In New World, dungeons play an important role. They offer a good method to strengthen the equipment level in the midgame, and in the endgame, the mutations are the most challenging content in the game. We at MeinMMO present you three builds for damage dealers that will make you look good in dungeons.
What do you generally need to know about dungeons? In every dungeon, there are different enemy types, each vulnerable to different types of damage. In the Garden of Origin, for example, there is the Angry Earth, which suffers 20 percent more damage from slash attacks but takes less damage from stab damage.
Therefore, we present three builds that are effective against a specific enemy type. You will also find alternatives among the builds that are strong as well but will not be detailed extensively. However, currently, only a few weapons are in the meta, and magical weapons have a poor standing.
Note: Each of the builds presented here is already strong enough in the normal mode of a dungeon. However, we have intentionally structured the guide so that it also addresses players who want to tackle the mutations.
Those looking for builds for tanks or healers will find them here:
- 2 strong healer builds that must not be missing in any group
- The best builds for tanks in expeditions
New World will be released on consoles in October 2024 – here is the trailer:
Axe and War Axe – Strong against Ancients
Why is this combo being played? The axe and war axe both scale with the Strength attribute, making them a useful combo. Additionally, you can pull enemies with the axe and then deal massive damage to them with the axe.
The axe also has the special feature that you become invulnerable for three seconds through the attribute “Defy Death” if you would normally die. This makes the build useful for beginners as well.
It comes into play when fighting the Ancients (Lazarus, Ennead, Destroyed Obelisk).
How do I distribute the attributes? You invest most points in Strength. For beginners: 300 points in Strength, 200 in Constitution. Experienced players can opt for a combo of Strength (300) and Dexterity (210).
Which skills do I use with the axe? With the axe, you primarily rely on the Berserker tree and also use two of the active skills from it:
- Berserker
- Raging Waves
- Rending Throw
The Berserker mode increases your damage dealt, your movement speed, you cannot be interrupted, and you also regenerate health points. Raging Waves, on the other hand, deals significant damage and subsequently increases your movement speed.
You open the fight with Rending Throw. This applies the “Ripped” debuff, which reduces the damage mitigation of enemies by ten percent. At the same time, you skill in the “Throw” tree the passive attributes “Refreshing Throws” (reduces cooldowns of all axe skills when you hit enemies with a debuff) and “Exploitation” (ten percent more damage against enemies with an active debuff).
Which skills do I use with the war axe? With the war axe, you utilize both skill trees:
- Pull
- Maelstrom
- Source of Gravity
With Pull, you draw enemies closer who are in front of you, and with Maelstrom, you draw enemies around you, absorbing projectiles while granting you the buff “Courage”. The Source of Gravity also provides crowd control to root enemies and grants you and other players in the effect the buff “Empowerment”.
You also deal more damage and take less damage when three enemies are in your vicinity, which, thanks to Pull and Maelstrom, should always be the case, at least away from the bosses.
What does the equipment look like? You focus on light armor to maximize damage output. The legs and hands should be medium armor, as you still gain the bonus from light armor. Beginners can also opt for medium armor.
Your armor should have the bonus effects “Empowering Rending Throw” and “Raging Waves”. These enhance your axe attacks.
For both weapons, you want to use an opal or diamond as a gem.
What are the alternatives? A similarly strong build against the Ancients is the great sword and war axe, which we will introduce to you again in more detail against the Corrupted/Lost. Alternatively, you can also use rapier and spear here.
Great Sword + Axe – Strong against Angry Earth
Why is this combo being played? Axe and great sword both scale with the Strength attribute, making them a useful combo. Unlike with the war axe, you forego some control in favor of even more damage.
The axe has the special feature that you become invulnerable for three seconds through the attribute “Defy Death” if you would normally die. This makes the build useful for beginners as well.
It is effective in combat against the Angry Earth (Garden of Healing, Barnacles, and Black Powder) because they are vulnerable to slashing damage, which both weapons deal.
How do I distribute the attributes? You invest most points in Strength. For beginners: 165 points in Strength, 150 in Dexterity, and 200 in Constitution. Experienced players can opt for a combo of Strength and Dexterity, ignoring the defense from Constitution.
