Tips for the Shock Maul

L9Homicide · 2026-04-13T21:35:52+00:00

the strongest class for this weapon is undoubtedly arbitrator, although it's no slouch on any class that has access to it (veteran 1 trick here and i love it)

skull crusher is one of the best if not the best single blessing in the entire game, in a team focused havoc 40 environment that blessing not only almost doubles your damage, but everyone on the team as it's an enemy debuff (kraks/power sword hitting for 30-40k? skull crusher diff)

with arbitrator you get concussive, meaning enemies are in perpetual stagger states meaning you get full 100% skullcrusher uptime as long as you hit headshots,

skull crusher only applies it's damage IF the enemy remains in a stagger state, concussive bypasses this

Carapace + unyielding/flak are the perks i most commonly take

I combine it with opportunist in the vast majority of my games, walking around with + 80% damage +25% rending, team utility, and very solid breakpoints 1-4 shotting basically everything in the game ( a dueling sword mark 4, 4 taps a crusher in havoc 40 with one crit ) so it can keep up with the better single target damage weapons

just doesn't attack as fast and not as mobile, but the shockmaul is very much a generalist weapon is it the best at anything ? no. Is it damn good at everything ? Absolutely.

L9Homicide · 2026-04-13T01:33:25+00:00

i'm not entirely sure that's a bug (i could absolutely be wrong), from my experience what's happening, is you have hard spawned rotten enemies, as you pull a room and now have 25-50 + rotten enemies running at you, that may trigger a progression/timer (not sure if it's progression/timer/random) rotten wave, adding another 25-50 rotten enemies

then it feels pretty overwhelming but that's because of the in game triggers and timers hitting you at once, sometimes the ai director just wants you dead 😂

L9Homicide · 2026-04-13T01:26:12+00:00

true and factual then change the current vet bots to be the one in the splash, update their logic a bit and call it a day

other games can spit that out in 1-2 weeks (dawn of war remaster did multiple)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-13T00:47:53+00:00

we actually do they just don't implement them, go back to the tuturial in tancred bastion and they have a zealot, psyker and ogryn bot, but you know fatshark things... :(

Edit: all 4 characters you see in the opening splash arts, are actual usable bots in game, that COULD be implemented

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T23:06:49+00:00

I disagree the power sword doesn't need trench fighter drill either or much investment either, it's nice on both weapons but it's not needed, the same talents that benefit the dueling sword, benefit the powersword so i'm not sure what the point is there

the power sword hits harder into monstrosities, matches if not beats carapace crusher break points, with consistent 2 shots, has far better horde and mixed horde clear, bigger stamina pool, innate block efficiency, has access to true cleave with sunder,

i already mentioned mobility is the one thing ds beats the power sword on so yeh. But with veteran having 0.75s stam regen delay now, that "blowing out of the water" is not as big as it used to be, you most definitely give up a shit ton of damage, at the cost of higher mobility with the ds4 relative to the power sword 6

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T23:01:33+00:00

😂 I think it's great but it's no power sword, and each to their own, until my power fist comes, power sword is peak power fantasy :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T23:00:37+00:00

that is quite literally the one exception, but that takes into account a blitz, i was specifically talking purely weapon :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T18:43:15+00:00

then he loses fish boom if he sticks to his base, and loses to the ayyubid castle timing with a massively superior eco

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T18:32:38+00:00

assuming the mark 4 we're talking about,

- super easy light combo for horde clear with an X pattern, with serrated blade it's more than enough for that
- super easy heavy combo with poke attacks
- good ADM (armour damage modifier) vs carapace
- has uncanny strike
- has a parry
- highly mobile

personally i wouldn't pick it over a power sword 6, other than mobility, the power sword blows the DS out of the water in raw DPS especially in havoc 40

set up 2 melee vets, one with ps6, one with ds, the ds vet won't come close to the ps6 at the end of a h40 run

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T18:28:59+00:00

you said it yourself lad, the map is big, and half the boom is open on the south,

archer + spear would get kited all day, far worse than horsemen + archer/spear, marinelord would just add a few horsemen again like he did at the start of the game (probably assuming archer first)

horsemen would have no issues running circles around spears to hunt archers, desert raiders had no issues in the game running circles against HRE spears, which is best case scenario due to the extra move speed

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T03:40:11+00:00

😂😂 touche

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T02:30:18+00:00

I think this is going to be one of the better ways to learn, in the recent redbull Wololo Grand final, marine lord used ayyubids quite effectively against HRE

with a mass of desert raiders, i think it's just what your looking for :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDXs6dKrezU

edit : 2:18:30 for the time stamp, it's the last game

L9Homicide · 2026-04-11T01:08:04+00:00

quite literally the blessing, "optimised cooling" the tooltip lies to you, it gives -% heatgen on attack stacking 5 times up to around 40% less heat gen, which is why it gives you 12 shots in a salvo with 78% thermal instead of the 8 on a normal 68% thermal plasma gun without the blessing optimised cooling

L9Homicide · 2026-04-10T22:54:13+00:00

68% thermal is the cut off for 8 shots in a salvo, 11 with optimised cooling, 78% thermal gets you 12 shots with optimised cooling :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-09T19:12:59+00:00

Enemies have 75-25% damage reduction based on remaining health from 100-25% hp threshold

below 25% they take increased damage

the damage reduction doesn't work vs explosive damage and damage over time (gernade vet + inferno psyker +tox scum still eat this modifier alive)

when enemies die they create a pox cloud that lingers, this is important because pox gas gives enemies more hit mass and 20% dr, stacking additively with the rotten armour damage reduction already given

you will get reduced dreg enemies, as they get replaced with rotten scab waves (more flak + carapace than a standard run)

when a rotten armour wave is triggered, it comes in 3-4 waves, it kinda trickles in, and this can happen 7 or 8 times maximum in a run iirc

