New World Guide – All Active and Passive Weapon Abilities

New World takes a very interesting approach to its abilities and skills. There are no classes but your play-style is dependent on the weapon along with a character’s attributes and their thresholds. The longer you play with a weapon, the more experience it will accrue, unlocking new abilities and passives in the process.

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..