New World Best Skills And Abilities For Any Build and Weapon Combo. This Skills Guide focuses on identifying the best Weapon Skills and Abilities in New World. You’ll be seeing synergies across multiple Builds like the Melee DPS, Ranged DPS, and Tank, to name some. If you’re looking for a way to choose optimal Weapon Skills and Abilities to create highly effective characters, then this Guide is for you! Make sure to check out our Fast XP and Weapon Level Guide, Beginner PvP Tips, and Best Early Game Weapons & Accessories as well!

New World Weapon Guide: Best Weapon Skills And Abilities For Your Builds

Unlike other MMOs, New World doesn’t really have a Class System. Instead, you level up your Weapon Masteries, which determine the type of character you become. You have the ability to equip a Primary and Secondary Weapon depending on what you want to play as. We’ll talk about 6 different Builds as well as the ideal Weapons, Skills and Abilities you should select for each of them.

Best Melee DPS Build: Great Axe and War Hammer

For the Melee DPS Build, your goal is to deal massive AoE Damage in order to effectively attack many enemies that are within your reach. You can do this by equipping the best Two-Handed Weapons in New World, namely, the Great Axe and War Hammer. The Great Axe performs very well when making large sweeping attacks to deal massive Slash Damage.

Comparatively, the War Hammer has the highest Melee Damage of any other Weapon in the game. Specifically, when you make Heavy Attacks, you’re guaranteed to reach enemies that are quite far from you due to its excellent range. However, both of these Weapons are slower to wield so take this into account when engaging in PvE and PvP activities.

New World Great Axe Skills and Abilities

For Great Axe Skills and Abilities, you’ll want to select Charge, Gravity Well, and Maelstrom from the Reaper and Mauler Skill Trees. Charge is an excellent gap closer, which thrusts you towards fleeing enemies, uninterrupted. It also works well against bosses and players who have knocked you back. With this Ability, you get to steer the direction of where you’re charging at, making it straightforward to use. Gravity Well is amazing at crowd control because it allows you to pull enemies together and to slow them down. This is fantastic with other AoE Abilities to guarantee that you inflict high damage.

They won’t be able to walk away from it, instead, they’ll need to use dodge to do so. Maelstrom is a fast-spinning attack, which also draws enemies together. It becomes more potent when you upgrade its corresponding Skills such as Storm’s Reach and No Reprieve. You not only extend your reach to pull in more enemies, but you also perform another spin attack to deal extra damage. For passives, you’ll want to stack up on as much damage as possible by taking Keen Edge and Blood Lust Skills. Blood Lust boosts your damage while significantly enhancing your move speed. You can also obtain Gravity to lengthen your hold on enemies.

New World War Hammer Skills and Abilities

For War Hammer Skills and Abilities, it’s best to acquire Path of Destiny, Shockwave, and Clear Out under the Crowd Crusher Skill Tree. Path of Destiny lets you deal a bit of damage against enemies out of your reach. The Melee Build’s weakness is its limited range so anything you can do to weaken your targets before inflicting harm upfront is a huge plus. Shockwave allows you to slam your War Hammer into the ground to deal AoE Damage and to stun enemies. This can be activated after using Maelstrom to continue dealing debilitating blows. I suggest getting Meteoric Crater so you can widen the Ability’s reach.

Meanwhile, Clear Out lets you push enemies backward if you need additional space to create some breathing room for yourself or to single out a specific target while also inflicting adequate damage against all of them. For passives, you can acquire Outnumbered since you’ll always be surrounded by enemies when dealing with them on the front-lines. This way, you negate a portion of the damage you take.

If you want a detailed guide on this Melee DPS Build, you can check out our New World Builds: Great Axe and War Hammer | Whirlwind Guide.

Best Ranged DPS Build: Bow and Spear

For the Ranged DPS Build, you’ll focus on dealing AoE Damage as well as Damage over Time (DoT) to obliterate as many enemies as possible. The best Weapons to wield are the Bow and Spear. Bows are capable of inflicting Poison as well as landing Critical Hits when you manage to precisely land headshots. However, this Weapon is reliant on arrows, which are finite. Spear, on the other hand, offers crowd control Abilities together with excellent DPS Skills, which you can also effectively perform from a distance.

