The Frostbite Swarmblade Druid shapeshifts into the fearsome Swarmblade Form. This astonishing metamorphosis serves as the catalyst for unleashing relentless Frostbite Damage Over Time with each Melee attack and Spell cast, Freezing foes in the process. This Frostbite Bug Form invites you into a thrilling fantasy of embodying a walking Tornado, delivering unmatched prowess to vanquish enemies.
This is a Melee build that spams Armblade Slash but scales Frostbite Damage. Its Damage primarily comes from poccing many Tornadoes casting Storm Orbs. The build has good tankiness and can scale it much higher with Legendary Items. It also gets access to constant CC thanks to its high Freeze Rate Multiplier.
While this setup doesn't require any Uniques to function, Snowdrift and Frostbite Shackles dramatically bolster the build's potential. That being said, both of these Uniques are easily acquired.
Overall, the Frostbite Swarmblade Druid is a great build suited for all content in the game, even in Hardcore. The ability to scale Dodge easily, to Freeze enemies constantly and its super high Damage output really make this build great defensively and offensively. If you are looking for a fast hitting Melee playstyle with insane Damage this build is perfect for you!
Swarmblade Form
Tornado
Maelstrom
Serpent Strike
Summon Spriggan
This article assumes you have a Level 70 Character. Reach Level 70 with our Druid Leveling Guide.
If you are looking for a different playstyle, check all our Build Guides!
Strong CC ✔
Fast Mapper ✔
High Damage ✔
Free Dodge Scaling ✔
❌ Limited AoE
❌ Companion Management
❌ Occasional Rage Management
❌ Melee Suffers Against Certain Enemies
Skills
Swarmblade Form
You proc multiple Tornadoes with the Windfury Strikes Node. Frost Bites converts all Poison Chance to Frostbite while in Swarmblade Form. Chitin Sleet Storm increases Damage and CC thanks to the Freeze Rate Multiplier and its synergy with Snowdrift. Viper's Call lets your Armblade Slash use the Serpent Strike Tree. Endless Pressure provides Rage sustain. Water Strider provides stacks of Maelstrom.
Alternative Skills & Tips
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.
- Shamanic Infusion unlocks Tornado. Get those 5 points as soon as possible.
- Rageborn is mandatory to sustain Rage. The build suffers greatly from Rage sustain before you unlock this Node.
- Harmony of Blades enables you to Dual Wield. You can't equip a Melee Off-Hand without this Passive.
- Druidic Prowess and Harmonious Wisdom provide Attunement, which greatly increases your Damage thanks to the synergy between Chitin Sleet Storm and Snowdrift.
- River Spirits provides Damage via Cold Damage, Frostbite Chance and Freeze Rate Multiplier.
- Rancour helps with Rage sustain, especially during downtime between Echoes.
- Ursine Strength, Boar Heart and Porcine Constitution provide insane Damage Reduction.
- Natural Duality helps a lot with your Companion's survivability by providing a good amount of Health.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
The Frostbite Swarmblade Druid shapeshifts into Swarmblade Form and Dives in Melee range to spam Armblade Slash, proccing many of his different abilities. Make sure you are familiar with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Pay attention to their telegraphed attacks!
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Summon the Summon Spriggan Companion.
- Shapeshift into Swarmblade Form.
- Dive on Cooldown to stack as many Maelstrom stacks as possible and benefit from all the Buffs they provide.
- Attack with Armblade Slash, proccing multiple Tornadoes attached to you.
Mapping
- Dive into packs of enemies and rush to your objective.
- Let the Frostbite ticks kill enemies as you leave Storm Orbs behind you and work your way to the next pack to optimize your Rage sustain.
- Dispose of dangerous enemies first, as you should Freeze them easily and prevent their devastating attacks.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Use Dive to dodge telegraphed Boss attacks.
Advanced Skill Tips
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
Gear
Gearing in Last Epoch revolves around finding Items and then using the powerful Crafting System to enhance them. As long as an Item has Forging Potential left, players can upgrade or modify their Affixes up to Tier 5. However, the powerful Exalted Tier Affixes are drop only and can't be modified by players.
Using the correct Item Bases allows you to make use of their amazing Implicits, this is fundamental for gearing efficiently. Combine Implicits, Passives, Idols and Blessings to cap your Resistances and other defensive layers, while fitting as much Health related Affixes or Endurance Threshold into your gear as possible. Plan ahead for your next upgrades and consider the final Blessings of your build while gearing. Finish up by farming Uniques with Legendary Potential and Sealing Affixes into Exalted Items to unleash all of your build's power!
