New World Season 10 Gear Guide

Gear in New World: Aeternum gets a massive change with the release of Nighthaven and Season 10!

We’ve significantly updated the game’s gearing system. You can now customize perks using Charms, and some older perks have been removed. The way you upgrade your gear score has also changed. We know these changes are extensive and might be a bit overwhelming, whether you’re new to the game or a long-time player.

In this guide, we’ll go over the main changes and explain them to help you make the most of them!

Season 10 Gear Guide | New World: Aeternum

New Players – Focus on Story

We strongly suggest that new players, especially those starting with Season 10, concentrate on completing the main story quests first.

Focus on progressing through the main storyline to unlock content as you gain levels—that’s more beneficial than worrying about getting better gear. This is particularly true right now, with the new season just beginning and the best strategies still being figured out.

Okay, so Season 10 really shook things up, and honestly, we’re all still figuring out what strategies and builds actually work best. It’s a learning process for everyone in the community right now!

We’re also planning more adjustments to equipment in future updates, especially items you create yourself. These changes could impact your long-term goals, so keep an eye out for them.

Besides all that, you’ll earn good equipment simply by playing the main story. If you’re new to the game, that’s a great place to start.

Perk Charm System

The biggest new change to gearing in Season 10 is the Perk Charm system.

All gear you acquire now has space for up to four Perk Charms. These Charms add different benefits to your equipment, depending on the Charm’s type. To add a Charm, simply select the gear with available slots and click the ‘Attach Charms’ option.

Charms come in three types: Offensive, Defensive, and Skill-based. Keep in mind that certain item slots can only hold specific charm types, so it’s important to find gear with the right sockets for the charms you want to use!

Charms are primarily obtained later in the game through a few different methods. You can create them yourself, find them as random drops from enemies, or purchase them from other players through trading.

We recommend Soul Trials as a great way to earn Charms. They offer a good amount, and are designed for players to complete on their own, making it a comfortable farming method.

Just so you know, once a Charm is placed into an item, you can’t get it back. You can swap it out for a different Charm, but the original one will be permanently removed.

Besides empty slots for Perks, gear can also come with fixed Infix Perks. These perks are permanent and can’t be changed. Because they’re always there, they’re usually more powerful – comparable to perks found on top-tier Artifact items.

As you can probably guess, a lot of this system is based on chance. The number of empty Charm slots you find is random, and the Infix Perks you receive are too!

Basically, keep an eye out for empty spaces for Perks on your gear. If you find empty slots that fit the Perks you want, you can customize your equipment to make it exactly how you like it.

Gem Sockets Are High Priority

As a player, something I’ve noticed this season is that gem sockets aren’t showing up on *every* piece of gear anymore. They seem rarer overall, which is a bit different from before. Just like charm sockets, you’re relying on luck – they appear randomly on drops, so you can’t count on finding them every time.

Gem sockets are represented by an empty circle on your gear, as shown above.

As in previous seasons, Gems continue to be a key way to strengthen your equipment. Because of this, we suggest discarding any gear that doesn’t have a free Gem slot.

The only times this doesn’t apply are if you have no other options, or if the Infix Perks offer benefits that are just too valuable to ignore!

Generally, equipment that doesn’t have spaces for gems isn’t useful to hold onto. It’s best to immediately break down this gear to reduce clutter in your inventory, which makes managing your items and advancing in the game much easier.

Do Mutated Expeditions and Catacombs

We strongly suggest completing the weekly Mutated Expeditions to get better gear as quickly as possible. You’ll find them marked on the map by spinning ritual circles, which indicate expeditions with special challenges (mutators).

Okay, so if you want the best gear from those weekly Mutated Expeditions, you really need to run them at least five times. Seriously, doing it five times pretty much *guarantees* you’ll get the top-tier Artifact gear for that Expedition. It’s a bit of a grind, but it’s worth it!

If you’re unfamiliar, Artifact gear represents the best equipment available in the game. Each piece always includes one powerful, unique bonus called an Infix Perk. These perks are typically very strong, making Artifacts essential for maximizing the potential of certain character builds.

Just a reminder that Mutated Expeditions change every week. It’s best to complete them quickly, because if you don’t, you’ll have to wait for them to reappear before you can earn that Expedition’s special reward. Don’t miss your chance!

We also suggest trying the Catacombs. It’s a great way to get new equipment, and it’s usually less stressful than activities like Raids. Definitely consider it when you’re upgrading your gear.

Set Bonuses

Season 10 introduces gear sets! Similar to other role-playing games, wearing multiple pieces from the same set will grant you special bonuses.

Equipping different numbers of items from the same set – between two and five pieces – gives you different benefits. This lets you customize your build, like combining several 2-piece set bonuses.

Set bonuses are typically earned from powerful gear obtained later in the game, like from raids, dungeons, and player-versus-player activities. While they’re not available early on, they’re strong upgrades and worth working towards!

Umbrals and Upgrading

Starting with Season 10, you can now improve your equipment’s power (Gear Score) simply by using Umbrals. This new method has replaced the previous system that used the gypsum kiln.

To upgrade your gear, simply click on any item with a Gear Score of 700 or more and choose the ‘Upgrade’ option. You’ll then be able to select how much you want to increase the score, keeping in mind that a larger increase will require more Umbrals.

Umbrals, the valuable endgame currency, can be earned from a variety of activities like Raids, Catacombs, Mutated Expeditions, Elite Chests, Outpost Rush (OPR), and 3v3 Arenas, as well as through the PvP Track. Keep in mind there’s a limit to how many Umbrals you can get each week, which is currently 4000.

You now have a limit on how many Umbrals you can store – currently, you can hold up to 4,000. Just remember this when you’re collecting them!

This upgrade system is great if you already have your ideal gear, even if it’s not at the highest Gear Score. Instead of finding new items, you can simply upgrade what you have using Umbrals!

That wraps up our guide to gear in New World: Aeternum’s Season 10! We hope it helps you understand and use the new systems.

Curious about which weapons are performing best with the new gearing changes? We’ve created a tier list highlighting the top 5 weapons for Season 10 – you can find it here!

2025-10-17 07:08