[Veteran] Tertium's Finest Motivator

A build to keep on seein' them karkin' war faces beaming bright all the way up to Auric Maelstrom.

What do we have here, eh?

A veteran, or so you call yourself. Seen a bit, have you? Around the ringer a few times as a guardsman? A few tours, but never even caught lick of a space marine?

It really was just you and your lads out there, and not a grottin' bit of luck to get you out. Just faith, and an ever so little bit of that fury. But that's all you'd ever needed, ain't it?

Nah, of course not.

You know what keeps soldiers like you alive? Bodies, lad. Lots, and lots, and lots of bodies. And to your kin, right by your side? Hel, bodies keep them alive too–your own included.

It's meat. It's numbers. It's any two extra legs you got up in the field fightin' till their last breath. Never forget that, soldier. It's only lights out for you and the mission once the last knee folds. But with a couple of proverbial splints, and a shoulder for 'em to lean on... you can stop that. No one need not suffer a lick more than the ought to if they're to go on slayin' a million more of these accursed, wretched freaks.

Listen up, veteran, 'cause you're the great motivator.

Or, hey, if you're too dense to listen, just look at the pretty pictures, yeah? It'll get you there.

Knew I could rely on you, Soldier.

So, what is it then, what do I have to offer? I've been a part of the auric-level strike teams for a while now, and the only thing that's certain is that, sure as Hel, nothin' is certain.

We all got skill, that's for sure, but what ye' need is all the fundamentals. Consistency. Reliability. Priorities. True to the math results. Out on the field, you need your mind spinnin' on the numbers like Hadron 'erself.

More bodies up to game, means more bodies in the game. You're a saviour, by numbers. You're a motivator, by guidance. You've got it all and then some, Soldier. Here, take a look.



All that, for a pityin' twenty-eight skill points. Unbelievable. Get ready. Ears open.

You Shout. You Point. You Lift. You Kill.

You don't need weird magical powers to help. Psykers be damned. Priests be crazed. Ogryn be... well, really they're just ten guardsmen with the intelligence divided and the strength multiplied, hah! Now wouldn't you agree with that one?

But you know what you got that they don't? Well, they do, but you got it more.

Toughness.

So much karkin' toughness. Might as well be your bloody ration, so stalwart in the face of chaos. And sure enough, toughness is what I got provided for you 'ere.

You will take just about every bloody talent you can see in regards to toughness. Exhilerating Takedown. Confirmed Kill. Catch a Breath. Duty and Honour. Born Leader. Iron Will. Target Down.

Why? Because your unyielding will to combat is wholly dependent on your ability to stand against your damned enemies. Obvious, a no-brainer for a guardsman.

You take these because they're what keeps your flesh nice and tidy. And when your flesh is nice and tidy, well then, your body's still standin', isn't it? Simple.

So you're tough. Now what?

Now we start lookin' at your compatriots. They ain't as tough as you, but they sure as Hel are likely to be as crazy, that's for sure. Lunatics. Bloodthirsty. The lot of 'em.

With a twelve metre coherency radius, you lot are already gettin' each other's ammo back up like it's no one's effort. With your orientation towards all that bloody toughness, you got barely a need to duck and cover so as long as you're scoring down those elites and specialists. With born leader, every single trickle of toughness bleeds through to those lads by your side.

Your pockets are always filled with grenades–need I say more? No, because we all have pockets full of grenades these days.

Got it? Simple. You're a veteran who stands tall–weren't you already? What makes this special? Boy I bet you wish I stopped blatherin' then and got to the point.

Listen, I've got four features for ya', so let's go through 'em, yeah?

Voice of Command.

Well, I'm sure you've already happened upon a litany of guardsmen at this point who already do a lot of pointin' and a Hel of a lot of shoutin'. Need I re-explain? 'Course I will.

Voice of Command lets you ring out loud to deafen, stagger and strike fear in the worm-ridden freaks, all the while tossin' up your toughness to full. With Duty and Honour, that's an extra +50 over-toughness. Not so much meaningful to a veteran sittin' likely on a base of 170~200, but a world of meanin' to your soured compatriots who at times only got a measly karkin' 90.

What else your venerated hoo-rah gets ye' is the ability to keep your lads safe from things that would otherwise glue them to the floor. Crusher and mauler overheads have this tendency to, eh... you know... flatten you against the sheet metal of the Torrent as your soul returns to the Omnissiah, without a lick of a chance to stand back up without some help. Havin' that yellow over-toughness effectively guarantees you can take those hits and keep on movin', yeah? Good.

