PvME/Damage rotations/Melee damage guide

PvME guide index

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This guide will go over general damage output lessons, ability prioritisation, a learning path, and style-specific solutions for common PvM concerns.

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⬥ Knowledge of in-game ability/item descriptions is assumed, this guide aims to tie the tools together rather than list what they do.

⬥ Melee rotations are highly situational and often change based on boss timings, phase length, weapon setup, and how much switching is practical.

⬥ For general PvM terminology, damage tips, and revolution bars, check out their respective sections in DPM Advice Faq

⬥ For recommended upgrade order, see Melee

⬥ For invention perks, see Perks

⬥ If you need tailored advice for a specific boss or gear setup, ask in PvM help (external Discord)

⬥ To compare abilities, use RS Analysis' Melee Page, and add your gear

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Abilities, Attacks and Weapons

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Prioritising Basic Abilities meleebasic

You should prioritise the following Basic abilities:

⬥ Punish punish if the target is <50% life points

⬥ Backhand backhandflank with Flanking flank4 if the boss is not facing you

⬥ Greater Fury gfury

⬥ Rend rendgop with Gloves of Passage glovesofpassage

⬥ Adaptive Strike adaptivestrike

⬥ Fury fury (if gfury is not yet unlocked)

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Do not use these Basic abilities to build:

⬥ Chaos Roar chaosroar should be used before a heavy-hitting attack and its cooldown is too long

⬥ Greater Barge gbarge should be used before a strong channelled ability

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Prioritising Stronger Abilities overpower

When spending adrenaline, there are two primary considerations:

⬥ total damage over time (e.g., the start of a phase) vs. instant damage (burst damage, e.g., boss damage check window)

⬥ adren cost vs. total damage

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In general, prioritise the following abilities and special attacks:

⬥ Berserk berserk whenever possible

⬥ Ek-ZekKil ezk spec during berserk for fights lasting over 1 minute

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• First cast 280 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Further casts (Flamebound Rival flameboundrival) 1045 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry gflurry in berserk 520 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For its Berserk extension

⬥ Assault assault when 4+ bloodlust 720 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry gflurry with 4+ bloodlust and target below ~71% life points

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <71% LP 671 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <50% LP 780 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• <35% LP 858 AD​

⬥ Overpower overpowerigneous with Igneous cape igneouskalket 620 AD​

⬥ Assault assault with <4 bloodlust 560 AD​

⬥ Massacre massacre with mwspear + not inside berserk + your target can take damage for another 24s 1120 AD​

⬥ Slaughter slaughter with mwspear + not inside berserk + your target can take damage for another 18s 810 AD​

⬥ Dismember dismember with mwspear + Strength cape strcape + Lunging perk lunge4 + not inside berserk + your target can take damage for another 18s 549 AD​

⬥ Overpower overpowerigneous without cape 545 AD​

⬥ Varanus's Mercy varanussmercy eofspec 491.25 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Unless perked with Equilibrium equilibrium

⬥ Leng Set special attack lengmh lengoh spec with 2+ Primordial Ice primordialice

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 4 stacks 475 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 3 stacks 435 AD​

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2 stacks 395 AD​

⬥ Greater Flurry gflurry when <4 bloodlust or the target is >71% LP 520 AD​

⬥ Hurricane cane 320 AD​

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Situational special attacks:

⬥ Granite Maul gmaul eofspec ignores cooldowns and can be spammed during a single GCD 125 AD​

⬥ Dragon Claws dragonclaw eofspec are seen as a direct downgrade from varanussmercy 400 AD​

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Utility Abilities and Special Attacks dba

These setup tools are especially useful because they let you enter the fight with buffs already active:

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⬥ Dragon Battleaxe dba spec for a 60s damage boost (spec at War's Retreat → 100% adren → enter instance)

⬥ Annihilation annihilation spec to give a niche 30s damage-output buff

⬥ Zaros Godsword zgs spec for a mini-zerk berserk

⬥ Pulverise pulverise for its damage reduction effect

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Building Adrenaline meteorstrike

Maximising your adrenaline is one of the key ways to output more damage, as you will be able to use stronger attacks.

