New World: This is the best way to strengthen your equipment from patch 1.2

With the major December update 1.2, the watermark system in New World will be revised and the new material gypsum will be introduced. This changes some of your armament value. The developers have now shown new details in the forum; Dataminers have backed this up with further information.

What exactly is changing? With the update 1.2 the watermarks are renamed “Competence”. In addition, this competence is displayed next to your items in the inventory. So you can see exactly how high the value is for each equipment slot.

At the same time, a new system is introduced – plaster of paris. With the plaster you can make impressions of your previous equipment and increase your competence.

There are now new details about this system and the general changes made by Update 1.2. The chance of increasing competence through dops and chests is reduced. At the same time, 7 plaster casts can be made every day. We reveal how it works exactly.

This is how the watermarks worked so far

What exactly are watermarks? The watermarks indicate what the highest armament value you have ever received from a drop so far. The longer you don’t get a drop that corresponds to a higher armament value, the greater the chance of it.

If you get a better item, your watermark increases to exactly this value. However, each equipment slot (chest, hands, weapon, etc.) has its own watermark.

How are watermarks increasing so far? Currently the value only increases by getting random drops from mobs or chests. So far, the increase looks like this:

• At a setup value of 500, the watermark can increase by a maximum of 5
• Your chance of this is 3% + 0.25% for every drop that is below it
• After 388 drops of the same item at the latest, the chance of an upgrade is 100%, but usually the upgrade happens much sooner.

The values ​​get smaller, however, the higher your watermark is. This table of reddit user kaptainkeel shows the exact values:

Watermark	Chance of improvement	Chances increase
510	2 %	0,225 %
525	1,75 %	0,1875 %
550	1,5 %	0,125 %
575	1 %	0,06 %
590	1 %	0,025 %

What will change with Update 1.2? With the introduction of the competencies, there are three major innovations:

• The watermarks, which are then called competence, are displayed next to your inventory
• The chance of higher skills through drops is significantly reduced
• The plaster system is introduced, through which you can better increase your competence

Plaster of paris will be the best way to increase competence, 7 impressions per day possible

What changes in the values? Basically, the chances of an increase in competence are reduced by the new update. About data mining, kaptainkeel came to the following conclusion:

• At each level the chance of an increase is 1%
• The increase due to a drop is always 0.1%

The situation improves slightly for drops of level 575 or higher, but it becomes more complex for the grind up to level 575.

How does the plaster system work? To compensate for the higher grind, however, the gypsum system is introduced. There are 7 different types:

• Obsidian Plaster – Earned by defeating bosses of level 60+
• Sapphire Plaster – Earned by killing the final bosses in the Lazarus Instrumentarium and Garden of Origin dungeon
• Ruby Plaster – Earned from the outpost rush
• Emerald Plaster – Can be earned through crafting chests beyond level 200
• Citrine Plaster – Can be earned through Boss Arenas
• Amethyst Plaster of Paris – Earned through Corrupted Events
• Topaz Plaster of Paris – Requires a special potion that can be made at level 5 tent camps. Then you have to defeat level 55+ mobs and have a small chance of this drop

These types can then be used to make plaster casts. You can make one plaster cast per type of equipment per day (20 pieces in total – 5 pieces of armor, 3 pieces of jewelry, 12 weapons).

However, you will only get loot for 7 plaster casts per day. The developers revealed in the forum (via New World Forum).

How expensive is it to make plaster casts and what are the benefits? Here, too, the kaptainkeel dataminer has some answers:

• Each print increases the value of the competence by 3, at least to level 500. It is unclear whether the value decreases the higher the level of competence.
• So far, making an impression has cost a total of 600 gold. However, after the initial feedback, the developers have already said that they will reduce the costs until the live release (via New World Forum). However, exactly how much it will cost is not known.

Competence should determine your setup value from 2022

Why is the competence value so important? Competency is important for two reasons. On the one hand, this value determines the loot that you get in the open world. On the other hand, there should be a change in 2022, through which the competence determines the value of your armor:

• Do you have a skill for the hammer of 520, find or craft a hammer of level 600, it will be scaled down to 520.
• Only when you have increased your competence to 600 does this hammer count as a set-up value of 600.

According to the developers, this system is intended to prevent players from simply buying the best armor with money. But that doesn’t go down well with the players. More here:

New World announces changes to its equipment for 2022 and is getting a shit storm

What do you think of the changes? Do you think the weakening in the upgrading of the watermarks is correct? And how do you feel about the gypsum system? Feel free to write it in the comments.