Mordhau builds guide [Patch #7] - creating the best Mordhau character builds and loadouts
Is that a Throwing Axe in your pocket, or are you just pleased to see me?
Hopefully by now you'll have a decent understanding of combat, weaponry, and perks in Mordhau (and if you haven't, what are you doing here? Go read one of my other guides!). Now it's time to combine all this knowledge and discuss where to invest your 16 points in our Mordhau builds and loadouts guide, recently updated for Patch #7. Below I've created nine diverse and powerful builds, all of which can be used to great effect in a variety of different situations. I'll also provide a few tips to ensure that when you create your own character build from scratch, you'll have a couple of extra tricks up your sleeve.
I wasn't kidding about reading my other Mordhau guides, by the way. If you're looking for a broader understanding of the game, by all means check out our Mordhau guide, which is packed with useful tips and explanations, as well as links to all other areas of this expanding and in-depth guide series, covering everything from Mordhau weapons stats and advanced Mordhau melee combat tips to the different Mordhau game modes on offer and how to succeed in them.
Mordhau builds & loadouts guide
First we'll start with a brief overview of how to create a decent character build in Mordhau, before swiftly moving onto the nine example builds that form the bulk of this loadouts guide. If you're impatient to start cracking some skulls with your new uber-powerful build, then feel free to skip ahead to your loadout of choice using the links just below.
Mordhau builds - contents
Creating a Mordhau character build - some useful tips
If you've played or watched a game of Mordhau, you'll know that the game provides you with a selection of pre-made loadouts to try out, from the Spear-wielding Footman to the pesky ranged Huntsman. But the fun truly begins when you dispense with these boring default builds, and start to create your own.
While creating a new character, not only do you have the ability to customise their looks, voice type (and pitch), and physique, but you must also make some very important decisions regarding the gear and traits of your build. With each build you a given 16 points to spend on weapons, armour, and perks; you don't have to use all 16, but there's no benefit to using less, so you should always spend them all if you plan to make the strongest build possible.
Newcomers will generally pick their weapon first, before moving onto their armour type, and finally spending their remaining points (if they have them) on perks. But really, the priority should shift depending on what you want to create with this build. The most successful loadouts, I find, begin with one core idea, whether it's "I want a character with full Heavy Armour" or "I want a character with both Bloodlust and Dodge". Then you see what you can do with your remaining points in order to balance the character out as much as possible.
With regard to Armour, you can choose how to split your points into protecting the head, torso, and legs. Heavier Armour will make you more survivable, but decrease your overall movement speed. However, since it only affects movement speed and doesn't reduce the speed of your attacks in any way, it's often far better to clad yourself in heavier armour. Particularly if you're a newer player, I'd strongly advise investing at least 5 points into protecting everything above your waist.
As for the legs, you'll find that with most of the examples below I've put far more points into protecting the head and torso than I have into protecting the legs. And this is actually a very common notion in Mordhau. While there is definitely merit to protecting the legs (experienced players will identify weakly-armoured areas and aim their attacks there), the head and torso are far more important areas to cover.
1# - Team Fighting Build (Billhook, Bloodlust, 3/3/0)
- Weapons: Billhook (5)
- Perks: Bloodlust (5)
- Armour:
- Head: 3
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 0
This is my current loadout for team matches such as Frontline, Skirmish, and Team Deathmatch. It's extremely balanced, providing adequate protection alongside the extremely powerful Bloodlust perk and one of the best value-for-money weapons in Mordhau.
Yes, the Billhook is that good. If you haven't given it a proper try yet, allow me to convince you: for just 5 points, you get one of the longest-reaching weapons in the game (longer than a Greatsword or a Poleaxe), with great damage on both strikes and thrusts even against heavily armoured foes, some forgiving attack animations, and the unique ability to drag players around with your attacks. For 5 points! It's just ludicrous.
With Bloodlust and your trusty Billhook, you can tear through multiple opponents at once, while remaining protected by your 6 Armour points. The Billhook is also my weapon of choice for 1v1 duelling servers, and it's allowed me to defeat a great many Zweihander, Maul, Greatsword, Estoc, Poleaxe, Halberd, and Rapier users in my time. So it won't let you down there either. All in all this is a phenomenal and versatile build which you should seriously consider giving a try if you're not already doing so.
2# - Duellist Build (Messer, Dodge, Second Wind, 2/3/0)
- Weapons: Messer (5)
- Perks: Dodge (4), Second Wind (2)
- Armour:
- Head: 2
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 0
While I personally have given up on the Dodge perk because I don't need it anymore and can spend those 4 points elsewhere, there's no denying its power in a variety of circumstances - particularly 1v1 situations. Second Wind is also up there, as the other must-have perk for dedicated duellists thanks to its ability to help you win Stamina fights.
And that leaves us with just 10 points for our weaponry and armour. So how do we spend it? For duels, I'd always want at least a 2/3/0 statline on Armour. Which works out well, because it gives you 5 points for weapons - and it's my opinion that the 5 point weapons give you access to some of the best weapons in the game in terms of value for money.
I could very easily tell you to equip the Billhook again here, but the Messer is another excellent weapon, one that truly excels in duels thanks to its tricksome animations (particularly when dragging and acceling) and considerable damage values. The Messer is a fairly common weapon of choice on duelling servers, and for good reason. Just remember to always use it on one-handed mode, because it literally makes your attacks a little faster. Yes, it also slightly decreases the combo time of your strikes, but I'd take quicker attacks every time.
3# - Shield Build (Messer, Kite Shield, Dodge, 0/3/1)
- Weapons: Messer (5), Kite Shield (3)
- Perks: Dodge (4)
- Armour:
- Head: 0
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 1
This build is for those looking to confuse, frustrate, and decimate their enemies (in that order) with the help of a great big shield. The Kite Shield is my go-to piece of protective gear, as it is the largest in the game; it provides more Parry Drain Negation than its sibling, the Heater Shield; and you can hold block indefinitely with it, completely changing the rules of combat in Mordhau.
For tonnes of details on shield use and combating shields, take a look at our Mordhau shields guide - wherein I also explain that the Messer, with its fairly low cost, high damage, and curious animations (as explained above) is nearly always my choice of weapon to go alongside my shield. Which leaves us with 8 points to put into Armour and perks.
Here, I opt for the perk-heavy option and pick up the 4-cost Dodge, because this adds another game-changer to your repertoire of moves. I mean, let's be honest: 95% of the playerbase will expect a Kite Shield-user to just stand there and block, not to suddenly dodge back while they wind up a thrust into your face. Your aim with this build is to take advantage of players who don't know how to handle shields, and to prepare yourself for all the usual moves that counter shields (kicks especially - which is another reason why the Dodge perk is so useful).
4# - Horseback Build (Spear, Friendly, 2/3/0)
- Weapons: Spear (10)
- Perks: Friendly (1)
- Armour:
- Head: 2
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 0
For the horse-lovers out there, I've prepared the above build, which despite its simplicity is extremely effective (I'd go so far as to say unmatched) when it comes to going around on a horse in Camp or Grad. The core of this build is of course the Spear, a very expensive weapon but one which provides the longest reach of any melee weapon in Mordhau. It's simply the best weapon to use when riding on horseback, because as long as you can control your horse and aim your attacks, you'll almost always hit your opponent first, even if they see you coming and prepare their own attack.
I've also added the Friendly perk, because even with the greatest riding skills in the world, in larger team matches you'll inevitably find yourself trampling some of your teammates. As for Armour, there's an argument to be made about putting those points into torso and legs rather than torso and helmet, because while on horseback you're a little more likely to be hit in your legs. And you can certainly feel free to make this change.
The reason I haven't is because I like this build to work well on foot as well as on horseback - and not just that, but this loadout is also the best you're gonna find when it comes to dealing with enemies on horseback. Yes, the Billhook is great thanks to its ability to pull them off their horse, but good players will always hit you first thanks to the extended reach of the Spear. Hence the Spear. But anyway, that's why I put the remaining points into the helmet rather than the legs: because you won't always be on a horse, and while on foot (and especially when facing an enemy rider) it's far better to protect your face.
5# - Archer Build (Longbow, Arming Sword, Huntsman, Ranger, 0/1/0)
- Weapons: Longbow (11), Arming Sword (2)
- Perks: Huntsman (1), Ranger (1)
- Armour:
- Head: 0
- Torso: 1
- Legs: 0
I must confess that I focus on melee builds far more than archery builds, but the above is still a great solution if you're wondering where to spend your remaining 5 points after you've purchased your phenomenally expensive Longbow. First, you'll need a melee weapon for when enemies get too close. There are a few 1-cost weapons that could do the trick - the Dagger, the Short Sword, the Cleaver, the Quarterstaff - but I prefer to spend one extra point to pick up the Arming Sword, which gives you slightly higher reach and damage.
After that... Well, prior to Patch #7, I'd have put 2 of my remaining 3 points into Ranger, which is just an absolute must-have in my opinion for archery builds. But now Patch #7 has released and brought both the Ranger and Huntsman Perks down to 1 point cost. Happy days! Let's add both. For more details on everything that's changed with Patch #7, check out our Mordhau patch notes/future content guide.
And that leaves a single point left, which we should always put on chest armour. The torso is always the most important thing to protect, because it's where you'll be hit by far the most often in Mordhau. It's not much, but it'll often prevent you from dying in a single hit. And archers aren't really meant to be heavily armoured.
6# - Viking/"Drag-Lord" Build (War Axe, Bloodlust, 2/3/1)
- Weapons: War Axe (5)
- Perks: Bloodlust (5)
- Armour:
- Head: 2
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 1
This is another extremely powerful build, but not one I use very often because I consider it a very "one-trick-pony" loadout. I've seen it referred to as the "Viking" build, but I always call it the "Drag-Lord" build, because that's exactly what it's good for. In large team matches, if you've got the hang of applying massive and misleading drags to your War Axe swings, you can carve a path through multiple enemies at once with this loadout.
Many people would prefer to pick up the Maul thanks to its guaranteed one-shot-to-the-head ability; but the War Axe does pretty much the same thing for 2 fewer points. Beware that its thrust damage is pitifully low, but you won't often be thrusting anyway. Your whole thing is running around like a headless chicken, weaving in and out of melee range just in time to land some devastating blows on your opponents. Bloodlust will help you to persevere in the 1vX scenarios you'll often find yourself in; and picking the War Axe over the Maul allows you to spend those extra points into a very respectable 2/3/1 (or 3/3/0 if you desire) Armour statline.
I've seen some absolutely fantastic players making good use of this exact loadout to devastate the enemy team and put themselves at the top of the leaderboard by quite a margin. Success is not guaranteed, but if you know what you're doing it can make for a very fun and very bloody time.
7# - Scavenger Build (Quarterstaff, Scavenger, Bloodlust, 3/3/3)
- Weapons: Quarterstaff (1)
- Perks: Bloodlust (5), Scavenger (1)
- Armour:
- Head: 3
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 3
Ladies and gentlemen, the ultimate Scavenger build. This makes for a very fun time indeed, provided you're decent without an excellent weapon. The whole point of Scavenger is to make your enemies drop their gear upon dying so you can make use of it instead. Which means, if you best that guy with a Zweihander, suddenly that 10-cost weapon is yours, and all you needed was a 1-cost perk.
This build pushes that strategy to the absolute extreme by investing all your points into Bloodlust and the heaviest of Armour. With the cost of Scavenger taken into account, this leaves you with just 1 point for your weapon. Personally I think it's always down to either the Short Sword or the Quarterstaff. The Short Sword is slightly faster and deals slightly more damage against lightly armoured foes, while the Quarterstaff has a much better reach and is a better defensive weapon thanks to its stamina values. Which is why I give the edge to the Quarterstaff.
With this build, all you need to do is find (or best someone with) a Zweihander or a Halberd, or any other weapon you desire; and suddenly you're the equivalent of a character worth 25+ points. It's great fun, and it's also an excellent way to quickly learn a variety of different Mordhau weapons.
8# - Zweihander Build (Zweihander, 2/3/1)
- Weapons: Zweihander (10)
- Perks: N/A
- Armour:
- Head: 2
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 1
Ah, the Zweihander. The favourite weapon of what appears to be a majority of Mordhau's playerbase thanks to its high damage, long reach, and its excellent drags and accels. Plus, if the weapon's slowness really is too much for you, you can always switch to the alt-attack mode for a quicker but shorter weapon (though even in this mode it's still a long-reaching weapon).
The question is, how do you make a good build with your 6 remaining points after you've purchased the Zweihander? Everyone will tell you something different, but personally my solution is this: don't pick up any perks. The only perk I'd consider taking would be Bloodlust, but that's 5 out of your 6 points gone, leaving just 1 for Armour.
I'd prefer to simply place all 6 of my points on Armour, because if you know what you're doing with the Zweihander you can reach the top of the leaderboard without the need for Bloodlust or any other perk. If you wanted to pick up a small 1-cost perk like Friendly or Tenacious, you can always get rid of that 1 point on your legs; but overall this provides a very balanced and powerful Zweihander build for those struggling to make one.
9# - Thrower Build (Short Spear, Javelin, Throwing Axe, Friendly, 2/3/1)
- Weapons: Short Spear (4), Javelin (3), Throwing Axe (2)
- Perks: Friendly (1)
- Armour:
- Head: 2
- Torso: 3
- Legs: 1
I created this build just for a bit of fun to be completely honest, but actually it's a surprisingly decent and balanced build in most situations. The core, of course, is the selection of throwables with which you can wreak havoc unexpectedly from a distance. The newly added Javelin is definitely the most powerful throwable we've had so far in Mordhau, so you've gotta throw that in for a bit of fun, bolstered by two Throwing Axes so you can really ruin someone's day. I've also added the Friendly perk, just in case you have a bad day where your aim is off and you keep embedding your axes into the backs of your teammates' heads.
The Short Spear is your main weapon because it's actually a really versatile and fantastic weapon for just 4 points - and because it's throwable as a last resort if you've run out of everything else. And because it costs so little, you can afford to give yourself a really decent 2/3/1 or 3/3/0 Armour statline. If you wanted you could trade in a point or two to swap out your Short Spear for something like the Estoc (a fantastic sword, by the way). But to be honest, the Short Spear really is a great weapon in its own right; long-reaching, quick, and with very powerful thrust damage.
I think that should be enough to give you an idea of how to go about creating some of the best, most powerful character builds in Mordhau. And now that I've written this guide, whenever I see someone in-game playing one of these builds I'll be able to say "hey, look! I'm an influencer!" Not that that was secretly the whole reason behind this guide or anything. No sir.