
Shrapnel / Rapier PvP Build
Season 8
Glass cannon damage is ****ing scary.. fights end in just a few seconds and they don’t even know what hit them. This build is one that I have been intimidated to try, but holy crap was it fun to play! Even with my bad aim, the damage was insane. Pow pow pokey poke.
Check out a video guide with gameplay for this build!
Equipment / Attributes
Glass cannon musket / rapier benefits a TON from being built with 350 INT thanks to those beefy damage increase passives. If you build higher DEX you will have slightly higher base weapon damage, but it's not quite as good damage wise due to the diminishing returns on your attributes after 350 points. 25 CON is fantastic for that bit of extra healing, and if you max this build out you can get 25 FOC as well for the cooldown reduction.
Now, ideally for musket damage you would run a 725 musket with the same perks as my Shrapnel, but have finisher on your back bar. This however comes at the cost of your rapier now doing much less damage since Finisher has pretty bad actual damage perks for a grace tree rapier setup. If you’re like me and DON’T have a good 725 musket, then Shrapnel is actually a pretty good (and easy to get) choice damage wise while also allowing you to run a very damage focused rapier like my Narwhal Tusk. The perks for my weapon setup are perfect here too!
For the armor perks things like Enchanted Ward and Refreshing are the way to go. I have a few Shirking Heals pieces but they are not as useful on a low CON build, however it does offer some good supplementary healing if your off on your own. If your using Traps, Accelerating Traps is a huge plus to have, and Leeching Flurry is a MUST have for this squishy setup! Omnidirectional Evade is also a good choice here too since the rapier does not quite reach empower cap. Crippling powder burn is a great perk to have on your armor too!
All your Runeglass gems should be matching the elemental damage of choice your running on both weapons.
The Old Crown is a fantastic artifact here since it not only increases your attributes (meaning more damage) but it also provides quite a bit of bonus defensive perks that are fantastic for a light armor build! It also allows you to hit the 350 / 300 attribute jump points while still having some points left over for CON and FOC.
The jewelry is perfect, with the secret healing tech from Endless Thirst being fantastic for keeping this build topped up on health as long as your switching between two different healing potions.
Use the best food you can find, Desert Sunrise, and Honing Stones. The two potions of choice for this build are the Regeneration and Burst Regeneration potions since they give the most healing value, but regular healing potions might be a great option since this build has very little health.
Active Skills
Musket Skills
Power shot hits like a truck on this build, you can expect to get upwards of 8k crits on squishy players. I even 1 shot some poor guy who had 8k health with this..
Powder burn is fantastic for setting up your musket combo. The skill plus the burn does quite a lot of damage, especially on this build. Having Crippling Powder Burn here is a huge plus for making it easier to land your follow up shots!
Traps is my skill of choice for the final slot. I love it especially on this build because if anyone stands in that trap, they will likely die to your next few hits while holding nice and still for you. You can also use traps to “zone” opponents out and give yourself space against melees. Accelerating Traps makes a MASSIVE difference on your ability to escape bad spots! A well placed trap throw can also be a death sentence.
Rapier Skills
Since this build is so squishy, you will 100% need to have Leeching Flurry. It lets you trade with any opponent and with this setup deals massive amounts of damage. The healing is a huge plus too!
Evade is a must have for attacking and defending. You can cancel anything with this skill and it has a very high skill ceiling, so practice up your combos with it!
A build like this needs a gap closer to escape bad situations and Fleche is perfect since it allows you to move through opponents. But the real danger here is just how dam hard Fleche can hit, reaching up to 8k damage on a squishy target. Truly a deadly finisher if you can land that backstab.