“What neither, cut your spine in half for ya!”
Overview
Max
Maniac
Vindicators
Elite
Single Damage
Debuffer
4: Standard carry slot for single-target DPS. Fires after front-row tanks have absorbed initial damage, letting Max target already-softened enemies for bleed application.
5: Back corner alternative. Equally safe as pos 4 with no targeting difference for single-target skills. Fires last among backrow heroes.
3: Mid backrow. Slightly more exposed but fires earlier, useful when you want bleed applied before other backrow carries attack the bleeding target.
Max is a Vindicators Commando who delivers massive single-target weapon damage through Sanguine Blade while applying potent bleed effects that last two rounds. His Punky Chainsaw UW turns him into a team force multiplier, granting all teammates +15% DMG against bleeding enemies — a rare team-wide offensive buff for an Elite-rarity hero. He excels in bleed-focused compositions alongside Ricardo and Heytex but is outpaced by higher-tier carries in later seasons.
Pros & Cons
- Punky Chainsaw UW grants all teammates +15% DMG vs bleeding — a team-wide offensive multiplier
- Sanguine Blade deals 250% WPN DMG plus 30% WPN DMG bleed for 2 rounds, providing both burst and sustained damage
- Killing Slash adds +100% WPN DMG on skill, pushing focus skill damage to extreme levels
- Bleed application synergizes naturally with Ripper gear, Ricardo chains, and Heytex’s Blaze Shark
- Outrageous provides a passive +10% WPN DMG for reliable baseline scaling
- Entirely dependent on bleed effects landing — cleanse or high DMG Mitigation neutralizes his kit
- Elite-rarity stats (894 STR) limit his individual damage ceiling compared to Advanced Elite carries
- Single-target only — no AOE pressure means he can only apply bleed to one enemy at a time without Ripper
- Fragile (299 VIT) with no defensive or sustain utility
Skills
Deals 150/170/190/210/250% WPN DMG to 1 enemy, turning the enemy into a bleeding state and dealing 18/20.4/22.8/25.2/30% WPN DMG each round lasting 2 rounds.
+8/9/10/11/13% WPN DMG Bonus; -3% TAC DMG Mitigation.
+5/6/7/8/10% WPN DMG Bonus for this Hero
Casting "Sanguine Blade" will deal an additional 50/60/70/80/100% WPN DMG.
Gear
Ripper is uniquely powerful on Max because it transforms his normal attacks into bleed applicators, ensuring Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG bonus is active as often as possible. Without Ripper, Max only bleeds on Sanguine Blade casts, leaving gaps in the team buff uptime. Reaper and Apocalypse are the standard fallback options for raw damage output.
Best-in-slot for Max specifically. Normal attacks cause bleeding, creating a self-sustaining bleed engine that activates Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG bonus even between focus skill casts. Every normal attack bleeds a new target, spreading the team damage buff across the enemy lineup.
#1 Best
+15% Crit Rate and +30% Crit Damage. Strong when crit investment is high (LUK statue + substats). A crit on Sanguine Blade with Killing Slash bonus deals devastating single-target damage.
#2
Standard STR DPS set. +15% WPN DMG Bonus and +30% DMG on focus skill directly amplify Sanguine Blade’s 250% multiplier. Preferred when Ripper pieces are unavailable.
#3
Max is a STR Commando whose value comes from both personal damage and bleed-based team buffs. Prioritize STR and damage stats on offensive slots. Defensive slots should maximize survivability since Max needs to stay alive to keep applying bleed effects for the team.
DMG Bonus, STR, Crit Rate
DMG Bonus is the universal multiplier; STR scales WPN ATK; Crit Rate for burst potential on Sanguine Blade’s high multiplier.
HP%, AGI, VIT
Survivability stats. HP% is the most efficient; AGI reduces incoming damage and protects against AGI-targeting skills.
DEF, VIT, DMG Mitigation
Pure defense. Keeps Max alive to maintain bleed uptime and Punky Chainsaw’s team buff.
