Survivor Amber is a vet, specialising in dangerous animals. Living on Amaia, a tropical jungle she deals with exotic deadly animals all the time, so the infected hordes should be a very sick animal that needs putting down to her.

She is described as a squishy healer support character, and this is exactly what she is. But yet build and play her right shes not squishy and instead becomes quite a sustainable fighter, or powerful healer or even become the center of attention for a short while. There are many builds and ways to play her which makes her so usefull for many scenarios.

Although her meta may be to use a mass amount of stamina, and i agree its a viable build, but you are missing out on damage mods, utility mods, great weapons and more just to have some speed. I see very few S.Amber players using anything other than Stamina and its a shame to see for such a diverse capable character.

Ive played many variations of builds, leveled skills differently and ive come to terms to what works with her and what doesnt. Like for example a Life Leech build, although it works great in junction with the Cure skill, you're just going to be damaged and killed quicker then you can heal, as well as not having enough DMG output to deal with many of the Life Leech based characters.

Anyway to give a quick warning many of the parts may be either difficult to read and/or be walls of texts this will improve over a long period of time whilst i gather many pictures and videos, but I am trying to provide as much information as I can for both pros and new players

Nerve Cut

Nerve Cut is S.Amber's main damage skill. It's very powerful at its base form, applying a weakening effect for 2 seconds which will activate her passive skill, gaining a 25% DMG bonus to all targets hit.

Ham String causes a crippling effect, forcing the main target to stand still. Ham String is useful when stopping an enemy from getting away, keeping a wounded player grounded for the kill or running away from a target.

Surgeon gives the skill a recast prompt that will cause great damage, and 75% life leech.

Main Target DMG: 110% / / / Area Damage: 80% / / / Weaken: 25% / / / Weaken Duration: 4s

Main Target DMG: 120% / / / Area Damage: 80% / / / Weaken: 25% / / / Weaken Duration: 4s

Immobilize: 2s

Main Target DMG: 130% / / / Area Damage: 80% / / / Weaken: 25% / / / Weaken Duration: 4s

Immobilize: 2s / / / Recast Prompt : 2s / / / Damage: 100% / / / Life Leech: 75%

Main Target DMG: 160% / / / Area Damage: 80% / / / Weaken: 25% / / / Weaken Duration: 4s

: 10s

Immobilize: 2s / / / Recast Prompt : 2s / / / Damage: 100% / / / Life Leech: 75%

How and When to Use This Skill

This skill is Amber's main source of damage. It will be your starter, the fight changer, and your player killer skill. You will need to use this skill as much as possible on your intended targets. You can't go wrong with this skill as long as you hit what you intend to hit.

When you gain the augmentations there can be many more uses for this skill. One would be for stopping players in their tracks, making them easier to kill or run away from. This is the first augmentation I am referring to, it will stop you from taking damage due to them being crippled. Finally, the last augmentation of Surgeon will keep you sustained slightly because of the life leech and causes great damage.

Cure

Cure is Amber's most useful skill IF used correctly. The heal rate on this skill is more powerful over time than any other healer/support characters. However, it can only be applied to one ally target therefore you must choose who you heal wisely.

Remedy removes any debuffs on the target selected. This ranges from; M.berg's taunt, M.Bryce Shackle, cripples, stuns, Fuse's Riot Foam, Silences and more. Note: it will not remove any debuff that has been applied through ultimate skills. Also an increased heal rate comes with this augment.

Alacrity is Amber's joke card. Along with any debuffs she removes, her or any targeted allies will also have a speed boost allowing them to quickly chase or run from any fight. This augment will save you or an ally many times through speed alone as well supplying the support.

