While perks like Shirking Heals add creativity and fun playstyle expression, the majority of "good" PvP builds end up looking the same. This guide will explore why perk stacking has become such a problem, how it affects both PvP and PvE, and what strategies players can use while we wait to see if Amazon Games Studios (AGS) takes a bolder approach to balance.

1. The Core Issue: Overpowered Flat Defensives

The strength of perks like Enchanted Ward (which reduces incoming critical hit damage) or Refreshing Stifle (which provides cooldown reduction against crowd control) comes from their flat, general defensive nature. They protect against a wide range of damage types or situations without requiring the player to anticipate or commit to a specific playstyle.

Enchanted Ward: Powerful against nearly every crit-focused weapon, from bows to greatswords.

Refreshing Stifle: Gives reliable cooldown reduction in the most dangerous situations, making it universally valuable.

Elemental Aversion & Conditioning: Cover magic and elemental burst damage, which are common threats in wars and arenas.

The result? Players feel pressured to run the same handful of defensive perks across almost every piece of gear, leaving little room for experimentation.

2. Impact on Build Creativity

When nearly everyone in PvP is running four or five of the same defensive perks, the build landscape narrows dramatically. This has several knock-on effects:

Homogenized Builds: Instead of varied counters and creative perk combinations, most players gravitate toward the “safe” option.

Reduced Risk-Reward: Normally, choosing perks should involve trade-offs—do you want higher sustain, more mobility, or better burst? Flat defensives reduce that decision space by simply being better than the alternatives.

Stagnant Meta: Even new weapon updates or balance tweaks can feel underwhelming if players know defensive perk stacking will still dictate gear loadouts.

By comparison, perks like Shirking Heals stand out because they are situational, interesting, and allow a player’s mechanical skill to influence their value. That’s the kind of creativity the system should encourage.

3. Why PvE Suffers Too

Although this problem is most visible in PvP, PvE is not immune. Defensive perk stacking also impacts endgame PvE content such as Mutations:

Tanks and DPS alike often prefer the same handful of survivability perks, reducing the pool of “good” items that drop.

Many offensive or utility perks feel irrelevant, as they don’t compete with the raw power of warding or aversion setups.

Diversity in PvE groups shrinks, making experimentation with hybrid or off-meta builds less rewarding.

4. Player Strategies in the Current Meta

Until AGS reworks perk balance, players looking to stay competitive in PvP need to understand how to optimize within the current system.

a. Prioritize the “Big Four” Defensives

Enchanted Ward, Refreshing Stifle, Elemental Aversion, Conditioning should anchor your gear.

Focus on stacking them consistently across armor pieces for maximum mitigation.

b. Pair with One “Expression” Perk

Slot one perk that reflects your weapon choice or playstyle, such as Shirking Heals, Freedom, or weapon-specific offensive perks.

This gives you at least some room for individuality while retaining core survivability.

c. Don’t Neglect Jewelry

Rings, amulets, and earrings can be excellent places to add diversity. For example, Refreshing Toast or Stamina Recovery can offset the lack of creativity in armor perks.

d. Adapt to Weapon Matchups

If you know your opponents lean heavily on elemental damage, skew your defensive setup toward Elemental Aversion. Against crit-reliant melee builds, stack Enchanted Ward instead.

5. Suggested Solutions for AGS

For New World to reach its full PvP potential, perk diversity needs a redesign. Some ideas include:

Remove or Limit Stacking: Capping certain perks at one or two instances would force players to choose instead of mindlessly stacking.

Make Perks More Specific: Narrow the scope of strong general perks. For example, instead of “reduces all crit damage,” a reworked perk might “reduce bow and musket crit damage,” creating counter-play opportunities.

Introduce More Skill-Expression Perks: Expand on mechanics like Shirking Heals that reward timing, positioning, or aggression.

Enhance Offensive Alternatives: Buff underused offensive perks so players feel more rewarded for trading defense for burst or sustain.

These changes would open the door for dozens of creative gear combinations and help ensure that PvP is defined more by player skill than by who stacked the same set of perks more efficiently.

6. Conclusion

Right now, the dominance of Enchanted Ward, Refreshing Stifle, Elemental Aversion, and buy New World coins Conditioning makes New World’s PvP gear system feel restrictive. Players gravitate toward the same defensive setups, stifling creativity and reducing build diversity across both PvP and PvE.

While smart players can still find ways to express themselves—through perk choice on jewelry, situational swaps, or niche mechanics—the system overall rewards defensive stacking above all else.

The hope is that AGS will eventually move toward a perk system that emphasizes trade-offs, specificity, and creativity, making gear choice as engaging as the combat itself. Until then, knowing how to stack defensives effectively remains the surest path to success in New World’s PvP scene.