One of the most recent entries into the unforgiving arena ofMMORPGs, Amazon’s recent offering to the fray,New World, has had some interesting highs and lows. As the game continues to evolve, so does the choice of weapons. Characters are able to carry any two weapons at a time, so naturally, there’s a lot of debate among players as to which combinations are the best.
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This isn’t about dual-wielding weapons, which isn’t an option in the reality-based combat and gameplay ofNew World. The debate rages on as to whether or not dual-wielding will ever be an option, but so far it’s seen as intrinsic to the fantasy RPG genre and it’s not likely.The best weapon combos are about which weapons will scale with whatever Attributes are the character’s strongest. After a few months of trial, error, and drama, here are some of the best weapon combos inNew World.
Updated on Jul 05, 2025, by Kristy Ambrose:A recent expansion, along with several major patches to fix pressing issues, has given New World some new life. The game has always had a unique charm among other MMOs, and despite a bumpy start, it has attracted a loyal player base and kept public interest and gamer participation alive. A big part of the appeal of New World is the potential for character customization, and with the new patches and expansions that have introduced yet more to the game when it comes to weapons, players have even more options for combinations and class creation.
There areno classes inNew Worldand therefore no restrictions for what weapons and gear players can equip, giving adventurers in Aeternum an array of interesting choices. These weapons can either be crafted by players, given as quest rewards, or dropped by slain foes.
12Musket, Rapier (Ranged/Melee DPS)
The musket and rapier combination is one of the first and oldest that players discovered and developed inNew World.These weapons have been availablesince the beta, and despite some minor tweaks in recent patches, they remain basically the same right down to the Talent Trees. The Attributes that determine a character’s skill with these weapons are based on bothDexterityas a primary score andIntelligenceas a secondary one, which streamlines the leveling process.
It remains one ofNew World’s nest weapon combos in 2022. The popularity of this combination is also due to how straightforward it is. No matter what Talent Tree is used for either of these weapons,every role is a variation on damage per second, or DPS rating, making it easier to experiment with different builds.
11Blunderbuss, Void Gauntlet (Healing/Ranged DPS)
The blunderbuss is a fairly new addition to the New World Armory.It was introduced in theHeart of Madnesspatch and scales withStrengthandIntelligence,which means it’s a versatile choice that goes with several different combinations. The Void Gaunlet scales withFocusand Intelligence, so there’s some overlap with the Attributes that allows a character to level that much faster.
This build can combine the powers of damage and healing, and depending on what Talents are chosen, the character can specialize in either or both. A build that focuses solely on magic use can swap out the Blunderbuss for a Fire Staff or Ice Gauntlet and save the Attribute points forIntelligenceinstead. It’s one of those uniqueNew Worldweapon combinations that keep players interested.
10Warhammer, Sword, And Shield (Melee DPS/Tank)
Players who value Strength as an Attribute instead of Intelligence can carry these impressive weapons. This build forgoes ranged damage abilities, butthis type of role is more about PvP and party-based contentlike Expeditions and Corrupted Invasions, so it’s a fair trade. This is one of the bestNew Worldweapon combos for party defense and taking damage.
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As with many of the ideal combinations, both of these weapons share the same primary Attribute scores. The Warhammer is the more efficient of the two, relying only onStrengthand no other score. Sword and shield proficiency also relies onDexterityas a secondary Attribute score.
9Life Staff, Void Gauntlet (Healing/Ranged DPS)
The main healing weapon inNew Worldis also the sole beneficiary of theFocusAttribute score. This is why the combination with the Life Staff is going to beone of the more difficult todetermine. However, a high Focus skill also means improved mana recovery and spellcasting rates, so it makes sense to equip another magical item as a secondary weapon.
The Void Gauntlet, a new entry to theNew Worldweapons' chest, fits nicely here. It’s the first weapon in the game that scales with bothIntelligenceandFocus. It has some healing abilities, so this combination is one of the best new World weapon pairings for a pure healing build. The Ice Gaunlet is also a fair choice but that weapon is control(CC) as opposed to DPS and only uses Intelligence as its main Attribute, so the choice depends entirely on the character’s unique build.
8Warhammer, Void Gauntlet (Combo Class)
Players that are building classes like Paladins and Clerics want to have some access to every party role, which means they can heal, defend, or deal damage from either a ranged or melee position. The disadvantage of this kind of build is that it requires the largest spread of talent points, so it takes longer for a character to be effective in all three roles, but this combination only requires three, making it one of the bestNew Worldweapon pairings for combo classes.
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The Warhammer scales withStrengthand the Void Gaunlet requires points inFocusandIntelligence. The Void Gauntlet is both a DPS and healing weapon depending on the talent tree, so swap it out with a Life Staff to build a more focused healing class.
7Blunderbuss, Rapier (Ranged/Melee DPS)
A steampunk-type build for those that are interested in the aesthetic, this is a combination that puts one ofNew World’s earliest weapons with one of the newest. Both of these weapons scale withIntelligencewith the rapier also usingDexterityand the Blunderbuss relying onStrength.
Unlike the musket, which is more precise and has a longer range, the blunderbuss is more about short-range damage and crowd control, the latter being a specialty of the Containment talent tree. The Chaos tree has more options for long-range damage and AoE abilities if that’s what the player would prefer, but then a combination with another long-range weapon, like the Spear, would make more sense.
6Hatchet, Great Axe (Melee DPS)
The hatchet isn’t exactly the most dramatic or eye-catching weapon inNew World, especially compared to the great axes and hammers, which is why it tends to get overlooked. However,it’s one of the best weapon combos inNew Worldfor Strength builds, and although a player can equip anyDexterity-based weapon here, it’s just more fun and looks better to go full ax.
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Unlike other builds that rely almost entirely on Strength, characters that equip this weapon combination have a ranged ability provided they put a few points in the Throwing section of the ax Talent Tree.
5Ice Gauntlet, Musket (Ranged DPS)
The Ice Gauntlet has beena favorite magical weaponsince the start of the game, and it shares a few handy Attributes with another popular choice for ranged DPS, the musket. This is anice combination for players who would prefer not to rely solely on mana or melee weaponswhen it comes to doing damage.
The musket relies onDexterityas its primary Attribute andIntelligenceas its secondary one. The Ice Gauntlet uses onlyIntelligence. Both have abilities that are focused on ranged damage, and it’s necessary to utilize the Trapper section of the Musket Talent Tree to give a character some extra crowd control abilities.
4Life Staff, Hatchet (Healing)
For players that still want to be dedicated healers but keep their options for melee damage open, it makes sense to combine a Life Staff with a handy hatchet provided your secondary ability score is eitherStrengthorDexterity. Another decent choice here would be a rapier in place of the hatchet if the build has more of a Dexterity focus.
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Smaller weapons like the hatchet give the player a better dodge rating and make them faster on their feet when it comes to engaging in or trying to avoid an enemy. That’s a good skill to have for a healer, who often needs to avoid blows and put a lot of points in Constitution for the extra health.
3Fire Staff, Ice Gauntlet (Ranged DPS)
There aren’t any definitive classes inNew World, but players working in Rangers, Shamans, or other variations on the mixture of elemental powers and ranged DPS should look at this combination of ice and fire. This is one of theoptions for a pure magic build, with the fire staff leading the way for damage and the Ice Gauntlet for CC.
Being apure magic build, these powers and abilities rely entirely on one Attribute,Intelligence. That makes it easier to raise the character’s Constitution score and get all kinds of extra hit points, making the lack of armor less of a problem.
