New World Aeternum: Archetypes Guide
When starting your adventure in New World: Aeternum, you'll be asked to select one of seven archetypes (or classes), for your character. Don't worry - these archetypes are not "locked in", and it's intended to just help you get started. Each archetype showcases some of the most popular builds for you to test out and familarize yourself with combat, providing your character with two unique weapons, as well as a head start in three specific trade skills. Full details for each archetype can be found below.
New World Aeternum Archetypes Guide
In New World: Aeternum, the mysterious land of Aeternum is filled with untold challenges and opportunities for adventurers to carve into their own destinites. To thrive in this constantly-evolving landscape, understanding the various archetypes available is cruicial. Whether you're drawn to the raw power of melee combat, the precision of ranged attacks, or the mysteries of magic, mastering your chosen archetype will be the key to a strong start in this game.
This guide aims to provide a comprehensive overview of every archetype, the weapons they include, suggested attributed to focus on, the buffed trade skills provided, suggested builds for each archetype, and more.
Please note: For every trade skill that each archetype receives a "buff" for, it means that your character will instantly start at level 50 in that respective trade skill.
Soldier Overview
The soldier archetype is a fighter by trade, balancing defense and offense by utilizing the sword and shield, paired with the hatchet. The attributes that best scale for this archetype are Strength and Dexterity for damage output, along with Constitution for survivability. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are weaponsmithing, mining, and smelting.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Sword and Shield and Hatchet builds.
Occultist Overview
The occultist archetype is a practitioner of primal elemental arts, commanding the forces of frost and flame. This archetype utilizes the first staff and ice gauntlet, making it the ultimate ranged, magical build. With that being said, the Intelligence attrbiute scales the most effectively with this archetype. It's important to also add some Constitution as well for further health and survivability. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are jewelcrafting, mining, and stonecutting.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Fire Staff and Ice Gauntlet builds.
Destroyer Overview
The destroyer archetype is a mighty slayer, brutally executing foes with their massice war hammer and great axe. Both of these weapons scale directly with Strength attribute, making it wasy to focus on just two attributes for this build - Strength and Constitution. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are armoring, skinning, and leatherworking.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetpe, visit our Bruiser builds.
Mystic Overview
The mystic archetype is a scholar warrior who seeks to master the forces of life and death. This archetype utilizes the void gauntlet and life staff, allowing you to dish off damage and heal yourself (and your allies) when needed. The attrbiutes that best scale with the archetype are Intelligence (for damage output with the void gauntlet), and Focus (for healing output). The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are arcana, harvesting, and weaving.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Life Staff and Void Gauntlet builds.
Ranger Overview
The ranger archetype is a keen-eyed hunter, scout, and pathfinder, proficient with the bow and spear. The bow directly scales with Dexterity, while the spear scales with both Strength and Dexterity. This archetype is the best of both worlds - allowing you to shoot arrows from a distance, while baving the flexibility to switch to your spear in case your enemy gets a little too close for comfort. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are engineering, logging, and woodcutting.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Bow and Rapier builds.
Swordbearer Overview
The swordbearer archetype is a gutsy, heavily armored berserker, wielding a colossal greatsword and blunderbuss. Due to this weapon mix, this archetype's weapons scale across more attributes when compared to other archetypes, as the greatsword scales off of Strength and Dexterity, while the blunderbuss scales off of Strength and Intelligence. Balancing these attributes, along with Constitution, is very important to pull this archetype off effectively. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are cooking, fishing, and leatherworking.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Greatsword and Blunderbuss builds.
Musketeer Overview
The Musketeer archetype is a nimble explorer and adventurer, skilled with rapier and musket alike. Both of these weapons scale directly with Dexterity and Intelligence, making it a great combination of weapons that scale together. If you're a fan of keeping your distance and shooting your enemies down, this is the archetype for you. The trade skills that are buffed with this archetype are armoring, harvesting, and weaving.
To learn more about effective builds with this archetype, visit our Musket builds.
New World Archetypes Overview Video
To take a closer look at all of these archetypes, including a visual representation of each, check out the video below.
Changelog
- 01 Sep. 2024: Guide created to support Archetype knowledge and background.
More New World Content
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.
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