It is worth noting, however, that the scale of changes brought to New World as part of the Aeternum release isn’t quite on the scale of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm, which essentially completely remade two continents and changed up the entirety of the leveling experience from scratch, nor is it on the scale of Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn, which is basically a new game altogether when compared to the original release. New World: Aeternum, instead, focuses more on streamlining the core storyline of the game, offering new players a more focused experience that won’t leave them wandering around trying to figure out what’s happening.

"However, despite the improved pacing of the story, it’s still not really a particularly interesting one."

When it comes to this storyline streamlining, Amazon Games has quite definitely succeeded. The new take on the story provides an excellent prologue chapter that acts as a tutorial for the core mechanics of the game, and then drops you into its main world while giving you more than enough indications of where you should go and what you should do next. Generally speaking, the entire storyline is much better handled now, with the scope and pace of the storytelling rarely faltering.

However, despite the improved pacing of the story, it’s still not really a particularly interesting one. After the relatively bombastic prologue, the story grinds to a halt and gets you involved in local small-town politics, complete with a regent doing their best to lead their settlement while the ruler’s missing, and a minister that obviously has ulterior motives and might even be working against you the entire time. The story in New World: Aeternum is pretty trope-heavy, and there’s nothing deeper here than the grand good versus evil stories we’ve seen in several titles. Even the primary antagonist comes off as rather bland, especially since all she can seemingly do most of the time is throw taunts at you while impotently flailing her arms trying to cast spells.

Thankfully, however, the story’s just an excuse to set out into the world of Aeternum, and that’s one aspect where New World truly shines. Exploration and the world in general is such an important aspect of New World that even its non-combat gameplay systems revolve around it. Players can use a number of different trade skills, such as logging and mining to gather materials throughout the world. These gathering trade skills have their own progression track, with players being allowed to cut down bigger trees or mine for more fragile and fancy ores as they get further along. The materials procured can then be used to craft a variety of things, ranging from high-end equipment, end-game gear, buff-providing consumables, healing items, and even furniture, which can then be placed in your own house.

"The story’s just an excuse to set out into the world of Aeternum"

New World: Aeternum is one of those games where just living in its expansive world, even when you’re not actively out and about taking down giant bosses or fighting other players for PvP supremacy feels pretty nice. Thanks to the progression system of non-combat skills, deciding to spend multiple hours just cutting down trees in order to sell furniture to other players can have its own charms, and as a result, would also in the long-term lead to an interesting in-game economy with players freely trading with each other. These professions also feed into the housing system, where players can own their own house in the different cities throughout Aeternum, and decorate them with benches and trophies, among other things.

The combat itself is interesting, with New World leaving behind World of Warcraft’s tab-targeting system to instead feature a real-time combat system where attacks can be actively blocked or dodged, and player positioning, as well as aiming with ranged weapons are all important skills. All weapons tend to have two main actions with their weapons of choice, along with 3 abilities that can be unlocked and equipped. Using a greatsword on the PS5, for example, L2 blocks attacks, R2 h its enemies, and the various skills are equipped on L1, R1, and L1 + R1. Combine with the fact that you can equip two different weapons at any given time, and you essentially have an arsenal of 6 different abilities to play around with.

Your choice of weapons will also define your role for the content you choose to do, be it tanking with a sword and shield combination, rain down arrows on enemies as a damage dealer with a bow, snipe them from a distance with a musket, or heal allies with a staff. Magic users get additional choices with their choice of staff, with different elements all being represented, and healing being relegated to the Life staves. It’s worth noting that the main story of the game can be played with whatever loadout you might want, and even swapping between the different roles is quite encouraged.

"Your choice of weapons will also define your role for the content you choose to do"

As for what you can do aside from just following the story, New World: Aeternum has a few activities, with solo players mostly being let loose on the open world, and group players having access to 5-player dungeons, called Expeditions in this game, as well as a 10-player raid. Unfortunately, when it comes to PvE, that’s about all New World: Aeternum has to offer for endgame-centric players. If you’re into PvP, however, there are a lot more options, ranging from individual 1-on-1 duels to massive PvP battles with players of different factions fighting for control of a zone.

New World: Aeternum doesn’t seem too well suited for players that might enjoy the challenge presented by, for example, World of Warcraft’s endgame systems with its epic boss fights, and nor is its story anywhere near the quality of Final Fantasy 14’s main plot. It does, however, excel in offering more to do during the leveling process. While other MMORPGs might follow the old adage of “the real game starts once you hit level cap”, New World: Aeternum feels more comfortable in the leveling process, where you can simply decide to press pause on the story, head out into the forest, and cut down some trees.

Sure, this does mean that there won’t be much left to do once you’ve finished the story, done all the expeditions, and had your fill of PvP, and in the longer term, the game’s player base will definitely hurt for more content. Whether Amazon Games can maintain the renewed interest in New World thanks to its console release, however, will be something that becomes more evident in the long term.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

New World: Aeternum will bring plenty of new content for existing players as well. That will include a large-scale PvP arena, a new and challenging 10-player raid, solo endgame trials, new archetypes for your characters, a revamped dialogue system, and new progression mechanics, among other things.

“New World: Aeternum is the culmination of years of focused development combined with input from the dedicated community of players who’ve already carved a path in the original New World on PC,” said Amazon Games vice president Christoph Hartmann. “Listening to player feedback is fundamental to how we make games, and we know New World: Aeternum delivers on the promise of a fresh and compelling New World experience that players can enjoy together across platforms.”

New World: Aeternum will launch for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on October 15.

As spotted recently by a user on Reddit, the game was spotted on the PS5 PlayStation Store’s “sponsored” section under the name New World Aeternum (which is the name of the island where the game takes place). Supposedly, it was removed from the store’s front page shortly after it was first spotted.

What’s interesting is that an announcement related to New World is expected in the very near future, with Amazon Games recently having confirmed that it will be making an “exciting announcement” regarding the MMORPG at the Summer Game Fest showcase, which kicks off later today at 2 PM Pacific.

Whether that means New World is set to be announced for PS5 remains to be seen, though that is seeming likely based on these recent developments. Presumably, that means the game will also be coming to Xbox Series X/S. Either way, stay tuned for more updates through the day.

One of the biggest new features to have made it to New World thanks to the release of the expansion is the ability for players to ride on mounts. The expansion also brings with it New World‘s third season, bringing with it a revamp to the game’s mainline story quests, as well as changes to open world PvP and other quality of life improvements, like the removal of Wards, Banes, and Expertise.

Rise of the Angry Earth also brings with it a new story revolving around the titular Angry Earth going around and ravaging the lands of Aeternum. The expansion also brings with it a new level cap of 65, a new gear score cap of 700, and more progression options.

New World: Rise of the Angry Earth was first announced back in August.

The Rise of the Angry Earth expansion will also bring with it the start of New World‘s third season, which will bring with it a revamp to the game’s mainline story quests, changes to open world PvP, and quality of life improvements like the removal of Wards, Banes and Expertise.

The expansion brings with it a new story that revolves around the fury of the Angry Earth ravaging the lands of Aeternum. In terms of gameplay features, mounts will be making their way into the game with Rise of the Angry Earth, alongside more progression options with a new level cap of 65 and gear score cap of 700. Players will now also be able to find gear of the new Artifact rarity, which will be a new tier of weapons and armor.

Other new features include a new zone dubbed the Elysian Wilds, a new Expedition dubbed The Savage Divide, the Primal Fury Hearthrune ability, and the new flail weapon type.

Originally released with an in-game store selling cosmetics, New World will now also include a season pass among its monetisation methods. The season pass will feature 100-tier tracks for both paid and free players.

Each season pass will be priced at 20,000 Marks of Fortune—the microtransaction currency in the game—which roughly translates to a little under $19.99. Rewards in the season pass will include emotes, skins, gear, and Boost Tokens, among other content.

Players will be able to level up the season pass by taking part in New World‘s upcoming seasonal activities, including the Seasonal Journey, Challenges, and Activity Cards. Regular quests and other content will also provide XP for the season pass.

The first season, kicking off on March 28, will be called Fellowship & Fire, and will add a new story to the game, alongside a host of new content, including the new Empyrean Forge expedition.

Of course, some games have looked like they might just do that. Some games have had the right pedigree, have made the right promises, have looked like they have appropriately big budgets and might just have the right backing. One such game was New World, the massive MMORPG that Amazon Game Studios was hedging most of its bets on. From the big budget and massive development team attached to the project to the hype it was generating before launch to how it was promising to deliver something truly unique and exciting to help set it apart from others in the MMO space, for a long time, it looked like New World may very well have what it takes to stand toe-to-toe with genre giants in a way very few other games had been able to.

But of course, as we now know, things didn’t quite turn out that way. Though New World certainly got off to a good start (to say the very least), things quickly took a turn for the worse. Amazon showed its inexperience with game development and handling a massive live title, made changes in the months to follow that weren’t exactly for the best, and all of that put together has not been great for New World’s health.

As things stand right now, the situation isn’t exactly dire – New World still has a decently healthy player base, even though it’s barely even a fraction of what it was drawing in in its early days – but it still feels like the game has very quickly petered out with a whimper. While once many had predicted that it would be counted in the same breath as World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 14, it now feels like New World is destined to join the long and ever-growing list of MMOs that aspired to great heights, but failed to make good on their promises.

So the question is- what the hell happened?

Well, in the beginning, things looked peachy. New World drew in over a million players in total at launch, and on its first day, crossed 900,000 concurrent players on Steam, and viewership on Twitch was through the roof. Those are ridiculous numbers by any metric, and New World sustained these figures for several days to follow. For an MMO to get off to that kind of a start can only be a blessing. From that point forward, the situation was very much in Amazon’s favour- though as it quickly became clear, they weren’t exactly prepared for it.

Within days of New World’s launch, cracks started appearing on the surface. To be fair, there was plenty that its many, many players were absolutely loving. The combat, for instance, was hard not to have a blast with. While MMORPGs have a reputation for unengaging and slow combat, New World’s combat was very immediate and action-based. The game also offered a large and beautiful world (on the surface, at least), and on paper, its PvP-centric approach and its player-driven economy were just a few of its many highlights that promised to help the game stand apart from other MMOs out there.

