Han Solo's High Crit Build
Build for Darktide

Updated for the Path of Redemption!

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Overview

Damnation, Auric and Mutations - a trifecta of hell; packed to the brim with enemies hungry for your Toughness bars. This build is centered around the ability to not only sustain said Toughness, but also decimate (almost) every enemy on Tertium in style!

There are four key goals I had when cooking this build up:

• Have a high Critical Chance with a Ranged weapon to rack up strong single-target damage
• Survive close encounters via a flurry of Melee attacks or Stagger abilities
• Provide team-based damage and toughness bonuses by highlighting Elites & Specials
• Support your team with consistent Ammo replenishment and neutering dangers from afar

Melee

If you're not dishing out damage with your gun, then you're probably surrounded by Ragers, Maulers or are the last one alive. That's where your trusty slicing implement comes into play.

I find that the "Atrox Mk IV" Tactical Axe is a wonderful little murdering toy, in that it's got two neat ways to deal damage:

1. Surrounded by enemies? Flurry your finger on the light attacks, with an interspersed special to do some great combo damage. Sustain your attacks for your perks to kick in, and reap the rewards of regular high crit damage! 
   L1 > L1 > Special
    
2. Need to take a big guy down? Go for them heavy attacks, also breaking the combo with a special attack.
   H1 > H1 > Special

Not a fan of slice first, axe questions later? Change it up with something that's more suited to deal with carapace/flak armoured enemies, such as an "Orestes Mk XII" Assault Chainaxe or -if you enjoy parrying your enemies- try the Catachan Mk VII "Devil's Claw" Sword!

Melee - Perks

+10-25% Damage (Flak Armoured Enemies)

Simply put, these enemies take a while to whittle down their health. Situational, but at least they'll die quicker.

+10-25% Damage (Infested Enemies)

Clear the weaker, common enemies faster by taking this.

Melee - Blessings

Decimator
Continuously chaining more than 2 attacks gives +2-5% Power. Stacks 10 times.

Works great for Heavy AND Light attacks.

Shred
+2.5-4% Bonus Critical Chance on Chained Hit. Stacks 5 times.

Simply put, trigger your high crit chance by mindlessly swinging that axe. You'll be an efficient killer in mere seconds.

Ranged

For me, it's the Kantrael Mk X Heavy Laspistol. The gun's sight is perfect for lining up targets both near and far, and its RoF and damage hold strong for the end-game. Plus, this build makes you feel like the galaxy's best scoundrel - Han Solo.

One of the only "downside" of the Kantrael LP's is the ammo economy. Simply put, each shot takes up 3 ammo. Your average Accatran LP offers ~220-250 real shots, whereas your Kantrael LP = ~160-180 (based off of aggregated data from grey's purchased in the ~370 range). 

This is why we use perks like Fully Loaded and Shock Trooper in order to maximise ammo economy and damn near guarantee free ammo with a high crit build to proc a sweet $0 laser show now and then.

Ranged - Perks

+10-25% Damage (Carapace Armoured Enemies)

One of the weaknesses of Las-weapons being that it has low penetration on Carapace enemies, so this damage boost will levy that a bit.

Opt to swap this for Flak if you feel confident in melee range with Carapace enemies.

Increase Ranged Critical Strike Chance by 2-5%

Taking this, alongside all the other talents in this build, means you'll proc up to a 40% chance per shot to crit.

Ranged - Blessings

Suppression immunity is negligible since Las-weapons already provide suppression. Crit kills aren't guaranteed to proc, so the following blessings are recommended.

Raking Fire
+32.5-40% Damage when shooting Enemies in the back.

Great perk for when dealing with Monstrosities and you aren't pulling aggro. Especially if you're hanging back and your teammates are surrounded, your TTK will be sufficient with upwards of a 40% damage boost.

Infernus
+3 Burn Stack(s) on Critical Hit to a maximum of 8-10 Stack(s).

High crit = near guarantee of being able to light enemies on fire. Great for both high DOT single target damage and anti-horde clear support.

Curios - Blessings

You should be running either:

• 3x +13-17% Toughness
  
  OR
   
• 2x +13-17% Toughness 
• 1x +1-3 Max Stamina (if you really need more stamina management. This build gives you +1 bar from the tree)
  
  OR
   
• 2x +13-17% Toughness
• 1x +1 Wounds (for Auric Levels)

The higher your Toughness pool is, the longer you can live.

