ICARUS Close Combat Build

When it comes to encounters with predators, we really only have the following options to settle them: Avoid the conflict entirely, take the predator down from afar, sneak in, or taunt it for a close confrontation.

Are you an in-your-face kind of a prospector? Do you find that decisive ranged weaponry often requires too much tech development? Then be assured that with the right talents, a prospector can develop impressive close combat power, very quickly. This guide will suggest some key and optional talents to build your close-combat commando.


There are two primary melee weapon families: spears and knives. However, we found that spears cannot match the DPS of a knife’s rapid slashes to a weak point. So, in this build we will focus on the [Combat – Blades] tree instead. Indeed, you will find that every regular predator and most bosses on Icarus can be handled readily with a knife, some mid-tier armor, and a portable defensive structure.

This build includes 21 Talent Points for key Blades talents, including a master ability. The optional talents section that follows will further support the close-combat playing style, increasing the point total to a maximum of 29 Talent Points. Not all 17 Talent Points are needed to get all the perks. It takes only 13 Talent Points to acquire the stunning perk “Stay Right There,” a Rank 4 skill.

Note that the [brackets] indicate the Tree Tab that the listed talent is found in.

  1. talent blades runningwithaknife Running With Knives [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    • +2/5/10% movement speed with a knife equipped. Your knife is always out anyway… you might as well get a benefit from it. This talent also helps when kiting a predator to open ground or a defensive structure.
  2. talent blades discountblades2 Reinforced Blades [Combat Blades]: 1 point
    • +25% maximum durability of crafted knives. With how frequently you will be using your blades you want them to last. Stacking the effect with talent blades hardybladeHardy Blade from the optional talents you could get infomercial-level toughness.
  3. talent blades quickstab Swift Stab [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    • +5/10/15% melee attack speed with knives. Important for maxing out knife DPS, as well as maximizing the number of chances to activate special skills.
  4. talent blades strongstab Heavy Hand [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    • +5/10/15% melee attack damage with knives. This is the other talent to max out knife DPS. If you put more points into talent blades deadlystabDeadly Stab, then talent blades strongstabHeavy Hand becomes even more valuable.
  5. talent blades deadlystab Deadly Stab [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    • +2/5/10% critical damage with knives. Trying to make every slash hit a weak point is important for close combat. Since hitting a weak point causes 4x the melee damage, the Deadly Stab bonus compounds for an even greater damage bonus.
  6. talent blades thatwasquick That Was Quick [Combat Blades]: 1 point
    • +5/10/20% chance to instantly skin creatures with a killing blow. There is no practical use for this skill, but it is entertaining! Dependencies force us to invest one point in this talent on the way to better skills.
  7. talent blades silentknife Silent Blade [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    • +4/8/12% perceived threat while in stealth with a knife equipped. Whether sneaking to avoid a predator or to get a critical sneak attack, maximizing stealth is very useful. These percentages are significant, and you will notice the difference.
  8. talent blades stayrightthere Stay Right There [Combat Blades]: 1 points
    • 10% change to immobilize target per melee knife hit. This is where Swift Stab pays off, giving you an extra chance to stun your target about once a second. It also works on bosses (tested in the beta) if you can attack from safety.

While the key perks focus on melee damage, the optional section below with 9 Talent Points helps prospectors safely execute even more dangerous and extended close encounters.

  1. talent blades defthands Deft Hands [Combat Blades]: 1 point
    1. +10% aim speed with knives. Unfortunately, with the current Blades Tree layout, you need this talent to unlock talent blades 1000cuts1000 Cuts, a much more useful perk for this build. As far as this one goes, it’s all windup, no pitch.
  2. talent blades 1000cuts 1000 Cuts [Combat Blades]: 3 points
    1. -10/15/20% stamina cost for knife actions. It can take well over 10 slashes to take down high-HP enemies like polar bears and bosses, especially if not all of the hits are targeting weak points. Reducing the stamina cost helps you add more slashes and maneuvers before you need a rest.
  3. talent blades hardyblade Hardy Blade [Combat Blades]: 3 point
    • -5/10/15% durability loss from knife attacks. On extended missions to remote and dangerous regions, you will wear down even the metal knives. Increased durability means you don’t need to carry a spare, opening up inventory slots for more important cargo.
  4. talent blades discountblade Discount Blades I and Discount Blades II [Combat Blades]: 1 point each
    • -25%/-25% resource cost of crafted knives. When you go beyond the Iron Knife, things get costly. If you keep crafting high-tier knives for your close combat character for various missions this will save you a lot of resources, and even more so if you are crafting spares for your teammates.
  5. talent building stonecarrying Stone Hauling [Construction Building]: 3 points
    • -10/20/40% carry weight of stone buildables. By dragging around some stone walls and floors, you can construct a portable pillbox near a target. A mid-tier knife will carve up a polar bear before it gets through 1/3 of the of a stone doorway’s 2500 HP.
icarus close combat build talent tree blades
The Combat — Blades talent specialization tree with all the key and optional talents.

We hope this ICARUS build was helpful, and we’re happy to read your questions and comments! Please leave them below, and then enjoy getting up-close-and-personal with the apex predators on Icarus.

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SurvivalSherpa
SurvivalSherpa

SurvivalSherpa is an avid gamer spending most of his time at the nexus of the survival, crafting, building, and role playing genres on any platform, especially to test indie titles in EA. AFK, life is about work and education in STEM fields, reading fantasy, and sipping great coffee in the Pacific Northwest.

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