In New World: Aeternum, the Greatsword is an excellent weapon, especially with its high damage and flexible playstyle. Despite its weight, the Greatsword is a great defensive weapon and is great for Expeditions and PvP. Here’s everything you need to know for the best build.
Greatsword Build
The Greatsword provides players with two Light Attacks that deal 90% Damage and another Light Attack that deals 130% Damage. This weapon is a great damage dealer, with its first 2 Charged Heavy Attacks dealing 150% Damage to any enemy and the third dealing 170% Damage. This weapon deals Slash Damage and scales well with Strength and Dexterity.
The pros of the Greatsword? To name a few: being able to hit multiple targets with attacks, flexibility in combat for offensive and defensive playstyles, and the self-healing capability with the capstone ability. However, the downsides to the Greatsword come with its weight and learning curve when it comes to mastering its mechanics. However, these are all manageable once you put in the time and effort for this build.
Onslaught Skill Tree
To begin the Greatsword Build, you’ll need to focus on the Onslaught Skill Tree, which focuses on boosting damage output. If you want to reach max damage with the Greatsword, you can start with this Skill Tree. Here are the abilities you need to focus on:
- Relentless Rush
- Relentless Rush is an ability that will make you dash through targets while spinning, hitting them twice, and applying a Slow effect. Progressing the skill will boost your damage. The skill also gives a 50% cooldown reduction if you kill an enemy with it.
- Crosscut
- Crosscut is an ability that performs a two-crossing slash that is followed by a heavy overhead strike. Each attack will deal more damage than the previous one. It’s best to use this skill when upgraded to grant you grit, which will prevent you from being interrupted when performing the attack. When fully upgraded, it increases the last hit when the target is below 50% health.
- Skyward Slash
- Skyward Slash is an upward slash, but when upgraded it allows for a follow-up attack that deals damage while also applying Rend and staggering the target. Not only that, but it also adds Disease to the target to reduce health. Its most valuable asset is its debuffs when enemies are hit, but it can be tricky due to its long animation.
The capstone of the Onslaught Skill Tree is Unrelenting Onslaught which reduces the cooldown of the Greatsword’s abilities by 2% for Light Attacks and 10% for Charged Heavy Attacks.
Defiance Skill Tree
The Defiance Skill Tree focuses on reducing the incoming damage and enhancing your blocking, which makes it essential for medium to large-scale PvP or Expeditions. Here are the abilities you’ll need to focus on:
- Steadfast Strike
- Steadfast Strike is a skill that performs a forward stab that is followed by a spinning dash. The skill staggers, pulling the target in and generating Progressing the skill will heal you on the first hit and reduce the cooldown of the other Greatsword abilities.
- Calamity Counter
- Calamity Counter automatically blocks attacks for 2 seconds and reduces the stamina damage by 90%. The skill follows up with a counterattack that can be a stagger or a knockback on enemies based on how many attacks you’ve blocked. Progressing the skill applies Bleeding, and increases Crit Hit Chance on counterattacks. This skill can be paired with Relentless Rush and followed up with Crosscut.
- Roaring Rupture
- Roaring Rupture plunges the Greatsword into the ground and sends a shockwave that deals damage, boosts protection, and generates Threat on nearby targets. Upgrading the skill will allow you to get a cleanse for two debuffs, weaken targets by reducing their damage, and make you uninterruptable for 5 seconds.
The capstone for the Defiance Skill Tree is Undying Defiance which provides passive healing for 5% of the damage you deal and increases to 15% for a short period after blocking an attack.
Greatsword Weapon and Armor Pairings
The Greatsword pairs well with Strength-focused weapons, such as the Warhammer and Great Axe, if you want to solely focus on dealing damage, then the Warhammer should be your go-to. On the other hand, for those looking for Crowd Control, then the Great Axe is your guy. Now, for those looking to focus on Dexterity-based weapons, the Rapier is a good choice. You can start with the Rapier’s quick attacks and mobility, then switch to the Greatsword to finish them off with one skill.
For Armor, it all depends on your playstyle. For a balance of offense and defense, Medium Armor is the best option, especially when taking on Quests. Meanwhile, for those looking to be a powerhouse and tank, to enhance your survivability, Heavy Armor is the way to go.
