New World Weapons Guide

New World is a new MMORPG that has achieved a great level of success, both from players and on platforms like Twitch. The title has the complexity of an MMO with a big variety of weapons. New World has a lot of different weapons. However, it has a few features and systems which aren’t normal for MMORPGs. The New World weapons and abilities work a little differently than in other games, so you have to pay attention to get the most out of them.

The New World weapons each have their own skill trees. However, unlike in most RPGs you’re not limited to a specific class. This game is classless, so you don’t have to make a big decision and limit yourself to just one area of the game. While this opens things up to you, it doesn’t almost present a paradox of choice in what you can research. This is what you need to know:

New World Weapons

New World Weapons – Melee Weapons

Melee weapons are pretty standard in New World and they’re some of the most popular. Your choice here is pretty open. They can roughly be divided into one-handed and two-handed melee weapons. One-handed melee weapons are quicker and better for DPS as they can deal damage more nimbly. However, two-handed weapons are a bit different. These have heavier damage even though they’re slower. They can work for crowd control and other more tactical uses. These are all of the New World weapons in the melee section:

Sword and Shield – New World Weapons

A sword and shield are probably the most basic weapons people think of when they’re looking at a game with a setting like New World. A sword and shield might feel basic, but it is one of the more effective weapons in the game. There are different ways you can take your skills with this weapon. On the one hand, you can go for a sword skills side. This lets you build your DPS and get damage out. The other is the shield. This allows you to build yourself up to become something of a tank in the game.

The sword and shield style of play is good for early levelling in New World. These are the trees that are available to you with this:

Swordmaster Tree – New World Weapons

This features Whirling Blade, Reverse Stab, and Leaping Strike. They’re sword focused and give a lot of damage. These are the abilities you can get:

Whirling Blade – This is a high damage attack in this tree. It slashes in a large range, kind of like the standard spin attack in games like Zelda.
Reverse Stab – The reverser stab is a single attack that only strikes one player. It gives off one of the best damage rates for the entire Sword and Shield weapon.
Leaping Strike – This is a jump with a hard attack at the end. It offers great damage.

Out of these skills, there are a couple of key attacks to grab. The first is Whirling blade. It works great for getting wider attacks out, and generally advancing your potential in combat quickly. The other skills here are going to have their benefits, but it pays off to grab some of these skills quickly. At the end of the skill tree, you’ll unlock Leadership. This is the Ultimate, it provides a full 10% increase to damage for you and all of your allies while you’re in a party.

Defender Tree

The defender tree is the other side of the skills for this one of the New World Weapons. These are skills that are relevant to your shield, and generally for building up your range of options when in combat in New World. This is what you’ll find in this tree:

Shield Bash – This is a move where you hit with your shield. It is fast, and it can allow you to cancel out of some attack options.
Shield Rush – This is a move where you charge a short distance with your shield. It knocks back opponents.
Defiant Stance – This is a defensive cooldown and one of the most impressive at the moment.

These skills really each have their own positives with no single skill standing out in this one. They’re all worth picking up and will greatly enhance your gameplay. The Ultimate ability at the end of this skill tree is Defensive Formation. This reduces the damages to your allies that are within 2 meters by 30%. This can be helpful for PvE, but it isn’t so important when you’re just looking at PvP.

These are the skill trees in this section. It takes a bit more work to find the right build for the weapons you’re choosing. However, these are the options for this one of the New World weapons.

New World Weapons – Spear

The sword and shield is a lot of players go-to, but there are other options here for you too. The Spear is both melee and ranges. You can throw the weapon for a ranged option too. It doesn’t do too consistent damage, but the melee option works great at both PvP and PvE. It is one of the New World weapons that has wide utility in the game. You can use it for crowd control and for overall damage dealing.

There are different options for your skill trees here. If you’re mainly concerned with early levelling and making the best progress in the early game, then the Impaler tree probably has the most to offer you. However, the Zoner tree can work well once you have some extra points. These are the skills trees:

Zoner Tree – New World Weapons

The Zoner tree is focused on the range part of the Spear. This area has benefits for crowd control and zoning enemies. These are the skills on offer:

Cyclone – Cyclone is a radial attack. Enemies get pushed back 3m and they’re hit with a 50% slowing.
Javelin – This lets you throw the spear, but with quite the cooldown.
Sweep – This is a melee/ranged attack that knocks enemies down, you can then follow up with another attack.

