With the major December update 1.2, the watermark system in New World is being revised and the new material gypsum is being introduced. This will change a lot about your gear score. In the forum, the developers have now shown new details; data miners have further substantiated these with additional information.
What exactly is changing? With update 1.2, the watermarks will be renamed to “competency”. In addition, this competency will be displayed alongside your items in the inventory. This way you can see exactly how high the value is for each gear slot.
At the same time, a new system – gypsum – will be introduced. With gypsum, you can make casts of your previous gear and increase your competency with them.
There are now new details about this system and the general changes through update 1.2. The chance of increasing competency through drops and chests will be reduced. At the same time, 7 gypsum casts can be crafted daily. We will reveal how this works precisely.
This is how watermarks worked previously
What exactly are watermarks? The watermarks indicate what the highest gear score was that you have ever obtained from a drop. The longer you go without getting a drop that corresponds to a higher gear score, the greater the chance will become.
If you receive a better item, your watermark increases to exactly that value. Each gear slot (chest, hands, weapon, etc.) has its own watermark.
How are watermarks increased currently? Currently, the value only increases by obtaining random drops from mobs or chests. The increase currently looks as follows:
- At gear score 500, the watermark can increase by a maximum of 5
- Your chance for this is 3% + 0.25% for each drop below that
- After 388 drops of the same item, the chance of an upgrade is thus 100%, but usually the upgrade happens much sooner.
However, the values become smaller the higher your watermark is. This table from reddit user kaptainkeel shows the exact values:
| Watermark | Chance for Increase | Increase Chance |
| 510 | 2 % | 0.225 % |
| 525 | 1.75 % | 0.1875 % |
| 550 | 1.5 % | 0.125 % |
| 575 | 1 % | 0.06 % |
| 590 | 1 % | 0.025 % |
What changes with update 1.2? With the introduction of competencies, there are three major innovations:
- The watermarks, which will then be called competencies, will be displayed next to your inventory
- The chance for higher competencies through drops will be significantly reduced
- The gypsum system will be introduced, which will allow you to increase your competency more effectively
Gypsum will be the best way to increase competency, 7 casts possible per day
What changes in the values? Basically, the chances for increasing competency through the new update are reduced. Through data mining, kaptainkeel came to the following conclusion:
- At each level, the chance for an increase is 1%
- The increase from a drop is always 0.1%
For drops of level 575 or higher, the situation slightly improves, but the grind to level 575 will become more elaborate.
How does the gypsum system work? To counteract the higher grind, the gypsum system will be introduced. There are 7 different types:
- Obsidian Gypsum – Earned by defeating bosses of level 60+
- Sapphire Gypsum – Earned by completing the final bosses in the dungeon Lazarus Instrumentality and Garden of Genesis
- Ruby Gypsum – Earned through the Outpost Rush
- Emerald Gypsum – Earned through chests in crafting above level 200
- Citrine Gypsum – Earned through boss arenas
- Amethyst Gypsum – Earned through corrupted events
- Topaz Gypsum – Requires a special potion that can be crafted at level 5 campfires. After that, you must defeat level 55+ mobs and have a small chance for this drop
From these types, gypsum casts can then be produced. Per day, you can craft one gypsum cast per gear type (a total of 20 – 5 armor pieces, 3 jewelry pieces, 12 weapons).
However, you will only receive loot for 7 gypsum casts per day. The developers revealed this in the forum (via New World Forum).
How expensive is it to create gypsum casts and what do they bring? Here too, the data miner kaptainkeel has provided some answers:
- Each cast increases the value of competence by 3, at least at level 500. It is unclear whether the value decreases as the level of competence increases.
- The production of a cast currently costs a total of 600 gold. However, the developers have already said after the first feedback that they will reduce the costs by the time of the live release (via New World Forum). However, how much it will cost exactly is not known.
Competency is to determine your gear score starting in 2022
Why is the competency value so important? Competency is important for two reasons. Firstly, this value determines the loot you receive in the open world. Secondly, a change is planned for 2022 whereby competency will determine the value of your armor:
- If you have a competency of 520 for the hammer, find or craft a hammer of level 600, it will be scaled down to 520.
- Only when you have increased your competency to 600 will that hammer count as gear score 600.
This system is intended by the developers to prevent players from simply buying the best armor with money. However, this is not well received by the players. More on this here:
New World announces a change to equipment for 2022 and receives a backlash
What do you think about the changes? Do you find the weakening of the watermark leveling appropriate? And how do you feel about the gypsum system? Feel free to write your thoughts in the comments.
