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

Sword and Shield / Life Staff Paladin Build

Build Purpose
General (PvE & PvP)
Strengths	Weaknesses
・Perfect for soloing ・High survivability ・Can swap between tanking and healing	・Low offensive power ・Not very agile

Build Stats and Skills

Stat Priority	Strength
Strength	5
Dexterity	5
Intelligence	5
Focus	100
Constitution	95

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

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Sword and Shield	Life Staff
Active Skills
Shield Rush Shield Bash Defiant Stance	Sacred Ground Orb of Protection Beacon
Passive Skills
Sturdy Shield Sturdy Grip Elemental Resistance Defensive Training High Grip Intimidating Bash One With The Shield Improved Rush Final Blow Invigorating Bulwark Final Count Down Concussive Bash Intimidating Rush Recuperation Restoration Defensive Formation	Absolved Mending Touch Blissful Touch Holy Ground Blessed Defensive Light Protector's Blessing Protector's Touch Shared Protection Protector's Strength Infused Light Aegis Radiance's Blessing Spirits United Glowing Focus Speed of Light

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Blessed Enchanted Exhilarate IV Fortifying Sacred Ground Hated Gambit IV Lifestealing Mending Protection Opportunist IV Rally IV Revitalizing Beacon Taunting IV
	Stats: Nomad (Constitution & Focus)
	Type: Tower Stats: Cleric (Focus & Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Nomad (Constitution & Focus)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Cleric (Focus & Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Nomad (Constitution & Focus)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Cleric (Focus & Constitution)
	Weight: Heavy Stats: Nomad (Constitution & Focus)

Build Playstyle

The Sword and Shield / Life Staff Paladin Build is a Healing & Defense centric build that relies on crowd control, debuffs, and healing to outlast enemies.

The Sword & Shield skills Shield Rush and Shield Bash are used when enemies are starting to pile up and get out of hand. Hunker down with Defiant Stance when you're being ganged up on.

The Life Staff skills present you with more options to deal damage with Orb of Protection and Beacon, which can also function as healing spells. These are the ideal skills for a Paladin build. Sacred Ground offers supplemental healing and is a good skill to have.

This build's passive skills are geared towards decreasing incoming damage, bolstering the effectivity of your shield, boosting healing output, and granting buffs on yourself and your allies.

Sword and Shield / War Hammer Battle Tank Build

Build Purpose
General (PvP and PVE)
Strengths	Weaknesses
・Superior defense, great for tanking ・Great crowd control and AoE skills	・Lesser damage output ・Poor mobility ・Heavily reliant on other classes for support

Build Stats and Skills

Stat Priority	Constitution → Strength
Strength	50
Dexterity	5
Intelligence	5
Focus	5
Constitution	145

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

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Sword and Shield	War Hammer
Active Skills
Whirling Blade Shield Bash Defiant Stance	Mighty Gavel Clear Out Path Of Destiny
Passive Skills
Empowered Stab Freeing Justice Counter Attack Achilles Heel Opportunity Intimidating Bash Concussive Bash Sturdy Shield Elemental Resistance Invigorating Bulwark Defensive Formation Sturdy Grip Defensive Training High Grip Final Count Down Restoration	Epitome Of Bonk! Exhaustive Attacks Summary Judgment Impact Fracture Expedite Hammer Time Contemption Power Through Pain Hardened Steel Outnumbered Power Cleaner Clean And Refreshed Swing Away I Can Do This All Day Prevailing Spirit Seismic Waves

Best Perks and Equipment

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

Build Playstyle

The Sword & Shield / War Hammer Knight Battle Tank Build is a hardy tank build that is both offensive and defensive but focuses a bit more on defense. It takes two weapons that scale well with Strength, using the best skills from both skill trees.

The Sword and Shield prioritizes defense with skills like Shield Bash and Defiant Stance. Whirling Blade can help add a bit of offensive force.

The War Hammer has active skills that can do crowd control like Clear Out and Path of Destiny, while also having good smiting potential with Mighty Gavel.

The Sword and Shield skills tend more toward defense, while War Hammer's passive skills skew towards offense.

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

Sword and Shield / War Hammer Pure Defender Tank Build

Build Purpose
General (PvP and PVE)
Strengths	Weaknesses
・Excellent Defense, supreme tanking ability ・Great crowd control and AoE	・Very little offensive power ・Slow, poor mobility ・Can do very little against long range attacks.

