Yokai's starting builds

Not so much a single "build" per se, but all the core actives and passives to unlock first. These can all be combined and interchanged in various ways to create a standard Affliction-Pen-Weakness build, a non-Affliction build, a non-Weakness build, a high-def ranged tanking build, and a special build that can stack the Corrupted debuff quickly, and so on.

At the end I'll list a few of the specific decks I'll be building out first, showing how I combine these various abilities to meet different needs throughout the initial vertical progression.

All abilities are listed in priority order of acquisition (within each respective weapon).

Abilities to purchase first

Blade/Rifle/Pistol

Blade Actives

• Delicate Strike (1 AP) - ST builder that does more damage than Matador, with the ability to add a +10% Penetration Chance to every attack (made from Delicate Strike) from the passive Delicate Precision
• Crimson Theatre (16 AP) - Useful DOT AOE, with the ability to add +10% Minor Defense from the passive Shadow Play
• Matador (16 AP)- Great ST builder that stacks the Improved Defense Rating buff for a total of +150 Defense Rating at 5x stacks
• Clearing the Path (27 AP) - Great Frenzy AOE consumer with 100% guaranteed Penetration on all Afflicted targets
• Brandish (9 AP) - ST Focus consumer that provides a -25% damage ward while channeling (2.5 seconds), buffed even further with +125 Defense Rating from the passive Brandishing Support

Blade Passives

• Delicate Precision (1 AP) - Adds +10% Penetration Chance to Delicate Strike
• Shadow Play (34 AP) - To get the Minor Defense effect from casting Crimson Theatre
• Incision (16 AP) - Medium DOT added to any Afflicted target you penetrate, lasting 3 seconds
• Enervate (12 AP) - Getting glanced Afflicts a medium DOT on the attacker for 3 seconds
• Brandishing Support (12 AP) - Adds +125 Defense Rating while you channel Brandish (2.5 secs)
• Voracity (34 AP): All Frenzy abilities have a +7.5% Penetration Chance. That's pretty huge!
• Flight of Daggers (50 AP elite) - Strong added AOE damage to 3 enemy targets plus a medium DOT added to them for 5 seconds

Rifle Actives

• Anima Burst (16 AP) - Basic spam heal builder with a damage component. Because it is a Burst attack, every shot retriggers another 5 seconds of Healing Sparks, which is a medium HOT. This is what you spam when you or someone else is in trouble, and fitting in a Shot of Anima every time it becomes available (even if you're not up to 5 resources yet).
• Fire at Will (1 AP) - Great Frenzy AOE damage consumer to prevent rifle resources from going to waste when you don't need a larger heal with Shot of Anima
• Shot of Anima (9 AP) - Big heal consumer, typically used to consume 5 built up rifle resources created while doing blade-oriented damage. Just popping this off after every Blade Consumer will often be adequate healing without needing to spam Anima Burst at all. Note that when you are spam healing someone in trouble, you don't want to wait for 5 resources. Instead, use it as often as it comes off of cooldown. It's actually more healing per second that way.

Rifle Passives

• Increased Dosage (12 AP) - Makes Shot of Anima a much larger direct heal, removing the leach buff aspect of Shot of Anima. That's okay, because the leech component is pretty much total crap. Sorry, but it is.
• Leech Therapy (9 AP) - Adds about as much additional healing as a single Anima Shot every time you hit an Afflicted target with Anima Burst.
• Shoot 'Em Up (21 AP) - Makes your standard Blade/Rifle Frenzy consumers Afflict all targets with a medium DOT for 5 seconds

Pistol Actives

• The Business (1 AP) - Just a simple builder on its own, but coupled with the Magnum passive, every non-glancing attack Weakens the target with a stack of the Corrupted debuff.
• Shootout (1 AP) - Just a simple consumer for when you are needing the Pistol/Rifle build.
• Above the Law (1 AP) Just a simple GTAOE DOT to substitute for Crimson Theatre when you are needing the Pistol/Rifle build
• Deadly Aim (2 AP) - What's not to like about a +40% Crit Chance for 8 seconds when you're stuck with needing the Pistol/Rifle build?

