The Ultimate New World: Aeternum Master Strategy Guide

Welcome to Aeternum, the Eternal Isle! 🏝️

Get ready, adventurer! You’ve shipwrecked on Aeternum, a land of myth and legend, a supernatural frontier where the laws of life and death are all twisted up by a mysterious substance called Azoth. You’ve got to forge a new destiny amidst breathtaking beauty, great riches, and ancient, corrupted horrors. 💀 This land is your oyster—offering endless chances to fight, forage, and build a legacy. But to survive, you’ll need skill, strategy, and a deep understanding of the island’s secrets. This is your master guide to conquering this cursed island!

The Core Philosophy – Play Your Way! 🤘

The coolest thing about New World: Aeternum is its super fluid, classless progression system. Your role isn’t locked in when you create your character. Instead, it’s all about the weapons you use and the stats you level up. This means you can change your playstyle whenever you want! You can be a tough-as-nails tank 🛡️, a life-saving healer ❤️‍🩹, or a devastating damage dealer 💥 just by swapping your gear and resetting your stats. This gives you unparalleled freedom to experiment and master multiple roles on just one character.

What’s New in Aeternum? ✨

This guide is fully updated for the modern New World: Aeternum experience, which has some awesome upgrades from the original game. It includes all the content from the Rise of the Angry Earth expansion, a totally revamped story with cool cinematic quests, and the introduction of cross-platform play, bringing together adventurers on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S! 🎮 Whether you’re a total newbie or a returning vet, this guide is your definitive resource for conquering the Eternal Isle. Let’s do this! 🎉

Chapter 1: Forging Your Legend – Character Fundamentals 📜

A powerful adventurer is built on a solid foundation. Understanding the core mechanics of character progression—attributes, equipment weight, and passive bonuses—is the first step to mastering any playstyle in Aeternum.

1.1. Understanding the Core Attributes 🧠

Every point you put into one of the five core attributes directly impacts how awesome you are in a fight. Spending these points wisely is the key to creating a powerful build.

Strength (STR) 💪: The main stat for heavy-hitting melee weapons. It’s the ONLY thing that boosts damage for the War Hammer and Great Axe, and it’s the primary stat for the Sword, Hatchet, and Flail.
Dexterity (DEX) 🏹: The key stat for ranged physical damage and quick, agile melee combat. It’s the primary damage source for the Bow, Musket, Spear, and Rapier.
Intelligence (INT) 🧙: The source of power for all magical weapons, including the Fire Staff, Ice Gauntlet, and Void Gauntlet. It also boosts the damage of any magical perks on your physical weapons.
Focus (FOC) ❤️‍🩹: The essential stat for healers. It’s the ONLY attribute that increases healing and damage for the Life Staff and also controls how fast your mana comes back.
Constitution (CON) ❤️: A universal stat that’s vital for EVERYONE. Every point in Constitution increases your max health, making you way harder to kill.

Your power isn’t just about stacking one stat. Many weapons scale with a primary and a secondary attribute, like the Sword (STR primary, DEX secondary). This creates awesome build synergy! Pairing weapons with complementary stats, like a Spear (DEX/STR) and a Hatchet (STR/DEX), lets you get more damage on both weapons. On the other hand, pairing weapons with totally different stats, like a Great Axe (STR only) and a Bow (DEX only), can make your overall damage weaker. Masterful build-crafting is all about analyzing these scaling properties to be as efficient as possible.

1.2. The Power of Thresholds: Unlocking Attribute Bonuses 🔓

Investing attribute points gets you more than just raw stats. Hitting specific milestones, or thresholds, unlocks powerful passive bonuses that can totally define your build. Planning your stats to hit these key thresholds is a crucial strategy.

