Charge Blade — Promised Abyss Savage Axe Impact 4-Bonus Meta

Overview

Impact CB Attack Focus for patch 1.041, built on Promised Abyss (Gogma Artian) with Gore Magala's Tyranny (Frenzy) + Lord's Soul (Guts/Tenacity) rolled in. A generalist endgame AT build with 4 concurrent set/group bonuses active — Gore Tyranny + Jin Dahaad's Revolt + Arkveld's Hunger + Lord's Soul.

What sets it apart from the Element variant (target-specific): the Artillery + Critical Boost + Rapid Morph trinity in the 3 weapon slots closes the Savage Axe cycle without depending on an element.

Core rotation

The loop is Savage Axe Power Axe mode — sustained DPS on wounds, not a SAED cash-out:

• Phial setup. A Sword Lateral Slash chain to charge phials + build wounds.
• Morph transition. Morph Attack (+20% dmg via Rapid Morph 3) transitioning into axe mode.
• Power Axe toggle. With full phials, activate the Power Axe state that applies passive phial damage on each hit without consuming them.
• Savage Axe commit. Combo on wounds/weak spots — sustained DPS superior to SAED, with the committed window going to a stun.
• Situational SAED. A cash-out if the phial lid opens on a weak spot. Not the primary loop.

Focus Mode is mandatory for aiming at wounds (AT Arkveld wings/tail, AT Gogmazios chin, AT Dahaad frost spike).

Structural thesis — weapon-as-piece

Promised Abyss Gogma Artian counts as a piece toward set/group-bonus thresholds. On the paper doll the armor has 1pc Sororal α (head — the Nerscylla lineage also counts toward Gore Tyranny) + 2pc Dahaad γ (chest + waist) + 2pc Arkveld γ (arms + legs).

With weapon-as-piece:

• Gore Tyranny 2pc (Sororal head + weapon) → Black Eclipse I (forced Frenzy).
• Jin Dahaad's Revolt 2pc (chest + waist Dahaad γ) → +25 raw for ~60s after a trigger.
• Arkveld's Hunger 2pc (arms + legs Arkveld γ) → Hasten Recovery I.
• Lord's Soul 3pc+ (4× γ armor + weapon = 5 markers, threshold 3 ✓) → Guts + passive +5% attack/defense.

The roll pool is universal — any Gogma Artian rolls any set or group skill except Festival Spirit, Prayers and Master of the Fist. RNG is seeded by the base element. CB Attack Focus is pure raw, so the element sleeps — the element choice follows farm preference.

Canonical infusion (Artian base, 5 slots)

Promised Abyss is the Gogma upgrade of Chrono Gear (R8 Artian CB). In the Artian phase, Chrono Gear is assembled with 5 Artian Part slots.

Canonical: 5× Attack infusions (+5 raw each, +25 raw baseline before the +10 Tarred Device of Attack Focus). Maximizes raw in the Savage Axe rotation — an Impact phial doesn't amplify status.

Hybrid variant (Impact + Para): 1× Element +30 Paralysis + 3× Attack +5 + 1 Sharpness/Attack slot. Sacrifices ~10 raw for Paralysis status buildup. Useful in status-receptive matchups (Gore Magala, Gravios, Zoh Shia phase 2); ~4% sustained DPS drop on status-immune targets (AT Arkveld, AT Gogmazios phase 1-2).

Reinforcement — Option B raw-heavy

2× Attack EX     (+12 raw each, +24 total)
1× Attack III    (+9 raw)
1× Affinity EX   (+10% aff)
1× Sharpness EX  (+50 sharpness gauge)

Total: +33 raw + 10 aff. Respects maxPerBonusType: 2 (max 2× Atk EX; the III tier is separate).

Why raw-heavy. Peak aff calculation:

• Base Promised Abyss Attack Focus: -10%
• WEX 5 on a wound: +30%
• Maximum Might 3 at full stamina: +30%
• Agitator 5 in rage: +15%
• Antivirus 3 post-cure: +25%
• Peak total (no reinforcement): +90% (10pp of headroom to the cap)

A sub-95% set, the zone where the default heuristic would be aff-balanced. But the weighted calculation (40% peak / 30% mid / 30% off-peak) with a 200 raw base picks Option B raw-heavy:

• Aff-balanced (2× Atk EX + 2× Aff EX + 1× Sharp I): weighted 280.0.
• Option B raw-heavy canonical: weighted 285.7 (+3.1%).

At peak both saturate (100% cap), but Option B offsets the affinity lost off-peak with +6 raw that multiplies across all zones.

Canonical principle: the reinforcement pattern is a function of the set. Calculate peak aff before choosing between raw-heavy and aff-balanced — the sub-95% zone doesn't force aff-balanced by default.

