How does loot actually work in New World? A developer explains it very precisely

The streamer DrLupo had the chance to speak to a developer from New World and to have the loot system explained to him. It explains exactly how you get items and why the loot sometimes fluctuates so.

How does loot work? When it comes to looting, New World relies on a special system. Because every armor slot and every weapon slot remembers how good your previous loot was and on this basis, you have a chance of better equipment.

The developer explains the system using the following example:

• If you have an opponent at level 62 who drops a sword with an armor value of 510, then the weapon slot knows from now on that your maximum armor value there is level 510. For other slots, however, there is a different maximum set-up value, depending on the drops.
• However, you do not have to put on or wear the weapon or armor for this. The system remembers the value anyway.
• From now on you have a small chance of finding an item with a higher armor value. Whenever you get a weaker item than level 510, your chances of getting an item with a higher armor value increase.
• However, there is a cap with the monsters. Level 61 opponents can drop equipment up to equipment value X, and level 62 opponents up to Y value.
• Named opponents (elite opponents and bosses) always have a higher chance of stronger equipment.

What does that mean in concrete terms? You can “purposefully” level your armament value over time and at some point have a guaranteed chance of better equipment. However, the system also has a disadvantage.

If you buy good equipment early at the trading post or from the faction dealer, this has NO influence on the item slot. So if you own a weapon with the armor value 510, but so far only got weapons with the value 300, you have to “level up” the armament value until you get better equipment.

So if you only level through crafting and city quests and hardly defeat enemies, you have a weaker loot pool than the one that constantly grinds mobs and dungeons.

Legendary gear is also available through drops

How does the system affect legendary items? Those who want the strongest equipment in New World will sooner or later work on legendary equipment. Here too, knowledge of the loot system now plays an important role.

You can get the 133 legendary weapons in various ways, such as crafting or quests. But many of them can also be obtained as drops from mobs or via boxes.

So if you want to increase the chance of legendary equipment by dropping it, you must already have a high equipment value that has dropped. This is where farming high-level enemies and bosses seem to be most effective.

What else did the developer reveal? In the video, DrLupo also shows a statement about the Azoth staff. Level 5 of this should be fixed with the next patch.