Sweep is a decent move here and one that most players will want to go for. Javelin can work well just to open things up to you. However, this general skill tree is probably going to be the second choice for most players. The Ultimate at the end of this tree is Reserved Strength, it gives you a 25% damage boost while full damage. This is a nice boost, but it only applies during a limited period. It is nice to have, but you probably don’t need to seek it out by completing the tree early.

Impaler Tree

The Impaler Tree is definitely the more useful side to unlock direct. The abilities here all have great utility. These are the options:

Perforate – This is a quick attack with hits and burst damage.
Skewer – This is a single attack; it can make enemies bleed which then does damage over time.
Vault Kick – This move allows you to move closer up to enemies and a stun.

This skill tree doesn’t have a single stand out attack, they’re all pretty useful and effective. Vault Kick is also one of the better moves to close gaps, which can be very helpful in combat.

The Ultimate at the end of this skill tree is exploited weakness. This increases the damage per debuff on targets you’re fighting with. Given that a lot of this skill tree deals debuffs, it can really help to stack up damage. This is a great skill tree to go to early, especially if you enjoy the spear as your primary choice of the New World weapons.

Hatchet – New World Weapons

Hatchet is another melee option for weapons that has a ranged element. This weapon is a bit heavier, but it can deal decent damage especially when it’s used effectively. The hatchet is a great weapon, it works both against enemies and other players. The main problem is that this one of the New World weapons is locked in a single cooldown. This can be a bit of a slog, but with the right timing and skill, it can be one of the best in the game.

The weapon has the normal skill trees, but about half of the Hatchet’s tree is taken up based on ranged options. This is what you can unlock here between the two trees:

Berserker Tree

The Berserker tree is strong for just about any type of combat in this game. These are the things you can gain here:

Berserk – This one gives players buffs that enhance your overall combat.
Feral Rush – A short-ranged attack, with two follow-ups.
Raging Torrent – Four attacks here which run very fast, with burst damage.

These are all pretty powerful effects. Berserk is important in quite a few ways, with these buffs giving a major pay-off. The other two are definitely worth engaging with too. This entire chain is one to try and get access to early. It has some great effects and it is worth progressing just for Berserker. Defy Death is the ultimate ability here. When you’re hit with a fatal attack, you get to keep 50 health. You’re also then immune from any more damage for 3 seconds. This ability does have a 75-second cooldown though. So, you’re not immortal. The Ultimate works great, and it never hurts to have something like this to fall back on.

Throwing Tree

This skill tree for the New World weapons isn’t as effective as Berserker. However, it does still have some value and you should eventually unlock it to get all of the benefits in the game. Since a lot of this one moves into ranged moves, it can be pretty helpful for opening things up:

Social Distancing – This gives a slow effect and allows for a backward movement that helps you control the space around opponents.
Rending Throw – This allows you to absorb enemy damage, to increase your own damage output.
Infected Throw – This is an ability that gives a disease status which reduces their healing.

There are some great skills on this tree. Adopting it allows you to throw your hatchet rather than block. There’s also a node that allows for critical hits when you repeatedly strike a target’s head. The passive areas refund your stamina along with the critical too. There’s an ultimate ability in here too, the Persistent Hindrance.

This allows you to extend the duration of hatchet debuffs by 30% when you perform a successful ranged attack. This whole skill tree is useful, but the other for Hatchet is definitely the better choice for your first pick.

Great Axe – New World Weapons

Continuing with the harder weapons that allow you to get a lot of damage out, the Great Axe lives up to its name. This weapon has great potential for dealing damage and following up as long as your speed and timing are right. This weapon is great for AoE and clearing a lot of ground. In PvP specifically, it feels a little underpowered. However, in PvE you can get some impressive results.

