New World Bow and Spear Build 2024 - (Aeternum Update)
Oct. 6, 2021The way this New World Bow and Spear Build works is that when you’re running an Expedition you’ll lead withRain of Arrowsto deal damage and setBleedingonce the tank has grouped enemies up. Then you’ll fire offPoison Shotto set thePoisonedStatus Effect, placing your second DoT on the enemy group. Then fire off yourExplosive Arrow, hitting all enemies and applying burning, before charging in with your Spear.
Once you’re in melee range you’ll useSweepto AoE further, andknock enemies down. Then you’ll follow up withCycloneto deal even more damage, and then you’ll begin Light Attacking enemies to finish them off while also resetting Spear Cooldowns, usingJavelinto knock enemies down that are attacking you from range. If you ever have trouble staying in melee range without dying, then back away and use your Bow until it’s safe.
Both theBowandSpearscale off ofDexterity, so having a significant amount of it will help with your damage. You want to look for items that provide you with this when possible, but a mix of Dex/Str is also not bad, nor is Dex/Con. Strength will improve your melee damage, andConstitutionwill help keep you alive. I like to get to 3 to 1 Dexterity to Constitution, if possible, for maximum damage and some surviveability.
Note that yourgearmay provide you with a bunch of Constitution, in which case you may not need to place many points here. Just make sure you get to 50 CON so that you gain the passive bonus of +20% increased healing from consumables. Respec if necessary when changing your gear, so that you can maintain this bonus.
TheSkillsfor this Build are optimized specifically for Expedition runs, but will work fine in just about every PvE scenario. However, it is not 100% optimized for PvP, because Cyclone is not a skill you would need there, even though both Sweep and Javelin are exceptional. If you wish to PvP, I highly suggest swapping out Cyclone for Vault Kick so that you can stun players more easily.
Rain of Arrows– This Skill hits in a small ground-targeted AoE for 150% weapon damage, and also sets Bleeding when upgraded. This is your opener and you should begin each pull (if possible) with this ability, taking your time to hit as many targets as you can. Use it the second it’s off cooldown if there are still many enemies remaining.
Poison Shot– You’ll follow your Rain of Arrows with Poison Shot in order to set a second DoT on the group of enemies, causing them to take damage while you melee them. Damage over time is a strength of the Bow, and we take full advantage of it here. Make sure you use this the second it’s off cooldown when fighting Bosses to keep the pressure on them.
Explosive Arrow– This is a great ability to follow up Rain of Arrows and Poison Shot with to hit 2 all enemies with fire damage and inflict burning on all of them. The Bow excels at AoE DPS, and these three skills really help to soften up groups of enemies, and they can be fired very quickly.
Sweep– After firing the first round of Bow Skills, you’ll close the distance and attack with Sweep to trip enemies. This ability is an excellent AoE, and it can CC, helping to prevent you and others from taking damage. It has a rather short cooldown, and you can reduce cooldowns further by Light Attacking, so you should be able to use this quite often. This ability does Strike Damage, so it’s good in early Expeditions of the game where Thrust Damage is resisted.
Cyclone– Like Sweep this ability does Strike Damage, increasing it’s effectiveness in the earlier Expeditions of the game, which can be a weak point of Thrust Weapons like Bow and Spear. It also hits in a large AoE, allowing you to crank out some damage against many targets at once. Use this whenever it’s off cooldown and there are many enemies grouped up, otherwise use Sweep.
Javelin– This Skill is excellent at attacking and knocking down enemies that are hitting you from range. Use this and then begin attacking them, then hit them with Sweep to put them back down on the ground, so they cannot attack. You can prevent a lot of damage with this Build, making it particularly efficient.
You want passives that increase your damage, extend the duration of your DoTs, and further reduce cooldowns. Bow has long cooldowns, so anything you can do to make these faster is huge.
When it comes toWeaponsyou’ll obviously need a Bow and Spear, and you want to look for those that are going to deal the maximum damage, don’t just look at the Gear Score. Since both theseWeaponsscale with Dexterity, you want to find versions of these that provide thisAttribute.
You’ll also want to look forCrit Chance, and Light Attack Damage, as it’s not always possible to hit enemies in the back to get guaranteed Critical Hits, and you will Light Attack often. If you get aGem slot, consider slotting anEmeraldfor increased damage against low Health enemies, or aJasperfor increased damage after you’ve taken consecutive hits.Refreshingis also not a bad bonus, as it further reduces cooldowns.
When it comes toArmoryou’ll want to make sure you’re in theMedium Weightcategory. This doesn’t give you the damage bonus that Light Armor does, but it does apply a decent amount of protection. You shouldn’t get hit as much as some otherBuilds, thanks to Sweep, Javelin and the Light Armor dodge, so you can get a way with less Armor than other melee Builds but you will still need some in order to melee and not die. Wear as many pieces of Medium Armor as you
You can equip one Heavy Armor chest, and 4 Medium Armor pieces to stay under the Heavy threshold, giving you the best protection possible without loosing the additional -15% damage penalty Heavy Armor provides. Look for Dexterity on your Armor, and anything that will help reduce cooldowns even further.
Remember that you canfight with your Bow at range, even if you do less overall DPS in situations where you might get yourself killed by closing to melee. SomeBosseshave very wide arcing swings that can clip you, even when they are glued to the tank. Watch for good openings before moving in, and make sure to keep your DoTs on the Boss.
It’s harder to group up enemies on the landscape if you’re playing solo, but you have plenty of damage, so don’t be afraid to pull a few. Use Rain of Arrows in front of where they will be, since there is a slight delay, and then Sweep them when they get near to knock them down. Dodge away if you need, or use Cyclone to finish them off.
As I mentioned, you can use this Build toPvP, but you’ll likely want to swap out Cyclone for Vault Kick for the extra CC. You can also swap out Rain of Arrows, if you’re fighting few players, for Evade Shot or Rapid Shot as well. Both are better suited to PvP than Rain of Arrows, unless you are fighting more than a few enemies. And Rapid Shot excels now with the addition of lock-on in New World: Aeternum.
Lastly, you no longer need to craft Arrows as these have been removed from the game. Instead all Ranged Weapons that used ammo previously have had their Base ranged damage increased by 20% to compensate, which makes your life much easier!
Stay tuned for moreNew World Build Guides, and be sure to check out theNew World Wikifor more information about the game.
Castielle
Senior Editor at Fextralife. I enjoy gaming, playing and watching sports, cooking yummy food, watching a good movie and hanging out with Fex.
Opal for spear. More dmg when stm isn’t topped off – you should be dodging between abilities to reset CDs
A Malachite gem (+% dmg to player under crowd control effect ) on the spear is the best option.
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