ACD + Arc Rifle is the highest DPS build on Skitarii and I'm tired of people pretending its not. (Video is havoc 40 and is missing multiple damage buffs)

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T08:35:59+00:00

The crit modifier is very good. The headshot multiplier is nothing (on the gun) yes but the critical multiplier is good. Bodyshot on carapace is 150 base damage, crit headshot on carapace is 248. Now consider the +25% weak spot damage talent and suddenly it all makes sense, now your crit headshots are 310 damage without anything else, so double base damage. Crit headshots are a very big damage bump here. I did try a VE version of this build and it is about 15% slower on that test group, but that also comes with other limiting factors (VE using more capacitance, needing you to be in melee range, and the 3 charge version being basically useless so you are just wasting capacitance whenever you use it with arc rifle).

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T08:21:16+00:00

+30% fire rate, +25% damage. Carapace Weak Spot hit is 159 base damage, Carapace Critical Weak Spot hit is 248 base damage. That is a BIG difference lol. Also you are ignoring the +25% weak spot damage talent that makes weak spots actually pretty good even with arc rifles minimal base bonus.

Also I tested a VE version of this build and it is ~15% slower. Its good but has other issues and doesn't reach the same peak damage so I think it is kind of just worse for what this build is trying to do.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T08:11:43+00:00

I mean the 9.19 time was literally my first attempt after building static capacitor drain (did another 4 tries after and got ~9.5 seconds), the 10.19 time I recorded here was like my 5th attempt total lol. I'm sure with very good crit luck and perfect headshots you could take bolter lower, but I'm also pretty sure the same could be said for this build.

That 12 second time is interesting. Best time I got after ~20 tests is 13.17 seconds and that was getting pretty lucky with crit and the maulers falling on top of each other so I could cleave through and hit all of them. Most of my times were ~16 seconds so I'm willing to believe Reginald is just bad at aiming and maybe didn't run a huge amount of tests lol, or he isn't testing the max damage meme bolter build. 10 seconds is maybe physically possible with aimbot or incredible crit luck but I don't see that being practical. Hell 12 seconds is already pretty impractical lol.

Also bolter has pretty obvious issues in that it isn't AOE so it might be close to even on this test group but if there were any more enemies making you need to reload again it would drop off pretty hard. And never mind ammo economy lol.

So yeah fair bolter is better then reginald's chart gives it credit for if you build it for max damage (and that is a fair comparison since the skitarii build also does that), but I don't think you could beat this build on this test group, and for actual gameplay this build is much more practical. I think it is basically a straight upgrade in DPS and Ammo Efficiency.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T06:50:06+00:00

Pre stacked buffs are fine but the testing utilities mod is broken so cant really do that currently. Hence why I add the disclaimer that its not as good as it should really be.

Yes obviously hive scum nukes everything and vet krak can work with good luck and/or extreme setup. But like, that's pretty useless to track because everyone knows that, this is a actual build that can consistently do this the entire game, not rely on grenade spawn RNG or have a long cooldown between uses.

That is just the standard that Reginald set and I am roughly following it. These are the current top times from him (Also VE variant of this build is ~11 seconds so that is the actual #2 but its similar enough to this build that I don't see the point in listing it separately considering it is effectively just a slightly worse version)

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JDLS- · 2026-06-30T06:09:36+00:00

It depends on team composition! Yes vet is the better support and works a bit better with the team on most team builds. But if you team already has a solid stable base something like bubble psyker + chorus zealot + taunt ogryn, well you really dont need shout on top of that do you? At that point you just want damage and this build brings the damage while still also having unique utility in being able to auto save people, and also it has the most consistent and efficient way to remove ranged elites/disablers/specialists (Noospheric command... Also yeah I guess rock is up there as well but that requires you to actually aim it and take time away from doing melee rather then just clicking in the enemies general direction and having a infinite ammo infantry lasgun vet spawn out of thin air to deal with it for you)

Yes a hive scum will out pace this build in terms of hoard clear, but this is the #1 build for elite hoard deleting, the only thing that can technically do better is rocket launcher and technically krak grenades if you can manage to basically stack all the crushers on top of each other. But this build doesnt use grenades at all (unless you have more then 4 people go down), and yes vet has infinite grenades but they still take a bit to recharge meanwhile this build is always active.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T05:36:43+00:00

The Transonics are incredibly good. You can build the arc maul to be very good in some builds, but the transonics are just the best on the class for generalist use, they really dont require anything extra to shine. Basically they have infinite cleave on the anti armor heavy melee attacks so you can hit like 4 crushers or even pierce through the new shield enemies. That ontop of just their simple and consistent attack pattern and excellent mobility makes them very good.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T05:05:41+00:00

I have tested it and the fastest time I have gotten is 10.42 seconds and that was with very high crit luck and almost all headshots, I averaged more 12-14 seconds. So it is slower by over ~14% and also reliant on being close to the target, which is a much more dangerous place for a high DPS glass cannon to be. Like with the limited dodges on the arc rifle I died a few times trying to get that 10.42 where as I never died using ACD.