But what are the two words that haunt the nightmares of every MMO developers? Server issues. New World had those in abundance at launch. Yes, the massive crowds it was drawing in was a big positive- but it was very much a monkey’s paw situation. People were having to queue up for hours before being able to get into servers that would allow them to finally allow them to play, and the servers themselves were so unstable and unreliable that once somebody did finally get it, there was a very good chance that they would quickly be thrown back out and sent back to the back of the queue, leading to another hours-long wait. Amazon tried to quickly fix issues by setting up new servers, but clearly, it wasn’t being done fast enough, because New World was bleeding players.

Those were just temporary, initial problems though. The far bigger issues came with the game’s core design itself. For instance, the main campaign was kind of a drag. It was far too repetitive, tasking players with activities and combat scenarios that didn’t offer too much variety. For many, that wasn’t much of an issue, because after all, the meat and potatoes of any MMO is the endgame- but New World’s endgame was similarly disappointing. They were far too sparse and far too unengaging to hold players’ attention, which is like the biggest sin any live game can commit (though you wouldn’t know it from how common the problem is).

Then you had New World’s two biggest flagship features not working out the way Amazon had intended- its player-driven economy and its PvP-centric nature. PvP was a classic example of something sounding great on paper but not being properly executed. Massive large-scale wars that would be decided by players and players alone sounds like something you’d want to participate in, but as it turned out, actually being able to participate, much less make any real meaningful difference, was a non-starter, especially in your earlier hours with the game.

The player-driven economy, meanwhile, quickly crumbled. Not only were players routinely finding exploits (and then more exploits to get around fixes for those initial exploits) that completely messed with the game’s economy, it was also just imbalanced at its core, especially when you got to high-level areas that, as it turned out, had trading posts with next to no activity. Amazon eventually fixed the issue, sure, but the fix came at the cost of everything that promised to make the game’s economy unique.

Between launch and now, New World has been hit with server issues, it’s lost some of the things that could have made it unique and exciting, and it still hasn’t fixed problems with its campaign and its endgame, which, despite updates, remain far from varied, packed, and exciting enough to hold anyone’s attention for too long. If we look at numbers, New World has seen a sharp decline. Currently, its monthly average of concurrent players on Steam is about 15,000 players, which isn’t bad by any means- but it’s a massive fall from where the game started out, and when you compare it to other live games and successful MMOs, those numbers aren’t anything to be proud of.

It would be rash to say that the situation is unfixable- that’s far from the truth. At its core, New World has solid mechanics and solid ideas, and if Amazon were somehow able to find a way to execute those ideas without messing up the game’s balance, things could turn around very quickly. But then again, with the developer focused on fixing other issues as well as providing a consistent stream of updates to get players to stick around, that’s easier said than done. And that’s where MMOs usually die, after all- the post-launch phase. Will New World be another one of those, or will it be able to get back to its best and turn the ship around for itself? That remains to be seen, but given the current situation and given Amazon Game Studio’s own spotty track record, it’s hard to be too optimistic right now.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

There are 12 weapon types in New World – Bow, Rapier, Sword, War Hammer, Great Axe, Hatchet, Fire Staff, Ice Gauntlet, Spear, Musket, Void Gauntlet and Life Staff. Each has their respective strengths and weaknesses depending on one’s play-style. As such, it’s very easy to switch between weapons without too much fuss, or pair together different weapon types and benefits.

Providing further customization is the fact that each weapon type also has two different skill trees which promote varying styles of play. Let’s take a look at all of the weapon abilities and passives here, starting with the Sword.

The Sword is your bog-standard, one-handed melee weapon and can be paired with a shield. It scales off of Strength primarily with Dexterity serving as a secondary attribute. Its trees are Swordmaster and Defender, the former focused on damage and the latter on tanking. Here are all of the active abilities for the weapon:

• Leaping Strike (Swordmaster) – Allows for leaping six meters and dealing 135 percent weapon damage with a cooldown of 25 seconds. The two upgrades are – Final Strike, where 50 percent more damage is dealt to enemies below 30 percent HP, and Cowardly Punishment, which slows a target for eight seconds if the ability lands on an enemy’s back.
• Whirling Blade (Swordmaster) – Attack all enemies within two meters, dealing 145 percent of weapon damage with a 15 second cooldown. Has two upgrades – Opportunity, which causes 5 percent Rend for 10 seconds (reducing a foe’s armor) and Tactical Strike, which reduces the abilities cooldown by 10 percent for each enemy hit.
• Reverse Stab (Swordmaster) – Stabbing attack that can deal 175 percent weapon damage with a 20 second cooldown. Its two upgrades are – Unstoppable Stab, which adds Grit and makes it impossible to interrupt the attack, and Tactician, which reduces all Sword cooldowns by 25 percent when successfully landing a Reverse Stab.
• Shield Bash (Defender) – Stun foes for two seconds, dealing 50 percent of weapon damage. Cooldown is 25 seconds and with a Carnelian gem equipped, taunts all enemies hit for six seconds, directing their aggro to you. Its upgrades are Intimidating Bash which greatly increases threat and deals 100 additional damage, and Concussive Bash which increases stun duration by one second.
• Shield Rush (Defender) – Rush five meters ahead and deal 125.4 percent weapon damage. Also knocks back foes. Cooldown is 20 seconds and there are two upgrades – Improved Rush, with direct hits weakening all enemies within 5 meters by 10 percent for 4 seconds, and Intimidating Rush, with hits slowing all enemies within 5 meters by 30 percent for 4 seconds.
• Defiant Stance (Defender) – Reduce incoming damage from foes by 30 percent for 8 seconds. Has a cooldown of 45 seconds and with a Carnelian gem equipped, it can taunt enemies within 8 meters for six seconds. Its upgrades are Final Countdown, which increases damage reduction by 20 percent if health is above 50 percent, and Restoration, which provides 15 percent max health gain when the ability ends.

Now let’s look at the Sword’s passive skills:

• Counter Attack (Swordmaster) – Blocking an attack grants an Empower stack for five seconds, granting three percent increased damage. This can stack up to five times, granting a 15 percent damage increase.
• Achilles Heel (Swordmaster) – Slow an enemy by 20 percent for two seconds with the final hit in a Light attack chain.
• Empowered Stab (Swordmaster) – Grants 30 percent Empower for five seconds when a Heavy attack lands, resulting in increased damage.
• Mobility (Swordmaster) – 33 percent faster movement speed when blocking.
• Precision (Swordmaster) – Increases critical strike chance with swords by 10 percent.
• Freeing Justice (Swordmaster) – Landing a Heavy attack results in one debuff being cleared.
• Opportunist (Swordmaster) – Slowed foes receive 10 percent more damage
• Confidence (Swordmaster) – When at full health, damage dealt is increased by 15 percent.
• Critical Precision (Swordmaster) – When landing a critical strike, gain 20 percent Haste (increased movement speed) for five seconds.
• Leadership (Swordmaster) – All members in a group have 10 percent increased damage when you’re holding a sword.
• Sturdy Shield (Defender) – Physical armor is increased by 15 percent.
• Recuperation (Defender) – 10 percent increase to regeneration and all incoming healing.
• High Grip (Defender) – Blocking ranged attack with a shield reduces stamina damage by 15 percent.
• Defensive Training (Defender) – Gain 10 percent Fortify on blocking an attack for five seconds.
• Final Blow (Defender) – Deal 15 percent additional damage and generate extra threat with the third strike in a Light attack combo.
• Invigorating Bulwark (Defender) – Hitting an enemy with Shield Bash or Shield Rush grants 15 Stamina.
• One with the Shield (Defender) – Blocking with a shield causes all shield skills to recharge by 1 percent.
• Sturdy Grip (Defender) – Blocking melee attacks with a shield reduces stamina damage by 15 percent.
• Elemental Resistance (Defender) – Reduced damage from all magic by 10 percent.
• Defensive Formation (Defender) – Reduce damage by 30 percent to allies within 2 meters while blocking. Has a one second cooldown.

Next is the Rapier, which scales primarily off of Dexterity with Intelligence being a secondary attribute. It focuses more on quick strikes and inflicting Bleed statuses along with evasion. Let’s take a look at the active abilities in its Blood and Grace trees.

• Flourish and Finish (Blood) – Knock back enemies with the attack and then press Light Attack to execute Finish, which causes the player to lunge forward and deal 110 percent of the damage from all Rapier bleed stacks instantly while consuming them. Cooldown is 20 seconds and there are four upgrades – With Flair which grants Grit on both abilities; Swagger which restores 20 Stamina when hitting the target with Finish; Fuel where each damage tick from Tondo’s bleed will reduce this ability’s cooldown by 3.5 percent; and Bloody End where Finish will deal 150 percent of damage from bleed stacks.
• Tondo (Blood) – Deals 50 percent direct weapon damage and applies Bleed that deals 85 percent weapon damage over 12 seconds (which can stack up to three times and is refreshed with each Tondo strike). Has a five meter reach and an 11 second cooldown. It has three upgrades – Thirst for Blood, which reduces the cooldown of Tondo by 10 percent on the first Bleed stack; And again, which reduces the ability’s cooldown by 25 percent when hitting a target (even if they’re blocking); and Proper Spacing which increasing Tondo’s direct damage when at least four meters away from the target.
• Flurry (Blood) – You enter into a stance and then hit the enemy with five quick attacks, each dealing more damage. Has a cooldown of 16 seconds and can be dodged cancelled. Flurry has four upgrades – Overwhelm with each hit dealing 25 percent more block damage; Fleeting Strikes where each hit reducing the ability’s cooldown by 7 percent; To the Bone, with each hit extending bleed status by 1 second (applying to future stacks of the same ailment); and Finalize which staggers the enemy on the last hit.
• Riposte (Grace) – Go into a defensive stance for one second – if hit, counter immediately, stunning your enemy for 1.5 seconds (along with gaining temporary invulnerability). If you have a Carnelian Gem equipped, then all foes within five meters are taunted for four seconds. Cooldown of 20 seconds and has three upgrades – Insult to Injury which makes all attacks uninterruptible for three seconds upon a successful Riposte; Priority where other Rapier abilities have their cooldowns reduced by 20 percent after a successful Riposte; and Lasting Consequence which increases Riposte’s stun duration to two seconds.
• Fleche (Grace) – Pierce through foes with a lunge, traveling 10 meters and dealing 145 percent damage. Cooldown of 17 seconds and has three upgrades – Quick Lunge where kills reduce cooldown of the ability by 80 percent; Backside which increases the next critical strike attack’s damage by 15 percent after Fleche (lasting for five seconds); and Interruption, where pressing Light Attack during Fleche will cause the player to stop and perform an attack for 115 percent damage.
• Evade (Grace) – Sidestep in your current direction, canceling any action and gaining brief invulnerability. Light Attacks performed during this are very quick. Cooldown of six seconds and there are four upgrades – Breathe In that recovers 20 Stamina on use; Allegro which bestows 20 percent movement speed for three seconds on use; Adagio which bestows 15 percent increased damage on your next Light Attack when evading forward (though the effect ends on hit or after 1 second); and Crescendo where Light Attacks reduce the ability’s cooldown by 30 percent.

