Can you swim in New World? How to move underwater

There are plenty of activities for you to do in New World, and they’re going to take you all over the game. You’ll be searching high and low for some of the best resources you can take back to a settlement and use in crafting numerous recipes for your use or selling to other players. There are several water sources in New World, and with so many of them, is it possible for you to swim?

Unfortunately, your character will not swim while they are in the water in New World. We’ve found that when your character goes into water that’s too high for them, they remain on the ground of that water and let it go over their head. Your character can continue to walk through the water like this, but not forever. You’ll see a breath meter appear on your HUD. While your character has breath, they’ll be able to move around and go through the water, but once it runs out, they die.

If you’re trying to cross from one place to another, you don’t want to bet on being able to swim across the water. Instead, you’re better off finding a path through the water where it only goes to your character’s hips or shoulders. Any time water goes over your character’s head, they’re in danger of drowning, and there’s a good chance you might find yourself respawning at a nearby settlement or wherever you put down your camp.