New World Class Guide - A Breakdown

Amazon’s New World brings a new take on the traditional trinity found in big named MMO RPGs. In essence, New World has no specific class choice but instead allows you to put points into particular attributes. This system means that you will not get stuck in one role but instead have many damages, healing and tanky options.

This guide will show you what weapon choices create specific class styles and best utilize your build. Keep in mind that this guide is subject to change; however, this is the latest information available to us during the beta launch. (If you are interested in New World PvP Guide, please check our previous article.)

In New World, weapons take on the roles of classes. The great thing about New World is that respecing is free till level 20, so feel free to test out builds till then. Here is a list of all the weapons in New World:

One-Handed Weapons

●Sword

●Rapier

●Hatchet

Two-Handed Weapons

●Spear

●Great Axe

●War Hammer

Ranged Physical Weapons

●Bow

●Musket

Ranged Magical Weapons

●Fire Staff

●Life Staff

●Ice Gauntlet

Each of the weapons listed above has two unique play styles, which act as the classes in New World. Below we will create a small summary of each of the weapon classes and what you can expect in terms of playstyle.

One-Handed Sword Classes

There are two classes for one-handed swords; Swordmaster and Defender. Swordmaster is the DPS spec for one-handed swords, and the Defender class is like your traditional tank.

Swordmaster utilizes small gap closers and deals significant damage while having the option of using a shield to block.
Swordmaster is used primarily as a DPS for close-range targets and scales with both Strength and Dexterity.

Defender Class

Defender is the tanky class of New World. While all classes can block, the defender class has the most durability in a fight. The Defender’s skills and passives allow for excellent crowd control and tankyness.

Like with all classes, the rapier has two sets of playstyles, namely, Blood and Grace. Rapiers scale with Dexterity and Intelligence

Blood Class

The blood class for the rapier is a swift melee class based around fast-hitting attacks, bleeding damage over time, and ramping damage. The more you hit enemies with this class, the more damage you deal. The passives allow for more versatile forms of mobility and allow for fast-acting utilities.

Grace Class

The second skill tree for rapier is the grace class. Grace allows for swift movement, invulnerability frames, and precision strikes. This class is one of the most powerful for PvP as its skillset can allow for many counterstrikes and outplays on your opponents. If you enjoy skillful and precise gameplay, the Grace class is the one for you.

With the hatchet class, you have the choice between Berserker and Throwing. The hatchet class scales off of Strength and Dexterity, so make sure to level up those if you want to use a hatchet.

Berserker Class

The Berserker class is one of those classes that does what it says on the tin. You can go into a rage and have significant slash damage with an ultimate that makes you invulnerable to death for a brief minute. The passives for this tree increase damage and versatility. Berserker utilizes great gap closers and high damage. We recommend it for the ultimate hack and slash melee class.

Throwing Class

The throwing class is a little more on the tame side than its sister class, Berserker. It uses melee weapons as range, as you throw your hatchets at the enemies from a distance.

This class utilizes slows and debuffs for any enemies hit by your hatchet. Once up close, you can melee them to a finish. This class is unique as not many MMORPGs have a class where you can throw hatchets to debuff opponents, which may bring a nice fresh change for your gameplay.

Summary of One-Handed Classes

The one-handed classes are all quick and versatile, along with great gap closers and ranged attacks. If you enjoy playing with single-handed weapons, New World has an incredible array of armaments for you.

Two-Handed Weapon Classes

The two-handed weapon classes are focused on causing mass devastation with slower attacks. Below, we will be giving you a summary of each of the weapon classes in the Two-Handed category.

We will be starting off this list with the spear. The spear has two class choices, namely, Zoner and Impaler. These classes gain bonus damage with Dexterity and Strength.

Zoner

Zoner has a mix of ranged and melee attacks mixed with a splash of crowd control. The Zoner is a powerful class for PvP as the damage is versatile, and the crowd control will keep your enemies down. The damage for this class is relatively low compared to other weapons, but it makes up for it with its variety of range and crowd control abilities. If you enjoy keeping your opponents down while being able to attack from far, this is the class for you.

Impaler

The Impaler class is a high burst damage spear class with bleeds, debuffs, and crowd control. The difference between Zoner and Impaler is that Zoner relies on crowd control way more while Impaler deals high burst damage. Impaler is purely a melee class and has no ranged abilities. If you enjoy stabbing enemies with quick attacks and bleeds, this is the class for you.

The Great Axe classes offer severe damage and massive area-of-effect damage with buffs for party members and debuffs for enemies. Unlike the previous weapons, the Great Axe class scales with only Strength. The two-class choices between the great axes are; Reaper and Mauler.

Reaper Class

The reaper class wields a giant two-handed axe that has great gap closers and self-sustain. The passives improve self-sustain, damage increases, and increases the overall movement of the class. The Reaper class deals significant damage has slight area-of-effect damage, and is an excellent choice for any two-handed lovers.

Mauler Class

The Mauler class is the big bad boy of the two-handed category. If you enjoy doing loads of area-of-effect damage and control, this is the class for you. Not only does the Mauler class do significant damage, but it also buffs allies and keeps enemies controlled in an area. There isn’t much else to say other than this class is excellent for area-of-effect farming. It does have one drawback, though; due to Mauler’s little gap closers, you can get kited in PvP.

