Breakthrough (Perk)

Breakthrough
Class	Body Perk
Attribute	Body
Tier	Pro (9)

Breakthrough strips armour off whatever V hits with a strong attack. The reduction lasts several seconds, which is long enough for the follow up to land against a softer target. It is a melee pick in the Body tree. Any build that opens with a heavy swing is already doing the work this perk needs.

Effect

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Armour reduces incoming damage, so taking a large share of it away raises the damage of everything that follows, not only the next swing. The window is short but it covers a full exchange.

That makes the perk a setup rather than a payoff. The strong attack itself is unchanged, and the gain arrives on the attacks after it, which rewards a build that strings swings together instead of trading one at a time.

How to Unlock Breakthrough

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It sits behind the Pro gate of the Body tree, so a solid run of points has to go into Body before it appears. Nothing has to be bought ahead of it.

Character Builds

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The build is a blunt weapon Body build that opens with a strong attack and follows with quick ones. A hammer or a baseball bat suits it, since strong attacks with those are slow enough that the armour window matters.

Buy it once the Pro gate is open, alongside Wrecking Ball and the blocking perks. It pairs with Dread higher in the tree, which strips armour with ranged attacks, so a build carrying both a club and a shotgun can take armour off with either hand.

Notes

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Strong attacks cost stamina and are slower than quick ones, so the trade is a slower opener for a harder follow up.

Armour reduction from other sources adds to the same problem for the enemy, and the Body tree offers more of it further up.

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