Crimson Warlord

Overview

The Crimson Warlord turns you into a blood-soaked juggernaut that locks enemies in stun and bleed while you stand your ground and punish every swing. The core loop is simple and ruthless: stack Constitution to stay upright, add Might so every hit chunks, keep enough Resolve to parry on demand, then rotate a short set of tools that feed each other—Barbaric Shout to break momentum and shield up, Clear Out to rip space and pile on stun/bleed across a pack (or Flurry of Blows for single-target drain), and Arcane Veil as a near-free layer of damage reduction. Parry windows are your accelerator: a perfect parry into a counter counts as the combo finisher, amplifying stun and bleed and setting up takedowns. Played cleanly, this is a high-skill, high-reward brawler that controls the pace of every fight and snowballs safety from offense.

Act 1

Might	Constitution	Dexterity	Perception	Intelligence	Resolve
3	3	0	0	1	3

Open with a three-hit chain mindset and build habits around timing. Use light–light–heavy strings to keep animation speed high, then cancel into a parry if anything telegraphs. Barbaric Shout is your first pivot—hit it as pressure builds, because the stagger buys room, the shield lets you stay in, and the window it creates makes landing your heavy ender trivial. When a mob starts to surround you, Clear Out resets the scrum: three wide sweeps that shove bodies away, rack up stun damage, and spread bleed across the pack. If you prefer boss tunneling, Flurry of Blows trades that board clear for lifesteal and brutal single-target tempo; it also pairs perfectly with the shout because the opening stagger lets every flurry connect.

Keep Arcane Veil up whenever you’re committing—it’s cheap, it smooths chip damage, and it buys the half-second you need to slip a parry. Don’t stress misses; this setup is forgiving. The stat spread does the safety work while you focus on rhythm: draw swings, perfect parry, cash out the counter for the combo finisher’s extra stun and bleed, then convert to a takedown or a final heavy. On elites and beasts, the Shout → Clear Out sequence nearly fills the stun bar by itself; finish with a charged strike to floor them and loop.

Early Levels

Level	Spell/Passive
2	Charge
3	Parry
4	Armored Grace
5	Barbaric Shout
6	Constant Recovery
7	Brawn
8	Bleeding Cuts
9	Arcane Veil
10	Barbaric Shout II
11	Brawn II
12	Constant Recovery II
13	Armored Grace II
14	Parry II
15	Retribution

Act 1 Equipment

Item	Details
Primary Weapon Horsecutter Location	Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects
Early Weapon Philosopher’s Riddle Location	Additional fire damage and mana resource
Offhand Weapon Grimoire of Defense Location	Provides +30% damage from having all blast abilities and refunds 25% of mana cost on impact
Armor Stelgaer’s Pride 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 Eothasian 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 Steel Garrote Gloves Location	Extra Fire Damage
Ring 1 Bitter Bonding 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 Major Deflection Location	Extra healing and ability damage
Amulet Enchanted Suolenet Location
Totem The Schemer’s Offering Location

Final Build

Might	Constitution	Dexterity	Perception	Intelligence	Resolve
10	10	5	0	5	10

Keep the loop compact and decisive. Walk forward guarding, bait a swing, and perfect parry. Immediately cash the counter to tag the combo finisher, then choose your conversion: takedown if the bar is full, or heavy ender into Clear Out if multiple targets are close. When you sense the tide turning, hit Barbaric Shout first; the shield and stagger convert panic moments into winning positions, and the window it creates makes Clear Out non-negotiable for the next two beats. If the mob is small or you’re tunneling a high-health threat, swap Clear Out for Flurry of Blows and ride the lifesteal to stay planted while the bleeds tick. Always re-cast Arcane Veil before committing to long strings or boss windows; it’s cheap insurance that also keeps your timing greedy without punishment.

Two anchors keep the build honest. First, never swing blindly into red telegraphs—step, parry, and cash the finisher instead. Second, don’t chase whiffs with stamina-draining heavies; reset with a quick step, re-guard, and bait again. The build’s damage comes from advantage, not spam. When it hums, fights read the same: shout to seize tempo, parry to mint a finisher, bleed the pack, and decide which target gets the takedown. That’s the Crimson Warlord—measured, brutal, and always in control.

Final Levels

Level	Spell/Passive
16	Brawn III
17	Barbaric Shout III
18	Toughness
19	Toughness II
20	Clear Out
21	Clear Out II
22	Clear Out III
23	Constant Recovery III
24	Harvest Essence
25	Parry III
26	Toughness III
27	Bleeding Cuts II
28	Bleeding Cuts II
29	Retribution II

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 Horsecutter Location	Provides +15% bonus damage and additional status effects
Secondary Weapon 1H Sword 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 Stelgaer’s Pride 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 Sojourner 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 Sentinel Gloves Location	Extra Fire Damage
Ring 1 Bitter Bonding 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 Major Deflection Location	Extra healing and ability damage
Amulet Mortal Haven Location
Totem The Huntmaster’s Spoils Location

Build Snapshot

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