H.O.T: 180% / / / Duration: 4s

H.O.T: 200% / / / Duration: 4s / / / Bonus Heal: 80% / / / Dispell

H.O.T: 220% / / / Duration: 4s / / / Bonus Heal: 80% / / / Dispell / / / Haste: 20%

H.O.T: 260% / / / Duration: 4s / / / Bonus Heal: 80% / / / Dispell / / / Haste: 20%

: 10s

How and When to Use This Skill

This skill is what makes Amber strong. When using it you need to share this skill between your teammates or just focus on healing at the least 1 of them. The heal may not be enough to win over a team fight, but to sustain a vital part in your team such as a tank or a damage dealer like S.Isys. Try not to be too selfish with them, you are the support, you need to dispell debuffs and sustain heal vital parts in your team.

When you unlock the augmentations, you will need to keep an even closer of an eye on your team thanks to the dispell augment. Watching for any debuff that could ruin a teammate's life is pivotal to your skill. Long lock out debuffs are a priority to dispell first, M.Bergs taunt, M.Bryce's shackle, Charlie's Bolas and more range among these as it will instantly free them for the debuff.

Now the speed boost is one of the few cases where you will most likely use it on yourself but you'll still need to be on the lookout so you can use it on your teammates too. The extra boost in stamina is enough to run away catch someone up quickly. It will help you yourself and get other places quicker and is useful for when you need to get somewhere quick.

Smoke Screen

Smoke Screen provides the best team defence, it's comparable to S.Berg's Leaf Shield. Blasting this grenade on the ground provides a large AOE Smoke Screen that gives all team members a defence bonus. Besides the defence bonus, the augments for this skill give it more useful abilities.

1st Augmentation
Poison Gas turns a defence skill into an offensive skill by providing a small DOT effect. It's not a large amount of damage, but some "smart" players will quickly run out of the way from this skill.

2nd Augmentation
Another joke card in Amber's range. It will apply a disable debuff to all non-ally targets on the initial blast. It is a very useful skill to help last a few extra seconds in a team fight, particularly useful to stop characters like Septian, Mr.White, and M.Amber combat flow.

.
Initial Damage: 85% / / / Reduced Damaged: 15% / / / Duration: 4s

Initial Damage: 85% / / / Reduced Damaged: 20% / / / Duration: 4s

Poison Damage: 80%

Initial Damage: 85% / / / Reduced Damaged: 25% / / / Duration: 4s

Poison Damage: 80% / / / Disarm: 2s

Initial Damage: 85% / / / Reduced Damaged: 35% / / / Duration: 4s

Poison Damage: 80% / / / Disarm: 2s

: 14s

How and When to Use This Skill

Sadly it doesn't fog up the screen like Roy's camera flash would do, instead it is intended you use it as a way of providing cover and it reduces damage to allies standing inside the AOE of the Smoke Screen. You will want to use this in any fight as it can lead up to a 30% damage reduction which can help out in ranged fights, supporting the tanks, damage dealers and other teammates. This skill will only improve its usefulness over time by providing damage over time (DoT) position effects, and even disables that will will ruin enemy melee players time and flow.

Most case scenarios would be using it mid fight when the enemy would start popping ultimates, the reduced damage can make that 300 damage ultimate into 240 damage one. In most situations this skill can be used as the poisons (from your augmentations) allows you to pop it whenever you engage in a fight for a small damage gain as well as cover.

Phermones

Amber's ultimate skill is THE best full crowd control ability available in game (in my opinion). Better than Sam B's? Yes. This is because when Sam B casts his ultimate he's in the middle getting hit where as Amber's forces affected targets to attack each other so Amber can move around freely, cast spells and attack the affected targets. This is incredibly handy when used not to initiate (like Sam B's), but instead to surprise your enemies and end the fight.

Augmentation
This augmentation is used as for the purpose of it's utility. Overdose will apply a weakening effect on the targets which activates Amber's passive and also slows the affected target making them move and attack much slower.

