It should be very clear by this point that I have gone down the rabbit hole of New World and it’s my primary game that I play in my off time.
Truthfully before I started playing New World I was grinding out a few different games, of course my favourite FFXIV, League of Legends, some Fall Guys and was doing a full play through of Hyrule Warriors, but all of that halted and I got so engulfed with obsessing over New World.
It’s kind of funny to me that I got so into New World since when my brother-in-law recommended it to me I said “nah, it’s not pretty enough I probably won’t play it” and now I literally cannot put it down.
My investment in New World has gotten so serious that I’m even debating introducing it to my Twitch Community and making it the primary MMO I play on stream.
Though I’ve been loving my time playing New World,I have today there was a ton of confusion for me at first, especially when it came to Attributes and how Weapons Scale.
The reality is, no matter what game I am playing, I will play every single Weapon and play all the different Roles so I can have a better understanding of the game.
Though I’m typically a player of MMOs that provide you with more fluidity when it comes to switching Jobs/Roles, I have to say that switching around and goofing off isn’t that bad in New World, though it does take a bit more thought behind it than other games.
While most MMOs allow you to switch gear sets and passive stats whenever switching roles, the reality is that New World requires you to do a bit more than this in order to play with other weapons successfully, the reason being? Attributes.
Although Attributes aren’t going to be your primary source of damage in the long-run, as Gear Score tends to take the cake for the primary amount of the damage, if you have the wrong stats in your Attributes you will see a good chunk of your damage or healing missing. For example, I had 50 Dexterity while holding a gear score 610 Rapier and was dealing a minimum of 1,000 damage a hit (albeit I had 300 Intelligence) and as soon as I took out the 50 Dexterity I was only dealing 200 damage with my Rapier at minimum, although I still had 300 Intelligence.
What’s odd in this situation is that players are told that Rapiers also scale with Intelligence, so one would not quickly assume that the damage is that vastly different, however, due to the fact that Intelligence is the secondary stat for the Rapier it makes sense.
I do wish New World explicitly stated how much of a difference there was when using attributes on a Weapon and the best they do is show how much a Weapon’s damage is upgraded. As someone who loves analytics, this is somewhat helpful, but I thought I would breakdown everything you need to know when it comes to Attributes so you have a better idea of which Weapons actually have synthesis especially because every player is going to want to use two Weapons due to their long cooldowns.
So let’s get to chatting about Attributes, what their passive perks are and different things you’re going to want to know about the way synergy can work depending on what type of Weapon passives you have.
WHAT IS AN ATTRIBUTE IN NEW WORLD?
Attributes in New World are essentially like stats. There are 5 Attributes in New World, 4 being focussed on damage and one being focussed on Health and Healing.
Although players will have the freedom to put their Attributes into any stats, there’s going to be a good amount of min-maxing that happens in regard to Attributes.
The 5 types of Attributes include the following:
Strength
Dexterity
Intelligence Focus
Constitution
Players will typically need to focus on two different Attributes in order to get enough stats to carry them through the game, though depending on what a player’s Gathering tasks are, they may want to switch their Attributes to reflect the task that they are completing.
The unfortunate reality is that while players can virtually change their Attributes at any point, beyond a certain point players will have to spend resources in order to make these changes. Though this won’t break the bank I’ll break down when you should do this and what this will cost you shortly.
Players should note that placing points in the Attributes is not the only way to get Attributes and their Gear will provide a good chunk of it. That being said, although each Weapon scales to specific Attributes, these Attributes may not actually appear on that Weapon. For example, although Intelligence is the only stat you need on a Fire Staff, there is a chance it will drop with Dexterity which is not useful unless you are using a secondary Weapon with that stat.
Due to this players will potentially need to need to respec throughout their journey, especially as they get loot that is better for them.
By the time players have settled on their gear they will want to ensure they have 300 in their main stat and at least 100 in Constitution. Players can place the remaining Attributes in Constitution or into a secondary stat if they are using a Weapon that scales on both your main Weapon’s stat and a different stat.
What do I mean by this? Well, I run Fire Staff as my main Weapon, so I max out Intelligence, though my secondary Weapon rotates between Ice Gauntlets (which also scale off of Intelligence) or Rapier which primarily scales off of Dexterity. This means if I’m running Fire Staff and Rapier I might want 300 Intelligence, 100 Constitution and want to place the remainder in Dexterity.
Now, with that being said it might be more beneficial to a player to place the remained of their stats in Constitution, especially if they feel too squishy. Players also have the option to place the remainder of their stats in their main Attribute as you can overcap an Attribute. I will cover more about this and when it may be beneficial shortly.
HOW MANY ATTRIBUTE POINTS DO YOU GET IN NEW WORLD?
Players will receive a total of 190 Attribute points from levelling up, meaning that a player will need to rely on Gear in order to receive the remainder of the stats they need for damage and survival.
