Slayer

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Predator Punisher

1.5 Cycle

Raid Build 1 Cycle

6 Seconds

THIS GUIDE IS UP TO DATE

WITH THE 2023 NOVEMBER
 PATCH

General FAQ
This document is a community driven full breakdown of the respective class. This is a live document where we
actively change it based on feedback and changes to the game to provide the best information to the community. The
majority of us hang around in the Community Lost Ark Discord in our respective class channels. If you would like
to give us feedback or ask questions contact us there.

Why should I play this class?

Slayer is a warrior class that can output high amounts of front loaded damage in a short time.
That means you can enter the identity state, called Burst Mode, and instantly start dishing out her
entire kit.
Her strongest skills are heavy singular hitters, which players often treat as a feedback to their
character’s development.
She’s a melee back attacker and her builds improve on that. That being said, she has great
maneuverability tools, on top of having maximum movement speed, which eases the frequent
struggle of chasing enemies' rears.
Branding her as a melee also doesn’t tell the whole story, since she has insane range compared to
the other melee options.
Being from the warrior class also means her defense and HP are on the higher end, so you
shouldn’t be too afraid of taking huge chunks of damage.

TLDR: If you like big numbers and bigger boobs swords, this is the class for you.
 How does my identity work?

Similar to Berserker, Slayer has a Fury meter that is filled by hitting the enemy with any one of
her attacks, and can be activated once full to enter Burst Mode.

While in Burst Mode, you are provided with the following effects:
● 20% Attack and Movement Speed and 30% Crit Rate increase.
● Burst mode cannot be canceled.
● You also gain access to Slayer’s greatest Skill, Bloodlust (Default keybind Z) which deals significant damage
and has additionally Push Immunity, Weak Point, and Stagger.
● After Burst Mode ends, a non-removable exhaustion debuff prevents you from gaining meter from attacks for 30
seconds.

The two class engravings available for Slayer change how her identity works.

👉 Hitting an enemy increases the identity (Fury) meter

Predator by 10% and restores 3% max Mana (1s internal
cooldown).
👉 During Burst mode, increases Crit Damage by 40%
but disables the Bloodlust Skill (Z).
👉 Every 3 seconds gain an exhaustion stack that
increases Burst meter consumption by 10% (1s
internal cooldown).
👉 When Burst mode ends, exhaustion duration is
reduced by 1 second for each Fatigue stack obtained,
starting at a base of 30 seconds.
👉 When exhaustion ends, the identity (Fury) meter is
automatically fully refilled.
 👉 During Burst Mode, all damage +25% and
Punisher Bloodlust (Z) crit rate +20%.
👉 Identity (Fury) Meter gain -25%.
👉 Burst Mode duration -50%.
👉 When Burst Mode ends, exhaustion is not applied.

How do I decide on a build?

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a matter of personal preference.
Here’s a short summary of the builds. For further information, read their respective sections of
this document.

PREDATOR PUNISHER

● Constant Attacking. ● Burst.

● Smaller (but still big) numbers. ● Big numbers.
● Swiftness as main attribute. ● Spec as main attribute.
Summary ● Build meter once, activate it and keep ● Build meter, activate it and dump your
attacking to maintain the identity buff as damage skills before meter runs out,
long as you can. repeat.

● Easy to play
Pros ● Fast and mobile ● Heavy nuke (burst) on demand
● Cheaper to build

● Back Attack reliant

● Back attack reliant
● Expensive to build
Cons ● Mana issues
● Fury meter management
● Bloodlust Skill (Z) locked
● Rune requirements

What are my Party Synergies?

Synergies are a buff your party benefits from. These only apply to your party and not the entire raid. Consistent
synergies are up for most of the fight while Burst synergies are much more infrequent.
 Damage
Amplification
Consistent
6% Damage Increase
Skill

Flash Blade

Cross Blade

Wild Stomp

Why is Yearning important?

It’s considered a part of a build despite not being on your character.
Swamp of Yearning is used by supports and gives +8/10/12% Damage and Attack/Move speed
to the party. This is a Relic Set they use that has a golden ring.

Useful Resources
Resources
Slayer Stagger Values
Sekwah’s Gauge Calculator
Predator Engravings and Elixir Setup
Punisher Engravings and Elixir Setup

Card Set
EARLY GAME
 Star of Destiny
0
+3% Damage +4% Max HP
Special Bonus Shield

MID GAME

Deep Dive
12 / 18 /30
+4/8/12% Additional Damage

LATE GAME

Light of Salvation
18 /30
All damage becomes Holy Damage
+7/15% Holy Damage

NOTES
Damage hierarchy: LoS30 > DD30 > LoS18 > DD18 > LWC12 > DD12 > SoD
Additional Damage is additive to other additional Damage like from Weapon Quality or Relic Sets
(Nightmare, Salvation and Yearning).
Kazeros’s Legion Commanders is a notable late game set for certain content.

