Sword & Shield Skills are one of the Weapon Skill Masteries available in New World. Sword & Shield Skills are a pairing of melee focused weapons that, when combined, offer solid offensive and defensive capabilities. Utilizes a combination of arcing swings and lunges for the offensive melee attacks and a Shield to maximize defenses. Swords are light one-handed Weapons that excel in close-quarters combat and are the only Weapon that can be equipped alongside a Shield.
As such, Swords and Shields are paired together in a single mastery tree, and wielding both allows the player to block incoming attacks. Some downsides to using sword are its lack of reach and long ability cooldowns.
The Sword & Shield Skills are made up of the Swordmaster and Defender trees.
What attributes improve Sword & Shield damage?
Damage dealt with Swords & Shield abilities can be improved by assigning points to Strength and Dexterity.
Sword & Shield Attacks
- Light Attack: Deals 100% Slash damage.
- Light Ender: Deals 105% Slash damage.
- Heavy Attack: Deals 120% Thrust damage.
- Charged Heavy: Deals 160% Thrust damage.
New World Sword & Shield Skills
Swordmaster Tree Active Abilities
Reverse Stab
A stab attack that deal 175% weapon damage
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Upgrades:
Unstoppable Stab: Reverse Stab now has Grit, making the attack unstoppable
Tactician: On successful hit Reverse Stab, all Sword cooldowns are reduced by 25%
Whirling Blade
Deal 145% weapon damage to all foes within 2 meters
Cooldown: 15 seconds
Upgrades:
Opportunity:Whirling Blade causes 5% Rend for 10s (Rend reduces target's Armor)
Tactical Strike: Whirling Blade reduces cooldown on the ability by 10% for each enemy hit
Leaping Strike
Leap 4 meters and deal 150% weapon damage
Cooldown: 18 seconds
Upgrades:
Final Strike: If you hit a foe below 30% health, deal 50% more damage
Cowardly Punishment: If Leaping Strike hits a target in the back, it inflicts a 50% slow for 8s.
(Slow reduces target's movement speed)
Swordmaster Tree Passive Abilities
Precision
Swords critical strike chance increased by 10%.
Mobility
Move 33% faster while blocking.
Opportunist
Deal 20% more damage to slowed foes.
Confidence
While health is full, deal 15% more damage.
Empowered Stab
Successfull Heavy Attack grants you 30% Empower for 5 seconds (Empower increases damage).
Freeing Justice
Successfully hitting with a Heavy Attack causes you to lose all debuffs.
Counter Attack
When you block an attack gain 10% increased damage for 20 seconds.
Critical Precision
On critical, gain 20% haste for 5 seconds (Haste increases movement speed).
Achilles Heel
The final attack in your light attack chain causes a 20% Slow for 2 seconds (Slow reduces movement speed).
Leadership
While holding a sword all group members damage is increased by 10%
Defender Tree Active Abilities
Shield Rush
Rush forward 5 meters, knocking back foes and dealing 125% weapon damage.
Cooldown: 20 seconds
Upgrades:
Improved Rush: On successful hit, all enemies within 5m are weakened by 10% for 10s. (Weaken reduces damage)
Intimidating Rush: On successful hit, all enemies within 5m of you are 30% Slowed for 4s. (Slow reduces movement speed)
Shield Bash
Deals 50% weapon damage and stuns foes in front of you for 2s
Cooldown: 25 seconds
Upgrades:
Intimidating Bash: Shield bash causes greatly increase threat and 100% more damage.
Concussive Bash: Shield Bash stun duration increased by 1s
Defiant Stance
For 8s, reduce the incoming base damage for attackers by 30%.
Cooldown: 45 seconds
Upgrades:
Final Count Down: If your health is above 50% damage reduction, increased by 20%
Restoration: Gain 15% of your max health when Defiant Stance ends.
Defender Tree Passive Abilities
Sturdy Shield
Shields provide 15% more armor.
Elemental Resistance
Reduce damage from all magical types by 10%.
One With The Shield
When you block with a shield, all shield skills recharge 1%
Final Blow
The 3rd attack in your light attack combo deals 15% more damage and generates more threat.
Sturdy Grip
Stamina damage is reduced by 15% when blocking a melee attack with a shield.
Defensive Training
When you block an attack gain 10% Fortify for 5 seconds.
Fortitude
While holding a Sword current and max health are increased by 10%.