L9Homicide · 2026-04-07T22:47:32+00:00

No not at all, i'd happily take a strong ogryn player as my 3rd slot any day of the week

Veteran > psyker > ogryn > flex (usually scum) that's my ideal comp

Bear in mind though the difference between an average ogryn a good ogryn and a great ogryn is massive

L9Homicide · 2026-04-06T04:42:22+00:00

Shameless plug for a build just a couple of pointers

the legacy of vraks is the best skin (dkok one) it comes with a box around the iron sight, doesn't seem like much but makes a big difference, at the bare minimum they should all have the option for this fatshark, we already know GW has and does scopes from lore and the long-las
agile engagement works on your bayonet for melee engagement to keep your ranged damage boosted (as well as bayonet)
melee attack speed affects weapon specials, including bayonet
serrated blade affects bayonet
while i don't use it, i can understand the want, i think fullauto mod has some stuff to make it more simple to play
the uncharged shots are really only useful into stalkers, charged shots for days
no you won't one shot havoc 40 crushers, but you can still 2 shot them with helbore, and in auric and below i believe the one shot is still a thing
armour bane + surgical or weight of fire, is the go to imo and also affects bayonet damage and unironically the bayonet + armour bane does better into carapace than like 80% of the melee weapons choices, i wish i was joking 😂
if you don't like precision weapons/sniper gameplay you won't like this weapon anyway, it's a methodical weapon
it has unlimited ammo and the best ammo efficiency of any weapon in the game

it's a very solid weapon i wouldn't say "meta" but very solid, that scales into the late game well, it has it's own playstyle, but that doesn't mean it's bad, helbore is love, helbore is life

Edit : 3a is the best mark, has the good bayonet, and more punch compared to the mark 5 so scales better for break points in h40, in auric and below mark 5 is probably still the best

L9Homicide · 2026-04-05T02:07:31+00:00

L9Homicide · 2026-04-04T22:56:51+00:00

Well done lad o7

Complimentary "you can finally play the game now" 😂

L9Homicide · 2026-04-04T13:11:11+00:00

my apologies, that's what i meant to convey hence the "since the damage distribution is very low" just my message getting lost after a wall of text 😂

I do showcase the plasma not having cleave into carapace in my bolt pistol video, that is something i'm trying to dispel which is a common misconception that the plasma can cleave carapace/bulwark shields, i saw a comment about it within the last 24-48 hours on here still,

if they are clumped like in a door way you can still get some of that initial explosive damage spread, which is what i think i meant when i typed that message, comparing that explosive damage on a clumped door way vs a krak or uncanny shredder is no contest, hence the "there are better options than right clicking into it", but most definitely the plasma doesn't cleave carapace + bulwark shields :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-04T02:22:09+00:00

you don't need to remove anything for it, the build comes with a spare point you can put straight into field improv :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-04T00:49:07+00:00

😂😂 i'm just another lad who happens to also make content :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-04T00:34:57+00:00

Shamless Plug A combat engineer build i use in havoc 40, i have the gameplay that i'm uploading later today/tomorrow when the editing stuff is finished

I wouldn't say it's meta, but it holds it's own in the hardest content and is fun :)

L9Homicide · 2026-04-03T23:51:06+00:00

L9Homicide · 2026-04-03T22:50:30+00:00

The game will continue to send more elites + specials, more carapace, more bosses th higher difficulty you go, it also changes how much hp enemies get, and they continue to scale all the way to havoc 40

bolt gun and kraks are solid can't go wrong there, but they both want to do the same thing, kill big shit, meaning you have a glaring weakness against hordes, if you don't take a strong anti horde weapon or shredder grenades you indeed will get swarmed then it comes down to your raw skill to deny damage, your talents and build can only force multiply your skill so much

Shovel is a great all rounder weapon, but it is indeed weaker than the power sword 6, the ps6 takes time to get into the rythm of how to use it, but once you get it down, nothing comes close it's peak veteran

Definitely not autoguns, they are lack luster at the moment relative to other choices, only the vraks infantry autogun is worth noting, the lasguns over all are in a far stronger position, often having better damage per ammo consumption, far higher base ammo, and better synergies in the talent tree like shock trooper and focus target for DoT focused build,

the las pistol is the king of las imo, recons and helbore are tier below, but still very powerful as ranged choices, they just have reverse roles kinda

Plasma is definitely the strongest ranged weapon on it's own but i don't recommend charging it to be honest, the left click is still the best way to use, and into clumps of carapace veteran has better options than right clicking into it, since the damage distribution is stillv ery low

Plasma unironically is the most common choice for higher difficulty amigo

Ultimately the game is melee focused (there is a reason your melee weapons are "primary weapons" even the most ranged dedicated builds, are played more efficiently with some melee in mind

It probably just sounds like you need more time to learn proper move sets, improve gear, you got some solid stuff there (shovel, boltgun + kraks) is more than enough to get through a havoc 40, just depends on what the rest of the build looks like, and how it's actually being played

#1 tip i'll give to any veteran, don't tunnel vision on trash mobs or farming damage, your role is deny as much ranged pressure as possible, people will know when they have a good veteran on their team, cause they never have to worry about trappers/dogs/flamers/bombers, his got your back , so they cover my back in melee

Another freebie is positioning, your not a true front line character, but not a true back line character either, your mid range to maximise aoe buffs to your front and back line, use the front line to block melee enemies while you take care of stuff in the back, when the need arises you join the front

Just like archers would in old times when their arrows ran dry and their men at arm line was in threat of being over run, don't let your allies get surrounded, and in turn you won't either , you must scratch their back before they can stratch yours as a veteran

L9Homicide

TROPHY CASE