INTRODUCTION

[Desert Wind] focused [Baruuk] build utilising LOW duration for Lull spam eroding Restraint. Pillage is an optional subsume over Elude, providing Armor/Shield strip which helps Desert Wind scale against armored enemies in steel path, Overshields for tanking in non-endurance AND on-demand shield gate reset for survivability in endurance. [Reactive Storm] adds tons of status chance to [Desert Wind] allowing it to apply viral or heat very quickly, as well as converting the impact component into an element to match enemy weakness.

Note that the WAVES from [Desert Wind] do not build melee combo. This makes building combo on [Desert Wind] incredibly tedious without grouping (e.g. Magus Anomaly or Pull) as you will constantly kill enemies in the distance due to waves first before you can physically hit them, and if you lose your combo it will take a long time to rebuild. There are two main options:

Option 1 - [Melee Guidance]
One option is to forgo combo entirely on [Desert Wind] itself (thereby losing the potential 3.75x damage multiplier at 12x combo), but still using a stat stick instead to build combo to take advantage of the Gladiator Set bonus which applies to [Desert Wind] even if no gladiator mods are equipped on [Desert Wind]. Gunblades are used because you can hit max x12 combo in seconds using the neutral combo spam or [Praedos] can be used for its combo gain passives.

This allows [Desert Wind] to hit guaranteed red crits for a mild damage boost and the red crit serotonin kick. However, there is an annoying mechanic/bug where if you accidentally hit an enemy directly and start building combo on [Desert Wind], it will cause you to lose some or all of the Gladiator bonus. In order to avoid this, the mod [Melee Guidance] is used to prevent combo gain on [Desert Wind]. Note this aura is absolutely MANDATORY if you wish to build combo on the stat stick, and you CANNOT use any external combo extenders like Secondary Dexterity or Naramon Power spike.

**Option 2 - Grouping
If you don't want to constantly swap to a stat stick or don't care about guaranteed red crits, you can simply swap Melee Guidance out for Growing Power/Steel Charge/Enemy Radar/[Corrosive Projection] and try to build combo directly on [Desert Wind] itself. You must run [Gladiator Might] on [Desert Wind] in this case, otherwise it won't inherit the gladiator set combo on the stat stick. You will also need to run combo duration eg Naramon or Dexterity arcane. Combo build on [Desert Wind] can be made easier by subsuming a grouping ability such as Pull, as showcased in this alternate Vaccum Fist build.

PLAYSTYLE

1. Activate Elude (1) and Desolate Hands (3), always keeping Desolate hands above 9 daggers for max damage reduction.
2. Spam Lull (2) on Enemies to quickly erode Restraint initially, then recast as on occasion necessary to keep restraint minimum and for create crowd control
3. Use Gladiator stat stick (e.g. [Vastilok] or [Praedos]) to build up to x12 combo quickly
4. Activate Serene Storm (4) and spam light melee to kill enemies
5. If using gunblade, deactivate 4 roughly every 25-30s and tap your stat stick once to refresh combo meter, then go back into 4. If using [Praedos], aim to switch to primer or primary weapon, shoot to spend ammo, then collect ammo to refresh combo.

When subsuming Pillage over 1, cast pillage whenever shields go down and occasionally to armor/shield strip groups of enemies.

SURVIVABILITY

In non-endurance content, [Baruuk] has multiple layers of damage reduction that multiply together making him innately extremely tanky.

Damage Reduction Calculations
At minimum restraint - 50% damage reduction
At 9 or more Desolate Hands daggers - 90% damage reduction
With Serene Storm active - 40% damage reduction

Max total damage reduction WITHOUT [Adaptation] = 97% damage reduction
Max total damage reduction WITH [Adaptation] = 99.7% damage reduction
Accounting for adaptation AND base armor = 99.8% damage reduction to health

In endurance content we also rely on the combination of:

• Crowd Control from Lull
• Rolling Guard for i-frames and status cleanse
• Pillage to reset shield gate
• Vazarin Protective Sling for more i-frames

BUILD SPECIFICS

Duration
Minimum Duration (12.5%) allows Lull to be spammed for constant erosion of Restraint and Pillage to return quickly when used as helminth. Duration does not affect Desolate Hands or Serene storm.

