The Best New World Builds You Need To Try!

Written By hacktheminotaur
We tested as many New World Builds as we could think of and came up with this list of the Best of the Best!

New World is an absolutely massive game, with many different possibilities and playstyles that allow you to forge your own identity in game. This list includes some of the best builds we’ve personally played and tested, including options for groups and solo play in both PVE and PVP content.

Video Guide

This video guide shows off gameplay for many of the builds on this list and discusses the best attributes, gear and skills you’ll need to focus on to be effective.

Build Updates

We’ve added many new builds to this list since the release of New World in September as well as made several updates to existing builds. This page is just an overview – Make sure to view the full written build guide for each build by clicking the link in each section. 

Build #1: Meta Tank

UPDATED: Check out the Complete META TANK Build Guide!

First up, let’s look at group builds, starting with what will most likely be the Meta Tank set up for years to come in New World. This build combines THREE direct sources of Taunt, two of which are AOE as well as great defenses and healing.

Primary Weapon

You will definitely want the Sword And Shield as your primary weapon on any tank build in New World, not just this one. Sword and Shield has the best skills in the game for Tank-focused builds and you also get the extra armor and block stability from equipping a shield which is fantastic for tanking as well.

Secondary Weapon

Your secondary weapon on this build is going to be the Hatchet. The Hatchet in New World is actually a strong melee damage dealer type weapon, great for both PVE and PVP combat, but it also has one of the best skills in the game for tanks which heals you for a percentage of your health every few seconds and also taunts all enemies around you. The fact that we can get healing and a taunt from just one skill on our secondary Weapon just can’t be beat currently in New World for tanks.

Gear

For a Meta Tank build be sure to get as much physical and elemental resistances as possible by wearing 5 pieces of Heavy Armor and equipping a Kite or Tower Shield.

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. 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.

Skills – Sword And Shield

The Sword And Shield will be your Primary tanking weapon on this build and offers great options for defense, crowd control and taunts. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Skills – Hatchet

The Hatchet skills are fairly simple and provide some nice damage-oriented options as well as healing and taunt mechanics. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Meta Tank Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #2: Ice Cleric

UPDATED: Check out the Full Ice Cleric Build Guide!

Next, let’s talk about an easy Healer Build for group content – that’s going to be our Ice Cleric. This build comes with tons of healing power as well as group utility skills and even some extra damage.

Primary Weapon

The primary weapon on this healer will of course be the Life Staff. This is definitely the way to go for any build focused primarily on healing in the game, and offers a great mix of single target burst healing, heals over time, and AOE healing.

Secondary Weapon

The secondary Weapon of choice for this build is going to be the Ice Gauntlet, and that’s mainly due to the nature of this weapon and not the element itself. The Ice Gauntlet in New World specializes in Crowd Control effects and debuffs, especially Slows. This is one of the best if not the best support weapon for group content in New World because it just makes fights so much easier. Your tank will thank you for slowing down those enemies and helping to keep them packed closer together.

Gear

For armor on this build, a medium equip load will actually be the most balanced, giving you extra physical and elemental resistance, while a light armor equip load will give you better healing and damage at a cost of lower resistances.

Attributes

For Attributes on the Ice Cleric, Focus will be your primary as this directly contributes to the power of Healing which is extremely important. So the more Focus you have, the bigger your heals scale in effectiveness. As a secondary Attribute I would invest a bit in Constitution early on for the extra health.

Skills – Life Staff

The Life Staff is where all of our healing power comes from on this build. Click on a Skill for more information.

Skills – Ice Gauntlet

For Crowd Control and Utility skills, the Ice Staff is a fantastic option. Click on a Skill for more information.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Ice Cleric Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #3: Mauler

UPDATED: Check out the Full Mauler Build Guide!

Kills things FAST With This Extremely EASY DPS Build For New World Using Great Axe And Hatchet.

Primary Weapon

The Primary Weapon for the MAULER Build is the Great Axe. This weapon allows for Powerful AOE Damage combos. In fact, the more enemies we are facing, the stronger this weapon becomes!

Secondary Weapon

The Secondary Weapon for the Hunter Build is going to be the Hatchet. This weapon is a fantastic choice for any build in New World due to its massive damage output and potential for self-healing through Berserk.

Gear

For the MAULER Build I prefer a Medium Equip Load as this gives us a good balance of damage and armor resistances that I find to be the most useful in group dungeons (expeditions). You can also go with a Light Equip Load if you prefer for even more damage, but be careful, because a few hits from a beefy dungeon boss will be enough to put you down!

