In New World: Aeternum, picking the right weapon can significantly impact your journey through the leveling process. One of your initial decisions will involve selecting an archetype. Archetypes offer new characters two starting weapons and bonuses in three different Trade Skill professions. There are seven archetypes available, with popular weapon combinations that complement various playstyles and stat distributions.
If you’re finding it challenging to decide on an archetype, don’t worry too much. You’ll acquire more weapons shortly and have the freedom to switch to other combinations. What really matters is the Trade Skill boosts you’ll receive, which can be beneficial for end-game activities if you choose to stick with your selected archetype.
Archetype Rankings
Below is a comprehensive list of all the archetypes you can select in New World: Aeternum:
- Destroyer
- Musketeer
- Mystic
- Occultist
- Ranger
- Soldier
- Swordbearer
Ranking Criteria
The tier placements for each archetype are based on the following criteria:
- Trade Skill Effectiveness:
- With the ability to swap weapons without penalties, having a 50% boost to three trade skills is crucial.
- Weapon Compatibility:
- Weapons that complement each other and share similar stat priorities rank higher.
- Damage and Utility:
- High damage potential or abilities that provide movement, damage reduction, crowd control, or healing enhance a weapon’s ranking.
| Tier | Archetypes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S | Soldier | Ranger | |||
| A | Destroyer | Occultist | Musketeer | Mystic | |
| B | Swordbearer | ||||
Top-Tier Archetypes
These archetypes are equipped with proven weapons, excellent stat combinations, and essential trade skill bonuses for end-game scenarios, making them the standout choices for players eager to get ahead.
Soldier
The Soldier archetype features the Sword and Shield alongside the Hatchet, both of which share stat scaling that emphasizes Strength and Dexterity. The Hatchet is notably effective, making it a powerful choice for solo play. It excels in versatility during both close and ranged encounters, primarily due to its Berserk ability, which enhances damage, removes various debuffs, boosts movement speed, and provides a life steal effect. Meanwhile, the Sword and Shield strike a decent balance between offense and defense, although its damage might fall short when compared to other options.
- Trade Skills: Weaponsmithing, Mining, Smelting
These trade skills are among the best. You can craft top-tier weapons and gather resources efficiently while maintaining self-sufficiency with Mining and Smelting.
Ranger
The Spear stands out as an exceptional weapon, offering impressive crowd control along with damage over time capabilities. It is especially effective in inflicting bleed and debuff effects on opponents, making it valuable for prolonged encounters. Furthermore, it excels at targeting single foes while being capable of disrupting groups as well.
The Bow serves as a strong ranged weapon for players who prefer to maintain a distance. Its area of effect skill set is effective for crowd management, while the single-target damage is reliable. However, success with the Bow relies heavily on precision and timing. Best of all, both weapons scale effectively with Dexterity.
- Trade Skills: Engineering, Logging, Woodcutting
Logging and Woodcutting are excellent options for early-game gold generation, while Engineering allows you to craft various weapons and essential tools.
A Tier Archetypes
These archetypes demonstrate solid stat synergies and good weapon skills; however, their trade skills may not be the most advantageous options.
Destroyer
This archetype pairs the Great Axe and War Hammer, both of which scale off Strength, making it a strong pick. This duo is a favored option in PvP settings, often utilized by coordinated teams.
The Great Axe is formidable, dealing heavy damage with powerful area-of-effect abilities to handle multiple foes effectively; however, it may struggle with survivability in lengthy battles. The War Hammer excels in crowd control, enabling stuns and similar effects, but its slower attack speed and less mobility make it less suitable for solo players.
- Trade Skills: Armoring, Skinning, Leatherworking
Armoring and Leatherworking allow you to craft various useful equipment, while Skinning provides essential raw materials.
Occultist
Both the Ice Gauntlet and Fire Staff scale from Intelligence. The Ice Gauntlet offers excellent crowd control and utility but lacks the damage output of many other weapons, while the Fire Staff provides high damage output at range but can struggle defensively, making it less than ideal for solo players.
- Trade Skills: Jewelcrafting, Mining, Stonecutting
This combination is great for gathering and crafting valuable gems, rings, and amulets, leading to potential profit at max level.
Musketeer
The Musket and Rapier both scale from Dexterity and Intelligence, creating an advantageous synergy. The Rapier is swift with quick attacks and strong counters, ideal for players who prefer hit-and-run tactics. However, it lacks area damage, limiting its effectiveness in group settings.
While the Musket can deal respectable damage from afar, precision is key, and its lengthy reload may pose challenges during multiple encounters. Overall, this combination caters well to a single-target focus.
- Trade Skills: Armoring, Harvesting, Weaving
This trade skill combination works effectively together, enhancing your ability to gather resources and turn them into various crafts.
Mystic
The Life Staff is focused on healing, excelling in support roles, whereas the Void Gauntlet provides utility and debuffs but lacks in direct damage capability. This archetype works best in coordinated group settings.
- Trade Skills: Arcana, Harvesting, Weaving
Despite not offering the most thrilling trade skills, Arcana is crucial for crafting essential consumables and weapons, while Harvesting and Weaving pair reasonably well together.
B Tier Archetypes
While these archetypes are still solid weapon choices, their trade skills may not be as desirable.
Swordbearer
The combination of the Greatsword and Blunderbuss proves effective. The Greatsword offers substantial damage while maintaining mobility, with its AOE abilities being excellent for group combat. However, the Blunderbuss’s effectiveness diminishes at longer ranges, necessitating tactical positioning.
- Trade Skills: Cooking, Fishing, Leatherworking
Though the Swordbearer has good weapon capabilities, its trade skills are lacking. Leatherworking is functional but lacks a gathering or refining trade skill. Cooking, while commonly leveled, isn’t necessarily essential. Fishing currently doesn’t provide significant benefits.