New World is back. Player numbers are up, and the hype for the new Brimstone Sands expansion is getting bigger by the day. A lot has changed in the past year, including some fundamental tweaks to how you level, how you progress your gear score, and how you treat the endgame grind. This guide for returning players covers everything you need to know about jumping back into the game.

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We will cover the new Gypsum and Expertise system, how the new fast travel and storage system works, how you complete mutated versions of Expeditions, and lots of other tips, tricks, and useful info you might have missed.

What Should You Do First As A Returning Player?

If you're returning to the game after a long, long hiatus, there's probably a lot going on, and you're completely lost. That's fine, and to be expected, really.

  • The best thing to do is take stock of your gear - what build were you even running? Is it still viable? Head to the trading post and pick out some new gear (if you've got the gold). Aim for the highest gear score and don't worry too much about perks, etc. Just get up to scratch.
  • Now it's probably time to check out the Expeditions. You should run Genesis, Lazarus, Heart of the Tempest, and the new pirate Barnacle expedition. You no longer need a key to get in. You can run these dungeons 25 times a day for no cost. There's also a group finder you can access by hitting the Expedition icon on the map.
  • Do some chest runs. Yes, they're still here, but things might be a little different since you last played. You can now run Imperial Palace, Siren Pools, Malevolence, and Mangled Heights as the boss and monster levels have been increased. This gives you a load more options that just Shattered Mines and Myrkgard. Ask in chat to join a group - you might see spam of "+imp" or "+siren".
  • Join a company. Companies are still a big deal in New World, and you'll want to put in the effort of finding a good company with active players.
  • Check out your housing and storage. You will see that your house is still there, and you might have some decent items sitting around in storage. Take stock and sell what you can for extra gold. You can now move items between storage in different towns for no extra cost.
  • Next, start work on your gear score. Read on below to find out more.

Gear Score Progression

This is probably the largest fundamental change to how New World's endgame works. In the days of old, the so-called "watermark" system was not something players loved. An invisible number that dictated your gear score? It wasn't great.

Now things are a lot better. There are two big changes: Gypsum and Expertise.

How Gypsum Works In New World

Gypsum is a new system that allows you to increase the gear score of your items by completing a range of different tasks. Gypsum can be crafted into Gypsum at the new Gyspum kilns at high-level Outposts in Edengrove, Shattered Mountain, etc.

There are multiple different Gypsums that you can unlock each day.

  • Obsidian Gyspum (3 a day) - Killing level 60+ named creatures.
  • Ruby Gypsum (2 a day) - Completing two rounds of Outpost Rush.
  • Emerald Gypsum (1 a day) - Getting an Aptitude level (your trade skills).
  • Sapphire Gypsum (2 a day) - Defeating the final boss in the Genesis and Lazarus expeditions.
  • Citrine Gypsum (1 a day) - You can earn one of these a day by completing an Arena.
  • Amethyst Gypsum (7 a day) - You can earn up to seven of these a day by completing Corrupted portals.
  • Diamond Gypsum (3 a day) - You can earn these by completing various special events (most recently it was the Summer Fair, but we expect a new event soon around the holidays).
  • Topaz Gypsum (10 a day) - You can earn ten of these a day by defeating any level 55+ monster while you have the Topaz Attunement Potion buff.

You can craft this Gypsum into Gypsum Orbs that have a one-day cooldown. This leads us neatly onto the next section of this guide: Expertise.

How Expertise Works In New World

Expertise is a new gear score level that will dictate your overall gear score. Expertise is earned by opening Gypsum Crates from the Kiln, by defeating high-level monsters and getting a drop, or by completing various Chest Runs across the map. Yes, Chest Runs are still here.

Expertise will then take an average of your item gear score and expertise level to determine your overall gear score. All of this is displayed in the game and you can monitor your progress day by day.

At the current rate, if you left the game at level 60 with almost no gear score progression, the new system will let you hit 600-625 in a couple of weeks depending on your playtime.

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How To Prepare For The Brimstone Sands Expansion

Brimstone Sands is the next area to be unlocked in New World. It is a 60+ area with new mobs, Expeditions, quests, and items. Here's what you should have ready ahead of the expansion launch, if you have the time to prepare.

  • Trade Skills - The new items will require high-level trade skills to refine/craft/use. Having your Weaponsmithing at 200 and Stonecutting at 200 is an excellent idea. That's because of the addition of new Heart Rune gems and Runeglass Gems. These are basically ultimate abilities. (We will cover these in an upcoming guide).
  • Get your gear score to 600+
  • Start collecting some Gypsum. You will need Gypsum to craft some of these ultra late-game items.

Fresh Start Servers

There is a suggestion that we will get fresh start servers with the launch of the new expansion. This is because of the revamped leveling experience up to level 25. Town Board has been nerfed significantly, but the questing has been vastly improved.

If you're returning to the game after a long time, it might be a good idea to jump into one of these servers. There will be more people enjoying early game content and Expeditions, and the economies are totally reset.

NEXT: New World Brimstone Sands Preview: A New Frontier One Year On