Holdfast: Nations At War – The Holdfast:NAW Achievement Guide [Incomplete]

Intro

 
Some quick notes you need to know about achievements in Holdfast: NAW and this guide: 
 

• Some achievements are glitched so you may need to attempt them multiple times. 
• Community servers also seem to disable achievements. You need to play on public servers. 
• Again achievements may change in the future as they have done before, so this guide may become outdated. 
• I haven’t unlocked all achievements myself (only Heart of Oak, Strike! and Sharpe’ Shooter left) but I go through what you could try or what not to do.

 
If you need any help or have any better tips then feel free to leave a comment below. 
 
Don’t forget to like/favourite if you find this guide helpful! 
 
 

General Achievements

 
 
A Naturalist Demise – A surgeon healing you meets their unfortunate end. 
 
Basically, a friendly Surgeon needs to be killed while they are healing you. This strategy might take some time and patience. You can lose your health quicker and reliably by standing in a campfire that’s usually in your spawn and walk over it a number of times. You can then find a Surgeon on the frontline and try tempting them to heal you out in the open. Make sure that there are enough Surgeons on your team before attempting this achievement. 
 
 
Capturing Colours – Take hold of 5 capture points in the Army Siege, Army Conquest or Coastal Siege game mode. 
 
This doesn’t have to be done all in one round. It can be done across different games. 
 
 
Clever Wordsmith – Throw clever insults at your enemies 400 times. 
 
Spam the ‘N’ button throughout your games 400 times. Note that there’s a cool-down period where you can’t cheer if you keep spamming it repeatedly. 
 
 
Conscientious Objector – Finish a round without killing anyone. 
 
Play the entire round without killing anyone. I suggest playing as a Support Class like the Musician or Surgeon so you aren’t bored while completing this achievement, or you could just spawn and leave your game running. 
 
 
Coward’s Gamble – Get killed whilst reloading. 
 
One of the easiest achievements in the game. Just reload your weapon out in front of the enemy. 
 
 
Coward’s Reward – Shoot and kill an enemy that’s closer than 5 meters. 
 
Shoot an enemy that’s really close to you. You can check the kill feed in the top right corner to see the distance of your kills. If you’re struggling to get this achievement then use the Carpenter’s Blunderbuss. 
 
 
Frederic Francois Chopin – Gather worldwide renown through masterful play of the piano. 
 
You don’t have to be a Musician to complete this achievement. All you have to do is find a piano and play it. Piano’s are found on certain maps inside buildings and forts. Some maps that have Piano’s include: 

• Spanish Farm – Inside the centre farmhouse on the lower floor. 
• Ernest Ridge – In the smaller house on the top of the hill. 
• Fort Salettes – Inside the Large Fort. 
• Camp Salamanca – Inside the Church in one of the spawns. 
• Linburg – Inside one of the houses in the centre walled town.

 
 
 
Gifted Surgeon – A surgeon fully heals you after your HP dropped below 10%. 
 
This achievement may seem hard to obtain but it’s actually quite easy if you use this trick below: 
 

1. Before spawning check whether there are any Surgeons on your team. The more the better. 
2. Next, spawn in your team’s camp and head over to the campfire. Walking over the campfire allows you to lose health points. You have to be constantly walking over the fire to lose health as standing still over it does nothing. 
3. Keep decreasing your health until the bar has lowered until it’s just slightly behind the minimap. 
4. Finally, it’s time to find a Surgeon. You can either wait for one to spawn in camp or find one on the battlefield.

 
Please note that I’m not sure whether you can unlock this achievement by healing yourself or another Surgeon is needed to heal you. I unlocked this achievement before the Devs gave Surgeons the ability to heal themselves so I’m not entirely sure. 
 
 
Indestructible! – Get shot and stabbed and survive both hits. 
 
