What's an archetype?
Choosing your archetype determines which weapons you start with and gives you a 50 XP bonus to 3 tradeskills. You also unlock the item appearance of the clothing the archetype is wearing, which allows you to transmog it in the future.
There are seven archetypes, each with two unique weapons. In New World, “class” is determined by what gear you are using. You can change weapons at any time, regardless of the archetype you choose at the beginning of the game. In fact, at end game, it is common to switch between different classes based on the content you are doing and who you are playing with.
Our pick for best archetype while levelling
If you’d like to immerse in the game world from the beginning and play a character you identify with, please jump down to our clarifying questions below. But if you’d like some guidance to make your levelling experience smoother, we have a recommendation. Remember, the archetype you choose at the start of the game is not linked to the class you will be playing at max level.
Mystic
The easiest archetype to use while levelling is the Mystic. This is a healer, who starts with a Life Staff for healing, and a Void Gauntlet for support and damage. Potions and leeching perks are harder to come by while you are low level, so being able to self-sustain with heals is a huge bonus. Split your attribute points between Intelligence and Focus and make sure to spec into Void Blade so you can do some damage.
Check out our build guide for beginner Mystics for more info.
Mystic concept art by Alexander Fuhr
Mystic Tradeskills
Arcana
Basic Arcana skill grants you the ability to craft potions and make magic weapons.
Harvesting
Harvesting skill allows you to harvest mote creatures out in the world from the start.
Weaving
Weaving skill allows you to make Sateen from the beginning.
If you’re happy to continue as a Mystic, proceed to character selection or starting the game, otherwise scroll down for more options for different archetypes.
While the healer is a good, practical choice, the damage can be a little underwhelming and the range of weapon abilities is almost entirely taken up with support, leaving little room for learning fun attack rotations. If you’d like something a little riskier but more powerful, you could try one of the other archetypes.
Make your choice!
Quick reference archetype table
See all the weapon and crafting skills for each archetype at a glance. Note, 50 points in a tradeskill is not a huge boost, considering early levels come quickly, so don’t make this your sole reason for choosing.
| Archetype | Weapon 1 | Weapon 2 | Crafting | Gathering | Refining |
| Soldier | Sword and Shield | Hatchet | Weaponsmithing | Mining | Smelting |
| Destroyer | War Hammer | Great Axe | Armoring | Skinning | Leatherworking |
| Ranger | Bow | Spear | Engineering | Logging | Woodworking |
| Musketeer | Rapier | Musket | Armoring | Harvesting | Weaving |
| Occultist | Fire Staff | Ice Gauntlet | Jewelcrafting | Mining | Smelting |
| Mystic | Void Gauntlet | Life Staff | Arcana | Harvesting | Weaving |
| Swordbearer | Greatsword | Blunderbuss | Cooking | Fishing | Leatherworking |