New World Bow Skills and Abilities

For Bow Skills and Abilities, it’s ideal to take Rain of Arrows, Poison Shot, and Penetrating Shot from the Skirmisher and Hunter Skill Trees. Rain of Arrows deals decent AoE Damage and it becomes a more powerful Ability when you upgrade its Barbed Arrows and Hooked Arrows Skills. This lets you inflict DoT due to Bleed while slowing down enemies, respectively. You ought to keep activating Rain of Arrows once its cooldown ends. Poison Shot is a great follow through because it allows you to stack up on your DoT when enemies pass through the newly created poison cloud.

Penetrating Shot is a swift Ability that lets you take advantage of targets who are lined up to deal massive Burst Damage. It also performs really well when coupled with Rain of Arrows and Penetrating Shot. For passives, you’ll want to extend your DoT while reducing your lengthy cooldowns with Battle Precision and Closing In Skills.

New World Spear Skills and Abilities

For Spear Skills and Abilities, it’s best to invest in Sweep, Cyclone and Javelin from the Zoner Skill Tree. Sweep is a good AoE Ability because you’re able to knock enemies off of their feet, which is amazing for crowd control. Cyclone allows you to deal damage against multiple targets while pushing and slowing them down. This is well-suited for scenarios when there are way too many of them grouped together. Javelin allows you to throw your Spear to attack enemies from afar.

Furthermore, you should consider getting Forceful Impact in order to knock them down as well. You can use this in conjunction with Sweep to keep them on the ground, thereby avoiding damage. For passives, you ought to take Refreshing Jabs and Merciless Strength Skills. Refreshing Jabs reduces the cooldown of all of your Spear Abilities on your second Light Attack while Merciless Strength boosts your damage against knocked down enemies, which happens frequently. If you want a detailed guide on this Ranged DPS Build, you can check out our New World Builds: Bow And Spear | The Hunter (Sweeping Cyclone) Guide.

Best Hybrid DPS Build: Musket and Rapier

For the Hybrid DPS Build, you’ll want to be ready for Ranged and Melee Encounters. To pull this off effectively, you should equip the Musket and Rapier, respectively. The Musket is considered as the best Ranged Weapon in New World. It has a better damage output than the Bow but there’s a learning curve of having to precisely aim well plus, you’ll need ammo. Meanwhile, the Rapier is an agile One-Handed Weapon that applies Bleed to drain enemies of their HP. Depending on the Skill Tree you wish to focus on, you’ll have shorter cooldowns and longer Bleed times.

New World Musket Skills and Abilities

For Musket Skills and Abilities, you’ll want to take Powder Burn, Sticky Bomb, and Traps from the Sharpshooter and Trapper Skill Trees. Powder Burn allows you to deal Burst Damage together with DoT due to the Burn Status Effect. This is very powerful in PvP especially when your enemies begin to panic heal since they still take DoT. You’ll have to reload first after activating Powder Burn to make the most out of this Ability. Sticky Bomb lets you detonate a bomb against multiple targets provided that they’re standing in its AoE. This takes time to learn but when you succeed, you’re guaranteed to do massive damage.

Sticky Bomb is best paired with Traps. Traps immobilizes targets in place, making them vulnerable to any of your attacks, may it be from your Musket or Sticky Bomb. Getting its associated Double Trap Skill lets you use two active traps. For passives, it’s good to take Tactical Reload and Kick ‘Em When They’re Down Skills. Tactical Reload automatically reloads your Weapon when you dodge whereas Kick ‘Em When They’re Down boosts your damage as long as the target is under the effect of any crowd control Ability like Traps.

New World Rapier Skills and Abilities

For Rapier Skills and Abilities, it’s optimal to take Flurry, Riposte and Fleche from the Blood and Grace Skill Trees. Flurry lets you deal consistent damage thanks to the quick 5 attacks you execute. This is best performed when you’re backstabbing the enemy in order to deal Critical Damage but you yourself become susceptible to attacks since you stand still while Flurry is in effect. Alternatively, you can use it with Riposte. Riposte allows you to parry and stun the enemy. You can counterattack as many times as possible but you’ll have to time this perfectly to remain effective. As such, you can avoid taking huge damage.

Fleche is a fantastic Ability that lets you lunge through enemies while dealing damage in the process. You can use it as a gap closer or as a means of escaping from tough situations. For passives, it’s good to obtain Momentum to raise the damage you deal after using any Rapier Ability. If you want a detailed guide on this Ranged DPS Build, you can check out our New World Builds: Musket and Rapier | Musketeer Guide.

