New World is an MMO that offers players a lot of flexibility, but some fans have reported on their encounters with flawed features and gameplay design. Right now, several New World players are discussing the limitations of the game's weapon swapping system, which some feel is too unresponsive.
Redditor MrFoozOG started the conversation by complaining about how difficult it was to swap between weapons. They reported constantly spamming the 1 key, presumably mid-combat, to try and switch back to their hatchet, only to see their character continue to attack with their great axe instead. This isn't the only New World mechanic with noticeable flaws, but it may have a significant impact on gameplay.
MrFoozOG argued that the weapon swap should work during nearly-finished animation when launching a skill attack, or even allow players to cancel an ability by activating the swap. Currently, New World's buggy combat system does not allow this, but even if it did, other fans have expressed concerns about how an upgraded weapon swap feature would affect game balance. MrFoozOG has clarified that they were specifically discussing features that would improve PvE weapon swapping, but New World's PvP player base seems to have an entirely different set of standards for weapon swap responsiveness.
Apparently, PvP places more emphasis on timing and precision than button-mashing, so more responsive weapon swapping could seriously affect the game's balance. As New World is both a PvE and PvP game, MrFoozOG concluded that the best option would be to implement a queue for the player's abilities and weapon swap. This would allow players to swap weapons while a skill or animation is being processed while still punishing players who hit the wrong button or mess up their timing. The result could be considered fairer to PvP players while addressing the issue MrFoozOG brought up.
As of writing, it appears that other fans are also having trouble with the weapon swap system. A number of users began complaining about New World not allowing them to interrupt musket reload animations to swap to the hatchet, a decision that may be intentional. This isn't the first time New World fans have complained about game design flaws targeting a single group, but the Musket reload issue isn't connected to regional servers--just weapon preference. One user complained that dodging during the reload animation causes it to start all over, trapping the player in a loop. Other users brought up the fact that light attacks don't queue, forcing players to hammer the buttons or accidentally break off their attack.
New World is available now on PC.