Amazon Games is pushing New World into bold new territory with the launch of Season 10: Nighthaven, a free expansion arriving October 13. This update introduces a darker gothic aesthetic, sweeping itemization changes, and a deeper layer of buildcraft than ever before. From haunted woods and New World coins cursed castles to a new raid-driven set system, Nighthaven changes both how we explore Aeternum and how we shape our characters.

This guide breaks down the major gameplay systems—perk charms, set bonuses, the overhauled Umbral system, and PvP updates—and explains how you can get the most out of Season 10 from day one.

A Dark New Frontier: Exploring Nighthaven

Nighthaven is a brand-new region, long cut off from the rest of Aeternum. This land embraces a darker, gothic atmosphere, filled with haunted forests, looming castles, and hybrid monstrosities of man and beast. The central storyline continues threads from Morgaine’s saga in Elysian Wilds, this time revolving around the Tear of Gaea, a mysterious artifact at the heart of the expansion.

Exploring Nighthaven will provide access to new dungeons, catacombs, and raid encounters, all designed with the expansion’s gothic theme. If you’re a PvE player, this is where you’ll unlock set bonuses, craft rare perk charms, and fight the expansion’s deadliest enemies.

Perk Charms: A New Layer of Customization

One of the most transformative additions is the perk charm system. In past versions of New World, gear offered a single gem socket, limiting how much you could fine-tune an item. In Nighthaven, that’s changed dramatically.

How It Works

Up to 4 Sockets per Item – Items now come with offensive, defensive, and skill sockets, each of which can be fitted with a perk charm.

Crafted or Dropped – Perk charms can drop from rare encounters or be crafted using materials gathered in Nighthaven and older regions.

In Addition to Traditional Perks – Early interpretations suggest perk charms stack with existing gear perks. This means your equipment can now carry its native perks + multiple perk charms, massively increasing build diversity.

Gameplay Impact

More granular control: Want an axe that enhances both Rend and your favorite ability? Now you can.

Higher build demands: The “perfect” gear piece now needs the right weight, the right base perks, and the correct perk charms.

Strategic choices: Not every slot needs maxed perks—you’ll weigh whether to prioritize core perks, perk charms, or set bonuses.

Set Bonuses: Collecting and Combining Power

Nighthaven introduces set bonuses, a system that pushes players to think beyond single items and instead build toward synergies across multiple slots.

How Sets Work

Obtained From: Raids, catacombs, and PvP reward tracks.

Scaling Bonuses: Each set offers benefits that scale by the number of pieces worn.

Mix-and-Match Configurations: Sets can be combined in many ways, including:

2,2,2,2,2 (five 2-piece sets)

4,4,2

5,5

5,3,2

4,3,3

4,2,2,2

3,3,2,2

Example Strategy

If a raid set offers offensive bonuses and a PvP set gives defensive resilience, you could equip 3 raid pieces + 3 PvP pieces + 2 catacomb pieces, unlocking mid-tier bonuses across three categories. This flexibility rewards experimentation, letting you adapt to PvP, PvE, or hybrid playstyles.

The Overhauled Umbral System

Gear progression is also evolving. The clunky Gypsum Kiln process has been retired in favor of a streamlined Umbral currency model.

Unified Currency: No more juggling multiple Gypsum types—Umbral is now the central upgrade currency.

Cleaner Progression: The system eliminates redundant steps, making gear upgrades more intuitive and less grindy.

Artifact Decisions: Artifacts remain powerful but now interact with set bonuses. Equipping one may break a set bonus, forcing you to choose between raw artifact strength or full synergy.

This creates a more strategic layer for endgame players who must balance raw stats against system-wide synergy.

Attributes Folded Into Leveling

Another major shift is the removal of attribute perks from gear. Instead of farming gear just for Constitution, Dexterity, or Intelligence rolls, attributes will now be tied to natural leveling progression.

Why the Change? Developers felt attribute perks didn’t create meaningful decisions, often just forcing gear into “stat sticks.”

Result: More freedom to focus on perks, perk charms, and set bonuses without worrying about hitting arbitrary stat thresholds.

This simplifies the gearing process while giving you more control over your endgame build identity.

PvP Content: The Tower of Calomel

PvP players are not left behind. Season 10 brings a new Outpost Rush map, The Tower of Calomel, designed as a vertical, gothic-inspired battlefield.

Vertical Gameplay: Players will fight across multiple levels of the Tower, mixing close-quarters combat with ranged dominance from upper platforms.

Gothic Design: Dark halls, looming battlements, and eerie lighting fit perfectly with Nighthaven’s new aesthetic.

New Strategies: Control points will now involve vertical advantage, rewarding coordinated teams who can hold both the high ground and objectives.

This makes PvP in New World feel fresher and more tactical than before.

How to Prepare for Nighthaven

Stockpile Materials – Perk charms will likely require rare crafting components. Gather resources now to be ready to experiment.

Farm Current Content – Completing raids and PvP tracks before launch will give you a head start on new set systems.

Review Your Builds – With attributes shifting to natural leveling, consider how you’ll rework gear to focus purely on perks and synergies.

Save Umbral Shards – The revamped system still uses Umbral currency, so having a reserve will accelerate your post-launch upgrades.

Final Thoughts

New World: Nighthaven is more than just a new region—it’s a reinvention of the game’s itemization and buildcraft philosophy. With perk charms enabling granular customization, set bonuses encouraging creative mix-and-match strategies, and the Umbral overhaul streamlining progression, Season 10 marks a turning point for New World.

PvE adventurers will dive into haunted castles and chase the Tear of Gaea, while PvP fighters battle for dominance in the gothic Tower of Calomel. Whether you’re a crafter, raider, or duelist, Nighthaven offers a richer and cheap New World coins more strategic experience—one that rewards preparation and experimentation as Aeternum enters its darkest age yet.