief when the leader announced the names called had won the random raffle and would receive 2k gold for participating! I sat at the war board were the distribution was taking place and before long a trade invite appeared on my screen. 2k gold appeared on the trade bar and the transaction was complete. The leader thanked everybody for attending and hoped we would come back for the invasion defense tomorrow.
You're a winner!
Names hidden
It was heartening to see that players from the community were being active with the game despite the lack of new content and were supporting others that joined their call to arms out of their own good will.
I never got the chance to fish but the realization that the game was doing well and being taken care of by its players was a good feeling to log off with.
This isn't the first instance of a community providing life and support to an online game that is seemingly defunct or in an update stall. Lord of the Rings online, Wurm Online, and Mabinogi are good examples with Ultima Online probably being the best example of what a nurturing community can do with a beloved title.
Thanks for reading!
Happy Gaming!