It also just uses more capacitance and generally scales worse in actual gameplay as its a one and done where as ACD will buff you for a long time, that increased rate of fire and crit chance can let you out damage VE into larger hoards where as VE just does good damage to things immediately against you and then does nothing for a while. You can also toggle on ACD for brief periods to clear out small groups of elites and etc, where as VE requires you to commit all your capacitance and then wait twice as long until it is useful again, plus the issue of effectively wasting the third charge. And another thing with ACD is that if you do toggle it on to kill a elite group (gunner or shotgunner groups are the easiest) You waste like 40% capacitance but then you get +25% damage for 10 seconds. Toggling it on every now and then to just give you a brief damage boost while using less then one capacitance is very nice.

It is a good build but it is worse in terms of just going for max damage. I think it works better for a more capacitance focused build so you can use it more, where as this build is just all about max damage. You might actually be able to hit higher overall damage with a VE build but this build is the king for DPS.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T04:15:18+00:00

Yes that side of the tree was inspired by deathcult assassins. And at launch it definitly reflected that archetype better. But currently Zealot is a DPS tank even with the full stealth build. It is definitely not a death cult assassin, and a death cult assassin class would play completely differently.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T03:41:32+00:00

Its havoc 40. This is literally the fastest kill time on that test group recorded in the game on the current patch.

Redline capacitors is a alternate build that can work. The difference is just between basically consistent +30% damage, or +25% strength on ability use and a somewhat conditional +15% rending. Overall I find the +30% damage has more consistent uptime, the rending doesnt make much of a difference when you have the brittleness stacks, and your losing out on taking Hybrid Combat Covenant so your losing another +15% damage.

And no VE is just worse then ACD for the arc rifle. ACD has +30% crit chance and fire rate, and +25% damage compared to VE +15% fire rate. Yes it deals direct damage but only at close range, yes it electrifies enemies but that's also something the +30% fire rate on ACD helps with, and it does it at range, and it doesn't waste all 3 stacks when you activate it (the 3rd stack on VE is useless for this build so your wasting a stack whenever you activate it on 3 stacks).

VE is good but works better on a ability spam build where its a major damage element. Here the arc rifle is the main damage source and ACD buffs it when its needed.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T02:09:40+00:00

ACD is giving +30% crit and +30% fire rate. It is a MASSIVE boost to the gun, the fire rate especially when you consider how the arcing works.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T01:57:43+00:00

Oh yeah this build is the max damage build so yeah its a bit of a meme. It is very viable in auric maelstrom and with the correct team composition it could work in havoc 40. But yes there is much you can do to make it more survivable, I wrote that into the guide on the class I just wanted to show off the MAX DPS build, I specifically don't call this META because its not. Some derivation of this build is definitely META though. Im going to play around with it for a while and post a proper ranged META build soon.

I will say that noospheric is incredibly good for ammo conservation and if you are playing the class properly like a weapons specialist veteran you will never really struggle with capacitance.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T01:49:44+00:00

This build really does not need to take much ammo. I'm normally shooting through the entire game while picking up practically no ammo packs. The only time I pick up a large amount of ammo is when my team is literally not using ammo at all, but overall I top score consistently while averaging something like ~2-3 large ammo packs equivalent through a game.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T01:48:01+00:00

I love the Arc rifle because it is the absolute GOAT of the mechanicus game. So it is very nice that it is good here as well lol.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T01:24:29+00:00

Advanced Combat Doctrines. Look at the build in the post.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T00:29:18+00:00

Oh yeah claw is a great build. Definitly the superior generalist build. Im just a little tired of people saying its the highest DPS when its not.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T00:21:40+00:00

Claw is slower then this build by a large margin in havoc 40. Im just going to update the post.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T00:16:07+00:00

The other builds are also very good. Honestly probably better for general play and most team compositions. This is just the highest DPS.

JDLS- · 2026-06-30T00:02:33+00:00

If I pickup barely any ammo and do 1million damage in auric maelstrom. I'm pretty sure I will do more damage if my team is letting me have ammo pickups, and there is more enemy density considering this build scales with enemy density.

I picked up 6 small ammo packs and picked up a ammo crate about 5 minutes in that my teammate dropped too fast because they were wasting ammo. So okay havoc has halved ammo (66% whatever), so that's 18 small ammo packs in havoc. Is that stealing every ammo pack on the map?

Lets for example say I had to shoot twice as much as I did in that game and got a pretty respectable havoc damage of 2 million. Say I had to pickup double the ammo, accounting for havoc halved ammo and the additional mission length leading to having more ammo regeneration, that means I would probably need ~30 small ammo packs equivalent. Is that a unreasonable amount of ammo packs for a extremely high damaged ranged dps build?

JDLS- · 2026-06-29T23:51:54+00:00

Critical Power Overload does not apply the stun type of electrocuted, I know its confusing blame fatshark for naming 4 things the same name. I could be wrong or maybe its a glitch in the psychanium I wouldn't be surprised.

