New World: Flail Weapon Best Build Guide (2024)

Flail Playstyle in New World

Above I called the flail an interesting weapon, and it certainly is. The flail is the second weapon in the game that is paired with the shield. The first of course is the sword and shield. However, whereas the sword and shield is primarily a pure tank weapon combo, the flail takes on more of a support role. It has a lot of buff/debuff options that lead to some unique gameplay. The flail is also the only weapon besides the life staff that can heal allies. This ability is gained through the aptly named Cleric skill tree. This all makes for a very unique support weapon. One downside of this though, is that the flail’s damage scales off of strength, but the healing/support abilities require focus, so keep that in mind.

The Cleric Skill Tree

I briefly mentioned it above, but the first skill tree for the Flail is the Cleric skill tree. This skill tree has a nice mix of buff, debuff, and healing. But the healing is really where Cleric shines (as is appropriate). Let’s look at the active skills, shall we?

Arcane Smite

Arcane Smite is the first-row active skill in the Cleric skill tree. The move is an AOE that does 130% arcane weapon damage to all enemies within 2.7m of the attack. It also leaves behind an area that inflicts a 6s stack of Impairment to any enemies who enter it. Impairment is a new status effect for the flail that does 10% arcane weapon damage and inflicts weaken. Arcane Smite also comes with grit. Though the tradeoff for all of this is a 17.5s cooldown, which is more than fair.

The upgrades for Arcane Smite are quite good as well. Epic Flail, aside from being a great name and early 2000s internet reference, is a solid upgrade. It grants Arcane Smite a 5% cooldown for each enemy it hits. Then things get interesting with Ironclad Superiority. It gives a different bonus depending on your type of shield. Round shields up the base damage by 20%. Kite shields add stagger but reduce the weapon damage to 90%. And finally tower shields grant a 30% fortify for 6s. And the last upgrade is Deflecting Frailty, which creates an area that grants a 3s buff by the same name to all allies who enter. They will inflict weaken on any enemies who hit them. The weaken lasts for 5s, reduces incoming damage by 5%, and can stack up to 5x. And if that weren’t all triggering the Deflecting Frailty grants the ally in question lifesteal. Oof. Yes please.

Arcane Vortex

The second-row active skill in the Cleric skill tree is Arcane Vortex. You deliver 4 rapid hits that each deal 75% arcane weapon damage in a 3m radius. This ability has grit, and after the first attack is completed, you get a 3m AOE that gives 10% empower to all allies for 5s. This does come with a 19.4s cooldown though.

You’ll definitely want to fully upgrade arcane Vortex as well. Flailbird will root a target hit all four times for 1s. This doesn’t seem like a lot, but not being able to move for a whole second can be huge. Speaking of moving, Accelerated Advantage gives you a 7% haste for 7s whenever you hit an enemy with Arcane Vortex and all allies in the area a 25% haste for 5s. And last but certainly not least, is Flailing Stability. All allies within 3m are cleansed of all crowd control status effects and become immune to them for 1s. And in addition, those same allies are healed for 65% weapon damage.

Arcane Eruption

The third-row active skill in the cleric skill tree is Arcane Eruption. Arcane Eruption deals 120% arcane weapon damage in a line AOE in front of you. Any enemies hit get two stacks of the Impairment status effect for 6s. But wait, there’s more. A follow up attack for 150% weapon damage to be precise.

The first upgrade, Crippling Strike reduces hit enemies’ movement speed by 40% for 3s. Then the upgrades branch into Debilitating Extension, which increases the duration of all debilitate status effects on hit enemies by 30%, and Supportive Blessing. Supportive Blessing consumes two stacks of Impairment to create a chain that bounces up to 4 times to allies within 6m to heal them for 130% weapon damage, and you for 50%.

Better Together

Better Together is a phenomenal support capstone. While you are within 4m of at least 1 ally, you and all allies within 4m heal 16% weapon damage every 3s.

The Bastion Skill Tree

The Bastion skill tree won’t heal you or your allies. But it will provide nice defensive buffs. It also has some nasty debuffs in store for your enemies.

Barrage

Barrage is the first-row active skill in the Bastion skill tree. You sprint forward 10m and at the end of the sprint or if you press the attack button, you leap forward up to 6m more and slam into the ground. Any enemies within range of your flail while you are airborne take 30% weapon damage. When you slam into the ground, enemies take 80% weapon damage and get staggered. This impressive move does have a 24.2s cooldown though.

The first upgrade, Defensive Rush, grants a 30% fortify for 2s when one of Barrage’s attacks hits. This can stake up to 8s. The second upgrade, Abiding Superiority, is another upgrade that grants variable bonuses based on shield type. Round Shields give 30% more weapon damage. Kite shields inflict a 20% slow for 4s. And tower shields give Barrage grit while active. The third upgrade, Bulldoze, let’s Barrage block attacks without using up stamina, and will push aside enemies within its path. The final upgrade, Flailure to Launch, is a 2.5m AOE that hits for 30% weapon damage to enemies and grants a 20% fortify to allies for 8s.

Trip

Trip is the second-row active skill in the Bastion skill tree. It deals 50% weapon damage to a target and knocks them down, all for a 17.5s cooldown. The first upgrade is Flailing Duration. It grants a debuff. Any ally hitting the target of Trip will reduce any DOT effect by 10% per hit. The second upgrade, You’ve Got Flail, makes any Trip that hits a weakened opponent deal 15% rend for 5s and gives you 15% fortify for 5s. Finally Destabilize adds a follow up attack that deals 145% arcane damage.

Warding Bludgeon

Warding Bludgeon is the third-row active skill in the Bastion skill tree. You perform a spinning leap that deals 100% weapon damage to targets. This ability has grit and grants a reinforced fortify to self and allies within 3m. You get +50% armor for 8s or until 3 hits are taken.

Stable Impairment is the first upgrade. It reduces stamina damage by 25% for .5s after activating block. Also, blocking attacks while you have reinforced fortify will inflict Impairment for 6s. The second upgrade is Best Friends. It links you to a random ally within 6m. They gain a 15% empower, and you both gain 10% damage absorption. This lasts for 8s or until you get more than 6m apart.

Human Shield

This capstone is strong, but risky. You will link to an ally within 6m for 5s. They will only take 50% damage during that time, but you will take 35% of the damage they didn’t take.

So whether you want to be a support healer, or a human shield, the flail is a strong weapon.