This achievement requires you to get shot and stabbed in one life without dying. Usually, you will die when shot or stabbed so it’s probably best to play as an Officer/Guard to take less damage and get a Surgeon to heal you between hits. Alternatively, you could try playing as a Surgeon and heal yourself between hits. Also, try to get hit by a pistol shot and a sword as they don’t instantly kill you like a musket/rifle shot or a bayonet. 
 
 
Napoleonic Sportmanship – Kick an enemy to death. 
 
This achievement is very hard. You need to kill an enemy by only kicking them. So, no punching, shooting, or harming them in any other way otherwise it won’t count. However, you don’t have to kick the enemy from 100 to 0 health, so they can take some damage from other players. This achievement can also be done over multiple lives as long as you keep kicking the same player. It’s best to do this achievement on a low-pop melee game mode. 
 
 
Obadiah – Perform an act of desertion. 
 
Simply spawn on one team then go back to the spawn menu and spawn on the other team. 
 
 
Over The Hills & Far Away – Finish 25 rounds whilst being enlisted with the British Empire. 
 
Simply play with the British Empire and finish 25 rounds. 
 
 
Patriot – Cheer patriotically 500 times. 
 
The same as ‘Clever Wordsmith’ but spam the ‘B’ button. 
 
 
Pub Brawler – Kill an infantryman in a fist fight. 
 
Perhaps try finding lone enemies and challenge them into a fist fight. I was lucky to get this achievement after finding a group of players having fist fights on the outskirts of the main battle. 
 
 
Ranker – Play on a server with more than 100 players. 
 
This achievement doesn’t include community servers with over 100 players. You can easily find a server with over 100 players on public servers during peak times and weekends. 
 
 

Rank & File Class Achievements

 
 
For King & Country! – Slay 200 enemies whilst playing as British Line Infantryman. 
 
Get 200 kills when playing as a Line Infantry on the British side. This achievement does not count the kills you get when playing as the Skirmisher class (Rifleman, Light infantry, etc) and I don’t think it includes kills from playing as other Rank & File (Grenadier, Guard, etc). Also, kills from cannons and rockets aren’t included but this might have been patched. Killing horses do not count either. 
 
 
Lang Lebe Der König! – Slay 200 enemies whilst playing as a Prussian Line Infantryman. 
 
Same as the “For King & Country!” achievement but on the Prussian team. 
 
 
Not a Step Back – Meet your end whilst standing in an Infantry Officer’s line. 
 
Die while standing in an Officer’s line. Officer’s lines aren’t always used in public matches so you might need to join a Linematch battle to get this achievement. 
 
 
The British Grenadiers – Kill an infantryman in melee combat while playing as a British Grenadier. 
 
Simply kill an enemy infantryman with your bayonet as a British Grenadier. Killing an enemy support class (Musician, Sapper, etc.) probably does not count for this achievement. 
 
 
Vive L’Empereur! – Slay 200 enemies whilst playing as a French Line Infantryman. 
 
Same as the “For King & Country!” achievement but on the French team. 
 
 

Commander Class Achievements

 
 
Dishonour – Defeat an Infantry Officer or Captain wielding a sword while playing as an Infantry Officer or Captain using a pistol. 
 
In other words, kill a sword-wielding Officer/Captain with your pistol when playing as an Officer/Captain. The enemy Officer/Captain must have their sword out when you kill them. You can get this achievement by tricking an enemy Officer/Captain into a sword fight by charging at them and then quickly switching to your pistol. It’s easier to get this achievement when playing as an Officer as there can be up to 6 enemy Officers in an Army game mode at once. Whereas you’re less likely to face another Captain in a Naval game mode. 
 
 
Duelist – Defeat an Infantry Officer or Captain in a pistol duel while playing as an Infantry Officer or Captain. 
 
Similar to the “Dishonour” achievement but instead kill a pistol-wielding Officer/Captain with your pistol as an Officer/Captain. Easy to get if you keep playing as an Officer. 
 
 
Honour – Defeat an Infantry Officer or Captain in a sword fight while playing as an Infantry Officer or Captain. 
 