Now let’s take a look at all of the passive abilities for the Rapier.

• Heavy Puncture (Blood) – Extends duration of Rapier bleeds by two seconds with Heavy Attacks, which also applies to future stacks of the same bleed.
• Refreshing Strikes (Blood) – All cooldowns reduced by 1 percent on any hit.
• Unerring (Blood) – Damage against enemies with Rapier bleed status is increased by 5 percent.
• Light Edge (Blood) – The middle swipe attacks in a Light Attack combo have their damage increased by 8 percent.
• Engarde (Blood) – When enemy has more than 50 percent health, damage dealt is increased by 10 percent.
• Desperation (Grace) – When your Stamina is below 40 percent, deal 10 percent more damage.
• Swiftness (Grace) – Gain 3 percent Haste for four seconds on any hit, which stacks up to five times.
• Momentum (Grace) – After using an ability, damage is increased by 25 percent for next Light or Heavy Attack. Effect ends after three seconds or after hitting any enemy.
• Perfectionist (Grace) – When your health is full, deal 10 percent more damage.
• Red Curtains (Grace) – Reduce all cooldowns by 5 percent on critical hits.
• Controlled Breathing (Grace) – Gain 3 Stamina on hit.

Scaling primarily off of Strength (with Dexterity acting as a secondary attribute), the Hatchet can be used for both melee combat and as a ranged weapon (though it’s limited to medium and close range). Its two trees are Berserker and Throwing, the former focusing on melee hits and attack speed while the latter is all about throwing the weapon and inflicting status effects like Weaken, Rend and Disease.

Here are all of the active abilities for the Hatchet:

• Feral Rush (Berserker) – Leap on to foes with a melee attack, dealing 115 percent damage on the first hit and 130 percent damage on the second hit. Cooldown is 12 seconds and its upgrades include Dispatch which causes Feral Rush to deal 20 percent more damage to targets below 30 percent health; and Crippling Strikes where enemies hit in the bank with the ability are rooted for 2 seconds.
• Raging Torrent (Berserker) – Execute four quick attacks with each dealing 90 percent of weapon damage. Cooldown is 15 seconds with upgrades like Aggressive Approach which grants Haste for six seconds on hitting a target with the ability; and Final Blow, where pressing Light Attack at the end of the ability results in the last attack hitting for 120 percent damage.
• Berserk (Berserker) – Enter into Berserk Mode for 12 seconds which increases all attack damage by 20 percent. Cooldown is 18 seconds, which begins once the mode ends. Equipping the weapon with a Carnelian gem will cause Berserk to taunt enemies within 8 meters for up to eight seconds. Its upgrades include On the Hunt which grants 20 percent increased movement speed in Berserk Mode; Berserking Refresh which heals the player every four seconds up to 30 percent of their max health when Berserk is enabled; Berserking Purge which removes all crowd control effects on the player when using Berserk; and Uninterruptible Berserk which causes the player to become immune to stagger and their attacks to become uninterruptible in Berserk Mode.
• Social Distancing (Throwing) – Throw the hatchet and dodge back. Along with dealing 130 percent weapon damage, target is also slowed by 15 percent for three seconds. Cooldown is 15 seconds and its upgrades include – Quick Power which increases movement by 30 percent for three seconds when the ability connects on an enemy with an active debuff, and Stay Back where effects that reduce movement speed are increased by 25 percent for four seconds.
• Rending Throw (Throwing) – Throws the hatchet for 110 percent weapon damage. Also applies Rend which lowers an enemy’s damage absorption by 10 percent for 10 seconds. Cooldown is 15 seconds with upgrades that include – Targeted Impact, where Rend’s effect is increased by 15 percent when more than 8 meters from a target; Opportunistic, which causes the ability to deal 20 percent more damage on a target with an active debuff; and Second Wind, which reduces ability cooldown by 20 percent when using Rending Throw on an enemy with an existing debuff.
• Infected Throw (Throwing) – Throw the hatchet and inflict 150 percent weapon damage. Also trigger Disease (which reduces target’s healing efficiency by 30 percent) and weaken an enemy for five seconds. Cooldown is 15 seconds with upgrades that include Mortal Power which increases Disease duration and weaken to eight seconds (but on enemies below 30 percent health); and Aerial Transmission which spreads Disease in a three meter AoE for three seconds when hitting an enemy.

Let’s take a look at all of the passive skills for the Hatchet next:

• Enraged Strikes (Berserker) – Light and Heavy Attacks deal 20 percent more damage to targets below 30 percent HP.
• Against All Odds (Berserker) – Gain 10 percent increased damage for every foe within five meters.
• Fortifying Strikes (Berserker) – Gain Fortify (15 percent increased damage absorption) for 3 seconds after hitting the same target with three Light Attacks.
• Relentless Fury (Berserker) – Upon landing a Heavy Attack, gain Empower for three seconds or after three attacks.
• Accumulated Power (Berserker) – Upon landing three Light Attacks on the same target, gain Empower (grants 30 percent damage). Effect lasts for three seconds or on the next attack.
• Frenzied Purge (Berserker) – Hitting an enemy below 30 percent removes Bleed, Poison DoT and Burn from the player. Has a 60 second cooldown.
• Defy Death (Berserker) – Gain invulnerability for three seconds upon receiving lethal damage. Health is reduced to zero during this. Has a 75 second cooldown.
• Desperate Refresh (Berserker) – When hitting a target while health is below 30 percent, all cooldowns are reduced by 2 percent.
• Aimed Throw (Throwing) – Block is replaced with Aimed Throw. Holding right mouse button will enter aiming stance. Deals 95 percent weapon damage and consumes 20 Stamina.
• Boot and Rally (Throwing) – Regenerate 10 Stamina when hitting debuffed enemies with Light Attacks and Aimed Throws.
• Persistent Hindrance (Throwing) – Thrown hatchets that hit enemies extend the duration of all hatchet debuffs by 30 percent.
• On Fire (Throwing) – On every third thrown axe that lands on a target, critical damage is guaranteed.
• Critical Throw (Throwing) – Thrown hatchets can deal headshots or random critical hits. Critical hit chance of all attacks increased by 5 percent.
• Rejuvenating Crits (Throwing) – Regain 10 Stamina upon successfully landing critical hits with Light Attacks or Aimed Throws.
• Refreshing Throws (Throwing) – Reduce all cooldowns upon landing thrown hatchets against enemies with an active debuff.
• Exploitation (Throwing) – Enemies with an active debuff take 15 percent more damage from your attacks.
• Adrenaline Rush (Throwing) – After using an ability, dodging within two seconds uses 25 percent Stamina.

Next is the Spear, a two-handed weapon which scales primarily from Dexterity while Strength serves as its secondary attribute. It can also be thrown, providing some ranged damage for those that spec into it. Its passive trees are Zoner and Impaler, the former focusing on throwing attacks and crowd control while the latter is about DPS along with inflicting Bleed and Rend. Let’s look at the active skills first.

• Sweep (Zoner) – Knock down an enemy by sweeping their legs, dealing 75 percent weapon damage. Cooldown is 10 seconds and upgrades include Tenacious Sweep where Grit is active during the attack (making it uninterruptible); and Coup de Grace where pressing Basic Attack follows up with a downward stab that deals 125 percent weapon damage.
• Javelin (Zoner) – Throws the spear to deal 125 percent weapon damage. Also staggers a target on hit. Has a cooldown of 15 seconds. Upgrades include Forceful Impact which knocks down targets on hit; Refreshing Precision where headshots reduce cooldown by 50 percent; and Deadly Distance which increases the damage dealt by 2.5 percent per meter that the spear travels (up to 100 percent)
• Cyclone (Zoner) – Execute a spinning attack that pushes targets back by three meters. Deals 110 percent weapon damage and slows enemy movement speed by 50 percent for three seconds. Cooldown is 12 seconds and upgrades include Invigorating Combo which restores 25 Stamina with each hit; and Strong Momentum which activates Grit during the attack.
• Vault Kick (Impaler) – Kick the target for 75 percent weapon damage and apply Stun for 1.5 seconds. If Carnelian gem is equipped, then taunts the enemy for 2 seconds on hit. Cooldown is 15 seconds. Upgrades include Relentless Blows which grants Empower when hitting targets below 50 percent health, increasing damage by 20 percent for five seconds; and Continuous Motion which reduces cooldowns on other Spear abilities by 30 percent on hit.
• Skewer (Impaler) – Dash and skewer target for 125 percent weapon damage along with applying Bleed for 10 percent of weapon damage every second for 10 seconds. Cooldown is 15 seconds. Its upgrades include Deadly Ambush which deals 20 percent more damage to targets with full health; Follow Through where Critical Hits grant Empower and increase damage by 20 percent for 10 seconds; and Deep Wound which increases duration of Bleed to 15 seconds.
• Perforate (Impaler) – Execute three quick strikes that apply Rend, reducing enemy’s damage absorption by 5 percent for 10 seconds. Each hit deals 70 percent weapon damage Its upgrades include Rupturing Strikes which increases effect of Rend to 10 percent per strike if the enemy’s health is above 50 percent; and Impactful Strikes where landing all three strikes staggers the target.