Recuperation
All incoming healing and regeneration increased by 10%.
High Grip
Stamina damage is reduced by 15% when blocking a ranged attack with a shield.
Defensive Formation
While blocking reduce damage to all other allies within 2 meters by 30%.
(1 second cooldown)
Sword and Shield Abilities Comparison Table
Quick Search of Sword and Shield Abilities
Name |
Tree |
Type |
Effect |
Tier |
Requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Swordmaster | Active | A stab attack that deals 175% weapon damage | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Active | Deal 145% weapon damage to all foes within 2 meters | Tier I | N/A |
|
Swordmaster | Active | Leap 4 meters and deal 150% weapon damage. | Tier III | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | Reverse Stab now has Grit, making the attack unstoppable | Tier III | Reverse Stab |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | On successful hit Reverse Stab, all Sword cooldowns are reduced by 25% | Tier IV | Unstoppable Stab |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | Whirling Blade causes 5% Rend for 10s (Rend reduces target's Armor) | Tier II | Whirling Blade |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | Whirling Blade reduces cooldown on the ability by 10% for each enemy hit | Tier IV | Opportunity |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | If you hit a foe below 30% health, deal 50% more damage. | Tier IV | Leaping Strike |
|
Swordmaster | Upgrade | If Leaping Strike hits a target in the back, it inflicts a 50% slow for 8s. | Tier V | Final Strike |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | Sword's critical strike chance increased by 10%. | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | Move 33% faster while blocking. | Tier III | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | Deal 20% more damage to slowed foes | Tier IV | 1 Tier III Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | While health is full, deal 15% more damage. | Tier V | 1 Tier IV Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | Successfull Heavy Attack grants you 30% Empower for 5 seconds (Empower increases damage). | Tier I | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | Successfully hitting with a Heavy Attack causes you to lose all debuffs. | Tier II | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | When you block an attack, gain 10% increased damage for 20 seconds | Tier III | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | On critical, gain 20% haste for 5 seconds (Haste increases movement speed). | Tier V | 1 Tier IV Ability |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | The final attack in your light attack chain causes a 20% Slow for 2 seconds (Slow reduces movement speed). | Tier I | N/A |
|
Swordmaster | Passive | While holding a sword, all group members damage is increased by 10% | Tier VI | 10 previous abilities |
|
Defender | Active | Rush forward 5 meters, knocking back foes and dealing 125% weapon damage. | Tier I | N/A |
|
Defender | Active | Deals 50% weapon damage and stuns foes in front of you for 2s. | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Defender | Active | For 8s, reduce the incoming base damage for attackers by 30%. | Tier III | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Defender | Upgrade | On successful hit, all enemies within 5m are weakened by 10% for 10s. (Weaken reduces damage) | Tier III | Shield Rush |
|
Defender | Upgrade | On successful hit, all enemies within 5m of you are 30% Slowed for 4s. (Slow reduces movement speed) | Tier V | Improved Rush |
|
Defender | Upgrade | Shield Bash stun duration increased by 1s | Tier V | Intimidating Rush |
|
Defender | Upgrade | Shield Bash causes greatly increase threat and 100% more damage. | Tier III | Shield Bash |
|
Defender | Upgrade | If your health is above 50% damage reduction increased by 20% | Tier IV | Defiant Stance |
|
Defender | Upgrade | Gain 15% of your max health when Defiant Stance ends. | Tier V | Final Countdown |
|
Defender | Passive | Shields provide 15% more armor. | Tier I | N/A |
|
Defender | Passive | Reduce damage from all magical types by 10%. | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | When you block with a shield, all shield skills recharge 1% | Tier III | 1 Tier II Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | The 3rd attack in your light attack combo deals 15% more damage and generates more threat. | Tier IV | 1 Tier III Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | Stamina damage is reduced by 15% when blocking a melee attack with a shield. | Tier I | N/A |
|
Defender | Passive | When you block an attack gain 10% Fortify for 5 seconds. | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | While holding a Sword current and max health are increased by 10%. | Tier IV | 1 Tier III Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | All incoming healing and regeneration increased by 10%. | Tier V | 1 Tier IV Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | Stamina damage is reduced by 15% when blocking a ranged attack with a shield. | Tier II | 1 Tier I Ability |
|
Defender | Passive | While blocking, reduces damage to all other allies within 2 meters by 30%. | Tier VI | 10 previous Abilities |
