Building your DPS

Having played quite a bit of Dungeon Defenders, (over 2000 hours at this point) I've noticed a lot of people incorrectly itemizing and upgrading on their DPS characters. Having been in such a position myself, I want to shed light on some of the more important aspects of what makes a character do damage, and how to build your DPS character to get the most out of it.

Foreward

The guide has (finally) been finished! The guide will be going through revisions as I look to correct any possible wording mistakes I may have made, I learn new things about skin interactions with damage output, or new weapon are released,but for the most part the guide will remain the same.

Please note that what I have listed in this guide is not the final word on how a DPS class should be built. Once you have a solid knowledge of how DPS in Dungeon Defenders works, experiment with weapons, pets, and skins as much as you choose. There is no definitive "correct" way to make any given class, and experimenting may very well find new ways of using a class.

I have not covered the Summoner in this guide, as a Summoner firstly has very highly reduced pet damage, and cannot control what the pets themselves are hitting. As fun a novelty as it can be, I will not be covering Summoner builds.

Many thanks to the following for spell checking and technical advice:
Acen
Akasame
Atlas
•C
mayhem_zero
Wahrheit
...and anyone else who I may have forgotten

If you see any errors in spelling, grammar, or actual facts about DD, please let me know and I will fix them as soon as possible. (And you get added to the list)

Introduction

Hello there! I'm Caimen, and this guide is designed to do one thing: get the most out of your DPS characters. Since I host many public games, I see many people come and go that simply aren't getting the damage that their character is capable of outputting, and I'm making this guide to give some guidance if you're looking to improve the damage of your character.

There are four things that go into a good DPS character:

• Hero Stats
  
• Resistances
  
• Weapon Damage
  
• Pets

Each of these categories have many things that can influence them, and there are many nuances to consider, and I hope to cover most of them in this guide while keeping it simple.

As for recommendations on which DPS one should make first, my answer is the Jester. With good damage scaling, the ability to use all 4 types of weapons, good HP, and excellent defense upgrade speed, Jesters are clearly the most useful DPS to have.

Following that, I recommend getting a DPS monk for taking down bosses. They are fast, can go either melee or ranged, and DPS pets scale excellently, doing more DPS on a monk than any other class in the game. Furthermore, the Hero Boost ability greatly increases both your DPS and the DPS of nearby heroes, making boss fights much easier in large groups.

And so, let the massive wall of text begin!

Hero Stats and Armor

When making your DPS character, the first thing to consider is whether or not you have the armor to make one.

Armor

When looking at armor, you want to consider a few things:

• Number of upgrades (You're going to hear this a lot)
  
• Individual stat values
  
• Resistance values

Why upgrades? The reason is simple: the more upgrades, the higher your attack and resist stats will be. Sniffy and Wat have made an excellent guide on how upgrading DPS armor works so I advise looking at that to properly upgrade your armor.

Let's look at a few examples so you get an idea of what good armor looks like.
Piece 1:
Piece 2:


At a glance, it may look like Piece 2 is just better because of hero attack, but there are several things to note about the pieces that differentiate them.

• Firstly, Piece 1 has Hero Health whereas Piece 2 doesn't. Because your hero will be vulnerable to being struck by ogres and the like, having a larger health pool is very nice.
  
• Secondly, Piece 1 has positive Hero Ability 2. This is important because most hero's highest damage abilities will be their second, for example the Monk's Hero Boost, the Barbarian's Hawk Stance, and the Huntress's Piercing Shot.
  
• Thirdly, Piece 1 has 290 upgrades as opposed to the 212 upgrades on Piece 2. Both will max out the possible hero attack, but Piece 1 will have better secondary stats and resistances because of the extra upgrades.

So how big of a difference exists between the two pieces? As it turns out, the difference is absolutely huge. Here are the same pieces after being upgraded:
Piece 1:
Piece 2:

As you can see, it is very clear that Piece 1 is simply better.

