Tips from Aeternum: New World Greatsword Guide
May-23-2025 PSTThe Greatsword in New World is a weapon of immense power, capable of dealing devastating damage while also offering solid defensive options. With its large range and crowd control capabilities, the Greatsword has become one of the most popular choices for players seeking to dominate both PvE and PvP encounters. Whether you're a seasoned warrior or a fresh adventurer, mastering the Greatsword can open up new possibilities in how you approach combat. In this guide, we'll cover everything from the basics of using the Greatsword, the best abilities and perks to focus on, how to gear and build for the Greatsword, and advanced strategies for maximizing its potential.You can quickly obtain weapons through New World Gold.
Understanding the Greatsword: Strengths and Weaknesses
Before we dive into the specifics of how to wield the Greatsword, it's important to understand its strengths and weaknesses. The Greatsword excels in several areas, but also has a few limitations that you'll need to overcome with skill and strategy.
Strengths:
Range and AoE (Area of Effect): One of the Greatsword's standout features is its impressive range. It allows you to strike multiple enemies at once, especially in PvE, where you may be facing off against waves of mobs. Its wide swings can hit several targets in front of you, making it ideal for clearing groups of enemies.
High Damage Output: With the right build, the Greatsword delivers high burst damage, particularly when using certain abilities like Skyward Slash or Fell Rage. If you're aiming for a damage-dealing playstyle, this weapon shines.
Mobility and Crowd Control: While not as fast as a dagger or sword, the Greatsword allows for impressive mobility and crowd control in both PvE and PvP. Abilities like Gravitation can displace enemies and set up devastating combos.
Tanky Build Potential: With the right traits and perks, the Greatsword can be used to create a tanky build, allowing you to absorb damage while dishing it out in return. This makes it viable for front-line combat, especially when paired with a shield or heavy armor.
Weaknesses:
Speed: The Greatsword is a slow weapon compared to smaller, faster weapons like the rapier or the sword. This slower attack speed can leave you vulnerable to enemy counterattacks, especially in fast-paced PvP situations.
Positioning: While the Greatsword has great range, it requires good positioning to land your hits effectively. If you're not careful, you can miss your swings entirely, especially in chaotic PvP battles.
Stamina Management: Some of the Greatsword's strongest abilities consume a significant amount of stamina. If you're not mindful of your stamina bar, you could be left vulnerable at critical moments.
Key Abilities for the Greatsword
The Greatsword in New World comes with two primary weapon skill trees: Warrior and Defender. Both trees offer a mix of offensive and defensive abilities, and the choice of which to prioritize depends on your playstyle. Below, we'll break down the essential abilities from each tree.
Warrior Tree: Offensive Powerhouse
The Warrior skill tree focuses on maximizing your damage output and crowd control potential. This is ideal for players who want to deal high burst damage and take advantage of the Greatsword's wide-reaching attacks.
Skyward Slash: This is an essential ability in the Warrior tree. It's a powerful upward strike that sends enemies flying. It's excellent for clearing groups of enemies and setting up combos with other players in PvP or PvE.
Fell Rage: A hard-hitting ability that allows you to dash forward and deliver a devastating blow. This ability can be great for closing the gap between you and your enemies, particularly in PvP where mobility is key. It also works well when combined with other crowd-control abilities.
Charged Strike: A quick charge attack that builds momentum. As you charge, you deal more damage, and this ability is particularly useful when you have some time to prepare for a big hit.
Gravitation: This ability pulls enemies towards you, setting them up for an immediate follow-up attack. It's fantastic for locking down opponents in PvP and creating opportunities for your teammates in both PvE and PvP scenarios.
Defender Tree: Durability and Control
The Defender skill tree, on the other hand, focuses on survivability and adding more control to your combat. It's ideal for players who want to focus on tanking or supporting their team while still being able to dish out decent damage.
Defender's Focus: This passive ability increases your defense for a short period after using an ability. It's great for staying in the thick of combat, especially when you're leading the charge and taking damage.
