Bleak Walker Assassin, the alpha strike arquebus build.

[wedunneedbadgers]

I've had the most success on my first play through with a Bleakwalker/Assassin dual class Holy Slayer. He effectively plays as a one-man commando team, sneaking up to the enemy, killing them from long range before they even realize they are under attack, and jumping back to the shadows before the enemy can react, ending the combat and restoring the Holy slayer's resources. Using Both Assassinate and flames of devotion, the Holy slayer can crit at long range for massive damage. If the attack kills the enemy in one shot, you can re-enter stealth before any nearby enemy has detected you and initiated combat. Even if you get detected, you can use your guile to hide from the enemy until the combat is ended and your resources are restored. You can even do hit and run attacks on a very strong enemy and wear them down until they are dead. This build is only good if you play it properly, If you play the Holy Slayer like a stationary long-range autoattacker you will not get far with this build.

 

The effectiveness of this build is not based on just how the numbers looks on paper but rather  on the way reloading weapons like crossbows and firearms do not have the normal action delay like on bows or melee weapons. The zero action delay or reloading firearms allows you to perform a Guile-based evasion move to avoid almost all forms of direct targeting. In addition, if you attack undetected from stealth with a Arquebus, the initial attack is automatically reloaded before the combat starts. This allows you to get off two ranged flames of devotion attacks very quickly, including enough guild leftover to hide, end combat, replenish resources, and hit the same target again!

 

Remember that GUILE is for hiding from enemies and ZEAL is for dealing damage. Take only the rogue ability that let you escape or go invisible, and use Flames of devotion for all attacks.

 

Chain of events occur something like this:

1. Holy slayer sneaks up to enemy

2. Holy slayer attacks using Arquebus at max range on enemy

3. IF enemy died in one shot, immediately pause, re-enable stealth mode, shoot another target with flames of devotion

IF enemy not dead, combat begins (enable auto-pause on combat start)

4. Use smoke screen abilities to turn invisible, this restores the assassinate damage bonus

5. Shoot at your target with flames of devotion again. you will not have to reload from the first shot because you fired before combat started and it was automatically reloaded by the time combat started.

6. If the enemy is still alive, enable smoke bomb immediately after your second shot connects and retreat to just outside the enemy vision radius.

7. Wait for combat to end and re-enable sneak mode, your resources will be restored.

8. Sneak back to the enemy and hit them with another flames of devotion (and repeat this cycle until they are dead)

 

Again, this build is based off of manipulating the stealth and detection system to your advantage. It could be rendered ineffective by a software patch if the software patch changes reload weapons or the enemy detection AI. I have also not tested this build on anything higher than classic difficulty. 

 

preferred races:

 

++ Coastal Amaua - suprisingly relevant choice here as this build relies heavily on movement and kiting rather than getting hit. not getting slowed down by the occasional puddle can mean the difference between living and dying.

+Wood elf- for resistance to dex afflictions

+Godlike for optimal stats, subclass abilities are of limited use for this build

-Anything else can also work if you would prefer to roleplay a specific race for this build.

 

Preferred cultures

 

Living Lands

Old Valia

The White that Wends

 

Attributes:

 

MAX Might for Maximum Damage

MAX Intelligence to get the most out of your limited invisibility time to position and strike

MAX Perception So your shots will crit

Dump Constitution to 8, you want enough life to take the occasional hit and not crumple like a paper cup.

DUMP Resolve to 3, this character will not be tanking lots of hits, so you will have little use for this.

put the rest in dexterity. It's nice to have this, but you would not be getting much use out of it.

 

Weapon proficiencies

Arquebus

Greatsword

You can choose at later levels to pick other two handed weapons if you like their attributes.

 

I welcome any feedback on whether this approach still works at the higher difficulty levels.