Adding a little duration back with [Primed Continuity] to hit 67.5% helps significantly [Extend] the range of Pillage to almost 30m (compared to only about 10m without).
If you don't think you'll be subsuming pillage or needing armor strip at a decent range, you can swap Primed Continuity out for Primed Flow.

Efficiency/Energy
Positive efficiency (100-135%) is needed to help Lull spam, Pillage cast, Elude uptime (if not subsumed over) and dagger recast. Fleeting Expertise is required to offset Blind Rage. Streamline is an optional/flexible choice that can be swapped for something else. Primed Flow is also optional to help with overall energy economy.

Range
Decent range (145-190% ) is required for Elude angle, Lull range and initial Pillage range if you subsume Pillage. Range also increases Dagger stun range but at the same time you tend to lose daggers quicker. Either [Stretch], [Stretch] + [Augur Reach] or [Overextended] alone can be used.

Strength
High Strength (250%+) is the most important stat since it affects Serene Storm's damage, the strip amount by Pillage and to a lesser extent the damage of Desolate Hands. We use a combination of [Blind Rage] and [Transient Fortitude] and Molt Augmented arcane to hit 254% strength. Umbral Intensify and Molt Augmented are optional additions to further boost strength.

Aura
Melee Guidance - The easiest way to ensure upkeep of red crits when used with a Gladiator stat stick. Basically you want to PREVENT combo gain on [Desert Wind], so that you maintain the Gladiator mod effect on the stat stick. See this build for full explanation by TwistedBolt: https://overframe.gg/build/223531/redeemer/minmaxed-exalted-weapon-statstick-blood-rush-glad-mods-explained/

[Enemy Radar], [Steel Charge], [Growing Power] are alternatives if you don't own [Melee Guidance] or dont want to use a stat stick.

[Corrosive Projection] reduces the strength requirement for Pillage to full strip to 328%. This means by adding some combination of [Umbral Intensify], Molt Augmented or Crimson Strength Shards, you will be able to full strip armor in one cast.

Flexible Slots
[Streamline] or [Primed Continuity] flexible for Primed Flow, Umbral Intensify or Augur Reach
Rolling Guard flexible for Adaptation in lower levels to base SP

Arcanes
Fury/Strike - for Desert Wind DPS
Augmented - for Desert wind damage and Pillage
Energize - for energy economy

Archon Shards
Mix and match any number you prefer
Crimson Shard: Melee Critical Damage or Ability Strength.
Amber Shard: 1 to 2 Cast speed
Azure Shard: Energy max

HELMINTH

Subsume over Elude. You want to pick abilities that either work well with LOW duration or are independent of duration.

Pillaging Punch
This works well with the minimum duration, but will have an effective radius of 30m so you'll need to get enemies into closer range before you cast. You can full strip in two casts.

[Vacuum] Palm
Pull has a fixed vacuum duration of 2s and quickly pulls enemies into the horizontal range of your Serene Storm waves.
Add more range: https://overframe.gg/build/389401/baruuk/vacuum-fist-baruuk/

ARSENAL

Desert Wind Viral Heat Build: https://overframe.gg/build/353173/

Praedos Gladiator Stick: https://overframe.gg/build/330674/ (gives movement/parkour speed and requires you to spend primary/secondary ammo occasionally to maintain combo). This pairs well with weapons that either reload passively (Tenet Envoy/Felarx) or do not require reload (Epitaph).

Gunblade Vastilok Gladiator Stick: https://overframe.gg/build/388013/ (requires you to exit serene storm occasionally to maintain combo)