How to Prepare for New World Season 10, Nighthaven

If your goal is to hit the ground running when New World Season 10: Nighthaven launches on October 13, the time to prepare is right now. Rather than running around aimlessly, a methodical approach focusing on high-value, non-redundant items and resources is the most efficient use of your time. This guide focuses on preparation for the new PvE challenges, including the Catacombs mode and the Isle of Night raid.

1. Artifacts: The Highest Priority Investment

Artifacts are the most secure investment you can make, as they are confirmed to retain their unique value into the new season, regardless of the coming Gear Score (GS) and itemization changes.

• Farm What Matters: Focus on acquiring any artifacts you are missing. One artifact worth specific mention for PvE efficiency is Bloodrinker. With the new 3-player Catacombs mode coming, artifacts that provide strong self-sustain, like Bloodrinker (dropped in Starstone Expedition), will be invaluable when coordinating with a smaller group.
• The Upgrade Dilemma (700 GS): With the GS cap rising to 800, a key decision is whether to upgrade your artifacts now.
  • The developers have stated that gear must be at 700 GS or higher to be eligible for further upgrades using the new systems (likely involving Umbral Shards/new currency).
  • The efficient choice for PvE: If you have an artifact that is a core part of your main PvE build (especially a weapon or key armor piece), getting it to 700 GS now is prudent. It removes the first upgrade hurdle and ensures you can immediately start leveling it further once the expansion drops. If you have plenty of resources, investing up to 700 GS is generally recommended for pieces you know you will use.
  • Do not over-invest past 700 GS. The cost efficiency of leveling to 725 GS now versus waiting for the new system is currently unknown, making it a high-risk move for an introverted player who values certainty.

2. Gear That Should Be Pre-Upgraded

While most of your current PvE gear will likely become obsolete due to the new set bonuses, sockets, and the removal of attributes from gear, a few specific items are worth the investment to 700 GS via the Gypsum Kiln.

• Focus on Protection Amulets: This is arguably the most valuable gear type to pre-upgrade. Protection Amulets, particularly those with Elemental Warding or specific Warding Perks, are nearly always useful in high-level expeditions and mutated content. The new Catacombs mode and the Isle of Night raid will inevitably require elemental mitigation. Since protection pieces tend to be less common drops, having a set of 700 GS amulets ready for immediate use provides an instant, dependable advantage.

3. Resource Pre-Farming and Economy Moves

Gold is the most versatile resource. Everything else should be farmed to make day-one progression smoother.

• PvE Quest Stacking (The Faction Token Jump): PvE quests (those repeatable quests found across the map) can be completed and held in the finished, but not handed-in state.
  • The goal here is to pre-arm three completed quests in numerous settlements.
  • The moment Nighthaven introduces new faction reputation tiers or new Faction Shop items, handing in all these stored quests will provide an enormous, immediate surge of Faction Tokens and Reputation. This could allow you to skip directly to new tiers, unlocking new gear or resources much faster than other players.
• Invest in Trade Skill Caches: We are expecting a level cap and GS increase, which historically coincides with an increase in the maximum Trade Skill level (potentially to 300).
  • Use your Faction Tokens now to buy Grand Mastery Caches (e.g., Grand Harvesting Mastery Cache).
  • If the gathering skill requirement for new Tier V Nighthaven resources increases (e.g., to 255), popping these caches upon launch will grant you the quick burst of XP needed to gather the new materials before the market is saturated. This is a crucial first-day gold-making opportunity.
• Trophy Acquisition (The Lost Threat): Official announcements confirm that the new Isle of Night 10-player raid will feature Lost enemies.
  • Acquiring Lost Trophies (Basic, Minor, and Major) should be a priority. While the Major Lost Trophy price has already spiked, even a Basic or Minor Lost Trophy will provide a damage/luck boost that will be essential for success in the new endgame PvE content.

4. Back-End Clean-Up for Efficiency

The last thing anyone wants to do when new content drops is manage clutter.

• Organize Storage: Go through all your storage sheds. Salvage all non-legendary, non-artifact gear that you haven’t used recently. This clears inventory space, which is always at a premium.
• Hoard Legendary Junk: Keep any Legendary gear you deem useless and place it into a dedicated storage container. The reason for this is purely speculative: New salvage systems for Umbral Shards or other valuable components often get added with major updates. Holding onto these high-tier items might allow you to salvage them for a massive resource payoff later, avoiding the potential waste of salvaging them for common materials now.
• Max Weapon Masteries: If you have not done so, max out your weapon masteries to Level 20. The efficiency spot is still the ThorB spawn at Battleclass Crossing in Great Cleave. Maxing your weapons now gives you the flexibility to immediately try out new Nighthaven builds and min-max your loadouts once the new Attribute system is fully realized.

The theme of this pre-Nighthaven preparation should be resource consolidation and strategic positioning. Focus your energy on farming Gold, maxing out your core Artifacts, collecting Lost Trophies, and ensuring you have a significant stockpile of Faction Tokens and Trade Skill Caches. These non-gear resources will provide the immediate advantage you need to level quickly and efficiently tackle the new Catacombs and Isle of Night challenges the moment they become available.