Points	Strength 💪	Dexterity 🏹	Intelligence 🧙	Focus ❤️‍🩹	Constitution ❤️
50	+5% melee light attack dmg. +10% Mining speed.	+5% crit chance. +10% Skinning speed.	+10% light/heavy magic attack dmg. +10% Harvest speed.	+10% mana regen. +10% Fishing line tension.	Health pots are 20% stronger. +10% Logging speed.
100	+10% melee heavy attack dmg. +20 encumbrance.	+5% piercing dmg. +20% haste for 3s after dodging.	+10% crit dmg. -10% Azoth travel cost.	+20 mana pool. +10% salvage yield.	Max health up by 10% of physical armor. -10% durability loss.
150	+50% stamina dmg from attacks. -10% weight of mined items.	-10% stamina cost from dodging. -10% weight of skinned items.	+15% elemental dmg. -10% weight of harvested items.	+20% healing output. -10% weight of fished items.	-10% crit dmg taken. -10% weight of logged items.
200	+10% dmg on stunned/slowed enemies. +10% Mining speed.	+10% backstab/headshot dmg. +10% Skinning speed.	+10 mana after a dodge. +10% Harvest speed.	+20% buff duration. +10% Fishing line tension.	+20% increase to armor. +10% Logging speed.
250	Faster stamina regen during attacks. +10% yield when Mining.	+10% crit dmg on stunned/slowed enemies. +10% yield when Skinning.	+30% duration on DoT spells. +10% yield when Harvesting.	+30 mana on any kill. +10% salvage yield.	-80% dmg reduction at full health (60s CD). +10% yield when Logging.
300	Melee attacks gain Grit. 25% chance to one-shot a mining node.	Guaranteed crit after a dodge roll. -10% ammo weight.	+10% dmg on first hit on full health target. -10% Azoth travel weight.	First spell on full health enemy costs no mana. -10% inn travel cost.	+20% duration of stuns/slows/roots. +10% yield from all gathering.

1.3. Choosing Your Starting Archetype 🎭

When you make your character, you’ll pick from seven starting archetypes like Soldier or Ranger. This just decides your starting weapons and gives you a tiny boost to related trade skills. Don’t sweat this choice! It’s not permanent at all. You can find, craft, or buy any weapon in Aeternum and start using it immediately. Ultimate flexibility, baby! 😎

1.4. The Equip Load System: Your Combat Identity ⚖️

Your combat style is heavily defined by your equip load, which is the total weight of your equipped armor and shield. Each of the three weight classes offers a different balance of mobility, defense, and offense.

Light Armor 🤸‍♀️: Gives you the best mobility with a long-distance dodge-roll and huge bonuses to damage (+15%) and outgoing healing (+30%). This is the top choice for players who rely on zipping around to survive, like ranged DPS and many healers.
Medium Armor 🛡️: A balanced approach with solid defense and a quick, versatile hop-dodge. It’s the baseline with no bonuses or penalties, making it a super reliable choice for tons of builds in both PvE and PvP.
Heavy Armor 🏋️‍♂️: Maximum survivability! You get the highest resistances and a bonus to blocking (+10%). This defensive power comes at a cost: reduced damage (−15%) and healing (−30%), and the least mobile dodge, a short side-step. It’s the go-to for tanks and frontline bruisers who need to soak up damage.

The balance between these loads is always changing as the devs make adjustments. The goal is to make you choose between more damage or more survivability. A true master adventurer often keeps multiple sets of gear, letting them switch between Light, Medium, and Heavy to perfectly match the needs of any fight!

Chapter 2: The Art of War – Mastering Combat in Aeternum ⚔️

Combat in New World: Aeternum is an action-packed experience that rewards skill, timing, and tactics. You won’t win by just mashing buttons; you have to actively aim, dodge, block, and exploit enemy weaknesses.

2.1. Universal Combat Principles 📜

These core mechanics are fundamental to every fight on the island.