Pistol Passives

• Magnum (1 AP) - Makes every non-glancing attack with The Business apply 1x Corrupted Debuff, for a total of -50% Heal/Leech/Barrier effectiveness on the target at 10x stacks.
• Exploitation (9 AP) - Synergizes with Close Quarters to cleanse yourself of one (randomly chosen) debuff. Good for stripping poison DOTS and the like off yourself before they do too much damage.
• Hothead (1 AP) - Synergizes with Close Quarters to provide a +10% Crit Chance buff nearly full-time.

Shotgun Passives

• 12 Gouge (12 AP) - Makes every Penetrating attack on an Afflicted target also Weaken them with 1x stack of the Debilitated debuff, for a total -30% reduction in damage output at 10x stacks. This is like having a 30% evade buff at all times.
• Close Quarters (50 AP elite) - Makes every attack made within 3 meters of the target (re)apply the Hindered state. This works with diminishing returns on a short timer, so there will be a few hits in every long cycle where Hinder will not be applied, but overall you can keep applying Hinder during 85% of the fight, and therefore trigger all sorts of Hinder-based synergies for 85% of the fight. This passive is *key* to creating a strong "Specialty Non-Afflict" build that can be helpful in certain areas of Transylvania.
• Perjury (34 AP) - Synergizes with Close Quarters to purge the target of one (randomly chosen) buff. Limited use for PvE because many mobs have buffs that cannot be purged, but situationally useful in PvP depending on the nature of your PvP build

Blood Passives

• Dark Potency (2 AP) - Makes every attack on an Afflicted target give you 1x stack of the Penetration Rating buff, for a total +150 Penetration Rating at 5x stacks.
• Iron Maiden (12 AP) - Makes every attack on an Afflicted target give you the Minor Penetration Chance buff, for a total of +10% Penetration Chance.

Chaos Passives

• Fixation (9 AP) - Makes every attack on a Weakened target give you 1x stack of the Improved Hit Rating buff, for a total +150 Hit Rating at 5x stacks.
• Fever Pitch (34 AP) - Makes every attack on a Weakened target give you a 10% chance to gain the Major Hit Chance buff, for a +50% reduced chance of dealing Glancing hits against the target (duration 12 seconds).

Fist Passives

• Bloodsport (16 AP) - Makes every attack Afflict the target with small stacking DOT up to 3x stacks. If you glance, one stack is removed. This works with AOE attacks to Afflict every target hit by the AOE.
• Healing Sparks (21 AP) - Reacts to every Burst ability (such as Anima Burst, your mainstay spam heal for Rifle) by triggering a nice medium-sized HOT for 5 seconds.

Basic decks to build towards

There are some nuanced variations you can make to all of the following five builds, which is one of the reasons I started out with a shopping list of very useful abilities in the section above.

The variations you might choose to make depend on whether you're soloing or grouping, and whether you're tanking, dpsing, or off-healing. But it's decisions and nuances like these that make this game great. Basically:

• In all the builds below, Leech Therapy is not used by default, but you might in fact want to swap it in:
  • If tanking or off-healing, you typically want both Healing Sparks and Leech Therapy for maximum healing output that can rival the best that Fist has to offer. This means tossing out Dark Potency to make room for Leech Therapy.
  • If soloing or dpsing, you don't need as much healing output, so keep Dark Potency and run without Leech Therapy.

First: DPS/Heal Hybrid

This deck is suitable for 85% of the content, especially throughout all the Soloman Island and Egypt zones. So it gets built first, and all the listed abilities are the highest priority to unlock first. The focus of this deck is fast DPS burndown with Affliction and a large number of Penetrating hits. Weakness is easy to toss in this particular deck with one single passive (and is the equivalent of 30% evade in this form), so why not? BTW, since this build features a passive that will stack a Weaken debuff pretty quickly, you're covered for the Vampires you'll find in Beseiged Farmlands.

Note: Leech Theraphy is your least important passive. If you feel like you have enough healing without this passive, substitute in any other passive you like, such as Incision for even more DOT damage or Shadow Play for that nice +10% Defense buff.

