You've probably seen a few artist gearing guides already, but we feel like most of them aren't thorough, so we want to go over a more comprehensive list of paths you can take as you prepare your artist for Brel Hard. This post is for you if you plan on pushing artist to 1490/1500 week 1 and want to complete the full Brel and full level 2 set within 2 weeks of Brel Hard's release. For the sake of this post, we will assume Brel Hard will release on April 19, 5 weeks after artist's release. All these options assume that Legendary/lower relic gear is honed no further than +20 (1490). We will not be covering honing costs, feel free to use maxroll's honing calculator to estimate costs for each option.

Method 1: Speedrun Brel + Level 2 Set (5 Weeks)

General requirements:

• 1 Valtan and 1 Vykas by week 2, second Valtan on week 3, purchase 1 Valtan box by week 3

• Clown every week, purchase every box (5 total)

• Brel 1-4 week 1, Brel 1-6 weeks 2-5, purchase every box (14 total)

• hone first two Brel pieces to +19 (1580), this lets you reach 1520 on week 2

Notes:

• Doing Vykas week 1 followed by Valtan week 2 is recommended as this lets you have 2-piece Yearning on week 1. Doing it the other way around would only give you a single relic piece week 1. Both options give you 4-piece Yearning on week 2.

Pros:

• Fastest completion of Brel and level 2 set. This allows you to run Brel Hard immediately on release.

Cons:

• Very expensive, as you need to hone two Brel armor pieces to +19 and purchase many boxes.

Method 2: Speedrun 6-Piece Yearning (7 Weeks)

General requirements:

• Valtan weeks 1 and 2, purchase 1 box.

• Vykas weeks 1 and 2, purchase both boxes.

• Brel 1-4 weeks 1 and 2, purchase 2 boxes by the time you complete Brel 1-4 on week 3. Brel 1-6 weeks 3-7.

• Clown weeks 3-7, purchase every box (5 total).

• hone first three Brel pieces to +16 (1550), this lets you reach 1520 after Brel 1-4 week 3.

Notes:

• Brel set can be completed by week 6 if 8 boxes are purchased by week 6.

• Brel set can be completed by week 5 if first two Brel pieces are honed to +19 (1580), letting you do Brel 1-6 starting week 2, and if all (14) boxes are purchased by week 5.

Pros:

• Fastest completion of 6-piece Yearning.

• Cheapest option, least amount of honing required and boxes to be purchased.

• Brel set can be completed in 5-7 weeks depending on preference/goals.

Cons:

• Slowest completion of level 2 set.

Method 3: Balanced (6 Weeks)

Minimize Valtans OR minimize Vykases.

Minimize Valtans: 

Minimize Vykases: 

General requirements:

• Need to do 2 Valtans and 1 Vykas by week 2. If minimizing Valtans, need to buy 1 Valtan box by second Valtan.

• Clown week 1 or 2 and weeks 3-6, purchase every box (5 total).

• Brel 1-4 weeks 1 and 2, purchase 2 boxes by the time you complete Brel 1-4 on week 3. Brel 1-6 weeks 3-6, purchase 6 more boxes (8 total) by week 6.

• hone first three Brel pieces to +16 (1550), this lets you reach 1520 after Brel 1-4 week 3.

Notes:

• Brel set can be completed by week 5 if first two Brel pieces are honed to +19 (1580), letting you do Brel 1-6 starting week 2, and if all (14) boxes are purchased by week 5. 

Pros:

• Most flexible option in terms of weekly raid selection.

Cons:

• Neither fastest nor slowest completion for any category.