If you’re looking to dominate PvP as a Tempest, this guide is going to give you everything you need—whether you’ve landed a top-tier magical attribute or not. I recently came across a strong Eternal Attribute for Tidal Rush, and after testing it, I knew I had to build around it. That said, even if you don’t have this attribute yet, don’t worry—the build works great without it too.
Table of Contents
Let’s break this down step by step so you can squeeze out every bit of damage in Battlegrounds, Rite, and other PvP modes.
🛡️ Set Items
We’ll get the basics out of the way first. I’m using:
- 4 pieces of Vithu’s Urge
- 4 pieces of Gloomguide’s Prize
This combo gives the best overall PvP damage output, especially when you time your buffs well.
🌊 Skills
Here’s the core skill setup:
- Rolling Surf
- Crosswinds
- Tidal Rush
- Flowing Strike
- Wind Edge (Primary attack)
Each skill plays a specific role, but the real combo magic happens between Flowing Strike and Tidal Rush. More on that later.
🔥 Essences
Helmet – Unyielding Vision
Boosts Rolling Surf damage and gives your crits a little AoE. A small bonus that adds up over time.
Shoulders – Safe Borders
Lets you use Flowing Strike while crowd-controlled. You gain immunity frames, so it’s useful both offensively and defensively.
Chest – Momento Onus
Turns Flowing Strike into a dash that stuns. This is a must-have—it’s the backbone of the build.
Pants – The Pure of Will
This is where the build truly shines. It turns Tidal Rush into a dash + stun skill. You’ll see two circles—aim for the smaller inner one to maximize damage and apply the stun.
🗡️ Main-Hand and Off-Hand Essences
These two are core parts of the build—not optional—and play a huge role in your DPS and utility.
- Main-Hand: Skin Parter – Still the best Essence for Tempest. It’s a must. Gives you huge value in both burst and sustained fights.
- Shriek Worth – Buffs Crosswinds even further by making it deal more damage and hit a larger area. It stacks perfectly with the other two.
- Off-Hand: Hurricane Hitch – This Essence is critical because it makes Crosswinds trigger with your primary attacks. That synergy is a big part of your sustained damage in PvP.
- Maarozhi Spine – Boosts Zephyr damage. Especially useful in Battlegrounds when you’re constantly poking or pressuring groups.
🌪️ Eternal Attributes
These make a massive difference. Here’s what to aim for:
Must-Haves
- Flowing Strike: Gives a shield. Absolutely essential.
- Tidal Rush: Huge damage buff when you land the small inner circle of the ability.
Nice to Have
- Crosswinds: Adds the swirling wind visual around your character.
- Rolling Surf: Looks great and adds minor utility, but not required.
✨ Legendary Magic Attributes
Prioritize These:
- Chest & Pants: Beneficial Effect Duration
- Other Slots:
- Critical Hit Chance
- Critical Hit Damage
- Attack Speed
- Damage to enemies suffering loss of control
- Primary Attack Damage
- Skill Damage
Set Item Attributes:
- Waist & Boots: Beneficial Effect Duration
- Other Set Pieces: Skill Cooldown Reduction + PvP damage done/taken
PvP damage bonuses are not affected by the Strife debuff, which makes them extra valuable.
🔧 Reforge Bonuses
Just copy this setup:
3x Vengeance
Bonuses to look for:
- Beneficial Effect Duration
- Damage Taken from Players Reduction
- Damage Done to Players Increase
- Attack Speed
- Damage to enemies suffering loss of control increased
💎 Legendary Gems
Core 5-Star Gems:
- Blood-Soaked Jade
- Roiling Consequence
Optional 5-Star:
- Colossus Engine
- Gloom Cask
- Bottled Hope
- Starfire Shard (PvP specific)
Best 2-Star Gems:
- Pain Clasp
- Specter Glass
- Mother’s Lament
- Viper’s Bite (If you don’t already have Roiling)
- Fervent Fang
- Mourneskull
New gem from the Berserk event (Crimson Behelit) works great too.
Defensive or Filler Options:
- Spiteful Blood – For survivability
- Everlasting Torment – Budget pick if you lack Viper’s
You have a lot of flexibility here. Mix based on what you have access to.
⚔️ Paragon Setup
We’re using the Gladiator Tree here.
Core Passives:
- Cheat Death – Mandatory for clutch moments.
- Grizzled Veteran – Adds flat damage and damage reduction.
- Victor – More bonuses after a kill.
- First Aid – Can absolutely save your life.
- Juggernaut – After 6 kills without dying, you get full HP, 10% size increase, and 20% movement speed.
Legendary Node:
- Overloaded – Great for extra offense.
- Benefactor – Use this instead if you prefer more shielding.
🕹️ How to Play
Here’s your bread and butter combo:
Flowing Strike → Tidal Rush
This combo stuns enemies and melts their HP. Do it back-to-back and you’ll lock most opponents down completely.
Just keep an eye on your mini-map and buff timers in Battlegrounds. If your buffs are about to run out, hold back for a few seconds and go in when you’re fully prepped.
Final Thoughts
If you’re trying this build for the first time, feel free to watch my gameplay, or join one of my livestreams to see it in action. I also hang out on Discord, so if you have any questions, just drop by. Take care and see you on the battlefield.
