War Hammer Dive Bruiser PvP Build for New World
The following is a PvP dive build that will use the abundance of crowd-control options from both weapons to pick one target and afflict them with a chain of abilities that prevent them from moving. When done properly a single enemy will not be able to escape. This is a great option for killing healers or other priority targets.
War Hammer Dive Bruiser
This build focuses on crowd-control and using that to your advantage to take out a single enemy at a time. When used properly, both weapons synergize perfectly to allow for a flurry of abilities that will leave an enemy staggered, stunned, or knocked down, over and over again. This prevents them from moving and its additive damage sources will surely kill them. It does not have high burst damage, but it can certainly pick up kills.
Sword and Shield Builds
Shield Rush
Leaping Strike — This will be used to initiate a CC combo, or to just get yourself into combat. It will deal a large amount of damage if you hit an enemy from behind, and add a slowing effect. This can also be used for a quick escape.
Shield Bash — This is needed for any chain CC combos. It is powerful ability for locking down a priority target, or interrupting abilities due to its quick casting speed.
Shield Rush — This will provide a stagger that initiates a CC chain and quick damage. It also will add an AoE slowing effect. So when used on a clump, it can result in great utlity to secure several kills.
War Hammer Build
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.
Attributes

This split prioritizes scaling your War Hammer damage. It can be nice to have Dexterity in most dive Sword builds because of the mobility and damage scaling, but this has no benefit to the War Hammer. Since this is your primary damage source, it is best to purely focus on Strength.
If you would prefer, you can increase your Constitution to 200 or lower it to 100.
Gearing
Light
Slot | Perks | Gem | Weight | Attribute | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sword |
|
![]() |
- | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Shield | - | Round Shield | Strength or Constitution | Crafted/BoE | |
War Hammer |
|
![]() |
- | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Helmet |
|
![]() |
Light | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Chest |
|
![]() |
Light | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Gloves |
|
![]() |
Light | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Pants | ![]() |
Light | Strength | Crafted/BoE | |
Boots |
|
![]() |
Light | Strength | Crafted/BoE |
Amulet | ![]() |
- | Strength or Constitution | Crafted/BoE | |
Ring | ![]() |
- | Strength or Constitution | Crafted/BoE | |
Earring | ![]() |
- | Strength or Constitution | Crafted/BoE |
*: The ability perks you need to make sure are in your build are Empowering Leaping Strike,
Sundering Shockwave, and
Penetrating Wrecking Ball to maximize damage. You can use
Fortifying Shield Rush and
Leeching Path Of Destiny for more defensiveness if you wish.
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.
Gem Optimization
For more specific information on optimizing your gems in PvP and PvE please refer to our dedicated guides.
Heartrune
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.
Heartrune Usage
Your Heartrune will be used similarly in PvP and PvE scenarios. As such, please refer to our Sword guide or War Hammer guide for tips on how it can be used most effectively.
Rotation and Priority List
Shield Rush
- Open on a target with
Leaping Strike and attempt to hit them in the back.
- Use
Shield Rush to do damage, slow, and stagger the target.
- Use
Shield Bash to do damage and stun the target.
- Swap to War Hammer and use
Wrecking Ball.
- Use
Shockwave.
- Heavy or light attack with your War Hammer.
Upheaval
- Open on a target with
Leaping Strike and attempt to hit them in the back.
- Use
Shield Bash to do damage and stun the target.
- Use
Upheaval to do damage and reduce your cooldowns.
- Swap to War Hammer and use
Wrecking Ball.
- Use
Shockwave.
- Heavy or light attack with your War Hammer.
War Hammer Opener
- Open on a target with
Wrecking Ball.
- Use
Shockwave.
- Swap to Sword and Shield and use
Leaping Strike.
- Use
Shield Rush (Use
Shield Bash if you are using
Upheaval).
- Use
Shield Bash (Use
Upheaval if selected).
- Heavy attack from behind the target.
Gameplay Tips
When using the Sword 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 Sword page or War Hammer page.
FAQ
For more information on the most frequently asked Sword and Shield or War Hammer questions please refer to the FAQ section of the Sword, or War Hammer, for answers on PvP and PvE topics!
Savvvo is a New World Aeternum content creator with over 5,000 hours of gameplay. He specializes in developing leveling and gold-making guides, PvP builds, and discovering fun, new ways to enhance your New World experience. If you can not find him in Aeternum, he is probably somewhere on YouTube.
Additionally, Savvvo runs the Fighter Discord for Ashes of creation, which can be joined by following this link.
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