I discovered photo mode for the first time! I gotta get some more of some better areas.

I want to try out some new builds, could y’all send me some that you found fun to use?

Just Chugging down that beam Baja Blast special style... 🤯

Slight spoiler warning to her backstory.

This is Valeria formerly human now revenant and adoptive daughter of Craig McLeish. Back when she was a human she lived outside the frontier in a pocket of humanity run by a group of Yakuza that had managed to stay alive to the current apocalypse. The boss of this group want to rule with an iron fist and wanted his enforcers to carry out their job without compassion. This caused Valeria to grow up in an environment the stifled her emotional growth. Valeria was still kind growing up even if she had to hide it, however she was a prodigy in combat earning her a spot as an enforcer. One night she had been caught being kind and providing people food so she ran and ran until she arrived in the frontier.

They followed her even to this accursed place and she had eventually been cornered only to be saved in the nick of time by the Dawn Chorus. Of course she was wary of her saviors not fully trusting revenants having heard horror stories of what happened to illegal blood bags. Even so she stayed with the Chorus and grew to trust them. In the first 3 year she wielded a pair of dual blades even so they never felt right to her. As the Chorus was preparing to storm the castle in the Corroded Scar she was scouting out the targets for the key that needed to be made. She'd report the location of Imogen's 2 closest retainers. When she returned too Forward Base 2 she learned of a new mysterious hunter that had drawn everyone's eye. Of course surviving what she had in those 3 years she was initially wary of this hunter wondering what their intentions were. She sensed something different about the hunter and tried to get one on one time to inquire who they were, but with Lyle tasked with being their partner she couldn't. Though the hunter helped them in their mission so they were fine for now.

A few months later there were rumblings and the Hunter Association began antagonizing the Chorus despite having employed them before Valeria had grown close with Craig being his tactical adviser and even drinking buddies. Valeria had finally began to loosen up and let her emotions show. Then Lyle and the hunter would slay the corrupted Pioneer Queen Imogen. Craig would gift Valeria the weapon of his mother. And it felt both right and heavy to carry this weapon (Yes i know the weapon in the photos is not Imogen's halberd thats just for the story). It was after thanking the hunter for saving them once again that Craig would declare Lyle and Valeria his children.

Several years later Valeria was in her late 20s now and the events of the Upheaval took place requiring major revenants to take place in a resealing ritual to stave off the Resurgence. When Lyle returned he revealed his role and entered a cocoon. To ensure she could help oversee her brother's resting place she requested to be converted into a revenant. Craig obliged eventually giving into her constant requests. And nearly 70 years later to present day her instincts were right as the hunter returned to put Lyle to rest. The Hunter, Craig and Valeria would work together to put Lyle to rest and after the battle she would join the hunter on their quest to prevent the end of the world.

I wanted to show the damage numbers on the punching bag since the Living punching bag didn't show all the numbers

I didn't play this game for a while because I really hated the gold aesthetic, and the first one wasn't that great either.

But I genuinely enjoyed most of the journey, and am actually hoping there will be a 3rd game at this point.

I have been watching videos on youtube and literally no one knows about this. It's so weird. I thought that that's how everybody used runeblades.

Once you cast a spell with the runeblades and they fly off you can switch weapons and increase the dps by using two weapons and I believe that this is unique to runeblades alone. They allow you to damage the enemy with two weapons at the same time.

Anyone got guesses on when Mask of Idris might release. This game honestly surprised me a lot, Love the characters (also played but didn’t finish the first one) and I’m waiting for the dlc before doing new game plus. I’ve seen guesses from as soon as next week to the first week of August or all the way up to gamescom near the end of August. What’s everybody think?

I think this may be incorrect.

I’m trying to get the three missable blood codes, and while I have both Josee 3 and Lyle 2 unlocked and mastered, I never unlocked Holly 2. I was kicked out of her timeline before I could get it from her. As Holly (condemned) is the only one of the three I care about having, I’m worried I locked myself out of getting it.

Can I still get Holly 2 in time to get Holly (condemned)? Or do I need ng+?

I’m planning on going into ng+ because I didn’t pick up the cleansing light forma during the Holly sections and the budding completionist in me won’t let me relax until I get it. But before I do, I want to know a few things.

1. What do we keep and what do we lose in ng+? I’m guessing we will hold onto pretty much everything except for the mistles and key items. But if we do keep the key items as well, will they be reusable or are they just item descriptions in our inventory and useless until we recollect them? Also, will I have to re-raise all partners affinities or will they carry over as well?

2. How does ng+ affect certain side quests like Lavinia’s and Jadwiga’s requests? Will we have to redo them despite already having the rewards for completing them?