Here are all of the passive skills for the Spear:

• Refreshing Reach (Zoner) – Reduce all Spear cooldowns by 15 percent with successive Heavy Attacks.
• Invigorating Crits (Zoner) – Critical hits restores 20 Stamina.
• Merciless Strength (Zoner) – Knocked down foes take 25 percent more damage.
• Defensive Stance (Zoner) – Grants Fortify for 2 seconds after successive Heavy Attacks.
• Deadly Consistency (Zoner) – Consecutive Heavy Attacks to an enemy deal 10 percent more damage.
• Strong Conditioning (Zoner) – When Stamina is below 50 percent, gain 30 percent Stamina regeneration.
• Reserved Strength (Zoner) – When Stamina is full, gain 25 percent damage.
• Evasive Maneuvers (Zoner) – Upon successfully landing hits, dodging backwards will consume 20 percent less Stamina for two seconds.
• Deadly Reach (Zoner) – Gain 10 increased critical hit chance for attacks on enemies that are more than three meters away.
• Exacerbating Crits (Impaler) – Dealing Critical damage extends debuffs and damage over time effects with the Spear by 20 percent.
• Exposed Wounds (Impaler) – Gain 15 percent critical hit chance against enemies suffering from Bleed.
• Crippling Jabs (Impaler) – On a target with less than 30 percent health, landing the final hit in a Light Attack chain deals 30 percent Slow for three seconds.
• Refreshing Jabs (Impaler) – In a Light Attack chain, landing the second hit reduces all Spear cooldowns by 10 percent.
• Precise Jabs (Impaler) – Light Attacks gain 5 percent increased critical hit chance.
• Unerring Precision (Impaler) – Deal 20 percent more damage to enemies that have Grit active
• Aggressive Maneuvers (Impaler) – After dodging, the first hit from an ability within 2 seconds reduces all Spear cooldowns by 20 percent.
• Finishing Blows (Impaler) – Deal 15 percent more damage to targets with less than 30 percent health.
• Exploited Weakness (Impaler) – Gain 10 percent damage per debuff on an enemy, up to 30 percent.

If you’re looking to deal boat-loads of damage without any care for defense, then the Great Axe warrants a look. Scaling purely off of Strength, it consists of two trees – Reaper for single-target and self-healing, and Mauler for area-of-effect and crowd-control. Let’s take a look at all of the active abilities below:

• Reap (Reaper) – Extends the weapon by five meters, dealing 70 percent weapon damage and drawing foes in. Can also taunt enemies for 4 seconds with a Carnelian gem equipped. Cooldown is 18 seconds. Upgrades include The Collector which increases the range of Reap to eight meters; Hunger, which heals you for 30 percent of damage dealt by the ability; and Fatal Attraction which performs a spin attack for 115 percent weapon damage after enemies are pulled in.
• Execute (Reaper) – Dish out an overhead strike for 200 percent weapon damage, which goes up to 300 percent weapon damage on enemies with health below 50 percent. Has a cooldown of 25 seconds. Its upgrades include Unstoppable Greed which adds Grit to the attack, and Executioner which grants 100 percent crit chance against enemies below 30 percent health.
• Charge (Reaper) – Charge a distance of 10 meters and upon reaching a target, attack for 120 percent weapon damage. The charge can be stopped and attack trigger early by pressing left mouse button. Grit is also applied, making you immune to stagger during the attack. Cooldown is 20 seconds and upgrades include Frenzied Momentum, which causes the ability to deal 120 to 140 percent weapon damage based on distance traveled; and Unpredictable Strike, which executes a swinging attack on pressing right mouse button for 140 to 165 percent weapon damage depending on distance traveled.
• Whirlwind (Mauler) – Your de facto spin-to-win maneuver. Whirlwind causes you to spin in a circle and hit all surrounding enemies for 50 percent weapon damage. You gain an extra spin on hitting an enemy, up to four times, and can move during the ability. While it has Grit, it doesn’t deal backstab damage. Cooldown is 30 seconds. Upgrades include Gusting Winds which increases the maximum number of spins to seven; Unending Winds which increases movement speed during Whirlwind by 50 percent; and Surrounded, granting 30 percent more damage if three or more foes are around you.
• Gravity Well (Mauler) – Swing upward for 99 percent weapon damage and create a vortex that pulls foes in a 10 meter range. Effect lasts for three seconds and once the vortex collapses, it unleashes a damaging burst for 125 percent damage. Cooldown is 30 seconds. Upgrades include Crowded Well for 10 increased burst damage for each enemy in the vortex, and Unyielding that grants 10 percent Fortify effect to allies in the well.
• Maelstrom (Mauler) – Deal 110 percent weapon damage with a spinning attack that also pulls enemies close. Cooldown is 20 seconds and upgrades include Storm’s Reach which extends the ability’s pull range by 50 percent; Absorb which consumes projectiles while Maelstrom is active; and No Reprieve which executes another spinning attack for 110 percent weapon damage while pulling enemies in.

Next up, let’s take a look at the passive skills for the Great Axe.

• Death’s Embrace (Reaper) – Armor penetration increased by 10 percent against enemies below 50 percent HP.
• Executioner’s Speed (Reaper) – Hitting two or more targets with a Light Attack grants 20 percent haste for three seconds.
• Critical Gains (Reaper) – Dealing a critical hit will self-heal for 10 percent of damage dealt.
• Frustration (Reaper) – If an enemy blocks your attack, you gain 15 percent increased damage for 10 seconds.
• Keen Edge (Reaper) – Increases critical damage by 10 percent.
• Greed (Reaper) – Light Attacks provide up to three stacks that increases damage by 5 percent for five seconds.
• Critical Condition (Reaper) – Attacks on enemies below 30 percent HP have 15 percent increased crit chance.
• Feed (Reaper) – Attacks on enemies below 30 percent HP will self-heal for 10 percent of damage dealt.
• Blood Lust (Reaper) – Looking at a foe that’s within 15 meters will increase your movement speed by 20 percent and damage by 15 percent.
• Mauler’s Fury (Mauler) – Attacks grant a stack that increases damage by 3 percent for three seconds (up to 10 stacks).
• Gravity (Mauler) – Pulling a foe will root them for 0.25 seconds.
• Enduring Strike (Mauler) – Heavy attacks have Grit and you also receive 20 percent damage reduction while performing the attack.
• Heavy Pull (Mauler) – Attacks pull enemies closer to you.
• Crowded Protection (Mauler) – Gain 10 percent damage absorption when three or more enemies are within four meters of you.
• Mauler’s Resolve (Mauler) – Getting hit while below 50 percent HP results in 40 Stamina gained (with a 20 second cooldown).
• Revenge (Mauler) – Blocking an attack bestows a stack that increases damage by 5 percent for five seconds (up to three stacks).
• Center of Attention (Mauler) – Gain 10 percent damage when three or more foes are within four meters.

Next up is the War Hammer, a two-handed weapon which is good for damage dealing and stunning opponents. It scales purely off of Strength and offers two trees – Juggernaut and Crowd Crusher. Let’s take a look at all of its active abilities:

• Mighty Gavel (Juggernaut) – Leaping attack that deals 160 percent weapon damage with a cooldown of 22 seconds. Its upgrades include Summary Judgment which increases damage by 20 percent on targets under 30 percent HP; Impact Fracture which increases Stamina damage dealt by 25 percent; Expedite which grants Haste for three seconds; and Justice For All where pressing Basic attack will add a second attack that deals X percent weapon damage.
• Armor Breaker (Juggernaut) – A swing that penetrates 35 percent of enemy armor, dealing 140 percent weapon damage. Its upgrades include Indomitable which adds Grit to the attack; Lasting Trauma which Rends targets and reduces their damage absorption by 15 percent for 10 seconds; and Opening Act which increases damage by 15 percent against enemies at full health.
• Wrecking Ball (Juggernaut) – Hit the ground around an enemy and deal 120 percent weapon damage. Has a cooldown of 15 seconds. Its upgrades include Safety Measures that grants Fortify for four seconds on a successful hit and Breathing Room which flattens all enemies within 1.5 meters of the main target.
• Clear Out (Crowd Crusher) – Swing and knock back enemies by four meters for 115 percent weapon damage. Has a cooldown of 15 seconds. Its upgrades include Power Cleaner which grants Fortify for four seconds to all allies within six meters upon successfully connecting with the target; Clean and Refreshed, which reduces cooldown by five percent per enemy hit; and Swing Away which provides Haste on hit for three seconds.
• Path Of Destiny (Crowd Crusher) – Strike the ground and send out a wave of energy that deals110.0 percent to all enemies it hits. Its cooldown is 22 seconds and upgrades include Seismic Waves which staggers all affected enemies; and Stimulated Reduction which reduces ability cooldown by 5 percent for each enemy hit.
• Shockwave (Crowd Crusher) – Dish out an AoE earthquake in a three meter radius, dealing 80 percent weapon damage. All affected enemies are stunned for two seconds (can also Taunted them for six seconds with a Carnelian gem equipped). Has a cooldown of 20 seconds. Its upgrades are Frailty which causes Weaken, decreasing a target’s damage by 10 percent for ten seconds; and Meteoric Crater which expands the range of Shockwave to four meters.

Next, let’s look at the War Hammer’s passive skills:

• Power Through Pain (Juggernaut) – Deal 35 percent additional damage for one after receiving damage.
• Contemption (Juggernaut) – Deal 15 percent increased damage with Heavy Attacks on enemies with less than 30 percent health.
• Quick Recovery (Juggernaut) – Heavy Attacks reduce cooldowns by 7 percent.
• Hammer Time (Juggernaut) – On successful Heavy Attack, gain Empower which increases damage by 20 percent for four seconds.
• Exhaustive Attacks (Juggernaut) – War Hammer abilities cause Exhaust, reducing enemy’s stamina regen by 15 percent for five seconds.
• Hardened Steel (Juggernaut) – Heavy Attacks gain Grit. Also gain 20 percent damage reduction for Heavy Attacks while Grit is active.
• Epitome Of Bonk! (Juggernaut) – Armor penetration of all normal attacks with the weapon increased by 10 percent.
• Resurgence (Crowd Crusher) – Reduce duration of debuffs on the player by 25 percent ever five seconds after using two Light Attacks with the War Hammer.
• Aftershock (Crowd Crusher) – An enemy suffering from a crowd control effect is slowed by 20 percent for four seconds.
• Acceleration (Crowd Crusher) – Using Light Attacks against debuffed enemies reduces cooldowns of War Hammer abilities by 7 percent.
• Facilitated Expedition (Crowd Crusher) – Gain Haste for three seconds after hitting an enemy with active debuff.
• Concussive Impact (Crowd Crusher) – Gain 15 percent damage against enemies that have War Hammer debuffs on them.
• Outnumbered (Crowd Crusher) – Gain 10 percent increased damage absorption when surrounded by two or more foes within five meters.
• I Can Do This All Day (Crowd Crusher) – When blocking melee strikes, stamina consumption is reduced by 30 percent.
• Guarded Sprint (Crowd Crusher) – When sprinting, take 10 percent less damage.
• Prevailing Spirit (Crowd Crusher) – After using a Crowd Crusher ability, regain 35 percent of damage dealt as health.

