The ability to put your full force into an offensive attack - all while being able to take a few hits without drawing your party's healer away from less well-defended DPS or mage characters - are key to this build. The most important Attributes for a tank are, unsurprisingly, Strength and Constitution.
Both the Great Axe and the War Hammer can be taken along as a secondary tank weapon, since they have some of the highest damage ratings (offset by slower attack speeds) of any weapons on the game. Even the Spear - generally considered the weakest of the three - has a sweeping knock-back attack that's incredibly useful for a tank to have. The tank's secondary weapon is almost a case of dealer's choice, since any of the game's two-handed weapons will do the job nicely. However, if you're looking to make an extremely tanky character (perhaps to support a more graceful DPS main), the Sword and Shield is almost unbeatable as a main weapon, allowing a fine balance between crowd control, one-on-one attacks, and personal defence.
New World definitely has room for traditional character builds along the lines of tanks, healers, mages, DPS mains, etc. Since PvE is relatively safe, this is one of the few builds where your Constitution - while still important - can afford to take a back seat to whichever Attributes support your chosen weapons.Įven with no formal character classes in the game, you may be coming to New World with a pretty strong idea of how you like to play MMOs and RPGs. However, if you really want to feel safe during target practice out there in the wild, the Great Axe is a compelling alternative choice: switch to it when you find yourself in a jam and you almost certainly won't be in trouble for too much longer. The Spear is another weapon that has great potential in PvE, particularly when paired with a ranged weapon, since it allows you to clear some space and give yourself some breathing room (while still dealing a not inconsiderable amount of damage) if enemies manage to crowd you. This all has the added benefit of grinding XP for your ranged weapon skills, which means you'll be better prepared to play a ranged character in PvP if that's your eventual aim. Hunting expeditions to gather resources are also a good opportunity to practice your ranged skills, as wild animals tend to be slower to react than hostile enemies, allowing you to better compensate for aiming and reload times. Frankly it's just easier to get the drop on AI enemies than human-controlled opponents, and it can be very satisfying to scramble for the high ground and rain down your ammo on a group of supernatural mooks. Ranged weapons really come into their own in PvE, and while I'm still reluctant to recommend having one as your main weapon, PvE is definitely your chance to play around with your musketry and/or archery skills. In truth, there are no "bad" PvE builds in New World, but here we've given you some pointers to help get you started. If you're looking to experiment with a build of your own design, New World's PvE makes for a great testing ground: it's challenging (especially in later-game areas), but forgiving enough that you can play around without being immediately flattened if something doesn't work for you. If you want a lightweight yet high-damage weapon in your secondary slot when going into PvP battles - which is a pretty good idea - you can't really do better than to pack your hatchet. It may not be the flashiest weapon in the game, but from our point of view, it's definitely one of the most reliable.Īs we've said elsewhere, New World's hatchets are practically indispensable for every player.
You can choose to invest your XP into either more defensive or more offensive skill trees for this weapon, making for a versatile build that can be tweaked to support your preferred playstyle over time. The Sword and Shield combo is a battlefield classic for a reason, and the same is true in New World. In other words, you want to focus on your potential to absorb and deal damage, but without over-specialising to the point where your speed and/or resilience is brought too low. For general PvP in New World, we recommend a build that combines our above recommendations for Solo and Tank builds (with maybe a little bit of Mage thrown in for good measure if you like).