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Crafting is a massive component of New World's gameplay. You could level up entirely by crafting chest pieces, never killing a monster, nor completing an Expedition along the way. It'll take time of course, but it's just an example of how large crafting is in the game.
There are dozens of different resources to gather, from Gold to Orichalcum, and hundreds upon hundreds of items to craft, with more expected to be added with the game's full release. You can brew potions, build furniture, and craft armor. There's a lot to take in, so here's our breakdown of how it all works.
Updated October 4, 2021, by Harry Alston: New World is now out and players are really getting stuck into the crafting aspect of New World. There are thousands of items to create. We're updating this guide with some more tips, tricks, and general gameplay mechanics that we overlooked during the open and closed betas.
Collecting Resources
Before you can start crafting, you'll need to gather resources. This works a little like Runescape (some comparisons have been drawn between the two's grind for resources) wherein you walk around the world and cut down trees, mine rocks, and otherwise pick up pretty much everything you see.
- You can't collect everything right from the start of the game. You need to level up your skills in each respective gathering role, like mining, or logging. For example, you can't mine gold until level 45 in mining.
- At a certain level, you can begin to track resources. This makes them easier to find while traversing the world. Not all resources show up on the tracker or on the map, so keep that in mind.
- The map is your best friend - it will give you a detailed overview of where to find resources, although an interactive map, like the one at NewWorldFans, is a good place to start for specific locations.
We also have some guides covering the best places to get certain resources over at our complete New World guide.
The first one we should point out as a must-read is our Iron ore guide. Find the best routes for mining iron. Simple.
You should also check out our leveling guides for various harvesting and refining skills:
- New World: Complete Guide To Gems
- New World: Mining Leveling Guide
- New World: Engineering Leveling Guide
Refining Your Resources
This is the process where you take those useless resources and turn them into more valuable materials, a perfect example of this is smelting Iron Ore into Bars. You instantly increase the value of the material and get EXP in the process.
However, it's not that simple throughout the rest of the game.
- All workshops in Towns require work to level up. At the beginning of the game - as in, on launch day - no town will have a Tier 3 Workshop. Players need to complete Town Board missions to level up various areas in a town, and only the faction leader/company leader in that area can authorize an upgrade.
- Tier 3 refining also introduces the use of Reagents. These are unique additional items used during the crafting process to grant extra resources upon crafting, or different properties. For example, Petalcaps are an Earth Reagent and are used in certain recipes. Here's a guide on where to find them.
Crafting Weapons, Armor, And More
You've gathered the resources, refined the resources, and now it's time to turn them into something much more valuable. Gear. You won't be able to craft anything incredible at the start of the game, but later on, it's a fantastic way to make EXP and gold.
- Much like the other leveling mechanics in New World, crafting also has its own set of skills and requirements.
- Because it can take a while to level up crafting skills - like Engineering, for example - then you may want to choose one thing to craft and stick with it.
- If you're in a communicative faction or company, find out what your teammates are specializing in and choose something different. This way you get a nice balance. Some will be skilled at making armor, whereas others will be good at making Bows or Muskets.
How Do You Level Up Your Trade Skills Fast?
It's a grind. There's no denying it. You might have to craft several hundred bullets or arrows before you level up your Engineering skill to where you want it, for example. Bigger items, like Muskets, might give you more EXP, but they also require many more resources.
- Grind it out. Aim for Steel tools so you speed up your resource gathering, then use those resources to craft small but multiple items, like Arrows. You will need Iron and Silver to craft Steel tools, but the upgrade is worth it.
- To level up Engineering, our favorite is to craft multiple Spears. Over. And. Over. Again. We also recommend building thousands of Iron Cartridges for a simple affordable way to level, although you will need a lot of Saltpeter (we've got a guide for that.)
- For Armorsmithing craft loads of Leather Gloves. Other leather items are fine, but you will need more Iron.
- Stonecutting and Cooking are pretty obvious - stones and rations. So many rations. Prioritize gems and refining gems to extra, huge boosts in Stonecutting.
- Furnishing is a bit of a nightmare and not that necessary unless you love fancy furniture. You'll need a bunch of resources to get anything worthwhile. Lumber. Timber. Lumber. Get cutting!
- Arcane is tricky to level up. Make sure you're collecting buckets of water to make potions. Then spam out lots of cheap potions. It's slow.
How To Craft Better Gear
There are two ways to craft better gear: adding Azoth and adding special ingredients and items. Special items that can be attached to weapons can be found across Aeturnum, in various quest chests and Expedition runs.
- You can add these during the crafting process.
- Certain items will give an extra buff to your weapon or gear, like providing a perk of extra Dexterity, for example.
- The chance of getting an additional high-tier perk is increased by the amount of Azoth you add to the crafting recipe.
- More Azoth adds to the chance of getting random perks or attributes.
Putting more effort into your crafted gear can be a benefit for your own gameplay, but also as a way to sell items for a profit. The Trading Posts at various settlements are hotspots for player trading. You probably won't make much at the start of the game, but you never know.