New World, Amazon Games' expansive MMORPG, immerses players in the perilous and mysterious island of Aeternum, where survival hinges on mastering character and skill progression. Efficient leveling is crucial for unlocking powerful gear, challenging expeditions, and dominating in PvP or PvE content. With the introduction of New World: Aeternum and updates like the Season of Divide in 2025, the game offers a wealth of opportunities to accelerate your journey to the max level of 65 and beyond. Central to this progression is the strategic use of resources, including New World Gold coins, which fuel crafting, trading, and gear upgrades. This guide explores the fastest ways to level up your character, weapon mastery, and trade skills while optimizing your gameplay for maximum efficiency.

Understanding New World's Progression Systems

New World features three distinct progression systems: character level, weapon mastery, and trade skills. Character level, capped at 65, determines your overall power and unlocks new content like expeditions and gear slots. Each level grants attribute points to allocate to Strength, Dexterity, Intelligence, Focus, or Constitution, shaping your combat style. Weapon mastery, tied to 14 weapon types, progresses independently as you use specific weapons, unlocking active and passive abilities. Trade skills, encompassing gathering, refining, and crafting, provide both character XP and economic opportunities. Balancing these systems is key to rapid progression, as each contributes to your character's strength and versatility.

Prioritizing Quests for Maximum XP

Questing is the most efficient way to gain character XP in New World. The main story quests provide substantial XP and guide you through Aeternum's zones, introducing you to new areas and mechanics. For example, completing the main questline up to level 40 unlocks the Azoth Staff tier three and access to expeditions like Amrine Excavation. Side quests, often located near main story objectives, offer additional XP and resources, making them ideal for efficient leveling. Completing side quests in regions like Restless Shore or Monarch's Bluffs, where Lost Pirate camps provide dense mob spawns, can also boost weapon mastery XP.

Faction missions, available after choosing a faction (Marauders, Syndicate, or Covenant), are another critical XP source. Each day, the first three faction missions offer a Daily Bonus, doubling XP rewards, which can yield up to 3,000 XP at higher levels. PvE faction missions, such as gathering resources or defeating enemies, are safer for beginners, while PvP missions offer higher XP but require combat readiness. Town Board missions, found in settlements, provide XP, coins, and settlement reputation, which unlocks perks like reduced taxes or increased gathering speed. Focus on simple Town Board tasks, like gathering wood or killing animals, to maximize XP without excessive resource costs.

To optimize questing, complete missions in cycles. Pick up all available quests in a settlement, including main, side, faction, and Town Board tasks, and complete them in the same area to minimize travel time. For instance, in Windsward, gather herbs and Bulrush Cob along the water's edge while completing quests, as these also grant crafting materials and XP. Logging off in a settlement grants a Rested XP Bonus, boosting XP gains upon returning, so always return to a town before exiting the game.

Mastering Weapon Progression

Weapon mastery is essential for combat effectiveness, as each weapon type (e.g., Hatchet, Great Axe, Bow) has two skill trees with up to 19 abilities each, maxing out at level 20. To level weapons quickly, focus on one or two weapons that suit your playstyle to avoid spreading XP too thin. For melee players, the Hatchet and Great Axe are recommended for their high damage and versatile skills, making them ideal for leveling. The Hatchet's Berserk tree boosts survivability, while the Great Axe's Reaper tree excels in AoE damage. For ranged players, the Bow or Musket paired with a Rapier offers strong DPS and mobility.

Corrupted Breaches, unlocked at level 25 after the Forge Your Azoth Staff quest, are excellent for farming weapon XP. These world events, marked by red skulls on the map, involve defeating waves of enemies and yield significant XP when completed in groups. Elite areas like Dead Man's Cove in Monarch's Bluffs are also prime spots for weapon XP due to their dense mob spawns and boss encounters, which drop rare gear. Joining a farming group in these areas can accelerate mastery gains while providing loot for trading.

To maximize weapon XP, fight enemies close to your level, as they provide optimal XP without excessive risk. Tagging enemies another player is fighting (by landing a single hit) grants XP without stealing their rewards, making it a low-effort way to boost mastery. Avoid switching weapons frequently, as this slows mastery progression. If you need to respec a weapon's skill tree, use Azoth, which is relatively affordable compared to attribute respecs after level 20.

Leveraging Trade Skills for XP and Economy

Trade skills-gathering (e.g., mining, skinning), refining (e.g., smelting), and crafting (e.g., weaponsmithing)-provide character XP and economic benefits. However, they are best prioritized after reaching level 60, as gathering resources early can slow leveling due to time spent farming. Skinning is an exception, as the sheer number of beasts encountered during questing makes it easy to level passively. By level 65, players often reach gathering skill levels around 130 without focused effort.

For early-game XP, gather resources like Iron Ore, Fiber, and Rawhide while questing, as these grant small XP bonuses and can be sold for gold. Mining Iron Veins in Windsward's highlands or harvesting herbs in Firstlight is efficient, as resource locations are marked on the map's resource tab. Avoid crafting complex items early, as they require rare materials and yield low XP compared to questing. Instead, focus on simple Town Board crafting tasks, like making rations, to gain XP without heavy investment.

At max level, trade skills become a gold-making powerhouse. High-demand tier 1 resources like Rawhide and Iron Ore sell well due to their use in crafting early gear and potions. Farming Cactus in Brimstone Sands or Globs of Ectoplasma for Runestones can yield significant profits, which fund gear upgrades and attribute respecs. Joining a guild to share resources can streamline trade skill leveling, as members can trade materials like leather or steel.

Exploration and Efficiency Tips

Exploration enhances leveling efficiency. Discovering Uncharted Landmarks (marked by question marks on the map) and lore pages grants bonus XP, so detour slightly to uncover them while questing. Unlocking fast travel shrines reduces travel time, and owning a house in a different town from your inn provides additional fast travel options. Travel on roads for a 15% movement speed boost, and avoid shortcuts through dangerous areas unless you're prepared for PvP.

Avoid fighting enemies significantly above your level, as they offer diminishing XP returns and increase death risk. Turn off PvP in enemy-controlled territories to avoid ambushes, unless you're pursuing PvP missions for extra XP. Stockpile resources like wood and flint for camp upgrades, which unlock at levels 5, 15, 25, 35, and 55, providing better crafting and resting options.

Endgame Progression and Gold Economy

Upon reaching level 65, progression shifts to increasing your Gear Score (up to 725) through chest runs, expeditions, and PvP activities. High-level zones like Great Cleave or Reekwater offer faction tokens and rare materials, which can be sold for gold. Crafting high-tier gear, like 700 Gear Score armor with perks like Health or Elemental Protection, is highly profitable but requires significant gold and materials like Golden Scarabs.

Gold is critical for endgame progression, as it funds crafting, repairs, and trading post purchases. The gold cap is 500,000 coins, so reinvest excess gold into trade skills, housing, or your company's treasury for territory upgrades. Farming gold through quests, selling tier 1 resources, or crafting consumables like potions ensures a steady income.

Final Tips for Rapid Leveling

To level up quickly, combine main and side quests, faction missions, and Town Board tasks in efficient cycles. Focus on one or two weapons to maximize mastery, and farm Corrupted Breaches or elite areas for XP and loot. Gather resources passively while questing, but save trade skill grinding for post-level 60. Stay in settlements for Rested XP, and use fast travel strategically. For players needing a quick boost, purchasing resources or gear from the Trading Post can save time, and you can buy New World Gold from trusted platforms like MMOEXP to fund your progression. With these strategies, you'll conquer Aeternum's challenges and reach max level in no time.