There are two skill trees for this one of the New World weapons. They’re pretty well balanced compared to some of the other weapons. However, there are a couple of specific skills you’ll want to grab early. This is what you can look through here:

The Reaper Tree – New World Weapons

This is a pretty popular skill tree for the weapon which offers a few important skills. This is what it has:

Charge – This is a dash that can go as long as 10m. This is one of the longest dashes in the game.
Reap – This pulls an enemy that away closer to you. You can even upgrade it to make it pull from further and more enemies.
Execute – this is an attack with a wind-up that eventually releases a powerful attack, hitting even harder against enemies with lower health

Charge and Execute are both impressive in this tree, especially for the long. Dash. The other is slightly more situational, it won’t come up all that often compared. However, it never hurts to have this option open to you. The Ultimate for this skill tree is Blood Lust. This gives a 30% Haste against enemies that are within 15m. This can make the weapon really powerful, especially if you’re using your dash and pull ins.

The Mauler Tree

This is the second tree for the Great Axe. It has some abilities that you’ll want to unlock first, but both of these trees are worth perusing. This is what’s in this skill tree for the New World weapons:

Whirlwind – This is a spin ability, you spin around four times if you connect with an enemy.
Maelstrom – This pulls players in, but in a small radius rather than a specific line.
Gravity – This pulls people and enemies in. It is one of the strongest elements that can hold things in place.

Thanks to Maelstrom and Whirlwind, this is probably the better tree to go for first. However, it doesn’t have too much over the other tree if you want to pick this second. These abilities can still become an important part of your gameplay though. The Ultimate here is Mauler’s Fury. This increases your damage for 3 seconds after a hit by 3%. This is a good buff, but it doesn’t really last enough to become something all that important.

War Hammer – New World Weapons

War Hammer is one of the New World weapons which is similar Great Axe. It has a lot more utility for PvP than Great Axe though. It is great for crowd control, especially in battlegrounds that aren’t too open. This one of the weapons isn’t used all that much, at least right now it isn’t. That might be because it is harder to use than a lot of the alternatives. However, if you put the time in then this weapon can be pretty impressive. These are the skill trees on offer for this weapon:

The Juggernaut Tree – New World Weapons

This tree is going to be great if you’re hoping to use the Great Axe as a heavy-hitting weapon against single targets. This tree is focused on attacking in 1v1 encounters for the most part. This is what is included:

Armor Breaker – This is a heavy attack that does extra armor penetration.
Mighty Gravel – This is an overhead attack; you can upgrade it twice for more damage each time.
Wrecking Ball – This is the crowd control option here, it gives Flatten to targets.

This tree of skills has a few that stand out. There are some decent attacks in here and you’re definitely getting your 1v1 potential expanded. It isn’t the most complicated though. The Ultimate here is Justice for All. It is a follow-up attack to Mighty Gravel.

Crowd Crusher – New World Weapons

The Crowd Crusher tree is the next skill tree for this one of the New World weapons. Compared with the other, it has a high emphasis on crowd control and AoE attacks. You’re getting bonuses all around, but this is the side to focus on for this type of gameplay. This is what you get here:

Clear Out – This gives an increased damage ratio and small knockback.
Path of Destiny – This is an AoE attack with stagger.
Shockwave – This is another AoE. It’s smaller, but it gives stun and weakens crowds.

These skills are useful in certain situations. The AoE effects with this weapon can be great for crowd control. They don’t add very much in a 1v1. However, between both trees, you have a skill for just about any situation. The Ultimate for this skill tree gives a 20% slow effect for four seconds on top of your other attacks. This one of the New World weapons skill trees you don’t really have to think too much about, but it works.

Rapier – New World Weapons

The Rapier is the next option when you’re choosing a weapon. There are two trees in the game for it that focus on different aspects. You can go towards defence, or on damage. Much like with sword and shield it just comes down to which you want first.

