Lightning Swarmblade Druid Guide
The Lightning Swarmblade Druid channels the very essence of nature, shapeshifting into a formidable Swarmblade Form. This awe-inspiring transformation is more than just a visual spectacle; it serves as the catalyst for unleashing devastating Storm Bolt from a flurry of Melee attacks upon hordes of adversaries. As a force of nature, the Swarmblade Druid immerses players in a thrilling fantasy of becoming a walking Tornado to strike down their foes with unmatched prowess.
This is a Melee build that spams Armblade Slash but scales Lightning Spell Damage. Its Damage primarily comes from proccing many Tornadoes casting Storm Bolt. The build has good tankiness and CC thanks to buffs provided by Maelstrom and Serpent Strike.
This setup does not require any Unique to function. However, items like Stormcarved Testament and Culnivar's Claim increase your Damage dramatically, especially with Legendary Potential. Aurora's Time Glass and Mantle of the Pale Ox are amazing defensively.
Overall, the Lightning Swarmblade Druid performs well in Endgame. Scaling a good amount of Dodge with almost permanent Stuns and respectable Damage output really make this build great defensively and offensively. If you are looking for a fast hitting Melee playstyle, this build is perfect for you!
This build guide assumes you have a Level 70 Character.
Reach Level 70 with our Primalist Leveling Guide.
Check our Tier Lists to know how this build performs in the current patch.
If you are looking for a different playstyle, check all our Build Guides!
Skills
Swarmblade Form
This is a Swarmblade Form build. You proc multiple Tornadoes through Windfury Strikes. Viper's Call lets your Armblade Slash use the Serpent Strike tree. Endless Pressure and Grasshopper's Frenzy provide Rage sustain. Needle-Like Sting helps to cap your Critical Strike Chance. Water Strider provides multiple buffs thanks to Maelstrom.
- If you need more Critical Strike Chance to reach 100%, assign more points into Needle-Like Sting instead of Wasp Flight in Swarmblade Form.
Skills showcase extra Skill Points in case you find +Level of Skills that may not be included in the Planners.
Passives
- Rageborn is mandatory to sustain Rage. Rush it next. It also helps cap your Critical Strike Chance.
- Attunement provides Mana for Excited Bolts and Flat Damage for Storm Bolt.
- Harmony of Blades enables you to Dual Wield. You can't equip a Melee Off-Hand without this Passive.
- Bush Stalker provides Life Leech which is crucial to your sustain. It also helps cap your Critical Strike Chance.
- Ursine Strength and Impervious provide a lot of tankiness with their Damage Reduction.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Shapeshift into Swarmblade Form.
- Dive on Cooldown to stack as many Maelstroms and benefit from all the Buffs they provide.
- Attack with Armblade Slash, proccing multiple Tornadoes attached to you.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Use Dive or Evade to dodge telegraphed Boss attacks.
- Stunning an enemy in the middle of an animation will make them restart it. It is possible to completely Stun Lock certain Monsters!
Gear, Idols & Blessings
- Storm Bolt's Flat damage scales with Attunement, while Mana boosts it through Excited Bolts. Stack both to maximize your damage.
- Mantle of the Pale Ox is great defensively with a Minion. This build uses Locust, Storm Totem, and Summon Primal Serpent. It also provides 2 Levels of Swarmblade Form.
- Culnivar's Claim helps cap Critical Strike Chance with no downside, as Mana converting to Ward when full doesn't affect Rage.
- Tempest Maw is best thanks to Tempest Weapon.
- Seed of Ekkidrasil is great due to high Rage sustain, as Damage Dealt to Mana Before Health works with Rage.
- Aurora's Time Glass is a great addition for extra survivability and one of the best defensive amulets for Health builds.
- Phantom Grip helps cap Critical Strike Chance with Base and Increased Crit. The Mana scales Excited Bolts, and it grants Levels of Swarmblade Form.
- Stormcarved Testament offers great stats for the build and provides an automatic Summon Storm Totem, enabling Mantle of the Pale Ox's damage mitigation.
- Rule of the Simoon casts extra Tornadoes, which can trigger additional casts of their own.
- Make sure to grab the Grand Hunger of the Void Blessing as it plays a key role in survivability alongside the passive Bush Stalker.
Learn the basics for crafting gear with our Beginner Crafting Guide.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Idol Slots.
Build Scaling
Offensive Stats
- Mana
- Attunement
- Flat Lightning Spell Damage
- Flat Lightning Melee Damage
- Increased Melee Attack Speed
- Increased Lightning Spell Damage
- Increased Critical Strike Chance
- Increased Critical Strike Multiplier
- Lightning Resistance Shred
- Lightning Penetration
- Armor Shred Chance
Defensive Stats
- Health
- Ward
- Armor
- Endurance
- Dodge
- Leech
Scaling Tips
- Mana: Provides a non convential damage multiplier thanks to Excited Bolts.
- Attunement: Not only does it provide 1 Flat Damage per point for Storm Bolt, it also increases your Mana. Additionally, it grants Lightning Penetration thanks to Avatar of Thunder.
- Ursine Strength: Grants 16% Damage Reduction against Nearby enemies.
- Impervious: Provides 20% Damage Reduction against Hits at maximum stacks.
- Mantle of the Pale Ox: Up to 24% of damage is redirected to your highest Health minion. This build uses Locust, Storm Totem, and Summon Primal Serpent.
- Seed of Ekkidrasil: Up to 28% of damage is dealt to Mana before Health. This also works with Rage.
- Aurora's Time Glass: Acts like a second life, restoring you to full when you drop below 30% Health.
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.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Making sure you highlight all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is necessary to ensure your character's progression. Click on the Generate Loot Filter button down below then use the Paste Clipboard Contents button in-game to import it!
Here is the Endgame Loot Filter for this build:
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
FAQ & Mechanics
Once a guide is released, many players have questions on why and how we are approaching certain choices. In this section you can find the answers to the questions that have been asked the most.
Yes.
Excited Bolts provides a big damage multiplier, which we can benefit fully from thanks to our Rage sustain.
Video Guide
Summary
The Lightning Swarmblade is a Melee Swarmblade Form build that Dives into battle and disposes of its enemies with flurry of strikes casting Tornado. Overall this Druid is performs well in Endgame.
- This is a permanent Swarmblade Form build therefore uses Rage instead of Mana.
- Thanks to the Viper's Call Node your Armblade Slash benefits from the Serpent Strike's Tree.
- Spam Armblade Slash to stack Tornadoes via Windfury Strikes and allow them to cast Storm Bolt thanks to Charged Storm.
- Dive on Cooldown to stack Maelstrom and gain massive offensive and defensive buffs.
- While it is not mandatory, a Legendary Culnivar's Claim is amazing to unleash the build's potential and free Affixes slots on your gear.
Credits
Written by BinaQc.
Content Reviewed by Lizard_IRL.