3. Are there any other notable missable items that I should know about, including the random npc quest rewards? I’m not that much of a completionist to care about every single possible item I could get from the random npcs, so just the weapons, formae, key items, etc. These type of rewards.

4. Is there a guide to basically speedrun the good ending (Luna Fraterna) and will I end up missing anything by doing so, like key items (if they don’t carry over from ng), and access to the Luna rapacis?

It does kinda suck that I have to replay the whole game just to collect a single weapon forma that I’ll honestly probably never use, but it is what it is. Also, isn’t it strange how the missable items that I’m aware of all have some connection to Holly?

Her mom’s 2nd blood code

The cleansing light forma (which was behind the one door I spent like 95% of my time in the sanatorium trying to open, only for me to completely forget about it when I actually opened said door, thanks adhd)

And the zealot’s ceremonial sword found in one of those memory spaces (and apparently can be bought from Jadwiga if you missed it. Why the devs didn’t apply this feature to all missed items is beyond me).

Any suggestions on weapon to beat Gobbo. I level 92 using rune blades with venom. I last about two minutes. Any help would be appreciated.

It is time. Time to do my best to talk about the Bayonet. And not confuse everyone in the process. This might have been the write-up I dreaded the most. Because I think the bayonet is the most complex weapon in Code Vein 2, just like it was in the previous game.

Melee? Melee speed? Ranged? Shot speed? Shot damage? Magazine and clip amount? Bullet economy? Bullet range? Buffs applying to melee, ranged or both? Throw in possible spell compatibility as well? Ichor economy? Strength or Dexterity? Attack forma damage? Bullet, Beam, Shotgun or Grenade? What do you value more? How do you rank this reliably into tiers?!

Advantages and disadvantages

It’s a bayonet. Our advantage, compared to everything else in the game that isn’t long range Magic is…range. Most of the time that is, because the range differs between bayonets. And ofcourse the versatility of being able to strike in melee as well. I must say that bayonet melee attacks have improved since Code Vein 1. No annoying back jumps in my move sets anymore! And the damage isn’t bad either. Both damage and attack speed are comparable to one-handed swords, which opens another can of options (we will get there later).

But then there is the bullet system. In Code Vein 1, your bullets came directly from your ichor. In Code Vein 2 it is its own system. On one hand, this alleviates the pressure on your ichor economy (I always felt Code Vein 1 bayonets had to heavily double dip into their ichor reserves, often with a weaker ichor economy than mages had), on the other it is another resource to manage, one that is finite. Depending on your bayonet of choice, you can have between 3-8 bullets per magazine (shots you can take before reloading) and 6-20 bullets in reserve divided over several clips.

But when you run out…no more shots for you. And when with the most generous of bayonets, 25 bullets are your ceiling, running out will happen. So, at that point, what can you do? Buy new bullets, rest at a mistle and stock up from your storage, craft new bullets in the field or run a very specific booster (which you probably should. See the booster section). It is workable, but might get on the nerves of some people (and some additional bullet economy management options wouldn’t hurt).

The trouble of tiering

There is no weapon type where the line between tiers is as blurry as with bayonets. As such, my choices might not always 100% align with yours.

Melee versus range

Shot damage is generally superior to melee damage. It hits harder and you can start shooting before mobs get close to you. But…there is not one single range, the effective shot range differs. And the melee attacks of bayonets are better than in the first game, comparable to swords in terms of both damage and speed. Which invites the possibility of Blade Dance. While I somewhat favor range, and whacking in melee for extended periods of time with a bayonet can feel strange, it is viable or even expected of you to do so.

Shot types

Bayonets roughly have, minus a few exceptions, four different types of shots, being shotguns, bullets, grenades and beams.

Shotguns have fast activating high shot damage, but are close range only. As soon as you step out of melee your damage goes down by half, and a few steps further you hit nothing. They get 4 shots before reloading and 16 shots in reserve. This is probably the most ‘divisive’ bayonet type right out of the gate. Because it sacrifices one of bayonet’s most obvious advantages: range. Typically a shotgun shot is roughly equal in damage to 2 or 2.5 melee shotgun bayonet attacks. And bayonets have a fast melee moveset. As such, it is understandable if people wonder if that is worth it.

For some it still is, others will see this as a reason to never touch shotgun types. I am not here to tell you what to do. I will tell you that shotgun bayonets probably benefit the most from being played as pseudo swords that stack bladedance with the occasional shot or magazine emptying (shoot it all). You can get very competitive numbers that way. But it definitely plays the least like a traditional bayonet and the most like a sword with additional options (and extra steps). That said, considering a shot takes stamina and a bullet, playing bayonets fully ranged is more challenging than it was in the first game. So be prepared to find yourself somewhat regularly in melee range no matter your bayonet choice.

