In this Code Vein Build Guide we’ll explore just exactly how you make the Judgement’s Shadow Build, which is Two-Handed Sword DPS Build that can kill just about anything in a single stroke, all without being seen. How do you get the most from your Weapons, Blood Veils, your Blood Code, and your Gifts? Well that’s exactly what we’re going to cover, and how they all fit together to create the Judgement’s Shadow Build.

Code Vein Builds: Judgement’s Shadow (Hades)

The Judgement’s Shadow Build is a combination of Buffs that all stack together to get extraordinary damage in a single swing, killing targets instantly. In addition, it prevents you from being seen, allowing you to take out targets right in front of the face of other enemies without drawing aggro. This Build is intended to get you through levels easily, and is effective on Bosses, just to a lesser degree.

Judgement’s Shadow Blood Codes

There are several Two-Handed type Blood Codes in Code Vein, and you won’t begin the game with them all. In this section I’ll discuss which Blood Codes to use while you are working your way to your final destination: Hades. First up is the most obvious one: Fighter.

Fighter

Fighters have B+ Scaling in Strength and B in Dexterity making them a good choice early on. They also have a decent amount of Ichor at 16, allowing them to cast more buffs than either Berserker or Atlas. However, you will need Gifts from both of those Blood Codes, so consider using them for a short while to master the Gifts needed there.

Prometheus

Once you have access to Prometheus you’ll see an increase in just about all your Scaling, and your Ichor will increase to 20, which will help with buffing. Mind Scaling isn’t ideal here, because Mind will affect nearly every buff you use, but it isn’t terrible. It also has one of the best stat spreads in the game, so take advantage of it.

Hades

Hades has some of the best Strength Scaling of any Blood Code, but will not do quite as much damage per swing as Prometheus all said an done. This is because you will not quite be able to meet the Mind requirements for Bridge to Glory, which will take about 10% off your per hit number. However, it will allow you to use Flashing Fang, so that you can get superb one shot damage against harder to kill foes. It also means that you have one less buff to worry about, simplifying the build a bit.

Judgment’s Shadow Blood Veils

Blood Veils play a very important role in the effectiveness of Gifts. Your Blood Code and Blood Veil work together to determine how strong your buffs are, with your Weapon having no impact here. When selecting a Blood Veil be sure to look for ones that grant a higher overall Light Gift value, or one that provides decent protection.

For end game I strongly suggest using the White Vestment as it will buff your Light Gift damage quite a bit and has exceptional Defense. Noble Silver would be even better, but you won’t meet the requirements for it with this setup unfortunately.

Judgement’s Shadow Weapons

For this Build you’re going to want to use a Two-Handed Sword of some kind, dealing maximum damage with each swing. You’ll often be able to one-shot enemies, even harder ones if you are properly buffed. Zweihander is good early on as it doesn’t have great scaling, and Prometheus doesn’t have amazing Strength Scaling. You’ll eventually want to get Judgement Edge, this weapon hits the hardest out of any I tested, and works well for this Build because it takes advantage of Hades’ very high Strength Scaling.

Make sure to Fortify your weapon with an Atlas Chrome to increase its damage even further. You’re already going to be overweight, so it’s not an issue. You don’t need to worry about speed here, just making sure things die in one hit.

Judgement’s Shadow Gifts

Gifts play a vital part of any Build, but even more so in a build that relies heavily upon them, like this one. There are a number of excellent Light Gifts, many of which are defensive, however for this Build, we’ll focus primarily on the offensive ones.

Gifts initially can only be used with the Blood Code that they are part of, but as you use them in combat you will “master” them, and then you can use them with any Blood Code. There are both passive and active Gifts, and I’ll cover which are good in both categories for a Judgement’s Shadow Build. You can only have 4 Passive Gifts equipped at one time, and 8 Active. Let’s begin with the recommended Passives first:

Judgement’s Shadow Passive Gifts

• Survival Instinct – This passive increases your damage if you are under 50% Health. It works here because you aren’t anticipating being struck.
• Two-Handed Sword Mastery – This passive will buff your Sword’s damage so slot it and use it.
• Strength/Dexterity Up – This passive helps get your Scaling to S and your weapon scales slightly off Dexterity as well.
• Strength Up – Any other Strength Up passive works to get you all the way to S+.

Judgement’s Shadow Active Gifts

• Adrenaline – This will boost your damage per swing modestly for a modest amount of time. It’s good early on, but not as great later.
• Overdrive – A great Gift that boosts damage for you and your companion until you are struck. Don’t get hit, and you gain extra damage!
• Blood Sacrifice – You’ll need this to stack buffs because this is a very Ichor hungry Build. Use it when necessary to gain more Ichor.
• Flashing Fang – This Gift will give you about 3x the damage of Blow of Madness, so you want to use this one first if you don’t have much Ichor.
• Blow of Madness – Does the same thing as Flashing Fang, it’s just much less effective. Use this earlier on in the game if you can’t use Flashing Fang to kill harder enemies.
• Gift Extension – It increases the duration of your buffs by 50%, and since we use a lot, it comes in handy.
• Night Fog Veil – This is the Gift that brings the whole build together. You wont get it until you defeat Successor of the Throat, so it’ll be awhile. However, once you get it, this Build is all but complete.

Judgement’s Shadow Code Vein Build – Final Tips

Make sure you keep Night Fog Veil up at all times! You can’t be seen by enemies that you are not attacking easily with it on, even if you’re standing and fighting right in front of them. Be sure to wait for it to recharge before heading into a hostile area with more than one enemy, so that you can get the drop on them and not have an “oh shit” moment when it wears off mid fight.

You’ll need to master a ton of Gifts to use this Build, so start doing this as you make your way to Hades. Either use items to bypass the XP needed or use them and get there quickly, but spend some time to get them either way. This Build is much more effective with all its parts, and you may struggle otherwise.

Even though it seems like this Build is an Ichor hog, which it is, you gain tons of Ichor from smashing enemies in the face unchecked. You should have more than enough to keep your buffs up, and still use some Skill Gifts along the way.

Be sure to keep your HP under 50% once you gain the Survival Instinct passive, as this will help boost your damage. Since you shouldn’t be getting hit, there is very little risk involved.

Lastly, consider using Queenslaver and Final Glory for Boss fights, as this is not a strong point of this Build. By doing so you will boost your damage even further, and this should help you down Bosses much more easily. Also, swap out Survival Instinct for Swift Destruction when doing so. This will boost your damage without having to keep your HP low.

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Stay tuned for more Code Vein Build Guides and be sure to check out our Getting Started Guide if you have basic questions or confusions about the game! We also have a Code Vein Scaling Guide that explains how it works.

Visit the Code Vein Wiki, check out our Code Vein Review, or read the Bayonetta Overdrive Build, Queen’s Gambit Build, Dark Mage Pure Caster Build, Silver Spellblade Build or  “Immortal Blade” Tank Build for Code Vein.