Accessories

To many, good accessories are simply not found. Why is that? Well, unfortunately it is because of how accessories are spawned in Dungeon Defenders. For the most part, any accessories that you get from clearing campaign maps or dropping during survivals will simply have terrible stats. There are a few exceptions of course, and it is those few maps that are the most reliable to get usable accessories from, and those are:

• Winter Wonderland NMHC
  
• Temple O' Love NMHC
  
• Lab Assault Insane Hardcore / Nightmare Hardcore

Now that we know where to get accessories, what are we looking for? Well, that is quite simple: raw stats and the number of upgrades. There is not much to explain about upgrading them (Simply upgrade hero attack), so here is an example of a high-end accessory, so that you know what to look for in a good DPS accessory.

What Pet to Use?

Pets have a very large impact on not just your heroes' stats, but also how you use said hero in combat. DPS pets let you be very aggressive and run into hordes of mobs and kill dozens at a time, Propeller cats can boost your damage to absurd levels, Genies can supply you with mana indefinitely, and Fairies can make sure you simply don't die by healing you when you take damage.

Please note: In order to receive any pet rewards from survival, you must begin 2 waves in advance. (Example: to get propeller cats you must start at 23, NOT 24 or 25)

Seahorses

• Damage per Upgrade: 60
  
• Damage Type: Poison
  
• Max Shots per Second: 6
  
• Max Extra Projectiles: 5
  
• Map: Aquanos Survival; Wave 20
  
• Uses: DPS
  
• Recommended Heroes: Monk

Cowboy Monkeys

• Damage per Upgrade: 150
  
• Damage Type: Generic + Elemental
  
• Max Shots per Second: 6
  
• Map: Akatiti Jungle Survival; Wave 25
  
• Uses: DPS, Healing
  
• Recommended Heroes: Monk, Ranger/Huntress, Apprentice

Mega Chickens

• Damage per Upgrade: 64
  
• Damage Type: Generic
  
• Max Shots per Second: 6
  
• Max Extra Projectiles: 2
  
• Map: The Tinkerer’s Lab Survival; Wave 35
  
• Uses: DPS
  
• Recommended Heroes: Monk, Ranger/Huntress, Apprentice, Jester, Squire/Countess

Fairies

• Damage per Upgrade: 12, 21 as Ultimate
  
• Max Shots per Second: 6
  
• Maps: Tavern Defense, Akatiti Jungle, The Tinkerer’s Lab, Temple of Love
  
• Uses: Healing (Esp. Old One)
  
• Recommended Heroes: Ranger/Huntress, Apprentice, Barbarian on Old One

Genies

• Damage per Upgrade: 80, 140 as Ultimate
  
• Ideal Mana Threshold: 29004
  
• Maps: Tavern Defense, Akatiti Jungle, The Tinkerer’s Lab
  
• Uses: Gathering Mana
  
• Recommended Heroes: Jester, Monk, Ranger/Huntress, Barbarian, Series EV
  
• Notes on use[www.dungeondefenders.com]

Propeller Cats

• Maximum Boost (Mythical): 224 without maximum heroes
  
• Maximum Range: 90
  
• Maximum Heroes Boosted: +4
  
• Map: Sky City Survival; Wave 25
  
• Uses: Damage Increase
  
• Recommended Classes: Series EV, Barbarian, Squire, Ranger/Huntress

Which Weapon?

Many a defender have looked at all the weapons in the game and said... "What on earth should I use!? I like the look of that one, but this one has higher stats..." Well, I am here to help with a guide on the best weapons to use for every class, along with what makes each one special.

Apprentice Weapons

Apprentice weapons rely not on a raw damage stat to deal damage, but multiple projectiles and the ability to charge up to deal strong bursts of damage.

Fusion Rift

• Damage per Upgrade: ~297
  
• Damage Type: Generic
  
• Spread: Horizontal
  
• Max Extra Projectiles: 5
  
• Map: Moonbase
  
• Notes: Strongest DPS staff you can farm, if you can stomach the wide spread. Good hero stats and easy to farm.

Bloodshot Staff / Undying Rod / Aquastaff

• Damage per Upgrade: 144
  
• Damage Type: Elemental
  
• Spread:
  Bloodshot: Hexagon
  Bone Staff: Inverted Pyramid
  Aquastaff: Pyramid
  
• Max Extra Projectiles: 5
  
• Map: Moraggo Survival / Aquanos Survival
  
• Notes: Far better spread makes these more useful at long range, but you lose a significant amount of damage. Good hero stats. Guide for Moraggo Survival here. Guide for Aquanos Survival here.

