The Boom Build in Outward Definitive Edition is a high-speed, high-damage setup focused on dealing massive ethereal damage through explosive attacks. At its core is Gepp’s Blade, a one-handed sword capable of unleashing devastating ethereal blasts with each strike. This build also incorporates the Fabulous Palladium Shield to exploit elemental vulnerabilities and a mix of enchantments to enhance both speed and survivability.

In this guide, we’ll cover every aspect of the Boom Build, from weapons and armor to skill trees and combat strategies, ensuring you have everything needed to dominate enemies with explosive force.

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Core Equipment

1. Weapon: Gepp’s Blade

• Type: One-Handed Sword
• Special: Fastest one-handed sword in the game with powerful ethereal blasts.
• Enchantment: Mole Pig’s Eye (adds additional ethereal damage).

Strategy Tip: Use Gepp’s Blade for its fast attack speed and ability to deal consistent ethereal damage, which is effective against most enemy types.

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2. Shield: Fabulous Palladium Shield

• Special: Inflicts Elemental Vulnerability (-25% elemental resistance to enemies).
• Enchantment: Guided Arm (+2 protection and +2 barrier).

Strategy Tip: Start fights with Shield Charge to apply elemental vulnerability, amplifying Gepp’s Blade’s ethereal damage.

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3. Armor Set

Helmet: Tenebrous Helm

• Special: Corruption resistance, cold weather resistance, reduced mana costs.
• Enchantment: Order and Discipline (+10% movement speed).

Chest: Runic Armor

• Special: High resistances, impact resistance, decay damage bonus.
• Enchantment: Chaos and Creativity (+10% decay damage and +10% movement speed).

Boots: Tenebrous Boots

• Special: Excellent resistances and speed bonuses.
• Enchantment: Speed and Efficiency (+7% movement speed, -5% cooldown reduction).

Strategy Tip: This armor set provides a balance of resistances, speed, and damage, making it ideal for a fast-paced, ethereal damage-focused build.

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Backup Weapon: Horror Shield

• Special: Inflicts Extreme Poison with Shield Charge.

Strategy Tip: Switch to the Horror Shield against enemies weak to decay for quick and lethal kills.

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Skill Trees

1. Mercenary (Levant)

• Key Skills:
  • Marathoner: Reduces stamina cost for running.
  • Shield Infusion: Adds elemental damage to shields.

Strategy Tip: Use Shield Infusion to boost damage and make shield charges even more potent.

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2. Rune Sage (Berg)

• Key Skills:
  • Runes: Offers healing, traps, and buffs.
  • Internalized Lexicon: Allows rune casting without holding a lexicon.

Strategy Tip: Keep runic heal and traps on your hotbar for versatility in long fights.

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3. Optional: Spellblade’s Awakening

• Key Skill: Gong Strike (not recommended due to long cooldown).
• Alternative: Hex Mage for status effects or Cabal Hermit for lightning damage.

Strategy Tip: Replace this tree with Hex Mage for curse and torment or Cabal Hermit for lightning damage if needed.

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Mana Management

• Points Spent: 2
• Total Mana: 40 (base) + 20 (faction bonus) + 40 (Rune Sage) = 100

Strategy Tip: 2 points are sufficient given the reduced mana costs from gear and faction bonuses.

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Faction Choice: Soroboreans (Harmattan)

Key Perks:

• Logistics Expert: Reduced cooldowns for shield abilities.
• Increased Pocket Space: Useful for carrying extra equipment.

Strategy Tip: Reduced cooldowns make shield charge more spammable, maximizing ethereal damage.

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Combat Strategy

1. Pre-Buff:

• Use Shield Infusion and Elemental Vulnerability.
• Activate Runes for buffs and traps.

2. Engage:

• Open with Shield Charge to apply vulnerability.
• Follow with Gepp’s Blade for ethereal blasts.

3. Control:

• Switch to Horror Shield for enemies weak to decay.

4. Burst:

• Use runes to heal or trap enemies when overwhelmed.

Strategy Tip: Maintain speed by using movement speed buffs and keeping your stamina high with Marathoner.

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Conclusion

The Boom Build in Outward is all about speed, explosive damage, and efficient cooldown management. By combining the power of Gepp’s Blade with elemental vulnerabilities and shield infusions, you can shred through enemies quickly and effectively.

Focus on managing your buffs, maintaining high mobility, and exploiting enemy weaknesses with shield charges to secure victory.

Gear up, buff up, and blast your way to victory—welcome to the Boom Build!