War Hammers are your following in-line two-handed weapons that deal high burst area of effect damage. The two-class choices bring a variety of crowd control with burst damage. The two classes are as follows; Juggernaut and Crowd Crusher. War hammers scale with Strength only.

Juggernaut Class

Juggernaut utilizes a massive Warhammer to debuff your opponents and shreds their armor. Juggernaut also has interruptions and decent burst damage. If your play style is being a tanky two-handed character Juggernaut is the class for you.

Crowd Crusher Class

Crowd Crusher utilizes massive area-of-effect damage and crowd control. This class deals noticeable damage and has various ways to help parties clear out waves of enemies. If you enjoy crushing waves of enemies while crowd controlling them, then this is the class for you.

Summary of Two-Handed Classes

The two-handed classes deal significant area-of-effect damage with a variety of playstyles. New World creates a unique experience with each of its diverse weapon classes. If you enjoy being slightly less agile but with massive damage, then choose a two-handed weapon.

Ranged Classes

In New World, ranged classes are unique in their style. The ranged weapons consist of bows, staves, and muskets. All of these weapon choices provide a unique experience of how ranged combat feels in an MMORPG.

The Bow Classes are familiar to many MMORPGs hunter classes. Ranged classes provide massive firepower from a distance while being able to keep their enemies at bay. The two bow classes are; Skirmisher and Hunter. Bows scale with Dexterity.

Skirmisher Class

Skirmisher is a ranged damage dealing class with high versatility in the form of kiting opponents. The abilities of a skirmisher are in the form of traps and slows while dealing significant area-of-effect damage from afar. The added benefit of Skirmisher is the damage over time abilities it has. If you enjoy attacking from range, then this is the class for you.

Hunter Class

The Hunter class is different from the Skirmisher as it relies heavily on ranged burst damage. The Hunter has more minor ways to control its opponents but deals more damage through higher volleys of attacks.

The Musket classes utilize a Musket to deal severe damage from a long-range while having traps for enemies who get too close. The two classes are; Sharpshooter and Trapper. The Musket scales with Dexterity and Intellect.

Sharpshooter Class

The Sharpshooter class relies on distance. Sharpshooter is the furthest practical weapon class in the game. The passives increase damage per bullet, allow for various damage over time and increase the rate of fire. If you enjoy sniping enemies at a distance, this is the class for you.

Trapper Class

The Trapper class utilizes traps to keep enemies at a distance. This class deals significant ranged damage with high versatility. While both the Sharpshooter and Trapper classes are ranged, Trapper utilizes close-range traps to deal high burst damage. If you enjoy playing a more tactical ranged class, then Trapper is the class for you.

The Fire Staff classes are basically fire mages in most other MMORPGs. The Fire staff allows for great burst ranged area-of-effect damage while providing excellent crowd control. The two classes are; Fire mage and Pyromancer. Both of these classes scale with Intelligence.

Fire Mage Class

The Fire Mage class is a ranged area-of-effect damage dealer. Fire mage spells leave burning damage on the surfaces, making for excellent crowd control and damage over time. If you enjoy the traditional fire mage classes, then this is New World’s answer for you.

Pyromancer Class

The Pyromancer is an up-close-and-personal flame-spewing mage. Pyromancer brings an interesting new take on fire mages as their damage is all close range and provides excellent movement abilities.

The Life Staff classes are the only ‘real’ healer classes in the game. Life Staves provide healing to both the caster and their parties. They make for great supports in PvP and PvE content while dealing damage. The two classes are as follows; Healing and Protector. Life Staff is the only weapon that scales with Focus.

Healing Class

The healing class is as standard as it comes; it heals. The passives increase healing done along with a few extra buffs to you and your party members. If you want to play as the healer in your group, this is the right choice.

Protector Class

The Protector class is slightly more unique as it utilizes damage and healing. The Protector class has healing over time, overhealing, and skill shot damage abilities. If you would prefer to play a more interactive healer class, then Protector is the right choice for you.

The Ice gauntlet is the last on the list for classes. The Ice gauntlet scales with Intelligence and has two class choices, namely, Ice Tempest and Builder. This class utilizes ice structures to do damage and has a high area of effect crowd control spells.

Ice Tempest Class

The Ice Tempest class does high area-of-effect damage while slowing your targets. Your passives increase the duration of spells and slows while increasing damage. Ice Tempest is the most significant area-of-effect crowd control class in the game. If you enjoy slowing your opponents and kiting them down, this is the class for you.

Builder Class

The Builder class is interesting in that it creates structures that attack targets and slow them. This class also utilizes close-range crowd control spells that slow targets. The Builder class also allows the player to be invulnerable to damage in their ice tomb ability; this creates an excellent opportunity to outplay your opponents.

You can find a complete list of all abilities and passives here.

We hope you enjoyed our quick run-down of the classes in New World; as always, expect more guides and tips on which classes to play as new patches get released. You can also find New World Coins on sale here at SSEGold. As always, happy hunting!