Biography

Copied from Scorum
THE OBJECTIVE
The objective of this build is to kill things in splendid fashion, never leaving Frank out to dry and providing him with the tools necessary to ensure his ultimate survival.

THE HISTORY
For a long time, I had a build created that focused around this and that; whether it was defense, gear oriented, sniping, cc, versatility, dps, sustained dps and whatever else is related to Punisher builds. The point is, I've seen every build, tested every build and have developed and redeveloped my build over and over. It has all culminated into the creation of this build.

TACTICS
Playing as the Punisher, no matter which play style you so choose, it is going to require tactics and preparation to utilize Frank to his utmost potential. Early leveling with Punisher is fairly simple; early on (rather, immediately) you are supplied with "Deadly Barrage." All that's left to do until you get to end-game content is to focus your efforts on improving your survivability and learn the in's and outs of his game. As you progress playing as Punisher, you will find yourself using a variety of tactics and builds, so it's best not to commit yourself early on to something, that you will wind up changing anyway in the future. This build focuses on that concept of versatility and utilizing Frank's various mechanics.

So, here's how it goes:

Level 1-45
1. Rifle Shot, Shotgun Blast, Deadly Barrage and Explosive Rocket will be your main fighting abilities for early leveling. You can throw in some Chemical Mines and Proximity Mines (later replaced by Flamethrower) and Armor Piercing Shot for bosses.

Due to the amazing scaling of Punisher's basics, Rifle Shot and Shotgun Blast are now the new 1-2 punch in this build as far as my "double-basic" idea is concerned.

Rifle Shot- Now has scaling attack speed, no longer has a ranged damage modifier, as this serves to make this skill stronger at all ranges, making this an excellent choice to STDPS (single target DPS). This basic is also an amazing option in PVP (this will be explained further down).

Shotgun Blast- Another new addition to this build and the reason I chose Shotgun Blast over the once mandatory Flechette Blast, is because not only does it scale better, it has faster attack speed and with an item like Sword Gun you will retain the "bleed" function that Flechette Blast has. Overall a much more efficient option than Flechette Blast.

Level 46-55
2. As you continue to progress, your combat mechanics transform into more creative options as far as utilizing DPS is concerned, because his scaling is so unique. By this time you will be utilizing Shotgun Blast and Deadly Barrage as your main mechanics.

This build will service all of your needs and still gives you the "kick" you're looking for damage wise. Chemical Mine and Flamethrower Blast will become more important during these levels, though there are many other viable options to utilize with Frank, this; however, is still the premier way to stack DPS. When you are fighting early-mid game blues and elites, you should open up from range with Explosive Rocket as it deals a pretty good punch on these crowds. On trash mobs, you will open up every single sequence with Deadly Barrage and this should easily clear those pesky enemies up real nice (all the while, you are using Frank's new and badass M60 and .357 Magnum (no longer an addition to build, although it could still prove a viable option)and Automatic Shotgun). There's no doubt this is one of the perks of this build; however, this build more than services your practical needs.

In summary-

Impact Shot- No longer required in this build, due to the use of Rifle Shot for PVE/PVP purposes. It scales better and with the scaling attack speed now on Rifle Shot, it's an amazing STDPS option.

With the changes to Marvel Heroes and Frank in 2.1, DPS stacking is no longer the only way to be successful with Frank, as his options have now exploded, as to offer more build diversity. DPS stacking is still a great way to play, but it is no longer a required function.

Level 56-60
3. As I stated previously, by this time your strategy will be focused around creative uses of sustained DPS and DPS stacking (no, this doesn't mean using Frank's animation canceling, as we are completely avoiding that) and utilizing the "double basic" idea. It's a lot to take in and I'm sure by now you are wondering how you will utilize each of these skills and fit everything on the keybar.

Here, let me explain:
Roughly speaking, you will be using the "double basic" as your main attack, so you will bind this to your "left click" on your mouse.

