Chained Beasts · Build planner
Plan your priorities around bear punches, agile Ibex crits or a coordinated team. Compare each effect before committing.
Official game analysis · Updated: 2026-10-18
Skill connections
Follow the category links to find skills that work together. These are category requirements, not a fixed unlock order or guaranteed offers. Injury conditions are listed separately. Planned ranks do not multiply the displayed base effects; suggested builds below are recommendations.
This is a priority list, not a simulation or a limit on skills you may obtain. Descriptions show the base effect; ranks and conditional bonuses are not added into a damage estimate.
Three builds worth trying
Bear: fists and embedded weapons
Start with Hulking Bear and Bare Knuckle Specialist, then look for Brass Knuckles and a reliable fury trigger such as Furious Punches. Drive It Home rewards embedding a weapon before punching: it triggers the embedded weapons’ melee damage twice. Heavy Punches dislodges embedded projectiles, so it can disrupt that setup. Use the bear’s brief protection to recover from a hit, not as permission to keep taking damage.
- Bare Knuckle Specialist
- Furious Punches
- Drive It Home
- Kung Fu
- Pain Threshold
Equipment: Brass Knuckles
Ibex: mobile crit pressure
Agile Ibex spends less stamina dodging. Pair that mobility with Brawling Reflex, Kung Fu and Ice Cold Rage; Overwhelming Assault can turn crits into knockdowns, while Satisfaction grants vigor after a crit. Build the trigger loop before chasing more bonuses. These effects have different conditions: adding their printed percentages is not proof of a permanent 100% crit rate.
- Brawling Reflex
- Kung Fu
- Ice Cold Rage
- Overwhelming Assault
- Satisfaction
Equipment: Brass Knuckles, Whetstone
Team: control and support
Armoured Rhino can hold attention while allies create angles for throws and chain trips. Draw Fire, Loyalty and Back to Back support this role; Sword Guard is another way to manage friendly damage. Stay close enough for the relevant effect without bunching everyone into one enemy swing. Coordinated movement matters more than forcing four identical builds.
- Draw Fire
- Loyalty
- Back to Back
- Iron Stance
- Shield Thrust
Equipment: Sword Guard, Oath Torc