Huntress Weapons

Huntress weapons rely (for the most part) on high attack rate and piercing attacks to decimate enemies that have made a large line.

Hyper Rifle

• Damage per Upgrade: 212
  
• Max Shots per Second: 6
  
• Effect: Extra Projectile
  
• Map: Moonbase
  
• Notes: Has poor ability 2 damage due to low damage per upgrade, but has good stats and is easy to farm.

Moby's Mobile Launcher

• Damage per Upgrade: 448
  
• Max Shots per Second: 8
  
• Effect: Lined passthrough damage
  
• Map: Buccaneer Bay
  
• Notes: Very good ability 2 damage, excellent hero stats, and is easy to farm. However, low overall DPS due to poor fire rate.

Blaster Rifle

• Damage per Upgrade: 307
  
• Max Shots per Second: 12
  
• Effect: Pierce
  
• Map: The Tinkerer's Lab
  
• Notes: Excellent overall DPS, decent ability 2 damage,but poor hero stats. Also can be annoying/furstrating to farm on lower end PCs.

Eternian Energy Cannon

• Damage per Upgrade: 364
  
• Max Shots per Second: 8
  
• Effect: Pierce
  
• Map: Crystalline Dimension
  
• Notes: Same overall DPS as Hyper Rifle, but far better ability 2 damage. Hardest Huntress weapon to farm if unfamiliar with Old One fight.

Monk Weapons

Monk weapons rely on flexibility between the ability to be a melee or ranged weapon, as the Monk's Hero Boost gives him the option to do excellent damage both ways.

Obsidian Sparus

• Damage per Upgrade (Melee): 205.2
  
• Damage per Upgrade (Ranged): 60
  
• Max Extra Projectiles: 5
  
• Swing Speed: Moderate
  
• Map: Akatiti Jungle
  
• Notes: Excellent hero stats. Can be used for either melee or ranged, but in melee is outclassed by all other options. Best ranged monk weapon bar none.

Monk Wrench

• Damage per Upgrade (Melee):344.185
  
• Swing Speed: Fast
  
• Map: Sky City
  
• Notes: Good hero stats, extremely hard to reliably farm for new players. Has the highest swing rate of the weapons listed.

Eternian Spear

• Damage per Upgrade (Melee): 414.3
  
• Swing Speed: Slow
  
• Map: Crystalline Dimension
  
• Notes: Exceedingly poor hero stats and very difficult to farm, but is an incredible DPS weapon.

Quietus

• Damage per Upgrade (Melee):~302
  
• Swing Speed: Moderately fast
  
• Map: Moonbase
  
• Notes: Good hero stats, and very easy to farm compared to Monk Wrench and Espear. Has slightly higher swing speed than Sparus and will generally match Monk Wrench for hero stats.

Squire Weapons

Squire weapons rely on moderately high base damage and self buffs to batter your foes into submission, be it via a Squire's Blood Rage or a Barbarian's Hawk Stance. Each Squire weapon has something unique about it that makes each one a niche pick, depending on what you like more from your attacks.

Roger's Revenge

• Damage per Upgrade: 314.27
  
• Swing Speed: Slow
  
• Map: Buccaneer Bay
  
• Notes: Very good hero stats and comparatively easy to farm. Moderate ability 2 damage and overall damage

Steam Saw

• Damage per Upgrade: 369.6
  
• Swing Speed: Slow
  
• Map: Sky City
  
• Notes: Extremely high ability 2 damage, good stats, but low swing rate leads to poor overall damage. Very hard to farm for newer players.

Eternian Greatsword

• Damage per Upgrade: 304
  
• Swing Speed: Fast
  
• Map: Crystalline Dimension
  
• Notes: Excellent overall damage, but lower ability 2 damage. decent (often poor) stats and very hard to farm if unfamiliar with old One fight.

How to Upgrade Weapons

Of all the reasons why many people miss out on damage, incorrectly picking out and upgrading their weapon of choice is the largest problem by far. This section will show you what constitutes a "good" weapon, and once you pick out your weapon, how to properly upgrade it.

What is a "good" weapon?