For those who favor range, the Bow is a very appealing option, scaling solely off of Dexterity. It has two trees – Skirmisher for evasion, poison and AoE attacks, and Hunter for raw damage. Let’s take a look at all of its active abilities below.

• Poison Shot (Skirmisher) – Unleash a poisonous arrow that creates a 3 meter cloud for six seconds that damages enemies for 10 percent weapon damage per second for 20 seconds. It has a cooldown of 35 seconds and its upgrades include Infected Arrows, where the poison deals 12 percent weapon damage per second for 20 seconds; and Direct Hit which deals 200 percent more damage on direct hit.
• Evade Shot (Skirmisher) – Leap back five meters and fire an arrow that deals 125 percent weapon damage. Has a 15 second cooldown. Its upgrades include Evasive Knockback which knocks back an enemy two meters; and Go the Distance which grants Haste for five seconds.
• Rain of Arrows (Skirmisher) – Unleash an arrow barrage that deals 150 percent weapon damage over seven meters. Has a cooldown of 25 seconds. Its upgrades include Barbed Arrows which inflicts Bleed for 85 percent weapon damage over 12 seconds (up to three stacks); and Hooked Arrows which inflicts Slow for four seconds.
• Splinter Shot (Hunter) – Fire an arrow that travels for 10 meters and then splits into three. This deals 50 percent weapon damage with a cooldown of 22 seconds. Upgrades include Scatter Shot which causes the arrow to split into five; and Calculated which reduces ability cooldown by 10 percent per hit;
• Rapid Shot (Hunter) – Fire three arrows consecutively with the first two shots each dealing 100 percent weapon damage while the last deals 125 percent weapon damage and causes knockback. Cooldown is 20 seconds and upgrades include Rapid Accuracy where the ability’s cooldown is reduced by 50 percent if all three shots hit the same enemy; and Final Blow which causes the third shot to deal an additional 25 percent damage.
• Penetrating Shot (Hunter) – Fire an arrow that penetrates a target and keeps going for 100 percent. Deals 150 percent weapon damage with an 18 second cooldown. Upgrades include Blood Soaked Arrow which increases damage by 10 percent with each hit (up to 50 percent max damage); and Deep Strike which deals 20 percent more damage to enemies at a distance of 20 meters or more.

Next, let’s look at all of the passive skills for the Bow.

• Dodge and Weave (Skirmisher) – Gain Haste for two seconds after dodging.
• Closing In (Skirmisher) – Bow ability recharge rate reduced by 5 percent when hitting an enemy with health below 50 percent.
• Evasive Tactics (Skirmisher) – Deal 20 percent additional damage for five seconds after dodging.
• Catch Me If You Can (Skirmisher) – When surrounded by three or more enemies within three meters, gain Haste.
• Impale (Skirmisher) – Hitting a full-health enemy inflicts Slow for two seconds.
• Hunter’s Insight (Skirmisher) – Debuffing an enemy grants five stamina.
• Mark (Skirmisher) – When an enemy has been debuffed, deal 10 percent more damage to them.
• Knee Shot (Skirmisher) – Slow an enemy for two seconds when shooting them in the leg.
• Archer’s Speed (Skirmisher) – When swapping to your Bow, gain Haste for five seconds. Cooldown is 10 seconds.
• Battle Precision (Skirmisher) – Duration of debuffs and damage over time effects lasts 20 percent longer.
• Concussion (Hunter) – Deal 20 percent more damage with headshots. Also gain a chance to retrieve your arrow.
• Aim True (Hunter) – Shooting arrow with Heavy Attack causes them to travel faster and deal 30 percent more damage.
• Opening Strike (Hunter) – Deal 20 percent more damage to full health enemies with Heavy Attacks.
• Arrow Range (Hunter) – Arrow distance before effects of gravity kick in is increased by 100 percent.
• Surprise Attack (Hunter) – Deal 20 percent more damage if you haven’t harmed an enemy for 10 seconds.
• Long Range (Hunter) – When an enemy is at least 10 meters away, deal 20 percent additional damage.
• Finishing Shot (Hunter) – Deal 20 percent additional damage to an enemy below 50 percent health.
• Unbreakable Focus (Hunter) – While aiming, take 10 percent reduced damage.
• Hawkeye (Hunter) – Heal for 10 percent damage dealt when performing a headshot.
• Bullseye (Hunter) – Critical chance for Bow shots increased by 10 percent.

As another ranged weapon, the Musket scales off of Dexterity first with Intelligence serving as a secondary stat. It’s a hitscan weapon, which means shots will immediately hit the target without having to worry about travel time like with an arrow’s projectiles. It has two trees – Sharpshooter for single target attacks and Trapper for traps and other crowd control abilities.

Let’s take a look at all of the active abilities first:

• Shooter’s Stance (Sharpshooter) – Enter a stance that causes shots to deal 100 percent weapon damage and reduces reload time by 75 percent. Mobility is zero though. Exit the stance after firing three shots. Cooldown is 20 seconds and upgrades include Shoot More which increases the number of shots that can be fired to five; and Marksman where all Musket cooldowns are reduced by 25 percent if three shots hit the same enemy.
• Powder Burn (Sharpshooter) – Fire a shot that deals 110 percent weapon damage and inflicts Burn for nine seconds which deals 20 percent weapon damage per second. This doesn’t stack with other overload shoots. Upgrades include Backdraft where normal shots deal 12 percent more damage on a burning target; and Chronic Trauma which extends Burn duration to 13 seconds on headshot.
• Power Shot (Sharpshooter) – Fire a shot that that deals 150 percent weapon damage with a cooldown of 15 seconds. Upgrades include Initial Engagement which grants Empower on hit for five seconds for 10 percent more damage; First Blood which deals 10 percent more damage on enemies at full health; and Bullseye where headshots reduce the ability’s cooldown by 15 percent.
• Stopping Power (Trapper) – Fire a shot after overloading the weapon, dealing 120 percent weapon damage. Enemy is staggered and knocked back by three meters. Cooldown is 18 seconds. Upgrades include Lasting Impression where enemies are Exhausted when hit, having their Stamina regen reduced by 10 percent for eight seconds; and Supplementary Repulsion where enemies are slowed by 10 percent for eight seconds.
• Sticky Bomb (Trapper) – Throw a bomb that sticks to an enemy or surface and explodes after three seconds in a three meter radius. Deals 175 percent weapon damage to all targets within 3.0 meters. Upgrades include Unflinching Walk that grants 40 stamina when dealing damage; and Sticky Slow where direct hits slow an enemy by 15 percent for three seconds.
• Traps (Trapper) – Throw a trap which Roots an enemy when triggered, immobilizing them for three seconds. Duration of the trap is 20 seconds and its cooldown is 20 seconds. Upgrades include Trapped Damage which applies Rend to targets, increasing damage dealt by 20 percent for three seconds; Scent of Blood where damage inflicted on a trapped enemy regenerates 100 percent weapon damage as health; and Double Trap which allows for having two traps active.

The passive abilities for the Musket are as follows:

• Called Shot (Sharpshooter) – When aiming down sights for more than three seconds, increase Musket damage by 5 percent.
• Called Shot Resupply (Sharpshooter) – Reduce all Musket ability cooldowns by 10 percent when hitting headshots with Standard attacks.
• Greater Accuracy (Sharpshooter) – Removes accuracy penalty when firing from the hip.
• Critical Reload (Sharpshooter) – Hitting three headshots within five seconds of each will instantly reload the weapon.
• Empowering Headshot (Sharpshooter) – Gain Empower for 10 increased damage for five seconds after a headshot.
• Ballistic Advantage (Sharpshooter) – When firing at enemies that are more than 50 meters away, damage falloff from Standard shots is removed.
• Sniper (Sharpshooter) – Aimed shots gain a 3x zoom which can be activated by scrolling up on the Mouse Wheel (down to zoom out). Headshots also deal 15 percent more damage.
• Heightened Precision (Sharpshooter) – Aiming and successfully hitting a target grants 2.5 damage increased damage (stacks up to six times). Ends when you stop ADSing or take more than five seconds between each shot.
• Hit Your Mark (Sharpshooter) – Headshot and critical hit damage is increased to a maximum of 15 percent when hitting a target up to 100 meters away. Decreases as the target closes the distance and doesn’t ignore damage fall-off.
• Kick ’em When They’re Down (Trapper) – Enemies with an active crowd control effect receive 10 percent more damage from your attacks.
• Weakened Defense (Trapper) – When firing normal shots at enemies blocking with shields, stamina damage is increased by 50. Also increases armor penetration to enemies that aren’t blocking.
• Empowering Weakness (Trapper) – Empower is granted when hitting an enemy with an active debuff, increasing damage dealt by 5 percent for five seconds.
• Hustle (Trapper) – After dodging, gain Haste for three seconds.
• Salt On The Wounds (Trapper) – Deal 10 percent more damage to enemies below 30 percent health
• Back It Up (Trapper) – When an enemy is within eight meters of you, movement speed is increased by 10 percent (also applies to strafing).
• Tactical Reload (Trapper) – Reloads the weapon after dodging. Triggers once every six seconds.
• Energy Burst (Trapper) – When damaging an enemy with an active debuff, five stamina is restored.
• Lethal Combo (Trapper) – Enemies affected by a Trapper status effect take 20 percent more damage from your Musket.