You will be using Deadly Barrage as your "right click" attack.

Seems simple right? Well, things get more complicated from here.

Now, you will be using hotkey attacks; this means binding another attack to your mouse. This helps to clear up space for the powers you will need on your keybar. Now you may play differently than me, but the keys I use to play the game are the default settings keys: A, S, D, F, G, H keys, along with the mouse pad. What I do to utilize both attacks on the mouse pad, Is I hotkey Shotgun Blast to the "Z" key (or your hotkey 1). Now what you are going to do (for the sake of convenience) is place Rifle Shot to the "Left-Alt" key (or your hotkey 2). This allows you to switch back and forth between these attacks as deemed necessary by your situation and placement on the battlefield. This also helps you to keep track of which keys are going to control what and helps you to memorize their position so you don't have to look down at the keyboard and possibly risk giving up your position and getting into deep trouble.

Pretty cool, right? It is and I must say it feels very Frank Castle like, to be able to switch between these two attacks as seamlessly as you like. Now on to placing your other keys, but I must stress again, "you place these at your own discretion and play-style preference."

A key- Ziggurat of Kargul
S key- Invisible Proc (gained from Loki Ring) or use something else you feel comfortable with if you can't acquire the ring
D key- Proximity Mine
F key- Chemical Mine
G key- Flamethrower Blast
H key- Explosive Rocket

Left Click (1)- Shotgun Blast
Right Click- Deadly Barrage
Left Click (2)- Rifle Shot
Left Click (3)- Armor Piercing Shot
Left Click (4) Lock n Load

Again this is utilizing the default key settings in Marvel Heroes; you may change these based on your playstyle.

This method takes some getting used to and will take time to master. Once you get used to it, you will notice seamless transition between tactical gunfire and trap-setting.

WHY I CHOSE THE SKILLS I CHOSE

I use the 2 points in flamethrower for DPS stacking. I get 5400 + 2000 damage from that and I use it at 1 second bursts. I use this function in conjunction with Chemical Mines, which as you can see from my screen shots is at level 15, which provide me with a ton of damage for as long as the duration lasts. I have maxed Shotgun Blast and it's at level 35.

All this DPS stacks on each other, because I'm not resetting the abilities. So in order it's Proximity Mine>Chemical Mine>Flamethrower/Explosive Rocket>Shotgun Blast (this routine is mostly for elites and bosses).

DB at 40 will clear any and all trash so there are no issues with screen clearing. I don't need to put too many points in sticky mine, because tenacity is broken on bosses, so there's no point. At max chemical mine, which for me is like 20 overall, I retain all the capabilities of the power, without wasting too many points, where not needed. Flamethrower and Explosive Rocket provide plenty of DOT for Punisher, although Explosive Rocket can pretty much clear entire screens now in one click/push of a button and is an amazing utility when facing bosses/elites/champions as it absolutely nukes their health; 100,000 crits on ER is a normality now.

GEAR

This guide is very, very gear based and may turn some people off. For a long time I was without all three of Punisher's uniques, so I just had "Old Painless" and "The Whole Nine Yards." These will be vital (though this should be common sense to players by now) to utilizing this build. Cosmics do work as well, as long as they service your main assault skills in Shotgun Blast, Rifle Shot, Deadly Barrage, Explosive Rocket, Flamethrower Blast, and Chemical Mine. You will also want to find gear that gives boosts to Pain Tolerance and Driven by Vengeance. The perfect item to get that offers pluses to all these powers is Tactigon, which now nerfed, due to the changes to vulnerability, is still insanely effective, due to the scaling it provides for various powers. Now that powers scale better with levels, Tactigon still retains its effectiveness.

photo Gear2_zps477433dc.png

Here's a look at my gear with Tactigon equipped. (pretty eye opening)

photo Tactigon_zpsf4d65b3e.png" alt="" />

That's quite an improvement If I do say so.

