McFluffin has been playing and making content for Last Epoch since Alpha. He has also been a Community Tester since the implementation of the program, which has allowed him the opportunity to provide feedback to Eleventh Hour Games on pre release builds since 2020. With degrees in both science and philosophy, McFluffin enjoys applying the analytical processees he's learned to build making, efficiency, and a better understanding of the inner workings of the games he plays. Despite all of that, his favorite thing to do is be weird on Twitch while hanging out with his friendly and welcoming community. Learn about the Skills, Gameplay and Passives for the Dragonsong Marksman Build.
Skills
Cinder Strike
Cinder Strike is your main skill and the primary way to proc Dragonfire and Meteor due to its high attack rate and additional hits from Burning Dagger and Firebreathing. It also provides us with several major buffs to both damage and defenses.
Shift
Shift is your main Movement Skill. Use it to move around quickly and time it properly to prevent incoming damage thanks to Shadowslip. This setup also provides a short Movement Speed buff, Cleanses Ailments and procs 5 Shurikens after each use.
Shurikens
Shurikens can be used as an additional Movement Skill and they automatically proc every time you use Shift. Additionally, Bladed Armor provides a substantial %Armour buff and Haste if enemies that get too close to you.
Decoy
Decoy is a very powerful Support Skill. It provides multiple temporary buffs and Taunts enemies while it's active, an amazing defensive mechanic. If foes get too close, it can be used as a panic button as it instantly Fears anything inside its AoE on use.
Smoke Bomb
Smoke Bomb can be used as an extra gap closer providing great defensive buffs and utility. Cleansing Steam provides a Cleanse and Thick Smoke leaves a persistent Slow on the ground that makes kitting enemies easier.
Alternative Skills & Tips
- The Cinder Strike node Fire Eater can provide mana regen for additional Meteor procs, but it comes at a heavy cost. Buffs from Oil Coating are limited to 5 stacks when it's possible to get ~20 without this node.
- The Stagger node in Shurikens can be taken to immobilize enemies for a short time, but getting there will mean less duration from Floating Blades. Only take this if you're comfortable maintaining a very consistent rotation with Shift.
- If you haven't gotten enough Armour Shred from gear you can take Eroding Fumes and Swirling Fog in the Smoke Bomb tree for a huge boost, but it will come at the cost of better defenses.
Passives
Passives provide powerful effects that dictate the playstyle of a Class and its Masteries. Remember that you can allocate Passives on the first half of all Masteries regardless of the one you chose.
- Take the Dexterity, Bow Attack Speed, Glancing Blow, Critical Strike Multiplier and Critical Vulnerability Nodes.
- Sapping Strikes, Draining Arrows and Perfect Aim are crucial for sustain; grab them as soon as possible.
- Sapping Strikes anMana Warp are necessary to regen mana and maximize Meteor procs.
- Death from Afar can boost your Damage significantly. This also represents a great source of crowd control so don't underestimate it!
- If you want additional movement speed invest 5 points into Pursuit.
- All the points related to the Concentration buff are the lowest priority, so leave them for last.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
Dragonsong gameplay comes down to looking for the balance between being too close vs too far away. If you're too close you take additional damage, but if you're too far away Dragonfire won't reach the enemy. Achieving this balance will take practice and a familiarity with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Paying attention to the telegraphs of your enemies and staying out of their range while not wasting too much DPS being being too far away is critical with this build.
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Spam Cinder Strike while you kite, stay within Dragonfire's range as much as possible.
- Keep your Bladed Armor buff from Shurikens active by using Shift as often as possible when out of danger.
- Smoke Bomb can be used as an extra gap closer that leaves a persistent Slow on the ground for easier kitting.
Mapping
- Move quickly with Shift, Shurikens and Smoke Bomb. Remember, the latter two skills will make you jump away from the direction you're facing, so position accordingly.
- When enemy density is high, use Decoy and redirect their aggro. Wait for them to group while you run towards your objective then attack them with [Cinder Strike. The bigger the group you attack, the more Dragonfire and Meteor procs.
Bossing
- Use Decoy to distract the Boss. Take advantage of this window to reposition or DPS.
- Shift can save you from incoming damage. Time it against dangerous telegraphed Boss attacks.
- Hold Shurikens and Smoke Bomb to juke incoming attacks or until you need their defensive buffs.
Advanced Skill Tips
- Escape Tactics and Acrobatics Backflips allow you to clip over certain small obstacles, walls and doors. Learn this to maximize your mobility and kitting potential.
- Shift can also cross small terrain gaps and fences. An expert player can benefit immensely from this to gain distance and keep kitting.
- The backflip dashes from Shurikens and Smoke Bomb have to be aimed at the opposite direction you want to dash towards if you want to move forward with them.
- Time your Decoy explosion with the Dodge buff from Shift to obtain extra Critical Strike Multiplier.
- While Dragonfire has a relatively short range, Meteor does not and will auto target enemies. You can use this to your advantage when dealing with especially dangerous melee enemies by staying far away and relying on Meteor to do the work for you.
- Make sure you always have at least one Silver Shroud active, so the Concentration buffs stay active. Since Silver Shrouds last 10 seconds each, you can time Smoke Bomb and Covering Fire apart to make sure you always have one Silver Shroud active, or quickly recover them if they proc. If you do this properly you can always have this protection against hits that can be Dodged, including some major Boss mechanics!
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