At first, players will only receive 2 Attribute Points per level, though this will increase as a player levels up.
From level 1 to 13, players will receive 2 Attribute Points.
From level 14 to 40, players will receive 3 Attribute Points.
From level 41 to 55, players will receive 4 Attribute Points.
From Level 56 to 50, players will receive 5 Attribute Points.
Due to the increase in Attribute Points you get from the later levels, players shouldn’t notice too much of the diminishing returns. Well, hopefully.
CAN YOU REROLL ATTRIBUTES?
Yes, you can in fact change your Attributes. In order to do so, players will have to head into their Attribute menu and click the Respec button located at the bottom of the screen.
Players will be able to respec as many times as they’d like for free until level 20, though beyond this players will need to pay an increasingly higher Gold Free that changes based on the player’s level.
Although I would recommend taking advantage of the free respecs before level 20, as soon as you hit level 20, I wouldn’t really recommend changing your Attributes since it costs Gold.
Essentially during levels 20 to 60 you will pick up enough Gear that’s a better Gear Score which will significantly impact the types of Attributes you have and their amount.
Admittedly, between levels 20 to 59 your Attributes don’t reaaaaaally matter and you’re going to want to focus on Gear Score more than anything.
Now, obviously don’t take that as a “you can put your stats into anything” because this is not true, you will still want to focus on your main stat throughout these levels, you just don’t need to worry about fully optimizing or making sure you hit 300 in your main stat until you are starting your Mutations grind.
At the end of the day, while I am level 60, I have not maxed out my Expertise just yet and admittedly I know that my Gear is going to change as I do not have all the perks I want and s you gain Expertise you also gain a boost in your Attributes.
At this point, I’ve respected my Attributes maybe 5 times but I can’t say that it was the most worth it. Admittedly, I have a good amount of Gold to spend, so it wasn’t the worst investment, but I would say that you never know what your Attributes are going to be until you have bought your final Gear Set and have max Expertise.
The unfortunate reality is that a better piece of Gear may drastically change the Attributes you have. For example, I had a pair of boots that gave me 24 Intelligence. While they were alright and had a good Gear Score it was a Common Drop, but I got a better pair of boots that were Epic and had better Perks, though when I switched I gained 24 Constitution instead. So, while I had better perks, I now have less than 300 Intelligence making my Attributes less optimal.
With that being said, even though I’m level 60 and doing “late-game” content, this isn’t the biggest problem in the Overworld and is more of a problem when doing Dungeons especially if I’m to begin doing Mutations.
The way that I personally manage this issue is if I’m doing Overworld content, especially Gear Farming, I don’t change my Attributes, however, if I was ever to do PVP or run a Mutation Dungeon I would respec immediately. Even at this point, running a regular Dungeon isn’t really an issue with non-optimal Attributes as my group deals enough damage to make it acceptable.
SHOULD YOU EVER GO OVER 300 IN ANY ATTRIBUTE?
In my opinion, no. My reason for feeling this way is that beyond l300 Attribute players will see a drastic amount of diminishing returns, equalling to a player needing about 70 extra Attribution to make any difference.
For this reason, I tend to put all of my remaining Attributes into Constitution as this will at least mean I have a higher chance at survival in the Overworld when playing solo.
I can see the usefulness of overlapping an Attribute for Mutations, especially if you have 70 of that Attribute and enough attributes to have the standard 300-100 Split, as a Healer should be skilled enough to ensure that you do not die in the Mutation. Also, that being said, in a Dungeon you should be skilled enough to dodge enemy attacks, while it’s not always possible in the Overworld due to the reality of random players dragging hostile mobs toward you without any warning.
Admittedly this is the most common reason for my deaths in Brimstone Sands, especially because as a DPS player my ability to heal is limited to Potions, which have a rather long cooldown.
Realistically, Brimstone Sands is the only location I have difficulty in and anything else I don’t take a whole lot of damage in lesser areas, meaning that Constitution is less important to me.
By 600 Expertise on everything players can specifically ignore more than 100 Constitution in the Overworld as they should be able to deal more damage and take less damage simply due to the hidden mechanic. I will probably write a longer article about expertise in the future to further explain this.
CAN YOU USE A NON-STANDARD ATTRIBUTE ON A WEAPON AND STILL DEAL A GOOD AMOUNT OF DAMAGE?
Honestly, I didn’t expect this, but yes you can absolutely use non-traditional Attributes on Weapons, though there is a catch to this.
Essentially, there are a number of Weapon Drops that will either scale off of the Weapon’s primary stat or another stat if it is higher. For example, you can receive a Rapier that has a perk that scales off of Intelligence unless your Dexterity Attribute is higher.
