Tools of the Trade
Tier 2Tools of the Trade is a Tier 2 Spirit Charm in VV: Ultimatum granting absolute weapon mastery - your heavy attack is never red, and you gain riposte on the attack anyway.
Tools of the Trade - "The right tool for the wrong job." - grants what the tooltip calls absolute mastery over your weaponry: your heavy attack is never red, and you gain riposte on the attack anyway. A parenthetical closes the edge case: it does not work for heavy attacks that are never red to begin with.
In the game's color language, a red attack is the telegraphed, high-commitment variant that opponents read and answer. Removing the red state from your heavy attack strips the warning off one of your most punishable moves while still granting the riposte reward the red version would earn - your heavy becomes safer to throw and keeps its payoff. Opponents lose one of their cleanest visual cues against you.
The charm suits heavy-attack-centric weapon builds and pressure players who want their big swings to stop being telegraphed liabilities. Kits whose heavies are never red by design get explicitly nothing. It requires Level 10 and weighs 1 wt.; its zone and drop or vendor source are not documented in current community documentation.
Traits
Details
| Tier | Tier 2 |
| Requires | Level 10 |
| Weight | 1 wt. |
FAQ
What does "never red" mean for Tools of the Trade?
Your heavy attack no longer shows the red telegraphed state opponents react to, yet you still gain the riposte the attack would normally earn.
Does Tools of the Trade work with every weapon?
Not universally - the tooltip notes it does nothing for heavy attacks that are never red to begin with, so its value depends on your weapon's moveset.