How to Obtain Umbral Crystals in New World

One of the most important resources in New World: Aeternum are Umbral Crystals. Previously known as "Umbral Shards", this resource allows you to upgrade any 700 gearscore item up to the maximum gearscore (800).

Players must strategically determine which pieces they want to upgrade though, as these Umbral Crystals are hidden behind end-game content and are somewhat difficult to acquire. Additionally, there is a weekly cap to how many Umbral Crystals you can gather, so be sure to choose the right items to upgrade!

For a quick video overview how to get Umbral Crystals, how to use them, and the best items to upgrade, watch the video below.

The whole purpose of Umbral Crystals is to upgrade any piece of gear that is at least 700 gearscore to a higher gearscore (max of 800). The weekly cap for Umbral Crystals is currently at 4,000, which is enough to upgrade multiple pieces of gear by a great amount.

In order to actually upgrade a piece of gear, you will need to right click it, and then select the "Upgrade" option (pictured below). No trade skills are required, allowing all players to use them.

Umbral Crystals can be gathered through a handful of activities, including Mutated Expeditions, Raids, Catacombs, Elite Chests, Outpost Rush, Capture the Flag, 3v3 Arenas, and the PvP Reward Track. This allows players to have fun and play what they enjoy most, regardless of if it's PvE or PvP oriented.

Although there are MANY different activities that can give you umbral crystals, there are clearly certain ones that are most efficient for farming umbral crystals. In regards to the fastest ways to farm umbral crystals, you should prioritize Elite Chest Runs (15 crystals per chest), the Hive of Gorgons Raid (750 umbrals), and Capture the Flag (150 crystals per game).

The video below highlights each of these methods more in-depth.

There are a range of powerful gear players can obtain throughout New World, and some gear simply is more powerful than other pieces. However, New World's combat system is structured in a way where players can truly create unique builds, so certain weapons and armor pieces may work better based on the player's preferred playstyle.

Since players are limited on how many Umbral Crystals they can have, they must choose which pieces of gear they upgrade wisely to not waste their resources. With that being said, it's highly recommended that they prioritize upgrading gear with illegal perks (such as the Frigid Dawn set), or pieces of specific sets, which will provide additional set bonuses to players based on how many pieces of that specific set they have equipped.