In New World: Aeternum, the Sword and Shield provides players with both great offensive damage and defensive capabilities. Using the Sword by itself while doable, won’t give you access to the defender skill tree like with the Shield. This weapon combo is tailored to complement each other and be effective in both PvP and PvE. If you plan on using this weapon combo, here’s the best build for it.
Sword And Shield Build
The Sword and Shield combo provides players with a light attack that deals 100% damage, and a spin attack that deals 105%. Heavy attacks deal 120% damage and charged heavy attacks will deal 160%. The Sword and Shield is a heavy hitter in terms of damage, and it has the ability to deal Strike, Slashing, and Thrust Damage. These attacks aren’t solely for the Sword, you can also use your Shield as an offensive weapon and deal Strike or Thrust Damage. With the versatility of the weapon combo, it can handle a variety of enemies.
In New World: Aeternum there are 3 types of Shields players can use: Round, Kite, and Tower.
Round Shields are the lightest and have the lowest Block Stability, but the highest damage. Block Stability is the measure to determine how much Stamina your character needs to use to block. It’s best to use Round Shields if you plan on maximizing damage.
Meanwhile, Kite Shields are double the weight of a Round Shield and have 10% more Block Stability but deal 10% less damage. The Kite Shield is a good middle-ground shield, particularly for those who want to deal damage and take any enemy hits.
Lastly, Tower Shields are twice as heavy as a Kite Shield, and have 10% more Block Stability too, but deal 10% less damage. The Tower Shield is best used for players who play tanks in PvP and Expeditions since they can take a number of attacks.
Overall, the Sword and Shield Build is great for balanced offense and defense, with high survivability and various damage types.
Swordmaster Skill Tree
The Sword and Shield Build starts off with the Swordmaster Skill Tree, which provides focus on boosting the Sword damage you deal. Here’s what you need to focus on:
- Upheaval
- Upheaval is an ability that deals 200% weapon damage. While casting this skill you also gain grit, which makes it uncancelable. Progressing the skill increases the damage when used to Crowd Control, and its passive grants a 25% decrease on skill cooldown for other Sword skills when the ability lands a hit.
- Whirling Blade
- Whirling Blade is an AOE ability that lets you deal damage on multiple enemies at once twice. This skill deals Slash Damage making it an effective attack on various enemies. If you progress the skill, you can get a bonus when landing a hit depending on your armor weight. Light Armor inflicts 15% Rend, Medium increases your Stamina for 4 seconds per hit, and Heavy hits the enemy with 16% Weaken. And as a bonus, the skill’s cooldown is reduced by 5% with every successful hit.
- Leaping Strike
- Leaping Strike is a lunge forward that helps you close the gap with the enemy. This ability doesn’t cover a long distance and the hitbox is small, making it hard to land on moving targets. Progressing the skill will increase the damage you deal and inflict a Slow effect on enemies for 3 seconds.
The Capstone for this ability is Leadership, which is a passive that boosts your party’s damage by 10% when holding a sword. This passive is great when exploring dungeons or for Group PvP.
Defender Skill Tree
The next part of Sword and Shield Build is to focus on the Defender Skill Tree, which will make your Shield an offensive weapon.
- Shield Bash
- Shield Bash is a Crowd Control ability that can deal Strike Damage while Staggering and Stunning enemies. However, this ability has a smaller hitbox making it harder to land hits. Progressing the skill will increase the Threat generated and give a bonus depending on the shield type you use. Round Shields will increase the Crit Chance on your next hit by 50% for 5 seconds, Kites will remove 1 debuff from you, and Towers will increase the Stun duration by 1 second.
- Shield Rush
- Shield Rush is an ability that gives you a mini charge that covers a 5-meter distance, which staggers and pushes back enemies hit by the skill. Progressing the skill inflicts a 20% Weaken and 30% Slow on enemies hit.
- Defender’s Resolve
- Defender’s Resolve buffs your character for 30% Incoming Base Damage Reduction. Progressing the skill will give you a bonus depending on the Shield type. Round Shields will increase your base damage by 20%, Kites will reduce the potency of Slows inflicted on you by 30%, and Towers will give a Base Damage Reduction by 20% and a 20% Stamina Damage Reduction. It will also heal 30% of your base health after the buff ends.
The capstone for the Skill Tree is Defensive Formation, which will reduce damage to all allies that are in a 4-meter radius by 30% while blocking.
Sword And Shield Weapon and Armor Pairings
The Sword and Shield pair well with a Great Axe and a Warhammer. The Great Axe is great for when you want to play a tank and will help with AOE damage. On the other hand, the Warhammer works the same as the Great Axe but provides better Crowd Control. You can start with the Warhammer and then deal damage with your Sword and Shield. For Armor, it’s best to use Heavy Armor for the 10% Block Stability Bonus, especially when going on Expeditions. A great second choice is the Medium Armor for a good middle ground between damage and defense.