• Weapons: Blade/Rifle
• Talismans: 50% DPS, 50% Healing, emphasis on Hit, Pen, and a little Crit Rating too
• Actives:
  • Blade: Delicate Strike (high Pen builder), Clearing the Path (100% Pen PBAOE consumer), Crimson Theatre (constant PBAOE DOT + Hate), Matador (high Def builder when I need more mitigation than normal)
  • Rifle: Anima Burst (heal spam when needed), Fire at Will (TAOE consumer when no main heal needed), Shot of Anima (main heal consumer)
• Passives:
  • Rifle: Increased Dosage (Makes Shot of Anima a very large heal)
  • Fist: Bloodsport (Afflicts every single target you hit, even AOE targets), Healing Sparks (adds a significant HOT to every Anima Burst)
  • Blood: Dark Potency and Iron Maiden (to stack Penetration Rating and Penetration Chance)
  • Shotgun: 12 Gouge (to apply Weaken and the -30% damage debuff on the target)
  • Blade: Delicate Precision (to make my primary builder have a +10% Penetration Chance)

Second: Speciality Corrupted Debuffer

This deck is useful for some very specific content in Blue Mountain, and again later in City of the Sun God, and again later in some Transylvania situations. Basically, you will run into the occasional mob who is impossible to kill unless you can seriously debuff their self-healing/shielding ability. Two very cheap Pistol abilities come to the rescue here, and the only catch is that your Pistol skill must be high enough that you won't glance too often (because glances won't apply the Corrupted debuff).

Note: Leech Theraphy is your least important passive. If you feel like you have enough healing without this passive, substitute in any other passive you like, such as Incision for even more DOT damage or Shadow Play for that nice +10% Defense buff.

• Weapons: Pistol/Rifle
• Talismans: 50% DPS, 50% Healing, emphasis on Hit, Pen, and a little Crit Rating too
• Actives:
  • Pistol: The Business (builder + Corrupted debuffer), Shootout (ST consumer), Above the Law (constant PBAOE DOT), Deadly Aim (Crit Chance booster once the target is fully debuffed and ready to burn down)
  • Rifle: Anima Burst (heal spam when needed), Fire at Will (TAOE consumer when no main heal needed), Shot of Anima (main heal consumer)
• Passives:
  • Rifle: Increased Dosage (Makes Shot of Anima a very large heal)
  • Fist: Bloodsport (Afflicts every single target you hit, even AOE targets), Healing Sparks (adds a significant HOT to every Anima Burst)
  • Blood: Dark Potency and Iron Maiden (to stack Penetration Rating and Penetration Chance)
  • Shotgun: 12 Gouge (to apply Weaken and the -30% damage debuff on the target)
  • Pistol: Magnum (to make my primary Pistol builder apply the Corrupted debuff)

Third: Ranged Tank

This deck is primarily for running with a duo partner or group and playing the main tank or off-tank role in less challenging group content. You won't be main tanking Nightmare dungeons with this. Or will you? LOL. BTW, this build also features the passive that stacks Weaken to deal effectively with the Vampires in Beseiged Farmlands.

Note: 12 Gouge is your least important passive, since you're probably running with a group and one of them is probably applying Weaken and the -30% damage debuff to whatever you're hitting. If you feel like you need even more healing (especially some small team healing for people fighting near you), substitute in Leech Therapy in place of this one. Or if you're in good shape for healing because you have lots of off-healers or a great main healer, then sub in any other useful passive. Maybe Dark Potency for additional penetration? Maybe Incision for extra DOT to help keep your hate nice and high?

• Weapons: Blade/Rifle
• Talismans: 20% Tanking 30% DPS, 50% Healing, emphasis on Hit, Pen, and a little Crit Rating too. Can also run just fine with 50/50 DPS/Healing in many cases too, especially for simple duo-ing.
• Actives:
  • Blade: Matador (high Def builder), Brandish (high ward ST consumer) Clearing the Path (100% Pen PBAOE consumer), Crimson Theatre (constant PBAOE DOT + Hate)
  • Rifle: Anima Burst (heal spam when needed), Fire at Will (TAOE consumer when no main heal needed), Shot of Anima (main heal consumer)
• Passives:
  • Rifle: Increased Dosage (Makes Shot of Anima a very large heal)
  • Fist: Bloodsport (Afflicts every single target you hit, even AOE targets), Healing Sparks (adds a significant HOT to every Anima Burst)
  • Blood: Iron Maiden (Penetration Chance)
  • Shotgun: 12 Gouge (to apply Weaken and the -30% damage debuff on the target)
  • Blade: Shadow Play (to make Crimson Theatre apply a +10% Minor Defense buff), Brandishing Support (to make Brandish also apply +125 Defense Rating while channeling it)

Fourth: Specialty Non-Affliction

Once you hit Transylvania, you start seeing areas where in general, Afflicting any target is bad news and should be avoided. So, since one third of the total healing power from your Rifle is dependent on hitting an afflicted target, it makes sense to adapt the Ranged Tank deck for this specific build. The extra Defense can help make up for the loss of some self-healing output. This build also features a passive that repeatedly cleanses you of harmful debuffs, since a common nasty thing such mobs tend to do is to hit you with mean poison DOTs.

• Weapons: Blade/Rifle
• Talismans: 20% Tanking 30% DPS, 50% Healing, emphasis on Hit, Pen, and a little Crit Rating too. Can also run just fine with 50/50 DPS/Healing in many cases too, especially for simple duo-ing.
• Actives:
  • Blade: Matador (high Def builder), Brandish (high ward ST consumer) Clearing the Path (100% Pen PBAOE consumer), Crimson Theatre (constant PBAOE DOT + Hate)
  • Rifle: Anima Burst (heal spam when needed), Fire at Will (TAOE consumer when no main heal needed), Shot of Anima (main heal consumer)
• Passives:
  • Rifle: Increased Dosage (Makes Shot of Anima a very large heal)
  • Fist: Healing Sparks (adds a significant HOT to every Anima Burst)
  • Blade: Shadow Play (to make Crimson Theatre apply a +10% Minor Defense buff), Brandishing Support (to make Brandish also apply +125 Defense Rating while channeling it)
  • Shotgun: Close Quarters (to apply Hindered state to the target often enough to keep most 8-second buffs that trigger from hitting a Hindered target up nearly full time)
  • Pistol: Hothead (to synergize with Close Quarters to keep a +10% Crit Chance buff up nearly full time), Exploitation (to synergize with Close Quarters to repeatedly cleanse yourself of debuffs, which most of the mobs you'll need this build for will hit you with often)

Fifth: Specialty Non-Weaken

Once you hit the second and third zones in Transylvania, you start seeing areas where in general, Weakening any target is bad news and should be avoided, or at the very least some mobs are immune to Weakens. In this case, you can simply adapt either the standard DPS/Heal Hybrid build or the Ranged Tank build by removing the passive 12 Gouge, and replacing it with any other passive of your choice.

Hey! What about Anima Shot? Isn't that better than Anima Burst?

• The effective spam rate of the two abilities is the same, due to the one-second global cooldown timer.
• Anima Shot does more damage but less healing per use. In my skill 10 50/50 DPS/Heal test rig, the heal component is roughly 70-ish and the damage component is roughly 110-ish.
• Anima Burst does more healing but less damage per use. Heal component is roughly 110-ish and damage component is roughly 70-ish.
• Where Anima Burst really outshines Anima Shot, however, is in its synergy with Healing Sparks. With my test rig, Healing sparks was ticking for 25-ish per second. That is a smaller amount per second if you're heal-spamming than Leech Therapy will do (around 60-ish), but Leech Therapy happens only once per spam, while Healing Sparks keeps ticking away for 5 seconds if you're doing other things such as building/consuming with your Blade, recasting Crimson Theater, etc. So overall, Healing Sparks does more heavy lifting for you, because each application potentially adds 125 health over five seconds.

Hey! What about Fatal Florish? Isn't that Better than Dark Potency?

The in-game description for Fatal Florish is incorrect. It's buff only stacks to 5x max, so there is zero difference between FF and Dark Potency, other than DP is much cheaper to acquire.