I'm running a mostly defensive build of +6 Cunning, +6 Pulse, +6 Reuse, +6 Tough, +6 Sharpened and one more skill, depending on my weapon. Currently that's +6 Knockout King, because it's Blaze Hesca and I'm running Pangar link. Any tips would be appreciated.
External link →Best to rely on your Omnicell (Bastion), Lantern (Skarn) and Tonics (Bulwark) for additional defense.
Parasitic +3 is the only perk you'll require to invest as far as defense is concerned. The rest of your perks should all contribute to DPS:
- +6 Adrenaline
- +6 Endurance (or Predator if you get hit rarely)
- +6 Catalyst (carry Frenzy, Blitz and Bulwark tonics)
- +6 Pulse
- +6 Berserker (or +3 Berserker and +3 Overpower)
- +3 Parasitic
- +3 weapon's innate perk (prefer Frostwulf)
Select defensive amps like Torrent Shield, Healing Stream, Breath of Life, etc. if you get any of those options. The 'From The Ashes' amp is a rare amp of Epic rarity but if you get it, you'll receive a free revive each round.
Have similar with a pike and I accidentally solo'd Radiant hesca with this mess and terrible bonuses (got bonus damage for allies who dropped out after round 1). This is a "I'm gonna get hit in the face a lot and that's okay" build. Core: Iceborne/Koshai's lantern (The life leech ones)
One thing to keep in mind is meta builds are highly DPS focused and not maximizing or at least creating semi high DPS is generally considered bad, but defensive builds are totally okay, even in Heroic Escalations. Hescas will always be on the hard end, but with people focusing on meta builds, they can feel even more daunting than they are; though again, they're still difficult!
Anyone that's seen me play, which is quite a few of you, know I get hit in the face...a lot. So this is my pretty generic "I don't need to develop my skills to do a hesca" build and I just swap weapon/bonds.
As far as doing it fast enough to get to the end which I know is a concern for some, this build does it with ease.
I will say I've accidentally developed the ability to dodge often and sometimes instinctively by playing too much, but this build still works well. I used to use an even more defensive setup on this and still beat the clock.
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