More effectively, we got snipers and poxbursters. So as long as ye' got that yellow bar, poxbursters and snipers will not break your shield, got it? No health damage. No corruption. See the red line, hear the ticking, but can't see the source of neither? Shout, lad. Shout! Then when you or a fellow soldier get connected by either or, there'll be no damage to the flesh–guaranteed!

These days, you also see a lot of veterans pick up on that uhh... what's it then?

'Only In Death Does Duty End' talent. Throne, who let the zealot name that?

Well, this piece of work lets them shout so damn loud it gets the bodies off the floor from screamin' alone. Absolutely incredible, ain't it? Well. Sure, but give me yet another sec'.

Taking this skill takes your cooldown from 30 seconds to 45, and reduces its stagger radius to somethin' smaller than your bloody frag grenade. Oh, trust me, it's good, but it ain't cuttin' it.

With Tactical Awareness already reducing your cooldown by 6 seconds every specialist kill, this would likely mean you have to kill an extra 2-3 specialists to get it off cooldown durin' a horde.

You'd think this ain't sound like much, but it's less about needin' two more, and more about always needin' two less, you understand? By keepin' it to a 30 second cooldown, that's maximum 5 specialist kills to get it off cooldown. And trust me, you'll almost always be wantin' this cooldown for toughness and stagger–stuff that's bloody well an issue every handful of seconds, meaning making this cooldown longer is only a detriment lest you got allies goin' down quite legitimately every thirty seconds, to which I say... eh, you lot are dead.

But, sure, how impressive, you can bark at someone to pick 'em up. I can't.

But I got plans...

Leave No One Behind.

Now, you might've noticed that eh... growth leanin' to the right of the build tree. Observant, soldier. That sort of eagle eye's what's kept you alive here to read this then.

Two whole points to get there, but what's it give? Well, that node is a 5% critical chance–who's to argue about that, yeah? Likely the most valuable sort of node a soldier could want. But what is it exactly that Leave No One Behind gives?

+20% assist speed. +20% revive speed. +20% movement speed. Stun immunity. Reviving a knocked down ally gives 'em +33% damage reduction for five whole seconds.

Lad... soldier. This machine right here is almost three bloody talents in one. Do you know how frequently an ally can go down in damnation? Auric damnation? Maelstrom damnation? You could blow smoke off your rifle and by the time you look up that priest is ten yards till Sunday on the other bloody end of the map.

It ain't finnicky, neither. If that body is down an' out in your field of view, and your legs are trackin' any which way of 180 degrees towards them, you're kickin' up dust faster than a mutant.

But, sure, you're on top of 'em. You made it! But it's Hel, there's just muck an' horde all over. Crushers. Maulers. Flamers. A hound ready to pounce. A sniper, waiting. You can't shout this man up and ready like a commissar can.

But this is where what we call a resource trade comes in. You know what you traded for not being able to shout people back up? Nothing. And, at the cost of nothing, your shout is surely about seconds from rarin' to go. And when it does, you pick that karkin' lunatic off the ground, because you do it 20% faster. And you know what... 20% isn't as fast as it gets, just wait till the curios.

What, no shout? Fresh used it to keep that ogryn and psyker in the game? Fret is for the weak, soldier. You've got grenades, so use 'em. Guarantee ya', there ain't a timing window you can't find that won't let you pick that sorry sack up, safe and sound with all the damage reduction they could ask for.

To boot, just so you're in the know, if you shout while they're down, they'll still get the benefits of that +50 toughness as soon as they're back up. From there, leash that fanatic.

Field Improvisation.

Sordid... alright... where're we up to now, then?

Right, hah. You ain't gonna believe this one.

Ammo crates restore grenades. Medi-Packs heal +100% faster–that's twice as fast, just so that's ringin' in your ear quite right–while also cleansin' corruption up to the nearest wound, all the while replenishing 1% toughness per second.

Egh, now that toughness replenishment ain't too useful, is it? But, when you think about it, that is all the more effective health, bufferin' you from losin' any more of your blood.

But what this skill does is remarkable. For your whole damn team–doesn't even matter who drops the sack of goods–you all benefit, always, so as long as you're there on the mission with 'em. Now, let's be honest with ourselves, we don't always deploy medi-packs when we're on a smoke break. Sometimes, we know that we got about a psyker's hair of sanity left before it's all over. Overwhelmed, bleak as all Hel, you know?

Twice the healing. Bam. Right there under your bloody feet while you're getting knives keeled into your ribs. An emergency use-case made quite literally twice as effective, and that ain't even all it does. Just look at that corruption cure. You ain't findin' that any other way outside of a certain zealot or a healin' stimm. But, timed appropriate, this is savin' you and your team from losin' a whole wound, especially against the likes of a karkin' daemonhost, or stray poxburster, or that filthy grubbin' beast of nurgle.

