Best Archetypes For Solo Players In New World: Aeternum

Summary

The Soldier Archetype is ideal for survivability for solo play in New World: Aeternum due to tank skills and life steal.
The Destroyer Archetype excels in crowd control and damage mitigation, allowing for efficient farming and fighting in large groups.
The Ranger Archetype offers versatility and speed for solo exploration with Archery skills, but players should watch out for ammo dependency.

New World: Aeternum has changed how the game works in many ways, and some of those changes mean that returning players might have to adapt a lot. But playing solo in Amazon's first original MMORPG is not such a difficult task, with the correct Archetypes and builds, of course.

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By Robbie Mitchell

Here is a rundown on the new starting classes added with the latest expansion of the game, ideal for those who want to enjoy New World: Aeternum at their own pace without having to deal too much with partying-up and other social mechanics. With the correct build, any player can enjoy most of the content in the game from beginning to end (except certain Dungeons and Raids, of course), and for solo players, these are the best Archetypes.

Updated January 22, 2025, by Lucas Simons: With the rise in popularity of the Musketeer archetype, it is only natural that it is added to the list. Since the Musketeer also requires a significant amount of skill to be played, it can be quite a challenge for newcomers, but the payoffs this class offers are so good that it's worth the time. On the other hand, Soldier and Destroyer Archetypes have suffered a slight nerf thanks to some changes in combat. Melee classes were overwhelmingly superior to ranged ones, and Amazon Games is trying to level the odds.

6 Musketeer

Fast Deadly, The Best Long Range Attacker

Pros: Fast At Close Range, Powerful Long Range Shots
Cons: Slow Fire Rate
Main Attribute: Dexterity
Secondary Attribute: Intelligence

Thanks to its powerful sniping and the ability to switch to the deadly Rapier at close range, the Musketeer excels at both long and close-range combat. This is the best class for solo PvP players who enjoy constantly engaging in faction combat since it has all the tools to successfully ambush and harass enemy players and get away with it.

It has a strategic playstyle that forces players to aim carefully, lay down traps, and then wait for other players to approach (if they survive the snipping) to rapidly vault away using the Rapier's mobility, parrying, and deflection kits. On the other hand, the Musketeer has a boost to Armor Crafting and Harvesting, something that can be quite useful to get more fiber and craft light armor, which enhances this class' mobility.

5 Soldier

A Fighter/Tank With Great Offensive And Defensive Skills

Pros: Reliable, Tanky
Cons: Slow mobility
Main Attribute: Strength
Secondary Attribute: Constitution

The soldier is a versatile fighter Archetype with access to Sword & Shield and Hatchet, granting it the extra ranged attacks every melee class desperately needs. With access to a lot of powerful tank skills and recovery/life steal from the Hatchet Berserk Skill, this class will surely survive until the endgame without too many issues. Ideal for rookie players, the Soldier doesn't have too many complicated mechanics, and since it has a lot of survivability and damage mitigation, it can even take on swarms of lesser enemies alone.

So, if players want to go solo, this should be the first reliable choice they should make. Plus, it has access to Weaponsmithing, Mining, and Smelting life skills, which guarantee that players will be set on the right path to becoming proficient armorers and blacksmiths, able to create their own gear in no time. Ever since the last combat balance patch, melee classes seem to have suffered a slight adjustment to their skill effectiveness, so keep that in mind.

4 Destroyer

An Unstoppable Killing Machine With Great CC

Pros: Versatile, Powerful, Good at Crowd Control
Cons: Slow, Long Cooldowns
Main Attribute: Strength
Secondary Attribute: Constitution

With a big whooping War Hammer and an even bigger Great Axe, the executioner has come to New World: Aeternum with the Destroyer Archetype. This powerful and tanky build will guarantee players access to certain abilities that will allow them to fight huge crowds of enemies, potentially farming exp and weapon mastery at incredible speeds. At the same time, the Destroyer is a good choice as a damage mitigation class, being an expert in gaining Fortification and other powerful damage reduction buffs that will negate most damage types.