Again similar to the “Dishonour” achievement. Kill another sword-wielding Officer/Captain with your sword as an Officer/Captain. If you’re having difficulty with this achievement then I suggest joining a Melee game. 
 
 
Hornblower – Obtain the highest score on your team while playing as a Captain in the Naval Battlefield or Naval Assault game modes. 
 
As a Captain, you have to achieve the highest score among everyone that has spawned on your ship. I manage to unlock this achievement by constantly changing between sailing the ship and firing the cannons to get more points. 
 
 

Skirmisher Class Achievements

 
 
Chosen Man – Kill 100 soldiers over a range of more than 50 meters using a rifle. 
 
Play as the Rifleman to get 100 kills with the rifle. Killing any enemy class will be counted (including Supports, Skirmishers, etc.) but horses are not counted. Keep checking the kill feed in the top right corner to know the distance of your kills and reposition yourself accordingly. You can get the best results on large field maps where you can be more at a distance. 
 
 
Douanes Imperiales – Obtain a victory in the Coastal Siege game mode while playing as the French Customs class on Fort Imperial. 
 
You have to play as the French defenders on the Fort Imperial map and win the round while playing as the Customs class. This achievement shouldn’t be too hard to unlock if playing on a low-pop naval server. 
 
 
Sharpe’ Shooter – Kill 25 Infantry Officers over a range of more than 75 meters using a rifle. 
 
Same as the “Chosen Man” achievement but you need to kill Officers specifically and at a longer distance. This is a difficult achievement that even I haven’t unlocked yet. 
 
 

Support Class Achievements

 
 
A Decent Suprise – Kill 3 people with a single shot of the blunderbuss. 
 
This achievement is quite hard and will likely take a long time. I suggest playing on an Army Siege game mode on the defending side and wait for enemies to push on your point. I managed to get 3 kills this way on Fort Pierre Army Siege when there was a big push on the back ladders. You could also try playing on maps with close-quarters combat like Spanish Farm or Canyon. 
 
 
A Gentle Nudge – Kill a soldier with the sledgehammer. 
 
Sappers can equip the sledgehammer by pressing ‘Q’ and selecting deconstruct. Not only can the sledgehammer deconstruct your builds but you can use it as a melee weapon as well. The sledgehammer is a bad melee weapon. It’s slow compared to other melee weapons, can’t block attacks, and only swings in one direction. Fortunately, it’s a one-shot kill so the best strategy is to sneak up on unsuspecting targets or joining in a large melee charge. 
 
 
Battlefield Contractor – Erect 25 constructible defences as a sapper. 
 
As a sapper, press ‘Q’, select the construction hammer and build 25 of any of the constructs under the defences category (I’m not sure whether this includes chairs or artillery constructs though). If you’re lacking resources then you can try building and deconstructing the same construct 25 times or try building chairs as they don’t cost any resources. 
 
 
Dedicated Performer – Meet a glorious end whilst playing an instrument. 
 
A really easy achievement. Just die while playing music as a fifer, drummer, bagpiper or violinist. You can start playing music by pressing ‘Q’ and choosing a song. 
 
 
Explosive Specialist – Kill 10 infantryman using explosives. 
 
As a sapper, you can construct the red explosive barrels by pressing ‘Q’, going to ‘Construct’ and then ‘Artillery’. Once fully built, barrels can be carried by pressing ‘E’ and placed back down by pressing ‘E’ again. They can be ignited to blow up after 10 seconds. Be careful when carrying a barrel as it can blow up if you get shot, killing you and any nearby teammates. 
 
I recommend using your red barrels to blow up enemies hiding behind building walls (The explosion travels through walls including indestructible walls). For example, the Spanish Farms map tends to have lots of players fighting inside and around the middle house. Sappers can place explosive barrels next to the walls to kill any enemies inside the house. Explosive barrels also can be used to clear the upper floors of houses and forts by placing them directly beneath the enemies on the lower floor. 
 
