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The Holy Hand Grenadier (OK, so he is really a holy hand mortar maniac… but I wanted the Monty Python reference!) Class: Holy Slayer Subclasses: Goldpact, Kind Wayfarer, or Bleakwalker / Streetfighter Description: This is a very straightforward build. You use blunderbuss modal to activate streetfighter’s amazing speed boost. The hand mortar and fire in the hole are both AOE weapons and can be used to quickly spread afflictions and Damage Over Time (DOT) to your enemies. Paladin provides a ton of defense which helps offset the downside of constantly fighting under the distracted affliction. The hat and rings make your FoD laser accurate. You can quickly move around the battlefield with escape, and your zeal will feel nearly endless for AOE ranged full attacks. Use escape to get really close, have a nice deflection, and blast enemies with hand mortar. I went with Goldpact for a more balanced, survivable build; however, if you want to maximize crowd control and AOE (Area Of Effect) DPS (Damage Per Second) I recommend Bleakwalker. The added corrode damage and sicken affliction are extremely strong when applied as an AOE. Goldpact is going to add a tremendous amount of armor which is going to go a long way to keep you alive and helps offset some of Streetfighter’s inherent weaknesses from fighting distracted. Kind Wayfarer is also great since you will be using Flames of Devotion often, but can sometimes work against wanting to stay blooded. The choice is completely up to you, the build works great with any paladin subclass, but if running Goldpact with exalted endurance, it gives you a way to keep your health at 50% in relative safety without worrying that your next FoD is going to drop your dps. Race: Human (Any will work) Race is very unimportant to this build. Pick what you like. I went with Human for the DPS boost while blooded, which is a state we like to be in anyway! Attributes – No Berath’s Might: 16 Constitution: 10 Dexterity: 10 Perception: 18 Intelligence: 18 Resolve: 6 Attributes – With Berath’s Blessing (Recommended) Might: 16 Constitution: 10 Dexterity: 10 Perception: 18 Intelligence: 18 Resolve: 18 Attributes – With Berath’s Blessing (Min Max DPS) Might: 20 Constitution: 8 Dexterity: 16 Perception: 20 Intelligence: 20 Resolve: 6 I personally hate min-maxing, so I made my character well rounded with a high resolve and nothing truly weak. Dexterity is unimportant to this build as you will get tons of speed from the synergy of streetfighter and powder burns. I like to run with a chanter in my party running Sure Handed. This build will also always dual wield. This game has a funny way of stacking speed where there is a diminishing returns on gains past a certain point of speed increase. I would keep dexterity as close to 10 as possible in your stats since the gain is quite marginal with so many sources of reload speed. Abilities: Level 1: Sworn Enemy, Flames of Devotion, Crippling Strike Level 2: Lay on Hands Level 3: Deep Faith Level 4: Zealous Aura, Blinding Strike Level 5: Two Weapon Style Level 6: Escape Level 7: Sworn Rival, Arterial Strike Level 8: Gouging Strike Level 9: Eternal Devotion or Shared Flames (if in party) Level 10: Exalted Endurance or Focus (your choice), Level 11: Strike the Bell Level 12: Finishing Blow Level 13: Deep Wounds, Psion of Flame Level 14: Eliminating Blow, Pierce the Bell or Ring the Bell (more dot damage) Level 15: Withering Strike Level 16: Virtuous Triumph, Toxic Strike Level 17: Improved Critical Level 18: Uncanny Luck Level 19: Stoic Steel, Death Blows Level 20: Whatever you want I took Strike the Bell for even more DOT stacking, but this is completely optional. Shadow step is one option, but IMHO the paralyze affliction doesn’t last quite long enough for the heavy guile cost. The core of this build is the combination of dual wielding aoe blunderbusses with rogue debuffs and using paladin’s great defenses to make you less of a glass cannon. There is actually a ton of room in the above abilities depending on your personal preferences. I stuck to ranged, so I skipped riposte and persistent distraction; however, you could easily work them in by dropping withering strike and toxic strike. You will have a ton of great damage abilities and sometimes it’s nice to have DPS do some off-tanking. Proficiencies: Blunderbuss Skills: Athletics, Explosives, History (if using Giftbearer’s) Weapons: Set 1: Hand Mortar and Fire in the Hole (upgrade for bonus damage <2m and projectile bounce) Set 2: Your favorite dual wield combo of melee weapons (Modwyr and Duskfall are great) Other Useful Gear: Head: Acina’s Tricorn, Ranged accuracy and reload speed Ring: Ring of Focused Flame, more accuracy with FoD Ring: Ring of the Marksman, more ranged accuracy and penetration Armor: Anything that improved recovery or action speed. Devil of Caroc and Miscreant Leathers are both great.