Chaos Dungeon
Skill Lvl Tripods Runes Skill Lvl Tripods Ru
3 1
1 3 2
12 7
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Ra
Guillotine Wild Rush Lv.5
 2 2 1 1 1 1
12 12
Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Mountain Lv.5 Lv.5 Gale
Final Blow
Cleave

2 3 1 3 3 1
12 10
Hurricane Lv.5 Lv.5 Bleed Furious Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Gale
Sword Claw

1 3 2 3 1 1
12 10
Volcanic Eruption Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Brutal Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Gale
Impact

Awakening Mandatory Engravings Notes

- Use Brutal Impact for one shotting the bosses.
Preemptive Strike - Guillotine cooldown gets reduced based on the number of enemies yo
Predator If it doesn’t reset, use the other skills as fillers.
- Try the other Volcanic Eruption tripods, they are all good.
- You can one shot the red pillars with Wild Rush.
Ragna Break Dominion for when you have a few skills that need more CDR.
Armor Sets Salvation for when you need Damage and/or Attack Speed. Betrayal
when you don’t want faster runs, but a lazier experience.
Dominion, Salvation, Betrayal Extra engravings in order of damage:
Contender > Raid Captain
 PREDATOR

Written by ivxn

Playstyle
Predator is a fast, back attacker, constant damage dealer, similar to the likes of Taijutsu
Scrapper and Hunger Reaper.

The playstyle is based on trying to maintain the Burst Mode as long as possible, because it will
run out eventually. The longer you can maintain the mode up, the faster it will start running out
and when it does, you’ll enter exhaustion mode.

In exhaustion mode, you lose all of the buffs from Burst mode state (20% Move/Attack Speed,
30% Crit Rate, 40% Crit Damage and mana regeneration)

The duration of exhaustion mode is inversely proportional to the time you spent in Burst mode.
That is, the longer the burst mode, the shorter the exhaustion mode.

Realistically, you will be playing at around 10 (30 seconds Burst mode, 20 seconds exhaustion)
to 20 (60 seconds Burst mode, 10 seconds exhaustion) exhaustion stacks most of the time. Less
than that will feel really bad. More than that you’re getting close to Trixion level.

Stat Allocation
You’ll need cooldown reduction and attack speed to maintain the Burst Mode. Crit gains more
value from the +40% crit damage from the engraving.
 Swift Swift
Standard Swift Swift Swift Swift
Crit Crit
* Some people opt in for a 1500/700 Swift/Crit distribution (one crit ring). It’s personal preference.

Gear Set
Entropy is used because all of her skills have the back attack modifier and the added crit rate
synergizes well with the engraving.

Set # Effect
+17/20/22% Crit Damage
2
+55/60/65% Crit Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Entropy 4 +17/20/22% Crit Chance

+7/8/9% Damage
6
+21/24/26% Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Engravings
Here are the Engravings you should aim to use,
and why you would choose specific combinations of Engravings to make a build.

Mandatory

+10/25/40% Crit damage

+3/6/10% Fury meter ● This engraving enables the build.
+1/2/3% mana per hit ● Levels 1 and 2 make it difficult to maintain the Burst Mode.
Removes Bloodlust (Z)
Predator

+4/10/20% Damage ● Core engraving for any DPS class.

+20% Received Damage
 Grudge

+10/22/45% of Bonus Move

Speed as Damage ● You can reach around 160% movespeed during identity,
technically (the game does not allow you to go over 140% in
+4/8.8/18% Damage most scenarios). This makes it an obvious choice of engraving.
Raid Captain at max Move Speed (140%)

+5/15/25% Damage to ● Core engraving for any back attack build.

Back Attacks
Ambush Master

Pick One

+4/10/18% Attack Power ● Free damage gain. The downside is completely negated because
-10% Attack Speed you overcap attack speed.
Mass Increase

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power

per Stack ● Not the best but a valid option.
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at ● Removes value from crit synergies.
Max (6) Stacks
Adrenaline

Level 1

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power

per Stack
● Best option for the 6th engraving, at level 1 or 2.
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at
Max (6) Stacks
Adrenaline

+0.2/0.3/0.5% Attack Power

+0.3/0.6/1% Defense Per ● Valid option for the 6th engraving, at level 1.
Stack, Max 30 Stacks
Ether Predator

Not Recommended
 +10/25/50% Crit Damage ● You are already looking at a 295/300/305% crit damage with
10% Chance of entropy set, which results on average 13~14% damage increase
-20% Damage from Keen Blunt Weapon.
Keen Blunt
Weapon

Example Engraving Setups

Here are some example setups you can use for your engravings at different stages.

