The Zealot Preacher is well equipped with Stumm grenades (Which stun enemies upon detonation), which has a lot of crowd control. Their aura is called "The Emperor's Will" which grants +10% Toughness Damage Reduction to all allies in coherency. Their tactical ability is "Chastise The Wicked" which makes them sprint forward and grants them +25% Melee Damage on next hit. With this ability, the Preacher can be built around some movement and high DPS.
The Zealot Preacher's unique resource is Martyrdom. For every 15 health missing, the Preacher receives one stack of Martyrdom. The Preacher's damage increases by 5 for each stack of Martyrdom the Zealot has. Without any modifying perks, the Max amount of Martyrdom a Zealot can have is three (3) stacks. The Preacher has a passive that grants them +10% Melee, which pulls them into being more of a melee focused character. Also, the Preacher has an ability called "Until Death" where upon taking damage that would kill you, you proc invulnerability for 5s. This has a 90 second cooldown, which means you can potentially challenge the horde face to face even at low health and not worry too much about dying.
For the second build I want to introduce for the Zealot Preacher, let's spend some time exploring how the Preacher could be one of the best classes for surviving in low health situations. The Zealot Preacher already has a couple base characteristics I want to point out. First is the +10% Toughness Damage Reduction, second I want to point out the "Until Death" invulnerability mechanic, and third I want to point out that for every 15 health missing you add 5 damage to your attacks. This build can be a clutch build if the odds seemed stacked against you.
Here I will list the perks I chose for every 5 levels that the Zealot Preacher gains. After I will talk a little more about how all of these perks can synergize to create a good build.
Style: Mid Line Melee
Focus: Anti-Horde
Melee Weapon: Hammer or other weapon capable of cleaving
Ranged: High precision damage single target weapon that has some range, such as a lasgun
Level 5: Purify in Blood:
"Replenish 100% more Toughness on Melee Kill."
- For an Anti-Horde build, I think this is one of the better choices. You will be killing numerous weak heretics with one swing, so this will keep your toughness up.
Level 10: Retribution:
"+10% Attack Speed below 50% Health. Bonus is doubled below 20% Health."
- You want this build to be most effective when at low health, and a speed increase against numerous enemies will keep you clearing hordes quickly.
Level 15: Litanies of Hate:
"Your Coherency aura now also grants 1% Critical Hit chance for each stack of Martyrdom. (1 stack for every 15 hp missing. Max 3 Stacks unless using perk "Honour The Martyr")"
- When using "Honour The Martyr" ( level 25 perk): At 90 lost health, you have 6 stacks of Martyrdom, which is +6% Critical Hit Chance for your entire team that is in coherency.
Level 20: Thy Wrath Be Swift:
"You no longer get Stunned by Enemy Melee Attacks. When you take Damage, gain +30% Movement Speed for 2s."
- When you are playing at low health, a few unexpected hits can potentially end your run. Adding some movement speed will help in the circumstances you take a hit unexpectedly and need to reposition quickly to avoid being surrounded.
Level 25: Honour The Martyr:
"Martydom has 6 Max Stacks."
- This means at 90 lost health your build will be able to do +30 Damage per hit, as well as having a +6% critical chance coherency aura for your team via the Level 15 Perk "Litanies of Hate"
Level 30: Purge The Wicked:
"Chastise the Wicked now has two charges."
- This will give you great mobility, which I think is one of the most important things you can have when playing at a low health. If you get swarmed, you can use your ability to reposition, attack, reposition again without much worry. Great for kiting large hordes.
This build may be one of the best builds to have at low health for any class so far. The Zealot thrives when at lower health, and this build amplifies that. This will be ideal for collecting Grimoires.
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