Phantom Berserker

Overview

The Phantom Berserker is a glass cannon executioner that thrives on precision, stealth, and raw two-handed power. Instead of trading blows, you erase priority targets before they can react. Shadowing Beyond gives you total control of positioning and fight tempo, while Barbaric Shout provides survivability and stun power. Once Flurry of Blows comes online, bosses and elites simply don’t move—perma-staggered under a hail of rapid swings. This is not a tank build; every point is spent on making your first strike decisive and your resets safe. It’s high risk, high reward, but in skilled hands, it’s one of the deadliest setups in Avowed.

Act 1

Might

Constitution

Dexterity

Perception

Intelligence

Resolve

3

0

0

3

1

3

At character creation, start with Might and Perception to secure stronger power attacks and early crit chance. Put the rest into Resolve so stamina never runs dry. Constitution and Dexterity are unnecessary unless you struggle to dodge; this is a stealth and strike-first build.

Abilities in the opening levels lean on simple but effective tools: Titan Stomp for early stagger and area control, Driving Kick for a cheap, spammable knockback that deletes enemies near ledges, and Spectral Bulwark to buy free survivability without rage cost. Driving Kick will be your main damage tool until specialization, with Titan Stomp keeping enemies off balance.

Passives to focus on include Downfall (crits against knocked-down enemies), Blunt Force (armor breaks cause knockdowns), and Rolling Thunder (chain heavy attacks faster). These stack perfectly with the two-hander approach and prep you for the burst combos the build is centered around.

Early Levels

Level

Spell/Passive

2

Charge

3

Constant Recovery

4

Shadowing Beyond

5

Focus Retaliation

6

Evasive

7

Brawn

8

Barbaric Shout

9

Shadowing Beyond

10

Shadowing Beyond

11

Harvest Essence

12

Armored Essence

13

Brawn

14

Constant Recovery

15

Constant Recovery

Act 1 Equipment

Item

Details

Primary Weapon

The Philosopher’s Riddle

Location

Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects

Offhand Weapon

Caeroc’s Pride

Location

Additional fire damage and mana resource

Offhand Weapon 2

Grimoire of Defense

Location

Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact

Armor

Blackwing Armor

Location

The best armor piece in The Veilguard, provides longer advantage duration, +10% damage for EVERY advantage (you will typically always have 3+), makes the advantages more effective and most importantly heals you for +5% when gaining an advantage which will offset the self damage of Maw of the Black City

Boots

Warmage Boots

Location

Makes your abilities a guaranteed critical hit at the cost of our health, this issue is completely negated by Garb of Kinship & Twin Buckle Binding

Gloves

Gloves of the Strangler

Location

Extra Fire Damage

Ring 1

Ring of Pain Amplification

Location

Significant boosts to our blast ability damage and returns our mana when critical hitting with blast abilities, working in perfect combination with Maw of the Black City

Ring 2

Any

Location

Extra healing and ability damage

Amulet

Enchanted Suolenet

Location

Totem

The Schemer’s Offering

Location

Final Build

Might

Constitution

Dexterity

Perception

Intelligence

Resolve

13

0

0

13

5

12

Once you unlock Slayer specialization, the kit comes together. Shadowing Beyond becomes your lifeline and offensive setup — vanish, reposition, heal safely if needed, and emerge for a guaranteed stealth crit. Against bosses, pair Barbaric Shout with Flurry of Blows to lock them down. Shout stuns and grants survivability, while Flurry injects speed into your greatsword, delivering constant crits and building stun so quickly that bosses are unable to act.

Your combat loop is straightforward but deadly: open from stealth with a power attack for a huge crit, trigger Shadowing Beyond if threatened or to chain another opener, and finish with Barbaric Shout + Flurry of Blows to perma-stagger anything still standing. Use Titan Stomp and takedowns to clean up stragglers, and remember that Shadowing Beyond also makes you invulnerable during activation—perfect for dodging big boss swings.

