New World Creative Director Talks Paths to Gear Score 700, Perks, Finding Artifacts, and More

mmorpg.com:

There’s a new Balance of Power for New World with David Verfaillie, focusing on New World’s first expansion and changes to gear score, perk removal, and related things to know going into the next season.

Game balance is important, which generally goes without saying if you are playing or even developing an MMORPG. The New World team  wants to make sure that no perk or aspect is going to completely dominate and outshine all of the rest.  this latest video was filmed just after the PTR opened so Verfaillie can’t comment on feedback or data from there just yet, but expect that in a future discussion.

Artifacts are one of the new features  people have questions about, namely where can I get them? From different forms of in-game content, of course, including Expeditions, drops from named enemies, and there's are some in the Season Pass reward track. The PVP reward track will also include Artifacts, so They're making it very likely that you'll get your hands on several at least. The two Artifacts that will be in the reward track will also be obtainable in Season 4 if you miss them in Season 3. 

PVE players will be able to get themselves to gear score 650 through a combination of completing the Elysian Wilds main story questline, then afterwards getting all the way to 700 via things like base level Expeditions, Mutations, and open world content. If you mostly want to progress by PvP, then focus on Arenas and OPR to lift you to 700. 

Crafters will have a different path to reach a gear score of 700, but it is doable. There are two ways to do it. Prismatic Scarab crafting has disadvantages, including a weekly cooldown, but you can pick your perks. Chromatic Seal Crafting is cheaper and there’s a daily cooldown, but your third