New World Beginner War Guide

New World is a MMORPG developed by Amazon that is currently holding a Preview session until September 4th. The topic of the guide today is the basics of fighting in a War. For those who have not yet gotten to that point in the game, a War is essentially a 50 versus 50 battle between two Companies over control of a province. Other players can sign up to join on either side, but the two main Companies have the power to kick and replace players. For new players just starting out, it can be extremely intimidating to join your first War especially when you are around level 25-30 and there are level 50 monsters running at you with hatchets. Go through each tip in this guide and it will improve your success in these fights!

1. Stick with a group

New World is a team game through and through. Going alone is just asking to get CC’ed to death. As a beginner, your gear will almost always be worse than someone on the opposing team. Going alone means even the slightest amount of CC will lock you down long enough for the enemy team to take you out. Staying with your own team members means that they will have your back in a fight and you will have a much greater chance of surviving the initial damage.

That being said, if you are are a mainly ranged or staff player, there is a little bit more leeway with how much you should stick with teammates. If you do decide to go on your own, just be constantly scanning your environment for enemies. Even a single hatchet can lock you down with the current meta and you don’t want to be stuck in that situation.

Sticking with your team also means that you should always have their back in a fight. When they get CC’d, you have to jump into it and stagger the enemy back to allow your ally to retreat. Make sure to also time your abilities to maximize the amount of CC time your squad can inflict. If you see your buddy shield bashing the enemy, wait a second before initiating your own CC. This enables you to lock down the enemy for a much longer amount of time compared to stacking everything together at once.

2. Get organized with your company

This tip only applies to those of you who are joining the battle with your company. Always get organized prior to the battle in terms of general strategies, weapons everyone is bringing, ensuring all participants have potions/food, setting up communication channels, etc. This can go a long way especially for new players who have not joined a War before. The leaders generally have more experience either through playing in the Alpha, or just participating in Wars as soon as the Preview started. You don’t necessarily have to talk in the Discord (or whatever service you use), but definitely listen to what they have to say.

Having everyone in your company organized and ready means that you are maximizing the number of good fighting combatants of the 50 that you can bring. If you don’t have all 50 Company members ready to join in the battle, there will inevitably be a few randoms that may or may not contribute as much to the War.

3. Communicate constantly with your team

During the battle there are 3 points that your team will either defend or attack prior to fighting for the fortress. Communication is absolutely key in letting your team know what the enemy movements are like. For example, on defense you should always let your team know if they are pushing a point in large numbers. If it is just you and 1-2 other players on point C and you see a zerg rush of 20 hatchets rushing the point, immediately call out in the voice chat that you see 20 strong pushing C and that you need reinforcements right away. Ideally you will be in the call with your company, but you can also spam the chat if need be.

Knowing where to reinforce is a huge advantage due to how stagger and damage works in New World. Greater numbers allow you to constantly lock down opponents and this advantage pays off even more when you can successfully send their members to respawn. Keep in mind though that you should be careful of AoE attacks when in large groups since even a few fire mages can deal a ton of damage to your whole team if left unchecked. More people also means more body blocking and potentially being trapped in the AoE damage.

4. Always have someone on siege equipment

The siege equipment in this game is crazy good at the moment. The guns can shred a player in just a few seconds and the cannons deal massive AoE damage. Always, always have someone using the equipment regardless of whether you’re on offence or defense. Typically this role is allocated to lower level players who can’t contribute as much due to their limited stats and equipment, but if nobody else is on it then YOU have to jump into it.

Efficient usage of siege equipment not only allows you to kill opponents, but forces the enemy to give up strategic positions. Instead of just bunkering down on the point, the threat of siege equipment (and other AoE for that matter) gives them a choice of either receiving tons of damage or backing off.

However, be mindful that muskets and bows can snipe you from a distance. A level 50 with a legendary bow and 90% stat allocation going to Dexterity will likely be able to take you out if you are caught unaware. If you are receiving tons of damage, feel free to back off since you are no good to the team dead anyways.

5. Snipe enemy siege equipment users (or destroy them using kegs)

Like mentioned above, siege equipment in New World is crazy good at the moment. You want to use yours to full effect and deny enemy usage of theirs. Best way to do this is to simply snipe whichever player is operating the equipment. They are going to be exposed in a position right beside the equipment when they are actively using it. As long as it is not pointed at you, you should be constantly firing at them if you are playing a ranged weapon.

Attacking these players takes priority over anything else other than players actually on the point. Another advantage to doing this is that they are also one of the only stationary targets on the battlefield. Pretty much every other user will be moving around unless they are in the middle of casting a spell. Aiming at the head of these players will do surprising amounts of damage, and abilities will also consistently land.

Kegs can be bought at the armory with points you obtain when you eliminate enemies. They are used to destroy enemy siege equipment and you should usually bring at least one with you just in case the opportunity comes up. The reason I don’t really recommend a beginner to do this is that the enemy is likely protecting their equipment and you will be fairly squishy. However, there is no one better to set a keg than a beginner if your team is coordinated. Communicate with your team that you are lighting the keg and hopefully the higher levels will protect you while you do your job. This is even more effective considering that body blocking is a thing in New World. Also, don’t forget to actually light the keg once it is set.

