The Sword and Shield technically class as a one-handed melee weapon, since even though they're always paired together you only actually wield the sword part with one hand. Weapon Masteries: Defender and Swordmaster

It's still not quite as smooth to work with as a one-handed melee weapon, but with practice and some investment in the Mauler Mastery tree to increase attack range and AoE, it could well end up being your go-to in a tight situation. The fastest of the two-handed melee weapons, it has some of the best potential to balance speed and damage of any weapon in the game. Hands-down (pun intended) the winner of this category is the Great Axe. If you're planning to build your magical character along a classic Mage archetype rather than playing support, this might be your number-one weapon choice, as it's more purely aggressive than the Life Staff. Of the more offensive magical weapons, the Fire Staff is the premier choice for pure damage (and, at least in my opinion, wins this category on style points as well). Weapon Masteries: Fire Mage and Pyromancer It may be the most practical magical weapon in the game, but it's by no means boring, and you won't want to go into any of the game's boss fights without a Life Staff somewhere in your party. This is the only weapon in New World which has the capacity to heal teammates, and even though it's much better to have a dedicated support character to wield it, it has offensive damage-dealing capabilities as well. The best weapon in this category is undoubtedly the Life Staff. Paired with the Life Staff, the Hatchet can quickly turn you into a one-stop shop for both damage and healing at high levels (which incidentally is just about the only way to play New World solo for any length of time). Going down the Berserker Mastery route also adds the ability to heal your character while its key skill is active, which is obviously very desirable. Despite lacking the finesse of the other one-handed melee weapons, the Hatchet is an absolute beast of a damage-dealer, making it a desirable PvP weapon even if it's a bit more indifferent in PvE scenarios. Our time with both the closed and open New World betas taught us that the Hatchet is way better than it sounds, or indeed has any right to be. Keep reading for details on each weapon and why we rate them as highly (or not so highly) as we do.

B-Tier: Ice Gauntlet, Spear, War Hammerīroadly speaking, weapon types in New World are all equally easy to come by - you'll be given a Sword and Shield during the Prologue quest, but once the game opens up you should find yourself collecting a varied arsenal in no time.

A-Tier: Fire Staff, Great Axe, Sword and Shield.

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