While a bit more confusing, this type of synergy is extremely effective if you want to run two very different types of Weapons. As mentioned, since I run the Fire Staff as my main Weapon, having a perk like this is very appealing as it will make sure I’m always dealing the most damage I can without having to power up two different Attributes. This further supports my claim that a 300-100 split with the rest going into Constitution or simply putting all the remainder in your main stat.
There are some truly weird builds you can acquire this way, such as a Tank that runs off of Intelligence, though this may not be recommended especially if the other perks aren’t useful.
I do recommend that players mess around with these types of Weapons if they gain access to them, especially if you’re someone who wants to explore non-meta builds.
WHAT WEAPONS SCALE WITH EACH ATTRIBUTE AND WHAT ARE THE ATTRIBUTE’S PASSIVES?
While players will probably set their Attributes and no longer think of them, there are some things a player will want to think of, especially if they are focussing on Gathering as a job.
Admittedly, the passives on each of the Attributes aren’t the most game-breaking, they are interesting to think about, especially if you’re someone who wants to specialize.
That being said, if you’re a player who likes to min-max there are going to be certain Weapons you’re going to always want to pair together such as the Life Staff and Void Gauntlets or the Ice Staff and Ice Gauntlets unless you have a special Weapon with a perk that makes it scale differently.
As for perks from Attributes, players will be able to gain 6 perks. They are accessed every 50 points into an Attribute.
The following section will take you through everything you need to know about the Attributes, including what passives they give you and how Weapons scale with each attribute.
STRENGTH
Strength governs the following Weapons and provides the following scaling for each:
Great Axes, which scale by 100%
War Hammers, which scale by 100%
Swords, which scale by 90%
Hatchets, which scale by 90%
Blunderbuss, which scale 90%
Spears, which scale by 65%
Essentially Great Axes and War Hammers have the best synergy, though players can also use a side of Sword and Shield or Hatchet.
Strength is typically the Attribute most Tanks take, running Great Axe and War Hammer in Dungeons with the option of running Sword and Shield with one of the Weapons. Players will typically take a Hatchet in the Overworld for the extra utility, though it is uncommon for them to run Dungeons with a Hatchet due to the lack of abilities that will help with Taunts.
THRESHOLD BONUSES FOR STRENGTH
Perk 1: 5% damage to a Melee Weapon’s light attacks plus a 10% buff to mining speed.
Perk 2: 10% damage to a Melee Weapon’s heavy attacks and an additional 20 Encumbrance, which allows players to carry more resources in their bags.
Perk 3: 50% stamina damage from Melee Weapon light and heavy attacks with a 10% decrease in weight for ores or anything mined.
Perk 4: 10% extra damage to any enemy that is crowd controlled, including stuns, slows and roots. Players also receive 10% mining speed.
Perk 5: Stamina regeneration continues even while players are using heavy or light attacks with a Melee Weapon and players will gain 10% more resources when they are mining.
Perk 6: Light and heavy Melee Attacks will give a player Grit and players gain a 25% chance to mine a node in a single swing.
DEXTERITY
Dexterity governs all physical ranged Weapons with some bonuses granted to Melee Physical Weapons. Weapons it governs include:
Bows, which scale by 100%
Muskets, which scale by 90%
Rapiers, which scale by 90%
Spears, which scale by 90%
Hatchets, which scale by 65%
Swords, which scale by 65%
Obviously, players who are running the Bow will want to take this stat, as well as players who are running Rapiers, Muskets or Spears, though players have the option to the latter three as secondary Weapons as they scale off other Attributes.
If players are running Bow, they will typically want to take a Rapier, Musket or Spear as their secondary Weapon, though they can still take a Hatchet or Sword and Shield if they really like the skills.
THRESHOLD BONUSES FOR STRENGTH
Perk 1: Players gain 5% critical Hit and 10 Skinning Speed.
Perk 2: Players gain 5% thrust damage and 20% haste for 3 seconds after skinning.
Perk 3: Players will dodge for 10 less stamina and will reduce the weight of skinned items by 10%
Perk 4: Players gain 10% damage to any backstab or headshots as well as 10% skinning speed.
Perk 5: Players gain 10% bonus critical damage on crowd-controlled mobs, including stunned, slowed or rooted enemies. Players will also gain 10% yield when skinning.
Perk 6: Admittedly, best for Ranged Weapons, players will have a 15% chance to get Ammo each time they attack with it. Players will also get a guaranteed crit anytime they dodge roll. Players will need to be light weight in order to get the crit.
INTELLIGENCE
Intelligence will govern any Magic Weapons, though players will also scale with some Physical Damage Weapons. The following Weapons scale as such:
Fire Staves, which scale by 100%
Ice Gauntlets, which scale by 100%
Void Gauntlets, which scale by 90%
Muskets, which scale by 65%
Blunderbusses, which scale by 65%
Rapiers, which scale by 65%
Players will also have the chance to gain Gems that allow them to scale any Weapon off of Intelligence, making any of these Weapons useable with each other. Otherwise, players will want to stick to Fire Staff and Ice Gauntlet or one with Void Gauntlet.