5x3

5x3+1

Notes
Cursed Doll can be an option over Mass Increase.

Number Comparison
Damage gain from
%

( )3 + 2
+10.72%
5x3+2 ( )3 + 2
+7.50%

( )3 + 2
+6.78%

( )3 + 1
+5.31%

( )3 + 1
+3.47%
5x3+1 ( )3 + 1
+3.39%

( )3 + 1
+0.12%

( )3 + 1
+1.70%
 * Considered:
- 85% back attack
- Earth’s Entropy lvl 3
- 23.26% critrate from stats
- Ether Predator 1 stacking time IS taken into account

Check Predator Build Calculator for other combinations of

engravings + elixir set bonuses.

Skills, Runes, and Gems

The explanation for Gem priority can be found below this table.

Core Skills
kill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes Notes
Highest damage skill
● Weak Point Detection +6.2% damage per level
3 1 1
● Swift Execution makes the skill instant cast. +7
12 from lvl 4 to 5.
○ Charge Enhancement is also an option. +20
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
l Impact damage compared to , both lvl 5.
● Fury Greatsword +9% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

Damage Skill
2 3 2
● Leap makes you jump before casting the skill. T
12 level increases jump range.
● Released Fury +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
c Eruption ● Bloody Eruption +12.1% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

Damage Skill, Destruction lvl. 1

1 3 1 ● Quick Prep lowers cooldown per tripod level.
12 ● Furious Blow +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 ○ Precise Strike is also an option.

Focus
llotine ● Flame Slash +9% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

Movement skill
● Burning Rage ticks count as hits for meter recov
2 1 ○ Excellent Mobility increases range.
7 ● Charge Prep Gives you one more charge for the
Quick Re. granting 2 stacks of Adrenaline.
(Purify)
d Rush
(Judgment) Also, If you do not run Final Blow, this is your
Conviction/Judgment skill.
 Meter generator, Counter, No paralysis immunity
3 1 2
● Damage Amplification +6% party damage for 1
10 ● Released Fury is the only useful option.
Bleed ● Earth Impact can keep proccing the gauge gain
Stomp Predator.

Damage skill, No paralysis immunity

3 1 1 ● Quick Prep lowers cooldown per tripod level.
10 ● Rage +7.6% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5
Conviction ● Driving Hit makes it so the skill hits 7 times quic
us Claw (Judgment) pretty good for C/J proccing. +8.4% dmg from lvl 4

Pick 2
Damage Skill, Burn ticks
2 2 1
● Quick Prep lowers cooldown per tripod level.
12 ● Weak Point Detection +7.6% dmg from lvl 4 to
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Flame Storm +9% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
ain Cleave

Damage Skill, Counter, Fast Cast

3 1 2 ● Stable Stance grants Paralysis Immunity.

12 ● Released Fury +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

● Chain Attack +7.5% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
ishing Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
raw
Damage Skill, Backloaded damage
3 2 1
● Quick Prep lowers cooldown per tripod level.
12 ● Released Fury +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Conviction ● Driving Hit +9.6% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
al Blow

Damage Skill, Destruction lvl.2, High Stagger, Slow cast

2 3 2
● Rage +7.5% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
12 ● Weak Point Detection +7.6% dmg from lvl 4 to
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Lights Out +10.4% dmg on the last hit from lvl
l Sword

Awakening
This would be used as a filler skill when everything is on cooldown.
a Break

This skill instantly fills up your Fury Meter. Useful at the start of fights.

ecute

Gem Priority
Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional gems.

MG

CDR

Tripod Priorities
This shows which Tripods are the most important for you to level.

High Priority Medium Priority Low Priority

Weak Point Swift Fury Stable Released Chain

Detection Execution Greatsword Stance Fury Attack

Brutal Punishing
Impact Draw

Leap Released Bloody Quick Released Driving Hit

Fury Eruption Prep Fury

Volcanic Eruption Final Blow

 Quick Furious Flame Quick Prep Weak Point Flame
Prep Blow Slash Detection Storm

Guillotine Mountain Cleave

Quick Prep Rage Driving Hit Rage Weak Point Lights Out
Detection

Furious Claw Fatal Sword

Damage Released Earth

Amplification Fury Impact

Wild Stomp

Rotations

Opener This is a good habit to have but not mandatory, and can also be done differently.
Considering C/J on / , the next skill you use after activating Burst Mode will have Adrenaline fully stacked and
will be inside the Judgement buff, with synergy applied.