Rapier gives you a decent range to say it is one-handed. Naturally, it is quicker than the axes that fill up the melee weapons category. This is a good choice for PvP and PvE, especially if you can manage the timing on this weapon. It works great to pair with a Bow, or even a magic weapon. These are the skill trees for this one:

Blood Tree – New World Weapons

The Blue Tree side is great for DPS and dealing damage. These are the skills in this section:

Tondo – This is a medium-range attack that has bleed which stacks.
Flourish and Finish – This allows you to deal high burst damage, it especially works great with the bleed inflicted with other skills.
Flurry – This is a quick attack that can reduce the cooldown from other weapons and passives.

As an overall skill tree, this one can be very useful in the right circumstances. The bleeds and follow up moves particularly can be really lethal if you’re using them in the right ways. The Ultimate skill is Bloody End. It makes you execute bleed for 150% of damage instead of 110%. This can naturally really build on these skills.

Grace Tree – New World Weapons

The Grace Tree builds on what might be the natural extension to this one of the New World weapons. It builds on its potential for a 1v1 duel kind of weapon. This is what is in this tree:

Evade – This lets you reposition during combat.
Fleche – This is another for moving around, but you get a burst at the end.
Riposte – This attack allows you to counter during a duel.

This set of skills are great for having 1 on 1 duels. They are also decent for general repositioning. This is more suited to an agile and thoughtful style of combat, so try and stay aware of your movement options. The Ultimate is Momentum. This gives you a 25% increase in damage from your light or heavy attacks.

Those are all of the melee weapons in the game. However, Melee weapons are just the start. There are also ranged and magic weapons at your disposal here too. Then you need to optimize your settings to get everything working perfectly. Our other guides can help you out there.

New World Weapons – Magic Weapons

Magic weapons are the third option for New World weapons. As opposed to melee and ranged weapons, these are pretty different. There are only three options but they’re all pretty much unique. There are magic weapons that focus on damage, area control, and on healing/buffs. These are essential to master alongside your other choice of weapon. However, they probably aren’t going to be your primary tool. These are the magic options in the game:

Fire Staff – New World Weapons

The fire staff is one of the New World weapons that you can utilize to get some magic effects. Unlike the melee and ranged, you’re getting a lot of status benefits here. The fire staff can output a good amount of damage. With larger AoE effects, you’re getting an easy ride in PvE laying out hoards. In PvP it can be equally powerful though. You can get decent damage off for both enemies and players.

This weapon can be pretty strong in a lot of different places. It works best in more large-scale fights though. It isn’t exactly one for duelling. That doesn’t mean it’s entirely useless, you can make an impact even if you’re handling things up close. The skills with a magic weapon can help them substantially. These are weapons that really benefit from getting levelled. This is what you can do to improve on the fire staff:

Fire Mage Tree

The fire mage tree is set up to give you a lot of AoE damage. You’re getting decent burst damage alongside that though. In all, this is a pretty good tree for you to unlock. This is what you can look at:

Fire Pillar – An area on the ground turns into a pillar of fire. This does great damage.
Meteor Shower – This is an attack with high damage once followed by a lower AoE that deals damage over time.
Fireball – This is a self-explanatory attack; you get high damage from it hitting and a patch of burning is left.

These attacks can all do great damage especially if you’re casting them in the right spot. If you’re pairing the fires staff attacks with melee attacks or ranged from someone else, then there’s a decent amount of damage coming out here. Fire pillar is very easy for other players to avoid, so it is best to use this in AoE. The other spells occasionally suffer from this kind of problem, but they can be dealt fast enough to get away with it more often.

Beyond the spells, you’ve also got an Ultimate to think about. With this one of the trees for one of the New World weapons, you’re getting Runes of Helios. This is an AoE attack which is two meters. Your spell damage is also increased for 30%. That only lasts for 7 seconds but you can use it every 30 seconds. With the right attention paid to how the timing is going to work out, this can significantly expand your options. You’re getting the ability to boost your entire damage by 30%, provided it is popped at the right moment.

Pyromancer

Fire Mage isn’t the only option for you with the fire staff. Pyromancer deals more with single-target effects. This is generally a weak point for this one of the New World weapons. So, this tree can help to even things out a bit. These are the skills on this side:

Flamethrower – This is a full stream of flames you can send out.
Incinerate – It does great damage in an area around you and push enemies back by 3 meters.
Burn Out – This is some flames you get covered in while moving forward. You inflict damage and burn on enemies that it contacts.

