Bows
Bows are a type of Ranged Weapon in New World. As the traditional Bows and Arrow type weapon, this weapon is perfect for those who want to lurk on the fringes of the battle. It has a quick reload time compared to the musket allowing for greater mobility at the expense of raw damage. Ranged Weapons in New World require ammo to use so don’t leave the town without a sufficient amount of Arrows. The Bow has two mastery trees:
- Skirmisher: a crowd control tree aimed at keeping enemies pinned in place and at a distance.
- Hunter: an offensive tree focussed on maximising ranged damage and rapid fire shots.
Dealing damage with a Bows will scale off a player’s Dexterity Attribute so you should focus your points in these areas to improve your damage.
Below you will find a breakdown of each skill in the mastery trees.
Best Damage Types
Each weapon has a unique way of dealing damage on top of their abilities. For bows, this is primarily Thrust damage. You should take care to look for perks and gems that prioritise Thrust Damage as other types will provide no additional bonuses to your character.
Additionally, Arrows will modify the damage your output with each tier of quality increasing this modifier. You should look to use the highest quality arrows available to you in order to maximise your damage.
Bow Mastery Trees
Active Abilities
- Poison Shot – Shoot a poison arrow that on hit or land creates a cloud of poison 3 meters wide that lasts for 6 seconds. Foes entering the cloud are Poisoned, dealing 10% weapon damager per second for 20s. Cooldown: 35 seconds.
- Evade Shot – Deal 145% weapon damage to all foes within 2 meters. Cooldown: 15 seconds.
- Rain of Arrows – Shoot a barrage of arrows 7 meters wide that deals 150% weapon damage. Cooldown: 25 seconds.
Active Ability Enhancement Traits
- Infected Arrow – Poison Shot’s poison now does 12% weapon damage per second for 20 seconds.
- Direct Hit – If you directly hit a target with Poison Shot it deals 200% more damage.
- Evasive Knockback – Evade Shot causes knockback of 2 meters
- Go the Distance – Evade Shot grants you a 15% Haste for 5 seconds (haste increase movement speed)
- Barred Arrows – Rain of Arrows causes Bleed dealing 85% weapon damage over 12 seconds (max 3 stacks)
- Hooked Arrows – Rain of Arrows causes a 15% slow for 4 seconds (Slow reduces target’s movement speed).
Passive Ability Traits
- Impale – If you hit a foe with 100% health cause 10% slow for 2 seconds.
- Dodge and Weave – After you dodge: Gain 10% Haste for 2 seconds.
- Mark – Deal 10% more damage to foes suffering from a debuff
- Battle Precision – Debuff and damage over time durations last 20% longer.
- Catch me if you Can – If surrounded by 3 or more foes within 3 meters of you, gain 20% Haste
- Evasive Tactics – After you dodge: deal 20% more damage for 5 seconds
- Closing In – Hitting a foe below 50% Health reduces bow ability cooldowns by 5%
- Hunter’s Insight – Hitting a foe with a debuff grants 5 stamina
- Archer’s Speed – Gain 10% Haste for 5 seconds when you swap to your bow. Cooldown: 10 seconds
- Knee Shot – Leg shots cause 10% slow for 2 seconds.
Active Abilities
- Rapid Shot – Shoot 3 consecutive arrows. The first two dealing 100% weapon damage each. The last shot causes a knockback and deals 125% weapon damage. Cooldown: 25 seconds
- Penetrating Shot – Shoot an arrow dealing 150% weapon damage that passes through targets and continues for 100 meters. Cooldown: 18 seconds
- Splinter Shot – Shoot an arrow out 10 meters which splits into 3 arrows, dealing 50% weapon damage. Cooldown: 22 seconds
Active Ability Enhancement Traits
- Rapid Accuracy – If all 3 arrows hit the same target, Rapid Shot’s cooldown is reduced by 50%
- Final Blow – The 3rd Shot of Rapid Shot deals 25% extra damage
- Blood Soaked Arrow – Increases damage by 10% after each enemy hit. (Max 50% Damage)
- Deep Strike – Penetrating Shot deals 20% more damage to targets 20 meters away or further
- Scatter Shot – Splinter Shot splits into 5 arrows
- Calculated – Reduce Ability cooldown by 10% per hit
Passive Ability Traits
- Long Range – Deal 20% more damage to foes at least 10 meters away
- Finishing Shot – If your target is below 50% health, you deal 20% more damage
- Surprise Attack – If you haven’t damaged a foe in the last 10 seconds, deal 20% extra damage
- Bullseye – Bow shots critical chance increased by 10%
- Hawkeye – When you land a headshot, you heal yourself for 10% of damage done
- Aim True – Heavy Attack’s arrows fly faster and deal 30% more damage
- Unbreakable Focus – Receive 20% less damage while aiming
- Arrow Range – Increased arrow distance before start of gravity by 100%
- Concussion – When you land a headshot, you deal 20% more damage and have a 50% chance to get your arrow back
- Opening Strike – Heavy attacks deal +20% damage to foes with 100% health