Which skills do I use with the axe? With the axe, you primarily rely on the Berserker tree and also use two of the active skills from it:
- Berserker
- Raging Waves
- Rending Throw
The Berserker mode increases your damage dealt, your movement speed, you cannot be interrupted, and you also regenerate health points. Raging Waves, on the other hand, deals significant damage and subsequently increases your movement speed.
However, you initiate the fight with Rending Throw. This applies the “Ripped” debuff, which reduces the damage mitigation of enemies by ten percent. At the same time, you skill in the “Throw” tree the passive attributes “Refreshing Throws” (reduces cooldowns of all axe skills when you hit enemies with a debuff) and “Exploitation” (ten percent more damage against enemies with an active debuff).
Which skills do I use with the great sword? With the great sword, you primarily utilize the offensive tree “Butchery”:
- Crosscut
- Unyielding Storm
- Skyward Cut
Following the Butchery path (offensive stance), you cause 15 percent more damage but also receive 15 percent more damage. Therefore, it is important to avoid incoming damage as much as possible.
Unyielding Storm is used to cleave through large hordes of enemies, while Skyward Cut is meant for single targets. Crosscut deals generally very high damage.
It is crucial that you maintain the “Butchery Path” to continually deal more damage and reduce your cooldowns by ten percent when using heavy attacks. You should also dodge regularly to gain Empowerment for the next three attacks, which further increases your damage.
What does the equipment look like? You focus on light armor to maximize damage output. The legs and hands should be medium armor, as you still gain the bonus from light armor. Beginners can also opt for medium armor.
Your armor should have the bonus effects “Siphoning Crosscut” and “Raging Waves”. This will heal you and reset cooldowns.
For both weapons, you want to use an opal or diamond as a gem.
What are the alternatives? A similarly strong build against the Angry Earth uses spear and axe. In general, you can also play the axe + war axe combination presented above.
Great Sword + War Axe – Strong against Corrupted and Lost
Why is this combo being played? Great sword and war axe both scale with the Strength attribute, making them a useful combo. Additionally, you can pull enemies with the axe and then deal massive damage to them with the great sword.
The great sword currently has the highest DPS in the game, but also comes with some risks, as you take more damage in the offensive stance.
The build is effective in combat against the Lost (Barnacles and Black Powder, Amrhein) or against the Corrupted (Shipyard, Heart of Storms).
How do I distribute the attributes? You invest 300 points in Strength and 210 points in Dexterity.
Which skills do I use with the great sword? With the great sword, you primarily utilize the offensive tree “Butchery”:
- Crosscut
- Unyielding Storm
- Skyward Cut
Following the Butchery path (offensive stance), you cause 15 percent more damage but also take 15 percent more. Thus, it is important to avoid incoming damage as much as possible.
Unyielding Storm is used to cleave through large hordes of enemies, while Skyward Cut is meant for single targets. Crosscut deals generally very high damage.
It is crucial that you maintain the “Butchery Path” to continually deal more damage and reduce your cooldowns by ten percent when using heavy attacks. You should also dodge regularly to gain Empowerment for the next three attacks, which further increases your damage.
Which skills do I use with the war axe? With the war axe, you utilize both skill trees:
- Pull
- Maelstrom
- Source of Gravity
With Pull, you draw enemies closer who are in front of you, and with Maelstrom, you draw enemies around you toward you, absorbing projectiles while granting you the buff “Courage”. The Source of Gravity also provides crowd control to root enemies and grants you and other players in the effect the buff “Empowerment”.
You also deal more damage and take less damage when three enemies are in your vicinity, which, thanks to Pull and Maelstrom, should always be the case, at least away from the bosses.
What does the equipment look like? You focus on light armor to maximize damage output. The legs and hands should be medium armor, as you still gain the bonus from light armor. Beginners can also opt for medium armor.
Your armor should have the bonus effect of “Siphoning Crosscut.” For both weapons, you want to use an opal or diamond as a gem.
What are the alternatives? Useful in fights against the Lost is the combo of frost gloves and corruption gloves. This is because the lost are vulnerable to frost damage. However, this build is harder to play. Alternatively, you can also go with great sword and axe here.
Against the Corrupted, you can alternatively play well with rapier and spear, as they are vulnerable to stab damage. You can find all our guides for New World in this overview: New World Guides: All tips, tricks, and builds at a glance.