These skills are pretty effective at more personal combat. They’re largely going to be dealing burns, but there are other utilities. The pushback effect can come in very handy if an enemy has gotten too close. Once pushed back, you’re going to be able to use flamethrower or other utilities to get damage back in. Stacking a burn can also make a big effect on things.

The Ultimate for this part of the skill tree is Reheat. You regenerate mana at a greater speed once you don’t use your fire staff for 6 seconds. This basically means you’re able to get a near-full restock once you’ve stopped fighting for a short while. When you’re using decent positioning, this can work really well. This is a great utility to have if you’re mainly using magic New World weapons.

Ice Gauntlets – New World Weapons

The Ice Gauntlets are another elemental attack that you can utilize. In terms of what it outputs, it is kind of the opposite of fire. It offers some decent AoE damage and some benefits for controlling the area around you. This weapon has some good benefits for players who are in PvP. It works better for larger PvP, not for smaller numbers of players. It works great for crowd control in general. This is definitely a good weapon that you can use to strategize control of an area.

There are some decent skills you can go for with Ice Gauntlets. It is one of the New World weapons that are more effective in various situations. You’re getting great PvP but also some PvE powers. In terms of what to balance this weapon with, the rapier is often a decent choice. However, it can also work well with the musket. These are the skill trees that you can look at for the New World weapons:

Ice Tempest Tree

The ice tempest skill tree works pretty well for the Ice Gauntlets. These are some great defensive and utility skills. You’re getting direct damage more than area control here. These are the skills here:

Ice Spikes – This is an attack of frozen spikes. They deal light damage, ending with one big spike that does high damage.
Ice Storm – This is a large AoE attack, it also slows enemies too and deals rapid damage.
Wind Chill – This is an attack of strong freezing winds. It pushes enemies back and deals extra damage to enemies behind 5 meters.

These three skills are all pretty useful for dealing out damage. Ice Storm can also be a fun AoE utility. Wind Chill’s extra damage to further away players can be pulled at the right times if you have a good sense of timing and positioning. The potential for slow inflicting here can also stack pretty heavily. If you play things right with these attacks, you can stack things up on opponents to get some easier damage done.

The Ultimate for this skill tree for this one of the New World weapons is Ice Tempest. Your abilities apply a 3-second chill once they hit. Your ice damage is going to boost by 35% too. This is a pretty important Ultimate. It adds to the stacks that happen when you inflict proper damage and gives a damage boost. You’re going to be getting a lot more value out of basically all attacks once you have this running. It definitely makes the ice gauntlets more viable as a general tool.

Builder Tree

The builder tree is a pretty good utility option side for the ice gauntlets. This is something that can make this one of the New World weapons into a more effective tool for strategic players. These are skills available on this tree:

Ice Pylon – This makes a pylon that automatically attacks enemies that are within its range. They only deal half of the overall damage of your ice gauntlets though.
Ice Shower – This is an ice rain attack that strikes down in an area. It gives a frostbite effect that roots players, followed by a 50% slow.
Entomb – this lets you seal yourself up in ice to block damage.

This one of the skill trees has a lot of utility. Basically, each of these attacks is helpful for controlling the flow of larger fights. The ice pylon will largely push players out of its range rather than dealing a lot of damage, so it works great for pushing people back. Entomb is more of a stalling tactic, but it can help things out. Ice Shower is great for clearing areas but can be devasting with its debuffs if you strike people at the right time.

The ultimate for this skill tree is Ultimate Frost. This builds on the Ice Pylon. It doubles its health and the areas that it effects. If enemies are caught in the area, the Quick Frost and Empowered passives are doubled. This is a great effect for building on the other strengths of this weapon. The Ice Gauntlets can be one of the best tools in the game when they’re used in the right hands.

Life Staff – New World Weapons

Life Staff is the third of the New World weapons to largely deal in magic. This is a more unique weapon compared to ice and fire. It largely functions the same way though, it can cast spells that have some fun effects. This is fairly well balanced between PvE and PvP. It serves as a good secondary for the heavier weapons in the game. You’re able to perform a more utility-based role. This isn’t useless for damage, but its other applications are considerably stronger in game.