The first of several magic weapons, the Fire Staff is, as the name indicates, excellent for setting targets on fire and applying the Burn status. It scales off of Intelligence alone and has two trees – Fire Mage and Pyromancer, which each offer different kinds of fire damage. Spells consume Mana when used. Let’s take a look at all of the active abilities for the Fire Staff:

• Pillar of Fire (Fire Mage) – Deal 134 percent weapon damage with a fire spell. Costs 15 Mana with a cooldown of 10 seconds. Its upgrades include First Strike which deals 40 percent additional damage to full health enemies; and Arson’s Advantage which restores 10 percent of max Mana per enemy hit.
• Fireball (Fire Mage) – Hurl a fireball that causes 140 percent weapon damage on impact. It leaves a three meter burning area that deals 10 percent weapon damage per second for six seconds. Costs 25 Mana and has a 15 second cooldown. Its upgrades include Scorched Earth which increases burning field duration to nine seconds; and Catch which causes direct hits with the ability to restore 10 percent of max Mana and reduce Fire Staff cooldowns by 7 percent.
• Meteor Shower (Fire Mage) – Summon meteors on to enemies. Deal 34 percent weapon damage on the initial hit with enemies remaining in the affected area taking 20 percent additional weapon damage per second. When fully cast, consumes 30 Mana and has a cooldown of 18 seconds. Upgrades include Immolation where the initial hit restores one percent of your max Mana for each enemy hit; Fiery Determination which adds Grit when casting the spell; and Judgment of Helios where all follow-up hits will deal 25 percent weapon damage.
• Incinerate (Pyromancer) – Create an explosion that pushes enemies back by three meters and deals 130 percent weapon damage. Enemies are burned for 3 percent weapon damage each second for six seconds. Cost is 22 Mana and cooldown is 12 seconds. Its upgrades include Scorched where each hit adds another Burn stack; Cauterize Wounds where 20 percent of damage dealt is restored as health; and Flame out! which causes the ability to hit twice.
• Burn Out (Pyromancer) – Dash through enemies, causing 129 percent weapon damage on hit and applying Burn that deals 10 percent weapon damage per second for eight seconds. Cost is 30 Mana and cooldown is 20 seconds. Upgrades include All In which reduces all Fire Staff cooldowns by 5 percent for each enemy hit; and Heat it Up! which increases Burn Out’s distance by 50 percent.
• FlameThrower (Pyromancer) – Emit a stream of fire that deals 34 percent weapon damage per second. For each hit, enemies are burned for 3 percent weapon damage for six seconds. Cost is 4 Mana per second with a cooldown of eight seconds. Upgrades include Fire’s Reach which increases range by 50 percent; Infernal Flames which increases the ability’s base damage by 25 percent; and Pyro Dancer which removes FlameThrower’s cooldown.

Now let’s take a look at all of the passive abilities for the Fire Staff:

• Clear Mind (Fire Mage) – Gain Empower for 10 percent increased damage while above 50 percent max Mana.
• Spellslinger (Fire Mage) – Gain 15 percent additional crit chance for abilities.
• Clear Casting (Fire Mage) – Deal 10 percent additional damage if you haven’t been damaged for three seconds.
• Flare (Fire Mage) – Mana is no longer consumed when using Heavy Attacks.
• Runes of Helios (Fire Mage) – When using a fire spell, a rune measuring two meters is created on the ground. This increases spell damage by 30 percent and lasts for seven seconds (with a cooldown of 30 seconds).
• Spell Focus (Fire Mage) – Restore five percent of max Mana with a Heavy Attack.
• Fiery Restoration (Fire Mage) – Reduce cooldowns of Fire Staff by 10 percent with each Heavy Attack.
• Singe (Fire Mage) – Apply Burn for 3 percent weapon damage per second for six seconds when dealing a Critical hit.
• Pyromania (Pyromancer) – Increases damage by 20 percent when holding the Fire Staff and below 50 percent max health.
• Trial by Fire (Pyromancer) – Create a field of fire when struck that deals 5 percent weapon damage to enemies within a four meter radius. Lasts for 10 seconds and has a cooldown of 120 seconds.
• Kindle (Pyromancer) – Burns last for 20 percent longer.
• Watch it Burn (Pyromancer) – Burn enemies for 3 percent weapon damage per second for six seconds with Light attacks.
• Let it Burn (Pyromancer) – Gain Fortify for two seconds when applying Burn damage.
• Heat Up (Pyromancer) – Restores 5 percent max Mana when blocking a melee attack.
• Combat Speed (Pyromancer) – Gain Haste for five seconds when using a Fire Staff ability. Has a cooldown of 10 seconds.
• Reheat (Pyromancer) – Mana regeneration is increased by 400 percent when going for six seconds without using a Fire Staff ability.

The Life Staff scales primarily off of Focus and is primarily used for healing and support. Its two trees are Healing and Protector – let’s take a look at the active abilities from both below:

• Sacred Ground (Healing) – Creates an area that heals for 20 percent weapon damage every second for 15 seconds, costing 15 Mana overall. Cooldown is 20 seconds and its upgrades include Holy Ground where stamina and Mana regenerate 100 percent faster when standing in the spell’s area; and Blessed which increases all healing for allies inside the area by 50 percent.
• Divine Embrace (Healing) – Heals target for 150 percent weapon damage and consumes 25 Mana. Has a six second cooldown. Upgrades include Privilege which reduces Mana cost to 20; Shared Struggle where healing an ally that’s below 50 percent HP will heal another that’s within an eight meter distance for the same; and Rebound where if the second target benefiting from Shared Struggle is below 50 percent health, then a third ally within eight meters is also healed.
• Splash of Light (Healing) – All allies within 100 meters and the caster are healed for 50 percent weapon damage. Consumes 15 Mana and has a 15 second cooldown. Upgrades include Shared Recovery where healing an ally below 50 percent health will recover three percent of Max Mana; and Purify which causes a debuff to be removed.
• Beacon (Protector) – Fire a projectile that deals 146 percent weapon damage and heals allies in close proximity for 20 percent weapon damage per second for 10 seconds. Costs 10 Mana and has a 35 second cooldown. Upgrades include Infused Light which increases the spell’s area of effect by 50 percent; Radiance’s Blessing which causes the Beacon to last five more seconds; and Speed of Light which adds Haste for three seconds when healing an ally.
• Light’s Embrace (Protector) – Heals an ally for 100 percent weapon damage and an additional 30 percent for each buff on them. Costs 18 Mana with a cooldown of four seconds. Its upgrades include Inspire where healing a target also grants them 25 Stamina; Connection which grants one percent of max Mana for each buff on the target; and Magnify which increases the duration of Life Staff buffs by two seconds.
• Orb of Protection (Protector) – An offensive projectile that deals 146 percent weapon damage. When hitting an ally, it heals them for 10 percent weapon damage and grants Fortify for 20 seconds. Consumes 16 Mana and has a cooldown of 10 seconds. Its upgrades include Protector’s Blessing which adds Recovery when hitting an ally, healing 7.5 percent weapon damage per second for 10 seconds; Shared Protection where healing an ally with the spell will also confer Fortify and Recovery unto you; and Aegis which heals all allies in a three meter radius when the Orb hits.

Now let’s take a look at all of the passive abilities for the Life Staff:

• Intensify (Healing) – Increase healing by 10 percent for 10 seconds (which stacks up to three times) when performing Heavy attacks.
• Divine Blessing (Healing) – After healing an ally that’s below 50 percent health, heal them for an additional 30 percent.
• Desperate Speed (Healing) – Life Staff ability cooldowns reduced by 10 percent when healing an ally that has less than  50 percent health. This effect can only be triggered every five seconds.
• Revitalize (Healing) – When a Light attack hits a targets, all cooldowns are reduced by five percent.
• Absolved (Healing) – Light and Heavy attacks with the Life Staff no longer cost Mana.
• Mending Touch (Healing) – Heavy attacks remove one debuff when passing through an ally.
• Blissful Touch (Healing) – When Light attacks pass through an ally, they’re healed for 20 percent weapon damage.
• Sacred Protection (Healing) – Increases amount of healing by five percent for your group while holding the Life Staff.
• Enchanted Justice (Healing) – After taking damage, a four meter healing aura is created for you and your allies that heals for 10 percent weapon damage per second for six seconds. Has a cooldown of 120 seconds.
• Balance (Protector) – Gain Haste for five seconds when taking damage while below 50 percent health. Cooldown is 20 seconds.
• Bend Light (Protector) – Your healing is 20 percent more effective after dodging for five seconds.
• Defensive Light (Protector) – Blocking a melee attack regenerates five percent of your max Mana.
• Glowing Focus (Protector) – Gain 20 percent duration for any buffs you cast.
• Spirits United (Protector) – Mana regeneration increased by three percent for you and your group.
• Protector’s Touch (Protector) – When hitting an enemy with Light or Heavy attacks, gain 15 percent Fortify for three seconds.
• Protector’s Strength (Protector) – Heal for 10 percent more if you have a buff.

The Ice Gauntlet is, as you’d expect, another magic weapon that scales only off of Intelligence. It has two trees – Ice Tempest which focuses on slowing enemies and AoE spells and Builder which creates an Ice Pylon that can attack and debuff enemies while also buffing you. Let’s take a look at the active abilities for the weapon below.