6. Crouch to avoid enemy ranged players

This tip applies mainly to when you need to heal or you see someone actively firing in your direction. Crouching in New World is a fairly powerful function since projectile weapons have to have a direct impact on your hitbox to deal damage. Crouching behind an obstacle minimizes your exposure and essentially keeps you safe while you replenish your health and mana.

Crouching even applies when all you have is grass to protect you. If you have ever used a musket or bow, you will realize that the FOV is reduced when they are aiming down their sights. It is difficult as a ranged user to see beyond even a small hill and you can use this to your advantage by making things even more difficult for your opponent. The small head/shoulder that your opponent sees will be even smaller once you crouch. To reach you, they will have to move up closer and be put at risk of getting ganked by your teammates that are using melee weapons.

7. Stock up on potions hours before the War

There seems to always be a scramble for potions in the 1-1.5 hours prior to a war in the settlement. Purchase Tier 2 and above potions for the War at least 3-4 hours in advance, or even the night before. This ensures that you will have a decent stock to use while fighting.

Ideally you should have at least 2-3 full stacks of 10 potions for the battle. Melee players will likely use this amount at the very least and ranged players are hit or miss depending on how aggressive they are. It also doesn’t hurt to have more potions on hand even after the War since you will always use them later on.

For those of you who aren’t interested in Wars but want to make profit, selling potions at towns prior to a War can net you some sweet income. Don’t try to sell it at a crazy price like 100 gold/potion and you should have no problems making some quick cash.

8. Eat some high quality food

Food lasts quite a while and typically you don’t need to eat too many throughout the War. If you die you do lose your bonus, but it is worth it for the bonuses you get. Most food items not only give you passive health per second, but also increases your Constitution as well. Buying food off of the Market or people in your Company is one of the cheapest ways to boost your survivability.

If you don’t have the money to afford high quality food, you can simply make your own by hunting a few turkeys/rabbits and elk/wolves. The materials provided by these animals should be enough for you to make Tier 2 food which is adequate for beginner War participants.

9. Coordinate Fire AoE spells on point when the enemy pushes

Many Fire Mages use their abilities to hit the most amount of people possible. This is the best way to kill enemies for pretty much every situation except for when enemies are pushing the point. When they are rushing the point, have every single nearby Fire Mage concentrate their abilities on that one single location. The stacked damage from this tactic either forces the enemies off the point, or weakens them enough for reinforcements to mop them up.

This coordinated attack method is also used to buy time for reinforcements from other points to get to you. Every second you are able to delay contributes to your team winning the War. It isn’t possible to single-handedly stop them from being on the point, but you do have the power to delay them as much as you can.

10. Use Inferno Mines on points and gates

When triggered, these mines cover an area in fire and deal damage to enemies standing around it. It is most effectively used as an area denial device and most teams place these at chokepoints or on the points themselves. If everyone on the team uses these, it can effectively slow down enemy pushes onto points and buy your team time to bring reinforcements. It will also soften up the enemy players for your team to fight due to the damage it deals.

Whenever you have to respawn or retreat for any reason, definitely pick up a few of these and plant them in common areas that enemies attack. Some players also like to sneak behind enemy lines and place these in the grass areas that enemies use to move between points. However, I don’t really recommend it since it seems that the reward is fairly low for the risk involved.

11. Bring a Lifestaff

Currently the Lifestaff has the best charge ability that can be used as both a transport and an escape mechanism. With just 5-6 skill leves, it can be used to easily take you out of the danger zone or to bring you to another point in record time. If you are Level 30, there is no reason to not bring the Lifestaff since you have 3 slots available. If you are under 30, I would still heavily recommend it since it will greatly improve your chances at surviving and being useful.

If you have spent a decent amount of time in this weapon, the spell that blocks ranged abilities is also invaluable in certain situations. Blocking ranged damage allows your team to stay longer in exposed positions and can also be used to protect your siege equipment operators. This ability is also a great choice for when the opponent is ranged-heavy since it effectively nullifies much of their damage potential. At the same time, the range isn’t great for this ability and is vulnerable to melee rushes since you are in the thick of the fighting.

12. Use Fire Resistance Potions

Fire mages and their AoE spells can deal a ton of damage to you as a beginner. Even just one spell can be enough to take out up to half of your health unless you brought elemental resistance armour. To combat this, prepare some fire resistance potions prior to battle and use them to reduce damage. It is a cheap and effective way to improve your battle sustainability. If you are not able to create any yourself or you don’t have the supplies to do so, ask your Company to lend or sell you some.

Conclusion

There are a lot of variables that go into determining who wins the War such as level, equipment, fighting ability, and team organization. When it comes to level, equipment and ability, as a beginner you pretty much have to work with what you have. Unless your Company is kind enough to drop you some level-appropriate loot, there really is nothing else you can do to develop your character in such a short amount of time.

With that in mind, focusing on teamwork and utilizing all of the tips in this guide will give you the best possible chance at helping your team win. There are mixed feelings about large-scale PvP currently, but many players I have spoken to have had a blast regardless of whether they win or lose. Keep in mind that things will likely change by the time the full release comes around. For the time being, please try to enjoy as many aspects of this format as you can!

Thank you all for reading this guide and please let me know if you have any additional suggestions or feedback! Follow me on Twitter here for updates on future guides.

For any players new to the game, check out our list of beginner tips and our second list of tips that will improve your experience of New World Preview 🙂

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