In this New World Greatsword Build 2024 Guide, we’ll focus on the Greatsword in both PvE and PvP, an excellent melee weapon. It scales equally with both Strength and Dexterity, so you can choose either and decide which passive attributes you prefer. Since the best bonuses for both come later in their respective stat lines, I recommend focusing on one—either Strength or Dexterity—early in the game. You can add points to the other stat later when you have more to invest.

New World Aeternum Greatsword Build Information

• Scaling Stats: Strength (80%), Dexterity (80%)
• Damage Type: Slash
• Light Attack Damage 1&2: 90%
• Light Attack Damage 3: 130%
• Charged Heavy Attack Damage 1&2: 150%
• Charged Heavy Attack Damage 3: 170%
• Taunt Gem Compatible: Yes
• Best Strength Weapon Pairings: Great Axe, War Hammer. Sword and Shield
• Best Dexterity Weapon Pairings: Hatchet, Rapier, Bow, Musket

New World Aeternum Greatsword Build 2024 – Overview and Strategy

To begin this New World Greatsword Build 2024; one of the best aspects of the Greatsword is that it scales well with both Strength and Dexterity, making it versatile enough to pair with a variety of other weapons for great Builds. Whether you prefer to use it with other Strength-scaling weapons like the War Hammer or Great Axe, or Dexterity-scaling options like the Rapier, Hatchet, Musket, or Bow, the Greatsword fits nicely. You could even pair it with weapons that scale with both Strength and Dexterity, such as the Sword and Shield. For example, if you enjoy the War Hammer’s stunning abilities, you can stun enemies, then switch to the Greatsword for finishing them off.

What makes the Greatsword stand out are its unique Onslaught Stance and Defiant Stance mechanics. Using abilities from the Onslaught skill tree puts you into Onslaught Stance, which boosts your damage output but also increases the damage you take while cutting down your charged heavy attack time by half. This offensive stance is great when you want to focus on maximizing damage without worrying much about defense, making it ideal for questing, small-scale PvP, or when you’re playing a DPS role in expeditions.

Defiant Stance, on the other hand, reduces both your incoming and outgoing damage, and automatically blocks when charging a heavy attack. This defensive stance is perfect when you’re surrounded by multiple enemies, engaged in larger PvP battles, or even tanking in expeditions. Both stances last 10 seconds after using a related skill, so you’ll find yourself switching stances often. However, swapping weapons will remove the stance, and you’ll typically start a fight without one unless you’ve just used a Greatsword ability.

Thanks to its wide horizontal light attacks that can cleave through multiple enemies, the Greatsword can be played in two primary ways: pairing it with a ranged weapon to deal damage from a distance before switching to melee or using it for tanking in expeditions alongside a Sword and Shield since two of the Defiant skills generate threat. These are just a couple of common playstyles, but you can explore other approaches.

Some of the key advantages of a New World Greatsword Build 2024 includes its ability to hit multiple enemies, its flexibility in both offensive and defensive playstyles, and its self-healing capabilities through its capstone ability. Plus, it pairs well with other Strength or Dexterity weapons, and doubly well with weapons like Sword and Shield that scale with both. However, its downsides are its weight, similar to the Warhammer and Great Axe, and the learning curve required to master the stance mechanics.

New World Aeternum Greatsword Pros:

• Balanced offense and defense
• self-sustainable
• Flexibility in Playstyles

New World Aeternum Greatsword Cons:

• Complex Stance Management
• Heavy weapon

Onslaught Skill Tree

Looking at the skill trees for this New World Greatsword Build 2024, the Onslaught tree is all about boosting your damage output, so if you’re aiming for max damage with your Greatsword, this is where you’ll want to focus.

Relentless Rush

Starting with the Onslaught skill tree, the first ability is Relentless Rush. This ability makes you dash through enemies while spinning, hitting twice and applying slow to all affected targets. It’s excellent for hitting groups, especially when enemies are clustered together—like around a tank in a dungeon, during questing when you’ve pulled multiple enemies, or even in PvP when players are grouped up. When you upgrade this skill, it gets even better with a boost to damage from Empower. Additionally, if you’re in Onslaught Stance, it roots targets, which is particularly useful in PvP. Meanwhile, if you’re in Defiant Stance, it heals you for 15% of the damage dealt, making it more effective for PvE survivability. There’s also a cooldown reduction of 50% if you kill an enemy with this skill, but since you’ll likely use it on cooldown regardless of enemy health, this may not trigger too often unless you’re questing or in a dungeon with smaller enemies.

