New World Gear Progression Guide

Welcome to our comprehensive New World Gear Progression Guide. In this guide, we will delve deep into the intricate world of armor and gear in Amazon's MMORPG, New World. Armor isn't just a means to protect your character; it's a crucial component that influences your character's agility, combat effectiveness, and overall gameplay experience. Whether you're a seasoned player looking to optimize your gear or a newcomer eager to understand the nuances, this guide has you covered.

Unveiling the Tiers & Rarity of Gear

To embark on your journey through New World's gear progression, it's vital to comprehend the concept of tiers and rarity. Each piece of gear, including armor, is categorized into different tiers and gear scores, and they come with specific level requirements based on their gear score. Here's a breakdown:

• Tier 2: Level 1-19
• Tier 3: Level 20-39
• Tier 4: Level 40-59
• Tier 5: Level 60
• Tier 6: Level 65

However, the rarity of your gear adds an intriguing layer to the progression. Gear rarities in New World span from Common (Gray) to Gold (Legendary), each offering unique benefits. The rarity of an item is determined by the number of perks, gem slots, and attribute points it possesses. Common gear has no perks or gem slots, while Legendary gear boasts five rarity points, indicating its exceptional quality.

Unraveling the Mysteries of Gear Score

Gear score is a pivotal factor in determining your character's overall strength and effectiveness in New World Gear Progression. It varies across tiers and impacts your physical and elemental resistances. The higher your gear score, the more formidable your character becomes. Here's a glimpse of gear scores across different tiers:

• Tier II: Gear Score 100-299
• Tier III: Gear Score 250-399
• Tier IV: Gear Score 350-499
• Tier V: Gear Score 450-600
• Tier VI: Gear Score 650-700

Remarkably, you can elevate your gear score beyond the typical 600 using Umbral Shards, which can boost your score up to 625. This process offers a significant advantage, enhancing your character's overall prowess. For an in-depth understanding of gear score mechanics, check out our Gear Score Guide.

New World Gear Progression Last Updates by Season 3 Incoming

With Season 3 and the expansion, significant changes are being introduced to the gear progression and acquisition systems:

• Expertise is being completely phased out.
• The method of upgrading gear using umbral shards is no longer in use.
• The gear score cap has been set at 700.
• The maximum character level has increased to 65.
• Loot will now drop at an intended gear score, eliminating the need for upgrades.
• A loot bias system will be implemented, ensuring that loot matches the type of gear you have equipped when you acquire it.

First and foremost, the removal of expertise is fantastic news. It served as a needless grind, preventing players from utilizing the items they obtained effectively and rendering acquired items useless until expertise levels were reached for end-game drops. This change also eliminates the need to carry new players through content to boost their expertise levels.

In place of expertise, gear will now naturally drop at its intended gear score level. Consequently, engaging in challenging content will result in gear dropping at or close to the new maximum score of 700, allowing progression in gear score to be based on acquiring better gear.

However, a potential concern arises regarding how quickly crafters will be able to produce 700 gear score items. Once crafters begin crafting these items, players could swiftly reach a 700 gear score. It's important to ensure that this doesn't diminish the significance of other methods of acquiring gear. Crafters playing a role is great, but not at the expense of other gameplay aspects.

Another noteworthy addition is the "loot bias" feature. This means that loot drops will be more aligned with the gear you are currently using. If you're playing a tank, anticipate tank-specific drops, and the same goes for healers and their gear. The developers have mentioned that for chest rewards, you can influence what drops by changing your gear before opening chests. This flexibility is especially valuable for players who experiment with unconventional builds.

Lastly, there's the mention of the new level cap, which is set at 65. While I'm personally fine with this change, it's worth noting that it will be exclusive to expansion owners. It would be beneficial if AGS reconsidered this decision and allowed all players to reach the maximum level regardless of expansion ownership. New World's structure is more akin to games like Guild Wars 2 than traditional titles like World of Warcraft, and tying level ranges to expansions might not align with its overall design philosophy.

Physical vs. Elemental Armor: Your Defense Arsenal

In New World Gear Progression, armor is designed to mitigate two distinct types of damage: physical and elemental. Understanding these resistance types is vital to creating a well-rounded character build. Physical armor safeguards against melee attacks, ranged projectiles, and thrown weapons, while elemental armor provides protection against magical damage sources like fire, void, and lightning.

Furthermore, the resistance levels for both physical and elemental armor are consistent across armor classes. Heavy armor boasts the highest ratings for both types, while light armor offers the lowest protection. However, light and medium armor have other advantages, which we'll explore under the "Armor Weight" section.

Equip Load Alternatives: Balancing Your Load

Managing your character's equip load is essential for optimizing your mobility and effectiveness in combat. You can achieve a medium load with an equip load of 22.9 by mixing and matching your armor pieces strategically. For example, combining a light helmet, heavy chest, light gloves, heavy pants, and medium boots can provide a balanced approach to switching between light and medium builds without compromising too much on mitigation.

Unlocking the Secrets of Prefix and Suffix System

Every piece of armor in New World bears a specific name that includes both a prefix and, possibly, a suffix. These elements reveal crucial information about the armor, including the type of mitigations it offers and the attribute point bonuses it provides. Let's take a closer look using an example: the "Steel Heavy Boots of the Barbarian."

• The "Heavy" prefix signifies that these boots prioritize physical resistance over elemental resistance.
• The "Barbarian" suffix indicates that the primary attribute bonus is strength, with a secondary bonus in constitution. Items with suffixes guarantee the primary attribute bonus, and often the secondary bonus as well. For a comprehensive list of affixes, refer to our Affix Chart.

Acquiring Armor: Your Path to Power

Obtaining armor in New World is a multi-faceted process, with various avenues to explore. You can secure armor through drops, crafting, the trading post, faction vendors, outpost rush armor crates, and by completing special armor quests. Each method offers unique advantages and possibilities.

Dropped armor is acquired by defeating different enemies in Aeternum, with higher-tier mobs yielding higher-tier and higher-gear score items. Lower-tier armor remains valuable, even as you progress, as it can be salvaged for repair parts, which can be used to maintain your gear.

Crafting is another valuable source of armor, allowing you to customize your gear to your liking. Unlike dropped armor, crafted gear allows you to select the perks that best suit your playstyle.

The trading post provides a marketplace where you can buy and sell armor, offering flexibility in obtaining the gear you need. Faction vendors offer faction-specific armor that aligns with your chosen faction's identity.

For those seeking unique armor sets, special armor quests provide an exciting adventure. Completing these quests involves a chain of five child quests, each corresponding to a specific piece in the set. With increasing level thresholds, you'll gradually assemble a formidable set that grants set bonuses based on the number of pieces equipped.

Dropped vs. Crafted Armor: Understanding the Difference

Distinguishing between dropped and crafted armor is crucial for optimizing your gear progression. Dropped armor comes with fixed perks that cannot be altered, while crafted armor allows you to choose which perks to apply. This flexibility grants you more control over tailoring your gear to your preferred playstyle.

Bind-on-Pickup Items: Maintaining a Balanced Economy

New World employs a bind-on-equip or bind-on-pickup system for all equippable items. This system safeguards the in-game economy and ensures that items, once equipped, cannot be resold or traded, maintaining the demand for quality items. It's a mechanism designed to maintain the balance and value of items in the game.

Bonuses: Perks and Gem Slots

To further enhance your armor's capabilities, New World Gear introduces two types of bonuses: perks and gem slots. Perks provide specific buffs to your armor, such as damage absorption against certain damage types or bonuses to gathering and crafting. Gem slots, on the other hand, allow you to insert cut gems, providing additional enhancements to your gear.

A Glimpse into the Future: Season 3 Changes and Expansion

As we look to the future of New World Gear Progression, exciting changes await with Season 3 and the expansion. Key highlights include the removal of expertise, the abandonment of upgrading gear via umbral shards, and an increased gear score cap of 700. Additionally, the maximum level will be raised to 65.

The removal of expertise is a welcome change, eliminating the unnecessary grind that previously hindered players from utilizing acquired items effectively. Gear will now drop at its intended gear score level, aligning progression with the acquisition of better gear.

However, a concern arises regarding the speed at which crafters will produce 700 gear score items, potentially trivializing other gear acquisition methods. The delicate balance between crafters' roles and other progression avenues is crucial.

The introduction of "loot bias" promises to enhance player experiences by favoring loot drops that align with their equipped gear. This feature offers tailored rewards, allowing players to optimize their builds more efficiently.

It's important to note that the new level cap of 65 will be tied to expansion ownership, potentially leaving non-expansion owners behind. Advocating for a more inclusive approach to level ranges, regardless of expansion ownership, could benefit the New World community.

Conclusion

New World's gear progression is a multifaceted journey, filled with choices and opportunities to optimize your character. Understanding the nuances of armor, gear score, and bonuses is essential for mastering the game's mechanics. With Season 3 and the expansion on the horizon, exciting changes and challenges await, promising a fresh and engaging experience for all adventurers in the world of Aeternum.

Explore, adapt, and conquer the ever-evolving world of New World Gear Progression with our comprehensive NW Gear Progression Guide. May your armor be legendary, your gear score be unmatched, and your adventures be unforgettable!