RNG fallback (preference order):

1. Atk EX → Atk III (~3% DPS drop).
2. Sharp EX → Sharp III (~2% DPS drop).
3. Aff EX → Aff III (~1% drop, aff is a minority at saturated peak).
4. Alternative Option A shape (an extra Aff EX instead of raw) — a ~2% drop, acceptable.

The build doesn't break with a full fallback.

Active set/group bonuses — detail

• Black Eclipse I (Gore Tyranny 2pc). Forced Frenzy in early combat. No direct raw/aff bonus on the 2pc — the post-cure raw/aff comes from the Antivirus 3 skill, not the set. (A 4pc would give an attack-power-recovery upgrade, but it would require 4 Gore-lineage pieces and sacrifice 2 concurrent set bonuses — a net loss.)
• Jin Dahaad's Revolt (Dahaad γ 2pc). +25 raw for ~60s. Triggers: webbed, frostblight, pinned, Power Clash. CB has limited access to Power Clash (it's not a moveset primitive like Lance/SnS) — effective uptime ~5-15% in a neutral matchup. On AT Jin Dahaad it becomes a central feature (natural frostblight triggers the recovery, +25 raw sustained over 60s windows).
• Hasten Recovery I (Arkveld's Hunger 2pc). ~2-3 HP per hit sustained on CB Savage Axe (high hitrate). A leak-stopper — it reduces Potion pressure and offsets the Corrupted Mantle HP drain.
• Lord's Soul 3pc+. Guts + passive +5% attack/defense. CB with Guts allows a full-combo Savage Axe with no fear of a one-shot in rage windows (AT Arkveld tail-slam sequences, AT Gogmazios ultimate tar breath).

Native skills and the super-peak window

Antivirus 3 (3× sane-jewel-1) — converts the Gore Frenzy into an aff window. Post-cure, +25% aff for ~30s enters the stack.

Maximum Might 3 exact cap (Mighty Charm III) — +30% aff at full stamina. The Savage Axe rotation keeps stamina high (the Power Axe toggle doesn't consume it).

Agitator 5 exact cap (Dahaad γ chest + waist natives = +5) — +28 raw + 15% aff in rage.

Super-peak window (Corrupted Mantle 90s + freshly-cured Frenzy + rage + wound + full stamina): theoretical aff +100%+ with overflow, raw stack 233. A transient ~30-60s window per hunt. Savage Axe commits on wounds with Power Axe sustained, aggressive morph transitions (+20% dmg via Rapid Morph 3), Guts as a safety net for over-committing.

Mantle and jewel allocation

Corrupted Mantle (90s / 600s cd / +5%→+30% aff stacked / +~4.5% raw post-buff / HP drain) is the ideal mantle. The HP drain is offset by Arkveld's Hunger 2pc — a non-trivial synergy. The mantle doesn't occupy a composition slot.

Alternative: Rocksteady Mantle on hunts where Savage Axe commit hyperarmor is a priority (it absorbs knockback/tremor without interruption). Trade-off: you lose the Corrupted aff stack.

Rejected trade-offs

• Offensive Guard 3. CB has accessible PG but it's not a moveset primitive — uptime ~30-40% in a matchup with consistent telegraphs, ~15% in mobile matchups. Including OG3 would displace Artillery 3 or Rapid Morph 3 — a trade-off that costs more DPS than OG3 delivers. A future tank or defensive variant could reconsider.
• Tool Specialist 5. The cap requires 5× Maintenance Jewel in [2] slots; the armor has only 2 [2] slots (chest), insufficient budget. Partial TS would displace Counterstrike (~2pp) for TS3 (~0.75pp) — net inferior.
• Load Shells 2 (vs Rapid Morph 3). In the Savage Axe rotation, the Power Axe toggle doesn't consume phials — Load Shells is marginal. Rapid Morph 3 speeds the morph-to-Savage-Axe trigger by +30% + +20% dmg on morph attacks. A SAED-focused variant (frequent cash-outs) could swap with a ~2-3% DPS drop but superior QoL during the learning phase.

Charm — Mighty III default

The armor already provides native Agitator 5 (chest +2 + waist +3), so a Challenger Charm III would be 100% redundant (overcap 8 → cap 5).

WEX sits at 2 (arms +2) — 3× tenderizer-jewel-3 in the [3] slots close WEX 5 without needing an Exploiter Charm, freeing the charm for Mighty Charm III (Maximum Might 3). Trade-off vs Exploiter III: MM3 contributes +3.3% weighted DPS vs the hypothetical gain of freeing 3 [3] slots (~1-1.5%). Mighty III wins quantitatively.

