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Matches, shelter, a water source, and a hatchet are all that a rugged outdoor enthusiast needs in the wilderness. In New World, the hatchet is a weapon as opposed to a tool, and it is one of only two choices available that is capable of both ranged and melee damage in this MMO.
New World features a vast, open world with plenty of wilderness to explore, so a lot of players are building characters that could be Survivalists, Hunters, and Pirates, all of whom suit the hatchet in terms of roleplay. It is not the most glamorous of weapons, which is why it is often overlooked, but players shouldn't take the humble hatchet for granted.
Acquiring A Hatchet
A hatchet shouldn't be confused with the ax, which is crafted in the Workshop using the Engineering skill along with the other gathering tools. The ax is only used for chopping down trees to harvest lumber, and unlike the hatchet, can't be used as a weapon.
- Crafting: Hatchets are made at a Forge using the Weaponsmithing skill, and can be crafted at even the lowest levels with simple materials that can also be gathered right from the start. More complex recipes require rare or expensive materials, but for a player specializing in this weapon, it's worth it.
- Quest Rewards: Hatchets are commonly given as quest rewards, either as separate items or as random payments in chests. It's even easier to find one this way once a character reaches a settlement.
- Drops: The Drowned enemies that players first encounter on the beach might drop a hatchet upon defeat. It's also possible to find one while logging or mining in a Secret Stash.
Attributes That Scale With The Hatchet
Strength and Dexterity determine how skilled a character is with a hatchet, and although this spreads the Attribute points thin at early levels, there are several other weapons with similar requirements. Remember that some allotment is required for Constitution to raise a character's hit points.
Most of the weapons in New World either scale with Strength, Dexterity, or a combination of both. With no class restrictions to hold them back, creative players can combine their hatchet with several interesting choices of secondary weapons, as listed below.
Hatchet Mastery Trees
Like many of the other weapon Mastery Trees, the branches for the hatchet are divided into two sections. In this case, it's melee versus ranged — much like the spear, which has similar capabilities.
- Berserker: The hatchet may be small, but it's still an ax or sorts, and that means Berserk is one of the first skills every hatchet-wielding player should get. Feral Rush gives the character the ability to leap forward at a target and hit it twice, which is handy if the target is too close for a throw. Crippling Strikes makes the target immobile for two seconds.
- Throwing: Characters that want to use their hatchets primarily as ranged weapons will favor the right side of the Talent Tree. Rending Throw increases weapon damage and applies a damage over time (DoT) effect. This pairs nicely with Social Distancing, an ability that allows the character to throw the ax while dodging backward. Meanwhile, Infected Throw deals 150% of normal weapon damage and gives the target a Disease debuff.
Hatchet Weapon Combinations
There's no dual-wielding in New World. This is in keeping with the more realistic aesthetic, because dual-wielding tends to be a feature of more cartoony fantasy RPG games. Players can equip and wield only a single one-handed weapon, and not two of the same kind at the same time.
- Spear: The spear has a lot in common with the hatchet. Both weapons scale with Dexterity and Strength and can be used in either ranged or melee situations. Each is ideal for a Hunter, Logger, Trapper, or any character that lives a simple life in the great outdoors.
- Sword: Players can wield a sword on its own or with a shield if they plan to build a Defender. The sword has several different forms in New World for melee DPS fighters. With this combo, the hatchet would be mostly for ranged damage, which the sword lacks.
- Warhammer: The warhammer scales only with Strength. It's a big, intimidating weapon that might compensate for the less impressive hatchet for those into melee damage. The battleax, which also scales with Strength alone, can also slice through the same void if that's what the player would prefer.
- Bow: An ideal combination for characters that specialize in ranged damage, bows only use one Attribute point that's also shared with the hatchet, Dexterity. The hatchet would take care of any melee fighting action, but this would be a strong combination for precision PvP at a safe distance.
New World is available on PC.