Curios - Perks

Must have:

+6-12% Stamina Regeneration

Because you'll be running out of breath faster than being at a Mark Normand comedy show, it's important to have stamina both always available, and quickly replenishable. This will allow you to sustain your Las-weapon's ADS crit buff, upkeep block on enemies, or run away from an unfair fight.

+7.5-30% Toughness Regeneration Speed

The faster you can regenerate health, the better this is for your teammates. 

Third perk slot suggestions:

+4-10% Revive Speed (Ally)

Every second counts in Damnation and above, so quick revives mean a better chance of survival. Since you can sustain yourself with your axe, grenades and your Stagger ability; oftentimes you'll find you're the last man standing in the squad. I'd say a max of 20% revive speed (1/5th of the animation) is more than enough.

Skip this perk type if you're going to invest a point into the Voice of Command > OIDDDE sub-talent.

+2-5% Toughness

No brainer if you want to min-max your Toughness pool.

+5-20% Damage Resistance (Enemy Type)

Again, a no-brainer if you have difficulty with certain enemy types. For this build, I find that probably only Gunners are an issue if there's not much cover or LoS, otherwise I'm pretty spatially aware. Even so, you can use suppression naturally with Las-weapons. Maybe Hounds if you can't dodge them too well in tight areas.

+6-12% Block Efficiency

Great for Hi-Intensity mutations, when you're guaranteed to be swarmed. Taking this will help you sustain close encounters a wee bit longer.

SKIP THESE TALENTS!

+1-4% Combat Ability Regeneration
+2-10% Experience
+2-5% Health
+4-10% Ordo Dockets (Mission Rewards)
+5-20% chance of Curio as Mission Reward (Instead of Weapon)
+5-20% Corruption Resistance (Grimoires)
+6-15% Corruption Resistance
6-15% Sprint Efficiency

Either they are so situational that they're not a good investment, clutch perks, grinding buffs, or just don't fit the purpose of this build.

Talents

Blitz - Krak Grenade

• Great high, single target damage.
• Useful against Bulkwark's, Rager/Mauler groups, Monstrosities, Beasts and bosses.
• Replenishes 1 grenade every 60 seconds thanks to Demolition Stockpile.
  -------------------------------
• Swap this with Shredder Frag Grenade if you struggle with AoE. 
  • Perfect for clearing hordes or getting out of tight situations.
  • G + Right click to drop at your feet when in danger.
  • Unfortunately requires 2 talent points to connect back to the build.
    • With the extra point available, take either the Combat Ability sub-talent OIDDDE, or Superiority Complex for additional Elite damage.

Aura - Survivalist:

• Mandatory Veteran ability. 
• Even if you don't benefit from this with your 1/3 chance to shoot for free, your teammates will thank you.
  • NOTE: with the Path of Redemption update, this only procs every 5 seconds. Still one of the best perks nevertheless; and your ammo reserves are in no duress.
    -------------------------------
• If your team ARE ammo efficient and considerate with ammo supply distribution, instead get Covering Fire and Aura - Fire Team for extra damage and Toughness protection.
  • If you have an extra point available, get the Combat Ability sub-talent OIDDDE.

Ability - Voice of Command:

• With Tactical Awareness reducing the CD by 6 seconds per Specialist kill, you can damn near spam this if given the opportunity.
• Either use it to stack up Toughness (there is NO max Toughness for VoC, but it only lasts 15s per stack) or to push enemies away from you/teammates when reviving or surrounded.
• If you really want the sub-talent OIDDDE (either because you want to use better Curio perks, or need AoE saving functionality), I would take the talent point off Shock Trooper and use that point for OIDDDE. 
  • Honestly if I had more faith that teammates didn't steal ammo -or we weren't running more than 2 Vets a mission- I wouldn't take Shock Trooper. But I find it really useful over the situational-ness of OIDDDE.
    --------------------------
• I can't really suggest any other Ability. 
  • Executioner's Stance - while the extra damage is great, we already have high crit and 30% weakspot damage bonuses. Most things die in 1-3 hits.
  • Infiltrate - Very anti-support, goes against the build purpose.

Keystone - Focus Target!