Best Mage DPS Build: Fire Staff and Ice Gauntlet 

For the Mage DPS Build, you’ll want to efficiently deal great damage while controlling the battlefield without having to worry about your Mana. To do this, you need the Fire Staff as your Primary Weapon and the Ice Gauntlet as your Secondary Weapon. The Fire Staff deals massive AoE Fire Damage from afar thanks to its Spells. Conversely, the Ice Gauntlet inflicts Ice Damage as well as decent crowd control. It also allows you to effectively recover a large portion of your Mana.

New World Fire Staff Skills and Abilities

For Fire Staff Skills and Abilities, it’s essential to invest in Fireball, Incinerate and Burn Out from the Fire Mage and Pyromancer Skill Trees. Fireball is a very powerful Spell that deals Burst Damage and DoT due to the burning field you leave behind. It also works great against a group of enemies due to its quick cast time. Incinerate is another AoE Ability but it’s cast from a shorter range. Despite this, it’s a good one to have especially when you get the Flame Out! Skill, which allows Incinerate to hit twice.

Burn Out is mobility related in that it lunges you forward while attacking the targets you pass in the process. With its corresponding All In and Heat It Up! Skills, your cooldowns are reduced and you’re able to steer your direction to help you get out of difficult situations. For passives, it’s best to focus on lengthening the DoT you deal with Burn since you’ll frequently initiate this while improving your cooldowns and Mana regeneration. Specifically, you ought to take Kindle, Fiery Restoration, Flare and Reheat. With Reheat, you boost Mana regeneration by 400% when you don’t activate any of your Abilities for 6 seconds.

New World Ice Gauntlet Skills and Abilities

For Ice Gauntlet Skills and Abilities, you’ll want to take Ice Storm, Ice Shower, and Entombed from the Ice Tempest and Builder Skill Trees. Ice Storm is an incredible Ranged AoE Ability that pelts enemies every so often while slowing them down. This is paired with Heavy Freeze to hold them in place, thereby making them susceptible to extra damage. What makes Ice Storm more effective is if you also get Punishing Storm, which raises your damage depending on the number of affected enemies.

Ice Shower controls targets very well because it locks them in place, slows them down, and blocks sprinting and dodging so it’s good to use against those who are either fleeing from or dashing towards you. Entombed, on the other hand, is a must-have Ability because it lets you regenerate Mana by momentarily encasing you in ice that’s nearly impenetrable. This is a great counter to your other Spells, which consumes a lot of Mana, while giving them time to recharge. For passives, you should obtain Gathering Storm to gain more Mana after performing Light Attacks.

Best Tank Build: Sword and Shield and War Hammer

For the traditional Tank Build, you’ll want to equip Weapons and to choose its corresponding Skills and Abilities that allow you to take massive amounts of damage while taunting targets towards you and defending your group. It’s also valuable to excel in crowd control and supporting DPS allies by having the capability to deal damage against different enemies. As such, the best Weapon combo is the Sword and Shield and Warhammer.

What makes the Sword and Shield unique is it can deal Strike, Slashing and Thrust Damage. Meanwhile, the Warhammer is an excellent Two-Handed Weapon because it deals massive Strike Damage against those who are weak to this damage type like the Undead. So both Weapons are definitely useful when you’re facing different enemy types like in Expeditions and Corrupted Breaches.

New World Sword and Shield Skills and Abilities

For Sword and Shield Skills and Abilities, you’ll want to take all of the Abilities under the Defender Skill Tree so you can focus on boosting your defensive and tanking capabilities. These are Shield Rush, Shield Bash, and Defiant Stance. Shield Bash lets you deal a bit of damage while effectively stunning an enemy. What makes this really good is when you slot a Carnelian Gem in your Sword to activate Taunt. With Taunt, you’re able to lure targets to you so you can minimize the damage they inflict on allies. You’ll be using Shield Bash often so you need to quickly get your hands on this gem.

Shield Rush allows you to knock back enemies while dealing damage. This is a gap closer although the distance you tackle is quite short so you’ll want to use Shield Rush when you’re not far away from your target. Defiant Stance significantly lessens the damage you take while being able to taunt enemies because of the Carnelian Gem once again. This is an essential Ability for your Tank Build so you’ll definitely have to enhance it even more. As such, you’ll be obtaining Restoration in order to regain a portion of your HP when Defiant Stance ends, which is needed for extended survivability.

For passives, it’s good to take Sturdy Grip and Defensive Training since you’ll be blocking a lot, together with Sturdy Shield and Recuperation Skills. Sturdy Shield grants you extra Physical Armor whereas Recuperation raises the amount of HP healed.