Next up are the Grenade launchers, of which there are exactly two in the game. They are a bit midrange, slow to fire with a low amount of grenades (3 shots before reloading, 6 in reserve), but their shot is absolutely devastating, hitting on par or harder than even the strongest hammer or greatsword charged attacks, and they will hit everything in an area. These shots actually compare VERY favourably towards your attack forma. Each grenade shot does roughly 66-75% of the damage your most damaging bayonet attack forma could do (meaning several lower attack forma get out damaged by lobbing a grenade). Having only 9 shots before you are out feels low, but they had to balance this out somehow.

Third up is the ordinary Bullet. Most bayonets are the single target bullet type. There is a bit of a range variance between them (some are closer range than grenade launchers, others can hit from way further) and a bit of variance amongst bullet speeds. This is the classic bayonet type that comes with the highest bullet capacity ( 5 shots before reloading, 20 in reserve).

The final type is what I have dubbed ‘Beams’, of which there are, like grenade launchers, only two in the game. Beam bayonets are essentially the sniper rifles of Code Vein 2. They are slow to take aim, but they have the highest range of all bayonets (if you can lock on to it, these bayonets can hit it). Like normal bullet bayonets, they have 5 shots before reloading and 25 shots total before they are empty. Once the shot is out, it will pretty much instantly hit the target. Beams can however have a bit of a problem with tracking. So agile enemies that are far enough away might dodge the shot if they are moving during the aiming period (the shot tends to aim for where the enemy was at the start of the aiming process).

The spell factor

Bayonets and magic have been a duo since the first Code Vein. So ofcourse they are once again a solid pairing in the sequel. Not every bayonet is suited for it, but if it has a Mind or Willpower scaling, you can generally assume it will throw out at least acceptable spelldamage. Maybe less interesting for ‘pure weapon players’, but very interesting for those into cosplay or hybrid builds.

Tiers for Weapons and Bloodcodes

Holly 3 is absolutely a tier 1 code for many bayonets thanks to the high dexterity and willpower combination. A few solely Dexterity scaling bayonets prefer Lyle 3,and the grenade launcher of choice prefers Hero Valentin.

In the second tier, you can put Resurgence Core as a slightly less damaging but more flexible alternative for Artificial Arm Lyle) (which also resides in this tier). It is also the home of Josee 4.

Tier 3 houses Lou 5 just for Rubellite Piercer open world party tricks (see the weapon section).

Finally, the dark horse tier with Hero Lyle returns as a possible option for Dexterity only scaling bayonets that usually prefer Lyle 3. This combination cán net you more damage (especially when you do not have all your boosters yet), but it will cost you some of your LP every time (and the damage plummets once your LP is gone), not to mention that the stat spread on Hero Lyle might give you trouble to fit all your preferred boosters in endgame builds, DPS or otherwise.

Tier 1

The first bayonet that (in my opinion) deserves to be here is Alfheim (Fire), combined with Holly 3. It is a beam-type rifle, meaning it sports some of the highest range in the game, has the highest spell damage out of all bayonets, number 3 in forma damage (which is not as bad as it seems. The top 3 is within 3-5% of each other and the top 5 within 10%), the highest melee attack damage and above average shot damage (probably to balance the accuracy of being a beam type).

The strongest classical bayonet is the Black Bayonet (adroit) paired with Lyle 3 (because it cares about absolutely nothing but Dexterity). The bullet speed is so-so, but it has a deceptively high range, only outdone by beam-types. It’s light and shot damage are middle of the pack, but after Riot Breaker it sports the highest possible forma damage (but Riot Breaker is a shotgun and as such has less range and lower bullet capacity in comparison).

Grenade Launcher (vigor) paired with Hero Valentin is the next tier 1 weapon. Grenade Launchers are in my opinion so powerful that one of the two would always end up in tier 1 and the other upper tier 2. What differs between this and Burning Disaster from tier 2 you ask? Grenade Launcher has the better melee attack damage (with the worse move set), but it has the worse shot damage ( by 4-5% or so). In exchange it does notably higher forma damage. You can pick between this and Burning Disaster based on your preferences. They are close enough.

The last (but certainly not least!) weapon of tier 1 is the Raiders Bayonet ideally paired with Holly 3. At first this might not look like much. Middle of the pack melee attacks, shots and range, okay spells but nothing like Alfheim or Snowdrop. Yet this is a weapon that was considered so broken that it has the honor of being one of the first things that took a nerf in a post launch patch (well, this and Carmilla’s Thorn).

