NEW WORLD CRAFTING GUIDE: TIPS FOR CREATING GEAR AND IMPROVING SKILLS
August 3, 2021
New World is a unique MMO to say the least. The most recent beta highlighted both the true, real-time combat and survival aspects that deliver the game a fresh take on all the genres it dips into. Of course, with any survival game does come a healthy amount of crafting, and New World will have a lot to offer tinkering fans when it officially launches on August 31. While crafting in New World is very approachable, it can quickly become overwhelming. To help you get started on launch day, we’ve put together a sure-fire guide to crafting in New World which will help you get the gear you want right off the starting line.
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New World Crafting Guide
Crafting is a core part of New World, and there are several different skills you can work on.
The Basics of Crafting
The general structure of crafting in New World is similar to other survival games: you find raw resources, refine them at certain stations, and use those materials at other stations to create what you need. Where crafting in New World differs is its player-driven economy. There’s only one shop per town, and everything sold at it is actually being sold by another player. Most basic materials you’ll use early on when crafting can be found on this market for dirt cheap prices. If you’re shy of just a few materials for a recipe, it’s definitely worth checking out the shop.
Each town also features every crafting station you’ll need, from refining all the way to forging — although the stations may not be the level you need them to be. Towns are owned by companies, and these companies can start town board quests that players must collectively complete in order to upgrade a crafting station. So in order to craft a tier 3 rapier, you’ll need to be in a town with a level 3 forge. This won’t be a problem when you’re just starting out, but making a stable company town your permanent homebase can pay off in this regard.
How To Attach Perks and Attributes to Crafted Items
There are multiple levels of weapons, armor, and craftables in New World. Typically, you need to meet a certain overall level in order to use a given tier of gear. For example, your character needs to be level 20 in order to use most level 3 items. So even if your mining level is at 50, you won’t be able to use a tier 3 steel pickaxe.
These tiers also correspond to the materials used to craft the item — a tier 1 pickaxe is made of flint, a tier 2 is created with iron, a tier 3 uses steel, and so on. Every tier of item, whether it be weapon, tool, or armor, features roughly the same stats. So if every crafted item is about the same, why even bother crafting at all? The simple answer is perks and attributes.
Spending Azoth can generate special attributes for each item you craft.
Perks and attributes can be added to any crafted item and give them unique properties. Perks can increase one of your stats like intelligence or strength when an item is equipped. Similarly, attributes affect the usefulness of an item, and can make them more efficient or simply better overall. In order to attach a perk to a crafted item, you’ll need to find (or buy) the proper “special material.”
These materials can be found as rare drops while doing normal activities, and you’re bound to amass a collection of them. Azoth is a catch-all currency earned from quests, activities, and generally playing the game. You can add a small amount to any crafted item to yield an attribute.
Each crafted item also has a minimum and maximum gear score that it can randomly be assigned during creation. In order to increase this maximum, you’ll need to grind out some levels in the corresponding crafting skill.
Weaponsmithing in New World
When you need to deal some more damage, weaponsmithing is your best bet. You can smith new weapons at a town’s forge. Like all skills in New World, gaining access to new weapon recipes requires you to level up your weaponsmithing skill. In order to do that, you’ll need iron — lots of iron. You can typically find iron in mountainous regions near impassable barriers. If you’re running quests, always be on the lookout for iron. After leveling up your mining a bit, iron will even show up on your compass.
Crafting battle axes can earn you experience extremely quickly.
When you’ve smelted a good chunk of iron and you’re ready to grind out levels, consider crafting battle axes. Even if you’re not using them as a weapon, their iron-to-experience ratio is one of the best for early crafting, and the only other requirements are 3 timber and 2 coarse leather. Each battle axe will earn you 204 weaponsmithing experience, which can quickly add up. If you create any recipe in bulk, you’ll also immediately be granted the option to salvage all your creations immediately for repair parts and residual iron. It should go without saying, but don’t use Azoth or special materials when grinding here — save it for the good gear.
How To Level Engineering in New World
Grinding engineering follows many of the same steps as weaponsmithing, and also requires a lesser (but still significant) amount of iron. Considering that engineering is the only way to craft muskets in the game, it’s entirely worth pursuing as well. To level up your skill here, you’ll want to craft iron arrows. Each batch of arrows only cost 4 iron, 2 timber, and 3 feathers. Hunt a turkey every quest or two and you’ll be swimming in feathers in no time. Then just craft away.
Engineering will eventually allow you to craft muskets in New World.
Arrows are also in high demand on the market, and while they don’t fetch a stellar price, they can still earn you a small rebate on your work. You can also switch to crafting steel arrows once you’re high enough level in order to keep up the grind.
Armoring: Is It Worth It?
Armoring is of debatable importance in New World, at least in the past beta. When you join a faction, you have the option of purchasing faction armor from your faction representative. The armor you can buy from them is nearly always better than what you can craft, and is a great way to use the faction points you earn from faction quests.
If you’re going to spend time improving your armoring skill, do it making cheap bonnets.
For those of you who remained unconvinced, you’ll want to craft bonnets. While heavy armoring requires a ton of iron to level up, you can earn similar experience by crafting bonnets at a cost of 1 iron per hat. You’ll also need 11 linen and 6 coarse leather, but this is a steal compared to the 16 iron you need to craft an iron breastplate. Grind out bonnets and you’ll be a master armorer in no time – come August 31.
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Nicolas Perez is a journalist who has played way too much Civilization 5. He’s rambling on Twitter @Nic_Perez_.