• Get into the habit of tagging enemies. Even if you aren't a Veteran, your teammates will thank you for this; especially if -like me- their eyesight is SHOT.
• I chose not to add Focus Fire (extra 3 stacks) because 12% is negligible, also the TTK for most enemies is short enough that 5 stacks is plenty.
• Redirected Fire will basically guarantee your team have a 1.5-7% damage boost active constantly, especially with how many Elites there are in the endgame.
• Enemies will take 4-20% additional damage. If they die, everyone in Coherency will get 5-25% Toughness and Stamina restored.
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• While Weapons Specialist DOES provide additional 33% crit chance per-shot per-stack, the activation process with melee is not designed for this build in mind. 
  • Trust me in that a 40% chance for free ammo and boosted damage is PLENTY. 
• Marksman's Focus is useless when you need to be moving and reload speed means nothing when you have a near-bottomless magazine thanks to Shock Trooper.

Additional notes

• I skipped reload perks because Laspistols are quick enough, also again - near-bottomless magazine thanks to Shock Trooper.
   
• Opening Salvo grants an additional 10% crit chance for the first 10% ammo, BUT it's NOT GOOD for three reasons:
  1. From testing it really only gave me 5-9 max free shots before I shot over 10% of my ammo. It's not very efficient.
  2.  You'll either be too distracted looking at your ammo count/ability symbol to minmax your ammo stash, or you'll forget this talent exists while playing. 
  3. 40% is more than enough crit chance, and the talent point is best spent elsewhere
      
• This build uses only one Ability Modifier, and that is For the Emperor! which helps improve damage output for the team.
   
• Suppression immunity via Determined is great, but I consider it a crutch perk.
  • Las-weapons have natural suppression, also learning to dodge is better than relying on a convenience.

Stats

Buffed Stats:

• 10% Ranged DMG
• 30% Weakspot DMG
• 10% Rending DMG
• +10% Ranged and Melee damage on Ability use
   
• 51% Toughness
• 38% Toughness DR
• 36% Stamina Regen
• 90% Toughness Replenishment Speed
   
• 40% Crit Chance
• 5% Health
• 5% Reload Speed
   
• +1 Stamina
• +40 Toughness
   
• Up to 33% additional Toughness DR w/ full Coherency
   
• 60% Ranged Sway Reduction when ADS
• 30% Weakspot Damage bonus
• 25% Suppression Dealt
• 25% Additional ammo
  • Perfect for high levels and where more than 1 ammo-hungry teammate is involved!
     
• 40% chance to shoot for FREE when ADS!

Crit Chance:

• 5% from base Class
• 5% from Gun perk
• 5% from Talent passive
• 25% when ADS with Las-weapon (thanks to the Deadshot talent)

40% Total Crit Chance, that's more than 1/3 and just shy of 50/50!

Killing an Elite/Specialist:

• 1% ammo restored (5s CD)
• All teammates in Coherency replenish 5-25% Toughness and Stamina if tagged enemy dies.
• All teammates in Coherency will get a 1.5-7% damage boost for 10s if tagged enemy dies.

Final Words and Tips

With this build, you don't need to worry about picking up grenades. At worst, you'll be asking for maybe 2-3 Ammo Tins per Damnation/Auric mission with your 40% chance to shoot for free.

1. Tag Elites/Specialists as much as you can for 4-20% damage from all sources, and 5-25% Tough/Stam restore. This will also upkeep your 1.5-7% bonus damage as well, allowing your TTK to be as efficient as possible.
    
2. Aim down the sights for a total 40% crit chance and 1/3 chance of free ammo!
    
3. Your combat ability regens ALL of your Toughness plus 50 more, and all allies in Coherency get +50.
   1. Don't forget there is a 6s CD reduction for each Specialist you kill. Incentivize targeting them for more Toughness and stagger!
       
4. Don't bother picking up grenade boxes since you restore 1 every 60 seconds. Ammo can also be passed on to team-mates if your economy is good.
    
5. Weak spot hits do 30% damage. This + Crit + other factors equate to quick kills and Toughness sustain.
    
6. When you find yourself surrounded in CQC, pull out your "Atrox Mk IV" Tactical Axe and hack 'em dead!
   1. Alternatively, drop a grenade if you're close to dying or needing to get out of the crowd ASAP.