Action-Oriented Combat 🎯: Unlike old-school MMOs, every attack in New World has to be aimed. Ranged attacks need precision, and melee swings have to physically connect. This also means you have to actively defend yourself with timed dodges and blocks.
Stamina Management 🏃‍♂️: That yellow stamina bar is your most critical resource. Every dodge and block uses it up. If you run out, you’ll be exhausted, slow, and super vulnerable. 😱 The “Hearty” perk on rings is basically a must-have for almost every build because it gives you a crucial 10% more stamina.
Positioning and Environment 🌳: Use the world to your advantage! In both PvE and PvP, you can use trees and rocks for cover, get on high ground to shoot down on enemies, or pull monsters through narrow hallways to control the fight.
Understanding Damage Numbers 💥: The color of damage numbers tells you how effective your attack was. Learning these is key!
- White: Standard damage. Nothing special here.
- Yellow: You hit a weakness! You’re dealing increased damage. 👍
- Blue: The enemy is resistant. You’re dealing reduced damage. 👎
- Orange: CRITICAL HIT! You’re dealing bonus damage. Aim for headshots or backstabs to see this more often!

2.2. Exploiting Your Foes: A Guide to Enemy Types 🧟👹

Aeternum has several different families of monsters, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Prepping for a fight by using the right weapons and gems can turn a tough battle into a total cakewalk.

Enemy Type	Weak Against	Resistant To
Angry Earth 🌳	Slash (+20%), Fire (+30%)	Lightning, Thrust
Ancients 💀	Strike (+20%), Lightning (+30%), Void (+15%)	Slash, Fire
Beasts 🐺	Thrust (+20%)	None
Corrupted 😈	Thrust (+20%), Arcane (+30%), Nature (+15%)	Strike, Ice
Humans 🧍	Slash (+15%)	None
Lost 👻	Strike (+10%), Ice (+15%), Nature (+30%)	Thrust, Void

2.3. Melee, Ranged, and Magic Combat Deep Dives 💥

While the basics apply to everyone, each combat style has its own unique tactics to master.

Melee Mastery ⚔️: Close-quarters combat is a dangerous dance. A key concept is Grit, an effect that makes your attacks uninterruptible (you’ll glow white). This lets you power through hits to land a crucial blow. You’ll also have to get good at predicting where your enemy will move since auto-targeting can be a bit wonky.
Ranged Precision 🏹: Ranged combat is all about controlling space. The Bow fires projectiles that are affected by gravity, so you have to lead your shots. The Musket is a hitscan weapon, meaning the bullet instantly hits where you aim. To succeed, you’ll be kiting enemies and using a secondary weapon like the Rapier to escape danger, all while wearing Light Armor for max damage.
Arcane Supremacy ✨: Mages are masters of AoE damage and control. A classic combo is using the Ice Gauntlet’s Ice Shower to root enemies, then blasting them with the Fire Staff’s Pillar of Fire. The Void Gauntlet is super versatile, able to deal damage and support the team, while the Life Staff is the absolute cornerstone of any group, providing essential healing.

The combat system creates a constantly evolving meta. For example, a melee build with good gap-closers like the Spear is a natural counter to mobile ranged players. This creates a tactical layer where winning in PvP often depends on your ability to read the enemy and counter their strategy. A true master has multiple gear sets ready to go, allowing them to switch roles and exploit any opponent’s weakness.

Chapter 3: The Armory of Aeternum – Weapons, Gear, and Artifacts 🛡️

An adventurer is only as good as their gear. In Aeternum, your power comes directly from the weapons you’ve mastered, the gear you’ve collected, and the legendary Artifacts you’ve found.

3.1. Complete Weapon Overview & Skill Trees 🌳

There are 15 different weapon types in Aeternum, each with two unique mastery trees for specialized playstyles.

One-Handed Weapons

Sword and Shield 🗡️🛡️: The best tanking weapon.
Hatchet 🪓: Super aggressive with a “cheat death” passive!
Rapier 🤺: Swift and evasive, focused on bleeds and mobility.
Flail and Shield ⛓️🛡️: A great support weapon for healing and crowd control.

