In thisNew WorldBow Build 2024 Guide, we’ll be taking a look at the Bow in both PvE and PvP. It’s a ranged weapon that uses arrows to attack enemies from mid-range. The Bow scales solely with theDexteritystat, so if you want to increase its damage, you’ll need to invest heavily in that attribute.
New World Aeternum Bow Build Information
New World Aeternum Bow Build 2024 - Overview and Strategy
Firstly for this New World Bow Build 2024; like the Musket, Bows used to requireammunition, specificallyarrows, to function. However,ammowas removed for all ranged weapons in New World: Aeternum. Instead, they now have a+20% base damageboost, making it easier to start with the Bow from the beginning of the game.
One unique aspect of New World Bow Builds in 2024 is their ability to shoot with either afullorpartial draw. When aiming, you can release aregular shot, or hold down the right trigger button until thebow glowsto charge amore powerful shot. However, if you’re firing without aiming (hip firing), there’s no option to charge—those shots will always deal less damage than partial or fully drawn bow shots, but the advantage is you can use hip firing while locked on, making it easier to hit targets with them.
To perform acharged shotwith thebow, you need to aim (by holding L2) and hold down R2 until thebowis fully drawn. Unlike themusket, thebowhas anarcto its shots, so when firing over long distances, you’ll need to account for this by adjusting your aim. This makes thebowa bit harder to use at very long ranges compared to themusket. However if you want to be a bit more accurate at longer ranges make sure to take theArrow Rangepassive, as it allows your arrows to travel further before arcing.
If you preferlong-range combatin general instead of a New World Bow Build 2024, I’d recommend switching to themusket. But if you likemid to close-range combat, thebowis a better choice. It’s also more effective in melee situations, thanks to abilities designed for close combat.
New World Aeternum Bow Pros:
New World Aeternum Bow Cons:
Skirmisher Skill Tree
Let’s take a look at thebow’s skill treesin this New World Bow Build 2024, which areSkirmisherandHunter. TheSkirmishertree focuses onAOE damageandDebuffs. It’s great for situations where you’re up close and dealing with groups of enemies, especially since many will rush you once aggroed. On the other hand, theHuntertree is -rangeandsingle-target damage. It has somehigh-damage abilities, but they typically target only one enemy with the exception of Explosive Shot. If you’re looking to quickly take down a tough enemy or single out a player, theHuntertree is ideal.
Poison Shot
Starting with theSkirmisher tree, the first ability isPoison Shot. This creates apoison cloudthat dealsdamage over timein anAOE. It doesn’t have to hit an enemy directly—wherever thearrowlands, thepoison cloudwill appear. This is particularly useful for softening up groups of enemies inPvEor mid-sizedPvP skirmishes. Progressing this skill line increases its damage dealt.
Evade Shot
Evade Shotis anotherSkirmisherability that lets you jump backward while shooting an enemy in front of you. It’s perfect for creating space between you and a pursuing enemy, allowing you to maintain distance and continue attacking without getting caught inmelee range. Progressing this skill line will also grant the skill with a knockback effect as well as give you a Haste buff which is very useful when kiting against enemies in PvP when using this New World Bow Build 2024.
Rain of Arrows
Rain of Arrowsis anAOE attackthat lets you target an area, dealing damage to enemies within it. When upgraded, it also applies ableed effect. This ability shines inPvE, especially when fighting multiple enemies indungeonsor during questing. Progressing this skill line allows Rain of Arrows to cause bleed, as well as inflicting them with slow.
The capstone of theSkirmisher tree,Evasive Tactics, gives you theEmpowereffect and increases your damage dealt to15% for 5 secondsafter dodging. This is very useful, especially during PvP situations where players will often attempt to close in on you. This will also be useful during solo expeditions as enemies will try to swarm you and you’ll be dodging a lot. Overall a more useful Capstone compared to itsHuntercounterpart unless you’re a good shot.
