Vortex Gaming

· With the December 10th patch, Rush Mayhem's cooldown reduction mechanic was completely changed, and its mana consumption was reduced.
· Previously, the goal was 1 Red Dust 1 Rush by reducing Rush's cooldown by 2 seconds with normal skills, but after the patch, Rush's cooldown increased by 9 seconds while its one-shot damage increased.
· Theoretically, the ceiling was lowered, but the floor significantly increased, showing decent performance in actual combat despite a lower training room tier.
· In the February 26th balance patch, Mayhem's overall tier was buffed, and the Red Dust buff mechanic was eased.
· In particular, Dark Power, the core of Rush Mayhem, received a buff, increasing the path duration by 1.5 seconds per skill use, effectively removing the Red Dust 'shackle'.
· These changes have established Rush Mayhem as currently the most major and highest-performing build in real combat.

· Rush Mayhem uses the Tide, Moon, and Star cores, with all effects related to Dark Rush's damage and convenience.
· It's recommended to acquire core legendary books all at once to avoid duplication, but if done sequentially, proceed in the order of Tide → Moon → Star.
· The 17-point effect of Dark Power, the Tide core, is crucial as it makes Dark Rush always hit as a back attack.
· The Star core, Frenzy, must be activated even at heroic grade to gain increased Dark Rush cast speed and reduced Red Dust mana consumption.
· Engravings include Grudge, Master's Tenacity, and Ambush Master. Since Dark Rush, the main damage skill, always triggers as a back attack, Ambush Master is essential.
· You can conveniently apply engravings, Ark Passives, tripods, gems, and runes using the skill code shared in the video description.

· Ark Passives can be chosen from Optimized Training, Moonlit Gate, or Shadow Step nodes based on preference.
· It's important to prioritize cooldown nodes as long as your cooldown ratio doesn't drop, as seen in your combat analysis.
· Shadow Step can be understood as a node that increases DPS rather than one-shot damage.
· Optimized Training, Moonlit Gate, and Shadow Step all have roughly a 1-3% difference, so choose a DPS node that fits your manageable cooldown.
· Personally, I recommend using Moonlit Gate and also taking Optimized Training.
· If you use Moonlit Gate, aim for about 80% non-burst critical hit rate in town to achieve Moonlit Gate's maximum efficiency of 120% crit rate.
· When selecting skills, you must exclude Sword Storm as Dark Rush requires two additional gems.
· Instead, it's powerful to include Tempest and Power Break, which have short cooldowns and don't require cooldown gems, by adding one 'Overwhelm' rune to each.
· For Tempest's tripods, the damage difference between Whirlwind and Storm Slash is minimal, so choose based on preference.
· For Shoulder Charge, I highly recommend taking the 'Quick Prep' tripod to secure a short cooldown of 5-6 seconds. Shoulder Charge is one of Lost Ark's best movement skills.
· If you don't utilize Shoulder Charge well, you can lower it to level 1 and invest skill points into Red Dust and Mountain Crash, but using Shoulder Charge at level 7 is recommended.

· Choosing the instant tripod for Overdrive results in approximately a 1% reduction in overall damage.
· In the past, the instant tripod was recommended to increase cooldown ratio, but now with Red Dust's 'shackle' eased, the charge tripod is also a viable consideration.
· Among NA Mayhem users, the Overdrive charge tripod is dominant, and using it allows for similar cooldown ratios and back attack hit rates.
· Both instant and charge options are valid, so it's best to choose based on personal preference.
· The damage cycle is very simple. Apply synergy with Red Dust, activate Path buff and Fate, then use skills in order of highest damage contribution and DPS: Rush → Bloodlust → Overdrive → Tempest → Power Break.
· The order of Overdrive, Tempest, and Power Break can be freely adjusted based on back attack hit success and positioning.
· Power Break has a long animation lock, but using another skill immediately after can cancel it. So, it's usually best to use Tempest → Power Break, or follow Power Break with Mountain Crash to cancel the animation lock.
· The Path buff increases by 1.5 seconds with each skill use, maintaining almost infinitely, so there's no need to be overly conscious of it.
· Red Dust must be used before Rush to activate the Fate buff and refresh synergy, so it's important to use it off cooldown.
· Rush and Bloodlust have the highest damage contribution, so focus on landing these two skills reliably.
· As Ambush Master is used, practice maintaining back position using Spacebar, Shoulder Charge, Overdrive, Finish Strike, Hell Blade, etc., to continuously secure back attacks.

· Based on recent experience clearing the Final Curtain The First raid with Rush Mayhem, Dark Rush's damage contribution was very high.
· In sections like Final Curtain Gate 2, where damage must be forcibly paused, Rush Mayhem's cooldown mechanic synergized with raid event timings, leading to an even higher damage contribution from Dark Rush.
· Especially in Gate 2-3, even when prioritizing skill usage over back attack positioning, Dark Rush, which always applies back attack, dominated the damage.
· Bloodlust also consistently holds a high damage share in all Mayhem Berserker builds, so it's important to pay attention to Bloodlust's cooldown ratio and back attack hit rate.
· At current specs, Dark Rush's maximum damage is around 10 billion, and Bloodlust's is around 7 billion. Now, Dark Rush's single hit damage is much higher than Bloodlust's, making it more satisfying to see.
· Looking at NA metrics, Mayhem was slightly below mid-tier before the patch, but after the patch, Mayhem significantly climbed, positioning itself above Technique.
· The metrics show that this patch meaningfully buffed Mayhem's floor and overall tier.
· In the training room, the tier relative to combat power is approximately 0.9x for Rush Mayhem (111), 0.95x for 222 Mayhem, and 0.8-0.85x for 333 Mayhem.
· In the past, 333 Mayhem was considered good because it removed the Red Dust 'shackle', but now with Red Dust easing and tier buffs, 111 Rush Mayhem is evaluated as the best build.
· While 222 Mayhem has the highest training room tier, it's difficult to manage cooldowns in actual combat, making 111 Rush Mayhem the highest-performing build in real situations.
· Indeed, 111 Rush Mayhem has become completely dominant among NA players.
· Lost Ark demonstrates that even if a build has a high theoretical ceiling or tier, the build that can raise its floor and maintain a high cooldown ratio in actual combat is the most powerful.

· Rush Mayhem (111) is currently the highest-performing Mayhem build in real combat.
· Its objective pure tier is relatively low at about 0.9x, but it's a build that can convert its 'real combat ratio' (damage ratio achieved in actual play) exceptionally well.
· This often leads to it surpassing classes with theoretically better tiers in actual combat.
· Compared to Technique Berserker, while Technique has a much higher tier, Mayhem can always overtake it if Technique makes a single mistake.
· Although the lack of significant playstyle changes is a bit disappointing, the satisfaction of Rush's one-shot damage, very comfortable gameplay, and a decent increase in tier make the Rush Mayhem build highly recommended.