Introduction
Striker is a nimble melee fighter that relies on proper positioning to do competitive damage as most of His attacks have the "Back Attack" requirement. As a Martial Artist, he excels at dealing damage in close combat and can support his teammates with very potent group synergy skills. He has access to the most powerful party-wide buff in the game, Lightning Whisper, that not only increases every party member's Attack Speed but also lowers the enemy's Crit Resistance. Striker can be set up to excel at dealing Burst Damage or sustained DPS. For the purposes of this build, we focus on the former.
Deathblow Striker empowers His Esoteric Skills by investing in Deathblow Engraving and stacking Specialization. Because of this, He has a tremendous burst damage potential. To deliver this burst damage, however, He relies on high precision and proper positioning. Because of this, He's hard to master and requires a skilled player at the helm to unlock His true potential.
You can also check our other Lost Ark Builds
Pros | Cons |
Great Mobility | Mobility is His only real defense |
Very High Burst Damage | Long Downtime on Burst Skills |
Solid Counter | Back Attack reliant |
Good Stagger Damage | High Skill Cap |
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Stat Priority
Deathblow Striker benefits mostly from Specialization, but Crit Rate is also of use to Him. As for Swiftness, it does not provide anywhere near enough benefits to warrant its use - You already have excellent mobility, and lowering Cooldowns is not enough of a boost. Stacking Specialization will help you increase Esoteric Skill Damage and improve your Elemental Meter generation, allowing you to gather 4 Orbs much faster. It will also boost the Damage done by your Awakening Skill. As for Crit Rate, it's rather self-explanatory: Higher Crit Rate = more reliable burst damage. You should have Specialization on all of your Accessories and use a Specialization/Crit Necklace. |
Skills
LIGHTNING TIGER STRIKE |
Esoteric Skill Striker gathers Lightning energy that penetrates enemies. Then he Kicks and knocks enemies into the air, dealing high amounts of Damage. This powerful Esoteric Skill deals devastating single-target damage and can be used to exploit enemies' weak points. It is one of your main Burst Damage tools. Using it will deplete your Elemental Orbs, so you'll have to fill them up again before performing another attack with an Esoteric Skill (using Esoteric Skills while lacking Orbs results in highly reduced Damage - don't do it).
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Level 12
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TIGER EMERGES |
Esoteric Skill Striker gathers Fire Energy and advances 4 meters forward, dealing large amounts of Damage and performing an upward attack that deals three extra hits. This is one of your main Burst Damage tools. Using it will deplete your Elemental Orbs, so you'll have to fill them up again before performing another attack with an Esoteric Skill. Its main downside is the relatively long Cooldown (Quick Prep Tripod solves this).
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Level 12
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MOON FLASH KICK |
Striker charges forward while kicking, inflicting two damaging hits. Then, the skill can be pressed 3 times to deliver 4 additional kicks at a very fast speed to deal additional damage and perform a spinning kick followed by a finishing blow that knocks enemies back. This is an amazing Elemental Meter generator, especially when you pair it with a Wealth Rune. Moreover, it doubles as a mobility skill when needed.
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Level 12
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SWEEPING KICK |
Striker sweeps enemies off their feet, dealing moderate amounts of damage. Use the skill one additional time to make Striker change His direction and deliver a spinning kick in the air, inflicting three additional hits. This is a hard-hitting offensive skill that's only exceeded by your Esoteric Skills in terms of offensive power. Because of this, you should try to use it when your Lightning Whisper is up.
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Level 12
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VIOLENT TIGER |
Striker kicks 2 times forward, dealing moderate amounts of damage. If you use the skill again, He will rotate inflicting two further hits, and then launch a powerful forward kick to strike enemies again. This is a solid offensive skill that has increased Crit Rate. It generates a decent amount of Identity Gauge as well. Thanks to the Efficient Strike Engraving, it also has a very short Cooldown and doesn't consume too much mana.
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Level 11
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SKY SHATTERING BLOW |
Striker performs a roundhouse kick, dealing moderate amounts of damage. If the skill is used again, Striker kicks upward, sending targets flying and inflicting another damaging hit. Direction can be changed during the additional attacks. This is your Counter Skill, but not only that; It also offers a stacking Attack and Movement speed buff that will help you get around quicker and make your skill animations much shorter potentially.
