The Ultimate Guide to Maximizing Your Expertise in New World

Introduction

In the captivating world of New World, the Expertise System plays a crucial role in determining your in-game gear score. Expertise represents the maximum gear score for each specific item. In this comprehensive New World Expertise Guide, we will delve into all the essential information you need to elevate your Expertise to an impressive 600!

How the Expertise System Works

The Expertise system comes into play once you reach level 60. At this point, you must strive to increase your Expertise in every category, be it armor, weapons, or jewelry, to a remarkable 600. Achieving this milestone requires collecting loot drops and harnessing the power of the Gypsum system, as we will discuss later.

For example, suppose you possess a helmet with a gear score of 500, and you defeat an enemy who drops a helmet with a gear score of 510. In that case, your new Expertise for the helmet slot will be 510. From then on, as long as you engage in battles with enemies capable of dropping items in that range, the gear dropped for your helmet will align with the 510 range.

Each type of equipment, including weapons, armor, and jewelry, possesses its own expertise level. However, all three weight categories of armor—light, medium, and heavy—share the same Expertise score for each respective slot (e.g., helmet, gloves). Each weapon, on the other hand, has its own specific expertise score.

You can easily check your current Expertise for any item by navigating to the Gear Score/Inventory screen, where you’ll find indicators listed beside each gear type.

It’s worth noting that equipping items with higher gear scores will not increase your expertise level for that particular gear slot. We will explore how Expertise impacts gear performance later. Additionally, the likelihood of receiving an Expertise increase gradually diminishes as you face enemies with levels beyond 60.

Event reward containers, such as outpost rush, respect your current Expertise and offer a chance to increase it.

Expertise Increase vs Enemy Level Chart

You can also utilize Gypsum to ensure a guaranteed increase in a specific gear slot (more about Gypsum below).

The Expertise increase mechanism operates on a partially non-random basis. Each time you defeat an enemy appropriate for your level, you have a chance to receive an Expertise increase. If you do not encounter an increase, the probability of obtaining one becomes slightly higher in subsequent battles.

Enemies found in elite landmarks and expeditions present a higher base chance of elevating your Expertise score. The same holds true for named enemies at level 60 and above, while Expedition Bosses unfailingly drop items that increase your Expertise. Each expedition run provides three items (including one from the aforementioned bosses). Elite Chests bear a higher chance of granting expertise drops compared to defeating elite enemies.

How to Increase Your Expertise / Gear Score

Harnessing the power of the Gypsum System offers an excellent means of boosting your Expertise. Crafting a Gypsum Cast ensures a guaranteed expertise increase for your selected gear slot.

Obtaining two Gypsum types daily, Sapphire and Citrine, proves highly beneficial. End game dungeon bosses grant a guaranteed random boost in Expertise score, complemented by a Sapphire Gypsum that can be transformed into a Gypsum Cast for an additional assured increase. Moreover, the dungeons’ chests also present further opportunities for bumps in expertise.

To obtain Citrine Gypsum, you must emerge victorious against an Arena boss. Defeating the boss results in a guaranteed random expertise increase and awards you with the Citrine Gypsum required for crafting a Gypsum Cast.

Chest Runs

If you have the opportunity to participate in a daily chest run train, seize it, as it represents the optimal route to expertise increases. If you can only engage in one activity each day, this should be your top priority. Look out for players posting “X” in chat to join the train and follow them throughout the run.

During the chest run, you may utilize a topaz potion to acquire your topaz gypsum. However, success rates vary depending on the train’s dynamics (some skip mobs, while others may have too many players to secure any loot). Additionally, you can obtain three obsidian gypsum during the run. The primary allure of chest runs lies in the random expertise increases you acquire from looting elite chests. Consequently, you can obtain gypsum to enhance specific gear slots while also enjoying numerous unpredicted expertise boosts. As a fresh level 60 player, keep an eye out for the following spirit shrines, crucial for these chest runs:

• Imperial Shrine – Southern Ebonscale Reach
• Mountainhome Outpost – Southwest Shattered Mountain
• Elysian Shrine – Eastern Edengrove
• Cleave’s Point Outpost – Western Great Cleave
• Lazarus Shrine – Northern Reekwater
• Crossroads Shrine – West Shattered Mountain (For Brimstone Sands Chest Runs)
• Shrine of the Nine – Brimstone Sands

Locations to Increase Expertise per Level

500-525 Gear Score (Elite 61+)

• Great Cleave: Mangled Heights
• Shattered Mountain: Upper Svikin

549-577 Gear Score (Elite 63+)

• Brimstone Sands: Beds of T-Bitjet
• Reekwater: Forecastle Drift
• Shattered Mountain: Scorched Mines

577-591 Gear Score (Elite 64+)

• Reekwater: Siren’s Stand

591+ Gear Score (Elite 65+)

• Brimstone Sands: Westwall Nebet-Het
• Brimstone Sands: Castrum Principium
• Brimstone Sands: Heliopolis
• Brimstone Sands: Solarium Khepri
• Brimstone Sands: Ordeal of the Scorpion
• Edengrove: Malevolence
• Ebonscale Reach: Imperial Palace
• Reekwater: Spire of Melpomene
• Shattered Mountain: Myrkgard

591+ Gear Score (Expeditions)

• Brimstone Sands: The Ennead
• Cutlass Keys: Barnacles and Black Powder
• Edengrove: Garden of Genesis
• Reekwater: Lazarus Instrumentality
• Shattered Mountain: Tempest’s Heart
• Edengrove: Monoecious Cleft Spriggan Arena
• Reekwater: The Amphitheatre Arena
• Edengrove: Eternal Pools Arena

It’s important to remember that Elite Chests have a daily cooldown. Consequently, you can farm elite zones to collect gear, after which you can explore 60+ portals to further increase your gear score. Outpost Rush is also another avenue for gear score increases and gypsum, though matches might be time-consuming, making it a less optimal path to boosting your Expertise.