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There are many ways to build adrenaline, many of which you will see built into the rotations below:

⬥ Meteor Strike meteorstrike for 225% adrenaline gain over 30s

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Typically stalled at warsretreatteleport and used at the start of a fight, and again before each berserk

⬥ Adrenaline Potions adrenrenewal adrenalinepotion replen

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Typically used mid-rotation, with some giving instant adren and others giving adren-over-time

⬥ Jaws of the Abyss jawsoftheabyss alongside bleeds

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Gives +2% adren per active bleed (dismember slaughter massacre and abyssalparasite from abyssalscourge abyssalarmourspike)

⬥ Natural Instinct naturalinstinct

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2x adrenaline gained for 20.4s

⬥ Vestments of Havoc vestmentsofhavochood

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 2-piece refunds 15-20% adrenaline after using a Melee ultimate (overpower berserk pulverise meteorstrike)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• 4-piece raises max adrenaline to 120% with melee weapons

⬥ Divert divert

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Protects you from the next damaging attack and converts it to adrenaline

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You may wish to follow a standard "adrenaline re-build rotation":

⬥ berserk finishes → basics → dba spec → basics → meteorstrike → basics → berserk

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Maximising Berserk berserk

You can empower Berserk berserk in four ways:

⬥ 4-piece of Vestments of Havoc vestmentsofhavochood

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• extend berserk by +6 seconds (giving more time to deal increased damage)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• increase max adrenaline by +20% (allowing for stronger abilities directly after berserk)

⬥ Conservation of Energy relic conservationofenergy and Ring of Vigour passive rov from Extinction quest

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• both regain +10% adrenaline after using berserk

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• these are additive to +20%

⬥ Greater Flurry gflurry extends berserk

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• You can fit 2x gflurry "for free" in the berserk buff window

⬥ Overpower overpower can be used more frequently

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• overpower cooldown is reduced from 30s to 9s

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When the above are combined together berserk:

⬥ consumes 100% → 80% adrenaline

⬥ lasts 19.8s → 35.4s

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Maximising Chaos Roar chaosroar

Chaos Roar chaosroar should be saved for when a high-damage ability can be used directly after

⬥ It is strongest with large single-hit or multi-hit abilities where the full cast benefits

⬥ It is weaker with channelled abilities like Assault assault or Greater Flurry gflurry, as only the first hit is boosted

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Strong follow-ups include:

⬥ Second (and subsequent) Ek-ZekKil spec ezk spec

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Note: do not waste chaosroar on your first ezk spec

⬥ Igneous Overpower overpowerigneous

⬥ Varanus's Mercy varanussmercy eofspec

⬥ Leng Set spec lengmh lengoh spec

⬥ Hurricane cane

⬥ Bleeds outside Berserk slaughter massacre

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Managing Bloodlust stacks bloodlust

Bloodlust stacks bloodlust are a important component of Melee DPM. Up to 4 (8 inside berserk) can be stored, which are generated from:

⬥ +1 any Basic ability (+2 inside berserk)

⬥ +2 from Rend rend

⬥ +4 from Berserk berserk

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When spending bloodlust you should prioritise:

⬥ Assault assault as your default

⬥ Greater Flurry gflurry if the target is below ~70% life points

⬥ Hurricane cane for AoE situations

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Camping & Switching Weapons

Melee has multiple strong weapons, and the best option depends heavily on the situation:

⬥ Some rotations camp one weapon setup for simplicity

⬥ Some rotations switch between weapons to use specific abilities for extra damage

⬥ Some fights are too short or too awkward to make switches worthwhile

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The most common "default" or "camped" weapons include:

⬥ Ek-ZekKil ezk

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp Ek-ZekKil when the fight lasts over 1 minute

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Its value comes from Flamebound Rival flameboundrival while equipped (+12% damage and damage reduction)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Not reliant on RNG stacks, with higher single-GCD burst and stronger damage from the second minute onwards

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• More expensive, weaker in the first minute, and needs a dual-wield switch to stall / cast gflurry

⬥ Leng swords lengmh lengoh

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp Lengs for fights sub-1 minute, especially for higher first berserk damage

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• They are cheaper, do not need an eof, and passively build Primordial Ice primordialice stacks

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Icy Tempest lengmh spec costs 0 adrenaline at 3+ primordialice (still requires +30% to use)

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Stacks are RNG-based, making rotations more flexible, and damage falls behind ezk from the second minute onwards

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Needs a 2h switch to stall / cast cane

⬥ Masterwork Spear of Annihilation mwspear

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Used mostly as a switch to apply dismember slaughter massacre, then return to your main weapon

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Ideally perked with Lunging 3/4 lunge4 to maximise on bleed synergies

