The best Hatchet build in New World

The Hatchet is one of the strongest melee options in New World. On its own, it’s relatively strong. But when combined with the right secondary options and passive abilities, it can be particularly lethal.  

Players will often be searching for a backup option to pair with the Hatchet to get the most out of the weapon. While it’s strong by itself, the Hatchet is best paired with a ranged weapon to produce the best DPS results. Ideally, you’ll want to pair the Hatchet with a weapon like the Bow or Musket to keep your stats and attributes consistent. 

Still, there’s a ton of room for customization in New World. You can get away with pretty much any combination of attributes and stats that you want when using the weapons of your choice. As far as the Hatchet goes, though, here are the attributes and build you’ll want to use to make the most out of the weapon. 

Personal attributes

Your personal attributes will always define your New World character regardless of what weapon you’re using. When equipped with a Hatchet, you’ll want to be prioritizing Dexterity above all other attributes. 

Even though Strength is the main attribute that the Hatchet scales off of, Dexterity is still more desirable due to the bonuses that it gives for every 50 points spent on the attribute. Bonuses to your Critical Strike chance, as well as your capabilities to dodge, make Dexterity extremely strong for Hatchet players.

Here’s the general build you’ll want to play with when using a Hatchet. 

• Strength: 15
• Dexterity: 150
• Intelligence: 0
• Focus: 0
• Constitution: 50

Secondary weapons and armor

When using a Hatchet in your primary slot, you’ll want to opt for a Bow as your secondary weapon. The Bow makes the most out of the bonuses given to you by Dexterity and is an overall strong choice for when you need to duck out of a fight and deal damage from the backline while you build your health total back up.

In terms of the armor you wear, you’ll most likely be wearing medium or heavy armor. But you’ll mainly want to focus on the attributes and bonuses that the armor pieces bring to your character. Above all else, if a piece of armor applies a buff to one of your Hatchet’s attributes, you’ll want to be wearing it. Beyond that, look for armor that can give you extra Damage Reduction, Cooldown Reduction, and Critical Strike chance. 

Hatchet weapon mastery

When playing with a Hatchet, you’ll want to keep yourself focused on dealing as much damage as possible while keeping yourself alive. If you ever fall to a low hit point total, passive abilities like Frenzied Purge and Defy Death will allow you to stay alive and deal as much damage as you physically can. 

Hatchet players will find themselves relying on the strategy of jumping in and out of fights to deal damage in sporadic bursts. Even while you’re in the backline of an encounter regenerating to full health, you’ll still be able to keep your DPS numbers up with your secondary options. 

Plus, with active abilities like Berserk and Raging Torrent, you’ll be able to dish out a ton of damage in a short amount of time before having to inevitably fall back and deal damage from the backline through the Hatchet’s Throwing tree, as well as your Bow.