Optional upgrade via an Appraised Charm:

• Rarity 7 — Artillery 3 + Flayer 1 + a [1] slot. Frees the canonical artillery-jewel-iii-3 weapon [3] slot for another use (magazine-handicraft-jwl-3 for a Load Shells SAED hybrid, or other options). Flayer 4→5. +1 [1] slot for a 4th comfort skill (Constitution 3 on stamina-sustained Savage Axe).

Don't farm the RNG before closing the rest.

Aggregated skills (target)

• Weapon decos. Artillery 3 (cap), Critical Boost 3 (sub-cap, target 5), Rapid Morph 3 (cap), Handicraft 1 (sub-cap, spillover).
• Exact armor caps. WEX 5 (arms 2 + 3× Tenderizer III), Agitator 5 (chest 2 + waist 3 natives), MM 3 (Mighty Charm III), Antivirus 3 (3× Sane Jewel).
• Deliberate sub-cap. Crit Boost 3 (target 5), Counterstrike 2 (target 3), Constitution 2 (target 5), Flayer 4 (target 5).
• Extra natives. Burst 1 + Glory's Favor 1 (Sororal head), Bind Resistance 2 (Dahaad waist), Blight Resistance 2 (Arkveld legs), Convert Element dormant (no active element).

Expansion to full cap via the Appraised Charm path above.

Matchups

• AT Arkveld (a patch 1.041 feature). Dream matchup. Clear hitzones for WEX 5, feet/wings/tail susceptible to a Savage Axe commit, the aggro sequence creates consistent wound buildup, the Gore Frenzy never fails, Hasten Recovery offsets the Mantle drain, and Guts absorbs punish one-shots.
• AT Jin Dahaad (a frostblight applier). Secondary dream. Natural frostblight triggers Jin Dahaad's Revolt automatically (uptime rises to 30-40%), Impact KO contributes to the phase-1 stagger, and a frostbite-aware Savage Axe rotation works.
• AT Gogmazios (dragon-weak phase 3, tar-covered phase 1-2). Viable but sub-optimal as a generalist — the elemental Gogmapocalypse variant (archived) is higher DPS in phase 3. Impact KO contributes in phases 1-2 where the tar stagger combines with the KO stack.
• AT Nu Udra (volcanic, fireblight). Ok. A neutral build, no amplification/penalty. Hasten Recovery offsets fireblight chip, and the Impact KO stack becomes a central feature (resistant hitzones but head breaks generate staggers).

Team synergies

• HH with Attack Up (L) or Affinity Up. Amplifies the peak window multiplicatively.
• Lance/Gunlance Offensive Guard 3. Redirects aggro, freeing the CB for Savage Axe commits without competition (CB is wound-dependent).
• Avoid 2× CB. Competition for the wound budget and the KO stagger window.

Impact CB contributes unique KO staggers that other weapons don't deliver — especially valuable on AT Arkveld/Gogmazios where stuns open DPS windows for everyone.

Ideal party: 1× CB + 1× HH buffer + 1× Lance/GL tank + 1× flexible damage dealer (LS/GS/DB).

Farm path

• Promised Abyss. Chrono Gear R8 Artian CB (Tempered Artian HR80+, free element — raw-focused) → Creation Artian with 5× Attack infusions → upgrade via blacksmith (~30,000z + 3 Tarred Devices) → pick Attack Focus → re-roll Gore Tyranny + Lord's Soul.
• Dahaad Shardmail γ + Shardcoil γ. AT Jin Dahaad (the Freedom from Solitude event or Tempered HR100+).
• Arkvulcan Vambraces γ + Greaves γ. AT Arkveld (permanent event quest, TU5/patch 1.041).
• Sororal Earrings α. Nerscylla α HR30+ standard.
• Mighty Charm III standard crafting post-HR100.
• Reinforcements. 2× Atk EX + 1× Atk III + 1× Aff EX + 1× Sharp EX via Gogma re-roll (Mutated Armament drops).
• Decorations. 1× artillery-jewel-iii-3, 1× critical-jewel-iii-3, 1× quickswitch-handicraft-jwl-3, 3× tenderizer-jewel-3, 2× counter-jewel-2, 3× sane-jewel-1, 2× physique-jewel-1.

Target profile

A generalist endgame AT pick for patch 1.041 — AT Arkveld the dream, AT Jin Dahaad a secondary dream (Revolt uptime via natural frostblight), AT Gogmazios baseline (the elemental variant is higher in phase 3, archived), AT Nu Udra ok. CB is a high-skill-ceiling aggressive weapon — this build maximizes the aggressive via Savage Axe commit while preserving a minimal defensive foundation (Counterstrike 2 + Guts + Antivirus 3 Frenzy management). Which is why it's meta and not tank or comfort.