[Spoiler] Bolverk build?

[joopaca]

For me, I had Krumr equip the +3 BRK item(a memoir of Yngvar) and hand it to Bolverk, which made a ridiculous Break attack+strength attack combo. STR attack deflection also seemed very helpful since Bolverk having full strength is so crucial and the moment he takes damage his power is significantly lost. What item did you use for Bolverk?

[Aleonymous]

+BRK on Bolvy is the most OP way to go.

There's some high-level items that boost CRIT, stacking with Artery Strike Talent, which can be handy.

WIL is also handy, in case you need to use "Cull the Weak" in order to avoid hitting one of your guys (despite the STR penalty).

[Mossiveunit]

I had Bolverk running with the gem you get from the Godstone inside the mines. That with the STR perk Robust, 20% chance to ignore 6 STR damage.

He was a tank. Iver had a rough time with him.

[Yojo0o]

I spent most of my run with him using Sigborn's +movement -aggro feather on him, treating him like an assassin. Bolverk is extremely powerful, but I found him to be easily maimed beyond use, so I handled him with care.

I "upgraded" to the level 8 purple crystal you can get, but I'm not sure that was right. He sure packed a punch, though.

[Troll]

I gave Bolverk that item that badly boosted his Break but removed 4 renown. I barely used Cull the weak as I used him on the Colossi and the likes.

[Dynellen]

Originally posted by Troll:

I gave Bolverk that item that badly boosted his Break but removed 4 renown. I barely used Cull the weak as I used him on the Colossi and the likes.

Yeah his abilities were honestly fairly useless since his passive two attacks in one turn is so strong. I'd much rather remove a lot of armor+follow up with a powerful str hit for free instead using his abilities. Cull the weak goes against the optimal way of fighting (don't kill weak enemies) and his other ability only temporarely removes armor which is fairly bad and I usually didn't want him getting hit so much that the counter attack effect would be significant.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by Dynellen:

Originally posted by Troll:

I gave Bolverk that item that badly boosted his Break but removed 4 renown. I barely used Cull the weak as I used him on the Colossi and the likes.

Yeah his abilities were honestly fairly useless since his passive two attacks in one turn is so strong. I'd much rather remove a lot of armor+follow up with a powerful str hit for free instead using his abilities. Cull the weak goes against the optimal way of fighting (don't kill weak enemies) and his other ability only temporarely removes armor which is fairly bad and I usually didn't want him getting hit so much that the counter attack effect would be significant.

I thought Cull was pretty absurd, actually. You can use it as a speed boost: I'd have Bolverk on the far right side of the map, run towards the middle, execute a weakened enemy, then make it to the other side of the map to cripple or kill another. It's generally not better than his normal attack, but it's a great tactic to keep at the ready.

I also found it to be virtually required to beat a weirdly lopsided fight late in his campaign.

[etalian]

Originally posted by WTFLAZERS:

Originally posted by Dynellen:

Yeah his abilities were honestly fairly useless since his passive two attacks in one turn is so strong. I'd much rather remove a lot of armor+follow up with a powerful str hit for free instead using his abilities. Cull the weak goes against the optimal way of fighting (don't kill weak enemies) and his other ability only temporarely removes armor which is fairly bad and I usually didn't want him getting hit so much that the counter attack effect would be significant.

I thought Cull was pretty absurd, actually. You can use it as a speed boost: I'd have Bolverk on the far right side of the map, run towards the middle, execute a weakened enemy, then make it to the other side of the map to cripple or kill another. It's generally not better than his normal attack, but it's a great tactic to keep at the ready.

I also found it to be virtually required to beat a weirdly lopsided fight late in his campaign.

Yeah Cull the Weak is hilariously broken especially once you get STR improving items.

You can run around the whole map killing piles of weaker enemies in a single turn.

[Aleonymous]

Originally posted by etalian:

Yeah Cull the Weak is hilariously broken especially once you get STR improving items.

You can run around the whole map killing piles of weaker enemies in a single turn.

