Greatsword Hatchet Dive Assassin PvP Build for New World

This weapon combo makes for one of the strongest backline dive builds in New World. The Greatsword has incredibly strong damage with a plethora of ways to close gaps and keep targets close. Its weakness is that it increases damage taken, that is where the Hatchet comes in as the perfect complement. The Hatchet with Defy Death allows a Greatsword to play extremely aggressive and have a high level of survivability. It also adds ways to remove crowd control, additional movement, and crowd-control potential.

There are two versions of this build:

• Option 1: Light Armor - This has high burst damage and more mobility.
• Option 2: Medium Armor - This will focus on survivability but still has incredibly high burst potential. It is not commonly played, but is more of a bruiser option.

• Relentless Rush — This will deal AoE damage primarily, but it is also important to use on cooldown to get its empower effect. Additionally, in PvP this can be used while in Onslaught stance to root a target or it can be used to get out of CC because of its perk effect.
• Skyward Slash — This is your primary Rend tool. It also has great single-target and AoE damage.
• Steadfast Strike — This is your pull and lockdown tool. It will lunge a far distance, hit the target, stagger them, and pull them back with the second hit. This is great for securing kills and survivability. It will heal you, and provide cooldown reduction. and heal you.

• Feral Rush — This ability is perfect for targets who are trying to escape, or quick bursts of mobility. You will leap and hit a target in the back for a large burst of damage, root them, and slow them if you have its perk. This can also be used to escape abilities like Gravity Well.
• Berserk — In PvP, this can be used to get out of crowd-control, even stuns. This will also provide movement speed and free healing in addition to its damage increase.
• Social Distancing — This is mobility that can be used to escape roots or other crowd-control. But it can also be used to root players who are attempting to escape.

Due to the strength of the Greatsword it does not require you to have to play with extremely low Constitution. You can play 150 Constitution with this split for the most damage output and have fantastic passives at 200 Strength and 150 Dexterity. You can play at 200 Constitution if you wish.

Slot	Perks	Gem	Weight	Attribute	Source
Greatsword	Trenchant Strikes Plagued Strikes Attunement Perk or Chain Damage Perk	Runeglass of Ignited Opal**	-	Strength	Crafted/BoE
Hatchet	Vicious Keenly Empowered Attunement Perk or Chain Damage Perk	Runeglass of Ignited Opal**	-	Strength	Crafted/BoE
Helmet	Ability Perk* or Refreshing*** Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion***	Cut Pristine Onyx	Light or Heavy	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Chest	Ability Perk* or Refreshing*** Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion***	Cut Pristine Onyx	Medium or Heavy	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Gloves	Ability Perk* or Refreshing*** Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion***	Cut Pristine Onyx	Light or Medium	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Pants	Refreshing or Freedom*** Resilient Shirking Energy	Cut Pristine Onyx	Light	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Boots	Ability Perk* or Refreshing*** Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion***	Cut Pristine Onyx	Light or Medium	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Amulet	Health Stamina Recovery Slash Protection	Cut Pristine Opal	-	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Ring (Light)	Mortal Empowerment or Invigorated Punishment Slash Damage Hearty	Cut Pristine Opal	-	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE
Ring (Medium)****	Slash Damage Keen Awareness Leeching	Cut Pristine Opal	-	Strength	Named Drop****
Earring	Refreshing Toast Purifying Toast Refreshing**	Cut Pristine Opal	-	Strength or Constitution	Crafted/BoE

*: The ability perks you need to make sure are in your build are Relentless Freedom and Crippling Feral Rush. If you do not use a perk, fill that slot with a viable defensive passive.

**: Your Opal Runeglass on your weapons can be any variation of elemental damage, the same goes for your Attunement and Chain Damage perks. It is best practice to match your Attunement or Chain with the type of DoT damage your Opal does.

***: Freedom, Elemental Aversion, and Refreshing, are all viable options. When using Freedom you should stack 3 or 5 times. Any combination of these perks is viable.

****: Legate's Ring is a best in slot drop from Grave Offerings in Brimstone Sands. You can pick this up during a chest run, or focus specific locations. It is best because Slash Damage and Keen Awareness cannot normally be on an item together. Since you do not need Hearty, this is best.

For more specific information on optimizing your gems in PvP and PvE please refer to our dedicated guides.

This will increase physical damage dealt by a flat percent, but it has an internal cooldown attached to it. This means that if you swing two light attacks, only every other swing will have the damage increase. This drastically reduces its effectiveness over time, whereas you could just take normal defensive gems to increase survivability. It can be worth it to put 1-3 of this Runeglass in your gear, but never use a complete set of 5 Punishing Runeglass

When you are looking to have higher damage output and burst down multiple targets within a clump should use Brutal Heartrune of Detonate. You just need to play safely after activating it.

If you are wanting to push through choke points, doorways, or want a more defensive option, Stalwart Heartrune of Stoneform is great to have some independent burst healing if you do not have a healer. For max defensiveness, Cunning Heartrune of Stoneform is the better option.

Your Heartrune will be used similarly in PvP and PvE scenarios. As such, please refer to our Greatsword guide or Hatchet guide for tips on how it can be used most effectively.

• Open on a target with Skyward Slash, get into Onslaught, and apply Rend.
• Use Relentless Rush to do damage and root the target.
• Charge a heavy Greatsword attack and hit the target from behind if possible.
• Use Steadfast Strike if the target starts to escape to pull them back. This can also be used for quick bursts of healing or potential cooldown reduction.
• If the target escapes, swap to Hatchet and attempt an animation cancel with Berserk immediately into a Feral Rush.
• If the target successfully escapes, attempt to use Social Distancing to root them and catch up.
• Swap to Hatchet if you are about to die to use Defy Death. Also swap and use Berserk to escape CC.

When using the Greatsword or Hatchet in PvP and PvE there are many similar aspects that go into gameplay decisions and rotations. To learn more about how you can improve your gameplay, use certain secondary weapons, or additional information on specific abilities, please refer to the Gameplay section of the Greatsword page or Hatchet page.

For more information on the most frequently asked Greatsword or Hatchet questions please refer to the FAQ section of the Greatsword, or Hatchet, for answers on PvP and PvE topics!