Attributes

The core attribute needed for the Mauler build is Strength. This is because Strength is the only viable attribute for Great Axe and the primary attribute for Hatchet. More Strength on this build simply means more damage output, and a lot of it! We’ll also unlock some amazing Strength-based Perks as we progress including improved light and heavy attack damage and uninteruptible attacks via Grit.

Skills – Great Axe

The Great Axe Skills we’ve selected for this build are centered around powerful AOE Damage Combos.

  • Maelstrom – Hit multiple targets with this 360 degree attack
  • Whirlwind – spin and move, more enemies equals more damage
  • Gravity Well – pull enemies together and deal AOE damage

Skills – Hatchet

These Hatchet Skills will provide an ideal combination of Damage and Healing. Click on the Skills below for more information.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Mauler Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #4: Hunter

UPDATED: Check out the Full Hunter Build Guide!

Next on our list of New World builds is the Hunter, a medium to long range damage specialist that excels out in the wide open spaces of Aeternum.

Primary Weapon

The theme of this build centers around using the Bow as the primary weapon. Bows in New World are best at long range, letting you fire multiple shots into your target before they get a chance to close the distance.

Secondary Weapon

If an enemy does get close to you however, we’ve picked one of the strongest melee weapons in the game, that being the Hatchet, to easily chop down foes as they approach us with already low health.

Gear

For armor on this build, a light equip load will result in the highest damage while medium will offer a nice balance of slightly less damage but better defense, allowing you to wear a heavy chest piece for example.

Attributes

For attributes on the hunter build, Dexterity will be the primary. This is due to the fact that the Bow’s primary scaling attribute is Dexterity, guaranteeing some chunky bow shots that do big damage. Dexterity also offers some great passive bonus milestones like more critical chance, critical damage and bonus damage to headshots.

Strength will be another attribute you want to pick up as this is the primary boosting attribute for the Hatchet.

Skills – Bow

For the Bow we’ll be focusing on Skills that can fire for big burst damage as well as help us avoid damage ourselves.

Skills – Hatchet

These Hatchet Skills will provide an ideal combination of Damage and Healing. Click on the Skills below for more information.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Hunter Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #5: Immortal Warrior

UPDATED: Check out the Full Immortal Warrior Build Guide!

The Immortal Warrior is The Ultimate Solo Build For New World With Strong Damage And Even Better Healing and Defense!

Primary Weapon

The Primary Weapon for the Immortal Warrior Build is the Hatchet. This weapon allows for Damaging Combos, some solid Healing and even a Passive that brings you back from the Dead!

Secondary Weapon

The Secondary Weapon for this Build is going to be the Life Staff. This weapon is a fantastic choice for any solo build in New World due to its many heal over time effects that will continually heal your character, even after switching back to the Hatchet.

Gear

For increased survivability and defense in the game your best choice by far will be Heavy Armor for every piece on your character. Heavy Armor pieces in New World have the best overall Physical and Elemental Resistance ratings, letting us stand our ground for longer and against larger groups of enemies.

Attributes

The core attribute needed for the Immortal Warrior is going to be Focus. Focus in New World is the primary Attribute that benefits Life Staff users, so putting the majority of our points there will ensure we have plenty of powerful Healing options that can keep us alive in difficult encounters. Through the use of Gems, we will also be using our Focus stat to scale up the damage of our Hatchet.

Skills – Hatchet

These Hatchet Skills will provide an ideal combination of Damage and Healing. Click on the Skills below for more information.

Skills – Life Staff

The Life Staff skills on this build provide lots of easy ground-based and AOE healing.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Immortal Warrior Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #6: Templar

UPDATED: Check out the Full Templar Build Guide!

Next up on our list is build with fantastic defense and self healing, which in turn makes for a very powerful solo set up. This is our version of a Templar build for New World, focusing on crowd control, survivability and quick bursts of damage.

Primary Weapon

The main weapon for this build will be the Spear, which is a fantastic and versatile option in New World. The Spear allows for some powerful sweeping attacks that knock down enemies as well as quick strikes and jab attacks that enable us to do bursts of damage and then roll dodge back out to avoid taking damage ourselves, or to get a better angle of attack.

Secondary Weapon

Combined with this we’ll be using the Life Staff for the extra defense and passive self-healing provided by those ground based heals. Many of these heals are sticky, attaching to the ground or nearby enemies and keeping your health topped off while you punish them thoroughly with your Spear.

Gear

For Armor on the templar build I prefer the fast-paced, risk / reward playstyle that Light Armor brings, allowing you to quickly dodge in and out of combat. However, a heavy armor approach is also quite fun and will make the build able to stand face to face with multiple enemies at once and absorb a lot more incoming damage.