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By John Cunningham

The Great Axe is a powerful weapon that executes opponents and resets cooldowns, applying mobility buffs to the player. On the other hand, with the powerful CC of the Crowd Crusher War Hammer skill branch, the Destroyer will be able to apply crowd control effects non-stop. The only downside is that players should be careful with their cooldowns since these weapons have some of the skills with the longest CDs in the game. It also has access to the life skills Armoring, Skinning, and Leatherworking, ideal for creating medium armor that complements the build. The latest combat balance patch has slightly nerfed the effectiveness of melee combat, but this doesn't affect the Destroyer as hard as it did with other classes.

3 Ranger

A Versatile Hunter, Ideal For Exploring And Harvesting Resources

Pros: Fast, Nimble, Versatile
Cons: Squishy, Easily overwhelmed
Main Attribute: Dexterity
Secondary Attribute: Strength, Constitution

This Archetype is fast, able to deal incredible amounts of damage in no time, and able to escape just at the right moment. If played well, the Ranger proves to be a good choice for those who want to go hunting in the forests, and with access to the powerful Archery skills from the Bow branches, players will always be at a safe distance from danger. The spear is a great complement to them, especially the Zoner skill branch, which has access to crowd control effects such as Prone, Push, and Deflect.

Overall, this Archetype is among the strongest of them all, and to top it off, it comes with bonuses to Engineering, Logging, and Woodcutting, life skills that guarantee that players can do Fletching and Bowsmithing and never run out of ammo. The only downside would be the Archetype's dependency on ammo, which can be spent in no time if players are not careful. On that note, when that happens, the Ranger can be overwhelmed easily, and that's not good for players who are not accustomed to the game.

2 Mystic

A Jack Of All Trades, Able To Heal And Deal Loads Of Damage

Pros: Versatile, Powerful, Self Heal
Cons: Squishy, Low Physical Resistance
Main Attribute: Focus
Secondary Attribute: Intelligence

The Mystic is equipped with a powerful curio named "Void Gauntlet," capable of harnessing the powers of the Arcane to damage foes and steal their life force. At the same time, it also comes with the Life Staff, the basic tool for healing in New World: Aeternum. With this combo, players shouldn't be concerned too much about losing their lives, since the Void Gauntlet not only steals life force but mana as well. The Void Gauntlet is a hybrid weapon, having access to some melee skills and some ranged ones, too.

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The Staff, on the other hand, has a buff specialization that could greatly complement the Void Gauntlet's powerful sustain, turning the Mystic into a master of life and death. This archetype comes with a bonus to the following life skills: Arcana, Harvesting, and Weaving. Harvesting goes hand in hand with Arcana and Weaving. The first serves as a consumable creation tool, as well as a workshop for developing new Void Gauntlets and Life Staffs, while Weaving will grant access to Robes that the Mystics can equip to complement their build.

1 Swordbearer

A Ferocious Berserker, With Tanking Capabilities

Pros: Tanky, Fierce, Fast
Cons: Hard To Master
Main Attribute: Strength
Secondary Attribute: Dexterity, Constitution

With the ability to switch between Onslaught and Defiance stances, the Greatsword user Swordbearer is capable of dealing huge amounts of damage while also surviving most of the blows it receives thanks to its powerful mitigation. Switching between stances requires a lot of skill, and adjusting the build alongside the Blunderbuss will not be easy for new players, but it will be rewarding in the long run, since this weapon combo is one of the best in the game.

The Swordbearer is the perfect example for the solo player: It can go in and out, deal with lots of enemies at the same time, and has access to life-draining skills and a ranged option with area damage bombing to clear out nests of enemies. This Archetype is easily the best of the best in terms of bruising, and it comes with bonuses to Cooking, Fishing, and Leatherworking. Though they are not the best life skills to complement this build, they are useful anyway. Cooking is especially handy, since it can provide a lot of powerful buffs through the many dishes players can produce.

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