Solo/Small Group Options for Increasing Your Expertise / Gear Score

As a solo player, the Gypsum System proves the most effective method for enhancing your Expertise. You can solo queue for Outpost Rush daily, a guaranteed way to obtain Expertise Increases via gypsum. Solo players can further obtain Emerald Gypsum and Topaz Gypsum by challenging hostile creatures at level 55 and above.

Additionally, you can farm specific level 63 enemies who have a chance to drop items with gear scores up to 600. Our interactive map provides valuable information on the locations of all named enemies in New World. Here are a few noteworthy options:

• Edengrove: Baines, Cael, Adjorjan
• Old Myrkgard Forest: Unhallowed Soul of Myrkgard
• Nihilo Visage: High Priest Oseguera
• Balebane Maw: Articulon the Unshackeld, Mozrul the Herald
• Caminus: Caminus Gate Lord, Overseer Levy
• Spilaio Cavern: Tzi-Wang the Immovable, Dau-Shen the Unstoppable
• East Illurmin: Corrupted Excubitor Luca
• West Illurmin: Pit Lord Daehi
• The Congregation: Mirepaw
• Lambent Muskeg: The Blight Bringer
• Maria’s Rest: Smoothbore Samuel
• Ska Makogai: Thorn of the Heartwood
• Serenity Monastery: Gnasher
• Skysong Crypt: Ivan the Inevitable, Mordici the Mortician, Slayer Rosellen, Farley

How Luck Affects Your Expertise in New World

It’s important to understand that higher Luck does not directly influence the likelihood of increasing your Expertise. However, Luck does heighten your chances of obtaining rarer drops when farming for higher Expertise items.

Expertise’s Impact on Gear Performance

Expertise also determines the effectiveness of your gear. If your Expertise falls below the equipped item’s gear score for a particular slot, the effective gear score for that piece of equipment will be a fusion of your Expertise and the gear score. For instance, if your Hatchet Expertise is 500 and you equip a Hatchet with a gear score of 560, the effective gear score for that weapon will be reduced to 530.

Exceptions to the Expertise System

Items obtained before the downscaling patch in early 2022 retain their original gear score and are exempt from scaling. Crafted items, quest rewards, and faction shop purchases made before the patch remain unaffected by this change. If you acquire a Gear Score 600 item before the change, it will not be downscaled to match your Expertise level (if it’s lower than 600).

Named items dropped by elite monsters are also exceptions to the scaling rule; their gear score remains intact. However, equipping these items will not automatically increase your expertise to match their level.

Similarly, crafted Artisan items and legendary gypsum cast items retain their gear score when equipped but do not elevate your expertise accordingly.

Expertise and Gear Scaling

It’s essential to note that items retain their inherent gear score. As your expertise increases, the effective gear score for the item will scale accordingly. For example, if you possess a hatchet with a gear score of 560 but have an expertise of 520, once your expertise reaches 530, the power of your hatchet will increase to 530.

It’s important to highlight that you will still benefit from all the perks and attributes of a higher gear score item, albeit at reduced potency. Perks, in particular, wield significant power. Thus, equipping a Legendary Item may not grant full effectiveness initially, but the associated perks still bestow an advantage. As your Expertise increases, you will gradually maximize the item’s potential.

Gypsum and Gypsum Casts

Gypsum serves as a resource obtained through a variety of end-game activities. With Gypsum, you can craft Gypsum orbs, which in turn can be transformed into Gypsum Casts. Each Gypsum Cast corresponds to a specific type of gear, and upon opening it, you are guaranteed an Expertise increase for that gear type. Additionally, you receive an item of the corresponding gear score.

For example, if you desire to augment your fire staff’s expertise, you can craft a fire staff Gypsum Cast and savor a guaranteed increase in your fire staff gear score. The accompanying fire staff will exhibit the corresponding boost in gear score.

How to Obtain Gypsum

You can obtain Gypsum by engaging in ten different activities, with each activity yielding a specific Gypsum type:

Each activity rewards a unique Gypsum type, and they cannot be mixed and matched to create an orb. Crafting an orb necessitates one Gypsum, while crafting a Cast consumes one orb. Consequently, you must complete the respective activities sufficient times to accumulate enough Gypsum for crafting an orb of that type.

Number of Gypsum Required to Make a Gypsum Orb by Color

The following table outlines how much Gypsum is needed to craft one Gypsum Orb:

You can also purchase two Gypsum orbs daily from the faction vendor, and perfect salvages grant orbs exceeding the daily limit.

After crafting the Orb, locate a Gypsum Kiln in the end-game zones:

• Ebonscale Reach Settlement
• Reekwater Settlement
• Great Cleave Outposts
• Edengrove Outposts
• Shattered Mountain Outposts
• Brimstone Sands

At the kiln, you can craft your orb and subsequently craft your Cast. Crafting both the orb and the Cast entail minimal coin costs. Once you possess the Cast, use it to achieve the guaranteed expertise increase for the corresponding gear slot.

Legendary Gypsum Casts

Legendary versions of gypsum casts are also available for crafting at the kiln. Crafting a legendary cast requires five gypsum orbs and 1000 umbral shards. Opening a legendary cast yields an expertise increase identical to a regular gypsum cast but grants a guaranteed legendary item. Do note that the item may not possess the desired perks or attributes. Equipping the item will grant the power of a 600 gear score item, but your expertise level for that slot will not immediately reach 600.

Conclusion

That concludes our comprehensive New World Expertise Guide. The next step in your New World progression journey revolves around Umbral Shards. To delve deeper into this topic, consult our Umbral Shard guide.