Greatsword and War Hammer Bruiser PvP Build for New World

This weapon combo is just like any other Bruiser build that may use Great Axe instead. It has less crowd-control and AoE damage potential. But you can consistently play in clump fights and take out one target at a time because of its single-target damage output.

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.

• Wrecking Ball — This is a great tool for defensiveness and crowd-control. When it is used it will apply a Fortify buff that will help with survivability. Additionally, it has a unexpectedly large AoE knockdown effect that is essential for starting any kind of crowd-control combo.
• Shockwave — In most cases, this should be used as soon as a target is knocked down by Wrecking Ball. Not only with it provide a massive AoE stun. Every target will be debuffed and rended as long as you use its perk. This makes all targets extremely vulnerable.
• Path Of Destiny — This is perfect for free AoE damage and it does stagger, so you can use it to interrupt healers or other players. It is primarily used to catch targets who are running away because of its stagger and its slowing debuff. It can also be used defensively with its perk to provide quick healing.

Even though we are playing with the War Hammer and it does not scale with Dexterity, this will maximize our damage output with our primary weapon--the Greatsword. If you wish to be a bit more defensive, you can play with 200 Constitution. You do not need to worry about Grit as much since every heavy swing on either weapon, and most abilities, will have Grit passively.

Slot	Perks	Gem	Weight	Attribute	Source
Greatsword	Trenchant Strikes Plagued Strikes Attunement Perk or Chain Damage Perk	Runeglass of Ignited Opal**	-	Strength	Crafted/BoE
War Hammer	Sundering Shockwave Thwarting Counter 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	Shirking Energy or Refreshing*** Resilient Freedom or Elemental Aversion***	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.

***: Refreshing is great for cooldown reduction and Shirking Fortification is a significant source of defensiveness when playing in melee range. You can substitue some of these perks with Freedom or Elemental Aversion depending on your preferences.

****: 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 War Hammer guide for tips on how it can be used most effectively.

• Use Wrecking Ball to knock down the target.
• Use Shockwave immediately to stun.
• Charge a heavy Great Sword attack, or use Skyward Slash.
• Use Relentless Rush to root the target.
• Continue heavy attacking with Greatsword and use Steadfast Strike if they try to escape.

• Use Shockwave to stun.
• Use Wrecking Ball to knock down the target.
• Charge a heavy Great Sword attack, or use Skyward Slash.
• Use Relentless Rush to root the target.
• Continue heavy attacking with Greatsword and use Steadfast Strike if they try to escape.

• Use Shockwave or Wrecking Ball when enemies are clumped together.
• Use Path Of Destiny to start a fight, debuff a target, or for quick healing with Leeching Path Of Destiny.
• 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.
• Use Relentless Rush to escape roots and slows with Relentless Freedom if needed.

When using the Greatsword or War Hammer 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 War Hammer page.

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