I have to say, the Void Gauntlet works better with the Ice Gaunlet in my opinion, though the Ice Gauntlet plus Fire Staff is my favourite build.
Intelligence builds are quite frankly the most interesting, in my opinion as you can get really unique perks on your Weapons, such as a Fire Staff that deals part of its damage as Ice Damage and it’s technically the only build that can scale any Weapon to it to deal more damage with both Weapons.
Now, I might be biased, but would a biased person admit to being biased?
THRESHOLD BONUSES FOR INTELLIGENCE
Perk 1: Players receive 10% damage on light and heavy magic attacks as well as 10% harvest speed.
Perk 2: Players receive 10% Critical Hit damage as well as a chance to gain 1 Azoth while harvesting.
Perk 3: Players will get 15% more damage to Elemental Damage and will be able to reduce the load of harvested items in their inventory by 10%.
Perk 4: Players gain 10 mana after a dodge as well as gain 10% harvesting speed.
Perk 5: Players gain a 30% duration on damage over time spells as well as gain a 10% yield on anything harvested.
Perk 6: Players will deal 10% damage to an enemy that has 100% health and Azoth travel costs will be reduced by 10%.
FOCUS
Focus is a bit of a dud stat and I truly don’t understand why they didn’t just make Focus and Intelligence the same stat because, well they’re both magic. Focus essentially governs your ability to output healing and raises a bit of damage at the same time, but let’s be honest… it’s mostly healing.
There are currently only two Weapons that scale off of Focus, meaning that anyone who chooses to Heal will have to use these Weapons:
The Life Staff, which scales by 100%
The Void Gauntlet, which scales by 65%
Given the fact that the Void Gauntlet only scales by 65% players are kind of screwed to deal low amounts of damage unless they get an Amber Elemental Gem which makes the Void Gauntlet run off of Focus.
Realistically players can get this augmentation on other Weapons other than the Void Gauntlet, such as the Fire Staff, but it’s not as recommended due to the immense utility of the Void Gauntlet.
Healers, get ready to have to play the most meta-game out of all jobs in New World.
THRESHOLD BONUSES FOR FOCUS
Perk 1: Players will get a 10% mana regeneration rate as well as a bonus of 10% fishing line tension… weird.
Perk 2: Players will have their mana increased by 20 and players will receive 10% more from salvaging.
Perk 3: Players will gain 20% healing output and fish and fish-related items will weigh 10% less.
Perk 4: Player’s casted buffs will last for 20% longer and players will gain 10% fishing line tension… again.
Perk 5: Players will gain 20 mana anytime they kill a mob or their team kills a mob and players will get a 10% extra chance for a bigger fish.
Perk 6: When mana hits 0 players will gain 200% mana regen for 10 seconds, though this has a 60 second cooldown. Players will also receive a 10% cooldown for Inn Fast Travel.
I’m not going to lie… I feel so bad for Healers.
CONSTITUTION
Constitution isn’t really a stat that players will focus on, even if they are Tanking. Essentially, other than the perks that you get for each tier of Constitution, you won’t gain any damage.
Constitution will provide players with 25 HP per point, though this begins to drop off as players complete the line, though not by much as it will begin providing players with 21 HP per point.
While most players will only put 100 into Constitution plus the left over Attributes, some Tanks that don’t trust their skill will place more in Constitution.
THRESHOLD BONUSES FOR CONSTITUTION
Perk 1: All health-based consumables will be 20% stronger and players will gain a 10% logging speed.
Perk 2: Players will gain health equal to 10% of their physical armour and a 10% reduction of durability loss on all Tools.
Perk 3: 10% reduction to any critical damage taken and 10% decrease of weight of all logging items.
Perk 4: 20% increase to armour and 10% logging speed.
Perk 5: Every 60 seconds players will get a 60% damage reduction as long as the player is at full health. Players will also get a 10% logging yield increase.
Perk 6: Players will gain 20% duration on all of their stuns, slows and root spells and will have a 25% chance to chop down a tree in a single swing.
CONCLUSION
Though a player’s playstyle may differ when it comes to the different Spells they take for each Weapon, there is more of a Meta when it comes to selecting which Attributes they will be taking for each Weapon.
Realistically casual players will have much more leeway when it comes to selecting their Attributes as mobs will hit lighter than they do in Mutated Dungeons. Still, I would recommend that players stick to a more Meta build for level 60 content and only fool around with their extra stats.
Other than that, never worry about being locked into certain Attributes as there is no cooldown for respecing your attributes as long as you have the 200 Gold to spare.
Admittedly, Gold is not difficult to get in New World, but this will depend on how much time to play the game.
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