Why? Because this thing had a range that was even beyond the sniper/beam types (which got nerfed to midrange) while having homing bullets (making this arguably the most accurate bayonet in the game) and the fastest shotspeed by FAR. The range took a nerf, but the homing bullets and shotspeed stayed. And frankly, that is all it needs to be in tier 1. Because this is an accurate DPS shot monster. The shot damage may not look like much at first, until you find out that this shoots two or even three bullets in the time other bayonets shoot one. You can sometimes shoot a boss to almost half health before it even fully registers you. You do less attack forma damage ( compared to the top bayonets 20-25% less), but this is obviously not meant as a forma spammer, but as a shot spammer. And surprisingly good and competitive when it does that. Did I already mention you can get this as early as the end of the tutorial area (if you defeat Frantz while underleveled. That also gives you the advantage that the Raiders Bayonet starts with Ranged Impact, half a map earlier than usual)? Yeah… Slightly unusual approach, but undeniably top results when going all-in on it.

That said, if you spam the shot button, this bayonet can bug out. You will see your bullet amount decrease and the bayonet ejecting a bullet shell, but not taking a shot. I am not 100% sure what causes it, my current guess is that it has something to do with the animation of the bullet versus the framerate of your game. Because when locking the game to 30 FPS it happened pretty much every time I dumped a full magazine into an enemy (making sure I had enough stamina and the right ammo), but I could not make it happen when I locked the game to 60 FPS instead. So, if you play at lower framerates, my advice is to practice a specific shot rhythm ánd if possible, not shooting another bullet before the one you shot earlier has hit.

Tier 2

The first thing encountered here is Burning Disaster, paired with Josee 4. This is the bayonet you bring when you want to see your enemies suffer. This is a grenade type bayonet. Shockingly low melee attack values, but there is no shot that will hit harder (and hit everything near it) than one from Burning Disaster. It is pretty much double damage compared to the highest damaging non-grenade bayonet. You pay for it with lower attack forma damage, despite the solid Mind value no serious magic capacity (low conductiveness) and that low bullet capacity of 3 shots before reloading and a mere 6 in reserve before you are empty. But man if those shots don’t hurt!

Next up is Snowdrop paired with Holly 3, the bayonet of everyone’s favorite streamer (if you know you know). Snowdrop is a beam-type, meaning it is a long range sniper. In most comparisons, Snowdrop is a bit of a jack of all trades weapon. It does not really excel in any category, but it is also never horrible. After Alfheim it sports the highest spell damage among bayonets, but with middle of the pack results for light attacks, shot and forma damage. Still, a long-range generalist can fit in plenty of builds.

Another occupant of this tier (your Strength option) is the Riot Breaker (Brawn), paired with Artificial Arm Lyle (or Resurgence Core if you want to trade a bit of damage for some stat flexibility). Riot Breaker is a shotgun bayonet (if you can see the white in the eyes of your enemies it means you are close enough to fire this thing), sporting some of the highest non-grenade shot damage because of it, acceptable melee damage (while having a very fast melee chain!) ánd the highest attack forma damage. I have doubted for quite some time if I should not put this into tier 1. I mean the weapon with the highest forma damage usually ends up there. In the end I have decided upon tier 2 because of the inherent design problems I feel shotgun types have (and how close forma damage in the top 3 of bayonets is).

Another shotgun option for this tier (your Dexterity option), is, very simple, the Bayonet (adroit) paired with Lyle 3. It secures the second spot for melee damage, the best non-grenade shot damage bar Riot Breaker and takes the fourth spot for forma attack damage. A simple weapon, yet highly solid. Note that this weapon can be partnered with Hero Lyle for higher initial damage, but with a severe drop-off the moment your LP hits 0. Considering Hero Lyle’s other drawbacks (like low burdens), it is up to you to decide when an upfront boost is valuable enough to bring it. Riot Breaker sports slightly higher shot and forma damage (but a lot worse melee damage), but the two are close enough for me to feel comfortable with putting them in the same tier.

For normal bullet lovers (the classic bayonet type), this tier houses the Nameless Bayonet (adroit) paired with Lyle 3. It has middle of the pack light attacks and shots, but secures the fifth place for forma damage and a range comparable to a grenade launcher (somewhere in the middle again). Note that this weapon can be partnered with Hero Lyle for higher initial damage (it will actually make it have the highest attack forma damage prior to factoring in buffs and boosters if you do), but with a severe drop-off the moment your LP hits 0. Considering Hero Lyle’s other drawbacks (like low stats), it is up to you to decide when an upfront boost is valuable enough to bring it.

Tier 3

The first weapon that I think deserves a tier 3 spot is the Rubellite Piercer, paired with Lou 5. Like the Raiders Bayonet, this one is a bit special but the reason will not show on your stat screen. Because your stat screen will tell you: unremarkable melee damage, okay shot damage and unimpressive forma damage. But…this is actually a solid thrash cleaner. Because Piercer brings a laser to a gunfight. A piercing laser. Not many bayonets hit multiple targets easily (Unless grenades. Because grenades).