Weapons, just like armor, have several things that contribute to a weapon's quality:

• Number of upgrades
  
• Hero Stats
  
• Base Damage
  
• Weapon Stats Present
  
• Weapon Quality

Some of these categories might not make sense, so I'll go over them in increasing order of importance.

• Hero Stats

It is, of course, desirable for your DPS weapons to have hero attack, but what else is good to have? Those stats include HP, Movement speed, Hero Cast Rate, and Hero Ability 2. It is not, however, a necessity that your hero stats are positive, or even present. If the other categories are sufficiently filled, it won't be the end of the world if you use a weapon with negative stats.

• Weapon Base Damage

The base damage of a weapon plays an important part in determining which weapon you use, as the natural swing in base damage can make a 350 upgrade weapon have a higher base damage than a 375 upgrade weapon. This especially hold true for weapons like the Pawn Shot and Eternian Greatsword, as their highly varying base damage can easily make an otherwise mediocre weapon very appealing, or vice-versa.

• Weapon Quality

The weapon quality affects two things: the maximum number of upgrades a weapon can have, and in some cases the damage per upgrade of the weapon. For example, all Obsidian Clavas gain 122 damage per upgrade regardless of quality, whereas Eagle Crested Standards receive 106 damage per upgrade if the quality is supreme or lower.

• Number of Upgrades

For the most part, this is the most important factor in choosing a good DPS weapon. This number is what is the real difference between an "average" 150k damage Pawn Shot and an "excellent" 200k+ damage Pawn Shot. The ideal numbers you should be aiming for is above 300. This is the number of upgrades that will put you in the range of acceptable base damage for any given weapon.

• Weapon Stats Present

This one isn't always a factor, but when it does matter it takes priority over all other factors that make a weapon. If you find a staff with excellent base damage and over 400 upgrades, but is missing extra projectiles, you have a worthless DPS staff.

How to Upgrade the Weapon

Apprentice Weapons

1. Upgrade Bonus Charge Rate to 70+ while upgrading extra projectiles to 5
2. Test fire the staff. If the projectiles feel too slow, upgrade projectile speed to 15k
3. Upgrade the base damage. If it is a Bloodshot/Undying, upgrade Elemental instead.

Huntress Weapons

1. Upgrade slowly for the first few levels, upgrading the rate of fire to maximum
- Blaster Rifle: 12
- Hyper Rifle: 6
- Eternian Energy Cannon: 8
- Pawn Shot: 8
2. Test fire the gun, if the projectiles feel slow upgrade the projectile speed to 15k
3. Spend remaining points on Base Damage

Monk Weapons

-Melee Weapons
1.Upgrade base damage

-Ranged Weapons
1. Test fire the weapon. If the projectiles feels slow, upgrade the projectile speed to 15k while upgrading the additional projectiles to maximum. (5, 7 for some)
2. Upgrade weapon base damage.

Squire Weapons
1. Upgrade Base Damage

Jester

Normal Variants:

• DPS Jester
  
• Upgrade Jester
  
• Lab Jester

DPS Jester

Suggested Weapons

• Fusion Rift
  - Highest potential weapon damage for Jester
  - Easy to farm
  
  
• Blaster Rifle
  - High damage at long range
  
  
• Eternian Energy Cannon
  - High long range damage
  - Good hero stats

Suggested Pets

• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output
  - Boosts allies' damage
  
  
• Mega Chicken
  - Excellent at mob clearing
  - Keeps spiders away
  - Excellent hero stats
  
  
• Fairy
  - Used primarily in boss fights without Strength Drain auras; Old One, Sky City, Boss Rush

Notes

• Use Mega Chicken or Fairy in group fights; leave the cat for Series EV, Barbarian.
  
