Ever since I unlocked this bad boy, I knew he was something special. Carnage is extremely fun to play, deals insane damage, and can survive almost anything he's hit with. Due to the fact that Carnage is naturally built like a Panzer VIII Maus on steroids, I wanted to create a build that focuses on maximizing his damage. I'm hoping this guide will give you everything you need to know about Carnage and his playstyle.

 

Here I'll be explaining the basics behind Carnage. You can skip this section, but I'll be sad and you might miss out on some fantastic tips.

 

Health & Spirit - Carnage loves health. The more health Carnage has, the more damage he can do. On the contrary, Carnage sorta hates spirit, which I'll get into in a second. Your main goal regarding spirit is to build it up, gain adrenaline, and then expend your spirit every time Pure Carnage is off cooldown. Whenever you use a health-spending power at max spirit, Carnage gains adrenaline, which increases his base damage. So, you want to fill the spirit meter as quickly as possible to maximize how much adrenaline you build while Pure Carnage is on cooldown. This means you should avoid anything that adds to Carnage's max spirit if you can. Or in other words, more spirit = bad, BUT spirit on hit = good.

 

Movement - This is a movement build. So you want to be...uh, moving. Vicious Lunge is your dash, and it reduces the cooldown on your movement powers. For those who don't (or can't) read tooltips, your relevant movement powers are Southern Slam, Mauling Mace, and Reaping Time. You want to dash INTO your target, otherwise you're missing out on extra DPS. Additionally, your basic, Slaying Swipes, pulls you back to your target. For this reason, you should almost never let go of your basic. Lock your cursor onto your enemy and hold the line, soldier.

 

Adrenaline - Stacking adrenaline is cool and all, but you shouldn't ignore Pure Carnage in favor of it. I want to make it extremely clear that Pure Carnage is an absolute banger and should be popped every time it's off cooldown. The only exception to this is when you come out of Reaping Time. At that point, you'll want to hit a few abilities to gain some adrenaline before popping Pure Carnage.

 

 Simple to explain, even simpler in practice once you enter flow state.

Opener

 (Hold) >  >  >  >  >  > 

Then simply hit your abilities that spend health whenever they become available to build spirit and adrenaline. Use Pure Carnage whenever you can. During downtime, use Vicious Lunge to reduce the cooldowns of your movement powers. Whenever Reaping Time is up, make sure to pop Pure Carnage beforehand. Then slam a few health-spending abilities to build a bit of adrenaline before popping Pure Carnage again.

 

If you find yourself struggling to aim Axe Throw, you can swap it for Axe Sweep for a more reliable hit. It may also help with maintaining adrenaline. Just keep in mind that this comes with a noticable DPS loss.

 

If you have any other questions about the rotation, I probably answered them in the Theory section above. You should probably read that too, just saying.

 

 

 Most of these talents are self-explanatory for this build, so I won't waste your time. Carnage Rules! wins out over Crushing Blows because of the insane buff to your basic. Gaining the benefits of all weapon types means Slaying Swipes gains +10% crit/brute chance, +15% damage versus bledding enemies, and 350 health regenerated per hit. On top of all that, it also deals 100% more damage. All of this for 14 seconds every time you pop Reaping Time. Y'know, just in case you needed another reason to keep your basic up at all times.

  

Slot 1

  Fragment of Twilight - As usual. Sorry, not sorry.

Alternative:

 Maximum Carnage! - This works just fine if you dont have a Fragment yet. Lots of good stats, and it applies vulnerability when you use axe powers.

 

Slot 2

 Manifestation of Self-Loathing - We're looking for critical hit, critical damage, and health. Our cosmic affix should be Cosmic Might (the thingy with the attack speed, movement speed, and base damage). The three main affixes are more important than the Cosmic Might affix. Be prepared to farm this one for a loooong time. I recommend farming Cosmic Hightown to look for one. Alternative affixes you could settle for are brutal strike, brutal damage, or durability.

Alternatives:

 Mzee's Hardened Shell - If you're feeling a little glassy (which you shouldn't once you start gearing), this is a good defensive alternative that still provides some damage.

 Symbiote Infestation - Surprise, surprise. The symbiote item works on a symbiote character. We actually like the negative spirit stat, and we get 5 of each main attribute here.

 Kasady's Happy Place - This item works just fine if you dont have anything else.