Two-Handed Weapons

Great Axe 🪓🪓: Awesome for cleaving through groups of enemies.
War Hammer 🔨: The king of crowd control with tons of stuns.
Greatsword ⚔️: A unique weapon with aggressive and defensive stances.
Spear 🔱: Superior reach with a mix of damage and knockdowns.

Ranged Weapons

Bow 🏹: A high-skill weapon that rewards precision headshots.
Musket 🔫: A long-range, hitscan sniper’s dream.
Blunderbuss 💣: A close-to-mid-range powerhouse that loves explosions.

Magical Weapons

Fire Staff 🔥: A destructive weapon focused on crits and burns.
Ice Gauntlet ❄️: The master of crowd control with roots and slows.
Void Gauntlet 🔮: A hybrid weapon for damage, debuffs, and healing.
Life Staff ✨: The game’s main healing weapon. Essential for group play.

3.2. Gearing for Success ⚙️

Understanding your gear is essential for maximizing your potential.

Gear Score, Tiers, and Rarity: Gear goes from Common (Gray) to Legendary (Gold) and finally Artifact (Red). Its power is shown by its Gear Score, which can go up to a max of 725.
Perks and Gems: Perks are special bonuses on gear that give you powerful effects. A well-perked item is often better than a higher Gear Score item with bad perks. Gems can be slotted into gear to add elemental damage or resistance.
The Gypsum Kiln: This is a crucial endgame crafting station. You use materials like Gypsum Orbs and Dark Matter to upgrade your best items to their max Gear Score.

3.3. Unearthing Power: A Guide to the Artifact System 💎

Artifacts are unique pieces of gear with game-changing perks you can’t find anywhere else. They’re the cornerstone of most endgame builds. You can equip one artifact weapon, one artifact armor piece, and up to three artifact jewelry pieces. They’re a huge deal!

3.4. The Endgame Gearing Pathway 🗺️

Just hit max level? Here’s how you get the best gear:

Acquire Starter Gear: Buy a cheap, high Gear Score set from the Trading Post with good basic perks.
Farm Named Items and Artifacts: Target specific open-world bosses and dungeons that drop the key items for your build.
Run Expeditions: Do endgame dungeons, especially the hard Mutated versions, to earn the Dark Matter you need for upgrades.
Craft Best-in-Slot (BiS) Gear: Use high-level crafting and the Gypsum Kiln to either craft perfect gear or upgrade your existing items to the max Gear Score of 725.

Chapter 4: The Backbone of Aeternum – Crafting, Gathering, and the Economy 💰

Aeternum’s player-driven economy is a living thing that rewards hard work and market smarts. Trade Skills are the engine of commerce and progression.

4.1. A Guide to Trade Skills 🛠️

The game’s 17 Trade Skills are split into three categories.

Gathering ⛏️: Harvesting resources from the world (Mining, Skinning, Logging, Harvesting, Fishing).
Refining 🧱: Turning raw materials into usable stuff (Smelting, Stonecutting, Woodworking, Tanning, Weaving).
Crafting 👕: Making finished goods (Weaponsmithing, Armoring, Engineering, Jewelcrafting, Arcana, Cooking, Furnishing).

4.2. Efficient Leveling Paths (Example: Armoring) 📈

Leveling crafting skills can take a lot of time and resources. Being efficient is key! Here’s an example path for Armoring:

Level Range	Item to Craft	Approx. Quantity	Materials Needed
0-50	Linen Shirt	25	Linen, Coarse Leather, Iron Ingots
50-100	Sateen Gloves	288	Sateen, Coarse Leather, Iron Ingots
100-110	Silk Gloves	44	Silk, Coarse Leather, Iron Ingots
110-150	Shipyard Watch Gloves	172	Silk, Coarse Leather, Iron Ingots, Jade Collar
150-160	Infused Leather Gloves	77	Infused Leather, Linen, Iron Ingots
160-205	Guardian Plate Gauntlets	344	Orichalcum Ingots, Infused Leather, Spectral Dust
205-250	Spinweave Gloves	394	Spinweave, Infused Leather, Iron Ingots

4.3. Mastering the Market: How to Make Gold 🤑

Aeternum’s economy is all player-controlled through the Trading Post, creating tons of ways to get rich.

