Build Introduction

This Meta Tank Build is perfect for tanking group content in New World! This is a full Heavy Armor build that utilizes Sword and Shield as well as Hatchet for a fantastic mix of Defense, Healing and Crowd Control, including 3 Taunts and easy access to AOE Taunting when you need it! This build has an incredible skill set and passives that can be used from your first Expedition in New World all the way until End Game!

Best Attributes

Attributes for the Meta Tank are actually very simple. You’ll want to focus entirely on Constitution as your main stat and nothing else. This is because Constitution in New World translates directly to more Health, and as a tank you want as much Health as possible. This is even more important on this specific build because our main healing skills scale based on a percentage of our total health – more health equals more healing!

Putting points into Constitution will also result in some nice perks for tanking, including better healing from your potions, increased health and armor, and even more passive damage reduction.

As a secondary Attribute, some Strength will be useful for improving melee damage as well as the damage of your main abilities, so if you come across bonus Strength on Weapons or Armor those will be worth slotting as well.

Armor Choices

New World has a detailed Armor Weight and Equip Load system. For Tank Builds in the game, your best choice by far will be to select Heavy Armor for every piece on your character. Not only do Heavy Armor pieces have the best overall Physical and Elemental Resistance ratings, but your build will also benefit from several passive bonuses by fitting into the Heavy Armor Category.

Heavy Armor builds have the following passive bonuses in New World.

Heavy Equip Load

• 15% Bonus Block Stability
• 20% Bonus Crowd Control Duration
• Shortest Dodge Distance: the Dodge Slide
• Highest Physical and Elemental Resistance

As you can see, Heavy Armor passives are the best for tanking due to the increased Block Stability and Crowd Control durations. You will also benefit greatly from the maxed out Resistances. The only downside to using Heavy Armor in New World is that your Dodge Range is greatly reduced to a sidestep rather than a Hop or Roll.

Armor Attributes

Remember, when looking for gear pieces for this build try to find those with a bonus to the Constitution Attribute. Some additional armor pieces with Strength will be fine as well.

A great Armor Set to be on the look out for as you level up this build will be the Armor Of The Sentry, which is focused purely on Constitution as the main attribute. Another option that is fairly easy to find early on in New World is the Barbarian Set which includes bonuses to both Constitution and Strength.

Primary Weapon

The Primary Weapon for the Meta Tank build is the Sword And Shield. In New World, the Sword And Shield combo is ideal for Tanking due to the fantastic Defender Tree which holds two Taunt skills, as well as defensive skills and crowd control and many great passives.

Unlike most builds in New World, Tank Builds are 100% dependent on using a Gem slotted into their weapon. This is because a Cut Carnelian Gem is currently the only way to unlock Taunt on Taunt Compatible abilities. As early as possible you will need to both find a Sword with a Gem Slot and also purchase or craft a Cut Carnelian Gem to slot into your sword. The best option we could find early on in the game was to purchase a Long Sword from the Faction Vendor. All weapons purchased from Faction Vendors generally come with an open Gem Slot.

Unlike most builds in New World, Tank Builds are 100% dependent on using a Gem slotted into their weapon. This is because a Cut Carnelian Gem is currently the only way to unlock Taunt on Taunt Compatible abilities.

As early as possible you will need to both find a Sword with a Gem Slot and also purchase or craft a Cut Carnelian Gem to slot into your sword. The best option we could find early on in the game was to purchase a Long Sword from the Faction Vendor. All weapons purchased from Faction Vendors generally come with an open Gem Slot.

More information on Carnelian Gems can be found here.

Secondary Weapon

The Secondary Weapon for the Meta Tank Build is going to be the Hatchet. This weapon is a fantastic choice for a Tank in New World due to its skills and passives which provide yet another AOE Taunt as well short duration invulernability.

Ideally, you will want a Hatchet with a Gem Slot as soon as possible with the previously mentioned Cut Carnelian Gem for Taunt Capability.

Sword And Shield Skills

The Sword And Shield Skills we’ve selected for this build are centered around Crowd Control, Defense, Healing and Taunt.

Click each skill name below to learn more about that skill and its upgrades.

Skill #3

Hatchet Skills

The Hatchet skills we’ve selected for this build center Taunt, Healing and Damage.

Click each skill name below to learn more about that skill and its upgrades.

Skill #3

Combat Basics

Taunt

Taunt is an essential Combat Skill for Tanks that causes enemies to ignore your allies and focus their attacks on you. The key skills we have on this build that apply Taunt to enemies are Defiant Stance, Shield Bash and Berserk.

When fighting a large group of enemies at once, start by using Defiant Stance. This skill is an AOE Taunt, allowing you to attract the attention of all incoming enemies while also increasing your defense. Berserk can also be used in this situation if Defiant Stance is still on Cooldown.

Shield Bash can also taunt multiple enemies if you angle it just right. Usually though, this is reserved for a secondary taunt on bosses or tougher enemies once your initial Taunt from Defiant Stance wears off.

Blocking And Stamina Management

Blocking enemies attacks in New World negates their damage done to your Health and causes Stamina Damage which drains your Stamina Bar. If your Stamina Bar is completely reduced to zero you will become Block Broken which causes you to be stun locked in place for 3 seconds. This is not good! Make sure when blocking enemy attacks that you drop block and allow your stamina to regenerate periodically to avoid a Block Broken stance.

Self-Healing

The Meta Tank Build has two strong Self-Healing skills that can make things much easier for you and your group’s healer in tough situations. For the Sword and Shield, make sure to use Defiant Stance with the Restoration upgrade unlocked to automatically heal when this skill ends. For the Hatchet, you can also access a strong heal over time skill by using Berserk with the Berserking Refresh upgrade unlocked.

Important Passives

Passive Skills in New World are extremely important, especially for Tanking. Here are the best passives recommended for the Meta Tank Build.

Sword And Shield

• Sturdy Shield
• Sturdy Grip
• Achilles Heel
• Defensive Training
• Freeing Justice
• Final Blow
• Fortitude
• Mobility
• Recuperation
• Defensive Formation

Hatchet

• Desperate Refresh
• Fortifying Strikes
• Frenzied Purge
• Defy Death

Consumables

Food

You’ll want to start this build off with a basic food option such as Light Rations or Travel Rations. This food is helpful at all times, whether you are in a group or playing Solo as it slowly restores your Health over time. Keep in mind you can also consume this food for a faster heal over time for a few seconds if you are not getting hit.

Potions

For Potions, Weak Health Potions will be fine at first, but you will eventually want to upgrade these to Common Health Potions and Strong Health Potions. Strong Health Potions are essential for Tanks as that extra burst heal for emergencies can be a real life saver.

Build Leveling Options

For leveling up your Tank build early on in your New World journey, you may have better success with a few different weapon skills. For example, as a Sword And Shield user, the Swordmaster Skill Tree features more offensive power and will make your life much easier when you need to defeat several enemies by yourself. Skills like Whirling Blade, Reverse Stab, and Leaping Strike can be unlocked first as you gain levels and weapon mastery, and you can eventually respect those skills later to the Meta Tank build outlined above.

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