Build:Freelancer

**Freelancer** is a Character Build in *Outward*, created by Lacienraieal.

## Full Build Details

The main goals of this build is to reduce stamina degradation, use of traps to end encounters before they begin, use confusion and pain, and stun lock/knock down your enemies. I went with Blue Chamber Collective for the additional health and Mana since I already acquired the Lantern of Souls. Honestly though, it really depends on your preference. You want infuse light, Logistics Expert, Alchemical Experiment... Go for it, I say!

The Rogue Skill tree: The reuse of pressure traps will alleviate the constant need to craft more traps and allow you to deal a high amount of damage (or outright kill your enemy) before melee range becomes necessary. The skills Puncture (causes pain and confusion with Maelstrom Blade) and Opportunist Stab combo nicely, dealing a lot of damage, especially if you can apply confusion and pain. If you haven't crafted Maelstrom blade yet you can consider using the cannon Pistol, Brutal Club, Marble Morningstar, etc. as place holders. Alternatively, you can choose Perfect strike (Inflicts Pain) instead of Master of Motion and then go with any main handed weapon that causes confusion. Lastly, Feather Dodge affords you two important perks; no backpack dodge roll interference and a 50% reduction to your dodge roll. In the build I went for the Brass-Wolf Backpack for the extra protection, but any backpack can be slotted based on preference and/or need for more carry weight/situation.

The Mercenary Skill Tree: As the build is presented, is only really added for the passives, but the ability to switch from a close ranged dagger to a more comfortable pistol distance really mixes it up. Even without the use of mana, the pistol is still a viable option when you combine it with traps, stamina management, and stun locks/knock downs. Shatter bullet used with any Pistol is a great tool to have handy for longer, harder fought battles. Additionally, if you end up going for a larger mana pool, Blood Bullet is a great option for both damage and healing.

The Warrior Monk tree: Although you have more stamina for continuous attacks, dodging/running, and added Impact Resistance/all damage resistances this skill tree is the most interchangeable. I went with it because Flash Onslaught is a great high damage skill and a great "panic" button to have at the ready for larger mobs and tougher fights in addition to the aforementioned skills and passives.
You could replace the Warrior Monk skill tree with the Wild Hunter skill tree which would add the option for bow skills (extreme bleeding from Piercing Shot and extreme poison from the enchanted Horror Bow) and a couple high impact/damage melee strikes (Feral Strikes also inflicting Extreme Bleeding and Pain).
Or you could run with the Speedster Skill tree. Adding in the Flurry skill as your finisher/panic skill. You'll also gain more way ways to quickly add Pain and Confusion as well as increase your sprint speed and increase your attack damage. Optionally, you could also choose to go with more Protection instead of sprint speed and attack damage. The down side being that if you get hit, your alertness falls off, shunting the progress you've made in building up your speed and damage or your protection. Which is another reason why I stuck with The warrior Monk skill tree. For me, stick with the Warrior Monk, means less prep to worry about when the damage/defense gained from the Discipline boon and Master of motion perk already provides what I need without having to worry about keeping my Alertness level up via Probe or Alertness potions.

Gear: All the of the gear equipped (minus the Manticore Dagger, Maelstrom Blade, and the Brass-Wolf Backpack) are something you'll have to use legacy chests to obtain (unless you're lazy and spawn them in). Therefore, I'll state flat out, I mainly choose the armor because I like the way it looks, but they still provide the stamina reduction and protection I wanted. That being said, use whatever you want and/or can obtain depending on where you're at in the game. The only piece of gear that's an eventual Must-Have is the Maelstrom Blade for its combo use with puncture and Opportunist Stab.

last, but not least, there are three main areas to ponder upon with this build. Its low/no mana for elemental resistance boons and general mana skills (using, collection, crafting, buying potions/Varnishes to compensate for no/low mana), the pre-fight trap set-up for large mobs has a learning curve (Flash Onslaught being your only skill that hits multiple enemies and even so is a one and done unless you have items prepared for those situations), and the time you'll spend collecting/purchasing the mats for trap crafting or just finding/purchasing the traps. Should you choose to get a decent amount of mana, the Rune Sage skills add another layer of resistance/protection if needed. Otherwise, there are potions and consumables available for such needs.