Hunter Skill Tree
Rapid Shot
Moving on to theHunter tree, the first ability isRapid Shot. This firesthree arrowsin quick succession, with the first two doing100% weapon damageand the third doing125%. It’s excellent forhigh burst damageinPvPor against tough enemies. Progressing this skill allows you to get a 50% cooldown reduction if you hit the same enemy with all three arrows. This skill is even more deadly thanks to New World: Aeternum’s lock-on, which makes it easy to land all three arrows.
Penetrating Shot
Penetrating Shotis another strong ability in theHunter tree. It dealshigh damageand pierces through targets and it travels more than 100m. While thepiercing effectisn’t always useful unless enemies are lined up perfectly, the ability’s raw damage makes it great forsingle-target bursts. Progressing this skill line increases the damage ofPenetrating Shot.
Explosive Arrow
Explosive Arrowis a good AoE skill. It deals half of your weapon damage on impact and then detonates dealing huge damage while covering a radius of 2.5m. It’s perfect for crowd control and is also useful in PvP where there are enemies huddled together for dealing huge group damage. Progressing this skill line allows you to inflict burn on your enemies as well as increasing its damage at the cost of a reduction on the explosion’s radius.
Concussion
The capstone of theHunter tree,Concussion. It increases your damage when landingheadshotsby 20%.Headshotsare not impossible forBowusers, and you should aim to do them when leading off combat, but with the addition of the with the lock-on feature, you will be less likely to use manual aiming when you can just rapid fire arrows from the hip once combat starts. It can be useful in PvP if you’ve gotten used to dishing outheadshots, but if you haven’t, I recommend theEvasive Tacticscapstone.
What combination of skills you use will of course be determined by what sort of content you are attempting to complete. For instance, if you’re running expeditions as a DPS, then you’ll likely want 2 AoE Skills and single target skill: Explosive Arrow, Rain of Arrows and Rapid Shot. However, if you’re solo PvPing you’ll likely want Rapid Shot, Evade Shot, and maybe Penetrating Shot or Explosive Arrow.
New World Bow Builds 2024
Solo PvE BowBuild - New World Aeternum
Group PvE BowBuild - New World Aeternum
Solo PvP BowBuild - New World Aeternum
Group PvP BowBuild - New World Aeternum
New World Aeternum Bow Build - Weapons & Armor
When choosing aweaponto pair with your New World Bow Build 2024, it works really well atmid-to-short range, so you don’t necessarily need amelee weaponlike you would with aMusket. Themusketcan be less effective in close combat, but theBowhas tools to help you create distance from enemies, and it doesn’t need to be reloaded. This allows you to keep firing consistently, as long as you can maintain that separation. If you want to go for a pureranged build, thebowcan handle it on its own. However, becauseweapon cooldownsare shared, you can’t use twobows, so you’ll want to equip a second weapon.
AMusketcan be a great option forlonger-range encounters, with thebowfor when enemies get closer. Alternatively, amelee weaponlike theSpearorRapieris a good choice for when enemies close the gap. Both weapons scale withdexterity, so they pair well with thebow, making either an excellent backup.
Since thebowhas nointelligence scaling, unlike themusket, there’s no point in pairing it with weapons like theFire StafforIce Gauntlet. While themusketcan benefit from a hybrid build withintelligenceanddexterity, thebowis most effective when you’re fully invested indexterity, so sticking todex-based weaponsis the best approach.
Finally, when using aranged weaponlike thebow,Light Armoris your best bet.Light armorgrants a15% damage bonus, which is crucial when you’re focusing on hitting enemies from a distance. It also lets you dodge roll which is definitely useful if you’re going for theEvasive Tacticscapstone. Since you’re aiming to avoid getting hit, maximizing yourdamage outputwithLight Armoris the way to go, making every shot count with your New World Bow Build 2024.
That wraps up ourBow weapon guide. We’ve got moreweapon guidesincludingMusket,Rapier,Spear, andHatcheton the way, so keep an eye out for those. If you have any questions about the bow, feel free to check out theNew World wikifor more details. What do you think about the bow? Have you tried it? What kind of weapons do you prefer—bow or musket? Let us know in the comments below!