 

Slot 3

 Web of Carnage - Carnage loves every stat here, making it an amazing item. Unfortunately for you, this means it can be a pain to roll.

Alternative:

  Girdle of Frost Giant Strength - Not as good as Carnage's slot 3, but it provides more defensive stats if you really want some. But I really recommend Carnage's slot 3.

 

Slot 4

 Gettin' Hitched - Important rolls here are physical damage, attack speed, health, and the attributes (strength and durability). This is also crazy good for our movement build.

Alternative:

 Skrull Military Uniform - If for some UNGODLY reason you don't have Carnage's slot 4, you can use this. But honestly, this item would be MUCH better suited on someone else. I only included it here so that every item had an alternative. Just use Carnage's slot 4, okay?

 

Slot 5

 Cobra's Hood - We need every stat here except tenacity and intelligence. This item also applies vulnerability to enemies, which is really nice. Can't beat the good ol' Hood of the Cobra.

Alternative:

 Carnage Rules! - Very nice item to use until you get a Hood. Until then, I wish you luck on your search for a Cobra's Hood.

 

Artifacts

 Cosmic A.R.M.O.R. Supercharged Power Cell - This might be surprising, but Power Cell performed better than Gem of the Kursed every time I tested it. The health is also a nice bonus for Carnage.

 Cosmic Crossbones's Teaching Credentials - Classic, can't go wrong here.

 Cosmic Advanced Circlet of Cyttorak - Great damage and helps you win the brutal strike lottery. Also turns you into a hamster for more survivability.

Cosmic Siege's Enhanced Targeting System - Metric ton of stats, need I say more?

 

Alternatives:

 Cosmic Gem of the Kursed - Classic, can't go wrong here.

 Edge of Infinity - Budget GoK if Kurse is feeling stingy.

 Crossbones's Teaching Credentials (Strength) - Good filler until Crossbones finally gives up the cosmic version.

  Cosmic White Suit Jacket - Not as good as Circlet, but still really powerful.

 Cosmic Fist of Apocalypse - Nice alternative for Siege if you really love running Danger Room and need attack speed over brutal strike rating.

 Cosmic Hyde's Formula - Semi-defensive item that serves as a budget filler for Siege.

 

Ring

 Midtown Guardian's Signet - You will almost ALWAYS be using a movement power, so this ring is basically a permanent 30% damage increase. Oh, and the 30% critical hit chance is also sweet.

Alternatives:

 Cosmic Ring - You'd be looking for +3 durability, critical hit, or critical damage.

 Industry City Signet - Nice filler ring that has shiny stats.

 

Medallion

 HYDRA Agent Medallion - High damage rating and attack speed make Carnage a happy man.

Alternatives:

 Medallion of the Sinister Six - A bundle of good stats and a +2 to all attributes for 3 minutes is nothing to sneeze at.

 Skrull Medallion of Bravery - Great item, but it can be quite rare outside of S.H.I.E.L.D. Supply Drops.

 Cosmic Bullseye Medallion - Easy to get and brings good value with the critical hit/damage.

 

Runeword

 The Power Doop - This is the best runeword for most physical heroes, hands down. The physical proc is just too good to pass up.

Alternative:

 Viking's Vitality - If you don't have access to Power Doop yet, this is a great alternative that stacks Carnage's health pool even higher.

 

Time Gem: Temporal Loophole - 150 points. Attack speed is essentially a damage multiplier, and this is the easiest place to get some. We can finish this node way down the line.

Space Gem: Gravity Well - 150 points. More health = more damage and more survivability. We'll come back to finish this later.

Mind Gem: Mental Focus - 150 points. Really good damage returns here.

Power Gem: Strike Through - 150 points. Another +1 to all attributes, plus Carnage loves brutal damage.

Space Gem: Gravity Well -  350 points. Finish this bad boy.

Reality Gem: Potency - 150 points. Last +1 bonus.

Time Gem: Temporal Loophole - 50 points. As promised, we're finishing this node.

Space Gem: Durability - Everything else. Dump your points here when you've finished the other nodes.

Proc Nodes: At some point, you will want to put 1 point into each of the proc nodes on the right side of each gem. These are extremely cheap, and give you a small chance to deal some burst damage. Personally, I'd invest in these after finishing Gravity Well, but you can fill them out whenever.

 

1:27 TTK (NEW VIDEO COMING SOON, BETTER TTK)