• Make use of innate upgrading/repairing speed during waves

Upgrade Jester

Suggested Weapons

• Bloodshot Staff / Undying Rod / Aquastaff
  - Excellent hero stats for apprentice weapons
  - Tighter spreads make it easier to clear leftover mobs
  
  
• Blaster Rifle
  - Peirce activates multiple Genie procs
  - Accurate at long range for clearing stuck mobs
  
  
• Wolfhunter's Bow / Lupine Bow
  - Multiple Projectiles + pierce makes it the best mana weapon in the game
  - Shots pierce walls
  - Mandatory for upgrade Jester variant due to synergy with genies

Pet

• Genie
  - Gathers mana more quickly than djinnlet
  - Synergy with Wolfhunter's Bow leads to full mana within seconds

Notes

• 3726 Ability 2 preferred
  - "Damage All Enemies" (3x Sword) deals 50% maximum HP
  - "Heal All Allies" (3x Potion) heals 75% maximum HP
  - "Kill Percentage of Enemies" (2x Sword, 1x Eternia Crystal) will kill (usually) up to the last 5 mobs in a wave (when last 5 are present on the map)
  
• Learn more about Wheel O' Fortuna here
  
• 3 Star upgrade becomes nearly instant even in Nightmare
  
• Level 95+ Upgraders can upgrade a tower from 3 Chevron to 3 Star with 1920 mana without having to gather any mana between upgrades

Lab Assault Jester

Suggested Weapons

• Fusion Rift
  - Large spread is largely irrelevant as the projectile travel distance forces close range combat
  - Good hero stats
  - Easy to farm
  
  
• BF Drill
  - Facilitates quick destruction of crystals
  - Activates jump response from Series EVs, allowing for quick boss clear
  - Practically mandatory

Suggested Pets

• Turtle on Treadmill
  - 25% speed boost helps mitigate loss of movespeed to map mechanics
  - Easy to farm (Insane Akatiti Jungle)
  - Decent hero stats
  
  
• Treadmill on a Treadmill
  - 45% movespeed is excellent at mitigating movespeed loss
  - Reasonably easy to farm (Nightmare Moonbase after completing requirements)
  - Excellent hero stats: Can regularly be upgraded to 700, can spawn up to 800
  
  
• Diamond
  - 40% movespeed is excellent at mitigating movespeed loss
  - Excellent hero stats: can be upgraded to 800
  - Hard to farm (having 88 coal in inventory - Winter Wonderland or Silent Night)

Notes

• Using Wheel of Fortune when low on HP can restore up to 75% maximum HP if you roll 3x potion
  
• Generally more helpful to upgrade armor into hero HP than hero damage when newer to the map
  
• Only pets with hero movespeed altering effects work in Lab Assault - Chickens will not attack, Fairies will not heal.

Monk

Normal Variants:

• DPS
  
• Ability 2 Boost (Heroes)
  
• Ability 1 Boost (Towers)

DPS Monk

Suggested Weapons

• Eternian Spear
  - Highest damage monk weapon
  - Slower swing rate
  
  
• Monk Wrench
  - Higher attack rate and better hero stats make Monk wrench generally match Eternian Spear for damage
  
  
• Quietus
  - Easy to farm alternative melee weapon

Suggested Pets

• Mega Chicken
  - With hero boost active, can kill an ogre with a single melee attack.
  - Excellent hero stats
  
  
• Seahorse
  - Generally not as strong as Mega Chickens until they reach Ultimate. (Ultimate is rediculously hard to get and is the best DPS pet in the game)
  - Good hero stats
  - Reasonably easy to farm

Costume Choice

• Ninja
  - Melee animation strikes in 360% radius around character
  
  
• Super Legendary Monk
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• A vast majority of your damage will come from the pet in Nightmare.
  
• Monk has a 2.1x damage multiplier on pets compared to most other classes. (which is why the above is true)
  
• Hero boost is incredibly strong; make sure any group you are in has either a DPS or Boost monk for boss fights.

Hero Boost Monk (Ability 2)

Suggested Weapons

• Obsidian Sparus
  - Highest stat Monk weapons in the game
  - Can be upgraded into either ranged or melee damage if you want to be able to do damage
  
  
• Survival Weapons
  - Useful as stat sticks; for all practical purposes they have the same stats as Obsidian Sparus
  - Look better than Sparus

Suggested Pets

• Genie
  - Using the ranged attack on your weapon with a genie can keep hero boost running for far longer
  - Can spawn with very good hero stats
  
  
• Fairy
  - Useful for boss fights: Old One, Greater Turkey Hunt, Boss Rush, etc.
  
  
• Mega Chicken
  - Good hero stats + good damage output
  
  
• Any Ultimate++ pet (assuming lv 100)
  - 900+ Ability 2? Yes please.