Here are the Stat Goals for this build:
- Capped Resistances
- Capped Critical Strike Avoidance
- Capped Endurance
- 3000-3500+ Health
- 70%+ Dodge Chance
- 40% - 50%+ Armour
- 500% - 600%+ Freeze Rate Multiplier
- 600%+ Frostbite Chance
- 200%+ Melee Attack Speed
- 35%+ Critical Strike Chance
- 85+ Attunement
- 80% - 95%+ Movement Speed
Gear Progression
Milestone 1
Upgrade your T20 set up with Exalted items, high value Sealed Affixes or ideally both. Obtain the Affixes included in the Planner, but prioritize the indicated Item Bases for their Implicits. Make sure to Seal highly efficient low tier Affixes.
Milestone 2
Farm Throne of Ambition in The Stolen Lance Empowered Monolith Timeline. It's a rare drop from God Hunter Argentus so it might take a few tries to drop. This Idol is great for increasing your Boss DPS and survivability.
Milestone 3
Frostbite Shackles with Legendary Potential is your next goal. Since it is a farmable Boss drop, it is only a matter of time until you find one!
Milestone 4
At this point, farm for Snowdrift and Vipertail with Legendary Potential. The Belt provides survivability, while the Boots increase your Movement Speed significantly. Get at least 1 Legendary Potential on both. Prioritize Hybrid Health on Vipertail.
Milestone 4
Ward Gained on Kill on Bleeding Heart can greatly increase your survivability while fighting density and synergises well with the Ward Retention from Frostbite Shackles. This item drops regularly with 1 or more Legendary Potential, very often from natural drops.
Learn the basics for crafting gear with our Beginner Crafting Guide.
Check our Unique Item & Set Farming Guide and learn how to get them!
Want to know more about Legendary Items? Check our Legendary Guide!
Blessings
Completing a Timeline in the Monolith of Fate lets you choose one of several randomized Blessings from its unique pool. Their benefits are permanent and persist even outside of the Monolith of Fate.
Empowered Blessings are a fundamental part of all builds, so getting the correct ones for each is key.
The sooner you reach Empowered Monolith, the faster you can start farming your desired Blessings!
Normal Blessings are not important as they are eventually replaced by Empowered Blessings. However they can still be a great source of Resistances, Critical Strike Avoidance or Life Leech for your build early on.
Pick up these Normal Blessings on your way to Empowered:
- Echo of Solarum
- Memory of Light
- Shadow of the Eclipse
- Bastion of Divinity
- Light of the Moon
- Might of the Sea TItan
- Resonance of the Sea
- Weight of the Abyss
- Dream of Eterra
- Persistance of Will
- Resolve of Humanity
- Survival of Might
- Bulwark of the Tundra
- Maw of Artor
- Protection of Heorot
- Rage of Winter
- Resolve of Grael
- Winds of Frost
- Body of Obsidian
- Embers of Immortality
- Heart of the Caldera
Note: Don't target farm Normal Blessings. Get to Empowered Monolith as fast as you can.
Learn how to farm Blessings fast with our Advanced Monolith Strategies.
Idols
Idols grant your character bonuses when equipped in the dedicated Idol Container. Unlock all the slots of your Idol Container by completing the Campaign and some of its Side Quests. Remember that some Idols are Class specific and you won't be able to equip them with other non-compatible Classes.
These are the Idols recommended for this build:
- Find 2 Large Nomad Idol with %Health Prefix and Elemental Resistance While Transformed Suffix.
- You also want 1 Large Nomad Idol with Chance on Melee Kill to heal a Random Minion to Full Health Prefix and Elemental Resistance While Transformed Suffix.
- Find 2 Grand Heorot Idols with Chance to Poison on Hit Prefix. Find one with Poison Resistance and another with Physical Resistance Suffix.
- Throne of Ambition provides Multipliers for both Cold Damage and Armour. You can farm it in The Stolen Lance Empowered Monolith Timeline. It's a rare drop from God Hunter Argentus.
- You might need extra Resistances out of your Idols early on, so keep an eye for anything useful until you get your final setup.
Other useful Idol Affixes
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Idol Slots.
Learn how to be efficient with Idols with our Advanced Idols Setups Guide.
Build Scaling
The Frostbite Swarmblade uses permanent Swarmblade Form and stacks Melee Attack Speed to proc as many Tornadoes that cast Storm Orbs. It deals Cold Damage Over Time by applying stacks of Frostbite. This build also has good survivability thanks to the defensive layers it can take advantage of.
- Frostbite Chance: The more Chance you have, the more Frostbites you apply with each hit.
- Bleed Chance: The more Chance you have, the more Frostbites you apply since it gets converted due to Frostwyrm's Fury.
- Poison Chance: The more Chance you have, the more Frostbites you apply since it gets converted due to Frost Bites.
- Frostbite Duration: Extending their duration allows your Frostbites to deal Damage for a longer period of time, increasing your sustained Damage. It is an effective Multiplier of Frostbite's Damage.
- Freeze Rate Multiplier: Snowdrift lets you use this stat to scale Cold Penetration. It adds a tremendous amount of Damage.
- Melee Attack Speed: The faster you attack with Armblade Slash the more Tornadoes you proc and the more Dodge you can stack.