Preferably this skill should be .

Stagger
Priority ( ) ( )( )
DPS Distribution
Below is a chart which shows the damage distribution based on a 2-minute Trixion parse.
Take these numbers as a very rough estimate of what should be expected in a real scenario.
This is based on the standard build outlined in this guide, modifications can change percentages.
 Stagger Distribution
Refer to this for what skills you should prioritize during Stagger checks.
I’ll add numbers soon™.
 Builds
Use these builds as an example of a goal build for yourself. Using knowledge you learned from earlier in the guide make changes
and adjustments to the build to your liking and enjoy the end game.
For Inferno builds checkout Hell Academy.

Raid Build
Elixir: Critical, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Earth’s Entropy
3 1 1
Accessories
12

Swift + Crit Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind

Brutal Impact
 Swift 2 3 2
12
Swift Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Volcanic Eruption

Swift 1 3 1
12
Swift Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Focus
Guillotine

Swift + Crit 2 1
7
Crit 600 Quick Re.
Swift 1800 Wild Rush

Engravings

3 1 2
Grudge
10
Bleed
Wild Stomp
Predator

Raid Captain
3 1 1
10
Ambush Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Judgment
Furious Claw
Master

Increase Mass
3 2 1
12
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Conviction
Adrenaline Final Blow
Awakening
2 3 2
12
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Fatal Sword
Execute

FAQ: PREDATOR
Questions sourced from frequent interactions within the Community Lost Ark Discord

Is Predator viable?
It is actually a build with very high damage output, but has some flaws that can make it a bit
stressful to pilot.
The exhaustion mode punishes you for not attacking during Burst Mode, and raids have been
designed to have you stop attacking to pass some mechanic or gimmick. And it’s not like
Adrenaline that you can keep spamming one skill, you need to actually hit something.
Brelshaza banishment will probably be the thing you’re most scared of.
There are also cutscenes (Vykas typing, Kakul-Saydon Showtime) that don’t stop time so if
you’re in Burst Mode you can’t hit the boss and your meter is getting drained without you being
able to maintain it. Sometimes you gotta keep in mind that waiting a bit to reactivate Burst Mode
might be the best call.
Also, if you’re in a raid with players way above minimum item level, the boss will jump from
one mechanic to the other, making you feel like you can never enjoy your Burst mode.

That being said, the class is completely viable and fun. It just might not be the thing for
everyone.

How does it compare to other classes?

For a full swiftness class, her skills hit HARD. If you like fast and spammy gameplay, but also
want to see some big numbers, this is a build for you.
In a scenario that allows you to maintain DPS, you can achieve most damage done without much
effort.
 Am I supposed to have mana issues?
Yes. Pray for a good support, or use mana food… Or both.

Do I really have to play her as a back attacker?

Entro/Hallu Entro/Hallu
bATK % (lvl2 sets) (lvl3 sets)
0 0,77 0,76
10 0,82 0,82
20 0,87 0,87
30 0,92 0,92
40 0,97 0,98
50 1,02 1,03
60 1,07 1,08
70 1,12 1,13
80 1,17 1,18
90 1,22 1,23
100 1,27 1,28
* kbw negative as -2% overall dmg
* 23% critrate from secondary stats
* adrenaline lvl1
* no time wasted walking for batks
* Can check my calculations here.

As you can see, an Entropy+Ambush Master player hitting 50% of their skills in the back already
deals 3% more damage than a Hallucination+KBW player. And entropy gets even better the
more back attacks you hit.

80% back attack is not hard to achieve with Predator Slayer, and at that point Entropy + Ambush
Master deals 18% more damage than Hallucination set with Keen Blunt Weapon.
 PUNISHER

Written by ivxn

Playstyle
This is your traditional fill gauge > activate fun mode > dump all skills loop gameplay.
Similar to the likes of Igniter Sorceress and Barrage Artillerist.
The faster you can return to Burst Mode and the more skills you can fit inside it the more overall
damage you will deal.

Stat Allocation
Specialization will give you damage and meter generation.
Swiftness on the necklace will make you hit the limit on attack speed and movement speed,
enabling Raid Captain.

Spec Spec
Standard Spec Spec Spec Spec
Swift Crit
* Spec/Swift also works for the bracelets, especially if you don’t have a necklace with high Swiftness.
 Your amount of Swiftness becomes an important factor for being able to use Guillotine two
times in one Burst Mode.
If you want to minmax, you need 582/466 Swiftness to hit attack speed and movement speed
limit with Yearning lvl 2/3.
If you have plans of doing double Guillotine, you need around 500 Swiftness (more is even
better) and a level 9 cooldown gem.