DMG Bonus, STR, Skill Effect Enhancement
DMG Bonus for universal scaling; STR for WPN ATK; Skill Effect Enhancement boosts Sanguine Blade multiplier and bleed damage.
Recommended lineups
Archetype tags describe playstyle. Each card shows recommended gear (helmet icons), APC parts, and War Beast. Open APC · View details for part skills and calculator link.
Beast 
Dual DPS lineup with Max and Blanche. Crimson Predator’s WPN ATK, DMG Bonus, and Crit Rate maximize the combined damage output.
Vindicators primary tank. Super Core feeds focus to the team from pos 1. Castle provides DEF bonuses for front-line durability.
Chain of Pain links 3 enemies so damage spreads. When Max bleeds a chained target, the entire team’s +15% DMG bonus applies to chain-spread damage. Grand Debut UW chains 2 enemies at battle start.
Core carry. Ripper bleeds on normal attacks, ensuring Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG vs bleeding is active every round. Sanguine Blade adds 30% WPN DMG bleed for 2 rounds on top of Ripper bleeds.
Eradicate targets random backrow enemies with massive WPN DMG. Benefits from Punky Chainsaw’s +15% DMG bonus when attacking bleeding targets.
Provides healing to sustain the lineup through prolonged fights where Max’s bleed stacks and team buff accumulate maximum value.
Vindicators-focused bleed lineup built around Max’s Punky Chainsaw team buff and Ricardo’s Chain of Pain damage spreading. Max bleeds targets with Sanguine Blade and Ripper, activating the +15% team DMG bonus. Ricardo chains enemies so bleed-amplified damage from any teammate spreads to linked targets. Blanche provides additional single-target burst, and Quinn supports with heals. Enrique holds the front line as the Vindicators tank.
Beast
Dual DPS lineup with Heytex as the primary carry. Crimson Predator’s offensive stats amplify both Heytex’s multi-hit AOE and Max’s single-target burst.
Primary tank. Super Core feeds focus from pos 1. AC Shield UW provides a battle-start shield. Alpha Bless adds round 1 team shields and crit immunity.
Heals front line via Battlefield Treatment. Mirage UW inflicts bleeding on Battledog’s Attack, triggering Blaze Shark and activating Punky Chainsaw’s +15% DMG on the bled target. Mental Control draws attacks to Mira.
Hellfire burns all enemies, triggering Heytex’s Blaze Shark bullets. Apocalypse adds Crit scaling. +8% DMG bonus for Minutemen. Burns paired with Max’s bleeds create dual status pressure.
Ripper bleeds on normal attacks, keeping Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG active every round. Resolute provides death immunity. All teammates deal +15% more damage to Max’s bleeding targets.
Primary carry. Blaze Shark procs off Benson’s burns and Mira’s bleeds. Punky Chainsaw’s +15% DMG bonus amplifies every rocket hit, Pursue bullet, and Blaze Shark proc against bleeding targets.
Cross-faction lineup pairing Max’s bleed-based team buff with Heytex’s Blaze Shark AOE. Max bleeds targets with Ripper and Sanguine Blade, activating Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG for all allies. Heytex’s Blaze Shark UW fires extra bullets when Minutemen allies inflict status effects — Benson’s burns and Mira’s bleeds provide the triggers. Bolton and Mira anchor the front line. The lineup sacrifices faction bonuses for the raw synergy between Max’s team buff and Heytex’s mark system.
Synergies
Ricardo’s Chain of Pain links 3 enemies so 20% of damage to one conducts to the others. When Max bleeds a chained target, the chain-spread damage applies to linked partners. All teammates benefit from Punky Chainsaw’s +15% DMG bonus when attacking any bleeding target in the chain.