Costume Choice

• Ninja
  - Melee animation strikes in 360% radius around character
  
  
• Super Legendary Monk
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• 500 Ability 2 points makes Hero boost stronger than a Propeller cat
  
• It is generally a good idea to not go melee as a booster to avoid unnecessary death
  
• Avoid spiders like the plague; getting webbed cancels Hero Boost

Tower Boost Monk (Ability 1)

Suggested Weapons

• Obsidian Sparus
  - Highest stat Monk weapons in the game
  - Can be upgraded into either ranged or melee damage if you want to be able to do damage
  
  
• Survival Weapons
  - Useful as stat sticks; for all practical purposes they have the same stats as Obsidian Sparus
  - Look better than Sparus

Suggested Pets

• Genie
  - Using the ranged attack on your weapon with a genie can keep tower boost running for far longer
  - Can spawn with very good hero stats
  
  
• Mega Chicken
  - Good hero stats + good damage output
  
  
• Any Ultimate++ pet (assuming lv 100)
  - 900+ Ability 1? Yes please.

Costume Choice

• Ninja
  - Melee animation strikes in 360% radius around character
  
  
• Super Legendary Monk
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• Tower Boost heals all towers within the effect radius
  
• Tower Boost does not need to touch the center of an aura to affect it

Squire/Countess

Normal Variants:

• Spin Squire
  
  
  
• DPS Countess
  

Suggested Weapons

• Steam Saw
  - Good hero stats
  - Best Ability 2 damage of all swords
  
  
• Eternian Greatsword
  - High left click damage due to swing rate
  - Good ability 2 damage
  
  
• Roger's Revenge
  - Excellent hero stats
  - Relatively easy to farm
  - Good ability 2 damage
  
  
• Obsidian Gladius
  - Only makes this list due to Countess
  - Best combination of Joust damage + normal attack damage; Steam saw swing rate is too bad to even consider using on Countess
  - Good left click damage
  - Excellent hero stats

Suggested Pets

• Mega Chicken
  - High damage and has good synergy with blocking (free damage while you take none!)
  - Good hero stats
  
  
• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output

Costume Choice - Squire

• Super Legendary Squire
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased Movespeed

Costume Choice - Countess

• There are no visible changes to any aspect of your hero stats on any skin

Notes

• Blood Rage, being a self buff, stacks with the boost from Propeller Cats and Hero Boost or Call to Arms. Since Call to Arms is a group buff, it does not stack with Hero Boost
  
• On a Squire, when using s a sword with a slow enough swing rate, you can get the damage from Circular Slice to apply to the target twice, along with your normal attack damage. You can read more about this here

Huntress/Ranger

Normal Variants:

• DPS Ranger:
  
  
  
• DPS Huntress:
  

Suggested Weapons

• Blaster Rifle
  - Highest left click damage of all Huntress weapons
  
  
• Eternian Energy Cannon
  - High left click damage
  - High Ability 2 damage
  - Very good hero stats
  
  
• Hyper Rifle
  - Good hero stats
  - Easy to farm
  
  
• Pawn Shot
  - Excellent hero stats
  - Highest Ability 2 damage of all Huntress weapons
  - Easy to farm

Suggested Pets

• Mega Chicken
  - Keeps Spiders and Warriors away while invisible
  - Good hero stats
  
  
• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output
  
  
• Cowboy Monkey
  - Primarily used on Volcanic Eruption for BF Drills; useful for sniping Wyverns
  - Good hero stats
  
• Genie
  - As long as you continue activating genie you can retain enough mana to keep invisibility active for extended durations on ranger and permanently on Huntress.

Costume Choice - Ranger

• Outlander
  - Jetpack (all I should need to say really)
  
  
• Tuxedo
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Costume Choice - Huntress

• Super Legendary
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• Piercing Spreadshot is applied sequentially on HP locked bosses (see: Old One, Goblin Battlecruiser, Kraken, Genie King), so you will not get full damage if only 1 or 2 of the projectiles activates the invulnerability.
  
• Spiders and Dark Elf Warriors can see you while invisibility is active.
  
• Several bosses, including Kraken, are unable to see party members that are invisible, and will attack the closest towers instead if all heroes are stealthed. If the only available towers are auras, buff beams or traps, it will simply sit in place.