The Trading Post: This is where you buy and sell everything. You can place “sell orders” or “buy orders”.
High-Demand Farming: A reliable way to make gold is to gather and sell stuff everyone needs, like rare ingredients for food buffs or high-tier materials for crafting. Joining daily “Elite Chest Runs” (ECRs) is another popular way to get valuable materials fast.
Advanced Market Strategies 🧐: The smartest merchants play the market like a stock exchange. Prices for materials often crash when things are slow and then skyrocket when a new update brings in tons of players. This creates a huge “buy low, sell high” opportunity. By stockpiling essential materials when they’re cheap, you can wait for the next big update and sell your stash for a massive profit! 📈

Chapter 5: Politics & Power – Factions, Companies, and War ⚔️

The social and political world of Aeternum is all about the endless conflict between three powerful Factions. Alliances are made, territories are conquered, and massive armies clash in epic sieges.

5.1. Choosing Your Allegiance: The Three Factions 🚩

When you hit level 17, you have to pledge loyalty to one of the three Factions.

The Covenant (Yellow) 💛: A fanatical holy order trying to cleanse the land.
The Marauders (Green) 💚: A military force that believes might makes right.
The Syndicate (Purple) 💜: A secretive group obsessed with forbidden knowledge.

The choice is mostly a social one. You have to be in the same faction to join the same Company (guild) and fight together in PvP. You can change your faction once every 60 days, but you can’t join the faction that currently controls the most territory.

5.2. The Company System (Guilds) 🤝

Companies are player-run guilds within a faction. A Company can have up to 100 members and is led by a Governor. Their main goal is to gain influence, declare war, and conquer a territory.

5.3. The Art of Conquest: Territory Control and War 🏰

Controlling a territory is the ultimate show of a Company’s power.

Influence Races: To start a war, an attacking faction has to do open-world PvP missions in a territory to gain influence.
Declaring War: If the attackers get enough influence, the territory goes into conflict, and the Company that contributed the most gets to declare War.
War Mechanics: A War is a massive, instanced 50v50 siege battle. The attackers have to capture points, break down the gates, and capture the fort’s center point. The defenders win if they can hold out for 30 minutes.
Territory Governance: If you win, your Company governs the territory! You get to set tax rates, collect money, and upgrade the town, which gives powerful buffs to everyone who owns a house there.

Chapter 6: Life on the Eternal Isle – Housing, Mounts, and More 🏡

Beyond the endless fighting, Aeternum offers a rich world to live in.

6.1. Player Housing Guide 🛋️

Player housing is more than just for looks; it provides huge gameplay advantages.

Benefits of Ownership: Owning a house gives you a personal fast travel point, lets you place extra storage chests, and most importantly, lets you place Trophies, which give you powerful, permanent, global buffs to combat, crafting, and gathering.
Acquiring a Home: You can buy your first house at level 15, a second at 35, and a third at 55.
Property Taxes: You have to pay a weekly property tax. If you don’t, you lose all the house’s benefits until you pay up!

6.2. Mastering Your Mount 🐎🐺🦁

Mounts are essential for getting around Aeternum’s huge world. You can get horses, dire wolves, and lions! As you use your mount, you level up your Riding Trade Skill, which unlocks upgrades like more speed and better buffs.

6.3. Immersive Pursuits 🎣🎵

If you enjoy quieter activities, you can become a master angler through Fishing or learn to play Musical Instruments. Playing music in towns can give powerful, long-lasting buffs to you and anyone nearby, and you might even earn a few gold coins in tips!