- Elemental Damage Over Time: This powerful Prefix has some of the highest numerical values of any offensive Affix in the game. Make sure to prioritize it.
- Attunement: Tornado gains 4% Increased Damage per point of Attunement. You also gain a tremendous amount of Freeze Rate Multiplier thanks to Chitin Sleet Storm, providing you with Damage via Snowdrift.
- Level of Tornado: Get this Prefix on your Body Armour for the Increased Damage it provides and to invest extra Points into its Tree.
- Level of Swarmblade Form: Get this Prefix on your Body Armour for the Increased Damage it provides and to invest extra Points into its Tree.
- Level of Serpent Strike: Get this Prefix on your Relic to invest extra Points into its Tree.
- Throne of Ambition: Provides an insane DPS boost, especially while fighting Bosses.
- Grand Weight of the Abyss: Provides another source of Freeze Rate Multiplier, giving you extra Cold Penetration thanks to Snowdrift.
- % Increased Damage: Any extra source of % Increased Cold or Damage Over Time is welcomed.
Our Damage Explained Article covers all you need to know to scale Damage.
Learn all you need to know to scale Defense with our Defense Explained Article.
Recommended End Game Activities
Last Epoch has multiple end game activities with completely different roles and rewards. All the builds in Maxroll.gg have been tested and are designed to complete all available content. However, not all builds excel at doing the same activities. Make sure you are familiar with the end game strengths and weaknesses of your character.
The Monolith of Fate is the main end game system. Most of your character gear upgrades are found here. Once you get all of your desired Empowered Blessings, you can start pushing Corruption to increase your chances at finding incredible Exalted Items. The Monolith of Fate rewards speedy builds that are able to target farm Echo Reward Nodes or stack Timeline Stability as fast as possible.
The Frostbite Swarmblade Druid is an amazing Monolith of Fate farmer. The layers of Defense it can stack and its high Damage output makes pushing Corruption a breeze even for a Melee build.
Monolith Goals
Your goals in the Monolith of Fate will differ greatly depending on what build you play and what stage your character progression is at. Here are the objectives you should aim at when playing this build:
- Reach Empowered Monolith as fast as possible.
- Farm your Combat Empowered Blessings. Prioritize gaining Timeline Stability and fight the Timeline Bosses as often as possible. Once you are done with one Timeline, move to the next one. Reach 200 Corruption to farm your desired Blessings faster, as it unlocks a 5th option to choose from after you defeat a Timeline Boss.
- Finish up your Drop Rate Empowered Blessings.
- Farm for key Uniques and Set Items.
- As you farm for Uniques, stack Corruption as high as your gear can handle. The higher Corruption you do, the more Items you find. Get your character ready for the other end game activities.
Monolith Modifiers
Every time you choose an Echo a Modifier comes attached with it, adding difficulty and changing how enemies behave. These Modifiers stay active for a maximum of 6 Echoes and stack with each other. Some Modifiers can handicap your build immensely while others can almost be ignored. Monolith Modifiers scale with Corruption and increase the Item Rarity of Echoes. Ideally you want to do the hardest content possible, without delaying your clear times. Keep up Item Rarity as high as you can without it slowing you down.
Easy Modifiers
- Enemy Critical Strike Chance (Once you have 100% Critical Strike Avoidance).
- Enemies heal if they have not been damaged recently.
- Rare enemies have high speed and crit chance until approached.
- Rare enemies regenerate health.
- Enemy Critical Strike Avoidance.
- Enemy chance to receive a Glancing Blow.
Avoid these Modifiers
- Enemy chance to Dodge.
- High health enemies take less damage.
- High health enemies deal increased damage.
- While bossing: enemies Enrage at half health and enemies gain Frenzy and Haste when hit.
Learn more about the Monolith of Fate with our Empowered Monolith Guide.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Making sure you highlight all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is crucial to ensure your character's progression. As your gear gets better, remember to hide the rules that are no longer useful to avoid screen clutter.
Here is the Endgame Loot Filter for this build:
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
Video Guide
Summary
The Frostbite Swarmblade is a Melee Swarmblade Form build that Dives into battle and disposes of its enemies with Frostbite Damage Over Time from flurry of strikes casting Tornado. Overall this Druid is excellent at completing all content in the game.
- This is a permanent Swarmblade Form build therefore uses Rage instead of Mana.
- It scales Cold Penetration with Frostbite thanks to Snowdrift.
- With Viper's Call Node your Armblade Slash benefits from the Serpent Strike's Tree.
- Spam Armblade Slash to stack Tornadoes via Windfury Strikes. This allows them to apply Frostbite via Storm Orb and Lightning.
- Dive on Cooldown to stack Maelstrom and gain massive offensive and defensive buffs.
- Slither is amazing at giving you insane amounts of Dodge Rating for almost no investment.
- Ursine Strength, Boar Heart and Berserker also provide great Damage Reduction.
Credits
Written by Binashole
Reviewed by Lizard_IRL