Final Levels

Level

Spell/Passive

16

Retribution

17

Brawn

18

Harvest Essence

19

Critical Strike

20

Flurry of Blows

21

Flurry of Blows

22

Flurry of Blows

23

Devastating Criticals

24

Devastating Criticals

25

Devastating Criticals

26

Critical Strike

27

Critical Strike

28

Evasive

29

Retribution

Final Equipment Overview

Armor. You’ve got two clean lanes. Death Knight Armor is the tank route: more damage reduction and stronger sustain so you can learn timings without paying for each mistake. If you pick this path, Sojourner Boots slot neatly in, adding extra healing to the kit and letting you anchor longer when you’re face-tanking a pack while waiting for parry baits. The aggressive lane is St. Garis’ Pride. It trades raw mitigation for stamina flow and occasional free Barbaric Shout procs, which means more shields, more staggers, and more chances to chain heavy finishers without ever feeling winded. Pair it with Berserker Boots for very high stamina regeneration so you can dodge, parry, and swing on every beat. Sentinel Gloves are the constant regardless of chest/boots—the stun boost is exactly what this build scales, turning every perfect parry and every Clear Out swing into faster knockdowns. For jewelry, decide how you want to survive. Berserker Ring adds flat Constitution that stacks nicely with Death Knight. Bitter Bonding converts pressure into sustain; with your hit count and bleeds, the lifesteal keeps you topped through extended trades. The safe second slot is the Ring of Major Deflection for a straight damage-taken shave that compounds with Arcane Veil. Mortal Haven is the right amulet: an emergency Arcane Veil when you dip below 25% acts as a built-in failsafe during greedy strings or late cancels. Taken together, these sets align with the two identities—ironclad bruiser learning timings, or relentless duelist who never lets the engine stall.

Weapons. Horse Cutter is the reason this build exists. Beyond raw two-hand damage, its kit bleeds everything you touch and pays out when your counter counts as the final hit of a combo. That interaction is the keystone: perfect parry → counter → Horse Cutter applies massive stun and an AoE bleed pop, which instantly sets up takedowns or lets Clear Out finish a line of enemies. Every system you invest in amplifies that moment. Barbaric Shout buys the breathing room to fish for the parry. Arcane Veil ensures the trade is safe even if you’re a fraction late. Clear Out corrals the survivors, refreshes your advantage, and forces the next bite. On bosses, you’ll often rotate Shout → charged heavy → parry/counter → Flurry (if slotted) to juggle sustained bleed with consistent stun; on packs, Shout → Clear Out (all three swings) → takedown blitzes most waves with minimal risk. There isn’t a sidegrade that matches Horse Cutter’s payoff for this design—build around it and lean into the counter-finisher synergy.

Item

Details

Primary Weapon

Hel’s Tongue

Location

Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects

Secondary Weapon

Fair Play

Location

Additional fire damage and mana resource

Secondary Weapon 2

Grimoire of Defense

Location

Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact

Armor

Councilor’s Garb

Location

The best armor piece in The Veilguard, provides longer advantage duration, +10% damage for EVERY advantage (you will typically always have 3+), makes the advantages more effective and most importantly heals you for +5% when gaining an advantage which will offset the self damage of Maw of the Black City

Boots

Warmage Boots

Location

Makes your abilities a guaranteed critical hit at the cost of our health, this issue is completely negated by Garb of Kinship & Twin Buckle Binding

Gloves

Trickster’s Gloves

Location

Extra Fire Damage

Ring 1

Ring of Prosperity’s Fortune

Location

Significant boosts to our blast ability damage and returns our mana when critical hitting with blast abilities, working in perfect combination with Maw of the Black City

Ring 2

Ring of Pain Amplification

Location

Extra healing and ability damage

Amulet

Scout’s Reach

Location

Totem

Eye’s of the Obscured

Location

Build Snapshot

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