⬥ Consecrated keris consecratedkeris + Dark sliver of leng lengoh

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Camp keris when your target is any follower of Amascut, including all Sanctum of Rebirth bosses nakatra and Amascut amascuthead herself

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Increases your damage by ~37%

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Building a Rotation

Take this section with a pinch of salt... every boss is different and in reality we build "situational" rotations based on:

⬥ Phases and immunity windows raksha

⬥ Berserk buff uptime/downtime berserk

⬥ Adrenaline levels meleebasic

⬥ Available weapons ezk lengmh lengoh mwspear

⬥ Pre-fight setup and utility abilities dba

⬥ Bloodlust stacks bloodlust

⬥ Weapon special attacks spec

⬥ EoF usage varanussmercy eofspec

⬥ Vulnerability bombs vulnbomb

⬥ And more...!

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The examples below are not fixed boss rotations. They show how to start with a simple Berserk berserk window, then gradually add extra layers such as Greater Barge gbarge, weapon specs, bleeds, and pre-fight setup.

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Step 1: Basic Rotation berserk

At its core, a basic Melee damage cycle looks like...

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⬥ Build adrenaline → meteorstrike → berserk → high-damage abilities → berserk finishes → repeat

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Notes:

⬥ During berserk, spend adrenaline on your strongest available abilities

⬥ Outside berserk, continue using strong abilities, but begin saving adrenaline and cooldowns for when berserk is nearly available again

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Step 2: Greater Barge & Potions gbarge adrenrenewal vulnbomb

It's time to put those pretty potions to good use...

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⬥ berserk + adrenrenewal → (tc) boss → gbarge + vulnbomb → bleed gflurry → high-damage abilities

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Notes:

⬥ Situationally, gbarge / berserk may be switched (gbarge → berserk → gflurry)

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Step 3: Adding pre-fight boosts dba meteorstrike

Who doesn't want free damage?!

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⬥ At War's warsretreatteleport use dba spec → rebuild to 100% adrenaline at crystal

⬥ You can also stall and release an ability to gain a "free" ultimate at the start of the fight:

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Option A) smeteorstrike → enter instance → rmeteorstrike on a dummy dummy

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Option B) sezk spec → enter instance → rezk + meteorstrike on boss

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Step 4: Camped weapon specs lengmh ezk spec

Weave in your primary weapon special attack during berserk

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Where camping Lengs lengmh lengoh

⬥ meteorstrike → sadaptivestrike → berserk → gbarge → overpowerigneous → lengmh spec → gflurry → cane → rend → overpowerigneous → assault → chaosroar → lengmh spec → overpowerigneous → rend → assault (5t) → gflurry → overpowerigneous → lengmh spec

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• primordialice stacks are naturally rng, so expect small changes from kill to kill

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Example video

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Where camping EZK ezk

⬥ meteorstrike → sadaptivestrike → berserk → barge → overpowerigneous → ezk spec → gflurry → rend → cane → overpowerigneous → assault → chaosroar → dragonclaw / varanussmercy eofspec → overpowerigneous → rend → cane → adaptivestrike / punish → sgflurry → ezk rgflurry → overpowerigneous

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• For subsequent ezk repeats, swap ezk spec and cane

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎• Example video

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Step 5: Putting it all together

This is it, the moment you've been waiting for, the BiS rotation...

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⬥ At War's warsretreatteleport: dba → sezk spec

⬥ 1st (3rd, 5th...) Berserk: (tc) + rezk + vulnbomb + meteorstrike → s adaptivestrike → berserk → gbarge → overpowerigneous → gflurry → chaosroar → cane → rendgop → s overpowerigneous → varanussmercy + r overpowerigneous → gflurry → overpowerigneous → assault → cane → overpowerigneous

⬥ During Berserk cooldown: (adaptivestrike / meleebasic) until Berserk has 14.4s cooldown left → dba spec → (adaptivestrike / meleebasic) → meteorstrike → (adaptivestrike / meleebasic)

⬥ 2nd (4th, 6th...) Berserk: berserk → gbarge → overpowerigneous → gflurry → chaosroar → cane → rend → soverpowerigneous → roverpowerigneous + ezk spec → 7t assault → gfury → overpowerigneous → punish → 8t gflurry → rend → soverpowerigneous → roverpowerigneous + cane

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Attribution and source history

Adapted from DPM Advice Melee by PvME contributors. Upstream source history. Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Snapshot 074a9438f79d10fba75735791be0030734db8b5e. Formatting adapted for standalone MediaWiki; media and third-party references remain external links.