New World Season 8 Gear Progression Guide: How To Level Gear Fast & Efficiently

If you’re venturing into New World Season 8, understanding the best gear progression is essential. Whether you’re fresh out of the starting zones or returning after a break, navigating the New World endgame gear system in Season 8 can feel overwhelming. Between the updated Expertise mechanics, named gear drops, faction vendor revamps, and a more refined crafting ecosystem, there are a lot of pathways to consider.

This guide will break down how to level gear in New World efficiently, explore the best sources of endgame gear, and outline optimal routes for crafting and farming to make your character raid- and expedition-ready.

Understanding Gear Progression in New World Season 8

In New World, gear progression revolves around two primary pillars:

Expertise (previously known as Watermark)
Gear Score (GS) ranging from 500 to 625+ depending on content tier and system changes in Season 8.

Season 8 continues with the Expertise system as the backbone of vertical gear upgrades, but Amazon has made some smart tweaks to make it less grindy and more player-directed. The progression loop now rewards a mix of open-world grinding, expedition farming, and crafting.
expertise system new world

Phase 1: How To Efficiently Farm Expertise

Your Expertise level for each gear slot (head, chest, legs, gloves, boots, weapons, jewelry) determines how high gear can drop for that slot.

Top Sources of Expertise in Season 8:

Elite Zones
Run elite zones like:
- Malevolence (Edengrove)
- Imperial Palace (Ebonscale Reach)
- Scorched Mines (Shattered Mountain)
- Eternal Pools (Reekwater)
These locations are stacked with elite mobs and chests, dropping high Expertise bumps (especially after 590+).
Expeditions (Mutated and Normal)
Expeditions remain a strong source of Expertise, especially the latest additions:
- Empyrean Forge
- Savage Divide
- Barnacles & Black Powder
Mutated versions have better drop tables and gear bump frequency, so if you’re mutation-ready, jump in.
Gypsum Orbs
Crafting Gypsum Casts at the Gypsum Kiln is a crucial daily activity. Each cast targets a gear slot, increasing Expertise. Gypsum types include:
- Obsidian (Elite mobs)
- Sapphire (Expeditions)
- Emerald (Tradeskill Aptitude)
- Topaz (Potions + Enemies)
- Amethyst (Corrupted Events)
Faction Vendor Gear (Post-Season 8 Updates)
Faction vendors now offer 600 GS gear with some solid perks. These pieces scale based on your Expertise level, so it's best to buy them once your Expertise is 590+.

Phase 2: Best Sources of Named Gear in Season 8

Once your Expertise starts pushing toward 600+, you’ll want to swap in named items — gear with fixed, powerful perk rolls. These are meta-defining pieces for endgame PvE builds.

Top Tier Named Gear to Target:

Gear Type	Item Name	Where to Get It	Notes
Greatsword	The Wall	Final boss in Empyrean Forge	Great tanking weapon
Fire Staff	Scorching Flames	Lazarus Instrumentality Mut 5+	Strong for Fire Mage builds
Chest Armor	Tempestuous Chestplate	Tempest Heart	Great for bruiser setups
Ring	Smooth Bone Ring	World Drop (Shattered Mountain)	BIS crit ring
Bow	Feathered Death	Mutation Chest - Barnacles	Best for Bow users (DPS builds)

You can find curated named gear via:

Expedition boss drops
Mutation caches
Open-world named enemies
Event drops (Season Pass, Seasonal World Bosses)

Use New World database sites to track named mobs and their drop tables — this will help you focus your farming efforts.

Phase 3: Best Crafting Routes for Endgame Gear

If RNG isn’t treating you well, crafting is still king — especially for min-maxing stats and perks.

Best Practices for Crafting Gear in Season 8:

Level Armoring, Weaponsmithing, Engineering, and Jewelcrafting to 200.
- Use refining bonuses and food buffs to reduce costs.
- Focus on crafted gear with +5 crafting mods, trophies, and gear sets for best results.
Use Timeless Shards for stat selection and Crafting Mods for perks.
- Stack Azoth for a higher chance at Legendary crafts.
- Target BIS perks like Refreshing, Resilient, Keenly Empowered, and Weapon-specific perks.
Forge Gear at Tier 5 Stations in Major Towns
- Towns with crafting buffs (Everfall, Windsward, Brimstone) are ideal.
Sell or Salvage Failures
Any subpar crafts can still fetch decent gold or give back materials and XP through salvage or trade.

Phase 4: Faction Gear and Changes in Season 8

Amazon has reworked Faction gear in Season 8 to make it more viable for new or returning players.

Key Updates:

Now scales better with Expertise.
Some items come pre-equipped with meta PvE perks.
Great stopgap gear while you farm named items or push crafting.

Tip: Pick up faction tokens through PvP missions, outpost rush, or corrupted breaches — and prioritize buying:

Weapons for early DPS
Heavy Chest & Legs for tanks
Jewelry for universal usage

Bonus: Mutations and Expedition Gear Targeting Tips

When you're ready for high-end content, Mutated Expeditions become your best shot at high GS, named items, and Umbral Shards for upgrading gear to 625+.

Mutation-Specific Loot Tips:

Check mutation type (Void, Fire, Ice) and build accordingly.
Gear score scaling matters — aim for 615+ before tackling Mutation 5+.
Focus on chest runs in mutated dungeons and sell/trade excess drops.

Umbral Shards now drop in greater quantities, so once you hit 600 GS, these become vital for pushing BiS gear up to 625.

Final Thoughts: Best Gear Progression Strategy for Season 8

Here’s your TL;DR gear progression roadmap for New World Season 8:

Run elite zones + expeditions daily to raise Expertise to 590+.
Craft Gypsum Casts every day (at least 5 different types).
Pick up named drops from targeted mobs and expedition bosses.
Craft BiS gear with Timeless Shards once skills hit 200.
Upgrade to 625 with Umbral Shards from Mutated Expeditions.

With this strategy, you’ll be dungeon-ready, raid-viable, and mutation-dominant in no time. Gear progression no longer feels like a slog — it’s a modular system that rewards every kind of playstyle.

If you’re struggling with materials or time, consider trading or buying from other players — or if you want to speed things up, you can always buy New World gold or items from trusted marketplaces like SSEGold- to fund your next big craft or gear purchase.