Duration: 3s / / / Damage to Break: 30%

Duration: 3.5s / / / Damage to Break: 30% / / / Overdose: 2s / / / Weaken: 30% / / / Slowness: 30%

Duration: 4s / / / Damage to Break: 30% / / / Overdose: 2s / / / Weaken: 30% / / / Slowness: 30%

: 120s

How and When to Use This Skill

When using Amber's ultimate, finding the correct moment to let this huge crowd controll of is vital to winning a team fight or swinging it back into your favour. I prefer to use it as a mid fight ability, letting off when the melee users are knocking heads and the range users either shooting or getting better positions, the best time to grab them all. Try and get as many in the target as possible and let it loose.

Survivor Amber's passive takes her from being a weak support into a melee powerhouse, taking her from her base 85% melee to a strong 105% melee. For this mod to take effect you first need to weaken your target which can only be be done by using Amber's Nerve Cut skill or the augmentation from her ultimate Phermones.

Survivor Amber's skill set is a hard set to think about. All of her skills have great use, each only becoming more useful with certain builds and augments. Heal by far being the most useful, huge health gains, plus a dispell and speed buff bonuses. Smoke screen providing large damage mitigation and disables whilst her severing slash delivers great damage. This skill set, no matter which way you go about it each skill is worthwhile.

Fortunately, in my time I have discovered a few safe bet skill builds and the one below is my go to. I would like to note this should suit both PVP and PVE modes, as well as any combat situations.

It first starts by getting Nerve Cut and Smoke Screen], this will make bashing down the barricades an easier job (In, PVE if smashing down barricades is not your first mission continue with this build until you feel safe with experimentation of variations of this build). Then grabbing the first point in Cure and then the first augment into Smoke Screen. This will allow you to easily deal with large crowds of infected and provide good defense and damage.

After gaining your ultimate it is a straight shot to gaining the 2nd augment on Cure. By this point you should be level 7. The next two levels will be put into Severing Slash and then it will be another Ultimate point. At level 11 it's gaining the 2nd augment of Smoke screen. After this it is really up to what you want to specialise in and putting the final point into the skills, although I would always suggest maxing Cure first.

Back in the patches before Crossroads, I fell in love with Survivor Amber. So much that I racked up over 400 hours on her exclusively before committing to another character for a long time. This build is was I thought was her ultimate setup, correctly suited to the new weapons mod systems. Sadly thought before the change of the weapon systems, this build was quite focus heavy where as of now, it's turned into a weird and workable blend of Fury, Critical Strike and Life Leech along with some Stamina.

(Quick Warning: Below is my fav build for her, it's custom made by me not following any meta that has been around recently. I know the ins and outs for both this build and the character, so I know what i can and can't handle in a fight this is strange build focusing 4 stats to a high point which is a rare sight in any build so you may find this build difficult to play)

The Corroder
Stamina: 55
Life Leech: 41
Critical Strike: 41
Passive: Debilitate: 33% Trigger chance / / / 5% weaken / / / 3 stacks

MODS
Executioner - Legendary
Initiator - Perfect
Charge Fury - Lethal

When the Corroder first dropped for me, after looking at it in detail my first thought was "sounds ace for Amber" and I was right, It works perfectly with her, at least for my playstyle. Why did I think it was so great? Well first and foremost is the passive. It applies a weaken debuff through primary attacks. Once applied, the weaken will also activate Amber's passive of gaining extra damage from weakened targets. 25% Extra damage almost consistently through weapon attacks sounds like a dream come true. Sadly it was too good to be true after some serious testing, me and a friend put that myth to rest as it doesn't affect the passive gain in anyway. But it didn't stop me from using this lovely weapon. The weaken effects alone is enough to put anything down to your level of damage levels or put you above their damage levels.


NOTES ON MODS

The Executioner mod sounds like a strange choice for a support character. However, in this build in particular, I use it to cause as much damage to everything as much as possible. After killing a player all your cooldowns will be reduced by 3 seconds and you'll get an extra 15% increased damage. This will cause a small dance of Chaos (Rogue777 - hehehe) if you play well enough. Although we are mostly using this mod for the bonus damage. I would normally swap this out for Lethal Attacks if I come across a streak of bad luck killing things.

