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Last Epoch: Best Primalist builds and skillsLearn the best builds and skills for the Primalist class in Last Epoch
Learn the best builds and skills for the Primalist class in Last Epoch
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eleventh Hour Games
Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eleventh Hour Games
Wondering what the best Primalist skills and builds are in Last Epoch?From the depths of the harsh frontier comes the Primalist, the barbarian, berserker, and druid ofLast Epoch. With the ability to summon animal armies, elemental fury, and a wide variety of different totems, the Primalist embodies the best traits of the wandering nature warrior trope present in many sword and sorcery stories.
Whether you want to conquer the opposition with a wave of ferocious creatures or shapeshift, the Primalist’s three Masteries - Beastmaster, Druid, and Shaman - all have something impressive to offer. Below, we’ve outlined our preferred builds for each Mastery, along with the right Skills, Specialization Tree nodes, and Passives for each. Read on to rise above all foes inLast Epochas master of the wilds.
Last Epoch Official Launch Trailer | Echoes from the VoidLast Epoch’s launch trailer shows off the game’s classes as well as its time-travelling theme.Watch on YouTube
Last Epoch Official Launch Trailer | Echoes from the Void
Last Epoch Best Primalist Beastmaster build
Behold, ‘tis I…and a small legion of squirrels at my command. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eleventh Hour Games
Fury Leap
On the Fury Leap Specialization Tree, take theWarrior’s Entrancenode to deal additional damage when you land. Following that, takePack Leaderto ensure that your squirrels can leap with you, which not only makes for an awesome visual effect but means that they also do damage when they come crashing down. Finally, selectRegain Staminato have the chance to reset Fury Leap’s cooldown whenever you kill an enemy with another Skill.
Summon Frenzy Totem
Summon Wolf
Swipe
Swipeis a go-to melee damage skill with this build that hits all enemies in an arc in front of you. For extra giggles, you can make a successful Swipe manifest spirit wolves from your squirrels!
Warcry
When the Primalist gets angry, he unleashes his mightyWarcryto gain the Berserker buff, which increases melee damage the more you use it. Your attack speed will also go up, giving this Skill excellent synergy with Swipe.
My favourite nodes for customising this Skill are on th left side of the Specialization Tree.Battle Cryis excellent for amplifying crit chance, whileJormun’s Wrath,Frost Claw,Frigid Breath, andBringer of Winterall provide the wonderful ability to freeze enemies after popping Warcry.
Passives
To maximise your potential with the Squirrel Beastmaster build, we recommend the following Passives:
Last Epoch Best Primalist Druid build
The Swarmblade might not be much of a looker, but this insect form sure cuts through baddies like butter. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Eleventh Hour Games
The Primalist Druid Mastery specialises in shapeshifting into bestial forms, and thisLightning Swarmbladebuild morphs your Primalist into an insectoid with a wide variety of killer abilities, including summoning locusts and cutting via razor-sharp claws. We’ll be customising the Swarmblade’s skillset with skills that add on tornadoes, lightning strikes, and several other aspects of nature’s wrath.
Gathering Storm
Gathering Stormlets your Primalist stike opponents with lightning bolts, generating stacks that they can spend to unleash a Storm Bolt, hitting other enemies. This is a great ability that you’ll consistently rely on to wreck mobs with a steady onslaught of damage and critical hits.
To pump up Gathering Storm, fill out theThunderous Strikesnode to pierce through enemy lightning resistance. Then grab theExcited Boltsnode, which will cause your Storm Bolts to deal more damage depending on how much mana you have. You should also invest as many points as you can intoConcentrated Storm,In the Eye of the Storm, andRending Vortex.
Maelstrom
A freezing vortex surrounds the Primalist when they useMaelstrom, and this can be cast multiple times to create more than one Maelstrom. You’ll use this Skill regularly to deliver big AoE bursts that’ll disorient foes and deal damage over time.
Get theWhirlpoolnode to increase the duration of your Maelstrom. Then pick upSleet-Footedfor additional dodge chance,Cycloneto convert Maelstrom’s cold damage to physical damage, andEssence of Debristo give you an increased chance to stun enemies.WindsweptandWindfuryare also good choices if you want your Primalist to have haste and frenzy every time they use this Skill.
Serpent Strike
Serpent Strikeworks well with your Swarmblade Form. Normally, this poison-inducing Skill requires a spear to use, but in the Swarmblade Specialization Tree below, we’ll choose certain nodes to ensure that Serpent Strike applies to your attacks when you’re transformed. That said, this is also a great all-around Skill to use outside of Swarmblade mode, and Primalists certainly do well with a legendary spear in their hefty paws.