Of course other gear is required to fully complete this build, so it will take some hard work, but this build is truly all about the journey. I've set up some screenshots below of what my build looks like fully geared.

Here's what my build looks like fully geared:

photo Punisherguide_zps8687822b.png" alt="" />

Medals: You will have a choice between Grim Reaper's Medal (for the brutal crit bonuses and life regeneration upon kill and spirit conservation) or Doc Oc Medal (for the increased range, crit rating, and damage rating.

Insignia: I still haven't truly decided on which ones I prefer, but I really love the potential of Insignia of Penance, because of it's added damage when you fall below a certain amount of health, which synergizes well with the Punisher. Still haven't decided on the perfect insignia for Frank, but currently I am using the Citizen V insignia with critical damage.

For more practical purposes, I'd suggest picking up Quake Insignia for a multitude of reasons: Such as, the damage rating to AOE attack, brutal rating, and ranged damage rating.

Artifacts: My main artifacts of choice are, Power Prism Shard, Xeregen Crystal (these two are the easiest to come by), Hand of Doom, Flames of Faltline, Advanced Metasensory Array, Hulkbuster Munitions, and Superheroic Motion Tracker. The cool thing about my build as it is now, is that i can interchange artifacts at will without losing any perks to my build, because it is so versatile. Another intriguing artifact of choice would be Blinding Brazier of Balthakk, due to it's bonuses to burning targets and the heavy focus on Flamethrower and DPS stacking in this build; I think it fits in nicely with the theme of my build.

Blessings

This has been a fun project for Frank and I'm closing in on my very last blessing for Punisher. As it stands, I have gone with X2 Hela, X1 Loki and finally I'll end with Baldur.

I'll explain why I chose the ones I chose now.

Hela- This is really a no brainer for most Punisher builds (if they feel the need to journey into blessings). With that said, I don't recommend going with a full set of Hela, as not only is it not very creative, this limits your versatility as there are some very attractive blessings for Frank, assuming you know what you are doing with your build. I decided to stop at X2 Hela, because I feel that 25% Brutal Rating is plenty and any higher is really venturing deep into diminishing returns and at that point you are crippling your builds' efficiency.

Loki- With Black Widow's synergy and Killer Instinct and Loki Ring (PVP) that's pretty much all you need to synergize this blessing and I assure you it's entirely legit and effective. The invisible proc is especially nice and procs quite often (due to the sustained procs on most of Frank's powers). Get this blessing, enjoy it; only one is needed.

Baldur-

photo OMG_zps6258734a.png

Even without Tactigon this Blessing is just phenomenal for Frank. WITH TACTIGON...dear lord in heaven. 25% Damage Bonus + 51% damage from Tactigon = Where have you been all my life?

There truly isn't much more needed to be said, besides the fact it's also going to synergize with Pain Tolerance, due to it also adding a chance to ignore projectiles. This is a must have if you are considering blessings for your Punisher.

Here's all my artifacts-blessed.

photo Gear5_zps3091eb22.png

Here, take a look at my gear setup!

photo Punisherguide1_zps488c496a.png" alt="" />

photo gear1_zps8ee5c3da.png" alt="My gear and stats" />

MY NEW BASE STATS

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photo CritandBrutal_zps7892b3c3.png" alt="" />

photo NUKE_zpsb8846760.png" alt="" />

Punisher's new unique is simply remarkable and not only does it make Explosive Rocket a must have in any Punisher build, it also boosts the bowers Flechette Blast, Mines and Deadly Barrage, and even Flamethrower Blast to very respectable degrees. With the added radius supplied by the unique, Punisher's Deadly Barrage reaches waaaay off screen, Flechette Blast pretty acquires Deadly Barrage's base radius and Flamethrower get's some added range as well. It's simply beautiful to behold and this is easily Frank's best unique yet.

Did I forget to mention he NUKES the entire screen? Yea, he does that.

Enjoy.