Apprentice

Normal Variants:

• DPS Apprentice
  

• Mana Bomb Apprentice
  

DPS Apprentice

Suggested Weapons

• Fusion Rift
  - Good hero stats
  - Highest damage staff by a wide margin
  
  
• Bloodshot Staff / Undying Rod / Aquastaff
  - Very good hero stats
  - Tight spread patterns lead to more damage at long range

Suggested Pets

• Mega Chicken
  - High damage
  - Good hero stats
  
  
• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output
  
  
• Cowboy Monkey
  - Long range pet for a long range character. Can also heal you.
  
  
• Genie
  - As both the Apprentice and the Adept have skills that quicken upgrading, equipping a genie during non-boss waves can help speed up the upgrading process if you don't feel like using a Jester.

Costume Choice - Apprentice

• Super Legendary Apprentice
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Costume Choice - Adept

• There are no visible changes to any aspect of your hero stats on any skin

Notes

• As of the second CDT Update, Man Bomb has received a MASSIVE scaling boost, making it very much a usable ability.
  
• Mana bomb cannot be boosted by hero Boost, Call to Arms, or Propeller Cats.
  
• Mana Bomb works best when used in conjunction with an Enemy Drain specced Initiate for massive AoE damage. RIP ogres.

Mana Bomb Apprentice

Suggested Weapons

• Obsidian Clava
  - Absolutely insane hero stats (Over 800 at level 1 as ult++)
  - Fairly easily spawn as ultimate or better
  
• Bloodshot Staff / Undying Rod / Aquastaff
  - Very good hero stats
  - Tight spread patterns lead to more damage at long range
  
• Ember Scepter
  - Good hero stats
  - Can be insanely hard to farm for newer players

Suggested Pets

• Mega Chicken
  - High damage
  - Good hero stats
  
  
• Cowboy Monkey
  - Good at sniping spiders to keep them off you
  
  
• Genie
  - As both the Apprentice and the Adept have skills that quicken upgrading, equipping a genie during non-boss waves can help speed up the upgrading process if you don't feel like using a Jester.
  
  
• Ultimate++ pets
  - Massive stat sticks to boost Mana Bomb damage
  
  
• Fairy
  - Keeps you alive to the next Mana Bomb

Costume Choice - Apprentice

• Super Legendary Apprentice
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed
  - Does not increase Mana Bomb damage as of CDT Update 2

Costume Choice - Adept

• There are no visible changes to any aspect of your hero stats on any skin

Notes

• As of the second CDT Update, Man Bomb has received a MASSIVE scaling boost, making it very much a usable ability.
  
• Mana bomb cannot be boosted by hero Boost, Call to Arms, or Propeller Cats.
  
• Mana Bomb works best when used in conjunction with an Enemy Drain specced Initiate for massive AoE damage. RIP ogres.

Barbarian

Normal Variants:

• Hawk Barbarian
  

Suggested Weapons

• Steam Saw
  - Very good hero stats
  - Highest damage sword by a large margin
  
  
• Eternian Greatsword
  - High left click damage due to swing rate
  - Good ability 2 damage
  
  
• Roger's Revenge
  - Excellent hero stats
  - Good ability 2 damage
  - Middling swing rate

Suggested Pets

• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output
  
  
• Fairy
  - Useful on stages with extended fights in which you will not be in a Strength Drain aura (Old One, Sky City)

Costume Choice

• Tavernkeep Imposter
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed
  
  
• Amazon
  - Increased movespeed
  - Decreased Hero HP
  
  
• Santa Imposter
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• Hawk Stance has very good vertical tolerance, allowing you to hit some airborne enemies while remaining on the ground. Examples include Mega Cupid and Djinn.
  
• Improper positioning while using Hawk Stance will result in only one of your swords landing damage - always try to land the crossed swords on the enemy.
  
• The hitbox of Hawk Stance increases with the size of your weapon. With large enough swords your Hawks can destroy both of Old One's hand and feet crystals in the same Hawk.
  
• If you wield 2 weapons of differing swing rate, the one with the slower swing rate determines how fast your swords move.