New World War Hammer Skills and Abilities

For War Hammer Skills and Abilities, you’ll want to focus on those that allow you to execute crowd control techniques coupled with secondary tanking Abilities, buffs, and AoE Damage. These are Armor Breaker, Shockwave, and Path of Destiny from the Juggernaut and Crowd Crusher Skill Trees. Armor Breaker allows you to deal a decent amount of damage because you’re able to penetrate the target’s Armor at a rapid speed and it has a shorter cooldown period. Together with the Epitome of Bonk! Skill, you increase the effectiveness of Armor Penetration.

Shockwave is an AoE Ability that lets you deal damage, momentarily stun affected enemies, and taunt them. This really shines once you gain access to its passive Skill called the Meteoric Crater since you widen the range of its AoE. Path of Destiny inflicts damage against enemies in front of you. So you can use this against Ranged Attackers since you can’t deal with them right away. For passives, you ought to invest in I Can Do This All Day as well as Prevailing Spirit.

I Can Do This All Day reduces your Stamina Consumption by 30% when you’re blocking Melee Attacks, which you’ll often be doing. Meanwhile, Prevailing Spirit restores your HP based on the damage you deal with any Crowd Crusher Ability.

Best Healer Build: Life Staff and Ice Gauntlet

For the Healer Build, you’ll want to focus on restoring the entire party’s HP while protecting them from harm. To pull this off successfully, you need the Life Staff and the Ice Gauntlet. The Life Staff is your Build’s lifeline because it allows you to carry out sustainable healing and protection while removing debuffs that hinder the performance of your allies in combat. Meanwhile, the Ice Gauntlet is an excellent Secondary Weapon, which is viable for crowd control.

New World Life Staff Skills and Abilities

For Life Staff Skills and Abilities, it’s ideal to take Sacred Ground, Light’s Embrace, and Beacon from the Healing and Protector Skill Trees. Sacred Ground and Light’s Embrace are AoE and single-target healing Abilities, respectively. When you upgrade Sacred Ground’s Holy Ground and Blessed Skills, you not only improve your Stamina and Mana regeneration, but you’re also able to heal your allies’ HP even more. I prefer to use Light’s Embrace over Divine Embrace since it costs less Mana and its cooldown is relatively shorter. Beacon is a versatile AoE Ability that deals high damage while healing nearby allies.

This works very well in dungeons against mobs of enemies and bosses. To make the most out of Beacon, you should upgrade to Infused Light in order to double its AoE. For passives, you should take Absolved, Blissful Touch, Bend Light, and Sacred Protection Skills. Absolved lets you do Light and Heavy Attacks without consuming Mana, making it one of the best Skills out there. You’ll then take advantage of these Light Attacks with Blissful Touch in order to efficiently heal your allies. Bend Light enhances your heals further when you dodge whereas Sacred Protection raises the amount of HP you’re able to restore.

New World Ice Gauntlet Skills and Abilities

For Ice Gauntlet Skills and Abilities, it’s best to invest in Ice Storm, Ice Pylon, and Entombed from the Ice Tempest and Builder Skill Trees. Similar to the Mage DPS Build, Ice Storm is a reliable source of crowd control whereas Entombed notably boosts Mana regeneration while giving you the time to recharge the rest of your Abilities. Ice Pylon, on the other hand, deals multiple damage thanks to the projectiles it fires. This also creates a frost area for your Frost Abilities. To further enhance Ice Pylon, you’ll want to invest in Ultimate Frost to double the pylon’s HP and radius for better mobility, as well as the Empowered Frost Skill in order to regenerate more Mana.

For the remaining passives, you ought to take Gathering Storm, Critical Rejuvenation, and Critical Frost Skills. Gathering Storm is a must-have Skill because it provides you with a way to regain Mana so you won’t have to rely on potions. This is important since you’ll be doing a lot of healing and support. Critical Rejuvenation works very well with Critical Frost in that the former Skill grants you yet another way to restore Mana when you successfully execute a Critical Hit. Lastly, Critical Frost increases your critical chance to trigger Critical Rejuvenation. You’ll need to stand in your Ice Pylon’s frost area for it to take effect.

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Stay tuned for more New World Guides, and be sure to check out the New World Wiki for more information about the game! What other guides would you like to see next? What Builds are you enjoying the most? Let us know in the comments section below.