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Level 10
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LIGHTNING WHISPER |
Striker rolls forward and summons lightning, inflicting moderate amounts of damage. Enemies hit with this skill have their Crit Resistance reduced by up to -8% for 6 seconds. This is your team synergy skill and a potent self-buffing tool. Moreover, it generates a solid chunk of your Elemental Meter. You should use it before unleashing your Esoteric Skills to maximize their Damage output.
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Level 10
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STORM DRAGON AWAKENING |
Striker delivers a roundhouse kick, dealing moderate amounts of damage to the enemy 2 times, then he attacks an airborne enemy to launch them into the air. If the skill is used again within 2 seconds, Striker performs a knee attack that inflicts another damaging hit. If the enemy is airborne of lying on the ground, this will also launch them into the air. If the skill is used again, within 2 seconds, Striker becomes immune to Paralysis and rolls forward to perform a downward strike that inflicts moderate amounts of damage. Airborne enemies are slammed into the ground when the last hit lands. Each time you use additional Skills, the Cooldown of this skill is increased by +2 seconds. This Skill can be used up to 3 times in a row which makes it perfect for triggering Rune effects. Combining it with Rage Rune generally produces the best results.
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Level 7
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AWAKENING | |
NOVA BLAST |
Striker advances 4 meters forward and strikes 4 times with explosive attacks that inflict very high amounts of damage each. If the first strike fails, subsequent ones will be canceled. This is a powerful ultimate skill with a very long Cooldown. It deals great Stagger Damage, but it locks you in place for some time. Use it with caution and communicate its usage with the team to avoid misunderstandings.
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Rotations/Skill Usage
Deathblow Striker's rotation revolves around generating 4 Elemental Orbs with his builder Skills to then spend them on Esoteric Skills for tremendous Burst Damage. Depending on your current Specialization levels, you'll use one of the three build's Builder-Spender rotation variants:
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Recommended Engravings
Deathblow Engraving allows you to deal unbelievably high amounts of Damage with your Esoteric Skills if you have 4 Orbs stacked. It's the Core Engraving of the build and you should have it at Level 3 as soon as possible. |
Grudge is one of the most powerful offensive Engravings, but it comes with a severe drawback that may get you killed. Deathblow Striker relies on His mobility to mitigate damage, so the downside of Grudge is negligible if you're able to employ His mobility tools properly. In other words: pick it up only if you feel like you can avoid most (or all) avoidable damage during boss encounters. If you're still learning mechanics, you'll be better off skipping it. Also, remember that it's only worth using at Level 3, so never use it at level 2 and especially 1 (unless you want to take 5% more damage for every 1% increase in your own DPS). |
Most of the attacks you will be using have the Back Attack modifier. Because of this, Ambush Master Engraving is an excellent choice. Also, it will encourage you to pay more attention to your positioning as missing Back Attacks while you have it active will make you lose even more potential DPS than otherwise. |
The more Crit Rate you have, the more powerful this Engraving becomes. As a Deathblow Striker, you want to stack some Crit Rate, so Keen Blunt Weapon is definitely a solid option. |
Deathblow Striker is quite mobile, but His mobility comes from Skills. Because of this, picking an Engraving that boosts your movement speed is an excellent choice. With Spirit Absorption at Level 3, you'll move significantly quicker and your skill animations will become much faster. In other words, it will make your character much less annoying to play during dynamic encounters. |
This Engraving can significantly boost your offensive power, but the tradeoff is painful. Pick it up only if you know encounter mechanics very well, as its downside will hurt too much otherwise; In other words: if you lack encounter experience, skip it. Also, using this at Levels 1 and 2 is not worth the risks involved (so, use it at Level 3 or don't use it at all). |
While definitely not optimal for a Deathblow Striker, Adrenaline is still a decent option. It will provide you with extra Crit Rate and Attack Power, both of which are extremely valuable to you. All you need at the start is Level 1 of this but you'll eventually want it at level 2. You can pick it instead of the Cursed Doll, the choice is up to you. |
Gear Sets, Gems, Cards, etc.
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ENDNOTE This is the initial version of our Deathblow Striker Raiding Build for Lost Ark, where we tried to include all of the important information on how to set up this character while keeping the guide as compact as possible. If we've missed something of importance, please let us know! If you have any Build requests, please post them in the Comments section below. We will be happy to cover your most requested builds in the future! Also, we hope that you have found this guide useful and informative. Also, we will be happy to receive constructive criticism that will help us improve our future work, so don't hesitate to give us your feedback. |
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