Attributes

The two main attributes you’ll want for the Templar are Dexterity to increase your Spear’s damage and Focus to increase your Healing.

Skills – Spear

We get plenty of easy Crowd Control and Damage from the Spear on this build. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Skills – Life Staff

The Life Staff skills on this build provide lots of easy ground-based and AOE healing.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Templar Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #7: Brawler

UPDATED: Check out the Complete BRAWLER Build Guide!

Next is the Brawler Build, an in your face monster perfect for visceral melee combat in both PVE and PVP situations. This build offers a great combination of AOE damage, crowd control, defense, and mobility, letting you stand up to multiple enemies at once with ease.

Primary Weapon

For the primary weapon on this build we’re going to start with the Sword And Shield. We’ve talked about how versatile the sword and shield is already – with the right skills it becomes a great tool for survival as well as damage.

Secondary Weapon

In New World, the Great Axe is an impressive weapon that provides mobility, a target pull and even more AOE damage or a single target execute.

Gear

For Armor I would highly recommend going full heavy on this build as it will let you absorb the most damage possible and ensure the highest survivability allowing you to take on multiple targets at once.

Attributes

The primary attribute for both of our weapon choices on this build is Strength, so building heavily into that strength attribute will result in the most effective gains in damage for both weapons. As a purely melee, close-quarters style build, some Constitution is also recommended for the extra health.

Skills – Sword And Shield

These Sword And Shield abilities are great for both defense and AOE damage. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Skills – Great Axe

These Great Axe abilities provide a powerful combo of speed, crowd control and damage!

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Brawler Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #8: Punisher

Next on our list of builds for New World is the Punisher, a Crowd Control Specialist that’s able to lock down and disable entire groups of enemies with stuns, knockbacks and other controlling abilities to dominate the battlefield.

Primary Weapon

This build features the War Hammer as it’s primary weapon which is fantastic not only for it’s damage and AOE capabilities but also for stuns and knock backs.

Secondary Weapon

As a back up we’ve decided to use the Spear as this weapon also has multiple knock downs and stuns, meaning no matter what weapon you have active at the time you should have some way of punishing your enemies and locking them down.

Gear

For Armor on the Punisher build I would recommend using full Heavy Armor as this gives you bonuses not only to your defense but also to the durations of your crowd control debuff abilities.

Attributes

For Attributes, Strength will be the primary stat you’ll want to invest into for this build. Not only will this directly improve the damage of your War Hammer skills, but it is also a secondary buff to Spear abilities and also comes with some great passive buff milestones depending on how much total strength your character has such as increased light and heavy attack damage and bonus damage to stunned enemies.

Skills – War Hammer

For War Hammer skills, we have a good combination of crowd control and damage.

  • Clear Out – Send enemies flying
  • Shockwave – AOE Stun
  • Path Of Destiny – Forward hammer throw

Skills – Spear

For Spear skills, you’ll want to focus on the best crowd control abilities here as well. Click on a Skill name below for more information.

 

Build #9: Battlemage

UPDATED: Check out the Full BATTLEMAGE Build Guide!

Next, we have a bit of hybrid style build that we’re calling the Battlemage. This build is a tough as nails melee fighter with strong defense and healing that also uses fire magic to burn enemies in a pile of ash. This build is also excellent for AOE grinding enemies and group support.

Primary Weapon

The Battlemage is going to feature Sword And Shield as the primary weapon. As you’ve probably noticed, this is one of my favorite weapon options for builds in New World because it’s highly balanced between it’s defensive and offensive skill trees, giving you a lot of options for either more damage or more healing and survival.

Secondary Weapon

We’ll be adding the Fire Staff as our secondary weapon for even more damage, including DOTS and AOEs and even some built in healing.

Gear

For armor I’ve gone with a full heavy armor spec on this build including a Kite for maximum defense. The reason for this is we want to outlast our enemies as long as possible to keep those fire DOTS ticking longer, and also to absorb damage as we group enemies together for AOEs.

Attributes

For stats, Intelligence will actually be primary here as it will scale your fire staff skills the best in terms of overall damage. You’ll also want to keep an eye out for a sword with gem slot where you can slot some elemental damage, which actually then starts to scale your sword abilities with a percentage of intelligence as well.

Skills – Sword And Shield

Our Sword and Shield skills will provide a nice balance of defense and AOE damage for this build. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Skills – Fire Staff

Fire Staff provides even more AOE Damage and healing for this build as well as mobility. Click on a Skill below for more information.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Battlemage Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #10: War Priest

UPDATED: Check out the Full WAR PRIEST Build Guide!