The Initiator perk is actually almost required for this build. Initiator gives 15% extra damage to anyone whose health is above 80%. Again it's a strange mod to have, but many of the Perfect mods are very situational and only provide great benefits some of the time. I take this mod because it helps a bunch against the 110% melee character like M.Amber or Mr.White



Shocking Blowdryers
Fury: 62
Critical Strike: 55
Stamina: 21
Passive: 33% stun per rage bar

MODS
Frenzy - Legendary
Gladiator - Perfect
Charge Life Leech - Lethal

Back before Crossroads came along with its complete overhaul of weapon balancing, Customization and more, these pistols were gods. But now they are more like Titans for me, having naturally high Critical Strike and Fury gains help massively with the Gladiator perk and the pistol's passive skill.



NOTES ON MODS

Frenzy goes hand in hand with the initiator and the executioner perks, again this mod was picked to maximize my damage output and trying to normalize the base damage of 85% to 100%. It is also a no brainer since the fury rating for this build is so high.

Gladiator/Loosen up both these mods will work great either way except loosen you are certain to proc because of the high fury stats on the build, but gladiator does proc often enough also. although it can be argued that loosen up in the better choice because of higher attack speed, but its peronal prefference as both have ups and downs to them.

My overall stats on this build
please note some numbers may change depending on your gadget quality








Best of Life Leech
Best of Fury

I chose these gadgets because it furthers these stats to be on the same lines of the critical and Stamina in terms of numbers, to further min/max out this build


In slot one I have Stamina Injectors which I usually use to either quickly run to and from things, but can be used to catch kills.

In slot 2 i have a healing patches to keep me healthy in a fight or a clutched close death call.

And in slot 3 I have fury boost to help deal with barricades, looters and hoarders.

Before some nerfs to block in general, and some of its perks, Block was very strong for many reasons. One of them being the Jack Frost perk. This perk could single handedly deal with an entire team and not take much damage in return. But back then you swapped all damage for a tank build in most cases. Now that things are different you could have mass damage and block. Jack Frost has been reduced to freezing one target but you are still able to rock a strong tank build in 1v1 situations and even stand as the center of attention for a short while.

Block - 62
Stamina - 48
Defence - 28
Passive - Jack Frost / / / Block has 33% to proc - 20% DMG - 1s freezing

MODS
Aegis - Legendary
Deflect - Perfect
Charge: Block - Lethal

This weapon's perk was the biggest annoyance to fight any block user always freezing entire teams and escaping. Fortunately the effects of Jack Frost have been reduced greatly to only effecting the person attacking and not the people who happen to be in the area. Frosted Pipe will make dueling other players and beasties easier as they will be spending a lot of their time frozen.

NOTES ON MODS
Aegis is only there to give you more wiggle room. When fighting or running away it's the bane of many kill hungry players. This again is only picked to prolong your life.

Deflect is an easy choice to prolong a fight much longer than it should be, when ever Jack Frost doesn't proc this will proc in between them, disabling your opponent's weapons for a short while (this is a mostly pvp only mod).

Block - 55
Defence - 41
Critical Strike - 41
Passive - Desperado / / / after Blocking - primary attack deals 25% DMG - 0.5 Rage Bars

MODS
Survival Adaptation - Legendary
Annihilator - Perfect
Charge Fury - Lethal

I took conductors because of the mobility of firing pistols alongside this tanky weapon set. Also the passive gaining extra fury and damage coincides the mods that I have put on the weapon, such as Annihilator. This way you can high damage and fury generation.

NOTES ON MODS
The Annihilator mod is strange mod to take, why would we reduce or fury gains by 40%? Simple. For more secondary attack power. Not only will you get 20% from this perk, you will also be getting 25% from the conductor's passive perk also AND 20% from S.Ambers passive. This is taken further to increase this build and become a bruiser, taking hits and throwing some back.