As you can see, my build is pretty well off and yours can be too if you dedicate yourself to the Punisher and focus on mastering his craft.

Note: I only have the Advanced Crimson Crystal equipped because it looks badass on FrankenCastle.

Now core affixes are a pretty easy fix: Critical Hit, Critical Hit, Critical Rating, Critical Hit.. For me personally, I use a life leech core along with my crit focused build.That pretty much sums it up. It's up to you to roll the best affixes.

PVP

photo PVPrecord_zps8ae64cc4.png" alt="" />

That's a look at my record in PVP, so with that said, I have a wealth of knowledge in regards to using Frank in PVP and now I am going to share it with the Punisher community and Punisher enthusiasts alike. There is a learning curve to using
Frank effectively in PVP endeavors, but I assure you it can be done and can be done respectfully.

First, I'll share with you the build for PVP (coincidentally, it's only got one minor difference to my PVE guide, in that I used the extra point gained from opening Asgard and placed it into Lock n Load).

photo Tactigon_zpsf4d65b3e.png" alt="" />

Although once builds are separated between PVE and PVP (meaning we have access to two separate builds and can choose them respectively when we so desire), then there will be even more changes made, primarily a heavy investment into Killer Instinct.

PVP is quite a bit different this time around though, as there are various strategies set in place before you to succeed. Let's start with Runestones. Runestones are the primary currency in PVP matches and are spent to acquire particular buffs that suit your playstyle that can only be active in PVP and last throughout the entire match, even upon death, so it's important to collect as many of these as possible. There are many choices to be made as to which buffs you will want active for your character, but I find the most effective buffs to use are the damage buffs (these can be stacked and scale better with powers than other offensive runes) and the critical damage buff (this is still a viable option), Critical Rating buff (this cannot be stacked) and the Health Regeneration rune. Keep in mind Runestones are a vital component to succeeding in PVP and spending them wisely is of utmost importance. My main route is to go x3 damage buffs and then x2 critical damage buffs with some defensive buffs applied, if I have anything left over after I have prepare myself with these buffs.

The next route to learn in tactics and placement in combat, which is vitally important, because there are cooldowns on the skills Chemical Mine and Quick Escape (I believe each is a 10 second cooldown), so you must use these powers wisely once you are engaged in combat. Your best choice of action is sticking behind a couple of members and as they attract the attention of other PVP participants, let off a few shots of Armor Piercing Shot, as these can sometimes be killshots and award you a quick kill or kills and this skill has no cooldown, so it's pretty handy in PVP. Keep in mind these are true skillshots as you are fighting other Players of varying skill levels and experiences that have the same goal in mind, so a kill via APS is a sweet, sweet success. Whenever you are not engaged in combat or are outside of the range of most participants, I highly advise using APS as your go to move, most times players don't realize they have been struck and continue to fight, completely unaware that the next shot will be a finishing blow.

Sometimes combat brings itself to you and you are forced into close range encounters (most times with Spiderman or Collosus) and this is where things become more about prepared output, rather than DPS, as each hero is as wildly prepared as you are and most times stronger. This is where my 3 basic hotkey idea comes into play, whereas you will be using Flechette Blast and Rifle Shot and Armor Piercing Shot. Here's the setup:

Left Mouseclick 1 (Z key) - Shotgun Blast
Left Mouseclick 2 (Left Alt) - Rifle Shot
Left Mouseclick 3 (Spacebar) - Armor Piercing Shot
Left Mouseclick 4 (Q Key)- Lock n Load

This setup is going to be tandem with Chemical Mine and Flamethrower Blast and Flechette Blast, as with Chemical Mine it has a cooldown, so once that cooldown activates, you will then activate the abilities Flamethrower Blast and Flashbang, finishing off with Shotgun Blast or Deadly Barrage. Here's the rotation.

Chemical Mine>Flamethrower Blast or Shotgun Blast> Flashbang> Shotgun Blast or Flamethrower Blast> Explosive Rocket (for burst damage)> Chemical Mine (rinse repeat)

What this rotation does is give you extra time to stack as much damage as possible, incapacitate your opponent and give you ample time to place yourself and finish off the opposing player with Explosive Rocket or Armor Piercing Shot.

When fighting the less sturdy heroes like Storm, Hawkeye, Cyclops, etc...You can use Deadly Barrage on casters as its range is greatly expanded with items like Power Prism Shard and Doc Oc's medal. At rank 40 and 5200 twice per second, this ability is a sleeper in PVP, although if you have a good shot, I suggest initiating fire with APS. Due to the effectiveness of APS, I have decided to invest more heavily into Killer Instinct for PVP purpose as most times when you are firing APS, you are clearly outside of the range of opponents, making this a very viable passive for PVP purposes. Due to Deadly Barrage also having the capability to fire off screen, Killer Instinct is amazing for this skill as well.

In short, PICK UP KILLER INSTINCT!

PVP Gear

Ring- Signet of Loki is ideal for this build and the CC breaker is a breath of fresh air, not to mention the amazing bonus damage delt to players (5%) AND the added damage to targets not attacking you or unaware targets.

A new addition to this build is the artifact Ziggurat of Kargul, as the cooldown on Punisher's quick escape is frustrating and the range in which he rolls is very slight, this is a nice replacement, even with the added cooldown). Let's not foget to mention the added critical rating and damage it offers. This is an ideal addition and will serve many functions and will save your life more often than not.

Now I have a lot of work to do here, so for the time being I don't have much to offer besides getting the Blessing of Hela on your artifacts (x3 at least) and the Blessing of Loki (for Invisibility proc).

Tactigon is of primary importance in PVP due to its amazing procs and the damage vulnerability it adds. This is a must find & use!

Legendaries will be particularly important too, but alas, I have yet to acquire one, hopefully I will, but by that time PVP will be greatly balanced.

As I continue to update this thread, I'll do so for both PVE purposes and PVP purposed and with that I'll include a better description of what gear to acquire and which PVP ring would be best suited to Frank.

As I have continued to learn the ins and outs of the new PVP, my build has evolved more towards PVP endeavors and there a few new changes to keep in mind. I will no longer be using Flashbang Grenade on the 3rd Hotkey and have switched to Armor Piercing Shot, so that I can readily activate this when I'm outside of range of opposing players. At maximum range I've totaled crits well over 150,000 and these crits send those pigs running for the hills, especially Jean Greys. I love the new tactical line up of Shotgun Blast, Rifle Shot and Armor Piercing Shot and using them at the ready. A new weapon is also introduced into my PVP build and that is Punisher's unique "Sword Gun." The procs on this weapon are amazing when fighting players and the dps stacking is insanity.

I'll continue updating this as I come across new opponents, legendaries, blessing and uniques/cosmics.

Here is a taste of what my build is capable of in a PVP match.

photo PVP_zpsad576c6b.png" alt="" />

Thanks for reading my PVP guide, I hope this helps those that struggle to be effective in PVP with Frank and help them to realize his utmost potential.

The journey is the best part about this build and if you dedicate yourself to this guide and tailor it around your playstyle, all the hard work will eventually pay off. This build is the sum of many, many separate builds that preceded it and my history with Punisher and tallying over 800 hours alone into the character (i've had him since June). I've seen it all with Frank and used every possible build out there. I've tailored this build around the many elements of other builds out there and my own experiences. I hope you enjoy the same success I have with my build. I am certainly happy to be back in the mix and offer my insight into the human arsenal and badass vigilante that is Frank Castle.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask them in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer them. I promise the guide will not become as cluttered as my previous one. Anytime there is an update to the guide, I will offer ample explanation as to why I made the change and I assure you, I will make sure it flows with the rest of the text!

Godspeed all!

-Scourm