What Weapon Perks are best for you in New World? (2023)

There's a lot that goes into your chosen weapon in New World. Whether it's picking the right weapon for you, or delving into weapon mastery, there's a lot to consider. On top of all this, certain pieces of gear can come with weapon-specific perks that enhance special moves in your arsenal. If you want to make the most out of your character during combat, these weapon perks are key to further boosting your capabilities.

This guide will take you through each and every weapon in New World, listing out all the perks available to players and what they change about certain attacks. It'll also include which pieces of gear these perks can be found on, to help you find an item with your coveted perk attached.

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What Are Weapon Perks?

A weapon perk adds a modification to a weapon-based cooldown, changing its properties. They can be found on appropriate weapons and armour that's of uncommon rarity or higher. These changes can lead to boosts in damage as you'd expect, but they can also grant useful buffs and other boons that can keep your alive in the midst of combat. Even a single one of these weapon perks can significantly alter the direction in which your character's build is headed - so use them wisely!

Weapon perks can be found randomly on weapons and armour you find and craft. If you're on the hunt for a specific hunt, be prepared to spend a decent chunk of time looking for the perfect piece of gear with the perk you need attached, as their presence is not always certain.

Below we'll list out every weapon perk you can find in New World, listed under the weapon they affect. We'll use the following format to convey important information about the perks:

• Perk Name: Brief description of what it does. What equipment it can be found on.

Bow Perks

• Empowering Splinter Shot: Hits with Splinter Shot grants empower. Found on armour and bows.

• Energizing Evade Shot: Gain a small amount of stamina after hitting enemies with Evade Shot. Found on armour and bows.
• Enfeebling Poison Shot: Poison Shot now applies weaken. Found on armour and bows.
• Fortifying Rain of Arrows: Hits with Rain of Arrows now grant the user the fortify buff. Found on armour and bows.
• Penetrating Rapid Shot: Increases armor penetration of the final arrow in Rapid Shot. Found on armour and bows.

Fire Staff Perks

• Accelerating Flamethrower: Applying burn to enemies using Flamethrower grants haste. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Efficient Burnout: Increases mana regen after using Burnout. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Empowering Fireball: Increases the damage done by Fireball on impact. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Empowering Meteor Shower: Meteor Shower does increased damage to enemies with full health. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Refreshing Pillar of Fire: Reduce the cooldown of Pillar of Fire for every enemy hit with the ability. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Siphoning Incinerate: Restores a small amount of mana per hit with Incinerate. Found on armour and fire staves.

Great Axe Perks

• Crippling Reap: Slows enemies hit with Reap if they are under half health. Found on armour and fire staves.
• Fortifying Whirlwind: Hitting enemies with Whirlwind grants fortify. Found on armour and great Axes.
• Insatiable Gravity Well: Gain a portion of damage dealt by Gravity Well back as health, and cast a smaller version of the ability around you. Found on armour and great Axes.
• Mending Execute: Gain a small potion of health back on kills with Execute. Found on armour and great Axes.
• Refreshing Charge: Using Charge on a full health target reduces its cooldown. Found on armour and great Axes.

Hatchet Perks

• Energizing Feral Rush: Gain a small amount of stamina with every hit of Feral Rush. Found on armour and hatchets.

• Energized Rending Throw: Rending Throw grants stamina. Found on armour and hatchets.
• Keen Berserk: Increases crit chance while under half health during Berserker. Found on armour and hatchets.
• Mending Infected Throw: Infected Throw returns health on kill. Found on armour and hatchets.
• Refreshing Torrent: Every hit made by Raging Torrent reduces all other hatchet cooldowns. Found on armour and hatchets.
• Vorpal Distancing Throw: Distancing Throw headshots do additional damage. Found on armour and hatchets.

Ice Gauntlet Perks

• Deadly Frost: Frigid Showers will deal additional damage to enemies with frostbite. Found on armour and ice gauntlets.
• Healing Tomb: Gain health after leaving Entomb with full mana. Found on armour and ice gauntlets.
• Iced Refresh: Upon killing an enemy, significantly lower ice-based cooldowns. Found on armour and ice gauntlets.
• Pylon Burst: Adds a large AOE attack around the pillar when Pylon is used. Found on armour and ice gauntlets.
• Unbroken Winds: Gain mana after Wind Chill. Found on armour and ice Gauntlets.
• Unending Thaw: Frost debuffs remain on enemies for a small amount of time after they leave Ice Storm. Found on armour and ice gauntlets.

Life Staff Perks

• Accelerating Light's Embrace: Grants haste to ally's hit with Light's Embrace if they are below full health. Found on armour and life staves.

