If you’re anything like me when it comes to playing RPG or MMO games, you like to plan your builds out ahead of time and derive a large amount of satisfaction from working towards that build and eventually bringing it to fruition. To that end, I’ve decided to put together a series of guides on the Weapon Mastery system that’s available in New World. That way, players like you and I can plan what skill tree paths we’d like to take when the game’s full launch comes around, without having to first get a feel for the game and make decisions on the fly, sword in hand.
Starting at the beginning always makes sense (yes, I think I’m funny) and as such, we’re going to look at the weaponry that the player will first encounter when playing the game, the Sword and Shield. But over the course of the series, we’ll be looking at every weapon type that is available, and how to accentuate them with your statistical decisions. So, if we haven’t covered your preferred weapon, or you know what archetype you want your character to follow but there isn’t a guide for it yet, fear not! I’m going to do them all!
If you’re wondering what stat attributes you’ll need to focus on to make the most of your Sword and Shield-wielding character, well they benefit most from Strength, but also your Dexterity stat will contribute to your weapon performance, and it’s never a bad idea to grab plenty of Constitution, especially if you’re focusing on the Defender skill tree and trying to fill a tanking role.
You might be wondering why I’ve lumped shields in with the sword weapon type, it’s because the one-handed sword will always be paired with a shield as dual-wielding swords isn’t an option – at least not yet. As such, the Sword weapon mastery also includes a skill tree for Shields.
Naturally, the sword side of the skill tree, referred to as “Swordmaster”, is focused more on the offensive side of the weapon mastery. The skills in this tree are all about dealing damage, getting into the thick of the fight, getting critical hits, and includes some debuffs.
Inversely, the opposite shield side of the weapon mastery focuses more on the defensive and crowd control elements of the game. This tree includes stuns and other debuffs, methods of raising your defenses, and getting some health back as well. The shield skill tree is referred to as “Defender”.
We’re going to take a lot at the active abilities of the Swordmaster skill tree first, and then the augmentations that you can select along with those actives, then the passive abilities that you can pick up along the way, before swapping over to Defender, and doing the same:
Swordmaster
Active Skill 1: Whirling Blade
Deal 145.0% weapon damage to all foes within 2 meters.
Cooldown: 15 Seconds
Whirling Blade Augments:
Opportunity
Whirling Blade causes 5.0% Rend for 10.0s.
Tactical Strike
Whirling Blade reduces cooldown on the ability by 10.0% for each enemy hit.
Active Skill 2: Reverse Stab
A stab attack that deals 175.0% weapon damage.
Cooldown: 20 Seconds
Reverse Stab Augments:
Unstoppable Stab
Reverse Stab now has Grit, making the attack unstoppable.
Tactician
On a successful hit with Reverse Stab, all Sword cooldowns are reduced by 25.0%.
Active Skill 3: Leaping Strike
Leap 4 meters and deal 135.0% weapon damage.
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Leaping Strike Augments:
Final Strike
If you hit a foe below 30% health, deal 50.0% more damage.
Cowardly Punishment
If Leaping Strike hits a target in the back: cause slow for 8.0s.
Defender
Active Skill 1: Shield Rush
Rush forward 5 meters knocking back foes and dealing 125% weapon damage.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Shield Rush Augments:
Improved Rush
On successful hit all, enemies within 5 meters gain 10.0 Weaken for 4.0s
Intimidating Rush
On a successful hit, all enemies within 5 meters of you are 30.0% Slowed for 4.0s
Active Skill 2: Shield Bash
Deals 50.0% weapon damage and stuns foes in front of you for 2.0s
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Shield Bash Augments:
Intimidating Bash
Shield bash causes greatly increased threat and 100% more damage.
Concussive Bash
Stun Bash duration increased by 1.0s.
Active Skill 3: Defiant Stance
For 8 seconds, reduce the incoming base damage from attackers by 30.0%.
Cooldown: 45 Seconds
Defiant Stance Augments:
Final Count Down
If your health is above 50.0%, damage reduction is increased by 20.0%.
Restoration
Gain15.0% of your max health when Defiant Stance ends.
Passives
Achilles Heel:
The final attack in your light attack chain causes a 20.0% Slow for 2.0s.
Empowered Stab:
Successful heavy attacks grant you 30.0% Empower for 5.0s.
Precision:
Sword critical strike chance increased by 10.0%
Freeing Justice:
Successfully hitting with a heavy attack causes you to lose all debuffs.
Counter Attack:
When you block an attack, gain 10.0% increased damage for 20.0s.
Mobility:
Move 33.0% faster while blocking.
Opportunist:
Deal 10.0% more damage to slowed foes.
Critical Precision:
On critical, gain 20.0% haste for 5.0s.
Confidence:
While health is full deal 15.0% more damage.
Leadership:
While holding a sword, all group members’ damage is increased by 10.0%.
Sturdy Shield:
Grants an additional 15.0% physical armour.
Sturdy Grip:
Stamina damage is reduced by 15.0% when blocking a melee attack with your shield.
High Grip:
Stamina damage is reduced by 15.0% when blocking a ranged attack with your shield.
Elemental Resistance:
Reduce damage from all magical attacks by 10.0%.
Defensive Training:
When you block an attack, gain 10.0% fortify for 5.0s.
One with the Shield:
When you block with a shield, all shield skills recharge by 1.0%.
Final Blow:
The third attack in your light attack combo deals 15.0% more damage and causes more threat.
Fortitude:
While holding a sword, current and max health are increased by 10.0%.
Recuperation:
All incoming health and regeneration are increased by 10.0%.
Defensive Formation:
While blocking, reduce damage to all allies within 2 meters by 30.0%.
Closing
That just about wraps things up for our overview of the Sword & Shield mastery for Amazon’s new MMO, New World. We hope that you’ve found the information useful in planning out your character and hope to see you online! If you have any suggestions or comments, we’d love to hear from you on the MGN.gg blog, our YouTube channel, of course, the new MGN Twitter @MGN_TV, and our Discord – links for all of which can be found within the description of the video overview.
Read Next:
New World Weapon Mastery Guide Part 2 – Musket
Credits
| Program | Founding Writers |
| Author | Luke Cowling |
| YouTuber | Luke Cowling |
| Publisher | MGN |
| Game | New World |