Up to +25-40% Strength, as Stamina depletes.
+12-24% Rending on Enemy Weak Spot Hit for 3.5s. Stacks 5 times.
+70-100% Critical Weak Spot Damage.
+14-20 Critical Chance on Weak Spot Hit until your next Critical Hit. Stacks 5 times.
the lasgun is the standard weapon for a guardsman, so naturally half the community gravitate towards using the kantrael lasgun. this is quickly counterbalanced when people bring this weapon on auric and above and get completely destroyed. it has the mobility profile of super heavy weapons (for some unknown reason) and low carapace or unyielding damage. for the average darktide player this immediately puts them off and they move onto an autogun or a helbore/recon. but you are no ordinary reject. today we are going to make the infantry lasgun a maelstrom ready build.
strategy: we'll be using deadshot and marksman's focus to bring out some appropriate damage values vs crushers and bosses. at max stacks you can do about 2k dmg on a boss critical headshot, but only when the stars align. crushers can take about 650 dmg per critical headshot, but generally your looking at 12/20 headshots to bring a crusher down. the shovel can chip one or 2 down in a pinch but crusher patrols will require some techs. chaos spawns are dangerous but the shovel's stamina will keep you alive for ages. the pogryn can be animation locked when hugging it, a bit like the rat ogre in VT2. using lasgun headshots will bring it down at a medium speed, think axe zealot level. beasts of nurgle involve shooting the big yellow spot, but shooting the head can be done if its aggro'd on you. be prepared to use a lot of ammo though
as for everything else, you so much as look in their general direction and it will die. at max stacks one headshot for almost every human sized enemy will kill it. you can headshot or body shot maulers with generally equal dmg, and mutants take a couple headshots. dont worry about standing still to maintain stacks, headshots keep the stacks from going down so move about as much as you like.
you will be prioritising gunners and specials of all types. there is no gun that can compare to the infantry lasgun's ability to clear the board of these 2 enemy types. autoguns can keep up but with about 1/3rd of the ammo efficiency. you can clear multiple rooms of gunners and not even reload. if you want to use the lasgun for the entire game vs every enemy you are entirely able to do so.
the shovel should be used when hordes get too close, or when you are being rushed by the frenzy melee units (ie ragers and spawns). all or nothing means deadshot's downside turns into a buff.
dont run either
I think the biggest thing I found about this build is that it allows for some great positioning: most classes have to dance alongside dangerous units to get the right sustain and dps but you regenerate toughness enough to trade gunners blow for blow, and you will have plenty of time and mobility to shoot the melee that try to run you down. you will find that clutches usually involve you just not being in the danger zone and still doing adequate dps, while the zealots and ogryns get rushed down. when SHTF you should already be in the back, far away from the bad stuff.
another nice tech: grenades have the buffs of the weapon you are currently wielding. therefore, when attacked by a mauler/crusher patrol, pop 2 grenades down and get uncanny strikes up to full. this can be a great emergency nuke button if shtf.
interchangeables: use whichever shovel type you prefer, since we have uncanny strike they all do the same AP (100%). devil's claw sword is the main alternative that can clear hordes and has good defence. combat blade and duelling sword are on another level at all times so just to get it out of the way yes they are better options on maelstrom, same with every other build. as for the shovel, limb splitter, skull crusher and decimator are all viable alternatives to all or nothing but they wont trigger as often.
and that's all I can help you with. the main nuance will be dodging and positioning apporpriately so you can shoot even when pressured by hordes and elites. watch those overheads and keep an eye on your dodge limit. enjoy shooting your way through maelstroms and remember that CADIA STANDS!