• Blessed: Gain a significant healing bonus. Found on life staves.
• Energizing Splash of Light: Allies hit with Splash of Light gain stamina. Found on armour and life staves.
• Fortifying Sacred Ground: Allies healed with sacred ground gain fortify. Found on armour and life staves.
• Mending Protection: Increases the healing power of Orb of Protection if it hits an ally with no active buffs. Found on armour and life staves.
• Refreshing Divine Embrace: Using Divine Embrace on targets below half health reduces its cooldown. Found on armour and life staves.
• Revitalizing Beacon: Using Beacon increases healing received for a short time. Found on armour and life staves.

Musket Perks

• Accelerating Traps: Increases movement speed after deploying a trap. Found on armour and muskets.
• Crippling Powder Burn: Enemies hit by Powder Burn are slowed. Found on armour and muskets.
• Empowering Shooter's Stance: Hitting an enemy while in Shooter's Stance grants empower. Found on armour and muskets.
• Energizing Stopping Power: Gain some stamina with every kill using Stopping Power. Found on armour and muskets.
• Mending Sticky Bombs: Regain some health on kill with sticky bombs. Found on armour and muskets.
• Refreshing Power Shot: Kills with Power Shot reduces its own cooldown. Found on armour and muskets.

Rapier Perks

• Energizing Flourish: Gain a small amount of stamina after hitting enemies with Flourish. Found on armour and rapiers.
• Keen Tondo: Increases critical chance against enemies affected by bleeds applied with Tondo. Found on armour and rapiers.
• Leaching Flurry: Each hit of Flurry returns a small portion of the damage done as health. Found on armour and rapiers.
• Refreshing Fleche: Hitting an enemy with a critical backstab using fleche reduces its cooldown significantly. Found on armour and rapiers.
• Sundering Riposte: Riposte now applies Rend on hit. Found on armour and rapiers.

Shield Perks

• Accelerated Defiant Stance: Increases movement speed after using defiant stance. Found on armour and shields.

• Arcane Shield Ward: Slightly reduces arcane damage you take. Found on shields.
• Flame Shield Ward: Slightly reduces fire damage you take. Found on shields.
• Fortifying Shield Rush: Gain fortify after hitting an enemy with shield rush. Found on armour and shields.
• Frozen Shield Ward: Slightly reduces ice damage you take. Found on shields.
• Lightning Shield Ward: Slightly reduces lightning damage you take. Found on shields.
• Nature Shield Ward: Slightly reduces nature damage you take. Found on shields.
• Repulsing Shield Bash: Shield bash knocks enemies back a greater distance. Found on armour and shields.
• Slash Shield Ward: Slightly reduces slash damage you take. Found on shields.
• Strike Shield Ward: Slightly reduces strike damage you take. Found on shields.
• Thrust Shield Ward: Slightly reduces thrust damage you take. Found on shields
• Void Shield Ward: Slightly reduces void damage you take. Found on shields.

Spear Perks

• Bleeding Sweep: Sweep's finishing blow now applies a bleed. Found on armour and spears.
• Enfeebling Skewer: Hits with Skewer now apply the weaken debuff. Found on armour and spears.
• Fortifying Perforate: Gain a stack of perforate with every hit of perforate. Found on armour and spears.
• Keen Vault Kick: Vault Kick increases critical hit chance for a short period of time. Found on armour and spears.
• Leaching Cyclone: Every time you hit with Cyclone, you heal a portion of weapon damage dealt. Found on armour and spears.
• Sundering Javelin: Javelin hits apply rend to enemies. Found on armour and spears.

Sword Perks

• Contagious Reverse Stab: Hitting an enemy with Reverse Stab transfers an active debuff from the user to the enemy. Found on armour and swords.
• Empowering Leaping Strike: Increases the damage dealt to enemies slowed by Leaping Strike (must be upgraded with Cowardly Punishment via the weapon mastery tree). Found on armour and swords.
• Empowering Whirling Blade: Increases damage of Whirling Blade if three or more enemies are hit. Found on armour and swords.

War Hammer Perks

• Empowered Armour Breaker: If Armor Breaker breaks through a block the following attack does additional damage. Found on armour and war hammers.
• Leaching Path of Destiny: Heal for a percentage of damage done with Path of Destiny. Found on armour and war hammers.
• Penetrating Wrecking Ball: Wrecking Ball penetrates armor. Found on armour and war hammers.
• Refreshing Mighty Gavel: Mighty Gavel Kills refresh the cooldown of Might Gavel. Found on armour and war hammers.
• Repulsing Clear Out: Clear Out knocks enemies back an even greater distance. Found on armour and war hammers.
• Sundering Shockwave: Shockwave now applies rend. Found on armour and war hammers.

We've made it to the end! With all the weapon perks covered, you now know all the ways in which your arms of choice can be twisted and altered to fit a certain niche. If after reading this you've developed a hunger for more perks info - give our damage perks guide and defensive perks guide a read!