Build Stats and Skills

Stat Priority	Constitution
Strength	5
Dexterity	5
Intelligence	5
Focus	5
Constitution	195

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

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Sword and Shield	War Hammer
Active Skills
Shield Rush Shield Bash Defiant Stance	Clear Out Shockwave Path Of Destiny
Passive Skills
Intimidating Bash Concussive Bash Sturdy Shield Elemental Resistance One With The Shield Final Blow Improved Rush Intimidating Rush Defensive Formation Sturdy Grip Defensive Training Invigorating Bulwark Recuperation High Grip Final Count Down Restoration	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: Tower Stats: Sentry (Constitution)
	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 Sword & Shield / War Hammer Pure Defender 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 deflect as much damage as possible while also being able to stun or knock enemies down when things get too hot.

This build exclusively uses abilities from the Defender and Crowd Crusher skill trees, which are good at negating damage and crowd control. You can use Shield Bash, Shock Wave, and Path of Destiny to stun, while Shield Rush and Clear Out can knock enemies down.

The passive skills are focused on increasing the effectivity of defense and regeneration, as well as increasing stun debuffs on your enemies.

You generally want to be on the front lines and in the center of all the action, where it would be easier to stun enemies and deflect the majority of damage.

Sword and Shield / Great Axe Barbarian Build

Build Purpose
General (PvP and PVE)
Strengths	Weaknesses
・Powerful short range, decent AoE ・Diverse skills for charging, pulling, and knocking down ・Powerhouse tank	・Not as hardy as other tank builds ・Not very mobile ・Will have a hard time against long range and agile opponents

Build Stats and Skills

Stat Priority	Strength → Constitution
Strength	145
Dexterity	5
Intelligence	5
Focus	5
Constitution	50

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

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Sword and Shield	Great Axe
Active Skills
Leaping Strike Shield Bash Defiant Stance	Execute Whirlwind Gravity Well
Passive Skills
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	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

Best Perks and Equipment

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

Build Playstyle

The Sword & Shield / Great Axe Barbarian Build is an offense-focused tank build.. It takes two weapons that scale well with Strength, using the best skills from both skill trees.

The Sword and Shield has good offensive capabilities with Leaping Strike. Shield Bash can do crowd control when you're overwhelmed, and can be coupled with Defiant Stance, which bolsters your defenses.

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

Sword and Shield / Hatchet Max DPS Build

Build Purpose
PvE
Strengths	Weaknesses
・Hits hard and fast ・High crit, damage, and speed ・Good at chasing retreating enemies	・Lacking HP and defense ・Limited AoE

Build Stats and Skills

Stat Priority	Strength
Strength	195
Dexterity	5
Intelligence	5
Focus	5
Constitution	5

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

1st Weapon	2nd Weapon
Sword and Shield	Hatchet
Active Skills
Whirling Blade Reverse Stab Leaping Strike	Berserk Feral Rush Raging Torrent
Passive Skills
Unstoppable Stab Tactician Precision Mobility Opportunist Confidence Opportunity Tactical Strike Leadership Empowered Stab Freeing Justice Counter Attack Critical Precision Achilles Heel Final Strike Cowardly Punishment	Dispatch Crippling Strikes Enraged Strikes Against All Odds Frenzied Purge On The Hunt Berserking Refresh Berserking Purge Uninterruptible Berserk Defy Death Accumulated Power Relentless Fury Fortifying Strikes Desperate Refresh Aggressive Approach Final Blow

Best Perks and Equipment

Perks and Equipment Stats
Best Perks	Opportunist IV Exhilarate IV Vicious Enchanted Keenly Empowered Rally IV Brash IV Gambit IV
	Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Type: Round or Kite Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)
	Weight: Medium Stats: Soldier (Strength)

Build Playstyle

The Sword and Shield / Hatchet Max DPS Build is a DPS PvE build all about 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 passive skills from the Swordmaster and Berserker are geared to maximize crit chance, damage, and speed, making for deadly swings.

This build is unforgiving as it deals a lot of damage and its skills can either cover a lot of distance (Leaping Strike and Feral Rush), deal AoE damage (Whirling Blade) or increase attack and movement speed (Berserk and On the Hunt), or just deal a ton of damage in one go (Reverse Stab and Raging Torrent)

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