Clockwork Lightning: a Mortal Shell 2 Clockwork Scythe build

1The loadout

• ShellLazlo the Justiciar

  Fortified Plate is flat damage reduction for as long as the armour is on, which is what standing still with a spinning blade requires.

• SealInfinite Seal

  Parry breaks enemies more efficiently than anything else, and this build has the Resolve income to take the riskier option.

• WeaponClockwork Scythe

  It is the only weapon that takes either exclusive stone, and both of them are the reason this build exists.

• SidearmTriarch Repeater

  Small Resolve cost per shot and a fast rate of fire, so it tops up damage between spins without emptying the bar the Scythe needs.

When it comes togetherA mid-game build. Before the Clockwork Shardstone it is simply a fast weapon, and before the Devout Stone the spin runs dry too quickly to matter.

2Tarstones

Listed in priority order — slot them in this sequence as you find them rather than waiting for the full set. Every stone below is one the named gear actually accepts.

Clockwork Scythe

Weapon socket

5 stones

Tied to the primary, so changing weapon means revisiting this list.

1. 1

   Clockwork ShardstoneAbilityslot first

   The build: hold the weapon out with the chainsaw at full speed, and at level four every spin lands a fifth of the weapon's base damage.

2. 2

   Scholar's WormstoneAbility

   The Scythe's second exclusive, and no other primary can hold it.

3. 3

   Voltaic CrownInfusion

   Lightning infusion on the Scythe — though it fits the Repeater too, and you only have one.

4. 4

   Grudge StoneCombat

   A guaranteed critical hit on a fixed cycle, which suits a weapon that lands a very large number of small hits.

5. 5

   Clerik's StoneCombat

   A heavy finisher for the enemies the spin cannot simply grind down.

Triarch Repeater

Sidearm socket

3 stones

Drawn from a pool the melee slot mostly cannot touch.

1. 1

   Frostshard StoneInfusionslot first

   The Repeater is the only sidearm that takes it, so it is either here or nowhere.

2. 2

   Unstable StoneCombat

   Suits a weapon that fires often, because it gets more chances than a slow sidearm would.

3. 3

   Corroded StoneCombat

   Damage over time from a rapid-fire sidearm keeps a target eroding while both hands are on the Scythe.

Lazlo the Justiciar

Shell socket

1 stone

These fit whatever else you are carrying, which makes them the picks that survive any change of weapon.

1. 1

   Devout StoneSupport

   Melee hits return more Resolve, doubled by level four. This is not a damage stone — it is the stone that decides whether the spin lasts.

3Skill tree priorities

Nodes from Lazlo the Justiciar's own tree, in the order they are worth spending Glimpses on.

1. 1

   Adaptationtake first

   Shortens Lazlo's armour cooldown, which is the window this build is most exposed in.

2. 2

   Warmed Up

   Lazlo grows stronger as the Heat Meter fills, and a build that stays in contact fills it quickly.

3. 3

   Furnace

   Adds an effect for as long as the Heat Meter is full, rewarding a fight you never disengage from.

4How to play it

1. 1

   Open with the Repeater to earn a little Resolve before you commit to anything expensive.

2. 2

   Start the spin when something is walking at you, not when it is already swinging.

3. 3

   Keep landing ordinary hits between spins — the Devout Stone only pays when you connect.

4. 4

   Parry rather than dodge. Backing out drops the pressure that is funding the whole build.

5. 5

   Let Retribution overheat when a group forms; the stronger shockwave is worth the cooldown.

5If you have not found it yet

Each of these plays close enough to the piece it replaces that the rest of the page still holds.

• 

  Untarnished Sealinstead of the Infinite Seal

  Guarding is the forgiving version of the same idea, and it still deals Break Damage on a well-timed block.

• 

  Eredrim the Venerableinstead of Lazlo the Justiciar

  Slaughterer stacks reward the same standing-ground style, and Tank turns them into damage reduction outright.