• Ice Storm (Ice Tempest) – Create a five meter area that deals 17 percent weapon damage every 0.25 seconds for five seconds. Has a 20 meter range and slow enemies within the area by 25 percent. Cost is 25 Mana with a cooldown of 20 seconds. Upgrades include Weakening Gust where damage is increased by 10 percent to enemies within the Ice Storm that are below 50 percent HP for three seconds; Storm Summoner which decreases the cost of the ability by 80 percent when your Mana is full; and Punishing Storm which increases damage dealt for each foe within the area of the ability.
• Wind Chill (Ice Tempest) – Fire freezing winds that deal 16 percent weapon damage with each hit and push foes back by five meters. Has a range of seven meters with the last two meters dealing 20 percent increased damage without knocking back enemies. Costs 20 Mana with a 15 second cooldown but the player can move during the ability. Upgrades include Enduring Chill which increases the ability’s duration by one second; and Chilling Blast which increases damage dealt by the last two meters by 25 percent.
• Ice Spikes (Ice Tempest) – Send out ice spikes that travel eight meters in a line and deal 56 percent weapon damage. A large spike is create at the end that pushes back foes and deals 157 percent weapon damage. Can also cause the large spike to generate early by pressing Left Mouse Button during the spell. Costs 15 Mana and has a 10 second cooldown. Its upgrades include Refreshing Spikes which decreases the spell’s cooldown by 10 percent for every foe hit by the large spike; Empowered Spikes which increases damage dealt by the large spike by 20 percent against foes below 30 percent HP; Deadly Path which increases damage dealt by the spikes (not the large spike) by 10 percent adds Stagger; and Spiky Reach which causes shards to fire from the large spike, traveling six meters and dealing 118 percent weapon damage.
• Ice Shower (Builder) – Create a four second long ice shower that creates a one by five meters frosted area that hits enemies with Frostbite (rooting them for one second, slowing them by 50 percent and nullifying sprinting and dodging). The effect lasts for three seconds after leaving the area. Costs 25 Mana with a cooldown of 20 seconds. Upgrades include Enduring Shower which extends the spell to last seven seconds; Quick Shower which grants a 25 percent speed boost for two seconds when you or an ally enters the area; and Frigid Showers where Frostbite also applies Rend, reducing enemy defense by 10 percent.
• Entombed (Builder) – Create an ice tomb that lasts 10 seconds and grants invulnerability while also greatly increasing Mana regeneration. Though it can be destroyed, it can also be canceled by either pressing Right Mouse Button or Left Mouse Button, the latter causing a knockback that deals damage for 20 Mana. Costs 10 Mana and has a cooldown of 30 seconds. Its upgrades include Strengthened Tomb which increases defense by 25 percent for three seconds upon exiting Entombed; and Cleansing Tomb which cleanses all debuffs during the ability.
• Ice Pylon (Builder) – Deploy an Ice Pylon that fires projectiles dealing 50 percent weapon damage to foes in a 20 meter range. Also creates one meter frost area that allows for frost powers. Lasts 15 seconds or until it’s destroyed with a 15 Mana cost and 10 second cooldown. Its upgrades include Greater Pylon which increases damage dealt by 10 percent on slowed enemies; Pylon Regen which regenerates to full health five seconds after it takes damage; Pylon Dodge which increases its fire rate for three seconds when you dodge with full stamina; Pylon Refresh which extends the Pylon’s duration by one second when it hits an enemy; and Ultimate Frost which doubles its health and extends the frost radius to five meters while also doubling the Quick Frost and Empowered Frost bonuses.

Here are all of the passive abilities for Ice Gauntlet:

• Heavy Freeze (Ice Tempest) – When an enemy is in Ice Storm or afflicted with Frostbite, freeze them for one second with a Heavy attack.
• Gathering Storm (Ice Tempest) – Gain 15 Mana when scoring three Light attacks in a row.
• Cold Reach (Ice Tempest) – 15 percent increased damage of Light and Heavy attacks against enemies that are more than 15 meters away.
• Critical Frost (Ice Tempest) – When hitting foes in a frosted area or suffering from Frostbite, gain 20 percent increased critical chance.
• Ultimate Chill (Ice Tempest) – Using ice abilities chills enemies, increasing ice damage by 35 percent for three seconds.
• Critical Rejuvenation (Ice Tempest) – After a critical hit on an enemy, recover 15 Mana.
• Energized Critical (Ice Tempest) – Critical damage of Ice spells is increased by 15 percent when stamina is full.
• Refreshing Frost (Builder) – When casting abilities in a frosted area, reduce all active ice ability cooldowns by 20 percent.
• Blocking Stamina (Builder) – Convert three Mana to 15 stamina when blocking hits with the Ice Gauntlet.
• Frozen Touch (Builder) – At full health, when hit with a melee attack, slow enemies by 25 percent for two seconds.
• Defiant Freeze (Builder) – Gain 20 percent Fortify for two seconds when casting an ice ability.
• Quick Frost (Builder) – Gain 10 percent increased speed in a frosted area.
• Empowered Frost (Builder) – Each spell cast in a frosted area regenerates three Mana.

Finally, there’s the recently added Void Gauntlet. It deals Void damage and scales with Intelligence primarily (with Focus serving as a secondary scaling stat). Unlike other magic weapons, holding Block will activate Harvest Essence to recover Mana at the cost of one’s life (the rate which scales with weapon damage). Its two trees are Annihilation and Decay, the former focusing on melee combat and critical hits while the latter is focused on debuffing foes and healing. Let’s take a look at all of the active abilities here:

• Void Blade (Annihilation) – Create a Void energy blade that can execute melee attacks. Normal attacks deal 100 percent weapon damage – holding down the button executes a thrust for 150 percent weapon damage. Both inflict Disintegrate which stacks up to three times and deals five percent weapon damage per second for 15 seconds while reducing enemy damage absorption by five percent for eight seconds. Costs 20 Mana and has a cooldown of 25 seconds. Upgrades include Fortified Blade, which grants Fortify for five seconds; Vicious Void which causes attacks with Void Blade to deal 10 percent more critical damage; and Leeching Blade where thrust attacks heal for five percent weapon damage per Disintegrate stack (and which scales with Focus).
• Petrifying Scream (Annihilation) – Attack with a five meter Void scream that staggers enemies and roots them for two seconds. Also deals 100 percent weapon damage with a 25 Mana cost and 15 second cooldown. Upgrades include Bone-chilling Voice which increases the duration of the Root debuff by one second on enemies below 50 percent HP; and Fortifying Echoes which grants Fortify for each enemy hit (stacks up to 3 times) for 10 seconds.
• Oblivion (Annihilation) – Create a five meter circle of Void energy at your location that deals 30 percent weapon damage per second for six seconds. Also grants Empower to yourself and allies. Costs 30 Mana and has a cooldown of 20 seconds. Its upgrades include Withering Oblivion where enemies attack within the circle suffer from Weaken and deal five percent less damage for five seconds (stacks up to three times); and Invigorating Oblivion which grants 15 stamina per second for you and your allies within the circle.
• Orb of Decay (Decay) – Fires an orb that passes through foes, inflicting Disintegrate for eight seconds (stacking up to three seconds). The orb is unblockable and upon reaching max range, it becomes a healing orb that returns and heals allies for 20 percent weapon damage per second for five seconds (healing scales with Focus). Costs 20 Mana and has a 15 second cooldown. Its upgrades are Draining Orb which five percent Mana is regenerated per enemy hit; Slowing Orb which slows enemies and slows their movement speed by 30 percent for three seconds; and Detonating Orb where pressing the ability’s input again will detonate the orb, either damaging foes for 100 percent weapon damage and applying Disintegrate or healing allies for 70 percent weapon damage (healing scales with Focus).
• Essence Rupture (Decay) – Projectile that causes Essence Rupture which heals allies that hit the affected enemy for 20 percent of non-DoT damage dealt. Costs 25 Mana and has a cooldown of 20 seconds. Its upgrades include Invigorating Rupture where players receive 15 Stamina when attacking the affected enemy; and Overflowing Essence which heals allies within four meters of the enemy for 80 percent of weapon damage when Essence Rupture is over.
• Baleful Tether (Decay) – Tethers you to an enemy, weakening it and granting Empower to the player by four percent per second for 10 seconds. The spell ends if the enemy moves more than 15 meters away. Cost is 25 Mana with a cooldown of 25 seconds. Upgrades include Tethered Refresh where hits against the tethered foe reduces Void Gauntlet cooldowns by five percent; Tethered Focus which grants 100 percent Mana regen when the tether is active; and Soul Eater where 80 percent weapon damage is regained as health upon slaying the tethered enemy (scales with Focus).

Next, let’s look at the passive abilities for the Void Gauntlet:

• Voidcaller (Annihilation) – After hitting an enemy with an ability, gain a Void Essence stack. Upon reaching six stacks, all stacks are consumed and grant a five second long, three meter aura that heals you and your allies for 30 percent weapon damage while also dealing 30 percent damage per second to enemies inside of it. Has a cooldown of 20 seconds; healing scales with Focus.
• Empowering Proximity (Annihilation) – Casting abilities within five meters of an enemy grants Empower for 10 percent additional damage. Stacks up to three times and lasts five seconds.
• Leeching Agony (Annihilation) – Critical hits grant health equal to 15 percent damage dealt.
• Refreshing Frailty (Annihilation) – When hitting enemies affected three or more debuffs, gain five percent cooldown reduce on all abilities.
• Keen Confidence (Annihilation) – Gain 10 percent critical chance when above 50 percent health.
• Keen Humility (Annihilation) – When all abilities are on cooldown, gain 10 percent critical chance.
• Refreshing Precision (Annihilation) – Critical hits grants 10 percent cooldown reduction for all abilities.
• Forsaken Pact (Annihilation) – Gain 10 percent additional damage when+10.0% damage while below 50% Mana.
• Efficient Harvest (Annihilation) – Health drain from Harvest Essence is reduced by 50 percent when Mana drops below 25 percent.
• Glimpse of the Void (Decay) – With each ability hit, gain a Void Essence stack. At four or more stacks, the next Heavy ranged attack that hits an enemy will reset all Void Gauntlet cooldowns instantly. Removes all stacks in the process and has a 15 second cooldown.
• Deadly Range (Decay) – Heavy ranged attacks on enemies that are more than eight meters away deal 10 percent more damage.
• Radiant Efficiency (Decay) – When above zero Mana, Mana costs are reduced by 25 percent.
• Leeching Bolts (Decay) – If an enemy is below 50 percent health, then healing gained from Heavy ranged attacks against them is increased by an additional 30 percent of damage dealt.
• Fervent Thirst (Decay) – For each Light ranged attack on targets debuffed by the Void Gauntlet, recharge five percent Mana.
• Refreshing Harvest (Decay) – When using Harvest Essence, cooldowns are reduced by 10 percent per second.
• Mending Evasion (Decay) – When at max Mana, dodging restores health for 80 percent of weapon damage (scales with Focus). Has a 20 second cooldown.
• Extended Suffering (Decay) – Extends the duration of non-crowd control debuffs by 10 percent with successful Heavy ranged attacks.

For starters, the new update brings in an expedition modifier called Mutators. Mutated expeditions will let players face off against augmented enemies that they have previously faced off against, making them think and adapt to new strategies to subdue them. Completing a mutated expedition will reward players with newer and better rewards, which will let you increase your gear score.

The endgame Umbral upgrade system has also been tweaked, letting players upgrade individual gear pieces by spending Umbral shards. With mutated expedition getting added, it has become an efficient way to farm Umbral shards.

You can read the patch notes in their entirety from the official website for a more detailed overview, or have a look at a selection below.

New World January Update Key Changes

Umbral Upgrade System

• Players can upgrade individual gear pieces from GS 590 to GS 625, by spending Umbral Shards. Note we reduced this requirement from GS 600 to GS 590 based on PTR feedback and the desire to require Legendary items to engage in the Umbral System.

