If you’ve just begun playing New World, you might find yourself needing a few tips to help you understand the massive number of systems and mechanics. Amazon Games’ new colonial MMORPG is rich with levelling systems, resource gathering, crafting, upgrade skill trees, and player-managed economies making it not the most beginner-friendly of games. If you are committed to spending lots of time exploring and plundering the mystical island of Aeternum, have a look at our seven basic tips for New World.
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1. Autorun will save your fingers
Unfortunately, there are no mounts in New World for players to use to speed up getting around. There is actually an in-game lore reason as to why Aeternum is free of horses, but it means that players are going to have to do a lot of walking.
You can alleviate some of the frustration by using the autorun feature, which is bound to ‘=’ key by default. It’s highly recommended that you make use of this feature as you wander the island to save your fingers on the WASD keys. While autorunning, you only need to move your mouse to control the direction your character is running. Autorunning takes care of mantling too, so if you’re running along some uneven terrain, you should still be able to clamber your way across. Annoyingly, there isn’t a sprint feature that allows for even faster movement despite the presence of a stamina bar.
2. Salvage all your low-level New World gear
After completing the first few missions in New World, you’ll start getting some decent gear that surpasses your starting rags. As you acquire more gear in the early levels, you need to salvage your old gear. Salvaging gear gives you Repair Kits, which will be vital for keeping your higher end gear functional as you use it. It’s best to salvage as much as you can early on so that you have a good supply of them to work through once you get some high-tier loot.
Definitely don’t sell your low-level gear either. New World’s in-game markets are player-managed and act more like trading posts for players. Selling an item results in you placing a sell order at a trading post which allows other players to then buy that order and receive your stuff. However, low-level gear is entirely useless to most players or is easily craftable so no one else is going to buy what you’re selling.
3. You can respec your skills in New World
There isn’t really a class system in New World as the focus is on levelling up an array of skills, putting points into attributes, and mastering certain weapons to unlock relevant abilities. While your skill levels are permanent, the latter two systems can be changed at any time allowing you to respecialize your playstyle.
To respec your attributes, you need to open your New World Character page and then open the Attributes tab. Towards the bottom, there is a ‘Respec’ option that will refund your points, allowing you to reallocate them in Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Focus, and Constitution. You can do this for free at any time up until you reach level 20. Beyond that, it’ll cost you a bit of gold each time you want to respec
Likewise, levelling up each weapon type will grant you mastery points that you can spend to unlock perks and special abilities to use in combat. You can also respec those mastery points to change up your playstyle with a particular weapon type. It’s free to do so, but it’ll start costing you once you reach level 10 with your chosen weapon type. Use your early levels to experiment with different weapon types and attributes to find your favored playstyle early on!
4. Check in at Inns to fast travel for free in New World
New World does at least have fast travel to skip some of the walking trips you’ll have to do. Unfortunately, there are a few requirements and restrictions for fast travel, making it a bit complicated. If you want to fast travel to a settlement for free though, you need to have found and checked in to the local Inn. In future, you’ll be able to fast travel to that Inn by clicking on the Settlement you want to travel to on your map. Then you need to choose the ‘Recall to Inn’ option, which lets you travel back to the settlement from almost any location for free. If you need to make a quick escape or want to avoid a trek back to a Settlement for a quest, use this option. Be warned that you cannot do this while on a PvP mission.
If you need to fast travel in the more traditional way, you’ll need to already be in a Settlement, and you can only fast travel to other Settlements that you’ve previously visited. Fast travelling will also cost you some Azoth, and you’ll incur higher Azoth payments if you want to travel further. While you’re in a Settlement, you should check around for supply carts. You can loot these to get some extra resources for crafting items. These will have a shimmering, glow effect around them, so keep an eye out for those.
5. New World Factions are mostly all the same
One of New World’s core mechanics is its Factions system, which is the basis for any PvP in the game and allows players to engage in 50 vs 50 battles for territory on Aeternum. As part of the main story quest in the first few hours of the game, you’ll need to speak to the local representatives of the three New World Factions – The Syndicate, The Marauders, and The Covenant.
The three Factions are have different banners, aesthetics, and values, but in terms of gameplay in New World, they’re all mostly the same. Each Faction offers players the same benefits, and neither Faction has a superior shop to the others. However, it is important to bear in mind that if you want to join a Company, you must join one that has members of the same Faction as you. Also, if you Flag yourself for PvP, you can only party up with members of the same Faction too. Pick the Faction that appeals most to you or the one that your friends have chosen so that you can always play with them.
6. Spend your New World Territory Standing Points
As you do pretty much anything in a particular region on Aeternum, you’ll earn Territory Standing. This levelling system allows you to unlock certain benefits that apply whenever you’re in a particular region. Some of the best benefits include increasing the rate at which you earn Territory Standing in a region – allowing you to level it up even faster – increasing the amount of XP you gain to level up your character, and station fee reductions that make using workstations a little cheaper for you. When you have Territory Standing Points to spend, you’ll be given a few possible benefits unlock. You can spend your points by opening the ‘Territory Standings’ tab on the left side of your map screen.
7. Flagging yourself for PvP in New World gives you more XP
If you want to increase your XP gains a little more, Flagging yourself for PvP in New World is the way to do so. You’ll get a small XP bonus for anything you do out in the open world while flagged. The caveat is that you’re vulnerable to attacks from players of rival Factions. If you want to benefit most from this XP boost, make sure you party up with some friends, go on some PvP Faction missions together, and protect each other from enemy players. Remember, they must be in the same Faction as you to party up!
If you want to Flag yourself for PvP, you’ll need to have joined a Faction first. Once you’ve done that, you can toggle your PvP flag on or off whenever you are in a Settlement by pressing the ‘U’ key. Your Faction flag icon at the bottom of your screen will change to reflect your flagged or unflagged status. There’s no PvP in Settlements, so you’re safe so long as you remain in one. If you leave a Settlement, you’ll become vulnerable to attacks after a 30-second countdown.
