Best Great Axe Builds for PVE and PVP (Update 1.2.1)

This is a guide on the best Great Axe builds in New World. Read on to see the recommended stats, skills, armor, and playstyle guides of the best and latest Great Axe builds for PVE and PVP as of Update 1.2.1!

Great Axe / War Hammer Pure Tank Build

Build Stats and Skills

Stats obtained through armor are not accounted for in this table.

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Great Axe	War Hammer
Active Skills
Reap Maelstrom Gravity Well	Shockwave Clear Out Path Of Destiny
Passive Skills
Critical Gains Frustration Feed The Collector Hunger Enduring Strike Mauler's Resolve Gravity Storm's Reach Absorb No Reprieve Mauler's Fury Heavy Pull Crowded Protection Crowded Well Unyielding	Frailty Meteoric Crater Outnumbered Facilitated Expedition Resurgence Power Cleaner Clean And Refreshed Swing Away Aftershock I Can Do This All Day Guarded Sprint Concussive Impact Prevailing Spirit Acceleration Seismic Waves Stimulated Reduction

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Regenerating Taunting IV Wilderness Ward IV Refreshing Toast Purify Divine
	Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Type: None Stats: -
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Sentry (Constitution)

Build Playstyle

The Great Axe / War Hammer Mauler Pure Tank Build is a pure tank build that relies solely on Constitution for survivability. This build does not have much offensive capability, leaving the damage-dealing to the DPS builds. What this build does have is the ability to pull enemies close and to keep them in place with stuns and debuffs.

This build primarily uses abilities mostly from the Great Axe's Mauler skill tree, and the War Hammer's Crowd Crusher skill tree, which are all good at dealing with swarms of enemies. You can use the Great Axe to pull enemies close to you with Reap, Maelstrom, and Gravity Well, then stop enemy movement with the War Hammer skills Shockwave, Clear Out, and Path of Destiny (with the Seismic Waves passive ability).

The passive skills are focused on more effectively stunning enemies, and increasing the range of your pulls. HP regen skills and perks are also important to this build, as you want the enemy to have a hard time taking you down.

You generally want to be on the front lines and in the center of all the action., where it would be easier to pull and stun multiple enemies at the same time. This would make it easier for your DPS allies to rain hell on them.

Great Axe / Sword and Shield Battle Tank Build

Build Stats and Skills

Stats obtained through armor are not accounted for in this table.

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Great Axe	Sword and Shield
Active Skills
Execute Whirlwind Gravity Well	Leaping Strike Shield Bash Defiant Stance
Passive Skills
Frustration Greed Death's Embrace Unstoppable Greed Executioner Gusting Winds Unending Winds Surrounded Mauler's Resolve Center Of Attention Mauler's Fury Enduring Strike Revenge Crowded Protection Crowded Well Unyielding	Empowered Stab Freeing Justice Counter Attack Achilles Heel Final Strike Intimidating Bash Concussive Bash Sturdy Shield Elemental Resistance Final Blow Defensive Formation Sturdy Grip Defensive Training High Grip Final Count Down Restoration

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Gambit IV Repulsing Shield Bash Retaliate IV Sturdy Taunting IV Physical Ward IV Wilderness Ward IV
	Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Type: Kite or Tower Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)

Build Playstyle

The Great Axe / Sword & Shield Battle Tank Build strikes a fine balance between offense and defense. It takes two weapons that scale well with Strength, using the best skills from both skill trees.

The Great Axe's active skills for this build can do very different things: Gravity Well can pull enemies together, Whirlwind can do AoE damage, and Execute can go for the kill.

The Sword and Shield on the other hand has good all-around skills with Leaping Strike, Shield Bash, and Defiant Stance, which enable you to adapt to any situation, be it offensive or defensive.

The Great Axe's passive skills improve your offense while the Sword and Shield skills improve your defense.

The War Hammer / Sword & Shield Battle Tank Build is a formidable force on the front lines, boasting capable offensive power and solid defensive grit when in a pinch. This build is very versatile and can adapt to any situation on the fly.

Great Axe / War Hammer Glass Cannon Build

Build Stats and Skills

Stats obtained through armor are not accounted for in this table.

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Great Axe	War Hammer
Active Skills
Charge Execute Whirlwind	Armor Breaker Mighty Gavel Wrecking Ball
Passive Skills
Frenzied Momentum Unpredictable Strike Critical Gains Frustration Keen Edge Blood Lust Greed Death's Embrace Critical Condition Executioner's Speed Unstoppable Greed Executioner Gusting Winds Unending Winds Surrounded Mauler's Resolve	Epitome Of Bonk! Quick Recovery Summary Judgment Impact Fracture Expedite Justice For All Hammer Time Contemption Power Through Pain Safety Measures Breathing Room Outnumbered I Can Do This All Day Guarded Sprint Acceleration Facilitated Expedition

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Rally IV Brash IV Exhilarate IV Gambit IV Opportunist IV
	Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Type: None Stats: -
	Weight: Light or Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Light or Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Light or Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Light or Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Light or Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)

Build Playstyle

The Great Axe / War Hammer Glass Cannon Reaper Build is centered on absolute melee power. All Stat points will be put into Strength first, creating a character who is fragile but can deal the most amount of damage in a single blow.

