The world of Aeternum inNew Worldoffers a wide variety of playstyles, from heavy-hitting bruisers to agile ranged damage dealers. Among these, the Pestilence build stands out as a unique and deadly approach to combat. Focused on applying constant pressure through damage-over-time effects, debuffs, and area denial, the Pestilence build is ideal for players who prefer strategic, attrition-based gameplay. It’s especially powerful in PvP settings where keeping enemies weakened and under control can turn the tide of battle. This guide dives deep into the Pestilence build, its core mechanics, gear, weapons, abilities, and how to make the most of it across various combat scenarios.
What is a Pestilence Build?
Overview and Playstyle
The Pestilence build revolves around the concept of decay, disease, and ongoing affliction. Instead of dealing massive burst damage, it focuses on whittling enemies down over time while weakening their ability to fight back. This build combines weapon skills and perks that apply poison, disease, rend, weaken, and other debuffs.
The ideal Pestilence player applies constant pressure, interrupts healing, reduces enemy damage, and forces them into defensive positions. This makes the build particularly effective in small-scale PvP, outpost rush, and open-world skirmishes. It also has viability in PvE, particularly when managing mobs or spreading AoE debuffs in mutated expeditions.
Best Weapons for Pestilence Build
Primary Weapon: Void Gauntlet
The Void Gauntlet is the cornerstone of the Pestilence build. Its ability to apply disease, weaken, and damage-over-time effects aligns perfectly with the theme of decay.
- Orb of Decay: Fires a slow-moving orb that deals damage and applies disease, reducing healing effectiveness.
- Essence Rupture: Applies a debuff that causes enemies to take damage and heal allies that strike them.
- Screaming Nullify: Applies silence or weaken, depending on how it’s specced.
These skills apply constant pressure, limit healing, and reduce enemy sustainability, all while providing utility to allies.
Secondary Weapon: Blunderbuss or Ice Gauntlet
The secondary weapon depends on your preferred playstyle:
- Blunderbuss: Ideal for aggressive pressure and burst combos. Skills like Azoth Shrapnel Blast and Splitting Grenade synergize well with debuffs applied by the Void Gauntlet.
- Ice Gauntlet: Offers area denial and slows. Ice Storm and Entombed provide both offensive utility and self-defense.
Both options allow you to maintain pressure or disengage when necessary, keeping enemies within range of your decaying effects.
Recommended Attributes
Focus and Intelligence
Since the Void Gauntlet scales primarily with Focus and secondarily with Intelligence, attribute distribution depends on your weapon choice and intended role:
- Focus-heavy build: Focus 300+, Intelligence ~100. Best for players wanting to include some healing with a Life Staff swap or play as a support-damage hybrid.
- Balanced build: Focus ~200, Intelligence ~150. Great for combining Void Gauntlet with offensive secondary weapons like Blunderbuss or Ice Gauntlet.
Don’t ignore Constitution keep at least 100150 for survivability, especially in PvP situations.
Perks and Gear for Maximum Effectiveness
Essential Armor Perks
- Voidcaller (Void Gauntlet Ultimate Perk): Adds a damaging aura after critical hits, perfect for maintaining pressure.
- Putrefying Scream: Enhances Screaming Nullify to add Disease, reducing enemy healing further.
- Diminishing Orb: Reduces cooldowns and cleanses buffs on enemies hit by Orb of Decay.
- Refreshing and Refreshing Evasion: For cooldown reduction, helping keep your affliction uptime high.
Weapon Perks
- Keenly Jagged: Applies bleed on critical hits, excellent for synergy with Voidcaller.
- Plagued Crits: Applies Disease on critical hits, reinforcing the Pestilence theme.
- Rogue or Vicious: If you land a lot of backstabs or crits, these add significant damage pressure.
Use armor with Resilient and Elemental Aversion for PvP, and Ward perks for PvE expeditions. Light armor grants the highest damage bonus, but medium is a good compromise between mobility and durability.
How to Play the Pestilence Build
Combat Rotation and Strategy
The goal is to afflict enemies with as many debuffs as possible and keep pressure while remaining elusive. A sample rotation might look like this:
- Open withOrb of Decayto apply Disease and Rend.
- Follow withEssence Ruptureto enable ally healing and further damage pressure.
- UseScreaming Nullifyto silence or weaken enemies and prevent abilities.
- Swap to Blunderbuss or Ice Gauntlet to zone, trap, or chase enemies.
- Cycle back to Void Gauntlet and repeat, using dodge and movement to avoid retaliation.
Keeping distance and avoiding focus is key. Pestilence builds thrive when they aren’t the center of attention, slowly decaying multiple enemies across a battlefield.
Group Play and Synergy
This build excels when paired with frontline tanks or bruisers who can keep enemies in place. The AoE debuffs and anti-healing effects make Pestilence builds invaluable in team fights, especially against coordinated enemy teams relying on healers.
Healers in your group will also benefit from yourEssence Rupture, as it gives them more opportunities to heal allies passively. Your pressure can force enemies to play defensively, opening opportunities for your allies to deal burst damage.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Pros
- Excellent anti-healing and sustain disruption
- Great synergy with group play
- Consistent pressure and zone control
- High utility from debuffs and AoE
Cons
- Lacks burst damage and finishing power
- Can be squishy in light armor
- Vulnerable when focus-targeted
- Relies on cooldown management and positioning
These weaknesses can be managed through smart play, gear optimization, and coordination with your team.
Using Pestilence in PvP and PvE
PvP Applications
In PvP, Pestilence builds shine in Outpost Rush, War, and open-world skirmishes. Applying healing debuffs like Disease is extremely effective against Life Staff users. The build also excels at zoning enemies, denying areas, and disrupting enemy backlines.
PvE Uses
While not as effective in pure damage roles, the Pestilence build can still find a place in expeditions and mutated dungeons, especially with crowd control and support. The utility of debuffs and disease makes enemy encounters more manageable for your team.
The Pestilence build inNew Worldis a powerful option for players who enjoy strategic, tactical combat. By spreading disease, applying pressure, and disrupting enemy healing, it plays a unique role in both PvP and PvE content. While it may not top the damage charts, its contribution to team fights and ability to weaken enemies over time makes it a valuable asset in any group. With the right gear, perks, and combat awareness, you can turn the battlefield into a decaying wasteland where your enemies slowly fall under your control.