Bow Perks for New World
Welcome to our Perks page for Bow. Here, we give you an overview of how strong each perk is in each setting. Then, we present Jewelry perks and explain how strong and why each of them is.
Perk Tierlists
All the perks below are usable in any Bow build. While there are many other perks in the game, these are the perks that are within the scope of having value when using a Bow and properly gearing your build.
Bow Perks
The perks within this section include general weapon perks and Bow specific perks that are in the current META.
S-Tier
Enchanted — Large damage increase to heavy Bow shots.
Keenly Jagged — Applies a DoT after critically hitting. This will act like Attunement, just like a Runeglass does, where you will deal another burst of damage upon hitting the target. As such, you have the chance when you critically strike to deal Bow damage, Attunement damage, Runeglass damage, and
Keenly Jagged that will all add together. Afterwards, you will then have two DoT's ticking on a target.
- Attunement Perks — Consistent and free damage increase.
Vicious — Adds significantly more damage to critical strikes. Some Bow users prefer this instead of
Enchanted.
A-Tier
Penetrating Rapid Shot — Free damage increase on this ability and it should always be used.
Refreshing Penetrating Shot — Will help to quickly reset this ability while you snowball kills.
Empowering Explosive Arrow — Great empowerment option, but this is not needed with high stacks of
Mortal Empowerment because of empower cap.
Keenly Empowered — When you critically hit, you will see a large empowerment spike. This is useless though if you hit empowerment cap, which you will with
Mortal Empowerment.
- Chain Damage Perks — This can be a budget option for Attunement that will deal a burst of damage and bounce between enemies.
B-Tier
Enfeebling Poison Shot — If you choose to use this ability this will provide a great deal of damage reduction for your team.
Energizing Evade Shot — If you choose to use this ability it can be helpful for individual survivability.
Vorpal — Increased headshot damage will result in more burst, but it can be difficult to land constant headshots, making other perks more beneficial.
Keen — Not needed, but can be a free damage increase at times.
- Shirking Damage Perks
C-Tier
Lasting Rain of Arrows — This ability is not often used and its perk is not needed. Defensive perk options provide more utility for your build.
Refreshing Move — Bows have built in passive cooldown reduction and you will be using
Refreshing Evasion.
PvP Perks
The perks within this section include general armor perks for builds that are viable in the current PvP META.
S-Tier
Resilient — Great for survivability in all PvP environments. Should be stacked on almost every armor piece.
Refreshing Evasion — Best source of cooldown reduction because of frequent dodging.
Freedom — Fantastic survivability option when stacked 3 or 5 times on armor pieces. Allows for you to get out of stuns, slows, and roots more quickly to save your life.
A-Tier
Elemental Aversion — This should be stacked 1-2 times in your build to compensate for incoming elemental damage.
Critical Retribution — This can be beneficial to put on a Helmet to increase damage output after being hit.
B-Tier
Shirking Fortification — Fortify is great when targets get close, but this will not be active often when playing at a distance.
Refreshing — Can be a viable option to flex into other builds, but should not be prioritized.
C-Tier
These options are somewhat filler perks that can be used on a three perk item so you have more value than a simple two perk item. They are low value perks in this aspect of gameplay and would not be the pick for a Best in Slot item.
PvE Perks
S-Tier
Refreshing Evasion — This is generally a top pick due to the lackof needing PvP survivability perks.
Elemental Aversion — High value defensive option because of the rotating elemental types in mutated expeditions.
- Ward (Ancient, Angry Earth, Corrupted, Lost) — When playing damage roles in end game PvE content, it is important to have this in your gear so you are able to play with less Constitution and have more defensiveness.
- Bane (Ancient, Angry Earth, Corrupted, Lost) — Free damage increase for mutator-specific enemies. This will require you to have multiple different weapons depending on the expedition it is used in.
A-Tier
Physical Aversion — Has less value than
Elemental Aversion due to the high amount of magical damage in all expeditions. It can be a viable third perk option.
B-Tier
Refreshing — Free cooldown reduction in PvE. It can be useful, but it is better to have
Refreshing Evasion
Freedom — Can be beneficial to reduce CC effects from some enemy types.
Shirking Fortification — Provides great defensiveness when threat is focused on you and you are forced to dodge enemies.
C-Tier
These options are somewhat filler perks that can be used on a three perk item so you have more value than a simple two perk item. They are low value perks in this aspect of gameplay and would not be the pick for a Best in Slot item.
Invigorated
- Ward (Beast) — Although listed in C-Tier, this should not ever be taken until there is an expedtion with beast damage in it.
Jewelry Perks
The perks listed below are combined between amulet, ring, and earring. These are the best options for jewelry as a whole. Keep in mind that
some of these perks are only able to go on a specific jewelry slot, for example Keen Awareness can only go on a ring.
S-Tier
Health — This is just free health. This is crucial on any amulet for increased survivability.
Stamina Recovery — Great survivability option in any kit. When you are being dove on by enemies this has the potential to save your life.
Thrust Protection —
Slash Protection should be prioritized, but this can be used if you are struggling against damage from Bows, Muskets, and Blunderbusses.
Mortal Empowerment — In light armor builds, this is a great option if you are able to snowball and not die.
Thrust Damage — This should be paired with
Mortal Empowerment in PvP.
- Elemental Damage Perks — Perks like
Nature Damage or
Fire Damage, can be used if you choose to use an elemental gem and want to increase its damage and your Attunement's damage. This will count toward empower cap.
Hearty — Since almost all Hatchet builds are light, this is a necessary perk. If you choose to use a medium build, this is not needed.
Refreshing Toast — Incredible perk to increase self healing and
Infused Regeneration Potion usage to remove debuffs. This is a "must-have" on earring.
Purifying Toast — Necessary for most frontline players in PvP to help with defensiveness and one's ability to play in the frontline. Removing a debuff such as a root, or a DoT, and can save your life.
A-Tier
Refreshing Evasion
Slash Protection — Can be a great third perk option on amulet to help provide defensiveness against enemies using melee weapons who are trying to dive onto you.
Divine — Can be a decent third perk option. Increasing healing received could save your life, but often times this amount is not enough and more defensive options have more value. This is a great PvE option instead of something like
Stamina Recovery.
Regenerating — Free additional healing over time. This can be a decent third perk option.
- Elemental Protection Perks — Perks like
Nature Protection or
Flame Protection, can be used in PvE for more resistance in mutators.
B-Tier
Invigorated Punishment — This is a consistent damage increase and should often be used if playing as a melee since it is likely that you will die in PvP.
Refreshing
Keen Awareness — This can be used, but critical hit chance is generally not needed.
Leeching
C-Tier
These options are somewhat filler perks that can be used on a three perk item so you have more value than a simple two perk item. They are low value perks in this aspect of gameplay and would not be the pick for a Best in Slot item.
Refreshing Ward
Frozen Protection
Brilliant
Fortified Recovery
Fortified
Alacrity
Purify
Focused
Healthy Toast
Changelog
- 22 Oct. 2023: Guide updated for expansion.
- 23 Feb. 2023: Guide added.
Lemoni is a New World content creator with thousands of hours of gameplay. He specializes in theory crafting builds and various gameplay mechanics to improve player performance. He also enjoys long walks on the beach.
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