Unflinching: A passive that reduces the amount of stagger you take when using the Greatsword, making it incredibly useful for holding your ground in heavy combat situations.
Vengeful Strike: A counterattack that allows you to deal damage while reducing the incoming damage. It's an essential ability for tanky builds, as it helps you stay in the fight longer while punishing attackers.
Gravity Well: Similar to Gravitation, but on a larger scale, this ability pulls enemies into a central location, providing a perfect opportunity for an area-of-effect (AoE) combo attack. It's highly effective in both PvE and PvP when you're trying to group enemies together for your allies.
Greatsword Build and Gear Recommendations
When building a character around the Greatsword, you'll want to focus on several key stats and gear choices to maximize your damage, survivability, and overall performance in combat.
Stat Distribution
The key attributes for a Greatsword build are Strength and Constitution:
Strength: This is the primary stat for boosting your damage output with the Greatsword. Strength increases your physical damage and makes your attacks hit harder. Maxing out Strength should be a priority if you want to focus on dealing as much damage as possible.
Constitution: This stat increases your health and overall survivability, which is especially important for tanky builds. With Constitution, you'll be able to take more hits, making you a better front-line fighter in both PvP and PvE.
A typical Greatsword build might focus on a 70% Strength, 30% Constitution distribution, though you can adjust depending on your desired role (damage dealer vs. tank).
Armor and Gear
Heavy Armor: If you're focusing on tanking, heavy armor is a solid choice. It will increase your overall survivability, making you harder to kill while you focus on taking hits for your team. The extra damage mitigation from heavy armor pairs well with the Greatsword's defensive abilities.
Medium Armor: Medium armor offers a good balance between damage and defense. If you're aiming to deal solid damage while still being able to take a few hits, medium armor might be the best choice.
Weapon Perks: Focus on weapon perks that increase your damage output, stamina regeneration, and cooldown reductions. Perks like Rejuvenating (which restores stamina after hitting an enemy) or Enchanted (which increases weapon damage) can help you keep your damage up while maintaining stamina in long battles.
Consumables
Potions: Always carry healing potions, especially in PvP situations where you might find yourself taking heavy damage. Stamina potions can also be critical to keep you swinging your Greatsword without running out of stamina.
Food Buffs: Depending on your build, you might want to eat foods that increase your Strength or Constitution for extra buffs during combat. These temporary boosts can give you the edge you need to push through tough fights.
Advanced Strategies for Using the Greatsword
Once you've mastered the basics, there are a few advanced techniques that can elevate your playstyle and make you a force to be reckoned with in both PvE and PvP.
Comboing Abilities
The Greatsword excels in chaining abilities together for devastating combos. For example, you can start with Fell Rage to close the distance between you and your enemy, follow up with Skyward Slash to knock them back, and then use Gravitation to pull them back into your range for another round of attacks. The key is learning to chain these abilities together without leaving yourself vulnerable between attacks.
Positioning in PvP
In PvP, positioning is everything. While the Greatsword has decent range, you still need to ensure that you're using your wide swings and crowd-control abilities effectively. Try to use your Gravity Well or Gravitation to control the battlefield, ensuring that enemies are always within your reach while you deal damage. Avoid getting kited by ranged enemies or out-maneuvered by faster melee attackers.
Managing Stamina
The Greatsword uses a lot of stamina, especially with abilities like Charged Strike or Fell Rage. Make sure you're mindful of your stamina bar, and don't use abilities recklessly. If you run out of stamina in the middle of combat, you'll be left vulnerable. Learning when to use your abilities and when to conserve stamina is essential for mastering the Greatsword.
Conclusion
The Greatsword is one of the most powerful and versatile weapons in New World, offering a unique combination of offensive power and defensive capabilities. Whether you're focused on dealing massive damage, tanking for your team, or controlling the battlefield with crowd control, the Greatsword can be a great choice for any player. With the right build, gear, and mastery of its abilities, you'll be able to take down enemies and stand tall as a true warrior of Aeternum.Get stronger quickly with buy New World Gold coins.
So, grab your Greatsword, get out there, and start dominating!