• The ability to upgrade items of any type is unlocked when players hit 600 Expertise for that item type.

• Players can acquire Umbral Shards via three methods:

  • Expedition Mutators are the most efficient way to earn Shards. The higher the difficulty level and the higher the Score Rank achieved the the more Shards a player will earn.

  • Opening Gypsum Casts, once the expertise of that type has reached at least 600 Expertise.

  • Crafting 600 GS items, once the expertise of that type has reached at least 600 Expertise.

• Upgrading any item via Umbral Shards binds the item to player.

Expertise System Updates

• Players raise their Expertise from 590 to 600 through the current means; Gypsum Casts and random open world bumps.

• Expertise is increased from 600 to 625 via the Umbral System.

• Expertise Gear Scaling

  • Any item that is purchased from the trading post or acquired through P2P after the January patch will have its effective gear score scaled down to the mid point of players Expertise and the items gear score if their Expertise is lower than the item’s gear score.

General Enhancements & QoL Improvements

• Whenever you craft a GS 600 item, if your Expertise for that item type is under 600 it will trigger an Expertise bump. This will be another great way for crafters to get their expertise to 600 (in addition to the already released Emerald Gypsum from Trade Skill Aptitude Reward containers).

• If you get an Expertise bump from random drop in the open world, the loot ticker will now show which item gave you the Expertise bump.

• If you get an Expertise bump from opening a reward cache, the opening sequence will highlight which item gave you the bump.

• You can now craft the Topaz Gypsum Attunement Potion at any Arcana Station as well as any T5 Camp.

• Increased the odds of getting Topaz Gypsum when killing enemies and attuned.

• We addressed an issue where Gypsum casts were only providing +1 bonuses when opening above gear score 585 for an item. Now, upgrades from Gypsum Casts from 585 to 600 should be at least +2 except when expertise is 599.

• To allow players more access to use Gypsum more freely as they acquire it we’ve removed the crafting cooldowns on Gypsum Orbs.

But the real build customization comes from hitting certain thresholds with attributes. Let’s take a look at all of the bonuses they provide along with the weapons that scale with them, starting with Dexterity. Dexterity serves as a single attribute for Bows; a primary attribute for Rapiers, Muskets and Spears; and a secondary attribute for Hatchets and Swords. Here are all of its threshold bonuses:

• 50 Dexterity – Five percent increased critical hit chance and 10 percent increased skinning speed.
• 100 Dexterity – Five percent increased thrust damage. Also, after skinning, gain 20 percent increased Haste for three seconds.
• 150 Dexterity – Dodge costs 10 less stamina. Weight of skinned items is also reduced by 10 percent.
• 200 Dexterity – 10 percent increased backstab and headshot damage. Skinning speed also increased by 10 percent.
• 250 Dexterity – 10 percent increased bonus critical damage on stunned, slowed, or rooted enemies. Yield from skinning is also increased by 10 percent.
• 300 Dexterity – After a dodge roll, deal a guaranteed critical hit (occurs once per 10 seconds). Ammo also has a 15 percent chance of being refunded.

Next up is Strength. As you’d expect, many of the melee weapons benefit from increases to Strength. The Great Axe and War Hammer scale of Strength alone; the Hatchet and Sword use it as a primary attribute; and the Spear uses it as a secondary attribute. Its threshold bonuses are:

• 50 Strength – Five percent increased damage with Light melee attacks. Mining speed is also increased by 10 percent.
• 100 Strength – Increases encumbrance by 20 and also deal 10 percent increased damage with Heavy melee attacks.
• 150 Strength – Weight of mined items decreased by 10 percent. 50 percent increased stamina damage from Light and Heavy melee attacks.
• 200 Strength – Stunned, slowed, or rooted enemies take 10 percent increased damage. Mining speed is increased by 10 percent.
• 250 Strength – Faster stamina regeneration after melee attacks and 10 percent increased mining yield.
• 300 Strength – Melee attacks gain Grit, which briefly prevents interruptions to attacks. A white aura becomes visible when Grit is in effect. Also gain 25 percent increased chance to mine ore with only one swing.

Focus is an interesting attribute since it only increases damage for one weapon type – the Life Staff. Its threshold bonuses are:

• 50 Focus – Mana regeneration rate is increased by 10 percent. Fishing line tension is also increased by 10 percent.
• 100 Focus – Gain +20 mana. Salvaging yield is increased by 10 percent.
• 150 Focus – 20 percent increased healing output. Carry weight of fish reduced by 10 percent.
• 200 Focus – Duration of buffs that the player casts are increased by 20 percent increased.10 percent increased fishing line tension.
• 250 Focus – Gain +30 mana when the player or group nets a kill. Caught fish size increased by 10 percent.
• 300 Focus – At zero mana, gain 200 percent mana regeneration for 10 seconds (with a 60 second cooldown on the same). Inn fast travel cooldown is also reduced by 10 percent.

Next is Intelligence which is a single scaling attribute for the Fire Staff and Ice Gauntlet, and a secondary attribute for the Rapier and Musket. Its bonuses are:

• 50 Intelligence – 10 percent increased damage to Light and Heavy attacks with magic. Harvest speed is also increased by 10 percent.
• 100 Intelligence – Critical damage increased by 10 percent. Chance to gain one Azoth while harvesting is increased by five percent.
• 150 Intelligence – Elemental damage increased by 15 percent. 10 percent reduced weight of harvested items.
• 200 Intelligence – Gain +10 mana after dodging. Harvest speed is also increased by 10 percent.
• 250 Intelligence – Duration of damage over time spells increased by 30 percent. 10 percent increased harvest yield.
• 300 Intelligence – Gain 30 percent increased damage on the first hit to a target at full health. 10 percent reduction in Azoth fast travel cost.

Finally, we have Constitution. This doesn’t affect the damage of any weapons but is tied to your overall health and damage resistance. Its thresholds are as follows:

• 50 Constitution – All health consumables are 20 percent stronger and logging speed is increased by 10 percent.
• 100 Constitution – Max health increased by 10 percent of total physical armor. Tool durability loss is is reduced by 10 percent.
• 150 Constitution – 10 percent reduced critical damage taken. Weight of logging items reduced by 10 percent.
• 200 Constitution – Increases armor by 20 percent. Logging speed also increased by 10 percent.
• 250 Constitution – Gain 80 percent damage reduction when at full health (with a 60 second cooldown) and 10 percent logging yield increase.
• 300 Constitution – Gain +20 duration to spells that deal stun, slow, and root status. 25 percent increased chance of chopping down a tree with one swing.

How to Access Expeditions

Expeditions are one of the main endgame activities in New World, and are akin to dungeons in other MMOs. The process of getting into them isn’t super straightforward though. First, you need to complete the Main Story quest “Destiny Unearthed.” This opens up the first Expedition, Amrine Excavation. You’ll then need specific Tuning Orbs for each Expedition which must be crafted or earned from quests. Let’s take a look at all of the Expeditions along with their recommended levels:

• Amrine Excavation – Requires level +25. Located in Windsward and accessed with an Amrine Tuning Orb.
• Starstone Barrows – Requires level +35. Located in Everfall and accessed with a Starstone Tuning Orb.
• The Depths – Requires level +45. Located in Restless Shores and requires Depths Tuning Orb.
• Dynasty Shipyard – Requires level +51 and located in Ebonscale Reach. Requires Dynasty Tuning Orb to access.
• Lazarus Instrumentality – Requires level +60 and located in Reekwater. Requires Lazarus Tuning Orb to access.
• Garden of Genesis – Requires level +60. Located in Edengrove and requires Genesis Tuning Orb.

Expeditions must be tackled with a group of five players with at least one healer, tank and DPS required. These can be located with the Party Finder or created by partying up with friends. Thankfully, only one player is required to have a Tuning Orb for the entire group to access the instance. In terms of rewards, players can net some good weapons and trinkets scaled to their level along with rare crafting materials, EXP and gold.

How to Play Corrupted Invasions

As a faction’s influence and Settlement grows stronger in a captured territory, the Corrupted begin to take notice. Eventually, they’ll invade, swarming player forts in great numbers as part of Corrupted Invasions. This happens about every four days or so with up to 50 players capable of taking part (sign-ups start 24 hours in advance). The Governor is then tasked with selecting up to 10 players for the battlegrounds.

Once the Invasion begins, the player will teleported to a fort and can use Battle Tokens to purchase supplies like ammunition, siege weapons, potions and so on. Additional Tokens are earned by killing the Corrupted, repairing any damaged defenses or siege weapons, and helping allies. Invasions last for eight waves with different objectives but your basic goal is to prevent the Corrupted from breaching the fort.

Completing a Corrupted Invasion will reward Azoth, materials, XP and loot. Keep in mind that this is a level +50 activity so don’t go waltzing in under-leveled. Also, as a Governor, make sure to prioritize different projects for fort defense – the quality of defenses in an Invasion will be based on the same.

Tips and Tricks

Finally, there are a few things to keep in mind while playing. The Camp is very useful and provides a respawn point if you’re felled while exploring the world. This saves quite a lot of time since you don’t have to respawn at a Settlement. The Camp can be upgraded after gaining and completing a quest at level 15 which provides more crafting recipes. Speaking of which, always ensure you’re eating food to gain benefits to health, damage and mana regeneration. It’s a fairly common thing in MMOs but still worth remembering.

Always prioritize buffs from captured regions and territories as per your needs. For example, regions that provide an XP boost are fairly useless in the endgame when you’ve hit the level cap while reduced Azoth spent while traveling, gathering speed and so on are more preferable. Check out our full guide on buffs from captured regions here.

With regards to harvesting tools, always craft the basic Iron ones instead of buying them. Check the Auction House occasionally for blue tools and pick them up if they have decent perks. Certain crafting resources can only be founded in certain types of environments. All of this information is specified on the map so keep checking it as per your requirements. Always harvest crates whenever possible since you can never have enough resources for crafting.

Along with being sure that your weapon properly scales off of your best attribute, keep an eye on stats for bonus damage dealt to specific enemy types. This will ensure the maximum amount of DPS in the more important activities. Also when stuck with excess armor and weapons, salvage them for repair parts and other resources instead of deleting or selling them.

For more details on New World, check out our review here. It’s currently available for PC.