Gear Set
Entropy is used because all of her skills have the back attack modifier.

Set # Effect
+17/20/22% Crit Damage
2
+55/60/65% Crit Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Entropy 4 +17/20/22% Crit Chance

+7/8/9% Damage
6
+21/24/26% Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Engravings
Here are the Engravings you should aim to use,
and why you would choose specific combinations of Engravings to make a build.

Mandatory 4x3
+7/15/25% damage
during Burst Mode
+5/10/20% Bloodlust Crit % ● This engraving enables the build.
Exhaustion removed ● Levels 1 and 2 make it difficult to maintain the Burst Mode.
-25% Burst Meter gain
Punisher -50 Burst Mode duration

+4/10/20% Damage ● Core engraving for any DPS class.

+20% Received Damage
Grudge
 +10/22/45% of Bonus Move ● You can reach maximum efficiency of Raid Captain during
Speed as Damage Burst mode, since it gives you 20% movespeed. Yearning gives
you 8/10/12% more. The rest is provided by your Swiftness
+4/8.8/18% Damage
at max Move Speed (140%) secondary stats.
Raid Captain

+5/15/25% Damage to ● Core engraving for any back attack build.

Back Attacks
Ambush Master

For 5x3

● With around 60% critrate with this, your peak damage is higher
+3/8/16% Attack Power but less frequent without other sources of crit chance.
-25% Healing
● Won’t need to worry about Adrenaline upkeep.
Cursed Doll

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power ● This makes peak damage more frequent but not the highest.
per Stack ● Best average damage.
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at ● Picking a build that uses makes it easier to maintain
Max (6) Stacks Adrenaline stacks.
Adrenaline

For 5x3+1

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power

per Stack ● This makes peak damage more frequent but not the highest.
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at
Max (6) Stacks ● Best average damage IF and WHEN Ether Predator is fully
Adrenaline stacked.

Ether Predator at level 1

+3/8/16% Attack Power ● Middle ground between KBW and Adrenaline. You won’t crit a
-25% Healing often compared to Adrenaline but your non crit damage is highe
compared to Keen Blunt Weapon.
Cursed Doll ● Best average damage.
Adrenaline at level 1 or 2
 +10/25/50% Crit Damage
10% Chance of ● Your non-crit damage is bad, but if you’re gonna seethe anyway
-20% Damage when you don’t crit with Cursed Doll, might as well just go for
Keen Blunt
the highest crit number.
Weapon

Adrenaline at level 1 or 2

Example Engraving Setups

Here are some example setups you can use for your engravings at different stages.

5x3

5x3+1

5x3+2

Number Comparison

Damage gain from

%

2
+ 28,36%
5x3+2
2
+ 28,47%
5x3+1 3
+ 1
22,61%
1
+ 22,12%
1
+ 21,00%
+ 1 21,42%
 1
+ 20,27%
3
17,09%
5x3 16,00%
14,55%

5x3 24,79%
+10% crit
24,36%

5x3 31,83%
+18% crit
28,56%

5x3+1 30,13%
+10% crit
30,37%

5x3+1 34,92%
+18% crit
35,74%
* Considered:
- 80% back attack
- entropy lvl 3
- bloodlust 35% of total damage
- around 5% critrate from innate stats + crit bracelet
- Ether Predator 1 as +5% effective Atk Power when taking stacking time into account

Skills, Runes, and Gems

The explanation for Gem priority can be found below this table.

Core Skills
kill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes Notes
Second highest damage skill
● Weak Point Detection +6.2% damage per level
3 2 1
● Charge Enhancement doubles the charge bar. +
12 from lvl 4 to 5.
○ Swift Execution ("Instant") removes the ch
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
l Impact 23% damage compared to , both lvl 5.
● Fury Greatsword +9% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.

12 2 3 2 Damage Skill
● Leap makes you jump before casting the skill. T
level increases jump range.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Released Fury +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
 ● Bloody Eruption +12.1% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
c Eruption

Damage Skill, Destruction lvl. 1

1 3 1
● Quick Prep lowers cooldown per tripod level.
12 ● Furious Blow +8% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Flame Slash +9% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
llotine

Highest damage skill, High stagger, Destruction lvl ?

odlust
Meter Gain and/or damage skill, No paralysis immunity
3 3 1
● Burning Hands gives fixed +30% meter genera
10 (doesn’t increase with level). +8% dmg from lvl 4 to
● Driving Hit +8.4% dmg from lvl 4 to 5.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
us Claw
Meter Gain and/or Synergy, Counter, No paralysis immun
2 ● Focus is picked if you use Flash Blade.
○ Damage Amplification is used otherwise. +
2 1 damage for 10s.
Lv.5 ○ Quick Prep is specifically used on the 6 sec
10
build.
3 Lv.5
Wealth
Stomp (Bleed)
● Swift Attack Prep can be used to increase attac
the other generators.
● Earthquake Shock increases the skill range.