Fill out theCulling Point,Slither,Hydra Strikes, andCorrosive Venomnodes for insta-kills, a better chance of dodging, and faster, more devastating Serpent Strikes that will shred enemy armour and poison resistance.
Swarmblade Form
WithSwarmblade Form, your Druid transforms into a huge mantis-like insect with excellent agility and attack speed. You gain several new Skills upon turning into a Swarmblade, including a reliable melee attack dubbed Armblade Slash, the locust-summoning ability Summon Hive, a divebomb move aptly named Dive, and Circular Strike, which unleashes a giant arc of pain at everything around you.
We’re going to tweak the Swarmblade’s abilities to play nicely with the other Skills in this build.Viper’s Callis a must-have node, since it lets the Serpent Strike Skill tree apply to the Swarmblade’s Armblade Slashes.Water Strideris also needed, as it will auto-cast Maelstrom when you use Dive. Finally,Windfury Strikeslets you generate stacks whenever you use Armblade Slash, and these stacks can be expended to cast Tornado.
Tornado
Take theCharged StormandFrequent Lightingnodes to create synergy with Gathering Storm, casting even more Storm Bolts at all in your path.Lasting Storm,Hurricane, andEye of the Stormare all must-haves for casting additional Tornadoes at once and making them more powerful, and we also recommend takingAspect of the StormandStorm Dervishas well.
Passives
To maximise your potential with the Lightning Swarmblade Druid build, we recommend the following Passives:
Best Primalist Shaman build
The Shaman Mastery embraces the natural world, usually via totems that generate stellar buffs. Out of the various totem combinations in this game, theThorn TotemShaman build is my favourite for blasting projectiles all across the screen, similar to the full-on AoE attacks that you’ll find with Last Epoch’s Mage class. This Primalist build also has a nifty Spriggan transformation and can work multiple roles as a tank or a skilled healer. There’s really a little bit of everything in the Thorn Totem Shaman’s ever-reliable bag of totemic tricks!
Eterra’s Blessing
GrabConservation,Improved Blessing,Purge,Efflorescence, andRegrowthto keep the healing potential of Eterra’s Blessing high. Technically, you also don’t need to keep Eterra’s Blessing in your hotbar, because taking theRosebloomnode activates it whenever you cast Thorn Shield via your Spriggan form, as described below. If you decide on this option, feel free to replace Eterra’s Blessing with another attack Skill of your choice (or a traversal Skill likeFury Leap).
Spriggan Form
Ironbarkis a good first node thanks to the additional armour it grants the Spriggan form. Following this, chooseTotem Wardento grant your healing totems higher health and duration,Guardian of Natureto amplify their healing effectiveness, andWrath of the Gladefor the chance to case Spirit Thorns from each healing totem whenever you directly cast Spirit Thorn. You’ll also wantSpiked TotemsandUnbound Garden. Boom, thorns everywhere - and we’re going to have even more when we activate Summon Thorn Torem, described below.
Summon Spriggan
To make your Spriggan companion beefier,Arboreal VitalityandWarding Barkare necessities. I also recommend takingAura of Life,Aura of Kinship, andAura of Retributionto elevate the healing aura of your Spriggan comrades.
Summon Storm Totem
Invest in nodes that scale the damage of your storms. This meansLightning Raider,Storm’s Reach, orIntensity. To shock enemies, try takingStatic Fieldand all of the nodes attached to it, likeFulgurite CoreandExploit Weakness.
Summon Thorn Totem
Forested Expanseis the node you’re looking for to have three extra totems active at once, whileMemories of Eterrawill help you regain mana whenever one of your totems dies.Ancient Poweris worth maxing out to make your totems deal more damage, and you can take matters a step further withImpale, which offers thorns a chance to deal double damage on a hit. If you really want to go big, invest inTitan’s Baneat the bottom of the Specialization Tree to shoot a single massive thorn from each totem instead of a selection of projectiles.
Passives
To maximise your potential with the Thorn Totem Shaman build, we recommend the following Passives:
That finishes our look at the best builds available for the animal-friendly powerhouse that is the Primalist. For more on all the class options available to you in Last Epoch, keep an eye on Rock Paper Shotgun in the coming days as we proceed to delve into thegothic Acolyte, the spell-slinging Mage, theshifty Rogue, and thenoble Sentinel.
