The Lament — Roaring Revs (Hunter)

Weapon: The Lament (Sword · Heavy · Solar) · Subclass: Gunslinger (Solar) · Role: Sustained boss/champion-melter + scorch-ignite engine Sandbox: 9.7.0 · Created 2026-06-16

Rev the blade, plant it in the boss, and never let go. The Lament's whole fantasy is sustained damage — the longer you hold the rev, the more stacks you build, the harder it hits and the less you take. The catalyst turns those revved hits into a scorch firehose, and on Solar Hunter every scorched target feeds the loop back: melee energy, Firesprites, ignitions, class-ability regen. Synthoceps does the rest — swords are the single most "surrounded" weapon in the game, so its damage bonus is live exactly when the rev is.

The weapon

Banshee's Wail (intrinsic): "[Block] : Hold to rev the blade. • Increases damage and adds [Shield-Piercing] shield piercing to all attacks. • Gain stacks when dealing damage with revved attacks. • Additional stacks increase the damage and damage resistance of heavy attacks."

Catalyst — Burning Ambition: "Dealing sustained damage scorches the target. Dealing damage to a scorched target inflicts scorch."

So the rev (hold Block) does three things at once: ramps damage, pierces shields, and stacks a buff that makes heavy attacks hit harder and grant DR. The catalyst layers scorch on top of all of it — sustained revved damage scorches the target, and because you keep hitting an already-scorched target, you keep re-inflicting scorch until it ignites. The Lament is a heavy melee weapon that, catalysed, becomes a Solar ability igniter you happen to swing.

Loadout

Slot	Pick	Why
Subclass	Gunslinger (Solar)	Scorch is a Solar verb — the catalyst plugs straight into the Solar sandbox (ignitions, Firesprites, scorch-fed regen).
Super	Blade Barrage	Burst add-clear / panic button so the Lament can stay parked on the boss; enhanced by Knock 'Em Down (more projectiles).
Class ability	Marksman's Dodge	Instant repositions you off a boss's swing and resets sword stance; Acrobat's Dodge (Radiant) is the alt if you want the damage buff over the reset.
Melee	Knife Trick / Throwing Knife	Ranged scorch-starter to pre-light a target before you close — also the Gunpowder-Gamble charger.
Grenade	Healing Grenade	Sustain so you can hold the rev through boss melee; the sword is the damage, the grenade is the lifeline.
Aspect 1	On Your Mark	Class-ability/precision hits → Weapons stat ×10; Weapons stat now adds PvE weapon damage, and it buffs your other two guns between sword windows.
Aspect 2	Knock 'Em Down	Enhances Blade Barrage (more projectiles) for the burst-clear that keeps adds off you while you rev.
Fragments	Ember of Searing (scorched kills → melee energy + Firesprite), Ember of Char (ignitions spread scorch — your sustained scorch ignites, then chains), Ember of Singeing (class-ability regen on scorch → faster dodges), Ember of Ashes (more scorch stacks → faster ignitions)	Every fragment keys off scorch — exactly what Burning Ambition produces nonstop.
Exotic armour	Synthoceps (Gauntlets) — Biotic Enhancements: when surrounded, increased melee and Super damage, plus improved handling/reload.	Sword light/heavy attacks are melee damage; the bonus is live whenever you're surrounded, which is the sword's natural range. Also buffs Blade Barrage.
Kinetic/Energy	Solar Primary (e.g. a scorch/incandescent auto or pulse)	Keeps Solar verbs and Ember procs rolling between sword windows; feeds On Your Mark precision stacks and Empyrean-style uptime.
Special	Solar Special (GL/fusion) or any add-clear	Thins packs so you reach "surrounded" on demand for Synthoceps; not the damage star.
Heavy	The Lament	The centerpiece.