Grenade restoration? Throne, don't get me started. Yes, you regenerate your own but--let's not pretend–one a minute can feel awful. How's that goin' to help against swarms of melee elites? Three and you're out? What, and just wait a minute for another? No, you're done for. Three to four more grenades for you, back to back to back to back, assumin' you're hogging just about everything. Now that is more than karkin' enough I will assure you, soldier.

But, hey, we're generous ain't we? Well just you wait till you show that frag bomb wishin' Ogryn what you've got in that goody bag. What's better than one nuke, lads? One, two, three, four!

This talent is remarkable, I tell ya'. Only consequence is that, yeah, if you got another keen-spirited veteran by your side who has the same talent, it's technically wasted. But you've only spent 28 skill points for a reason–you've got more than enough to play with.

Focus Target.

Oh, there ain't nothin' sweeter than to point the blame and reap the rewards, I tell ya'.

Focus target, focus target, focus target. What a talent. Point the finger, let 'em glow, torch 'em alight with whatever you've got and be all the stronger for it.

You may've seen quite a few veterans with this, but all too frequently you see 'em hold it. After all, max stacks, max rewards, yeah? Nah. Not for us, not for the divine motivators of Tertium. We point, we shoot. We point, we shoot. You understand? Over and over and over again.

Let me give you a real situation, yeah? Walkin' about, la-di-da, five stacks of it, maxed. Horde. Noise, alert. Mutant yellin', poxhound barkin', two bloody flamers an' their accompanying trapper. Crushers.

Point at that trapper. Kill 'er dead. 7.5% more damage for the whole squad for the next 10 seconds. 25% toughness gained for any fluke cut to the neck your lads have taken–or, even more practical, 25% stamina replenished for your side-steppin' zealot, your pushin' ogryn, and your fleein' psyker.

Next, don't give it a moment. Next target.

That shotgunner. Ping 'em. Bam. 10% toughness. Look at your buff meter. Focus Target always resets to 2 stacks after a kill if it was only on a single stack. Why? I don't know. Ping the rager.
Kill 'em. 10% toughness.

Again, again, again, again, again. 50% toughness as you blitzed down those elites and specialists. For everyone in coherency–in quite legitimately less than five seconds. Trust me.

Reload. Took your time, you even had to switch to your melee for some clean-up or a shove. Suddenly, five stacks again. Now the crusher closing in. Bam. Kill 'em 20% faster. 25% toughness, 7.5% damage for the whole team. You get the karkin' idea, soldier? Rapid. Fire. Pointin'.

But, hey, how the Hel are you killin' these buggers so fast? Revolver? Nah, nah. Plasma gun? Throne, maybe. But I'll tell ya' what's best to use, alright? You're a supportin' man after all, you want to touch base with just about everythin', so here's your kit, eyes open.

Get Your Hands On It.

Here it is, the war gear to make your mother an' the God-Emperor himself done proud.



The Columnus* Mark Bloody-V Infantry Autogun. This absolute machine.

*As of Throne-knows-when, the Columnus Mk V has now been renamed to the Vraks Mk V.

Las-guns? Plasma? Slugs? Scattershot? Nah. No. No. What you need to do is shred lead out from this 'ere barrel right between the eyes of any nasty bugger lookin' your way. This thing is feral.

It's here to melt the hearts of the cutest allies and the pre-frontal lobe of any specialist, or elite, or dirty trash mob that stands between you and what you want turned to paste. Now, it ain't got much penetration, but boy does it scorch out the ammo. Quick reload. Insane dodge distances. Makes just about everythin' go inside out, promise.

Now, why this, right? Why this instead of a plasma gun, or revolver? Simple. Because it kills things so incredibly fast it ain't an issue, and has the added advantage of clearing scrap off of your teammates, far better than any other gun. Just you watch, yeah?

Some of ya' might've seen this gun in use and know people often take Fire Frenzy instead of Deathspitter–those people are buffoons, or they're zealots. Y'know, the ones who see so much red they can barely make out five metres in front of 'em? That ain't you. Calm, collected, tough.

You gotta shoot farther. Deathspitter gives less power, but that power goes to five stacks just like Fire Frenzy, and although you gotta get it from killin' at close range, the damage applies to all distances. This means you can turn scrap into paste right in front of ya' and turn the lights out for any specialist or elite far down the lane, understood? Remarkable piece of metal.