Because they are fragile, speed and mobility is preferred over tanking damage, hence the need for Light Armor. All Passive skills are focused on increasing damage output with a few ones focusing on Haste buffs for mobility.

This build is intended primarily for PvE, as the attack patterns of enemies are much easier to block and avoid compared to human enemies. This is intended for more advanced players who are confident in their ability to consistently dodge enemy attacks.

Great Axe / Hatchet Dual Axe DPS Build

Build Stats and Skills

Stats obtained through armor are not accounted for in this table.

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Great Axe	Hatchet
Active Skills
Reap Charge Execute	Berserk Feral Rush Raging Torrent
Passive Skills
The Collector Hunger Fatal Attraction Frenzied Momentum Unpredictable Strike Unstoppable Greed Executioner Greed Executioner's Speed Death's Embrace Critical Gains Frustration Keen Edge Critical Condition Feed Blood Lust	On The Hunt Berserking Refresh Berserking Purge Uninterruptible Berserk Dispatch Crippling Strikes Aggressive Approach Final Blow Enraged Strikes Relentless Fury Against All Odds Fortifying Strikes Aimed Throw Critical Throw Rejuvinating Crits Defy Death

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Opportunist IV Exhilarate IV Vicious Enchanted Keenly Empowered Mending Execute
	Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Type: None Stats: -
	Weight: Medium Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Barbarian (Strength → Constitution)

Build Playstyle

The Great Axe / Hatchet Dual Axe Manhunter Build is a DPS build all about doing fast damage. You stick close to the tank, who will keep the enemies in check, while you dish out mad damage from the side.

The Great Axe passive skills are geared to maximize crit chance and damage, making for deadly swings, and the Hatchet passive skills emphasize speed and attack damage.

This build is unforgiving as it deals a lot of damage and is excellent at chasing down retreating enemies, as its skills can either cover a lot of distance (Charge and Feral Rush) or increase movement speed (On the Hunt) or strike from afar (Aimed Throw) or pull an enemy in, stopping them from escaping (Reap).

Great Axe / Rapier CC Build

Build Stats and Skills

Stats obtained through armor are not accounted for in this table.

Rapier	Great Axe
Rapier	Great Axe
Active Skills
Tondo Flourish And Finish Flurry	Charge Maelstrom Gravity Well
Passive Skills
Refreshing Strikes Engarde Unerring Overwhelm Thirst For Blood With Flair Light Edge Fleeting Strikes And Again Heavy Puncture Swagger To The Bone Proper Spacing Fuel Finalize Bloody End	Greed Heavy Pull Critical Gains Death's Embrace Storm's Reach Enduring Strike Frenzied Momentum Gravity Absorb Keen Edge No Reprieve Crowded Well Unpredictable Strike Feed Unyielding Mauler's Fury

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Enfeebling Maelstrom Keenly Jagged Insatiable Gravity Well Keen Awareness Retaliate IV
	Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	Type: None Stats: -
	Weight: Medium Stats: Brigand (Dexterity + Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Ranger (Dexterity)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Brigand (Dexterity + Constitution)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Ranger (Dexterity)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Brigand (Dexterity + Constitution)

Build Playstyle

This build focuses on using the Great Axe as an engaging tool to set up your Rapier for Tondo.

To start, equip your Great Axe and try to close into your enemy as much as possible. If you feel like you're close enough, use Charge then Maelstrom to pull your enemy into you. If they dodge it, simply use a Heavy Attack to pull your targets. Once they're pulled, hit them with a Gravity Well to put them in place. Switch back to your Rapier as soon as possible and hit them with a Tondo, for the bleed, then Flurry. As they dodge, finish them off with Flourish and Finish.

This build can have a hard time approaching enemies in PVP and will be hard countered by a more mobile enemy, and missing your skills can be punishing, so you'll have to be very careful.

New World Related Guides

Best PVE and PVP Builds

List of Role Builds

List of Role Builds
Best Tank Builds	Best Healer Builds	Best DPS Builds

Best Weapon Builds

Best PVE and PVP Weapon Builds
Sword & Shield	Rapier	Hatchet	Spear
Great Axe	War Hammer	Bow	Musket
Fire Staff	Life Staff	Ice Gauntlet	Void Gauntlet