The professions of Amazon’s MMO New World are one of the game’s staple features. But to the uninitiated, they can seem extremely overwhelming.
Unlike some other MMOs, instead of forcing players to select one or two professions, New World allows, and even encourages, players to level up every profession in the game—and there are a lot.
With 17 different professions to level up, you might start to panic the first time you look at your character’s “Trade Skills” page. But it’s simpler than it seems.
While there are a ton of things to learn, many of the skills you learn in New World work in conjunction with one another. As you work to level one, you’ll also be leveling other skills in the process.
There are seven crafting professions: Arcana, Armoring, Cooking, Engineering, Furnishing, Jewelcrafting, and Weaponsmithing.
There are five gathering professions: Fishing, Harvesting, Logging, Mining, and Skinning.
There are five refining professions: Leatherworking, Smelting, Stonecutting, Weaving, and Woodworking.
Every crafting profession requires materials that can be obtained from refining and/or gathering, and every refining profession requires materials that can be gathered.
The optimal way to level every profession is to start with gathering and end in your crafting the things you’ve gathered and refined.
Gathering can be done anywhere in the open world that has the resources you’re looking for. Refining and crafting can be leveled by using specific workstations associated with a specific trade.
Here’s how to level each trade skill in New World:
Crafting
Arcana: This allows you to craft magic weapons as well as consumables, like health or mana potions.
To level your Arcana, you’ll want to focus on harvesting as a gathering trade as well as mining and logging. The refining professions you’ll need for Arcana are smelting and woodworking.
Arcana can be worked on by visiting an Arcane Repository in a town.
Armoring: This lets you make equipable gear and bags. This includes items that go in the head, chest, hand, leg, and foot slot.
It requires resources gathered from harvesting, skinning, and mining. Refining skills used for armoring include leatherworking, weaving, and smelting.
Armoring can be worked on at either a forge or an outfitting station.
Cooking: This creates food that heals your character and gives them buffs. It requires items acquired from skinning and fishing. Cooking can be done at a kitchen station.
Engineering: This allows you to craft ranged weapons, ammo, and gathering tools. Depending on what you’re crafting, you’ll need to be able to harvest, skin, log, and mine for materials. Additionally, you’ll have to be able to smelt, woodwork, leatherwork, and weave to refine resources.
This is one of the most all-encompassing crafting professions, but exactly what you need will depend on whether you’re making things like guns or bows.
Engineering can be done at a workshop.
Furnishing: This will help you fill your in-game house with furniture, storage chests, and trophies. It requires harvesting, logging, and mining. The refining trades needed to level it are smelting, woodworking, and weaving.
Just like engineering, furnishing can be done at a workshop.
Jewelcrafting: This lets players make trinkets, amulets, rings, and earrings. To level it, you’ll need to gather resources through mining and refine them with smelting and stonecutting.
This trade can be performed at the outfitting station of a town.
Weaponsmithing: This creates weapons for your character to use. It requires materials from mining, logging, and skinning. The refining professions associated with it are smelting, woodworking, and leatherworking.
Just like armoring, weaponsmithing can be done at a forge.
Refining
Leatherworking: Refines resources gathered from skinning and can be performed at a tannery.
Smelting: Refines resources gathered from mining and can be performed at a smelter.
Stonecutting: Refines gems typically gathered from mining and can be done at a stonecutting table.
Weaving: Refines materials from harvesting to create cloth. This can be done at a loom.
Woodworking: Refines materials gathered from logging to create specific types of wood. This is performed at a woodshop.
Gathering
All gathering trades can be leveled by traveling the world and interacting with resources associated with them. While leveling them is simple, it can be time consuming and requires a specific tool. These tools can be crafted at a workshop.
Fishing: Requires a fishing pole, which can be obtained through a questline early in the game. It can be used to get materials for cooking.
Harvesting: Requires a sickle. Picking herbs and hemp in starting zones will level you up to start.
Logging: Requires a logging ax. Chop down trees to level it up.
Mining: Requires a mining pick. Breaking down boulders and iron veins to start will level this up.
Skinning: requires a skinning knife. Skinning wildlife that you kill while questing will level this skill.
