Understand Orthos
Useful when…
- Sweep through nearby groups with normal polearm attacks and the listed range of 3.
- Use slam attacks for area damage, accounting for their range-based falloff.
- Build toward status effects if you want to make use of the listed 18% normal-attack status chance.
How does Orthos handle?
Orthos is a polearm requiring Mastery Rank 2. Its normal attack speed is listed as 0.917, its range as 3, and its follow-through as 0.6. Normal attacks deal 27.75 Impact, 27.75 Puncture, and 129.5 Slash damage, for 185 total; the Slash-heavy split gives its physical profile a clear emphasis. Normal attacks have 6% critical chance, a 1.5× critical multiplier, and 18% status chance. The broad reach and multiple-target description make it a practical choice for sweeping groups, though the base critical chance is modest.
What do its slam attacks offer?
A regular slam is an area attack listed at 370 Blast damage, with falloff from 0 to 7 range and 50% reduction at the end. A heavy slam is listed separately at 555 Blast damage, falling off from 0 to 8 range with 30% reduction at the end. Both slam modes list 10% status chance and 6% critical chance. The listed heavy attack damage is 1,110, and its wind-up is 0.9 seconds. Use the slam figures as distinct attack modes rather than adding them to normal-attack damage.
What improvements make sense?
If you prefer to lean into Orthos's base attack profile, status-oriented improvements are a reasonable direction because normal attacks list 18% status chance and are Slash-heavy. Critical investment is also possible, but starts from 6% critical chance and a 1.5× multiplier. These are conditional build considerations, not a claim that one setup is universally optimal. Orthos requires Mastery Rank 2; Dakra Prime and Dragon Nikana have higher listed requirements of 10 and 8, respectively, while the Glaive requires Rank 1 and offers a distinct thrown attack mode.
What should you watch for?
Orthos's normal attacks are not highly critical by default, so do not assume its 18% status chance means frequent critical hits. Its slam attacks have their own 10% status chance and separate area-damage values. Area damage falls off with distance, so targets near the outer listed radius take less than the center value.
Limitations and tradeoffs
- Normal attacks favor Slash and list 18% status chance, but have only 6% critical chance and a 1.5× multiplier.
- Slam attacks can hit an area, but their listed damage falls off with distance.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Treating slam attack damage as normal-attack damage.
- Assuming area attacks deal their center value to targets at the edge of falloff.
- Building as though Orthos starts with a high critical chance.