Chapter 7: The Lone Adventurer’s Path – A Solo Player’s Guide 🚶‍♂️

While New World is an MMO, it offers a great experience for solo players. The entire main story can be done alone, and with the right build, you can conquer many of Aeternum’s challenges by yourself.

7.1. Thriving on Your Own: Best Solo Builds 💪

To succeed solo, you need to be self-sufficient. Builds that mix strong damage with high survivability are key.

The Immortal Brawler (Greatsword / Sword & Shield): This heavy armor build focuses on lifesteal to become nearly unkillable in PvE. The Serenity Greatsword artifact is a must-have.
The Relentless Skirmisher (Hatchet / Spear): This build has high damage, powerful debuffs, and amazing survivability thanks to the Hatchet’s Defy Death passive, which saves you from a fatal blow.

7.2. Efficient Solo Leveling and Progression 🚀

Follow the Main Story Quest (MSQ): This gives the biggest XP rewards and unlocks critical game features.
Maximize Experience Gains: Flagging for PvP gives you a constant 10% XP bonus. Leveling the Music skill to 25 lets you play a song for another big XP buff. Also, do your first three Faction missions every day for a massive XP multiplier!

Chapter 8: Conquering the Endgame 👑

Hitting max level is just the beginning! A ton of challenging group content is waiting for you.

8.1. Expedition Master Guide (Dungeons) 🏛️

Expeditions are 5-player dungeons. At the highest level, you can challenge Mutated Expeditions, a harder version with random, tough modifiers that give you the best loot and materials for upgrading your gear.

8.2. Raid Master Guide 🐉

For the ultimate PvE challenge, you can tackle raids.

The Hive of Gorgons: A challenging 10-player raid.
Shah Neshen (The Sandwurm): A massive 20-player elite trial where you fight a colossal sandwurm!

8.3. Dominating in PvP 💥

Outpost Rush: A 20v20 objective-based battle that mixes PvP and PvE.
3v3 Arenas: A small-scale, competitive best-of-five deathmatch.
Open-World PvP Zone: A high-risk, high-reward free-for-all zone where you can be attacked by anyone and drop your loot if you die!

Chapter 9: Secrets of Aeternum – Advanced Strategies & Hidden Knowledge 🤫

Mastery goes beyond the basics. It’s about using hidden mechanics and clever tricks to get an edge.

9.1. Game-Changing Quality-of-Life Tips 💡

The Unstuck Command: If you get stuck, type /unstuck in chat to teleport to a safe spot. It can even save you from fall damage sometimes! 🤯
Road Speed Boost: You get a 15% speed boost when traveling on roads. Don’t dodge or use abilities, or you’ll lose it!
Strategic Camp Placement: Always place a camp (just 5 Green Wood and 1 Flint) near a tough quest area or world boss. If you die, you’ll respawn right there instead of miles away.
Water is a Free Consumable: Don’t forget, you can collect water from any river or lake for free. It’s a decent early-game healing item!

9.2. Advanced Economic Manipulation 📈

True market masters find profit in weird places. The Furnishing trade skill is often ignored, which means you can make a ton of gold by crafting and selling high-end furniture, especially storage chests and powerful combat trophies.

9.3. Advanced Combat Nuances 🧐

Cooldown Management: In PvP, winning is all about tracking ability cooldowns—yours and your opponent’s. Bait out a key defensive ability, then go all-in while it’s on cooldown.
Animation Reading: Learn to recognize the animations for powerful enemy attacks. If you see the wind-up for a big “Grit” attack, you know you need to dodge or block, not try to interrupt it.
Build Loadouts: A true master is adaptable. The game lets you save full gear sets and stats into build loadouts. Having multiple specialized loadouts—one for tanking, one for PvP, one for gathering—and knowing when to switch is the key to being ready for any challenge Aeternum throws at you. This is the ultimate expression of the “play your way” philosophy!

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for New World: Aeternum belong to the developer Amazon Games.

Find the game here! Official New World: Aeternum Website