Deathblade

Community Guid
Current Editors
Raeinor, Sekwah

Previous Contributors
Aeya, Stein, Matt

Quick Links

Remaining Energy Surge

Charge

Standard Raid

Blitzless

THIS GUIDE IS UP TO DATE WITH

 THE 2024 JANUARY PATCH

General FAQ
This document is a community driven full breakdown of the respective class. This is a live document where
we actively change it based on feedback and changes to the game to provide the best information to the
community. The majority of us hang around in the Community Lost Ark Discord in our respective class
channels. If you would like to give us feedback or ask questions contact us there.

Why should I play this class?

Deathblade is a class that belongs to the Assassin family in Lost Ark. Both of the
Deathblade engraving options provide the player with a fast-paced rotation, hard-
hitting abilities, and an extremely smooth rotation with little to no downtime. This
class focuses on a back-attacking playstyle, which increases the overall difficulty of
the class compared to others. While both rotations are easy to play at a basic level,
they can offer a higher skill ceiling for those who wish to push the class to the limit.
Deathblade has some of the best party synergies as well as damage output in the
entire game regardless of your engraving choice. You will not have any problems
finding a group with such a powerful class in your hands!
 How does my identity work?

Deathblade’s Identity consists of a three-orb gauge system, and a finisher attack.

The identity gauge can be activated to enter Death Trance once it has filled at least
one orb to provide the player with powerful buffs. This effect becomes stronger for
each additional orb filled, up to a maximum of three. The identity gauge is filled by
using normal skills and your Awakening skill, and both engravings have their own
ways of utilizing the gauge system to their advantage.

How do I decide on a build?

Both have their strengths and weaknesses. It’s a matter of personal preference.
Here’s a short summary of the builds. For further information, read their respective
sections of this document.

Remaining Energy Surge

Surge is a sustained burst engraving,

Remaining Energy is known to be a
providing the player with one massive
sustained DPS engraving, providing the
damage number every 6 - 10 seconds, that
player with a smooth, cyclical, fast-paced
can easily capitalize on party buffs due to
rotation with multiple heavy-hitting
the high concentration of damage in one
abilities to cycle through and use often.
hit during its burst cycle.
 ● Simple to execute ● Higher damage ceiling
Pros ● Very fluid ● Low tripod investment
● High mobility ● Forgiving gauge recovery

● Unstable performance due to

● Significantly punished by missing Surge’s crit variance
Cons gauge generators ● Very punishing against highly
mobile bosses

What are my Party Synergies?

Synergies are a buff your party benefits from. These only apply to your party and not the entire raid.
Consistent synergies are up for most of the fight while Burst synergies are much more infrequent.

Damage Move Speed &

Amplification Attack Speed Buff

Consistent
Consistent
+4% Damage Increase; Frontal and
+12.8% Move Speed & Attack Speed
Back Attack +5% Damage Increase
(9% Total)

Skill Skill

Spincutter (10s) Maelstrom (6s)

Surprise Attack (6s)

Turning Slash (12s)

 Why is Yearning important?
It’s considered a part of a build despite not being on your character.
Yearning is used by supports and gives +8/10/12% Damage and Attack/Move
speed to the party. This is a Relic Set they use that has a golden ring.

Useful Resources
Resources

Damage/Bracelet Calculator

Cursed Doll & Keen Blunt Weapon

Comparison

Content Creators

Creator Engraving Website

Surge
Remaining Youtube
Energy
Freevo

Card Set
EARLY GAME

Star of Destiny
0
+3% Damage +4% Max HP
Special Bonus Shield
 MID GAME

Deep Dive
12 / 18 /30
+4/8/12% Additional Damage

LATE GAME

Light of Salvation
18 /30
All damage becomes Holy Damage
+7/15% Holy Damage

NOTES

Damage hierarchy: LoS30 > DD30 > LoS18 > DD18 > LWC12 > DD12 > SoD
Additional Damage is additive to other additional Damage like from Weapon Quality or Relic Sets
(Nightmare, Salvation, and Yearning).
Kazeros’s Legion Commanders is a notable late game set for certain content such as Kayangel and Sonavel.

Chaos Dungeon
For a showcase of this build, click here.

Skill Lvl Tripods Runes Skill Lvl Tripods Ru

2 1 1 3 2 2

12 10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Lv.1 Lv.1 Gale
Blitz Rush Spincutter

1 2 2 1 1 1

12 12
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Gale
Moonlight Sonic Death Sentence
 3 1 2 2 1

12 7
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Lv.5 Lv.5 Gale
Soul Absorber Maelstrom

2 2 1 3 1 2

12 10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wea
Twin Shadows Void Strike

Awakening Recommended Engravings Notes

● Feel free to experiment on your own with different sk

Preemptive Strike
and tripods and find out what works best for you.
Contender ● Any Spec/Swift split works, as long as you have a min
of ~850 Spec - this lets you fill 3 Orbs in one rotation.
Flash Blink Armor Sets ● Other engravings options that pair well with this build
Remaining Energy, Keen Blunt Weapon,
Betrayal, Dominion
Raid Captain, Cursed Doll

Remaining Energy
Written by Stein
Updated/Edited by Raeinor
 Playstyle
Remaining Energy consists of a fast paced, repetitive, cyclical rotation with
multiple heavy-hitting skills. It is centered around quickly building the Death Orb
meter then consuming it by activating the Surge skill to deal damage, refreshing
cooldowns, and maintaining the Remaining Energy engraving buff while you refill
your Death Orbs and repeat the process. It is one of the few Specialization builds
that feels like a Swiftness class due to the identity buffs you receive and the high
uptime on the buff effects of Maelstrom.

The level of the Remaining Energy buff you receive depends on the amount of full
orbs used when Surge is cast. There are two build variants: Charge and Standard.
The main differences between these builds lie in engraving and tripod choices.

Stat Allocation
Remaining Energy requires a full Specialization distribution, with Crit as secondary.
Due to the active CDR effect when Surge is cast, Swiftness holds little to no value.

Spec Spec
Standard Spec Spec Spec Spec
Crit Crit
 Gear Set
Entropy is the optimal set for Remaining Energy due to the Crit Rate, Crit Damage,
and positional damage provided by it.

Set # Effect
+17/20/22% Crit Damage
2
+55/60/65% Crit Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Entropy 4 +17/20/22% Crit Chance

+7/8/9% Damage
6
+21/24/26% Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Engravings
Here are the Engravings you should aim to use,
and why you would choose specific combinations of Engravings to make a build.

Core
On Surge cast,
+12% Atk/Move Speed and
+15/30/45% Atk Power,
● Must be Level 3. Check FAQ for details.
depending on Surge level
● Tooltip is only for the Level 3 effect of this engraving.
(30s duration).
● This is one of the few class engravings that comes with
Remaining an active downside (-30% Surge skill damage).
Energy Surge casts immediately
upon Z, without entering
Death Trance.

+4/10/20% Damage to ● This is the best permanent damage engraving that every
bosses DPS class should get. No other engraving provides an
+20% Received Damage unconditional 20% damage to bosses.
Grudge
 +5/15/25% Damage on ● Surge and other high damage skills associated with the
successful playstyle have the Back Attack modifier, and this
Ambush Back Attacks engraving greatly enhances their damage output.
Master

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power

per Stack ● Due to the limited sources of Crit Rate for this build,
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at Adrenaline becomes highly valuable and effective.
Adrenaline Max (6) Stacks

Pick One
● Required for the Charge variant.
+4/10/20% Damage Soul Absorber, Void Strike, and Blitz Rush are all
+8/20/40% Charge Speed on Charge skills, and landing them is critical. Super
Charge Attacks Charge makes these skills much faster, effectively
Super Charge
improving rotation speed.

● On average, Keen Blunt Weapon offers slightly less

+10/25/50% Crit Damage
damage than Cursed Doll with standard Crit Rate and
10% Chance of -20%
Entropy set. However, it can come out on top,
Keen Blunt Damage
depending on synergies.
Weapon

● Cursed Doll is a stable source of damage increase. It

+3/8/16% Attack Power has lowered efficiency due to the presence of
-25% Healing Adrenaline, pushing it down to about a 15% damage
Cursed Doll increase, depending on Adrenaline level.

+10/22/45% of Bonus Move

Speed as Damage ● Dependent on good Maelstrom uptime to
increase efficiency and become comparable to other
+4/8.8/18% Damage options.
Raid Captain at max Move Speed (140%)

Level 1 - 2
 +0.2/0.3/0.5% Attack Power
+0.3/0.6/1% Defense Per ● Recommended as default for Level 1.
Stack, Max 30 Stacks
Ether Predator

+10/22/45% of Bonus Move

Speed as Damage ● Dependent on good Maelstrom uptime to
increase efficiency.
+4/8.8/18% Damage
Raid Captain at max Move Speed (140%)

+3/8/16% Attack Power ● Works as a non-conditional source of damage but

-25% Healing generally not the best choice for Level 1.
Cursed Doll

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power ● Running Adrenaline at Level 1 instead of Level 3

per Stack
provides the highest ceiling, but it significantly impacts
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at
Max (6) Stacks your average performance and consistency.
Adrenaline

Example Engraving Setups

Here are some example setups you can use for your engravings at different stages.

5x3
(Charge)

5x3
(Standard)

5x3+1
(Charge)
 5x3+1
(Standard)

- A detailed comparison and explanation for Cursed Doll and Keen Blunt Weapon can be found here.

Skills, Runes, and Gems

The explanation for Gem priority can be found below this table.

Core
ll Lvl Tripods Gems Runes Notes

Multi-buff Skill; primarily buffing Death Orb Ge

● The playstyle relies heavily on the availabili
ability. It is critically important to cast befor
2 1 2 primary Death Orb meter generators, Sou
and Void Strike.
10
● Offers an attack speed and movement spe
Lv.5 Lv.5 Bleed when using the Dark Order tripod.
trom
● Focus is also an option if you’re running ou
consistently.

Synergy and Mobility Skill

● Spincutter is a low cooldown skill which off

mobility alongside easy application of the O
Weakness debuff which increases all dama
2 3 1
and an additional 5% to back and front atta
10 total).

Lv.5 Galewind ● Galewind can be replaced with Rage, espe

utter
using Raid Captain Lv 3.

● Purify can be slotted in for raids that requi

debuff cleansing.
 Mobility Skill

● The most iconic Deathblade skill. It allows y

front-flip a long distance and will travel ove
in the game including Legion Raid Comman
1 1 2 the High Axel tripod.

10 ● Most commonly used to reposition from th

back during a boss fight. Alongside Surge,
Lv.1 Protection
Axel only other skill that provides push immunit

● Purify or Galewind are considerable rune

● Wealth can be considered for gauge back-

Counter, Destruction, Stagger, Damage Filler

● Earth Cleaver is the Swiss Army Knife of D

as it has the most utility in the kit.
3 3 1
● The Push tripod adds a bit of mobility and
10 two-part counter.

Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● The Darkness Injection and/or Concussio

eaver can be used if a bit of extra stagger is requ

● Overwhelm can be used in raids that requ

stagger.

Primary Orb Regen Skill

● The Halve tripod generates more meter an

more damage, while also allowing the seco
redirected. Power Stab turns the skill into
3 1 2 version, at the cost of some meter and dam

12
● Halve is the default pick for Charge and Bl
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
sorber
● Power Stab is the default pick for Standar

● Wealth can be considered if you find yours

skills often or if your spec is low.
 Primary Orb Regen Skill

● Generates a little less meter compared to S

3 1 1 Absorber. Prioritize using this skill while un

12 Maelstrom’s buff.

Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth ● Rising Slash is the default pick for all varia
trike
Over Slash can be used for the Charge var
more damage per cycle, but slightly slower

Charge & Standard variants

Highest DPS contribution

● Shadow Rush converts this ability to a ran

2 2 1
which further allows a more practical way t
12
● Charge Enhancement is recommended fo
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind Charge and Standard variants. All-round
Rush
skill into a normal version, but it significant
its damage and is not recommended.

Pick one
Damage/Stagger Filler

● Offers slightly more damage and is faster t

other options, but generates less gauge an
2 2 1 weak point.
● Excellent Mobility can also be considered
10
mobility in exchange for Earth Cleaver’s P
Lv.1 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Focus is also an option if you’re running ou
ntence
consistently.
● Lower the rarity of Galewind on Spincutte
Cleaver if choosing this option.

Damage/Gauge Filler

2 1 2 ● Offers significantly more gauge than the ot

options, but does slightly less damage and
10 stagger and weak point.
● Earth Cleaver’s Push tripod must be lowe
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
adows ● Purify can be considered in content that re
on-demand.
 Utility Filler

3 1 2 ● Offers the least amount of damage and gau

contributes significantly to stagger or weak
10 checks, depending on whether you pick Co
Lv.5 Lv.5 Overwhelm or Weak Point Enhancement.
Slash ● Tenacity can also be used for safety in enc
where utility is not required as much.

Blitzless
Main Damage Skill
2 2 1
● In this build variant, Death Sentence beco
12 your higher contribution skills.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind ● Provides a good amount of stagger.
ntence ● Excellent Mobility is not an option in this

Damage, Secondary Gauge Filler

2 1 2
● Offers a relatively high amount of gauge, a
10
required to reach 3 Orbs, unlike in other va
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
adows

Awakening

Quick, high-damaging and great repositioning as a bonus to incredible Orb Gain.

The more popular choice. It is a point-and-click dash with a very short wind-up animation that deals high damage in a line
high Death Orb meter, and allows the player to dash through enemies and bosses to reposition.
Blink

A holding skill that slashes multiple times and sends a barrage of swords at the enemy. Blade Assault deals more dam
generates slightly more Death Orb meter than Flash Blink, but it takes longer to cast.

It does not provide the enemy-piercing mobility that Flash Blink does and is riskier to use because of its animation that
ssault player in place until complete.

Gem Priority
Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional gems.

G
R

th Sentence, Twin Shadows and Turning Slash damage gems depend on which skill you chose to run (only pick one at a time).
last gem slot is usually based on user preference. You can opt for a Dark Axel cooldown gem to help maintain back attack uptime or
aver damage gem if you want a bit of damage.
aelstrom cooldown gem is the highest priority amongst the cooldown gems and is usually multiple levels higher than other cooldow
n endgame goal, you may want this cooldown gem at level 9 or 10. Other gems can be at level 7 or higher.
the Blitzless variant, please check the DPS Distribution section.

Tripod Priorities
This shows which Tripods are the most important for you to level. Tripod upgrades greatly enhance execution of the
Remaining Energy playstyle. It is a very important part of improving your overall damage with this class engraving.

High Priority Medium Priority Low Priority

Orb Dark Quick Cast Orb Fist of Rising Slash

Control Order Control Darkness

Maelstrom Void Strike

Enhanced Charge Shadow Swift Fist of Halve

Strike Enhancement Rush Fingers Darkness

Blitz Rush Soul Abs.

Open Quick Triple Quick Prep Concussion Critical Blow

Weakness Prep Spin

Spincutter Death Sen.

 Push Weak Point Leap Swift Tenacity High Axel
Detection Attack Fingers

E. Cleaver Dark Axel

Orb Control Weak Point Forward Slash Enhanced Concussion Triple Turn
Detection Strike

T. Shadows T. Slash

● Orb control tripods are the most important tripods that improve the
playstyle by allowing faster cycling, effectively increasing overall dps.

● Dark Order upgrades increase the Attack Speed and movement speed
buffs provided by Maelstrom. Faster Attack Speed allows faster rotations.

● Earth Cleaver isn’t a main damage ability and is sometimes held for
counters. However if you are able to cast it willingly just for damage, you
might as well upgrade tripods for a bit of damage gain.

Rotations
Due to the volatility of actual fights, adhering to a strict rotation is not always possible. Please use critical
thinking and raid awareness to decide which skills to use for certain scenarios.

Infographic Legend
 Death Sentence

● Death Sentence has a significant contribution to your damage and should

be cast in between synergy and your main rotation. In this case, Earth
Cleaver becomes a filler skill. It can be skipped if you successfully landed the
main skills and filled 3 Orbs.

Twin Shadows

● Twin Shadows has decent damage and significant meter gain. It should be
cast before or after your main rotation. Depending on how long your window
is, it could be skipped if you are confident you can fill 3 Orbs and Surge
immediately. In this case, Earth Cleaver becomes a filler skill. It can be
skipped if you successfully landed the main skills and filled 3 Orbs.
 Turning Slash

● Turning Slash is mostly a utility skill with minor damage and meter gain. It
can be skipped if you successfully landed the main skills and filled 3 Orbs. In
this case, Earth Cleaver becomes a higher damage filler skill (comparatively).
It should be used before your main rotation, but can be skipped if you are
confident you will successfully land the main skills and fill 3 Orbs.

Blitzless

● In this variant, most of your damage comes from Surge, Death Sentence
and Soul Absorber. The first three skills between Spincutter and
Maelstrom can be cast in any other order if they somehow become
desynced, but it’s recommended that you follow this rotation.

● Synergy from Spincutter is applied on each hit. If you’re already in position

to back attack, you don’t need to cast all three spins if you have other skills
ready.
● The Remaining Energy self-buff and the active CDR / Mana Regen effects
depend on how many full Death Orbs you possess when casting Surge.
Because of this, it is always recommended to reach 3 Death Orbs before
casting it, but unpredictable raid encounters can lead to missing skills and
 ending up with fewer orbs at the end of rotation. In that scenario, you can
use your Awakening to quickly recover, or just cast Surge with 2 Death
Orbs, resulting in longer cooldowns and less damage.

Stagger Rotation

Remember to toss a Whirlwind Grenade if needed

● Maelstrom is used for the faster Attack Speed, so that your animations will
play out faster and you can squeeze in more Stagger within a small window.
It is often a good idea to cast Maelstrom immediately before the Stagger bar
appears, so no Stagger time is wasted on the Maelstrom animation itself.
● In case you need a bit of extra stagger, you can consider the Concussion
Tripod and/or Darkness Injection on Earth Cleaver, as well as Concussion
on Void Strike.
● Death Sentence / Twin Shadows can be used at any point thanks to their
fast animation, while Twin Shadows and Turning Slash are low priority due
to their longer animations.

DPS Distribution
Below is a chart which shows the damage distribution based on a 2-minute Trixion parse.
This is based on the standard build outlined in this guide, modifications can change percentages.
 Builds
Use these builds as an example of a goal build for yourself. Using knowledge you learned from earlier in the guide
make changes and adjustments to the build to your liking and enjoy the end game.
For Inferno builds checkout Hell Academy.

Charge
Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Entropy
2 1 2
Accessories
10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Focus
Spec + Crit Maelstrom
 Spec 2 2 1

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Blitz Rush

Spec 3 1 2

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Soul Absorber

Spec + Crit 3 1 1

12
Crit 600
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Spec 1800 Void Strike

Engravings

Remaining 2 3 1
Energy 10
Lv.5 Galewind
Spincutter
Grudge

Ambush
Master 2 2 1

10
Lv.1 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Adrenaline Death Sentence

Super
Charge 3 3 1

10
Ether Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Overwhelm
Earth Cleaver
Predator
Awakening
1 1 2

10
Lv.5 Protection
Dark Axel

Flash Blink

Surge

Standard
Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Entropy
2 1 2
Accessories
10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Focus
Spec + Crit Maelstrom

Spec 2 2 1

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Blitz Rush

Spec 3 1 1

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Soul Absorber

Spec + Crit 12 3 1 2
 Crit 600
Spec 1800

Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5

Wealth
Void Strike

Engravings

Remaining 2 3 1
Energy 10
Lv.5 Galewind
Spincutter
Grudge

Ambush
Master 2 2 1

10
Lv.1 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Adrenaline Death Sentence

Cursed Doll
3 3 1

10
Ether Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Overwhelm
Earth Cleaver
Predator

Awakening
1 1 2

10
Lv.5 Protection
Dark Axel

Flash Blink

Surge
 Blitzless
Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Entropy
2 1 2
Accessories
10
Lv.5 Lv.5 Focus
Spec + Crit Maelstrom

Spec 2 1 2

10
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Twin Shadows

Spec 3 1 2

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Soul Absorber

Spec + Crit 3 1 2

12
Crit 600
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Wealth
Spec 1800 Void Strike

Engravings

Remaining 2 3 1
Energy 10
Lv.5 Galewind
Spincutter
Grudge
 Ambush
Master 2 2 1

12
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Adrenaline Death Sentence

Cursed Doll
3 3 1

10
Ether Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Earth Cleaver
Predator

Awakening
1 1 2

10
Lv.1 Protection
Dark Axel

Flash Blink

Surge

FAQ: Remaining Energy

Questions sourced from frequent interactions within the Unofficial Lost Ark Discord #Deathblade
This section is ever-growing, and new FAQ submissions are always welcome.

Is it bad to run Remaining Energy at Level 1?

Short answer; yes.

Considering the fast-paced nature of RE builds, the difference in Attack &

Movement Speed between Lv 1 and Lv 3 is significant enough to make this a bad
choice.
Can I drop Dark Axel and run more filler skills?
Short answer; yes, even though you shouldn’t.

Since RE is now more mobile (Spincutter is faster, Earth Cleaver leaps further,
Twin Shadows and Death Sentence provide some mobility), it can be tempting to
ditch Dark Axel and run more damage skills instead. However, this comes with
several caveats:
- You are effectively moving damage from Earth Cleaver to Twin Shadows /
Death Sentence / Turning Slash (whichever you didn’t already have),
because of tripod and gem limitations.
- You will consume significantly more MP, making food mandatory.
- You lose access to back attacking in scenarios where the boss is up against a
wall.
- Your rotation becomes more stressful without necessarily increasing Surge
CPM.

Can I drop Spincutter to Level 7?

Short answer; yes, but only if you run Dark Axel.

The main purpose of the Triple Spin tripod is to increase mobility, since synergy
can be maintained even if you only cast one spin of the combo. This means that
experienced players who are confident enough in their raid knowledge and their
ability to reposition can lower it to Lv 7 and increase two other damage skills from
Lv 10 to Lv 12.

How do I pick between Charge, Standard and Blitzless?

What’s the difference?
Short answer; if you have to ask, you should probably just pick Charge.
Charge is the classic version of RE. Its rotation is easier to execute thanks to having
significantly reduced charge times. As a result, gauge generation becomes easier as
well. It does not offer much room for choice in terms of tripods.

Standard is a version of RE that moves away from multiple charging skills in favor
of modularity. Rotation varies slightly depending on which skill setup you opt for,
but it is generally more punishing if you happen to miss. The benefit of this variant
is not having to deal with as many charge skills, performance being roughly equal to
Charge.

Blitzless is a more difficult version of RE. It is recommended for experienced

players, capable of making build-related decisions on their own. As the name
implies, this variant doesn’t run Blitz Rush, instead focusing on a more hit-and-run
playstyle where you utilize your kit to continuously deliver attacks and consistently
reach 3 Orbs slightly faster than the other two variants. Missing is extremely
punishing on this build, and it doesn’t move away from charge skills entirely due to
Soul Absorber’s Halve tripod. Performance can be higher than the other variants,
but the uptime requirement and mana cost issues increase as well.

Awakening usage
Flash Blink is a great skill for Death Orbs if you missed your Orb-generating
skills and need to recover but it is also a high damage awakening, especially due to
having high Specialization in the build. Using this or Blade Assault is also your
main way of quickly recovering if you accidentally cast Surge with only 2 Death
Orbs or if you used up both stacks of Maelstrom. You can essentially treat your
Awakening as a free get-out-of-jail card, or use it purely for damage if you are
confident.
 The GIF includes activation of Death Trance. This is no longer the case, but execution remains the
same.

Freevo’s ceiling build

If you’re reading this then you probably heard about Freevo’s build and consider it
strong, or you’re curious about it. It is a slightly modified version of Blitzless that
sacrifices comfort and safety nets for more damage, and while it won’t be directly
inserted into this guide, you can find out more about it in this video.

However, please be aware that this build is not inherently better, it simply has a
higher potential. It comes with significantly lower mobility, lower meter generation,
and a higher uptime requirement. Use it at your own discretion and don’t feel
pressured to stick to it if you find that it performs worse on average.
 Surge
Written by Stein
Updated/Edited by Sekwah

Playstyle
Surge is a builder/spender engraving with a twist. It is a fast-paced engraving
that is about building stacks over 8-12 seconds, then unleashing your Surge
skill for some breathtaking numbers. Unlike other burst classes, you can
repeat this rotation with no downtime. The Surge skill is a majority of your
damage, typically just over half of your total output. If you miss this single
ability, it will have a significant impact on your overall damage. It is one of the
few Specialization builds that feels like a Swiftness class due to the identity
buffs you receive, and the uptime you have on the Death Trance state.

Stat Allocation
Surge uses a full specialization distribution, with the necklace and bracelet being
specialization plus crit. It is not recommended to use swiftness on accessories.
 Spec Spec
Standard Spec Spec Spec Spec
Crit Crit

Gear Set
Entropy is the optimal set for Surge due to the crit rate, crit damage, and positional
damage provided by it.

Set # Effect
+17/20/22% Crit Damage
2
+55/60/65% Crit Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Entropy 4 +17/20/22% Crit Chance

+7/8/9% Damage
6
+21/24/26% Damage while Back/Front Attacking

Engravings
Here are the Engravings you should aim to use,
and why you would choose specific combinations of Engravings to make a build.

Core
Surge is cast at the max level of Surge ● In the current state of the game, the Surge class
Zero form. engraving should always be run at level 3, due to
substantial damage increases based on the engr
ge Skill hits increase Surge stacks up to 60, level.
giving up to +45/60/85% Surge damage.
This bonus is applied twice if cast at 60
 stacks.

Regain Death Orb meter based on

number of stacks.
14/27/40 Stacks for 1/2/3 Death Orbs

● This is the best permanent damage engraving th

+4/10/20% Damage to bosses
DPS class should get. No other engraving provid
+20% Received Damage
unconditional 20% damage to bosses.
dge

● Surge and other high damage skills associated w

+5/15/25% Damage on successful
playstyle have the Back Attack modifier, and this
Back Attacks
ush engraving greatly enhances their damage outpu
ter

+0.3/0.6/1% Attack Power ● Adrenaline offers crit rate to desire which has
per Stack increased value due to fewer amounts of crit rat
+5/10/15% Crit Rate at sources in the build, as well as Entropy, which
aline Max (6) Stacks provides +55-65% crit damage.

Pick One
● Cursed Doll is a much more stable source of da
increase. It has lowered efficiency due to the pre
+3/8/16% Attack Power
of Adrenaline 3, pushing it down to about a 15%
-25% Healing
damage increase. This is the recommended opti
d Doll
the two.

+10/25/50% Crit Damage ● Keen Blunt Weapon offers slightly less damage
10% Chance of -20% Damage Cursed Doll with our standard crit rate and Eart
Entropy set. However, it offers a similar damage
Blunt increase to Cursed Doll when you have crit syne
pon your party. It may be tempting to replace Specia
for more Crit, but it ends up being the inferior op
 the vast majority of cases.

● Mass Increase offers higher damage potential t

Cursed Doll or Keen Blunt Weapon, at the cost
+4/10/18% Attack Power
reduced attack speed. This penalty is hard to qu
-10% Attack Speed
in real scenarios, but it forces you to play around
crease
Maelstrom buff window.

+10/22/45% of Bonus Move Speed as Damage ● Raid Captain offers the highest potential damag
increase but forces you to play around the Mael
+4/8.8/18% Damage
at max Move Speed (140%) buff window, feast and other move speed buffs.
aptain

Not Recommended
● Super Charge may look like quality of life for cas
Charge skills, but in reality, it does not help you b
stacks faster in a meaningful way. In addition, it
too few of your skills to provide enough of a dam
boost to be worth taking over another engraving
+4/10/20% Damage half of Surge’s damage is tied up in the Surge sk
+8/20/40% Charge Speed on itself.
Charge Attacks
Charge
● Super Charge only applies to Blitz Rush and So
Absorber (it is not worth switching Void Strike’s
tripods for this), which make up about 28% of yo
damage, making Super Charge into a 5-6% total
damage boost engraving.

On activation, next offensive skill Damage ● Just cheap dopamine

+8/16/28%. Only half of the effect is applied
to Awakening Skills. (Cooldown 30s)
● As shown earlier, Surge takes up a little bit abov
Focus of the DPS distribution. Sight Focus’s damage bo
has a cooldown of 30 seconds. It can be used at
once every other Surge, demoting Sight Focus d
 from the listed 28% on one hit, to around a 6-7%
damage boost on average.

● This pushes Sight Focus to become a poor choic

Level 3 engraving, and it is only considered for u
Level 1.

Example Engraving Setups

Here are some example setups you can use for your engravings at different stages.

3
[ ]
[ ]
Pick one of the engravings between [brackets]. More information in the Engraving section.

+1

[ ]
Pick one of the engravings between [brackets]. More information in the Engraving section.

+2

Pick two of the engravings between [brackets]. More information in the Engraving section.

A detailed comparison and explanation for Cursed Doll and Keen Blunt Weapon can be found here.
 Skills, Runes, and Gems
The explanation for Gem priority can be found below this table.

Core
ll Lvl Tripods Gems Runes Notes

Multi-buff Skill and Main Stack Generator

● Maelstrom offers a potent party-wide Atta

and Movement Speed buff for 6 seconds w
3 1 2 using the Dark Order tripod.

10 ● Cast before main damage skills to increase

of landing hits in tighter windows (and incr
Lv.5 Focus damage if using Raid Captain).
trom
● Generates 7 stacks along its duration, given
close to the target.

High Damage Skill and Main Stack Generator

2 3 2 ● Dark Charge allows extra flexibility when i

stacking but needs the player to connect al
12
being close to the target.
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Rush ● Generates up to 10 stacks.

1 2 2 High Damage Skill and Main Stack Generator

12 ● Generates up to 9 stacks.

Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind

Dance

Counter, Destruction, Stagger Skill. Damage Fill

● The Push tripod adds a bit of mobility and

3 3 1 two-part counter.
10
- ● Can also use the Earth Explosion tripod fo
12 higher damage and “shorter” animation at
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind mobility.
eaver
● Generates ~1-3 stacks.
 Synergy Skill and Main Stack Generator
1 1 1
● Used to apply synergy for 6 seconds
10 ● Generates up to 7 stacks.
● Can also use Keen Strike tripod for slightly
Lv.5 Lv.5 Bleed damage at the cost of mobility.
Attack

Main Stack Generator

3 3 2 ● Generates up to 8 stacks.
● Can also use the Sword Energy Explosion
10
for one extra Surge stack at the cost of sma
Lv.5 Lv.5 AoE.
cut Utility
● Utility Runes: Purify, Rage.

Mobility Skill and Main Stack Generator

● Can be used to reposition yourself or move

2 3 1 the boss or to safe spots if needed.
● Can take the Swift Fingers tripod if you do
10
problems maintaining your Synergy uptime
Lv.5 Galewind Surprise Attack. This requires you to cycle p
utter
back to back.
● Generates up to 6 stacks.

Pick one
Mobility Skill

● The most iconic Deathblade skill. It allows y

front-flip a long distance and will travel ove
1 1 2 in the game including Legion Raid Comman
10 the High Axel tripod.

Lv.5 Most commonly used to reposition from th

Axel Utility ●
back during a boss fight.

● Utility Runes: Purify, Rage, Protection.

10 3 3 1 Damage Filler
- ● Used in place of Dark Axel, trading a Mobi
12 more utility and damage.
Lv.5 Lv.5
Utility ● Not recommended to new or inexperience
Slash since it requires expert encounter knowled
 stationary targets
● Can take the Open Weakness tripod if you
problems to keep up good synergy uptime
● Can opt for Weak Point Enhancement if W
is needed, or Concussion if Stagger is need
● Generates up to 5 stacks.
● Utility Runes: Purify, Rage, Quick Recharg

Awakening

Quick, high-damaging and great repositioning as a bonus to incredible Orb Gain.

It is a point-and-click dash with a very short wind-up animation that deals high damage in a line, generates high Death O
and allows the player to dash through enemies and bosses to reposition.
Blink

Generates 20 stacks. Used for burst windows or to recover from a failed rotation.
A holding skill that slashes multiple times and sends a barrage of swords at the enemy.

It does not provide the enemy-piercing mobility that Flash Blink does, takes longer to resolve and deal its damage, and i
ssault use because of its animation that locks the player in place until complete.

Gem Priority
Gems are listed in order of most to least important from left to right. Grayed out icons are optional gems.

G Earth Cleaver gem usage depends on your rotation. You can swap it out if you don’t use the skill other than for cou
there’s not many worthy alternatives. Both Wind Cut and Surprise Attack are a very small percentage of your dam

Earth Cleaver gem usage depends on your rotation. You can swap it out if you don’t use the skill other than for cou
R there’s not many worthy alternatives.
Wind Cut gem priority changes based on which rotation you are using.

last gem slot is usually based on user preference. General advice is to assess your own playstyle, and use what you desire.
Surge skill gem priority is much higher and cannot be overstated. It is common and recommended to upgrade the Surge skill dama
ch earlier than any other gem.
 Tripod Priorities
This shows which Tripods are the most important for you to level. There aren’t any tripod upgrades that really make
or break the playstyle. Upgrades to most tripods usually just offer flexibility, convenience, or simply raw damage.

Wide-Angle Dark Quick Fist of Weak Point Mutilate

Attack Order Cast Darkness Detection
Maelstrom Bl. Dance

Enhanced Dark Dual Open Excellent Trailing Sword

Strike Charge Blitz Weakness Mobilityw Burst
Blitz Rush Surp. Atk.

Open Quick Triple Quick Prep Sustain Thick Sword

Weakness Prep Spin Enhancement Energy
Spincutter Wind Cut

Push Weak Point Leap Swift Tenacity High Axel

Detection Attack Fingers
E. Cleaver Dark Axel

Enhanced Tenacity Concentrated

Strike Attack
T. Slash
 Rotations
Due to the volatility of actual fights, adhering to a strict rotation is not always
possible. Please use critical thinking and raid awareness to decide which skills to
use for certain scenarios.

● It is important to understand the playstyle of Surge and why it is considered

to have a high skill ceiling. While there are set rotations that can be followed,
the uptime and execution of each rotation can be challenging, if possible at
all, to maintain with perfection in an encounter.
● Surge has a reactive, as well as, adaptive playstyle with a few core rotations
that should be used as a general guideline. It is very common to deviate from
a rotation and return to it during more stable boss patterns.
● While this may sound intimidating as you face a lot of the aforementioned
challenges during progression, the learning curve yields strong damage
output very early. The quicker you can identify, react to, and memorize
mechanics, the faster you climb up this curve leading to one of the highest
damage potentials in the entire game.

Infographic Legend

All rotations have similar basic structures and concepts but also have different
strengths in application. Rotations usually starts like:

● Death Trance (Z) → Wind Cut ↔ Surprise Attack

● Surprise Attack and Wind Cut have low cooldown and are usually paired
together to quickly generate 15 stacks.
 ● They’re used at the start of the rotation so they come up back in time for the
end of it.

● Maelstrom → (Turning Slash) → Blitz Rush ↔ Blade Dance

● This rotation makes use of the Maelstrom buff window to fit your hardest
hitting skills with help of the increased attack speed.

Sample Rotation #1 - Spincutter

Earth Cleaver can technically be omitted, but it will delay your Surge since you will
have to wait for Windcut/Surprise Attack stacks (or risk Surging at <60 stacks). If
you’re using Raid Captain, try to fit it inside Maelstrom’s buff window.

Wind Cut is used prior to Surprise Attack (specially at the end of the rotation) to
avoid delaying Surge and hit it after 60 stacks are reached and not before.
 Sample Rotation #2 - Turning Slash & Earth
Cleaver

Earth Cleaver and Turning Slash can be used at multiple points, inside or outside
Maelstrom’s buff window. As with the previous rotation, if you’re using Raid
Captain you want to try and fit them during the Maelstrom’s buff window (unless it
pushes your Surge out of it) for extra damage.

Wind Cut is used prior to Surprise Attack (specially at the end of the rotation) to
avoid delaying Surge and hit it after 60 stacks are reached and not before.

Spincutter can be skipped or used at any point for repositioning, stack recovery or
mobility.

Sample Rotation #3 - Wind Cut pre-cast + Turning

Slash

This rotation takes advantage of the lingering of Wind Cut to cancel the Surge
animation after a cycle and shorten each cycle a bit. This requires the user to enter
Death Trance as soon as possible to benefit from the stacks from the lingering
Wind Cut.
Spincutter is used to generate at least 4 stacks (2 spins). Its usage during the
rotation can vary, since having a cooldown gem allows it to be ready for the next
rotation in almost every case.

Sample Rotation #4 - Burst with Awakening

The entire cycle is about 9 seconds long, which fits perfectly within Atropine
windows. This assumes you use Atropine right before the first Surge lands (use it
mid-animation).

Blade Assault is used to quickly gain 20 stacks, allowing you to skip some skills for
a bigger burst.

Blade Dance is faster than Blitz Rush, making it easier to fit inside the 10 second
window, but at lower damage. Blitz Rush can be too tight unless you’re at max
attack speed.

If you’re using Turning Slash, you can fit it between Maelstrom and Blade
Assault, and use Blade Dance.

Sample Rotation #5 - Fight Start/Recovery

If you’re in the situation of not having Death Orbs available (such as the start of a
fight), you can get enough for 1 Death Orb to kickstart your recovery rotation, for
example with the following:
Then using Surge at minimum 40 Stacks to regain 3 full Death Orbs, for example:

The idea is not to waste Maelstrom during this recovery window as to not screw
the next Surge rotation.

Alternatively, you can use a Stimulant or Awakening: Flash Blink.

DPS Distribution
Numbers shown here are gathered from a mix of Trixion and Real encounters. There can be a high degree
of variance depending on your build, rotation, gem level and several other factors, so take these
numbers with a grain of salt.
 Builds
Use these builds as an example of a goal build for yourself. Using knowledge you learned from earlier in the guide
make changes and adjustments to the build to your liking and enjoy the end game.
For Inferno builds checkout Hell Academy.

Raid
Elixir: Master, read more here.

Armor Set Skill Lvl Tripods Gems Runes

Entropy
3 1 2
Accessories
10
Lv.5 Focus
Spec + Crit Maelstrom

Spec 2 3 2

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Blitz Rush

Spec 1 2 2

12
Spec Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Blade Dance

Spec + Crit 3 3 1

12
Crit 600
Lv.5 Lv.5 Lv.5 Galewind
Spec 1800 Earth Cleaver

Engravings 10 2 3 1

Surge
Lv.5
 Grudge
Spincutter Galewind

Ambush
Master 3 3 2

10
Keen Blunt Lv.5 Lv.5 Bleed
Windcut
Weapon ⚠

Adrenaline
1 1 1

10
Ether Lv.5 Lv.5 Purify
Surprise Attack
Predator

Awakening
1 1 2

10
Lv.5 Protection
Dark Axel

Blade Assault

Surge
⚠ 5th Engraving is dependant on choice. Check the Engravings section for more
information.

Build Variants
d Old Skill Tripods Gem Changes to New Skill New Tripods
 1 1 2 3 3 1
Slash:
ps out Dark
utility and
urning Slash.
Dark Axel
Lv.5
→ Turning Slash
Lv.5 Lv.

FAQ: Surge
Questions sourced from frequent interactions within the Unofficial Lost Ark Discord #Deathblade
This section is ever-growing, and new FAQ submissions are always welcome.

Can I use Surge at Level 1?

Due to the damage scaling of the Surge ability, the damage difference between
Surge 1 and 3 is too large when compared against all engraving combinations with
level 1 Surge. It is not recommended to ever consider using Surge at Level 1, as
upgrading to Surge 3 is far too efficient for the amount of engraving nodes used.

Can I replace Adrenaline?

While Adrenaline remains one of the strongest engravings to use at below Level 3
in later endgame builds (Ancient accessories and bracelets), completely replacing it
can have a large effect on the build's overall damage in our current version.

With over half of the engraving’s damage coming from the Surge skill, you will
quickly feel the disappointment when that ability does not critically hit. The value of
Adrenaline is further increased by crit damage stat from the Earth’s Entropy 2-
piece set bonus and/or Keen Blunt Weapon.

Adrenaline 3, when combined with the aforementioned Crit Damage bonuses, can
reach a total damage bonus of approximately 20%, making it just as good as
Grudge. As such, if using a Level 1 engraving, we currently prefer to keep
Adrenaline at Level 3 and use Ether Predator at Level 1 instead, as it provides 6%
Attack Power when fully stacked, which is most effective in longer fights like Legion
Raids.

Flash Blink : Surge-specific

Flash Blink offers the most meter generation possible from a single skill and is
commonly used at the start of encounters to quickly get into the usual damage
rotations. However, it does offer a respectable amount of damage; enhanced even
further by the specialization stat.

To get the most out of the skill while gaining orbs, it is recommended to be cast
right before entering and activating Death Trance. This is because most of Flash
Blink’s damage is in the last few hits, allowing you to enter Death Trance before
every hit occurs.

The larger portion of Flash Blink’s damage (after dash) is buffed by Death Trance

Flash Blink can also be used when bursting due to its high damage.
Deathblade can cap Attack Speed – what about Mass
Increase?
Similar to Cursed Doll, Mass Increase provides a stable, but similar source of
damage from the slightly higher Attack Power. The difference consists of an Attack
Speed loss, instead of a healing reduction, and a cheaper price tag.

The engraving is usable, but please test how it feels for yourself in Trixion before
committing to it, as how it feels to use is subjective, and some people hate it while
others do not mind. The damage loss from the reduced Attack Speed is
unquantifiable in a real raid environment; forcing yourself to adhere to a particular
sequence of skills or falling into cases where you have 10% less attack speed makes
you take advantage of less DPS windows than you can normally. It is highly
situational, but it can be played around, especially with a Yearning support by your
side.

Mass Increase's penalty is much less impactful on a Surge Deathblade than other
classes, due to the Attack Speed bonuses provided from being in the Death Trance
state, supports’ Yearning buffs, and Maelstrom’s Dark Order tripod.

However, if you swap to or from Mass Increase, you will absolutely feel a
difference. At the end of the day, Mass Increase is a great budget option, but at the
cost of some rotational Quality of Life when compared to Cursed Doll.

Deathblade can cap Movement Speed – what about Raid

Captain?
Raid Captain is a strong engraving, with a maximum damage bonus of 18% at
140% Movement Speed. Surge Deathblade is capable of reaching high efficiency
through the use of Maelstrom, Lvl.3 Yearning from a support, Death Trance and
a Peyto Wine/Feast: +12.8%, +12%, +10%, +3% ~ 5% respectively. However, at the
end of the day, Deathblade is not a Swiftness class, and it shows in the methods we
must use to cap Movement Speed.

Maelstrom has a maximum uptime of 50%-75% for Surge (a 6-second duration, for
at best, a 8-12 second rotation), forcing us to shift the rotation around maximizing
the effectiveness of Raid Captain if we include it.

If boss mechanics force the Surge skill to be delayed but Maelstrom was already
casted and has ended, it is a significant damage loss. In addition, in order for Raid
Captain to equal a similar unconditional engraving, you must land a majority of
your damage (consisting of Surge, Blitz Rush, and Blade Dance) while a movement
speed boost is active.

This can be alleviated by the use of the Quick Pace tripod for Dark Axel, providing
20-30% Movement Speed after its use. Having a second on-demand Movement
Speed boost is helpful, but this again restricts your rotation around using Dark
Axel for bonus Movement Speed. This makes Raid Captain inconvenient to use, as
you are expending a powerful mobility tool purely for the purpose of keeping your
DPS as high as it could be with a different, less constricting engraving.

Raid Captain could theoretically provide more damage than Cursed Doll or Keen
Blunt Weapon, but just like Mass Increase, the DPS loss caused by this highly
conditional gameplay is unquantifiable in a real raid environment, and it is much
better to just use one of the unconditional low-management engravings (CD/KBW).

Advanced Optimizations

Movement Cancel & Faster Death Trance

TL;DR:
1. Hold or click to move after casting the Surge skill to cut off its post-cast
animation approximately 0.5 seconds faster, allowing you to move into the next
Death Trance and resume your rotation.
2. Activate Death Trance after the Surge stack counter disappears from your
buff list above your hotbar (alternatively, when the visual stack indicator to the right
of your character disappears).
You will be able to instantly reactivate Death Trance without waiting for the
graphical indicator of the Death Orbs to appear inside your Death Orb meter. So
long as you had 40+ stacks when the Surge stack counter disappeared, you will
receive the full 3 Death Orb refund.

Both of these points can be used independently of each other, but are more
effective when combined.

While a minor optimization, this 0.5s difference can build up over multiple rotations
to make a small difference in how much DPS you deal.
This largely does not affect rotations that precast abilities like Wind Cut or
Maelstrom before activating Death Trance, but as Surge rotations are very
flexible and often change in a real raid environment, it is still useful to know about
this if you like to learn about minor optimizations.

A more in-depth explanation:

1. Movement Cancel
When casting the Surge skill, damage dealt is calculated on-hit, but the Death Orb
refund gained from the engraving is calculated when the Surge stack counter
disappears.

The point in time at which the Surge stack counter disappears is tied to when the
Surge skill animation ends. By inputting a movement command or casting another
ability, you can cancel the last 0.5 seconds of the animation and force the orb
refund to happen sooner than it would with no player input.

The animations involved consist of the downward slash of the Surge skill and a
"resheathing" animation (post-cast) where the large sword that Deathblade uses is
returned to its position on her back.
 By inputting a movement command or casting an ability, this animation is canceled,
and the Surge stack counter disappears immediately rather than at the end of the
"resheathing" animation, granting the Death Orb refund faster.

2. Faster Death Trance

The actual visual indicator of Death Orbs inside the Death Orb meter
takes even longer to appear than the Death Orb refund from Surge does to
activate.

As the visual indicator takes longer to appear, it can be ignored and Death Trance
can be activated the moment the Surge stack counter disappears, and the Death
Orb refund is complete.

Doing this even if the Death Orbs are not yet visible in your hotbar will still
function normally, regardless of the visual appearance.

ou can either use the buff icon above your hotbar:

or the visual indicator to the right of your character:

an indicator for when the Death Orb refund is complete, and when
eath Trance can be reactivated with no delay.
However, of course, if you do not have 40 stacks, you will not activate Death
Trance at Level 3. In situations such as the Low-Stack Burst sequence, this is not a
problem, and you can execute both of these optimizations to perform the burst
sequence faster.