The Life Staff is well balanced, and one of the best weapons in the game. This is a flexible tool and one that can help you out considerably in the game. These are the skill trees that you use for the Life Staff:

Healing Tree

This skill tree helps you with healing largely, sometimes consistently. However, they do tend to have a bigger cast time than other magic attacks. These are the skills that you can look at here:

Divine Embrace – This is a single targeted heal that takes a few seconds to cast. You can upgrade it to hit multiple targets.
Sacred Ground – This is another healing effect, but this time over time. It is an AoE attack that heals over 15 seconds.
Splash of Light – This is another heal. There is a shorter cast time for this but the healing isn’t as effective.

Each of these healing attacks is going to be effective in a different situation. There aren’t any that specifically rise above another in terms of which to grab first. Divine embrace takes a bit too long to actually cast for it to be too useful. However, all three of them can work in certain situations.

The Ultimate for this skill tree is Divine Blessing. It is a passive feature that heals 30% of a target’s health when they’re below 30% health. This is a pretty effective Ultimate, and works better than the other skill tree for this one of the New World weapons.

Protector Tree

The protector tree is the other skill tree for this one of the New World weapons. It focuses on giving buffs rather than heals. These are instant in terms of their casting time, so they don’t have the big drawback of the Healing Tree skills’ first tree. These are the skills that you can get on this one:

Orb of Protection – This is an orb which heals allies in its range and gives them a fortify buff. Enemies caught in the range get damaged.
Beacon – This is a projectile that gives off a healing field around it and damages enemies.
Light’s Embrace – This does burst dealing but for a higher amount.

All of these skills have obvious healing benefits for the wielder. As projectiles, they can damage enemies a little alongside healing. However, this isn’t exactly their primary focus and they don’t get too much damage in. Orb of protection is probably the standout feature here. The buffs it can provide can be stacked with other abilities to turn the heal into something very impressive.

The ultimate for this one of the skill trees is Magnify. It makes the buffs given out two seconds longer while you’re healed by Light’s Embrace. This is definitely less important than the other skill tree. It is a benefit to have, but you’re probably not going to be getting this skill tree just for the ultimate.

New World Ranged Weapons

Melee New World weapons are great, but you have a lot more options here. One of the up-sides to not having to pick a class in the game is that you can use ranged weapons along with melee or even magic weapons. Players should be able to make use of the ranged options in the game alongside the melee if they want to get the most out of things. The New World weapons that are ranged come with the same skills and add-ons that the melees do. As with those, there are some which have better potential than others.

Ranged New World weapons can deal really good damage, especially if you’re skilled with them. Most players can’t only use ranged, but it is going to be pretty important to have one to fall back on. These are the weapons available:

Bow – New World Weapons

The bow is probably one of the most basic ranged weapons you can find in an MMO. In New World, the weapon works pretty well for both PvE and for PvP. While it is basic for firing arrows, burst can be effective here too. If you get skilled enough with a bow, you can make some real progress without having to get close to enemies with the bow.

There are two skill trees available for the Bow. It mainly uses Dexterity, so something like the Rapier is a good choice to run alongside the Bow. To get the most out of it though, you’ll need to go through these skills trees:

Skirmisher Tree

This tree is one that has much better potential for PvP. It widens your options with the bow. Partially, it can help compensate if your physical skill isn’t quite as good as it could be with the weapon. These are things you get here:

Evade Shot – This is a bow attack where you can throw in a backward leap to get away from enemies.
Poison Shot – A DoT effect. When upgraded, you can get a lot of damage with this.
Rain of Arrows – This gives a lot of damage. Once upgraded, you also get bleed and slow applied from these.

Out of these three skills, evade shot is a little strange but it can be utilized in specific circumstances of PvP. Poison shot and rain of arrows can both become very hard-hitting attacks once levelled up. These two are definitely worth building up once you’ve got the time.