Crosscut

Next is Crosscut, which performs two crossing slashes followed by a heavy overhead strike. Each hit deals more damage than the previous one, with the final hit doing significantly more. I wouldn’t recommend using this skill without its first upgrade that grants grit, as you can easily be interrupted during the animation. The final upgrade increases the damage of the last hit when your target is below 50% health—or 75% if you’re already in Onslaught Stance. This means it’s not ideal to start a fight with this ability. You’ll want to use something like Relentless Rush or light attacks to whittle down enemy health first before using Crosscut to capitalize on the increased damage for the finishing blow.

Skyward Slash

The final skill in the Onslaught tree is Skyward Slash, which performs an upward slash. When upgraded, it allows for a follow-up attack that deals damage, applies rend, staggers the target, and, when fully upgraded, adds disease to reduce healing. This skill can be tricky to use, especially in PvP, due to its long animation, but it’s valuable for debuffing targets—particularly players in PvP where healing is more critical.

Finally, the Unrelenting Onslaught capstone reduces the cooldown of your Greatsword abilities by 2% for light attacks and 10% for charged heavy attacks. While this seems strong on paper, it’s not as impactful in practice, especially if you’re killing enemies quickly during questing. You’ll often defeat targets before cooldown reduction has much of an effect, making it less useful in those scenarios.

This tree is ideal for aggressive, high-damage play, but you’ll want to make sure you’ve got your timing and positioning right to make the most out of its abilities.

Defiance Skill Tree

The Defiance tree is focused on reducing incoming damage and enhancing your blocking, which makes it great for medium to large-scale PvP, one-on-one duels, or tanking in expeditions for any New World Greatsword Build 2024.

Steadfast Strike

Moving on to the Defiance skill tree, the first ability is Steadfast Strike, which delivers a forward stab followed by a spinning slash. This skill staggers, pulls the target, and generates threat, making it a solid option for grabbing aggro in dungeons. It also restores 20 stamina per enemy hit, which is great for tanking and also useful in PvP. Upgrades for Steadfast Strike allow it to heal you on the first hit, apply bleeding when you’re in Defiant Stance, and reduce the cooldown of your other Greatsword abilities when it hits.

Calamity Counter

Next is Calamity Counter, which automatically blocks for 2 seconds, reducing stamina damage by 90%, followed by a counterattack that either staggers or knocks back enemies based on how many attacks you blocked. This is excellent for tanking groups of enemies in dungeons, large-scale PvP, or when questing with multiple enemies. Upgrades let this ability apply bleeding, increase critical hit chance on counterattacks, and, when used from Defiant Stance, heal you. This creates synergy with other skills, like using Relentless Rush for additional healing and following up with Crosscut for maximum impact.

Roaring Rupture

The final skill in this tree is Roaring Rupture, which plunges your sword into the ground, sending out a shockwave that deals damage, boosts your protection, and generates threat on nearby enemies. It’s great for tanking, and upgrades allow it to cleanse two debuffs, weaken targets (reducing their damage), and make you uninterruptible for 5 seconds. This skill is useful for dungeon pulls or PvP scenarios, letting you continue attacking without being interrupted. The final upgrade lets you either push enemies away or pull them towards you, useful for both grouping enemies for AOE attacks or controlling positioning in PvP.

The Undying Defiance capstone provides passive healing for 5% of the damage you deal, increasing to 15% for a short time after blocking an attack. This is especially useful while questing, in PvP, or tanking in dungeons, as it helps sustain your health without relying heavily on healing from others.

One notable passive ability in this tree is Arrow Deflection, which allows you to block 100% of incoming projectile damage. With the lock-on feature in PvP, this can be invaluable for blocking ranged attacks as you approach enemies, making it a must-have for PvP players.

New World Greatsword Builds 2024

Solo & Group PvE Greatsword Build – New World Aeternum

Solo PvP Greatsword Build – New World Aeternum

Group PvP Greatsword Build – New World Aeternum

New World Aeternum Greatsword Build – Final Tips

When it comes to Armor for your New World: Aeternum Greatsword Build, your choice depends on your role and playstyle. If you’re wielding a Greatsword, medium armor is ideal for a balance of mobility and defense, making it suitable for questing. For more challenging encounters, such as PvP or tanking in dungeons, heavy armor is preferable for superior protection. While medium armor allows you to absorb damage and remain mobile, heavy armor can enhance your survivability in tough situations.

That wraps up the New World: Aeternum Greatsword Build guide. Hopefully, you found it helpful. The Greatsword is a versatile weapon that can be paired with a ranged option if you enjoy mixing melee and ranged styles. You can also combine it with another strength or dexterity weapon, giving you a unique playstyle thanks to its dual scaling. Whether you’re switching between the Rapier for quick dodges or pulling out the Greatsword for heavy hits, this weapon offers plenty of flexibility.

Keep an eye out for more weapon guides like Sword & Shield, War Hammer, Flail and Shield and Great Axe. Will you be playing Greatsword at launch, or are you planning something else? What are you thinking of pairing it with? Let me know in the comments!