Yes, but in some battles, you risk giving the enemy too much turn-advantage in this way. Especially in that battle where you ambushed in a Blizzard by Sefa et al.

[Yojo0o]

Originally posted by Aleonymous:

Originally posted by etalian:

Yeah Cull the Weak is hilariously broken especially once you get STR improving items.

You can run around the whole map killing piles of weaker enemies in a single turn.

Yes, but in some battles, you risk giving the enemy too much turn-advantage in this way. Especially in that battle where you ambushed in a Blizzard by Sefa et al.

It's an ability that really rewards careful attention to the turn-order. If the weakened enemies wouldn't get their turn for a while, Culling them gives no immediate advantage to the other side. I often used it as a "piggyback" maneuver: Kill 1-2 weakened enemies that wouldn't have taken a turn for a while anyway in the process of getting Bolverk to the other side of the map, ideally maiming a strong enemy with an upcoming move when there.

[Troll]

Originally posted by Dynellen:

Originally posted by Troll:

I gave Bolverk that item that badly boosted his Break but removed 4 renown. I barely used Cull the weak as I used him on the Colossi and the likes.

Yeah his abilities were honestly fairly useless since his passive two attacks in one turn is so strong. I'd much rather remove a lot of armor+follow up with a powerful str hit for free instead using his abilities. Cull the weak goes against the optimal way of fighting (don't kill weak enemies) and his other ability only temporarely removes armor which is fairly bad and I usually didn't want him getting hit so much that the counter attack effect would be significant.

Never used his second skill to be honest.
Cull the Weak is great for finishing a fight actually, or removing those pesky slingers in no time.
With partially weakened enemies you can induce pillage with properly calculated use.

[asdf]

As far as cull the weak goes, there are some places where it's really really good, you can use it to destroy the eggs that some slingers put on the map without spending a turn, you can destroy barricades with it etc.. It's also good for finishing off enemies that you really can't afford to leave around regardless of their strength, and of course it's good for when all the enemies left on the map are already weakened and you can just slaughter everything, plus a few other more situational cases.

As far as how to build him goes yeah I more or less went with the same, either armor break or strength resist, both work well. I used an item that gave him +2 armor break +1 speed and some other not very useful stat I think and it was really strong on him in my first playthrough, then used strength resist on my 2nd playthrough, both worked well enough. As far as stats it's pretty obvious to max out armor break then strength then armor in my opinion, and the last 2 levels can be used on whatever.


(SPOILERS)
Just a warning.. if you put a strength resist item on Bolverk before the last fight you use him in (the second time you fight Eyeless) you might put yourself in a position where the last fight of the game is unwinnable without reducing the difficulty - I'm not sure if the last fight was optional or not, but if you can't kite Bolverk into the lightning traps to do damage to him he can easily destroy Iver 1v1 even if you get the first chance to attack on hard difficulty. I've never actually tried this so I'm not sure how it would play out (I very deliberately removed the strength resist from him on my second playthrough in anticipation of this), but I could easily see that becoming a problem.

[Белый Кот]

Originally posted by asdf:

(SPOILERS)
.... I'm not sure if the last fight was optional or not, but if you can't kite Bolverk into the lightning traps to do damage to him he can easily destroy Iver 1v1 even if you get the first chance to attack on hard difficulty. I've never actually tried this so I'm not sure how it would play out (I very deliberately removed the strength resist from him on my second playthrough in anticipation of this), but I could easily see that becoming a problem.

Like most of battles in the game, you can lose this battle and the story will continue. In this case Iver and menders will retreat, but would not be able to secure Bellower body We would not learn if it's important or not until Banner Saga 3.

[Fathom]

Was thinking on giving bolverk robust instead of arterial strike but I have been hearing so many hilarious stories that I really dont know what to do.
If I give him max robust and dodge, you will literally not be able to beat the last level. But on the meantime it will be extremely fun to go around as an unstopable tank which only leaves death and destruction behind him.