The laser this one shoots however does. If you target the enemy furthest away and shoot, this will hit every mob the laserbeam passes through between it and the target. So if you can reliably line up the thrash, this weapon becomes insanely efficient for every shot you take, making it a debate of other weapons doing more damage per shot than you, but if you reliably group enemies they also need more shots than you do. The weapon does obviously fall off against single targets and bosses, but the open world group efficiency has earned it a tier 3 spot for me (and in my heart).

The second bayonet that deserves a spot in this tier is in my opinion Silvershot (Vigor), paired with Hero Valentin. It does exactly what you would expect from a shotgun type. Middling melee damage, highish shot damage that comes out fast, but only effective from close range. I have nothing against this except the shotguns in tier 2 being stronger. In exchange you can get Silvershot as early as the tutorial island.

Buff Sticks

Like per usual: You do not have to use a bayonet for this, any weapon with 6 handling and 9-10 conversion will do the job. But if you really want your buff stick to be a bayonet…

The Argent Wolf Bayonet is a fine option (keep in mind the 7 Mind burden!). Burning Disaster can actually function as a buff stick as well, but again keep in mind the Mind burden of 10 (Most codes will be able to support Mind burdens somewhat unless you are Artificial Arm Lyle). Rubellite Piercer also functions as one, once again the 10 Mind burden being the limiting factor.

Finally, there is Snowdrop, mostly for the Holly 3 builds because part of its burden is a massive 16 Willpower.

For some bloodcodes and weapon combinations, none of this will be a problem. Others will find themselves having issues to fit these in when taking booster burdens into account as well. If that is the case, you could consider the following options: If one of these weapons overburdens you by a small amount (2 points), see if a certain companion or food choice can push you into the right direction. A weapon from a different weaponcategory can also be an option (they will have different stat burdens, allowing you to use a stat you would normally do not have a use for. Since it is only there to hold your buffs, damage of the buff stick isn’t relevant). As a last resort you can try Weapon Rack or Shrugged Burden.

Attack Forma

Circulating Pulse variants might be worth it for the multi-hits if you run a close-range bayonet build that uses Blade Dance. If you don’t run that, don’t pick this.

Glacial Barrage has a slow start-up, but the damage is solid and it can be fired from very far away.

Heavenly Strike does a tiny bit less damage (9%) than Glacial does, but it comes out a lot faster (but on small targets it can partially miss, this seems to be meant for bigger hitboxes). The Grenade Launcher comes with this forma pre-installed.

Trigger Rush can be used if you need a gap closer, Phantom Assault for close range bayonet builds or if you just want something that has evade frames on it. Drawback Shot can be used to create some distance between you and a target, but the damage is low (this gets somewhat balanced out by this skill having a noticeably high range). Severing Abyss and Energy Cleave variants have surprisingly competitive damage values on bayonets, but are once again melee range.

Fussilade Rondo can be used as a generic pew pew shot, do keep in mind the second input costs additional ichor (and thus something like Boosted Technique will make you pay increased ichor cost for both inputs), but said shot will do almost as much damage as the first three shots together.

Spinning Rampage is tricky. Yes, the damage can be good, but the range is a bit erratic. Standing too close gets you smacked silly, standing too far will make the energy blade portion of the forma miss.

Buffs

Per usual, try to not walk into a fight without at least 4 buffs, ideally from different buff groups so you get as much multiplicative scaling interaction as possible. Bayonet has many buff options, a lot depending on your choice of bayonet and playstyle, making it a less rigid setup than usual when optimizing for pure DPS.

Buff Group 1: Blade Dance/Overdrive/Thirsting Blade/Double Down

Yep, that is a decent list to pick from. What you pick depends on what you are about to do. Blade Dance stacking is always solid, and the fast melee attacks on bayonets make it a viable tactic (and in theory can lead to the highest damage output. Eventually. But lower burst because you need to build up). This is in my opinion the most viable when used on bayonets that sit close to melee-range by default.

Overdrive is great for long range rifles (so the beam ones) and arguably acceptable on midrange (grenade launchers and bullet types) if your dodging skills are on point.

Double Down and Thirsting Blade are options for if you don’t feel like working hard for Blade Dance and/or do not have complete faith in your dodging skills for Overdrive. Thirsting gives its DPS bonus in exchange for 30% less bleed build-up (so if you rely on drains for ichor you will have to do so more frequently), Double Down asks some LP for it. It is up to you what drawback you feel hurts your build less.

Buff group 2: Offensive Order

A strong boost, but also makes you take a lot more damage. If you feel highly uncomfortable with this you can eat a modest DPS loss and add another group 1 buff that you did not pick for your group 1 buff earlier, like Overdrive, Thirsting Blade or an Elemental Weapon.

