New World has added the fearsome Blunderbuss with Heart of Madness; a weapon designed to do high DPS at close to mid-range. If you’re looking for how to craft it, or what the best builds are for PvE and PvP, here’s a rundown of everything you need to know.
Set in the volatile universe of Aeternum, Amazon Games’ flagship MMORPG, New World, blends history with fantasy to create an experience quite unlike any other.
With a vast array of different weapons at your disposal, the March 2022 ‘Heart of Madness‘ update has added the fearsome Blunderbuss to the fray; a weapon synonymous with dealing huge amounts of damage at close range.
Looking to pick one up for yourself in order to start causing chaos? Here’s how to craft a Blunderbuss in New World, as well as the best builds for PvE and PvP to help you dominate the competition.
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How to craft a Blunderbuss in New World
As with every new weapon, there’s a little bit of to and fro involved if you’re looking to add it to your arsenal.
You’ll be able to craft an Iron Blunderbuss at any Tier 2 workshop, but you’ll need the following materials to do so:
- 12 x Iron Ingot
- 3 x Refined Wood
- 2 x Course Leather
From here, you can start crafting higher-level versions; including the Thunderbuss, which has to be one of our all-time favorite weapon names.
Best weapon pairs & Core Attributes
As the Blunderbuss scales with the Intelligence and Strength Core Attributes, it opens it up for a lot of different pairings.
Here are all of the different weapons you can pair this one-shot monster with, with our personal favorites being the Great Axe, War Hammer, and Fire Staff.
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| Pairing weapon | Why? |
| Great Axe | As the Great Axe scales with strength too, it perfectly synergizes with the Blunderbuss. It offers a lot of lockdown CC, allowing you to ensnare enemies then one-shot them with your Blunderbuss |
| War Hammer | As the War Hammer scales with strength too, it perfectly synergizes with the Blunderbuss. It offers a lot of lockdown CC, allowing you to ensnare enemies then one-shot them with your Blunderbuss |
| Fire Staff | If you’re looking to play a high DPS build, then using the Fire Staff allows you to deal mid range damage at a fast pace, and when switched out for the Blunderbuss can become lethal |
| Ice Gauntlet | Scaling with Intelligence, the Ice Gauntlet is a decent pairing for your Blunderbuss. Again, it provides good CC to lock enemies in one place. |
| Sword | Scaling with Strength, the Sword offers decent CC for you to pair with your Blunderbuss. It’s less effective than the Great Axe and War Hammer, though, hence its a little further down this list |
| Hatchet | The Hatchet / Blunderbuss combo is perfect for fast paced players. With a lot of survivability due to Berserk and Defy Death, you can get up close and personal (perfect for the Blunderbuss) and dart away to safety without a scratch |
New World Blunderbuss best PvE build: Skills & passives
For those who are more interested in slaying the horrors that plague Aeternum, you’ll want to ensure that your character has the best PvE build out there.
Below are our suggestions for where you’ll want to distribute your points, with Unload being your key passive:
| Skill | What it does |
| Azoth Shrapnel Blast (fully upgraded) | Fire 5 shots in a horizontal fan in front of you while pushing yourself backwards. Each shot will deal 58% weapon damage. Every consecutive hit on the same target will deal 15% less damage than the previous hit |
| Mortar Charge (fully upgraded) | Load the blunderbuss with heavy canisters. For the next 15s or 3 shots, shots will no longer fire multiple pellets but instead will fire a heavy, fast, diving, mortar-style canister that causes a tall explosion upon impact, dealing 100% weapon damage in a 3m area. If the target is 10m away or further, they will take 35% increased damage from the mortar |
| Blast Shot (fully upgraded) | Shot immense wind out of the blunderbuss knocking down any target immediately in front of you. Blast Shot deals 70% weapon damage |
| Passive Skill | What it does |
| Run & Gun | Reloading gives you a speed boost of 40% that decays over 1s |
| Ramp | Reloads give you a damage boost of 4% for 6s. Stacks up to 4 times |
| Future Endeavors | If you land 4 or more pellets in a single shot, restore 1 stamina per pellet hit |
| Deep Load | The last shot loaded into the blunderbuss will do 15% increased damage |
| Fortifying Aggression | Successful hits within 3m grant Fortify, increasing damage absorption by 10% for 2s |
| Unload | The next shot fired within 6s after triggering an ability will have 9 pellets instead of 6 |
New World Blunderbuss best PvP build: Skills & passives
If tearing the hordes asunder isn’t enough of a challenge for you, demolish your fellow travelers with the Blunderbuss by utilizing the best PvP build in the game.
Below are all of the skills and passives you’ll need to prove yourself Aeternum’s greatest marksman or markswoman:
| Skill | What it does |
| Claw Shot (fully upgraded) | Shoot forward a four pronged claw attached to a chain from the muzzle. The projectile will up to 14m and cannot pull you upwards more than 3m. If it connects to an enemy it will deal 40% weapon damage and inflict root for 1s before quickly pulling you towards them. The pull can be canceled by any ability use or primary fire. Root ends early if the target is hit 4 times |
| Azoth Shrapnel Blast (fully upgraded) | Fire 5 shots in a horizontal fan in front of you while pushing yourself backwards. Each shot will deal 58% weapon damage. Every consecutive hit on the same target will deal 15% less damage than the previous hit |
| Blast Shot (fully upgraded) | Shoot immense wind out of the blunderbuss knocking down any target immediately in front of you. Blast Shot deals 70% weapon damage |
| Passive Skill | What it does |
| Ramp | Reloads give you a damage boost of 4% for 6s. Stacks up to 4 times |
| Future Endeavors | If you land 4 or more pellets in a single shot, restore 1 stamina per pellet hit |
| Deep Load | The last shot loaded into the blunderbuss will do 15% increased damage |
| On a Roll | Triggering an ability decreases all damage taken by 3% for 10s. Stacks up to 5 times |
| Bite Back | Every pellet that is a headshot reduces all cooldowns by 0.5% |
| Buckshot | Deal 10% increased damage to any target as long as you have not damaged them in the last 8s |
So that’s how to craft a Blunderbuss in New World, as well as the best PvE and PvE builds to ensure that you etch yourself into the history books.
Looking to conquer Aeternum in style? Be sure to check out our other New World guides:
How to get the Waning Crescent staff | Life Staff mastery tree | Fiber and Linen guide | Great Axe guide | Fishing guide | Where to find sheep | Candied Strawberries | AoE Mage guide | Ice Gauntlet guide | Lodestone locations | Gem guide | How to make Gold |