As with the other skill trees for the New World weapons, this one has an ultimate ability which makes it worth going through. Knee Shot applies a 10% slow for two seconds. This particular move isn’t great in places. However, the effect is relatively short so you’re probably not going to be able to bank on it. It is nice to have this in your back pocket, but it isn’t world changing.

Hunter Tree

This is the second tree for this one of the New World weapons. It works a lot better for PvE than the other. The potential for PvP isn’t quite as high here though. These are the skills you can get with this one:

Penetrating Shot – This does a lot of damage and you can use it to cancel out heavy attack animations.
Rapid Shot – You can fire off three arrows in a fast flurry. They do more damage when they hit too.
Splinter Shot – This is an AoE attack, but it can do burst damage too.

Each of these attacks have their uses for specifically dealing damage. You’re not getting the same benefits for statuses and other factors as you do elsewhere. However, if you’re mainly looking to build on the damage that you can do then this is a great skill tree to go for. Concussion is the ultimate here. You get 20% more damage when you make a headshot and a possibility of getting some ammo back. This one works great and it can really build on the skills for a good archer. It is worth getting this Ultimate, just to get better results on the occasions that you make a headshot.

Musket – New World Weapons

New World might be a fantasy world, but some of the earlier forms of guns are available here for you too. The Musket is a fairly unique weapon here. It has a very high DPS, pushing things pretty far for combat in the game. It can be unreliable though, even with high damage. You’re going to need a good sense of timing to run the musket but it can be one of the best New World weapons if you manage to work things out.

The musket has a good advantage for PvP and PvE. You can output a lot of damage if you’re hitting enemies in the right spots. You don’t get the same utility and range of options as you would with the bow though. Things are balanced, but the musket has some areas where it excels and others where it is basically useless. These are the skill trees for this one of the New World weapons:

Sharpshooter Tree – New World Weapons

The sharpshooter tree aims to build up your power, provided you’re bringing enough accuracy to the game. These skills are going to be worthwhile for players who ae high skill in the game or want to put the time in for mastering their aim. These are the skills in this tree:

Powder Burn – This is a musket shot that does extra damage along with giving inflicting burn.
Power Shot – This is a very high damage shot.
Shooter’s Stance – This is a stance that you take up. You’re unable to move, but you can fire considerably faster. You lose the stance after a few rounds are done.

These are all pretty simple in their effect. You’re getting more power and some things like statuses. Clearly though, you’re going to need a fantastic sense of aim to get the most out of it. You’re not able to utilize any type of extra damage if you don’t hit your target. So, while these are all good moves, you have to work on your aim first.

Like with the other New World weapons skill trees, there is an Ultimate here. It is Sniper. You get a 15% damage boost on headshots and a zoom. Essien tally this makes your musket into a sniper rifle. Obviously if you’re skilled then this is going to work great. It’s the way to get a sniper in the game and it is worth it to unlock this Ultimate. You should make sure you go down this route if you have any skill as a sniper.

Trapper Tree

The trapper tree is the other side of things for the Musket. This one is the alternative, you get a lot more utility on this side. Not as effective for utility as some alternative New World weapons, but you’re getting some benefits here. This is what’s on this tree:

Traps – This is a trap you can place that traps any enemy in their spot.
Stopping Power – This is a loaded shot that deals extra damage along with stagger and knockback.
Stick Bomb – This is another throwable, it sticks to players or walls. It will detonate after three seconds with high damage in 3 meters around.

This batch of skills work a bit better to open things up for you. You’re mainly getting throwables here though. They’re a good tool to keep on the backfoot. The traps in particular can work great if you’re technically skilled enough. You’re going to need to throw them at the right times, the same for stick bombs. Stopping Power can really be worked in with the other skill tree. It is a more powerful attack you can throw out when you’re happy that you’re going to hit the target.

The Ultimate for this skill tree is Lethal Combo. With this, you get 20% extra damage against anyone you’ve landed a status effect on with one of these trees. This is a nice bonus. The main strategy is to make sure you’re throwing out your status effects as much as possible. Stick bomb can be easy to land on players, and the extra bonus always helps.

