Learn the best builds and skills for the Primalist class in Last Epoch
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 Best Primalist Beastmaster build
The Beastmaster is friend to all creatures, from the large to the small. And theSquirrel BeastmasterPrimalist build below takes the idea of having small friends to the extreme by giving you a skillset that revolves around summonable squirrels. You heard that right, squirrels! If these bushy-tailed lads never struck you as reliable companions, just wait until you sic ‘em on a boss and watch them whittle its health down to nothingness. Keep in mind that this build is dependent on a piece of gear - thePrimalist’s Herald of the Scurry. We’ve explained why you need this helmet down below; for now, get started by Specializing in the following Skills and Passives.
You’ve got to get around in order to bring the squirrels out to play, andFury Leapwill help you clear obsctacles with ease. This Skill also deals damage the second you come crashing to the earth, helping to clear any mobs who might be hanging around by your feet.
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.
To amplify the aggression displayed by your squirrel buddies, you needSummon Frenzy Totem. This Skill pops a totem by your Primalist, boosting the attack and cast speed of nearby allies by 20%. You’ll be using this buff regularly, especially as you and your squirrels stand down against a boss.
Go forRabidityandBestial Frenzyas your most important nodes on the Specialization Tree. These will increase the totem’s buffs and the melee damage inflicted by your squirrels.Furious CryandLead The Packare excellent nodes to invest in further, whileReinforced TotemandGrounded, on the opposite side of the Specialization Tree, are worth taking to make your totem more resilient and untargetable by foes.
Here it is, the main Skill of our build - and yes, by default, it summons wolves, not squirrels. As we’ve previously stated, you need the Primalist’s Herald of the Scurry, a legendary helmet, to change this ability and make it bring out the bushy tails instead of the dogs. If you don’t have it, this build technically works okay with wolves, but we’ve focused it on squirrels due to their 75% chance to inflict bleed and shred physical resistance on a hit. This means that a pack of squirrels is way more effective at decimating a boss’ health than a pack of wolves, surprisingly!
Once you’ve got the helmet equipped and squirrel friends going for the eyes of the baddies, amplify this Skill by taking theSave Hunters,Snarl, andLegendary Bitenodes.On The HuntandHowl of Mightshould be your next bets.
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!
To set up this unbelievable display of animal-on-animal summoning, take theWild Callingnode, which gives you a chance to call forth a spirit wolf from any summoned wolves (or in this case, squirrels) you have nearby. You’ll also want to be sure that yourWengarian ReachandCullingnodes are filled out to increase Swipe’s attack speed and insta-kill potential.
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.
To maximise your potential with the Squirrel Beastmaster build, we recommend the following Passives:
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 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.
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 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.
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.
Last but certainly not least, we haveTornado, which lets you conjure a whirlwind that pulls in nearby foes and deals damage to them. This Skill, alongside Gathering Storm and Maelstrom, ensures that you’ll always be a raging vortex of weather whenever you wade into the throes of combat.
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.
To maximise your potential with the Lightning Swarmblade Druid build, we recommend the following Passives:
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 Blessingheals a nearby ally for 100 health, and can triple this healing for minions and energise them, increasing their size and doubling their damage. You’ll regularly use Eterra’s Blessing not just to keep your friends alive, but to boost your summoned Spriggans and reign supreme as lord of a leafy army.
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).
Your Shaman relies on totems, but they can also become the stuff that totems are made of withSpriggan Form, shapeshifting into a bark-encrusted forest fey with new abilities at their beck and call: Summon Vines, Summon Healing Totem, Thorn Shield, and Spirit Thorns. All are excellent battle and healing Skills, and we can make them even better by focusing on the following nodes.
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.
If becoming a Spriggan wasn’t enough, why not bring forth another tree pal to have your back?Summon Spriggandoes just that, and your summon will support you by casting spells and emanating an aura that restores 10 health per second.
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.
One of two totem Skills in the Shaman’s aresenal,Summon Storm Torembrings forth lighting storms around nearby foes. Keep in mind that you can’t activate it while in your Spriggan Form, but it’s still a worthy Skill that deals extreme DPS for all those moments when you aren’t kicking butt as a treeman.
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.
The other totem in your skillset,Summon Thorn Totemwill be a constant presence as you rain down sharp missiles on anything coming your way. By default, you can have two totems active, but we’ll amp things up to make totems cover every direction you could possibly face.
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.
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.