Heytex’s Blaze Shark UW fires extra bullets when Minutemen allies inflict status effects. While Max is not Minutemen, his Ripper-induced bleeds create targets for the +15% team DMG bonus. Heytex’s rockets, Pursue bullets, and Blaze Shark procs all deal +15% more damage to Max’s bleeding targets.
Benson’s Hellfire burns all enemies while Max’s Sanguine Blade and Ripper bleed individual targets. Enemies suffer simultaneous burn and bleed DoTs, and Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG bonus amplifies Benson’s own damage against the bleeding targets.
Interactions with other heroes’ ultimate weapons.
Grand Debut chains 2 random enemies at battle start before skills fire. Heroes attacking chained enemies get +20% crit rate. When Max bleeds a chained target, the +15% team DMG bonus from Punky Chainsaw applies to the chain-spread damage across all linked enemies.
Blaze Shark fires extra bullets when Minutemen allies inflict status effects. Max’s Ripper bleeds and Sanguine Blade bleeds create targets where Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG bonus applies to every Blaze Shark proc, Pursue bullet, and rocket that hits a bleeding enemy.
Ultimate weapons
<span style="color:orange">★★★★</span>
All teammates’ DMG against enemies subject to the "Bleeding" status increased by 15%; when attacking zombies, the zombies subject to the "Bleeding" status will restore some HP equal to 200% ATK for their front-row teammates upon their death
Star 1
All teammates’ DMG against Bleeding enemies increased by 7.5%
Star 2
All teammates’ DMG against Bleeding enemies increased by 9%
Star 3
All teammates’ DMG against Bleeding enemies increased by 10.5%
Star 4
All teammates’ DMG against Bleeding enemies increased by 15%
- Ultimate Weapon’s Energy 6,700
- WPN ATK 25%
- STR 25%
- HP 80%
Unlocked
At the beginning of each round, apply an "Imparied" effect to a random enemy. Teammates’ ATK will be increased when attacking "Imparied" enemies: ATK is increased by 15% for 3 round(s) (can be stacked up to 3 layers(s)). When attacking zombies, ATK increase lasts for 3 round(s) and can be stacked up to 5 layer(s)
Counters
- Cleanse / heal lineups (Hard Counter) — Heroes with cleanse effects remove Max’s bleed before Punky Chainsaw’s +15% team DMG bonus can be exploited. Strong healers like Ada can out-heal the bleed damage entirely, nullifying Max’s primary value proposition as a team damage amplifier.
- High DMG Mitigation tanks (Soft Counter) — Tanks with stacked DMG Mitigation reduce Sanguine Blade’s damage and bleed application. If the bleed ticks are mitigated to near-zero, the Punky Chainsaw team buff becomes meaningless since targets are effectively not taking damage from the bleed.
- Healing-dependent lineups (Hard Counter) — Lineups that rely on sustained healing to survive are vulnerable to Max’s sustained bleed pressure. While Max himself does not reduce healing (unlike Chihiro’s Murasame), the +15% team DMG bonus means the entire team punishes any target Max bleeds, outpacing heal-only sustain without shields or mitigation.
- Low-sustain frontlines (Soft Counter) — Front-row tanks without dedicated healing or shields are worn down by Sanguine Blade’s 30% WPN DMG bleed over 2 rounds, while the +15% team DMG bonus means every teammate hit on the bleeding target accelerates the kill.
Rating
B Tier. Max occupies a unique niche as a team damage amplifier through Punky Chainsaw’s +15% DMG vs bleeding. This team buff elevates him above pure-damage Elite carries despite his individual stat limitations. However, his bleed-dependent playstyle is countered by cleanse effects, and he is replaced by higher-tier single-target carries once they become available.
Videos
Official: (none in data)
Unofficial:
Skins
None
Trivia
- The word “Sanguine” in “Sanguine Blade” also refers to sanguine (red chalk), a reddish-brown color close to blood—fitting his weapon attacks that inflict bleeding.
- He is the objective giver of “Hunting Spree,” described as “the teacher of hunting zombies the Vindicator way.”