Surgical Cuts is a talent in the Fencer branch of the Windrose Talent System. Flat additive bonus to Critical Hit Chance while wielding any one-handed melee weapon (Saber, Rapier, Cutlass, Dagger).
Summary
Property | Value |
|---|---|
Branch | |
Tier | 1 |
Max rank | 3 |
Points per rank | 1 |
Effect by Rank
Rank | One-handed melee Critical Hit Chance |
|---|---|
Rank 1 | +3% |
Rank 2 | +6% |
Rank 3 | +9% |
Community Meta
Strong pick for every crit-stacking Fencer build. Lower priority only if the build is fully committed to flat damage scaling.
Pairs Well With
Perfect Counter (burst crit window after Perfect Block)
Deadly Finale (chains crit-stacked hits)
See Also
Fencer branch overview
Talent System the four-branch progression framework
Stats and Talents stat allocation and respec
Build Role
Surgical Cuts is the crit-chance opener for one-handed builds. Most Fencer builds that aim to use Perfect Counter, Privateer 2P, or the Executioner's Aim cross-branch pick stack Surgical Cuts underneath those sources because the base chance compounds.
Math Example
Starting from the class base Critical Hit Chance of 5%, a rank-3 Surgical Cuts Fencer sits at 14% base crit. Layering Privateer 2P (+10% crit) brings the total to 24% before any Perfect Counter windows open. Landing a Perfect Block on top stacks +12% for 12 seconds, bringing the burst window to 36% crit chance.
Notes
Surgical Cuts requires a one-handed weapon in the main slot to apply. Off-hand pistol hits still count as one-handed for the purpose of this talent.
Does not apply to two-handed weapon swings. Pair with Executioner's Aim for two-handed crit builds instead.
Per Rank and Stacking
Surgical Cuts is purely additive with the rest of the one-handed crit ecosystem, so the cleanest way to plan a build is to add up every flat crit-chance source and treat the talent as the cheapest tier-1 entry into that pool. The per-rank breakdown is below, followed by the gear and stat sources that stack with it.
Rank | Points Spent | Crit Chance Bonus | Applies To |
|---|---|---|---|
Rank 1 | 1 | +3% | One-handed melee only |
Rank 2 | 2 | +6% | One-handed melee only |
Rank 3 | 3 | +9% | One-handed melee only |
The bonus only triggers while a one-handed melee weapon is held in the main slot. Verified one-handed weapons that benefit include the Rapier of Devastation, Rapier of a Thousand Cuts, Arboris Saber, and the Bonebreaker mace. Two-handed weapons such as the Plague Halberd and Soul Eater do not gain anything from this talent. Ranged weapons (Reliable Musket, pistols) likewise gain nothing, so sniper builds usually drop these points into Sniper's Focus, Bull's Eye, or Bullet Storm instead.
Compatible Crit Sources
Most build planners assume rank 3 Surgical Cuts (+9%) as the baseline and then layer the following one-handed crit sources on top. Each line shows the in-game source and the bonus type it contributes:
Mastery stat: each point of Mastery adds the secondary critical hit chance value. The 'Bone Breaking Brawler' build runs 6 Mastery alongside 10 Strength specifically to push base crit higher.
Jaguar Ring: +7.5% critical hit chance, fully additive with Surgical Cuts. Slotted by the 'Bone Breaking Brawler' Bonebreaker setup.
Major Cutthroat Ring: +30% critical hit damage. Adds nothing to chance, but every successful crit produced by Surgical Cuts hits 30% harder.
Privateer Set: full set bonus contributes both crit chance and crit damage layers, which is why the V3 Boss Killer and V5 Bone Breaking Brawler builds wear it together with rank 3 Surgical Cuts.
The 'Boss Killer' Rapier of Devastation build and the 'Bone Breaking Brawler' Bonebreaker build both cap Surgical Cuts at 3 ranks for this reason. Rapier crit is amplified further because heavy attacks consume Plague Marks and the consumption damage can also crit, so each +1% chance on this talent has two payoff windows per stack cycle.