There are camps in New World, and despite quests that lead you to them, they can cause quite a bit of confusion. Therefore, here is the clarification:
Starting from level 5 and as soon as you have progressed far enough in the main storyline, you will receive a quest that will let you set up your first camp outside the settlement. Once you complete this quest, you will be able to set up camps anywhere.
With the Default Keybind Z you can set up a camp in the wilderness. You can’t do this near landmarks or in the immediate vicinity of settlements, but only in the wilderness. Find a position and set it up. Then you add wood and flint (5 wood, 1 flint for camp rank 1), step back and see it burn.
Congratulations! You are now bound to a camp. By the way, you can tell by this symbol on your map:
You don’t have to set up a camp yourself, but can also connect to another player’s camp that you encounter somewhere in the wilderness. If you die while bound to a camp, the respawn dialog will offer you this camp as a respawn point.
This can come in incredibly handy when facing tough challenges!
Besides, you can also do the following things at a camp:
- Crafting tools, weapons and ammunition (!)
- Cook food
- Brew potions
- Create weapon coatings
- Rest!
To unbind from a camp you just have to press the Z key for several seconds.