This achievement only counts when killing Infantryman and not other classes like Officers. 
 
 
Flashbacks From Another War – Gather 10 kills using player-built Infantry Stakes. 
 
Sapper’s can build Infantry stakes by again pressing ‘Q’ and searching for Infantry Stakes under ‘Defences’. 
 
This achievement isn’t too tricky if you hide your spikes in bushes and place them in front of doorways. I managed to get most kills of my kills on the Canyon map by mostly placing spikes at the bottom or top of the stairways and at the entrances of the caves. Linburg and Ernest Ridge are also good maps for placing spikes in the doorways and gated entrances. Army Siege is also a good game mode to get Infantry Stake kills when playing as the defenders. 
 
 
Grave Digger – Kill 10 people while wielding a spade. 
 
Kill 10 enemies with the Sapper’s spade. Sapper’s can equip their spade by pressing ‘Q’ and selecting the ‘Dig’ or ‘Undig’ option. Similar to the Sapper’s other tools, the spade doesn’t block attacks and attacks in only one direction. Therefore, you shouldn’t be seeking melee fights by yourself. It’s best to join other teammates in melee fights and charges so you can pick off distracted enemies and don’t get killed so easily. I don’t recommend sneaking up on enemies with your spade as it takes a good couple of hits to kill them. 
 
 
Handyman – Kill 25 people while wielding a hammer, axe or sledgehammer. 
 
Kill 25 enemies with the Sapper’s hammer or sledgehammer, or with the Carpenter’s axe. The Sapper’s hammer/sledgehammer can be equipped by pressing ‘Q’ and selecting construct/deconstruct. While Carpenters have their axes in their third weapon slot. 
 
Sledgehammers and axes are one-hit kills but are very slow, whereas hammers usually take about two hits to kill but are faster. I prefer using the sledgehammer/axe to unlock this achievement due to their ability to one-hit kill. 
 
 
Not So Little Drummer Boy – Punch a soldier to death as a drummer. 
 
Only punching is allowed. You can’t even kick the soldier, even if the final hit was a punch. So as a Drummer, you have to completely punch a Soldier to death and not lower their HP using your sword, pistol or kicking (I’m not sure whether this also means the enemy can take damage from another teammate or needs to have 100% health when you start punching them to death). 
 
I managed to get this achievement by playing on a very low-pop server (less than 10 players) and challenging players to fist fights. 
 
 
Pomp &Circumstance – Support allied troops by playing a fife, drum, bagpipe or violin. 
 
As a musician, press ‘H’ and select any song to play while near other teammates. I don’t think your allies need to get a kill whilst you’re playing, just make sure you are playing near someone else. 
 
 
Superior Craftsmanship – Construct a chair as a sapper. 
 
As a Sapper, equip your Hammer by pressing ‘Q’, select the chair construct under ‘Defences’ and build it. 
 
 

Artillery Class Achievements

 
 
Rock Skippin’ – Kill a player using a cannonball that bounced at least 1 times. 
 
This achievement shouldn’t be too difficult to unlock if you dedicate a lot of time playing Cannoneer. You have to angle your shots so they can bounce off the ground into the enemy player. It’s best to play on hilly maps as it’s easier to bounce cannonballs when firing from high positions. 
 
I managed to unlock this achievement by playing on the Causeways map and firing from the top of the hill in spawn. My cannonball slightly bounced off one of the rocks where a large group of enemies was hiding behind. 
 
I don’t think you can’t use a Scattershot for this achievement. 
 
 
Sighting The Barn – Kill 3 infantryman using a single rocket. 
 
This achievement took me a long time to get but this was probably because it was glitched before. To get this achievement you need to practice with rockets a lot and learn things like the best spots to set up on certain maps and the difference between S and L rockets. To get the 3 kills I recommend firing on clustered enemies behind fortifications, on rooftops, etc. You can get multi-kills more easily on maps like: 
 

• Causeway – Set up on the downhill in front of spawn and use L rockets. 
• Desert Ruins – Best results when on Army Conquest. Try setting up in the far back middle behind spawn and targeting the middle capture point. 
• Dutch Canals – You can fire on the rooftop of the small shed when set up in one of the spawns.