1 Movement skill
7 3 ● Charge changes it to 2 charges. Great with the A
Quick engraving.
Lv.5
Recharge
d Rush
(Purify)

10 2 1 Meter Gain
3 ● Swift Fingers (1.0) speeds up the animation.
Lv.5 ● Quick Prep (1.5) is very important since you ne
Wealth this ideally twice before Brutal Impact comes off coo
nning ● Focus increases meter gen per tripod level.
word 3 2 ● Windswift (1.5) speeds up the skill animation (l
 increase damage).
Lv.5 ● Squall (1.0) increases meter gen (levels only inc
damage).

Meter Gain, Push Immunity

1 1 ● Focus increases meter gen per tripod level.

10 ● Tenacity grants Push Immunity.

3
Lv.5 ● Flame Spin makes the ground explode after the
ound Wealth granting more meter generation.
mash
Meter Gain, synergy, No paralysis immunity
1 1
● Damage Amplification +6% party damage for 7
7 ● Focus increases meter gen per tripod lvl.
Lv.5
Bleed
h Blade (Purify)
Meter Gain, No paralysis immunity
1 1
● Focus increases meter gen per tripod level.
7 ● Chain Attack changes skill to combo mode, wh
increases meter generation.
Lv.5 Wealth
l Pierce
Meter Gain, Counter
3 3 2 ● Stable Stance gives it paralysis immunity.
● Burning Hands gives fixed +30% meter genera
10 (doesn’t increase with level).
ishing Wealth ● Chain Attack makes it a double slash skill, whi
raw increases meter generation.

Awakening

Your awakening hits HARD. Try to use it during support big buffs.

a Break

Gem Priority
Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional gems.

MG
CDR

Tripod Priorities
This shows which Tripods are the most important for you to level.

High Priority Medium Priority Low Priority

Weak Point Fury Damage

Charge Enhanc. Focus
Detection Greatsword Amplification

Brutal Flash Blade

Impact

Leap Released Bloody Focus Tenacity Flame Spin

Fury Eruption

Volcanic Ground
Eruption Smash

Quick Furious Flame Quick Prep Focus Squall

Prep Blow Slash

Guillotine Spinning
Sword

Quick Prep Driving Hit Focus Chain

Burning Hands
Attack

Furious Claw Cruel Pierce

 Focus Swift Attack Earthquake
Prep Shock

Wild Stomp

Notes
These are all the important tripods to be able to play all 3 builds and their variants showcased in this document.

DPS Distribution
Below is a chart which shows the damage distribution based on a 2-minute Trixion parse.
Take these numbers as a very rough estimate of what should be expected in a real scenario.
This is based on the standard build outlined in this guide, modifications can change percentages.

Stagger Distribution
Refer to this for what skills you should prioritize during Stagger checks.
I’ll add numbers soon™.

Use your own critical thinking to determine if your main damage skills are needed during a
stagger check.
They usually aren’t, unless everything else is on cooldown.
Don’t worry king, you’ll get MVP anyways.
 Builds’ Specialization Entry Points
Number of 1 Epic Wealth Rune 2 Epic Wealth Runes
Build Upgraded Meter Lvl. 4 Meter Lvl. 5 Meter Lvl. 4 Meter Lvl. 5 Meter
Tripods Needed Tripods Tripods Tripods Tripods

1.5 Cycle 3 1698 1582 1649 1536

1.5 Cycle:
2 1597 1482 Not needed Not needed
Ground Smash

1.0 Cycle 3 ✖ ✖ ✖ 1782

1.0 Cycle:
2 ✖ ✖ ✖ 1808
Punishing Draw
1.0 Cycle:
3 ✖ ✖ ✖ 1836
Flex Rune

6 Seconds 3 ✖ 1842 ✖ 1788

6 Seconds:
3 ✖ 1768 1801 1713
Counterstrike

Builds
Use these builds as an example of a goal build for yourself. Using knowledge you learned from earlier in the guide
make changes and adjustments to the build to your liking and enjoy the end game.
For Inferno builds checkout Hell Academy.

1.5 Cycle
The goal of this build is to fit as many skills inside your Burst as possible while keeping the rotation very
synchronized.
The 1.5 number means you need one cycle and a half of your meter generation skills to fill up the identity meter.
It has very flexible Specialization breakpoints since you will be bottlenecked by the cooldown of your damage skills,
which means most of the time you’ll end up filling your meter before (Brutal Impact) comes off cooldown.
And the point is to wait for it, to keep it synced.

Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

 Earth’s Entropy
3 2 1
Accessories
12

Spec + Swift Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind

Brutal Impact

Spec 2 3 2
12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Volcanic Eruption

Spec 1 3 1
12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Guillotine

Spec + Crit 3 1
7
Spec 1800 Quick
Swift 550 Lv.5
Wild Rush Recharge
Crit 150

Engravings

2 2 1
Grudge
10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Wild Stomp
Punisher

Raid Captain
3 3 1
12
Ambush Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Furious Claw
Master
 Cursed
Doll 1 1
7
Lv.5 Bleed
Adrenaline Flash Blade

Awakening
3 3 2
10
Spinning Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Sword
Ragna Break

Bloodlust

1.5 Variants

New New
Build Old Skill New Skill New Tripods
Gems Runes
1.5 Ground Smash:
You trade a spammable skill, which 3 1 1
is helpful to manage Adrenaline
stacks for a meter generator that has
Push Immunity.
Flash Ground Lv.5 Wealth
You also have one less Focus tripod
requirement, and Wild Stomp Blade Smash
becomes your synergy skill.
3 3 2

Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth

Spinning Spinning
Sword Sword
 3 2 1

Lv.5 Bleed
Wild Stomp Wild Stomp

1.0 Cycle
The goal of this build is to rotate Burst Mode as fast as possible, which means activating it as soon as it is filled.
It plays around the fact that the cooldown of Bloodlust (Z) gets reset every time you enter Burst Mode.
The 1.0 number means you need to cycle your meter generation skills only once to fill up the identity meter.

Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Earth’s Entropy
3 2 1
Accessories
12

Spec + Swift Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind

Brutal Impact

Spec 2 3 2
12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Volcanic Eruption

Spec 1 3 1
12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Guillotine

Spec + Crit 3 1 1
10
Spec 1782
Swift 550 Ground Lv.5 Wealth
Crit 150 Smash
Engravings

3 2 1
Grudge
10
Lv.5 Wealth
Wild Stomp
Punisher

Raid Captain
3 3 1
10
Ambush Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Furious Claw
Master

Cursed
Doll 1 1
7
Lv.5 Wealth
Adrenaline Cruel Pierce

Awakening
2 3 1
10
Lv.5 Wealth
Spinning Sword
Ragna Break

Bloodlust

1.0 Variants

New New
Build Old Skill New Skill Tripods
Gems Runes
 1.0 Punishing Draw:
You trade 1 Destruction skill for 1
more Counter.
3 3 2
Punishing Draw also has the
advantage of having Paralysis
Immunity and one less Focus
tripod required at level 5. Cruel Punishing Wealth
( Burning Hands doesn’t Pierce Draw
increase meter generation with
tripod levels).

6 Seconds
It plays like 1.0, trying to get into Burst Mode as frequently as
possible, but in order to do it, it repeats some meter generators like
1.5 does.
So if you are struggling with 1.5 in some scenarios and you’re missing
requirements to try standard 1.0 cycle, this might be useful to you.
Thanks to @staypunk1989 for showing the build and giving me some
ideas to expand on it.

Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Earth’s Entropy
3 2 1
Accessories
12

Spec + Swift Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind

Brutal Impact

Spec 2 3 2
12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Volcanic Eruption

Spec 12 1 3 1
 Spec
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5
Galewind
Guillotine

Spec + Crit 3 1 1
10
Spec 1800
Swift 550 Ground Lv.5 Wealth
Crit 150 Smash

Engravings

1 2 1
Grudge
10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Wild Stomp
Punisher

Raid Captain
3 3 1
10
Ambush Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Furious Claw
Master

Cursed
Doll 1 1 1
10
Lv.5 Wealth
Adrenaline Flash Blade

Awakening
2 3 1
10
Lv.5 Wealth
Spinning Sword
 Ragna Break Bloodlust

6s Variants

New New
Build Old Skill New Skill Tripods
Gems Runes

6 Seconds:
1 1 1
Flex Rune

You need at least 1829 Specialization Bleed

to remove Wealth rune from Flash Lv.5
Blade. Flash Blade Flash Blade (Purify)

6 Seconds Counterstrike: 1 1 2

This alleviates the minimum spec

requirement, but Flash Blade can
feel weird as a combo skill. Lv.5 Wealth
Flash Blade Flash Blade

6 Seconds Counterstrike:
Flex rune
1 1 2
This alleviates the minimum spec
requirement, but Flash Blade can
feel weird as a combo skill. Lv.5
Bleed
You need at least 1767 Specialization Flash Blade Flash Blade (Purify)
to remove Wealth rune from Flash
Blade.

