Start with the legal shape of a build
A complete Pass the Fear loadout is not an unlimited item list. It contains one hunter at level 1–6, two weapon slots, one compatible weapon part for each weapon, up to ten relic slots, up to five tarot slots, and five personal upgrade choices from levels 2–6. Permanent Team Talents are a separate network.
Respecting that shape early exposes opportunity cost. Adding an eleventh relic to a spreadsheet may make a concept look complete, but it does not answer which real slot you would give up. Likewise, a weapon part must belong to a weapon slot rather than acting as a global passive.
The interactive Build Planner enforces the shipped slot and choice constraints.
Write the primary loop in one sentence
Before selecting every item, describe the build as trigger, payoff, and repeat condition. For example: a weapon creates a particular Transmutation, a relic or part amplifies the result, and reload or a hunter skill restores the loop. If the sentence requires five rare items before it functions, it is not yet a starting plan.
Then name the failure case: distant enemies, crowded rooms, long reload exposure, low-health dependency, or a condition that cannot be maintained. The second weapon and remaining slots should solve that weakness before they add more of the same damage.
Separate baseline outputs from conditional events
Baseline belongs in comparable totals
Hunter level snapshots, weapon and part base values, selected fixed attribute entries, affixes, and unconditional modifiers can contribute to a repeatable baseline. Attack range, shot interval, magazine capacity, reload time, burst DPS, and sustained DPS are meaningful only when calculated at the same loadout state.
Conditional effects belong in a scenario ledger
On Ultimate, On Smite, First Shot, Final Shot, duration buffs, enemy-state requirements, proc chances, cooldowns, and Transmutation buildup do not stay active permanently. Record the trigger, duration, expected opportunity, and missing assumptions instead of folding the printed number into baseline stats.
Use the Mechanics glossary to decode timing terms before assigning an effect to baseline or conditional value.
Build the two weapon packages independently
Each weapon package includes the weapon variant, rarity, affixes, compatible part, element, firing loop, and switch purpose. Finish the primary package first. Give the second package a specific job such as safe range, crowd coverage, control, or exploiting a debuff window.
Do not assume both weapons benefit equally from a global-looking tooltip. Check the exact effect, slot, and trigger. A part attached to one weapon should not silently improve the other package in your notes.
Compare canonical families and rarity variants in the Weapons database before selecting affixes or a matching part.
Add relics, tarot, and progression in dependency order
- Choose relics that make the primary trigger more frequent, strengthen its payoff, or repair the named failure case.
- Choose tarot faces by exact orientation and condition; upright and reversed faces are separate effects.
- Choose one of three personal upgrades at each level from 2 through 6; do not combine alternatives from the same row.
- Treat Team Talents as permanent progression with its own 12-point budget and parent-child requirements.
- After every addition, remove one component mentally and verify that the build still has a functioning core.
Plan permanent progression separately in the Team Talent tree so a respec assumption does not distort the run build.
Frequently asked questions
How many relic and tarot slots does a Pass the Fear build have?
The shipped loadout structure supports ten relic slots and five tarot slots.
How many weapons and weapon parts can I plan?
A legal loadout has two weapon slots, with one compatible weapon part attached to each weapon slot.
Should First Shot or Final Shot bonuses be included in baseline DPS?
No. They are conditional magazine events. Record their trigger and opportunity in a scenario ledger unless a calculation explicitly models those shots.