New World Aeternum Best Musket Pestilence Artifact Build - Plague Critic and Disease Effect Build

If you’re tired of dealing with heavy, self-healing enemies in the New World Aeternum, the Musket Pestilence Build is here to shake things up. This build combines the precision of the musket with powerful debuffs like plague crits and disease effects, making it a nightmare for enemies reliant on healing. Whether you’re a PvP duelist or a PvE farmer, this guide will help you understand why the Pestilence artifact is essential, how to optimize your gear, and what strategies you should employ to dominate the current meta.

Why Choose the Musket Pestilence Build?

In today’s New World meta, self-sustaining builds dominate the battlefield.

These setups rely on perks like shirking heals and powerful defensive abilities, making it incredibly tough to secure kills—especially in PvP scenarios where every bit of healing can swing the fight.

That’s where the Musket Pestilence Build shines, turning those healing-reliant enemies into easy targets.

• Plague Crits: This perk is a game-changer, cutting down enemy healing by a huge percentage. If you’ve ever been frustrated by opponents who seem unkillable thanks to constant heals, this will feel like a breath of fresh air. Landing critical hits with the musket not only deals damage but also applies this crippling debuff, giving you the upper hand.

• Nature Damage Over Time (DoT): Forget burst damage that can be mitigated with shields or heals. This build focuses on consistent DoT effects, applying relentless pressure that chips away at even the sturdiest tanks. The added bonus? Nature damage bypasses a lot of defensive perks, making it harder for your enemies to recover.

• Disease Effects: As if plague crits weren’t enough, the disease effect piles on, further reducing healing and leaving sustain-heavy builds struggling to stay alive. It’s especially effective against healers and tanky opponents who rely on regeneration to dominate fights.

This build isn’t just about raw power; it’s about strategy.

If you’re the kind of player who loves playing the long game, controlling fights from a distance, and punishing opponents who rely too much on their healing perks, the Musket Pestilence Build is your ultimate weapon.

Prepare to outsmart and outlast your enemies!

The Pestilence Artifact: Your Build’s Core

What is the Pestilence Artifact?

The Pestilence artifact is a PvP track item that adds devastating effects to your attacks.

When you land a hit, it:

• Applies disease, reducing enemy healing.

• Inflicts nature damage over time, scaling with perks like nature harnessing.

This artifact is incredibly powerful but also one of the rarest items in the game.

Acquiring it can be a grind, but its impact on this build is unmatched. Without it, you can't make this Best Plague Critic and Disease Effect Build for New World Aeternum.

How to Acquire Pestilence Artifact in New World Aeternum

• PvP Track Drops: Farm PvP activities to progress along the track and increase your chances of obtaining the artifact.

• Trade Post: If luck isn’t on your side, check the trade post regularly for players selling Pestilence, though it can be expensive. 

• Gem Setting: Once acquired, add a gem slot using gem-setting pins from the faction shop or trade post. Equip it with Arboreal Gambit to maximize your nature damage.

To make it easier, you can Buy New World Aeternum Gold Coins from MMOPixel at a fraction of the grind and cost, and use that to get the Pestilience Artifact in New World Aeternum.

Best-in-Slot (BiS) Gear for Musket Pestilence Build

Weapon: The Musket

• Plagued Crits: Reduces enemy healing when you land critical hits.

• Distained Infliction: Boosts all damage-over-time effects, including nature damage.

• Arboreal Attunement: Amplifies nature-based attacks, a core component of this build.

Blunderbuss

While the musket is your primary weapon, the blunderbuss is your close-range backup.

Look for perks like:

• Plague Splitting Grenades for AoE damage and debuffs.

• Haste to maintain mobility in combat.

Armor and Perks

Focus on light armor to maintain high mobility and damage output. This includes Gorgonite Mask, Shirt, Headcovers, Attuned Leather Pants, and Dune Euplantula.

Key perks include:

• Elemental Aversion: Reduces damage from elemental attacks, crucial in fire staff-heavy metas.

• Nature Harnessing: Boosts your nature damage, synergizing perfectly with Pestilence.

• Crippling Powder Burn: Slows enemies, giving you more time to land precision shots.

Amulet of Shah Neshen, Gorgon Ring, Endless Thirst, and Stalwart Heartrune of Stoneform are your extras.

Pre-Best-in-Slot (Pre-BiS) Recommendations for Plague Critic and Disease Effect Build

If you’re still saving up gold or grinding resources, don’t worry—you can still make this build work with an effective early-game setup. 

Here’s how you can get started while staying competitive:

• Musket: Your priority should be finding a musket with the Plagued Crits perk, as this is the core of the build. Even if the damage stats aren’t top-tier, this perk alone will give you a significant edge in fights by reducing enemy healing. Pair it with a musket that offers solid base damage or an additional useful perk like Keen to maximize your crit potential.

• Armor: Focus on gear with perks that boost your survivability and mobility. Elemental Aversion will help mitigate damage from popular elemental builds like fire and frost gauntlets, while Hasted Vigor ensures you stay agile during fights, allowing you to reposition or retreat as needed. Light armor is ideal for maintaining high mobility and increasing your damage output.

• Amulet: Your amulet is your lifeline in battles, so choose wisely. Look for perks like fire protection, which is especially useful against the current fire-heavy meta. Health regeneration is another must-have, giving you a steady recovery between encounters and keeping you in the fight longer.

This Pre-BiS setup is affordable and accessible, giving you a solid foundation to start dominating with the Musket Pestilence Build.

Once you’ve earned more resources, you can gradually upgrade to the full BiS gear without missing a beat!

Taking the Tank Route? Check out our New World Aeternum Best Tank Builds.

Optimizing Attributes for the Best Musket Pestilence Build

This build splits attributes between Dexterity and Intelligence, allowing you to balance damage between the musket and blunderbuss:

• Dexterity: Primary stat for musket damage.

• Intelligence: Boosts blunderbuss damage and enhances nature DoT effects.

• Constitution: Keep it minimal unless you’re struggling with survivability.

Suggested distribution:

Attribute	Points (BiS)	Points (Pre-BiS)
Dexterity	250	200
Intelligence	200	150
Constitution	50	50

Skill Trees: Master Your Abilities

Musket Skill Tree

• Sniper Tree: Focus on long-range precision and critical hits.

• Sticky Bomb Tree: Adds burst damage to your arsenal, ideal for group fights.

Blunderbuss Skill Tree

• Splitting Grenades: Deal AoE damage and spread debuffs.

• Blast Shot: Push enemies back, creating distance for musket attacks.

Playstyle and Strategies

1. Positioning: Stay at a distance to leverage the musket’s range advantage. Use cover to avoid retaliation.

2. Debuff First: Open fights with a plague crit to reduce the enemy’s healing potential immediately.

3. Combo with Blunderbuss: When enemies close the gap, switch to your blunderbuss for burst damage and AoE control.

4. Adapt to Targets: Against heavy healers, focus on consistent pressure with nature DoT effects. Against glass cannons, prioritize quick kills with crits.

Conclusion

The Musket Pestilence Build is a game-changer, especially in the current meta dominated by self-sustaining enemies. By combining precise musket shots with crippling debuffs and nature damage, this build ensures no healer or tank is safe. While acquiring the Pestilence artifact is a challenge, its impact on your gameplay makes it well worth the effort. Equip the right gear, master your skill rotation, and get ready to dominate Aeternum like never before!