Best weapon combos to try out

Key takeaways

• The bow and hatchet combo is agile with high damage, perfect for solo adventurers.
• Fire Staff and Rapier focus on DOT, dealing consistent damage over time.
• A greatsword with sword and shield is for heavy hitters who can switch between big hits and defenses.

Although players are assigned a weapon pair at their start New World: Eternum Journey, it's worth exploring other combinations as the game progresses. While a weapon combo may be sufficient for the early stages of an adventure, it may become clear that a player's strengths lie elsewhere.

This is especially evident when players venture into PvP or join other heroes in raids. The recommendations below offer some strong weapon combinations suitable for each mode. Whether a player likes a solo adventure game or wants to try different builds, combos offer something new to play.

1 Bow and hatchet

For agility and DPS

• Best Bow Ability: Penetrating Shot, Evade Shot, Poison Shot
• Best Hatchet Abilities: Berserk, raging torrent, rending throw

Bow and hatchet weapon combo in New World: Eternum Great for players who favor agility and quick attacks. The bow is a favorite weapon among players who prefer ranged weapons, especially those who like to play solo. Alone, it offers great range, high damage with fast reload, and some AOE capabilities. When the hatchet is added to the mix, players become a force to be reckoned with in long range and close combat.

The hatchet brings frenetic, high-damage attacks at close range while also giving players the option of a quick mid-range hatchet throw. Adding a fan-favorite like Bow to this underrated weapon makes for a strong weapon pairing in both PvP and PvE situations.

Both weapons are easy to use and come with powerful abilities that can be spent attribute points. Hatchet's Berserker and Throwing abilities buff the damage dealt and the speed at which players can attack enemies. Meanwhile, Dhanush has AOE damage with the Skrmisher ability tree and fast, powerful buffs in the Hunter category.

2 Fire staff and rapier

For damage over time

• Best Fire Staff Abilities: Fireball, flamethrower, pillar of fire
• Excellent Rapier Abilities: Flurry, Flourish and Finish, Tondo

The combination of the fire staff and rapier brings a similar feel to the bow and hatchet, with a focus on speed and damage. This pair is stronger in dealing damage over time (DOT) instead of AOE damage. Players have slightly less range with the Fire Staff than the Bow, but the consistent DOT added by the abilities makes up for it.

When the gap between the player and the enemy closes, the one-handed rapier comes into play. While the enemy suffers from smoke damage for the fire staff, the rapier can add more DOT with the bleed effect. It's a strong combination of persistent damage buffs, and the low cooldown means abilities refresh quickly.

The Fire Staff ability trees are Fire Mage and Pyromancer, which grant the player magical abilities that cost mana to use. Each of the recommended abilities tries to keep the enemy away, damaging them enough that they will be at low health by the time they reach the player. Rapier's strongest ability tree, Blood then brings three abilities to boost the player's DPS, with the bonus of Grit to prevent any potential stagger effects.

3 Greatsword and sword and shield

For heavy hitters

• Great Greatsword Abilities: Relentless Rush, Attack, Skyward Slash
• Best Sword and Shield Abilities: Turmoil, Whirling Blade, Shield Bass

Greatsword abilities allow the player to deal heavy damage, but with a downside: the damage taken is also increased. That's why it's good to pair with slash-and-block weapons like swords and shields. Combos allow players to deal big hits, but have time to block incoming attacks.

This two-handed weapon combo rewards heavy attacks, meaning players are slower to attack but deal more damage. Greatsword abilities can slow players down, but when swords and shields come into play, players have the chance to quickly counter attacks, block with shields, and prevent being staggered by enemy blows. This weapon pairing can take some time to master, but once a player knows when to switch between Greatsword and Sword and Shield, they can be very powerful.

The attack ability tree for the Greatsword is a top choice for players focused on damage. As mentioned earlier, this ability deals damage buffs but also increases damage taken. It's an easy trade-off, though, as a well-timed heavy attack from the Greatsword can put even the strongest enemy on the back-foot. The sword and shield ability trees, Swordmaster and Defender, offer some buffs to the player's grit. This negates the stun effect by keeping the player on their feet and ready to attack.

4 Musket and Rapier

For range and traps

• Excellent Rapier Abilities: Flurry, Flourish and Finish, Tondo
• Best Musket Abilities: Stopping power, traps, sticky bombs

The musket and rapier duo gives the player high damage and full range. The musket is a very long-range weapon with powerful shots, rewarding players who get critical hits and headshots. While precision is key with a musket, the capabilities it brings can also add to mid-range and close-range combat. Bring the swift-bladed Rapier to the party as well, and the result is a powerful weapon combo.

Players attempting this combo should be prepared to deal precision damage from long range before it closes. With a musket trap in hand, players can slow down an enemy, giving them time to equip a rapier and perform some quick up-close attacks. Rapier's strong abilities give a bonus DOT effect, which can be useful if the player needs to take on multiple enemies at once. It may take some time to master the balance of Rapier and Musket, but once the player has mastered how they work in tandem, battles can be very satisfying.

Musket's trapper ability tree should be the player's main focus. After the entire trapper side is completed, a deadly combo effect is activated. Any enemies slowed by Musket debuffs are dealt additional damage. As long as the player throws out traps and sticky bombs, the enemy will be slower and slower to attack. This gives players time to perform some stylish flourishes with the rapier to finish them off.