Rotations
1.5 Fill
Meter
> >
 > whenever it’s up.

Burst
Mode
> whenever it’s up.

Fill x2
Meter

1.5: + if you miss anything.

Ground
Smash
>wait>
Burst
Mode
First is only if you didn’t use it for meter generation. It’s also very greedy. Most of the time you
should prioritize your highest damage skills.

Fill
( / )
Meter
Any order works, but using Wild Stomp before Ground Smash and/or Spinning Sword gives them the
1.0 Attack Speed from Swift Attack Prep.

Burst
Mode
Next rotations continue as skills come off cooldown.

Fill
Meter > >
6s
Burst
Mode Next rotations continue as skills come off cooldown.
> whenever it’s up.

FAQ: PUNISHER
Questions sourced from frequent interactions within the Community Lost Ark Discord
 Which build is better? Which should I choose?
They have strengths and weaknesses.

Build Pros Cons

Comfortable meter generation Your stress will come from Burst Mode
Room for error outside of Burst Mode, by just using Furious By missing skills or boss canceling them,
Claw as a filler meter generator. or running out of time without using all skills

Flexible specialization requirements You don’t have time to reposition during Burst Mode

Can’t go from 0 meter to full fast

1.5
This means you won’t benefit from unexpected damage
Synced rotation during Burst Mode
windows if your meter is empty, cause you’ll need to wait for
Spinning Sword cooldown

Short damage windows aren’t your friends

Two charges of Wild Rush for movement You need the entirety of your Burst Mode duration to dish
out full damage

Build Pros Cons

You get heavily punished if something goes wrong outside

Your Burst Mode is very comfortable
Burst Mode
You have a lot of wiggle room to walk to back attacks, do
You don’t have a second plan so you just gotta wait for skills
minor mechanics
to come back up to use them again.

You don’t run out of time for meter gen

High requirements setup
Your goal is to fill up meter as soon as possible
Needs ALL wealth runes, all meter gen tripods and high
BUT If you need you can delay skills to dodge something
1.0 Specialization (1781+).
It’s best to delay them than miss them

Adrenaline management
Can benefit from most damage windows
All skills have decent cast time so stacking takes more time.
Just popping identity for a quick Bloodlust is fine since you
There’s no short cooldown/spammable skill so you gotta
can go right back into it quickly later.
manage your stacks more carefully to maintain them.

Fastest 0→100% meter fill up time No movement tools from skills

Build Pros Cons

6s You get heavily punished if something goes wrong outside

Your Burst Mode is very comfortable
Burst Mode
You have a lot of wiggle room to walk to back attacks, do
You don’t have a second plan so you just gotta wait for skills
minor mechanics, etc.
to come back up to use them again.

You don’t run out of time for meter gen

Your goal is to fill up meter as soon as possible.
No movement tools from skills
BUT If you need you can delay skills to dodge something.
It’s best to delay them than miss them.

Does NOT require 2 Wealth runes 2 skills with no paralysis immunity need to be used twice
But if you have them, the specialization requirement drops 4 chances to be canceled by anything.
considerably.

Easier adrenaline upkeep compared to 1.0

It’s basically 1.0 but slower 0→100% meter
Can just spam Flash Blade and Wild Stomp to maintain
By around 3~4 seconds slower.
stacks.

Free rune slot for purify/bleed High skill point requirement

I still have no idea what to do

If you want to be serious about this class, you will want to be able to play both 1.0 and 1.5, since
they have strengths and weaknesses that get exposed in different scenarios. 6 Seconds is an extra,
but still nice to have.
With experience, you’ll feel which is best where. You can have all skill sets ready all the time
since they share the same gems, granted you’re not picking any variants.

First and foremost: start farming towards the Wealth rune from Sea Bounties if you haven’t.

For stats, as a rule of thumb, you should aim for at least 1781 Specialization with as much
Swiftness as possible. This will enable you to play 1.0 and 1.5 cycles and also use two
Guillotines inside one Burst Mode (reminder you also need a level 9 cooldown gem for that).

You can play 1.5 while you work towards tripod levels. Or, if you’re impatient you can buy
amulets from the Auction House.

You can also “skip” one tripod level by aiming for 1808 Spec and using Punishing Draw instead
of Cruel Pierce.

Revision History
Date Change
Oct 12, 2023 ● Fixed minor typos throughout the guide

● Stagger distributions added

Oct 8, 2023
● Added a link to Sekwah’s gauge calculator

Sep 10, 2023 ● This got made