 
 
 
Strike! – Kill 4 enemy players using a single cannonball. 
 
As far as I know, this achievement is broken as I got 4 kills or more before many times but for some reason, it hasn’t unlocked. Maybe you need exactly 4 kills and no more than that. 
 
I don’t believe this achievement allows you to use scattershots either. Of course, the best strategy for this achievement would be to fire at a large group of enemies. So just look for a large group of enemies behind bad cover or behind Sapper defenses that can be easily penetrated by your cannonball. 
 
 

Other Class Achievements

 
 
Shashlik – Kill 3 people in a row using the boarding pike. 
 
Boarding pikes are a unique weapon to the Adept Sailor. The achievement does not require you to get 3 kills all in one life. It can be done over multiple lives in one round, so long as you don’t break the chain. Otherwise, you have to start all over again. 
 
This achievement is easiest on the Coastal Siege game mode whilst docking on an island. If the defenders keep boarding your ship then you can easily kill them with your pike. Alternatively, you can try sneaking onto an island with a small boat and attack the defenders from behind. 
 
 
Turn On – Open a door whilst having a lantern equipped. 
 
As an Officer, Captain, Surgeon or Carpenter equip your lantern by pressing ‘H’ and open a door by pressing ‘E’. 
 
 

Naval Achievements

 
 
Aubrey’s Crew – Sink a 50-Gun Frigate while crewing a naval vessel carrying fewer guns. 
 
Your ship has to be smaller than the enemy’s 50-Gun Frigate. I think for this achievement you don’t need to land the killing hit on the 50-Gun Frigate, you just have to be spawned on the ship that sinks it. 
 
 
Heart of Oak – Win a round of Naval Battlefield or Naval Assault without losing or swapping your ship. 
 
I am yet to unlock this achievement. This achievement doesn’t include boats, it has to be a ship. Also, you cannot leave your ship at all. You have the remain present on the boat throughout the game and not jump into the water or jump onto a lifeboat (which was where I went wrong!). 
 
 
HMS Indefatigable – Gather a reputation aboard a 50-Gun Frigate by sinking 3 enemy vessels in a single round. 
 
Again, I don’t think you don’t need to land the killing hits on 3 enemy vessels. Just be present on the 50-Gun Frigate while your crew sinks 3 enemy vessels. 
 
 
Hollom’s Luck – Drown yourself whilst carrying an object. 
 
On any naval map, walk off the ship while carrying a cannonball. As you can’t jump with a cannonball, you need to spawn on a ship that you can easily walk off. These are usually the larger ships that you can walk off at the front. 
 
Also, make sure you do this outside of the ship’s spawn and far away from the coastlines. The seabed is higher in these places causing you to die from fall damage rather than drowning. 
 
 
Privateer – Crew an 8-Gun Schooner while playing on Harouti Islands. 
 
Join a Harouti Islands game and spawn on the 8-Gun Schooner ship. You don’t need to play on the 8-Gun Schooner ship for the whole round and should get the achievement as soon as you spawn on it. 
 
 
The Mathematics Of Defeat – Suffer a defeat while playing as the invaders in the Coastal Siege game mode. 
 
This achievement isn’t hard as the invaders almost always lose in Coastal Siege. If you are having any difficulty though I recommend joining a low pop server. 
 
 
The Ocean’s Floor – Land the final hit on an enemy naval vessel. 
 
Exactly as it says. Just keep playing on naval maps and you should get it in no time. 
 
 

Hidden Achievements (Coming Soon)

 
These hidden achievements are to do with the new regiment system feature that’s coming soon. 
 
Regiment Honours – ?????????? 
 
Clan Enlistment – ?????????? 
 
Regiment Veteran – ?????????? 
 

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