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Possibly the most exciting part of the Void Shadows DLC forWarhammer 40,000: Rogue Traderis the addition of Kibellah, the newest playable companion. As a Death Cult Assassin, she specializes in fast, precise melee strokes. She’s at her best when she can carve her way through several enemies in a single turn, or wear down a larger foe with repeated bleeding cuts.
Since she has access to the unique Bladedancer Archetype, Kibellah can take some getting used to, even for experienced players. Here’s our favorite build for the scarred slayer so that you’re able to fit her onto your team.
Overview Of Kibellah’s Abilities
Kibellah’s approach to combat is centered around two abilities:Death From AboveandRaining Blood.The first allows her tomove around the battlefield and attack multiple enemies, even if her MP and AP are spent, while the second lets herenhance the damage dealt by her and her allies over the course of the fight.A good setup for Kibellah will be centered aroundusing both of these powers frequently and effectively.
Death From Above
Death From Above allows Kibellah toteleport to any available space that she can see within three cells of her current location, dealing melee damage to every enemy adjacent to her when she arrives. She ignores Attacks Of Opportunity when using Death From Above.
Death From Above doesn’t cost any MP or AP, but instead reduces Kibellah’s Death From Above Charges, which are applied to her as a status effect and can be seen on her character panel. Kibellahgains a Charge every time she kills an enemy by any means other than Death From Above.For this reason, it’s best to use Death From Above to get into position and weaken enemies, then finish them off with other abilities such asBlade Dance.
Raining Blood
Raining Blood costs 1AP to activate, and causes Kibellah’s next single-target melee attack tocreate a bloody splashin a five-cell cone behind the target. Kibellah and any allies splashed by the blood gain a stack ofBloodblessed, which increases the damage they deal by two percent for the rest of the combat. Conversely, the target and any enemies splashed by the blood get a stack ofBloodstained, which increases the damage they take by two percent. Creatures moving through the blood spatter also gain stacks as appropriate (Bloodblessed for allies, Bloodstained for enemies).
Raining Blood needs to be activatedbefore attackingin order to work, so don’t forget!
Many of Kibellah’s abilities allow her to add additional stacks of Bloodstained or Bloodblessed, potentially addinga considerable damage bonus to the entire party.By default, for every ten Wounds Kibellah suffers in a single fight, anyone with stacks of Bloodblessed or Bloodstained will gain another stack, up to a maximum of twenty.
Since Raining Blood has a limited range, it works best if Kibellah is fighting alongside other melee characters, or ifpsykers like Idiracan useDominateto move enemies into position. Alternately, you can send Kibellah ahead and have the rest of the team march through the trail of blood she leaves behind!
Key Characteristics And Upgrades For Kibellah
As a melee character, Kibellah benefits from having ahigh Weapon Skilland Strength, but hermain Characteristic should always be Agility.Most of her Bladedancer abilities are Agility-based, and some evenallow her to use that stat in place of others.For that reason,upgrade Kibellah’s AGIwhenever possible; if it’s not available, go with Weapon Skill, Strength, or Toughness.
Notably, theDeath Wardenability lets Kibellah use Weapon Skill for Medicae Tests, making her an excellent healer with Medkits. Be sure to take at least one upgrade to her Medicae Skill. She should always have Medkits as part of her loadout to patch herself up, sincemany of her abilities require her to inflict damage on herself, and she can heal others if needed as well.
Teaching Argenta theStronger TogetherTalent allows her to confer +5 Agility to everyone in her party, making her a great companion for Kibellah.
Best Equipment For Kibellah
As soon as you recruit Kibellah, you may take a side quest on board the flagship toseek the Bloodspinner Temple.This quest offers gear specifically for Kibellah, so you should do it immediately if you plan to use her in combat. The most important of these are theCrimson Obliviongloves andMartyr’s Bone Charmpendant, both of which are found in a trapped boxto the left of the turbine where Zdena the Outcast stands.The formercreates blood spatter like Raining Bloodwhenever Kibellah kills an enemy, and the lattergrants Kibellah a Toughness bonuswhen she’s standing in blood pools.
Since some of Kibellah’s abilitiesrequire a sword, she should abstain from all other weapon types. TheSilent Verdict, the two-handed blade that she presents you with when she enters the Lord Captain’s service, is a perfect weapon for her, as it has a fantastic damage rating andgains Parry based on her Agility.
You’ll find a few different pieces of armor for Bloodspinners as you seek their temple; the best is theSpinner’s Ritual Vestment. It has a better Armor rating with no loss in Dodge efficiency, and provides extra Wounds alongside aDodge bonus if the wearer isn’t in cover.
Best Advanced Archetype For Kibellah
In most playthroughs, the easy choice for advancing Kibellah to her second Archetype is to make her anAssassin.Death From Above makes her well-suited to creating and exploiting Openings, especially if sheworks in tandem with an Operativeto weaken armored foes, which she can sometimes struggle against.
If you’re looking to try something a little different, Kibellahalso makes a fine Executionerif you teach herCaptive Audiencewhile she’s still a Bladedancer. It can compete for AP with Raining Blood or Blade Dance, but once you inflict Bleeding on enemies you canuse Executioner Talentsto quickly exsanguinate them, draining the rest of their health. Since Kibellah works well withArgenta, you could also have the Battle Sisterset enemies on fire as well as bleed themto make an Executioner style for Kibellah even more efficient.