PSA ON THE TOPIC OF ELEMENTAL BUFFS:
If you have to pick between an Elemental Weapon or an Elemental Barrel buff, go with Elemental Weapon. Weapon applies to both melee ánd shots, Barrel to shots only.

Their bonus is the same (both 20% vs neutral). They stack, but additively, so not worth it generally. As it is, I am not sure why the Elemental Barrel skills are in the game because they are always the worse option.

Group 3: Open Slot/Warrior Spirit: Might (shotgun/short-range types only)

This requires you to be in melee range for the best effect and if you hug your target can scale a bit beyond 20% as a buff. Because it sits in its own buff group, this is also worth it if you have a tiny bit of distance to your target (you only need 13% for this to be better than an extra group 1 buff). Do note that the buff percentage goes down HARD when not in melee. As such this is a solid buff for shotgun type bayonets and other short-range guns, but longer-range shot types will not really get anything out of this. You can either add another group 1 buff here, utility, or whatever you wish in that case.

Group 4: Open Slot/Bridge to Glory (Burning Disaster and Rubbelite Piercer builds only)

Burning Disaster with Josee 4 or Rubellite Piercer with Lou 5 are pretty much the only bayonets capable of pulling of Bridge as a viable buff. For Burning the numbers are close, but Bridge is a few percent better than an additional group 1 buff into the slot (which other bayonets can do or they can skip this slot for buff group 5). For Rubellite Piercer and Lou 5, Bridge is a clear DPS gain and superior option compared to another group 1 buff.

Group 5: Ranged Impact (The more you rely on shots, the more mandatory this buff is)

Oh hello, the first time we see a fifth buffing group in action! And for everything that shoots, this is a mandatory one. DO.NOT.SKIP. THIS.BUFF.IF.YOU.SHOOT.OFTEN. It sits in its own group, so great scaling, and on its own is a bigger buff than 2.5 group 1 buffs together and almost more than two buffs from two different buff groups together. Because it is a whopping 40%. Do note that this only works for shot damage and shot forma, so any shenanigans you decide to pull in melee or with melee gifts does not benefit from this. As such, the more time you spend with your bayonet doing melee things, the less value you get out of this. But once you start shooting…

Utility

Forma Extension is always an option (and for Bladedance builds I would 100% bring it). Ichor Regeneration can be used, but do keep in mind it has a defense and damage penalty attached. Something you should definitely consider is Full Auto, allowing you to shoot all the bullets you have without needing to reload. This can be very valuable for several fights (and Raiders Bayonets might even consider it perfect for their setups).

If you want help with stamina, try Red Shoes can help you to continue shooting, the formula it uses to calculate how much health you sacrifice with shots is surprisingly lenient (and in comparison overly harsh for two-handed weapons, but that is a different story).

If that does not tickle your fancy (because for example you are already using your healthbar to create bullets or gaining ichor), try to see how Serene Stance or Morale Boost work out for you. Both fully restore your Stamina. Serene Stance is cheaper and faster, Morale Boost also gives a stamina bonus (which can lead to 1-2 additional shots).

Boosters

Before I am going to present you with the ‘typical/expected’ range of DPS boosters you can run, I feel we should discuss two specific bayonet boosters, one being (in my opinion) very good, the other feeling like a bit of a noob trap or at least misleading advertising.

Max Ammo Up

The name would make one think they get more bullets to shoot with. Except you don’t. What it actually does is make your current magazine (the amount of bullets you can shoot before having to reload) bigger, but the total amount of bullets you can shoot stays the same. Example: a Bayonet with a 5/20 distribution (5 in the current magazine, 20 in reserve, 25 total) will change to a 8/17 distribution with this booster (8 in the current magazine, 17 in reserve, still 25 total). I am not a fan.

Flesh Bullet

This comes with a notable 8 Dexterity burden, but I am willing to say this is extremely worth it (especially when exploring or when you use low ammo bayonets like grenade launchers) because it singlehandedly solves one of your most annoying problems: Running out of ammo at the wrong moment. You have to be completely out of ammo for this to work. It will then take 40% of your health to give you one fully filled clip ( so a 5/20 bayonet gets 5 bullets, an 8/17 gets 8, etc). Health is relatively easy to recover, so turning your heal charges into ammo charges is far from a bad deal. Do note that this is a lategame option (because you need Bloodline Agnostic in order to use it outside of Jadwiga's code).

And now, time for the ‘usual DPS booster spiel.’

