Affliction & Melee Purifier Build Guide

Raze it to the ground!

The Purifier is a powerful support class with utility grenades and incinerator weaponry. This Purifier build guide will explain how to use this class to create a melee-skirmisher unit to make the most of the Unstoppable Conflagration and Hammerhand abilities. This approach takes full advantage of the Purifier’s immunity to hazardous plague fields, fire, and other elements to get up close and rip into foes with repeated Force Strikes.

Abilities

Our skirmisher Purifier will focus on the left side of the Ability Grid. Start with the node which gives the Purifier’s Force Strike the Purge instant effect. Doing so provides an accessible and willpower-affordable hard counter to powerful mutated enemies. Then, fill out the center left and bottom left sections; Soul Blaze and Unstoppable Conflagration ramp up damage through using your Force Strike in sequence. The top left node contains Hammerhand, which is invaluable for destroying Target Points and collecting Seeds.

We also recommend the Max HP passive node to help the unit survive longer in sustained melee combat. To further improve the Purifier’s sustainability, you can pick up the 25% Resistance passive abilities, totaling a mighty 50% base resistance!

The utility and flexibility of grenades can massively disrupt enemy groups, relieving pressure from other units in your squad. To this end, we suggest building out the abilities in the bottom centre of the grid. These include an additional Grenade Wargear slot – you can never have too many!

Equipment and Wargear

While we have limited control over which equipment is received throughout a campaign, we can choose to prioritise stats and bonuses.

Melee Weapons

Our ideal melee weapon will have an Affliction built-in to full advantage of the two passive abilities offering a 15% (30% total) increased chance to apply them. To maximise the chance of finding a suitable weapon, make sure to increase your Melee Weapon Armoury level whenever possible. Alternatively, weapons that offer bonuses to Force Strike will make do in the meantime since we’ll often use this ability thanks to our Purge effect. Here are some example weapons we can use:

Falchions

These have the largest pool of Affliction-dealing options. Pinned and Weakened falchions are especially potent because they heavily reduce the effectiveness of the Purifier’s target if they get a chance to strike back or attempt to distance themselves from the Purifier.

Masterwork Tier 1

• Prosecutor: Bleed +2, 50% (Purity Seal Upgrade: Bleed +1)
• Silver Brand: Weakened, 1 turn, 25% (Purity Seal Upgrade: 25% Afflict Chance)

Masterwork Tier 2

• Imperator: Bleed +2, 50% (Purity Seal Upgrade: Bleed +1)
• Solaris: Pinned, 1 turn, 25% (Purity Seal Upgrade: 25% Afflict Chance)
• Fidelis: Weakened, 1 turn, 50% (Purity Seal Upgrade: 25% Afflict Chance)

Masterwork Tier 3

• Ferocity: Pinned, 1 turn, 50% (Purity Seal Upgrade: +1 Turn Duration)

Daemon Hammers

• Hammers offer fewer options which apply Afflictions:

Masterwork Tier 1

• Titan’s Strike: (Requires Purity Seal Unlock: Immobilized, 1 turn, 25%)

Masterwork Tier 2

• Titan’s Hammer: Immobilized, 1 turn, 25% (Purity Seal Upgrade: 25% Afflict Chance)

Power Armour

Power Armour offers the opportunity to increase the Purifier’s resilience even further by providing additional HP and Armour points. The following armour does this alongside an additional Passive Wargear slot for added utility:

• Power of the Aegis
• Heart of Purity
• Champions’ Plate
• Radiant Guardian
• Titan’s Aegis

Other desirable stats include Willpower (to fuel Force Strikes) and Movement Speed to engage and disengage enemies more readily. However, these armours often overlap with the Immunity to Hazards trait which is redundant on the Purifier who already gains this effect as a Class Perk. We should also avoid Focus and Resistance traits in favour of Willpower and Movement Speed.

Wargear

Our preferred Wargear slot will contain a second type of grenade, especially if we have already specialized for grenades within the Ability Grid. Smoke Grenades offer excellent defense from ranged fire while Psychostroke Grenades have the potential to waste an entire enemy turn thanks to the Crazed affliction. Other helpful grenade types include Krak Grenades and Empyrean Brain Mines with Armour Break and Stuns for dealing with more imposing enemies.

Passive Equipment should further improve our strengths or cover weaknesses. Sacred Incense and Emblematic Pauldrons are great choices for improved Willpower and HP.

Servo Skulls are often situational but provide excellent utility. The Hailer Skull can draw enemy attention off the Purifier and Seeker Skulls can soften enemies up with the Vulnerable affliction. Medicae Skulls can be useful if you’re missing an Apothecary or lack other sources of healing and Disruptor Skulls can offer additional AP-free damage and the Disrupted affliction, allowing your Purifier to escape from Overwatch or disengage melee enemies without suffering a Rear Strike. We recommend avoiding the Purgation and Extraction Skulls because our build already Purges mutations and Extracts seed effectively with Hammerhand.

Squad Composition

This skirmisher Purifier excels in melee combat and continually pressures the enemy. It fits into any generalised squad, freely purging mutations. This can keep enemy power levels, max HP, and defenses under control, supporting other damage dealers. If you want to specialise your squad in afflicitons, a Purgator can also deal these out efficiently alongside the Purifier.

Squads built around stuns and executions are also a natural fit. Supporting and protecting the Purifier with Justicars via Fortess and Honor the Chapter abilities for extra Armour and AP amplify all the benefits we have outlined in this guide. We also suggest including an Apothecary to heal this unit and extend the number of turns it can engage enemy units.

We trust that this guide showcases the unique benefits of an alternate build for the Purifier. Go forth with the Emperor’s blessing and purge the Bloom! Tell us how you use this build on our social channels!

Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5!

The Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters Team