Bruisers: The Blood Paint Fueled Class (Patreon)

It's time now for one of two survivor classes which I was the trailblazer on (the other is Trappers), Bruisers are one handed weapon + shield survivors that function as a bridge between a true damage dealer (DPS) and a tank. They're the kind of survivor which you can have multiples of, but they only function because of Blood Paint or to a lesser extent Gorment Armor which will work with two handed weapons and bows.  Also, it is worth pointing out that Green Armor is also a self-contained Bruiser build.

So before we get going, I'm going to show you one of my very late game bruisers so you get an idea of the concepts in full swing. This one requires the Core Game + Dung Beetle Knight

Block 2, Ripple Pattern (8+) and Steadfast/Carapace of Will (which is very easy to get) - it is sufficient to work. It also has 11 armor on all locations and you can slip things like Fencing (FK SFA) into the build as well if you want. 

How does it work?

Bruisers are, simply put; beefy, tough survivors who can dish out damage while also being able to take it in a pinch. They are not as durable as tanks, nor are they as damaging as DPS characters, but you can do exceptional things with them because of how Blood Paint works with weapons that have an activation ability (like Shields). Adam cleverly allowed blood paint to activate shield's block. Which neatly sidestepped an issue where Block Swords would work with Blood Paint, but Shields would not. Honestly it's one of the best rulings he's ever made via Twitter (along with the Blood Paint can activate fist & tooth if positioned correctly).  The Blood Paint rulings expanded the play space in the game and have given life to a whole breadth of strategies.  

Honestly, if you don't like these rulings, that's your choice, but I love them and I'm not interested in debating the merits of them.

The basic principle of Bruisers is this, you activate the Blood Paint and then immediately activate the Block on your Shield. You then attack the monster. If it reacts with any kind of Basic Action/Attack Profile/Hit mechanic, then you have your Block up to soak the hits - this bypasses the normal 'you can't dodge when attacking' mechanic and also if you do not lose your block(s) then you have them up for the monster's turn. This means you can attack the monster while simultaneously defend against it.  

The issue with this build is it's very slot intensive, you're looking at 8 slots used up at a baseline (5 for armor, shield, weapon and Blood Paint). That does not leave a lot of room for other gear, and typically you'll be putting a +evasion item like the Shadow Saliva Shawl or Monster Grease in that last slot.  

The best armor sets for Blood Paint Bruisers are:

• Leather
• Lantern
• Phoenix
• Rolling
• Screaming

Before we move on to the other type of Bruiser, here is a leather armor bruiser using only core game gear for you to look at in the early/mid game.

You can put whatever one handed weapon you like in place of the Scrap Sword (Steel Sword for example), and even if you add expansions it's the only item that's going to change. With expansions available I recommend things like the Denticle Axe, Rib Blade, Gaxe or Amber Edge - basically one handed weapons in the core game have the problem of either shitty stats or Early Iron.  This one has the added benefit of being able to make use of an activated Monster Grease and Rhythm Chaser (from Drums), so while it's not as tough as the rolling version, it is more evasive. It can easily be at +4 or +5 evasion without even the survivor gaining stats from events/leveling thanks to Forbidden Dance and Survival of the Fittest.

Now it's time for the other kind of bruiser...

Gorment Bruisers

However, there is a less slot intensive version which you can look into if you are playing with the Gorm. Additionally this version allows you to use two handed weapons! This is because of the special ability of the Gorment Suit.

Here's a mid game version of that build.

So the advantages here (apart from the two handed benefit) are that Gorment Armor only requires 4 slots to gain it's set bonus and also they have a large amount of green affinities you can marry off with other things. Which makes it easy to get Monster Grease activated.

However, as you can see, Guard needs 1 of each affinity to be active and the armor set only really provides 1.5 greens and .5 blues. So typically you're going to need some other things to complete the affinities. Here I've chosen the Gorn for the down blue, but it can easily be the resource light Armor Spikes if you want. Likewise the Red is being provided in part by the weapon choice, without that you'll have to fiddle around and you might lose the bonus (The Zanbato is another great fit for this build).

The other issue is that Guard moves you 3 spaces directly away from the monster after you hit and only provides Block 1. So it's not as powerful in the late game because it doesn't really do much with a Beacon Shield. So you trade off in defense in exchange for two handed weapons + a retreat. Still this, along with bows, is one of the best ways to use the Gorment Armor. So it's worth bearing in mind.

Green Armor

Finally, as mentioned before, Green Armor is the pinnacle of Bruiser builds available at the moment. This is because Griswaldo has a built in Blood Paint activation for Fetorsarus, so for the sake of enjoyment, here is what it looks like when set up fully.

This gives you a beast of a character who can solo a lot of the monsters in the game. You can also meme by putting a bow into the bottom left slot and have a 'Club/Bow' hybrid weapon. Honestly getting this armor set is overkill, but it is SO MUCH FUN.

And that's it, this is Bruisers, the reason this article is shorter than the Tank one (and the upcoming DPS one) is because a lot of what needs to be said is covered in the Tank and DPS articles. Bruisers are a true hybrid class, and they are great for players who want to feel tough while dishing out damage instead of passively blocking every turn.

I feel the game is a richer place for having them.