Last Epoch: Best Primalist builds and skills
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 of Last 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 in Last Epoch as master of the wilds.
In this guide:- Last Epoch Best Primalist Shaman build
- Last Epoch Best Primalist Beastmaster build
- Last Epoch Best Primalist Druid build
Last Epoch Best Primalist Beastmaster build
The Beastmaster is friend to all creatures, from the large to the small. And the Squirrel Beastmaster Primalist 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 - the Primalist'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.
Fury Leap
You've got to get around in order to bring the squirrels out to play, and Fury Leap will 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 the Warrior's Entrance node to deal additional damage when you land. Following that, take Pack Leader to 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, select Regain Stamina to have the chance to reset Fury Leap's cooldown whenever you kill an enemy with another Skill.
Summon Frenzy Totem
To amplify the aggression displayed by your squirrel buddies, you need Summon 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 for Rabidity and Bestial Frenzy as your most important nodes on the Specialization Tree. These will increase the totem's buffs and the melee damage inflicted by your squirrels. Furious Cry and Lead The Pack are excellent nodes to invest in further, while Reinforced Totem and Grounded, on the opposite side of the Specialization Tree, are worth taking to make your totem more resilient and untargetable by foes.
Summon Wolf
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 the Save Hunters, Snarl, and Legendary Bite nodes. On The Hunt and Howl of Might should be your next bets.
Swipe
Swipe is 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 the Wild Calling node, 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 your Wengarian Reach and Culling nodes are filled out to increase Swipe's attack speed and insta-kill potential.
Warcry
When the Primalist gets angry, he unleashes his mighty Warcry to 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 Cry is excellent for amplifying crit chance, while Jormun's Wrath, Frost Claw, Frigid Breath, and Bringer of Winter all 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:
- Primalist Passives: Primal Strength, Survival of the Pack, Hunter's Restoration, and Berserker are all excellent Passives to prioritise.
- Beastmaster Passives: There's a whole lot of stuff here worth taking, but generally, you're going to want to master Passives that will max out your strength and DPS, like Ursine Strength, The Chase, and Axe And Claw. Force of Nature is also necessary if you want to summon more squirrel buddies.
- Druid Passives: The Chitinous Plating Passive is your best bet here, since it grants additional armour to all minions, which includes your squirrels.
- Shaman Passives: Sky Warrior is a very good Passive that will increase the cooldown recovery speed for Fury Leap. If you want to be hardier while you have your totem active, take Silent Protector.
Last Epoch Best Primalist Druid build
The Primalist Druid Mastery specialises in shapeshifting into bestial forms, and this Lightning Swarmblade build 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 Storm lets 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 the Thunderous Strikes node to pierce through enemy lightning resistance. Then grab the Excited Bolts node, 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 into Concentrated Storm, In the Eye of the Storm, and Rending Vortex.
Maelstrom
A freezing vortex surrounds the Primalist when they use Maelstrom, 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 the Whirlpool node to increase the duration of your Maelstrom. Then pick up Sleet-Footed for additional dodge chance, Cyclone to convert Maelstrom's cold damage to physical damage, and Essence of Debris to give you an increased chance to stun enemies. Windswept and Windfury are also good choices if you want your Primalist to have haste and frenzy every time they use this Skill.
Serpent Strike
Serpent Strike works 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 the Culling Point, Slither, Hydra Strikes, and Corrosive Venom nodes for insta-kills, a better chance of dodging, and faster, more devastating Serpent Strikes that will shred enemy armour and poison resistance.
Swarmblade Form
With Swarmblade 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 Call is a must-have node, since it lets the Serpent Strike Skill tree apply to the Swarmblade's Armblade Slashes. Water Strider is also needed, as it will auto-cast Maelstrom when you use Dive. Finally, Windfury Strikes lets you generate stacks whenever you use Armblade Slash, and these stacks can be expended to cast Tornado.
Tornado
Last but certainly not least, we have Tornado, 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 the Charged Storm and Frequent Lighting nodes to create synergy with Gathering Storm, casting even more Storm Bolts at all in your path. Lasting Storm, Hurricane, and Eye of the Storm are all must-haves for casting additional Tornadoes at once and making them more powerful, and we also recommend taking Aspect of the Storm and Storm Dervish as well.
Passives
To maximise your potential with the Lightning Swarmblade Druid build, we recommend the following Passives:
- Primalist Passives: Natural Attunement, Wisdom of the Wild and Hunter's Restoration are all must-have Passives. Take Harmony of Blades if you'd like to dual wield or Berserker for dealing more melee damage at low health.
- Beastmaster Passives: A fair number of Beastmaster Passives will help the Druid, namely Ursine Strength, Boar Heart, and Porcine Constitution.
- Druid Passives: Go all in on Chitinous Plating, Druidic Prowess, and Wind in the Leaves. Harmonious Wisdom, Rageborn, Hideskin, and Impervious are also fine Passives that'll keep your Swarmblade Druid in the fight.
- Shaman Passives: Shamanic Infusion isn't a bad Passive to pour a few points into. You can ignore the other options here.
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, the Thorn Totem Shaman 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
Eterra's Blessing heals 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.
Grab Conservation, Improved Blessing, Purge, Efflorescence, and Regrowth to 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 the Rosebloom node 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 like Fury Leap).
Spriggan Form
Your Shaman relies on totems, but they can also become the stuff that totems are made of with Spriggan 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.
Ironbark is a good first node thanks to the additional armour it grants the Spriggan form. Following this, choose Totem Warden to grant your healing totems higher health and duration, Guardian of Nature to amplify their healing effectiveness, and Wrath of the Glade for the chance to case Spirit Thorns from each healing totem whenever you directly cast Spirit Thorn. You'll also want Spiked Totems and Unbound Garden. Boom, thorns everywhere - and we're going to have even more when we activate Summon Thorn Torem, described below.
Summon Spriggan
If becoming a Spriggan wasn't enough, why not bring forth another tree pal to have your back? Summon Spriggan does 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 Vitality and Warding Bark are necessities. I also recommend taking Aura of Life, Aura of Kinship, and Aura of Retribution to elevate the healing aura of your Spriggan comrades.
Summon Storm Totem
One of two totem Skills in the Shaman's aresenal, Summon Storm Torem brings 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 means Lightning Raider, Storm's Reach, or Intensity. To shock enemies, try taking Static Field and all of the nodes attached to it, like Fulgurite Core and Exploit Weakness.
Summon Thorn Totem
The other totem in your skillset, Summon Thorn Totem will 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 Expanse is the node you're looking for to have three extra totems active at once, while Memories of Eterra will help you regain mana whenever one of your totems dies. Ancient Power is worth maxing out to make your totems deal more damage, and you can take matters a step further with Impale, which offers thorns a chance to deal double damage on a hit. If you really want to go big, invest in Titan's Bane at 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:
- Primalist Passives: Gift of the Wilderness, Natural Attunement, Wisdom of the Wild and Hunter's Restoration are your priorities. Then take Berserker and especially Elder Branch for additional totemic spell damage.
- Beastmaster Passives: For some extra constitution and durabilty, take Ursine Strength, Boar Heart, and Call of the Pack.
- Druid Passives: Chitinous Plating, Thicket of Thorns, and Wind in the Leaves are all good picks for reinforcing your thorn attacks and your Spriggans.
- Shaman Passives: Start with Shamanic Infusion before moving on to Tempest Form and Ancestral Speed. Protective Circle will give you additional physical and elemental resistance for each active totem you have on screen, while Ruin of Awe is an overall solid boost to spell and minion damage.
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 the gothic Acolyte, the spell-slinging Mage, the shifty Rogue, and the noble Sentinel.