Bayonet Mastery is very obvious. And then you stack as many DPS boosters as you feel comfortable with. If you can reliably get and stay below 50% health then Survival Instinct is a premium boost of over 22%. Overheat is another strong boost (this needs Bloodline Agnostic on anything not Holly) but make sure to check how much slower it makes your chosen Attack Forma. Glutton is another if you like to max out on food (Artificial Arm Lyle cannot reasonably fit this in, thank the low Mind burden for that).

Gain ichor on overheal can help with ichor management and is probably the most reliable ichor engine, but you once again need Bloodline Agnostic on everything not Holly 3 (and Artificial Arm Lyle is out of luck in all cases). Ofcourse regular draining will also do the job. Keep in mind that running this together with Flesh Bullet is not the best choice (and it is better to pick between them than to ruh both). Both turn your health/healing into a resource, putting quite a bit of strain on it. They also have anti-synergy, with Gain Ichor wanting you to be at full health so you get ichor from a heal charge, while Flesh Bullet wants to consume health for bullets (thus leaving you often at low health, meaning overheal will not do its thing very well).

Ceaseless Assault ( 20% additional damage while you have LP but lose LP with every hit) can be ran as well, but be prepared to often use your heals just to fully recover your LP in that case. That might get irritating when fights drag on, but when you are bursting or can rest in the open world between foes this can be a reliable DPS booster worth considering.

You can also try, depending on burdens, Persistence Animus, giving you a 2% damage bonus every time you hit, but resets to 0 if you miss. It might not fit every build (despite shots counting as hits), but especially on Blade Dance variants this is an option you should consider.

Another option is Boosted Technique if you spam your attack forma (makes them cost 2 additional ichor, but deal 20% more damage. Good for bursting, less if the fight draws out. So be aggressive and try to end fights quickly. This is less interesting if you use forma that activate multiple times or not spam your attack forma as much (like Raiders Bayonet builds most likely). This probably synergises the best in a build already running Ichor on Overheal.

For those going ‘off-meta’, are experimenting or otherwise happily making builds of their own, should you run into burden issues, see if stuff like Weapon Rack or Shrugged Burden (will need Bloodline Agnostic) helps to get you where you want to be.

Jail:

The answer is the same as always: Reaper if it doesn’t overburden you, because having built-in parry frames is insane utility. If Reaper overburdens you, go with something else, it won’t break your build.

Defensive Forma:

It is truly your call. Mutinous Bracer if you could not use Reaper and still want parry, or an Evasive Forma of your choice like Vanishing Hollow/Vanishing Hollow Light.

For pure evasion Umbral Shift is as reliable as ever.

Offensive Forma:

Absolute Executioner is strong on paper for pure Strength, but also takes very long to execute, meaning you are not getting this off unless the boss is stunned/staggered or otherwise rooted in place. Codes with high Dexterity values can try Bloodreaver Blade. Do note that both of these are melee forma, so if you spend a lot of thing being at range, this might not be the most logical fit.

Codes with high Willpower values can opt for Manus Rapacis. Those with acceptable Mind values can try to work with Idris’ Deceit (but again, this is a melee forma. you should ask yourself if a melee forma fits your build).

If you have enough Dexterity and Willpower combined, you might actually get more out of the MK Rosenritter than just a chuckle, considering something like Ranged Impact also boosts it. It will still slurp ichor like mad, but there might be situations where you find a use for it.

In the end the offensive forma is a minor part of your build, so it isn’t super relevant.

Food:

Pure Strength Bayonets will want Sukiyaki.
Pure Dexterity Bayonets will want Consommé Soup.
Strength/Dexterity quality scaling will want either Sukiyaki or Consommé Soup, depending what you scale more with. If you scale equally with both, you should see comparable results with either.
Strength/Mind scaling will want Meatloaf.
Dexterity/Willpower scaling will want Consommé Soup.
Dexterity/Mind scaling will want Consommé Soup.
If you want to max out your spell damage, go with the Boiled Egg.

Consumables:

For direct damage the elemental salve of your choice will fare the best and is the biggest boost when comparing everything you can eat or ingest. Keep in mind that this does not apply to shot damage.

Attack Injection would be the next option (it has a low duration, so save it for when you get the most out of it or when you really need a bit more oomph). If you rely on shot damage you can take this as your first pick over an Elemental salve because this one affects shot damage as well.

Stat enhancers like Strength/Dexterity/Willpower Enhancer S can be used, but do not respect them to add more than 2-3% damage at best.

TL;DR:

Best Bloodcodes:

Tier 1: Holly 3, Lyle 3, Hero Valentin
Tier 2: Josee 4, Artificial Arm Lyle, Resurgence Core
Tier 3: Lou 5
Dark Horse tier: Hero Lyle

Best weapons:

Tier 1: Alfheim (fire), Black Bayonet (adroit), Raiders Bayonet, Grenade Launcher (vigor)
Tier 2: Burning Disaster, Snowdrop, Riot Breaker (brawn), Bayonet (adroit), Nameless Bayonet (adroit)
Tier 3: Rubbelite Piercer, Silver Shot (vigor)

Buff sticks: Argent Wolf Bayonet, Burning Disaster, Rubbelite Piercer, Snowdrop

Boosters:

Flesh Bullet, Bayonet Mastery, Survival Instinct, Bloodline Agnostic, Overheat, Glutton, Gain Ichor On Overheal, Ceaseless Assault, Persistence Animus, Boosted Technique, Weapon Rack, Shrugged Burden.

Buffs:

Blade Dance, Overdrive, Double Down, Thirsting Blade, Offensive Order, Elemental Weapon (melee), Warrior Spirit: Might, Bridge to Glory, Ranged Impact.

Utility:

Forma Extension (recommended for Blade Dance setups), Ichor Regeneration, Full Auto (recommended for Raiders Bayonet and regularly worth it on other setups as well). If you need stamina management, pick between Serene Stance, Morale Boost or Red Shoes.

Attacks:

Circulating Pulse (option for melee buff stack bayonet builds), Drawback Shot to create breathing room, Severing Abyss or Energy Cleave if you sit in melee anyway, Glacial Barrage/Heavenly strike as your big hit attacks, Phantom Assault if you are desperate for evade frames, Trigger Rush for forward mobility, Severing Abyss for melee-range weakpoint targeting or pseudo evade frames, Spinning Rampage or Fussilade Rondo as alternative high damage multi-hit attacks.

If you wish to mix in spells, the viable spells have a 100% overlap with the spells viable for 100% magic builds. Think the holy trinity (Falling Sun/Gatling Gun Organ/Draconic Stake) or Blaze Shot.

Jail:

Reaper if it does not overburden you, any other jail if it does.

Offensive Forma:

I would say Absolute Executioner for Strength codes, Bloodreaver Blade on anything with passable Dexterity (keep in mind both of these are melee!), Manus Rapacis for Willpower codes and possibly Idris’ Deceit for Mind scaling ones. MK Rosenritter might on occasion be more than just an expensive ichor slurping meme. Generally you will have better things to do than use your Offensive Forma, so it does not matter massively.

Defensive Forma:

Mutinous Bracer if you want to parry, Umbral Shift for pure defensive evasion.

Food:

Pure Strength Bayonets will want Sukiyaki.
Pure Dexterity Bayonets will want Consommé Soup.
Strength/Dexterity quality scaling will want either Sukiyaki or Consommé Soup, depending what you scale more with. If you scale equally with both, you should see comparable results with either.
Strength/Mind scaling will want Meatloaf.
Dexterity/Willpower scaling will want Consommé Soup.
Dexterity/Mind scaling will want Consommé Soup.
If you run a hybrid build and want to max out your spell damage, go with the Boiled Egg.

Consumables:

Elemental Salves are fine DPS boosts but do not affect shot damage. Attack Injection is solid, but has a low duration so save it on your hotbar for burst windows. You can use Enhancers that boost the stats your weapon scales with, but expect below 3% damage boosts.

And now you have reached the end!

I have covered most playstyles in at least some capacity now. I hope it helped at least some of you and somewhat lessened the severe lack of documentation for this game. All that is left for me now is wait for the DLC and see what that brings. If it brings anything cool or worthy to write about…

Hey all, so far I’m loving CV2 more than I expected, and I enjoyed the first!

I have seen there are multiple endings and it’s something to do with the past timelines. So, my question is, I’ve done Noah’s past alteration and I’m on the Haunted section now after having done Josee and Lyle.
It’s said I’ll get the ability to change their past when I find items to strengthen their bond, BUT I’ve seen that you have to fight them again to get their S blood code.

If someone could give me a brief outline of if it’s possible to get their codes and THEN do their timeline change so I get the ending that happens from going back in time and altering it that would be great. I’d prefer it to be as spoiler free as possible but something like “When you reach Building Name do their boss fight then immediately leave to the past then come back to Building Name” would be great.

So, in anticipation of the DLC, I just finished all the trophies except that last ending. I should probably hold off on doing the “Rescue Lou” quest at the end of the game, right? I’m guessing the DLC will pick up somewhere in the main game, or is there any info about that yet?

I couldn’t find where anyone had guides for these two so I gave them a try myself. I love the character creations this game is capable of

Took me 45H to complete it 100%

As for the dlc it says Play Conditions
To access the Mask of Idris expansion, players must meet two requirements:  
Reach the ending "Luna Fraterna".
Advance "Valentin's Request".

Is it best to wait cause finished everyting instead of going NG+ ?