Why this works (the mechanics)

• Banshee's Wail is a commitment perk, and Synthoceps pays the commitment. The rev's stack count scales heavy-attack damage and damage resistance, so the optimal play is to plant the sword in a boss and hold. Synthoceps' "while surrounded" bonus applies to melee damage — and a sword's light and heavy swings are melee damage — so its multiplier is live for the exact duration you're parked in the pack revving. The two perks reward the same behaviour: stay close, stay surrounded, keep swinging.
• Shield-piercing is the champion answer. The rev adds intrinsic shield piercing to all attacks — that strips overshields and, combined with the sustained-stagger of heavy sword swings, gives the Lament bespoke reach against shielded/elite targets without needing the weapon-archetype stun table. (See Verify notes on which champion type this stuns vs. staggers.)
• The catalyst makes a melee weapon a Solar ability engine. Burning Ambition scorches on sustained damage and re-inflicts on already-scorched targets, so holding the rev on one target ramps scorch to ignition. Ember of Ashes speeds that (more stacks/hit); Ember of Char makes the ignition spread scorch to the whole pack; that secondary scorch ignites again. One revved boss becomes an AoE ignite chain.
• Scorch closes the ability economy. Ember of Searing: scorched kills → melee energy + Firesprite (Firesprites → grenade energy and Solar regen). Ember of Singeing: scorching targets → faster class ability → more Marksman's Dodges → more sword-stance resets and repositions. The sword generates the abilities that keep it swinging safely.
• On Your Mark double-dips the 9.7.0 Weapons stat. Precision hits with your Solar primary stack On Your Mark ×10 → +Weapons stat, which now adds PvE weapon damage. That buffs the primary in the gaps and stacks straight onto the Lament when you swing — a second damage source earned just by shooting between sword windows.
• Blade Barrage is the "get off me" button. Holding a rev means you can't shoot; when a wave of adds threatens the window, Knock-'Em-Down Blade Barrage clears it (and ignites, spreading scorch via Char) so you can immediately re-plant the sword. Synthoceps buffs its damage too.

Stats & mods

Priority: Weapons 100+ → Melee 100 → Class → Health dump. Weapons because it buffs both the sword (PvE damage) and your primary; Melee because sword light/heavy are melee — and Synthoceps + scorch-melee-regen want it high; Class for dodge uptime (sword-stance reset + Singeing reinforces it). Health is the cheapest dump: the rev grants its own DR at stacks, Synthoceps wants you surrounded anyway, and Healing Grenade covers the rest.

Archetypes: pieces favouring Weapons/Melee (Brawler/Gunner-type rolls), with a Super-leaning piece for Blade Barrage uptime.

Mods (standard combat mods — see Verify):

• Helmet: Heavy Ammo Finder / Harmonic Siphon (Solar kills → Orbs for On Your Mark feed).
• Gauntlets: Melee Font + Heavy Handed (melee kills → melee energy) → push Melee to 100.
• Chest: Solar Resistance ×2–3 for parked-on-boss survivability under the rev's DR.
• Boots: Sword Scavenger ×2 (Heavy reserves are the resource) · Solar Weapon Surge if you run the Solar primary as a damage piece.
• Class item: Bomber / Powerful Attraction (orb vacuum feeds On Your Mark + Super).
• Stat tuning: +Melee/−Health and +Weapons/−Health — dump Health, the build self-heals and self-DRs.

Where it shines

• Boss DPS / Damage phases: the Lament is a top-tier sustained-melee DPS sword; plant + rev + hold is the whole rotation, and Synthoceps + Weapons stat stack multiplicatively onto it. Best in encounters where you can stand in melee.
• Champions: rev's shield piercing strips overshields and the sustained heavy stagger pressures elites. Confirm the exact champion type this stuns (sword stun has historically been Unstoppable-flavoured via heavy/sustained damage) — carry a primary of the right archetype for the other two champion types under Anti-Champion 2.0, since the Lament is one weapon and can't cover all three.
• Density / GM-tier: scorch + ignition (Char-spread) turns a single revved target into pack-wide ignites; Synthoceps wants the density anyway. Healing Grenade + rev DR keep you alive parked in the middle.
• Where it's weak: ranged/airborne bosses or "stay back" mechanics — there the sword can't reach and Synthoceps goes dark. Lean on the Solar primary + Blade Barrage in those windows.