New World Weapons Tier List

There are quite a few New World weapons and each its own skill tree that allows you to start to specialize things. However, they aren’t entirely equal. Some of the New World weapons are stronger than others. In terms of their balance, you’ll want to stick to the better weapons if you want to maximise your chances of success. The weapons aren’t too far apart in terms of how they sit in the tier list. However, there are some clear winners. This is how the New World weapons shape up in the tier list:

S Tier New World Weapons

These are the New World S Tier weapons. They sit at the top of the pile in terms of how they’re balanced. There won’t be something for everyone in here, but if you’re specifically after the weapons at the very top of the balance then these are them:

Life Staff

The Life Staff might not be the most traditional weapon on here. However, for PvP it plays a role that nothing else does. You shouldn’t write out this one of the New World weapons just because it is more of a support unit. Having a Great Staff on your hand is important for the entire party.

The Life Staff is most useful in larger PvP battles. However, it does have some utility in PvE alongside that. You’re going to need to pull it out at the right times if you want to get more out of it here. However, across both game modes you are getting plenty of effect from this one of the New World weapons.

Hatchet

The hatchet in New World weapon in the highest tier of the game. This is a really useful tool to have around. In the early Alpha for the game this was by far the dominating weapons. The Hatchet has great initial stats in terms of its damage and most players are going to have the best chances in PvP if they’re skilled with this weapon.

On top of its base stats, the skills that you can build on with the hatchet can really make it impressive. Part of the end result for this weapon is going to come down to other stats like your constitution, but most players can get a good performance out of it.

Great Axe

The Great Axe is a two-handed weapon. It does great damage, has some useful movement abilities, and it has crowd control utility. The Axe is great for dealing damage in PvP and PvE. However, it is these other utility aspects that help to elevate this weapon this the top tier of the New World weapons. The main drawback of the Great Axe is that two handed weapons can be difficult to manoeuvre. However, if a player is willing to put the time into it, then the timing on the Great Axe can be pretty manageable.

Sword and Shield

The Sword and Shield are the last of the New World weapons that are worth mentioning in the top tier. These are currently best used for things like PvE and dungeons. The PvP prospects aren’t anywhere near as strong. However, you can take the time to make this into a more tank-like build. In this configuration, it can work better across the entire game

The sword and shield only just makes it into the top tier for New World weapons. However, it definitely has its place. Compared with weapons like the Great Axe, it is probably easier for most players to use right from entering into the game. The Sword and Shield can do particularly well with a secondary like the Life Staff.

A- Tier New World Weapons

The A-Tier New World Weapons aren’t quite as strong as the tier below. These are still pretty effective tools. You’re able to achieve good stuff in PvP and PvE with these weapons if you’re willing to work with them. They don’t quite sit at the top of the tier lists, but they can reward players with the patience to master them:

Fire Staff – The Fire Staff is a great magic weapon that can work well as a pair to a more traditional arm.
Ice Gauntlets – The Ice Gauntlets are fairly unique in rewarding more strategic gameplay. These are going to be great for players who are better suited to thinking through positioning.
Rapier – The Rapier is a very light weapon hat suits a fast style of gameplay. It isn’t quite effective enough to be in the top tier, but it works well if you’re good with it.

B Tier New World Weapons

The B Tier weapons are lower the upper two tiers and don’t have the same utility or usability. Each of them tends to excel in one area or another, but they’re not wide enough in scope to be your go-to main weapon. These have utility in certain situations and styles of combat though.

War Hammer – The War Hammer has power but not much else in terms of what you can do with it.
Musket – The Musket can be very strong in the right hands. If you’re a bad shot though, it isn’t going to go very far.
Spear – The Spear does have both ranged and melee uses, but it struggles in both of these categories.
Bow – The Bow is a good ranged weapon, but it lacks the power behind it that you’re going to get with magic weapons or the musket.

Those are all of the New World weapons. The three categories each offer something unique. Clearly the most focus is going to be on the melee weapons as the most substantial category. However, you’re going to want a ranged or magic weapon in back up alongside the melee tool. A good combination of these guns is going to be the best set-up to get the most out of the New World weapons.

Weapons are just the start though. Our other New World guides cover everything else you need to know about the title and getting off to the best start: