Warhammer Vermintide 2: BH Challenge Build

This build isn’t a copy and paste build. If you copy the loadout, talents exactly you still won’t replicate it. The build is about maximizing sustainable DPS, challenging your mechanics, and playing a very difficult but rewarding style. The gameplay style emphasizes processing data quickly and moving your fingers quickly. I’m going to go through the loadout and talents quickly, then try to explain how to play it.

All items are Red with maxed %s. There might be some sweet spot % where you don’t need exactly +10%, but i have not done that research.

1. Axe – Use the axe because it looks cool and fits with the gameplan
   • power vs chaos. this is necessary in order to 1 shot raiders
   • crit chance. this 2nd trait could be a defensive trait to make up for the builds lack of mob
   • Trait – Parry. We’re going for mechanical difficulty. Resourceful combatant is probably better especially since we are going for additional crit chance, but a successful no-look parry is one of the sweetest feelings in this game
2. Brace of Pistols – This is the bread and butter of the build.
   Properties
   • anything really. No traits are absolutely necessary because no trait changes the milestone for anything, you still mostly 1 or 2 shot anything. stay away from crit chance, dmg vs infantry, dmg vs brokers; these are all wastes
   • Trait – Scrounger. This is mandatory
3. Necklace
   • again anything works here. i use +20hp and +2 stamina in order to be able to push more. dmg reduction vs area dmg is really good too.
   • Trait – I use Boon of Shallya simply because it always works. healer’s touch is nice when it works, but it mostly doesn’t.
4. Charm
   These are mandatory for the build because it allows you to 1 shot raiders with a charged hs. It also allows you to 1shot raiders with any crit to the head. It also guarantees a 2shot on raiders with any 2 hits. Power vs infantry also allows you to 1 shot clanrat with ANY hit.
   • Power vs Chaos
   • power vs infantry
   • Trait – whatever you want, I like the increased duration.
5. Trinket
   I use crit chance because I’m combining it with the crit chance on the axe. If you went defensive on the axe, id recommends stamina recovery. cooldown reduction is also very good here.
   • Trait – again whatever you want

Here is a brief overview of the talents

• Level 5 – Because you are using an axe, your hits are slow but hit hard, almost any blow against infantry is a killing blow and it’s very easy to get the killing blow on high hp armor.
• Level 10 – Weight of Fire is the best option by elimination. Steel Crescendo doesn’t fit the playstyle, we’re playing to have and use ammo. Open Wounds is another option i experimented with, but most things aren’t surviving a crit hit with pistols. High HP enemies that do are basically at 1hp anyway, (stormvermin and maulers are generally 2 hit with pistols, a storm can be 1shot with crit hs) This perk really only is good on bosses, but many people run the shrapnel trait on their bomb slot and there are a number of other talents that apply this same trait. It doesn’t stack so IMO take the +12% flat damage increase. You don’t actually need it tho.
• Level 15 – Smiter is the best option IMO. We don’t need extra ranged damage and with smiter’s 1st hit is always staggered ability we can 1 shot raiders.
• Level 20 – Blessed Combat is a MUST. Without this trait this build doesn’t work.
• Level 25 – Salvaged Ammunition is a MUST simply for the reloading ability. The other part of the talent is almost never used. The extra damage resistance is tempting, but if you analyze the math, it is simply not worth it at high difficulties. you gain dmg resistance 1% at a time until 30%. Even if you still think it is worth it, it doesn’t fit the build. We are maximizing DPS, dmg resistance is off-brand.
• Level 30 – This talent goes nicely with Blessed Combat, but they are all decent.

Only level 20 and 25 are a must. If you want to change something else I don’t recommend it, but you won’t break the build if you do.

You may have already picked up on the ideas from the loadout and talents, but if you didn’t this build revolves around the Blessed Combat talent. In order to secure melee kills, we use the axe because it hits hard. We don’t care about attack speed, we are looking to reset the critical ranged shot. That’s why there are so many +power vs chaos properties. If you can reliably kill the raider then you can reliably 1shot all the infantry units (beastmen are weaker than rotbloods). With the scrounger trait we gain 2 ammo for every crit shot landed. So you shoot your crit, get a melee kill and now you’ve reset the combo. This is how most of our kills will be ranged kills and how we won’t run out of ammo. You need to balance between going weapons-free and conservation mode. If you run out of ammo with this build it’s pretty bad. Salvaged Ammunition is a bail-out, but don’t rely on it.

Its also useful to remember that a single crit shot from the pistol can pierce 3 slave rats, or 2 clanrats ( and their equivalent not blood and beastmen counterparts). you can also one-shot most of those with a single axe swing. you can kill 4 slave rats every second or so. It’s actually kinda insane.

you’ll need to aim with this build. This is already a challenge for a game that is melee-focused.

You must quickly switch the pistols. alt fire pistols are almost too fast and the spread is too wide, especially at range. Using the above properties, every special dies in 1 crit unless super far away then it’s 2, in most circumstances its 2 hits, and its 3 hits if at a super far distance. If you rely on alt-fire chances are you’re going to miss a shot so it’s going to take too long, use too much ammo and it leaves you exposed to the mob. Quick switching allows you to shoot faster and keep your accuracy. If you are not familiar with this concept, very simply after you fire 1 shot, press q twice. This switches to your axe then back to your pistols. Then you just repeat this combo. If you do it correctly, you’ll only shoot out of your right pistol. The left pistol is just for show.

Your primary responsibility in the group is killing specials, then elites, then roaming mob, boss, then horde mob. You should be going into this trying to 360 no scope all the specials. In my 5001000+ hours in the game (yea i’ve been playing this build that long and still optimizing it), almost all of it solo queuing quickplay on Legend, the number one reason for teams failing is because of a special during a horde. People cant break off their focus. Special killing is your job, the faster the better. If youre engaged in a mob fight you need to learn to disengage safely and get your shot off. If youve charged up a crit, its 1 shot 1 kill. In order to reliably kill specials with pistols tho, you will need to quickswitch.

as for teamwork, the brilliant part is that the builds dps is so high you can just carry. This build can take point clearing everything, or it can fight from the back. horde cant catch you because you simply quickswitch the pistols as you run.

You’ll need to balance when to go weapons free and when to conserve ammo, but this is something you[‘ll have to feel out yourself. My recommendation is to not be afraid to use ammo, but dont use the alt fire unless the mob is right there. Even then, control your shooting rhythm.

This build is not the best build. It’s probably actually a bad build, but it is so flipping satisfying. You can carry so hard with this build. The DPS is so high AND it is sustainable AND it’s burst dmg. You actually have to push more than W and mouse1.

I’ve been playing this game a long time, basically since day 1 of vermin tide 1. I’ve been using pistols since then and I’ve had A LOT of practice with the quick switch. It is very possible I have the most time quick switching pistols in the entire world. People just don’t even know about the pistols. Ever wished Kruber’s repeater handgun was more accurate? Well just quick switch pistols and you have it. If you’ve never quick switched pistols you’re gonna need to practice. When I first started my ring finger literally could not push q fast enough. I just didn’t have the finger dexterity. If you keep at it, you’ll get there tho.