The overall stats
please note some of the numbers may change depending on your gadget quality








Best of Block
Best of Defence

These gadgets will further your defensive stats.

Consumables
Block Injector to further chances of Jack Frost and Deflect.
Healing patch to further your lifespan.
Speed Injector to run to and from things.

With this build you are exchanging any damage mods or situation mods in favour of increasing the effectiveness of your skills and reducing their cooldowns incredibly.

Please note this build is not meant for 1v1 scenarios. You don't have the damage output anymore to properly handle yourself in these cases, instead you will need to buddy up with this build. Picking a tank or a damage dealer to keep them topped on health and providing cover, and giving out the weakness debuff to your foes.

]Focus - 55
Fury - 55
Stamina - 28
Passive - 33% per rage bar / / / 15% bonus dmage / / / 1.5s cooldown pause

MODS
Healing Focus - Legendary
Deadly Robber - Perfect
Charge: Focus

I primarily take this weapon for mobility. There are stronger focus based weapons with better stats but this strongest out of the fist category. Also this build removes almost all defencive stats meaning you are incredibly weak so you can't fight for too long without back up. However, with being a focus heavy build your skills are incredibly powerful and more often than not killing players with your skills is achievable. This is why we have one or two mods on this build for such situations.

NOTES ON MODS

Healing Focus is by far a strange mod to take as it actually gives you more health the longer your cooldown would be. Sadly there aren't many useful legendary perks for the focus stat, they are mostly combat based. This is good mod to take as using your skills in quick succession will give a couple hundred health points.

Deadly Robber is one of the perks i said would be useful should you eventually kill someone, you will gain 5 supplies upon killing a player. But we are not just using it for the supplies. Instead I find that most of the time when you kill you are low health so the extra speed boost from this mod when killing is useful to put distance between the attacks and heal up for the next run with your buddy.

Nitrovolver

Focus - 69
Fury - 41
Critical Strike - 28
Passive - used skill generates a stack of one / / / Stacks up to 5 / / / each stack does 5% DMG / / / unleash using secondary Attacks / / / chance per stack to incapacitate

MODS
Survival Adaptation - Legendary
Initiator - Perfect
Swift Reflexes - Formidable

Much like Mr.Freeze taking this weapon for the mobility also the passive ability. You may have noticed a trend in my S.Amber builds at this point but I take any chance to increase her damage. You should use this weapon more than your fists if you can unless you're adept at melee fighting and dealing with such a weak character.

NOTES ON MODS
Aha again with the Initiator perk. The extra damage is useful for starting fights, it does make up for a lot of the damage mods and weapons you don't take.

Swift Reflexes will be the lowest quality mod for most focus builds. Upon leveling you will gain 100 focus point which is huge, almost double the focus on your pistols. Early game this mod will be active most of the time due to low amount of exp needed to level up.


please note number may change depending on your gadget quality









Gadgets
Best of Focus
Best Of Fury

These two starts were the highest so I increased them even more. However, taking stamina in place of one of them is also good.


Consumables
Speed Injector - To run to, and from places.
Antibiotics - Healing on the go.
What ever you wish for the third slot :)

None as of yet.

V1.0
- First Published Edition

- Fixed grammar issues - Chaos

V2.0
- Second published Edition

- New introduction section
- new pictures
- added 3 new builds
- added a whole bunch of number statistics for the skill sections
- Improved Platinums Way and Stamina Build Weapon sections
- Changed how information for skills and augmentations are shown as well as including even more information

V2.1
- Fixed Grammar errors - Chaos
- further fixed some Grammar error - PlatinumClient
- Fixed wrongly named skill in the "Skill Build" Section (Thank for pointing this out aveloate! :))
- In "Passive" Section, i added that it is also affect by the weakness debuff on the augments on the ultimate skill.
- Fixed damage levels on Nerve Cut

V2.2
- Removed stamina build section (its too known and too boring to show in the guide that aims to show great she can be played)