Series EV

Normal Variants:

• DPS Series EV
  
  
  
• Charge Beam Series EV
  

Suggested Weapons

• Pawn Shot / Moby's Mobile Launcher
  - Very good hero stats
  - Highest ability 2 damage by a wide margin
  
  
• Blaster Rifle
  - High left click damage
  - Workable ability 2 damage
  
  
• Eternian Energy Cannon
  - Good hero stats
  - Good ability 2 damage
  - Good left click damage
  
  
• Ember Scepter
  - Outright broken Charge Beam damage
  - Good hero stats
  - Single projectile allows for full damage at long range
  
  
• Obsidian Clava
  - Best offhand stat stick for Series EV
  - Mainly for use on Charge Beam EV

Suggested Pets

• Propeller Cat
  - Can double damage output
  
  
• Genie
  - Genie is activated by Proton Charge Blast, filling up your mana before the current channel is finished
  - When given a Wolfhunter's Bow, can be used as a makeshift upgrader
  
  
• Mega Chicken
  - Good hero stats
  - Keeps spiders from canceling Proton Charge Blast
  
  
• Fairy
  - For use on Temple of Polybius wave 18

Costume Choice

• Jetpacking Bounty Hunter
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Decreased Movespeed
  - Jetpack that lasts twice the duration of Outlander Ranger costume
  
  
• EV 1.75
  - Increased Hero HP
  - Increased Damage scaling (also applies to pets)
  - Jetpack
  - Decreased movespeed

Notes

• Because of the high base stats of the Tower Buff Beam, your DPS EV can replace lost Buff Beams in wave with not too much lost.
  
• Proton Charge Blast is a defined column of damage; enemies behind walls or other enemies will always be taking damage inside that column.
  
• In order to get a longer duration on Proton Charge Blast, dump your mana after you start charging up. At level 100, this will more than halfway fill your charge bar and give an impressively long charge blast.
  
• Upon using Holographic Decoy, all enemies drop aggro on you and instead attack the decoy. Activating Holographic Decoy, however, cancels Proton Charge Blast.

[Caimen]

@JamesDreemurr For the most part a DPS hero is going to want a focus on Hero Damage with a secondary focus on an ability stat - you want the stat to be on your armor, weapon, pet etc. but you upgrade into hero damage rather than the ability stat.

Monks nowdays go for a 50/50 split on hero damage and ability 2, and Series EV wants 6:5 on hero Damage/Ability 2, but for the rest, it is as I described above.

[JamesDreemurr]

Do you level and build for Hero damage or individual skills for abilities

[Caimen]

@tylernol13 If you can't get through bosses your best option for Monk is Quietus from Moonbase, but keep in mind that it is only good for melee damage. Really, any of the weapons from Moonbase are good DPS options. The one exception is the Huntress weapon, but not because it's bad. It's just that the Blaster Rifle from Tinkerer's Lab (also doesn't have a boss) is better, though it is a much harder map for newer players.

[tylernol13]

@caimen does author still reply? :P what weapon, doesnt matter who for. would you recommend that i can get without needing to kill a boss? as like my first dps weapon? preferably monk but i can make whatever work. i can beat most campaign maps nightmare but can't kill the bosses cause lacking a dps weapon... that come from bosses lol.

[SirGouki]

@ruarip2 (and anyone else thinking this) DPS does not mean outright damage output in this game, it means hero DPS (as in, how much damage YOUR attacks do, vs how much damage your TOWERS do). You don't use tower stats to up your hero DPS, even for apprentice. The idea is you start your build step with a high Tower stat character, build your towers, and switch to your high Hero stat character for the combat phase. Your towers will maintain the stats they were built with, as the game keeps track of what character built what towers (as opposed to what player built them), and this will max out your Total DPS since you'll be outputting your best tower damage and hero damage.

[ruarip2]

What i find odd here is the DPS apprentice as i find they need almost nothing in hero but instead tower stats.

[Cairna ♥]

Do you have a builder hero version of this?

[Jo]

Very useful! Thanks for the effort :)

[Caimen]

The problem is that most new weapons are on high-end maps, and this isn't a guide for people who can already beat Embermount - they already know what they're doing. I do still need to add Undertow / Elder Staff.

[Black Mambo № 5]

Update this for new weapons!