Introduction

This build is intended to be used as a New World leveling build. As a new player it is highly recommended that you try out multiple weapons during the leveling process to see what fits your playstyle. There are several different build options you could choose from that are all viable during the leveling process. This guide is going to focus on the hatchet and great axe combination.

The hatchet is a great weapon while leveling due to it’s self sustain and defy death ability. The great axe is a great pairing due to it’s ability to deal good amounts of area of effect (AoE) damage.

The pairing of these weapons will help reduce the need of burning through potions during the leveling process. It will also help you clear large groups of enemies quickly. However, the downside to this build is that it is all mostly melee and all one damage type, slashing.

Every enemy type has a different weakness to different damage types. You can reference our “Damage Type vs Mob Type” guide for more information on that topic. This is very useful when running expeditions and trying to optimize damage for a particular enemy type.

Mastery Points

For this build you will be focusing on the hatchet and the great axe. As you level up these weapons you will need to assign mastery points to gain active and passive abilities. Below is are the recommended abilities to take, and the order to take them for each weapon.

Weapon Level	Hatchet Mastery	Great Axe
2	Berserk	Maelstrom
3	Feral Rush	Enduing Stikes
4	Rending Throw	Gravity Well
5	On the Hunt	Greed
6	Berserking Refresh	Charge
7	Berserking Purge	Crowded Well
8	Uninterruptible Berserk	Storm’s Reach
9	Accumulated Power	Absorb
10	Fortifying Strikes	No Reprieve
11	Against All Odds	Center of Attention
12	Enraged Strikes	Crowded Protection
13	Defy Death	Gravity
14	Frenzied Purge	Mauler’s Fury
15	Dispatch	Critical Gains
16	Aimed Throw	Death’s Embrace
17	Critical Throw	Keen Edge
18	Crippling Strikes	Critical Condition
19	Targeted Impact	Feed
20	Opportunistic	Mauler’s Resolve

Attributes

As you gain character levels you will gain attribute points that you can utilize. For this build, you are going to be spending those points in the constitution and strength categories. You will want to make sure you keep and use gear with the strength and constitution attribute points associated with them.

NOTE – Each attribute has a base of 5 which is considered in the total # of attributes category as well as attributes you obtain from armor

Total Attributes	Strength	Dexterity	Constitution
25	15	5	5
50	40	5	5
75	50	5	20
100	75	5	20
125	100	5	20
150	125	5	20
200	150	5	45
225	150	30	45
250	150	50	50
275	175	50	50
300	200	50	50
325	200	75	50
350	200	100	50
375	200	125	50
400	200	150	50
425	225	150	50
450	250	150	50
475	250	175	50
500	250	200	50
525	275	200	50
550	300	200	50
575	325	200	50
600	350	200	50

Equipment

During the leveling process, you shouldn’t focus too much on the gear you are obtaining. You will be rotating gear out quite a lot until you reach end-game. A good rule of thumb is to ensure you have either strength of constitution on your gear and ultimately utilize the highest level of gear you have obtained.

It is recommended that you utilize the light equip load category of gear for maximum damage as you level. However, if you are having hard time surviving or can’t find good pieces that drop that get you into that weight category then simply utilize the best gear you have available.