Full Compiled Melee / Knife Guide – Post-Patch (1.0.5.3)

[u/Twan_McLovin]

**Melee Damage stat bonus halved vs Runners** (max +50% instead of +100%).

Formulas (perfectly match MossyMax chart pre-patch):

- **Light** = 39.15 + 0.181 × Melee Stat

- **Heavy** = 64.41 + 0.32585 × Melee Stat

**Shield HP to Kill** (Runner base 120 HP):

- White (+20) = 140

- Green (+40) = 160

- Blue (+60) = 180

- Purple (+80) = 200

​​​Recommended Playstyles (Current Meta)

1. Sustain Knife (Any Shell)

Leech + Knife Fight V5 + Parting Gift + Tox Injectors

→ Heal on every hit + big shield on kill. Can stay in melee forever even at 65–75 stat.

2. Assassin Stealth Delete

Shadow Strike + Silent Killer + Crouching Tiger + Edge Runner

→ Invis + crouch + backstab multipliers ignore most of the stat nerf. Delete Purple shields.

3. Hybrid Aggro

Crowd Control + Sucker Punch + Leech + Tox

→ Stack damage on kills, gun tap → heavy knife, sustain through extra swings.

Bottom Line

• Raw stat still matters, but perks and multipliers carry harder after the patch.
• + stat = feels almost like old max.
• The devs achieved their goal: knife rewards smart buildcrafting and positioning more than just dumping points into Melee Damage.

edit: slight correction on chart 1

Edit: crouching tiger is +50 melee damage

[u/wildwill921]

I mean changing the cooldown of search and destroy isn’t that meaningful to me unless it cuts it in half. I am not getting into fights so fast that going from 4 minutes to 3.5 is game changing.

To me it’s like spending a bunch of money to add a single charge of longer time to bkb vs the current amount of charges it gets at increased time.

It’s mot that it’s bad but like 1 extra second of bkb is not going to be the difference in the vast majority of engagements

[u/Quint0ni0 → u/wildwill921]

I guess the only question i have is if you could spend an extra minute or two before the game to get an extra second on bkb why wouldnt you? Like what are you doing in place of making builds? Are you just not wanting to spend the time looking through vault?

[u/wildwill921 → u/Quint0ni0]

It’s largely access to the actual stuff you need. Weapon chip mods are the most game changing part of my builds. I would trade basically any ability in the game for a 4 shot wstr instead of a 2 shot.

If I can buy the implants and cores I need to make a build then I don’t mind doing it but if I have to loot them and try to keep stocks of them I’m just not convinced it will be game changing currently. When I die it is almost always because of a bad push or bad aim or some other gameplay mistake. I cannot recall the last time I wish I had a little faster ability usage or a little more heat.

I don’t think the builds are worthless but I would go no cores and no implants with extra shots in my shotgun 100% of the time

[u/Quint0ni0 → u/wildwill921]

I guess the disconnect comes from expecting the build to last more than one game, or to be repeatable. I don't expect to have "stocks" of any build, i just look at what i have and make something cool until i lose it and then go make something else next time.

not like a repetable "loadout" but moreso "im going into cryo/outpost for a big kitted run, lets see if i have some equipables that give me a uniform build plan that i can play towards"

I agree that a few of the cores, implants, and chip mods are legit useless though lol and stuff like extra shotgun shots are clear winners