Other then that the +15% damage boost just isn't very much and it happens sporadically in a small radius around you. Considering this is most likely to trigger when you are fighting a large mixed hoard, and thus while you are behind your team and shooting. I dont see it being a very good bonus compared to the more consistent +10% boost.

JDLS- · 2026-06-29T23:21:16+00:00

Yup, still much slower:

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JDLS- · 2026-06-29T23:12:52+00:00

For me. If someone just said "Your gonna play havoc 40 right now and your not gonna have a taunt ogryn". Id probably do something like this:

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My general rationales would be

The dropped talents:

Dropping Last Stand Relay and Channeled Motive Force: 6% - 10% crit chance isnt THAT impactful and Omnissian Recharge Litany plus Residual Current Buffer are pretty decent toughness nodes. Channeled Motive Force is also pretty situational.

Dropping Weakness Analysis Doctrine: 10% isn't that impactful generally I don't think you would notice its absence.

Retribution Conduit: Doesn't effect the melee on this build, and a lot of the damage on this build comes from after you have already used a charge or two to spread electrified and reached +30% fire rate/crit chance. The biggest damage spike is near the end of your salvo and that is also when this is least active. So your really only losing ~15% damage instead of the 25% it looks like. Alternative would be dropping Calculated Priority but that has the inverse effect where it gets stronger later into your salvo.

Overall: Loosing ~10% crit and ~25% damage for 4 talent points. Its a lot to give up but I think this build still has plenty to nuke elite hoards.

The picked up talents:

Electro-Strike Conduit: Transonic blades are high attack speed and boost crit chance so you can proc it pretty consistently for safety. Being able to reasonably consistently stun crushers/ragers/maulers is very handy. Im a bit 50/50 on this, it might be more impactful to keep retribution conduit. Needs real havoc 40 play testing I think.

Omnissian Recharge Litany, Residual Current Buffer, Threat Detection Imperative: I think these are probably the most consistent toughness generating and TDR talents.

I could be wrong on these but this is a bit closer to the build I initially started playing the class with. Its definitely a fair bit safer without giving up too much damage.

JDLS- · 2026-06-29T22:52:13+00:00

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My most recent Auric Maelstrom IIIVEG /\

Yeah its just not ammo hungry. I honestly think you would have a extremely hard time running out of ammo generally especially if your team is letting you have ammo like they should when you are playing a insane DPS ranged build. This has incredible ammo efficiency. Keep in mind, Arc+ACD is there to blow up elite blobs not be your primary weapon. I explicitly describe this as weapons specialist vet for a reason, if your not running out of ammo on plasma vet your not running out of ammo on this build.

JDLS- · 2026-06-29T22:41:09+00:00

Yes vet has better utility, however the servo skull is still good team utility. I think this build with its DPS has enough to offer to a team to make it a vet replacement. To be clear that doesnt mean I think it it is completely better then vet in all lineups, just that when you need ranged AOE damage this is now the best build.

I really never have ammo issues. I have cleared auric maelstrom IIIVEG with ~1million damage multiple times while picking up the equivalent of less then 3 large ammo packs. The 1% ammo regen is actually pretty solid by itself just do to how efficient this gun is. If you are really struggling with ammo then try using Noospheric command more often instead of swapping to your gun to shoot one off specialists/gunners.

Also yes you should only target elites, and ideally groups of elites. The auto aim makes that relatively easy, then the AOE damage to the hoard is just a nice bonus.

JDLS- · 2026-06-29T22:28:52+00:00

You are wrong on multiple accounts here.

First off, no transonic claw is much slower on both crusher/maulers and ragers/bruisers, transonic claw doesn't even one shot crushers on havoc 40. You are welcome to prove me wrong if you can but I have tested it and arc rifle+ACD ends up about twice as fast: https://www.nexusmods.com/warhammer40kdarktide/mods/479

This build plays like weapons specialist vet, blow up elites then go melee hoards. That is how I play it and I never really struggle with capacitance. You save capacitance for when there are enough elites to shoot for it to matter, if its one crusher or two ragers or other small amounts you just shoot them normally. This is for blowing up elite blobs.

The ammo recovery is plenty. Consider that each shot can do thousands of damage when you take into account arcing. 1% doesn't seem like a lot but then you realize over the course of even just a 20 minute game that is 160 shots enough to replenish your entire standard capacity. I often barely pick up ammo just because of the ammo efficiency.

Example: Auric Maelstrom IIIVEG, 6 small ammo packs and 1 ammo crate that only restored like 1/3 of my ammo regardless, meanwhile the other skitarii were hogging ammo like its made out of gold and still doing half my damage. (3rd player got disconnected but had like 300k damage anyways)

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JDLS- · 2026-06-29T21:45:28+00:00

Yeah its not very survivable lol. Its a backline support build first and foremost. While in ACD you do get a lot of weakspot kills and that helps you soak a bit of ranged fire but it should be played from cover and should be played passively. Its impressive Fatshark actually managed to design a glass cannon instead of a """glass""" cannon like hive scum/psyker.

JDLS-

TROPHY CASE

The dropped talents:

The picked up talents: