The Scarlet Storm
Necromancer / WarfareA physical damage mage that weaponizes blood-soaked ground to cut action point costs and chain devastating AOE spells. Plays as a shield-wearing drain tank in Acts 1 and 2 using Necromancer lifesteal for sustain, then shifts into a glass cannon burst mage by Act 4. The Apotheosis, Blood Storm, Skin Graft, and Grasp of the Starved combo clears every enemy on screen in a single turn on Tactician and Honor Mode.
Damage
Full screen clear in one turn. Apotheosis + Blood Storm + Grasp combo by Act 4.
Survivability
Acts 1-2: shield armor and Necromancer lifesteal. Act 4: maximum AP via Glass Cannon. Kill everything first.
Boss
One-turn boss deletion on Tactician and Honor Mode.
Necromancer
Physical damage spell school that commands blood and the dead. Its passive restores health equal to 10% of all physical damage dealt, making every hit a small heal.
Warfare
Combat ability that increases all physical damage by 5% per point invested. This is why the build's spells hit harder than most dedicated melee classes.
Flesh Sacrifice creates a blood puddle at your feet and grants +1 AP plus a 10% damage boost, triggering Elemental Affinity instantly on every nuke turn.
Act 4 endgame dagger used as a stat stick in the dual-wield setup. Provides the highest critical chance of any weapon in the game, which pairs with Savage Sortilege to make every spell a potential critical hit.
How to Obtain
Any one-handed shield for Acts 1 and 2. Shield physical armor is the direct damage scalar for Bouncing Shield, so prioritize raw armor value when picking one up.
The only ring in the game with an open rune slot, letting you stack an additional Intelligence bonus on top of its base scaling. Carry this from Act 1 through to the endgame and upgrade it periodically using the Corbin Day vendor trick.
How to Obtain
Combat Strategy
- ▸Cast Flesh Sacrifice at zero AP cost to create a blood puddle underfoot, gain +1 AP, and apply a 10% damage boost. The blood immediately triggers Elemental Affinity.
- ▸Cast Apotheosis. All Source skills now cost zero SP for two turns and all attributes increase by 5. This is the window that makes everything else possible.
- ▸Cast Adrenaline for +2 AP. You will cast it again after Skin Graft resets cooldowns.
- ▸Drop Blood Storm on the densest cluster of enemies. It deals AOE physical damage across a 10m radius, blankets the area with blood surfaces, and sets Diseased and Decaying.
- ▸Cast Skin Graft to reset every cooldown and clear status effects. This turns the opening combo into a full double rotation.
- ▸Cast Flesh Sacrifice and Adrenaline again for a second batch of AP to work with.
- ▸Finish with Grasp of the Starved. Undead hands rise from every blood surface and shred all enemies still standing in them for massive physical damage.
- ▸Any remaining AP can clean up survivors with Corpse Explosion. The combo typically clears the entire battlefield in a single turn by Act 4.
- ▸Between nuke turns, use Corpse Explosion on any corpse for 1 AP. It deals heavy physical AOE damage, heals via Necromancer passive, and prevents enemies from raising bodies.
- ▸Mosquito Swarm provides a cheap 2 AP ranged attack that heals you for all damage dealt. Use it freely for chip damage and to recover health between cooldowns.
- ▸Use Teleportation and Nether Swap before the nuke turn to stack enemies into a tight cluster. One well-placed Teleport multiplies the value of Blood Storm's 10m radius significantly.
- ▸The Necromancer passive heals for 10% of all physical damage dealt. Every Bouncing Shield hit, every Corpse Explosion, every spell tick restores vitality. High-damage turns are also high-healing turns.
- ▸In Acts 1 and 2, a shield provides physical and magic armor that blocks status effects before Glass Cannon is taken. Use this window to invest in ability points without worrying about CC.
- ▸Glass Cannon removes armor's status immunity in exchange for maximum AP every round. Position carefully to avoid CC before your turn. High Wits from gear and leveling typically ensures you act before most enemies.
Sources
Verified: 2026-04-28 · All content is original with full credit to original creators.