Just remember, against maulers, fry 'em in the chest, not the head. Dead in seconds.

Anyway, next, what're you swingin'? I'll tell you what.



Just like the ogryn use theirs to scrape crap from the floor, so will you--just that the crap is sentient, evil, corrupt, and won't get out of your bloody face, yeah? This. Thing. Throne, it smites.

Decimator for general horde clear. Your Mk V Infantry can be used for almost a whole damn mission, trust me, but you gotta know when to keep it conservative, or to keep that mag stacked and ready for any oncomin' big lads, right? Thwack away, smash 'em dead, even flak.

Now, limbsplitter? You could take thrust, equally as fine, trust me. But we got carapace for a reason, and this mean piece of work, let me tell ya'. Crusher comin' your way? Ping 'em. 20% extra damage like I told ya'. Special attack, turn this beast into a pickaxe. Heavy attack right onto his karkin' dome and he is dead in one swing or a quick follow-up, every time.

Suddenly, all routes covered. Lots of ammo, lots of damage, an answer to every piece of grime you and your allies got in your way, soldier.

The Cherry On Top.

Curios, the final piece of the puzzle, and so bloody easy.

Take the one on the left, then take two of the right. 34% more toughness and a safe an' secure three wounds for your damnation and above runs, understood? We don't like cocky. We like chances, and we like bodies. The safer, the stronger, the merrier.

With these, you're the bell of the ball, promise. 30% ally revive speed, stacked forever with a 20% boost on ya' spectacular talent Leave No One Behind? They're all up and at 'em in no time, every time. More toughness regeneration, more stamina regeneration, your body is strong of will and so is your mind, soldier.

Throne, We Still Got Two Points?

Almost forgot about that, eh... let's settle it then. You got all you need, but what do you want?

Well, you got options, I'll tell you that much!

You can take +5% Health and Covering Fire to grant allies within 5 metres of a kill 15% toughness and a 10% damage buff for 3 seconds. Trust me, with the Mk V Infantry, when you're blasting those flies off of your allies, you keep them topped and safe. Not to mention, this works when they're downed by a trapper, mutant or pox hound, giving 'em a bare minimum 15% toughness, if not more from anythin' else cuttin' them up.

What else? What, you want more grenades? Alright.

One point in Grenadier to carry four shredder frag grenades, and Demolition Team to get a 5% chance to gain a grenade every time you or an ally kill an elite of specialist.

More buffs, how about that? Got it, here's this for you.

You can take For The Emperor for a +10% base damage increase for 5 seconds every shout, followed by Focussed Fire to increase max target stacks to 8, givin' you a whopping 32% damage buff against a single target, 40% toughness, 40% stamina and 12% damage to all allies.

Just don't forget, under my watch, you're still spammin' Focus Target for toughness gain, yeah?

You can even use these points to get krak grenades instead, or to get 'Only In Death Does Duty End' for total ally revive overkill. You can get a +5% ranged damage boost and Precision Strikes for more damage. Killzone. Twinned Blasts. World's your oyster, soldier.

Now get out there, we can't expect the Emperor to do all the work.

[Magpie]

This guide's a well-aged parchment by now, but I promise them frags shred those rotten tins full'a nurgle skin like none's business. Toss two at their feet, then prick their heads with a thumping overhead of the munitorum's manure spoon or a few pokes of the psyker's rapier you pilfered and they fold faster than a trapper under an ogryn's foot.

No mistake, krak's got their use, but out in the tough muck the jack-of-all-trades beats the master-of-one. Shredder's will solve everything, albeit at times slower. Meanwhile, them krak's will dig you out of a divot but rarely ever a pit.

[HURT AND HATE]

This is a beautiful build. But why frag grenades instead of crack grenades? Sometimes there are so many hordes that there is little use, and crushers and bastions create problematic situations when there are 6 of them in a squad

[General of the Army D. Foster]

It was the will of the Omnissiah of course! @Magpie

[Magpie]

@ProfessionalStranger Throne, why Hadron had to go change the names I'll never know. It's now known as the Vraks Mk V, not the Columnus!

[ProfessionalStranger]

Hey, just for clarification, you say the Columnus Mk V Infantry autogun, but in-game the Mk V is named Vraks, and the Columnus is Mk VIII. Which one is the guide recommending?

[harlekein]

This is the best guide I ever read.

[General of the Army D. Foster]

Well that was fun to read

[Jiggy Von Liggy]

many words no meaning

[[S.A.S]sephchan]

Sick guide

[FIGHTING LION]

Running with this build is so, so much fun! Do you have any more builds for Veteran and the other classes?