User:Llednar/Build:A/any Impaler

The Impaler is a spike damage build. This build is an AB and CM build.

Attributes and Skills
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Equipment

 * Shrouded Armor to have enough energy for the combos
 * Sundering or vampiric daggers. Any max daggers will work, the more damage the better.
 * The best vigor rune available to offset the superior rune and increase overall survival.

Usage

 * Find target and use Shadow Walk to shadow step to target in preparation for spike.
 * Use Siphon Strength and follow up with Black Spider Strike.
 * Quickly follow up with Horns of the Ox, Impale, and Signet of Toxic Shock for a heavy spike.
 * Use Dash to end Shadow Walk and escape.
 * If necessary, activate Feigned Neutrality after escaping from battle to heal.

Counters

 * As this build deals spike damage, Protection Prayers skills such as Reversal of Fortune and Guardian will greatly reduce its effectiveness by countering the damage and disrupting the skill chain.
 * Blind and Weakness will prevent the combos from working.
 * Blocking skills will disrupt the attack chain preventing the spike.
 * Hex removal can break the chain if applied before Black Spider Strike can activate.

Variants

 * For the Random or Team Arenas, replace Feigned Neutrality with Resurrection Signet.
 * Replace Feigned Neutrality or Dash with Way of the Fox to counter block skills.
 * Replace Feigned Neutrality or Dash with Signet of Malice to counter blinding skills.
 * Replace Dash with Deadly Paradox. It can be used as an escape stance still but leaves you without a speed boosting skill. On the other hand it allows for faster recharge and activation of Signet of Toxic Shock and Impale, and if used before the signet allows for a faster overall spike (lowers activation of sig from 1 to 1/2). The 10 second disable would not affect you much as your 2 attack skills would likely still have about that long to recharge.
 * You can replace Shadow Walk with Shadow of Haste. You lose a shadow step for initiating the combo, but Shadow of haste synergizes better with dash for avoiding combat and confusing opponents.
 * Replace Dash with Shadow of Haste. This gives you a less spammable run skill, but allows for a very confusing series of shadow steps if Shadow Walk recharges before Shadow of Haste is needed. To maximize this effect replace Feigned Neutrality instead, keeping Dash, Shadow of Haste, and Shadow Walk.

Elite Skill Variants
The elite in this build is highly flexible. This allows for a notable change in the feel of the build. Siphon Strength was chosen for its versatility, but several others work well. The only requirement is the skill be replaced with a hex. A few good examples of this are listed below.
 * Shadow Prison can be used to provide a solid speed decrease on the target at the expense of spamability. Also the build loses some versatility with this and loses the effective quick escapes it has.
 * Hidden Caltrops adds a bit of damage, and is moderately spammable. At 8 seconds recharge it is not very prone to loss of effectiveness from hex removal. The skill also cripples the target making them much easier to kill. It's real weakness comes from your own teamates who may trigger it, and therefore cancel it, before Black Spider Strike hits, disrupting your combo.
 * Seeping Wound is also a good choice for an elite. By using it as your hex, you can force your opponet to have a lot more degen, from -3 to -4.  You may need to tweak your attributes for this to work to its full potential, however, and if your opponet is able to remove the poison and bleeding that you place on them then this will do nothing until one is put back on.