Next up, we have a powerful healing and damage combo with insane AOE potential and great group synergy. This is the War Priest!

Primary Weapon

The Primary Weapon for the War Priest Build is the War Hammer. This weapon allows for massive AOE and single-target damage as well as great crowd control and passive healing.

Secondary Weapon

The Secondary Weapon for this Build is going to be the Life Staff. This weapon is a fantastic choice for any solo build in New World due to its many heal over time effects that will continually heal your character, even after switching back to the War Hammer.

Gear

This build does very well with a full equip load of Heavy Armor as this will greatly increase your survival and damage absorption when playing solo. For playing with groups you might consider moving down to Medium Armor for the increased healing and damage potential.

Attributes

The core attribute needed for the War Priest is going to be Strength. Strength in New World is the primary attribute for the War Hammer, letting your basic attacks and skills do as much damage as possible. Maxing out your Strength also unlocks many powerful melee passives including increased light attack and heavy attack damage.

Putting points into Constitution is also recommended for increasing your Maximum Health, especially early on in the game. Having at least 50 points in Constitution results a fantastic healing perk great for all builds that increases the effectiveness of your potions. Eventually, you will want at least 100 Constitution for the bonus Health Perk as well.

Skills – War Hammer

For War Hammer skills, we have a good combination of crowd control and damage.

  • Clear Out – Send enemies flying
  • Shockwave – AOE Stun
  • Path Of Destiny – Forward hammer throw

Skills – Life Staff

The Life Staff skills on this build provide lots of easy ground-based and AOE healing.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the War Priest Build is now available. Go check it out!

Build #11: Duelist

UPDATED: Check out the Complete DUELIST Build Guide!

Last on our list of outstanding builds for New World is the Duelist, a precision based build that excels at medium to long range damage, damage over time and maneuverability.

Primary Weapon

Our primary weapon on this build is the long range Musket. The Musket in New World is a fantastic option for those that love to pick off targets from a far as well as apply traps, bombs, and damage over time effects.

Secondary Weapon

Our secondary weapon on this build will be the Rapier, which is an ultra fast melee weapon, perfect for quickly dispatching targets if they manage to survive your initial musket shots.

Gear

For armor on this build you’ll most definitely want to go with a light equip load to maximize your damage by 20% and also to unlock the best dodge roll in the game.

Attributes

For attributes, Dexterity will buff both the Rapier and the Musket equally, so dumping all of your points into dex is definitely the best way to go on this set up.

Skills – Musket

The Musket adds powerful range damage options to this build.

  • Power Shot – Burst Damage
  • Powder Burn – Damage Over Time
  • Traps – Root

Skills – Rapier

Rapier provides some additional mobility and damage over time effects to this build. Click on a Skill below to learn more.

Complete Build Guide

A Full Written Guide for the Duelist Build is now available. Go check it out!

More New World Builds Coming Soon!

We’ll be releasing additional New World Build guides soon after launch so check back frequently for Updates! You can check out our Complete New World Builds Section to see more as they become available.

Learn More About New World

RPG DOJO has a fully developed New World Wiki site with additonal information on the game including attributes, weapons, armor, crafting and much, much more. Click on the links below to check it out!

New World Builds

A complete list of many amazing Solo and Group Builds for New World, covering both PVE and PVP content.

Read More ->

New World Beginner Guide

Don’t miss these overlooked and often unknown tips for beginners in New World!

Read More ->

New World Weapon Guide

New World currently has 11 different weapons across multiple weapon types such as One Handed Weapons, Two Handed Weapons, Ranged Weapons and Magical Weapons.

Read More ->

New World Camp Upgrades

Curious about upgrading your Camp in New World? In this guide we cover HOW to upgrade and WHY.

Read More ->

How To Level Up Fast In New World

Leveling Up in New World can be a challenge, so in this guide we cover the best methods to Level Up FAST!

Read More ->

New World Wiki Home

Hack The Minotaur (HTM) is a professional Gaming Blogger and Youtube Creator with decades of experience in Gaming. Hack is the owner of HackTheMinotaur.com – an Elder Scrolls focused site for character builds and guides, and now RPGDOJO.com – your source for upcoming RPG news, builds, guides and more!

Hack loves gaming content, particularly Traditional RPG’s, Action RPG’s and MMO’s. Go check out his YouTube Channel for even more builds and guides on popular series like the Elder Scrolls, Fallout and Cyberpunk and make sure to check out his social media for updates on what content is coming next!

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