Welcome to the Shatter Strike Spellblade Guide. The Shatter Strike Spellblade decimates enemies with a flurry of circular Cold attacks that easily take down even the tankiest of bosses, while defending itself with a formidable barrier of Ward.
This is a Melee build with a large area, giving it very good clear. It also has excellent damage scaling thanks to huge Crit scaling from Cold Steel, incredible attack speed from Iceblink and a massive mana pool that allows it to attack many times before needing to recover with Mana Strike. The build is also exceptionally tanky thanks to a huge Ward pool and Flame Ward
While this setup doesn't require any Uniques to function, Exsanguinous, Last Steps of the Living and Peak of the Mountain are all very valuable. The investment to maximize this build is considerable, so while it can be used as a starter, it is not recommended over builds with lower gear costs.
Overall this Spellblade has incredible clear, single target, and defenses that make it suited for all the content in the game. If you are looking for a high performing build that will reward you in the gear chase, this build is for you!
This article assumes you have a Level 70 Character. Reach Level 70 with our Spellblade Leveling Guide.
If you are looking for a different playstyle check all our Build Guides.
- Great Clear
- Easy to Play
- Great Scaling With Gear and Uniques
- Excellent Single Target and Defense
- Mana Management
- Heavy Gear Investment
- DPS Downtime After Burst
- Windows of Vulnerability on Defense
Skills
Shatter Strike
Shatter Strike is your main Damage Skill. This build takes advantage of several damage multipliers from Absolute Zero and Breadth of Cold, a huge Crit damage boost from Cold Steel, and high attack speed from Iceblink.
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.
- Gemini is required to Dual Wield
- Take Mage Flurry for the Attack Speed.
- Investing points into Arcanist and Elemental Affinity helps cap Elemental Resistances.
- Get Infused Weapon and Prismatic Blade for the Flat Cold Melee Damage.
- Volka's Razor is a significant damage buff for this build.
- Arcane Shielding and Shattered Aegis are great for increasing the survivability of the build.
- Warden helps significantly with keeping high Ward.
Make sure to complete the Campaign to get all your Passive Points.
Gameplay
This melee Spellblade wants to dive into enemies to fight them at close range. Make sure you are familiar with enemy mechanics to know when to use your Support Skills to stay alive. Pay attention to dangerous telegraphed attacks and be aware of ranged enemy threats.
Skill Usage/Rotation
- Buff your defenses by casting Teleport.
- Cast Enchant Weapon to buff your Damage momentarily.
- Attack with [Shatter Strike until the enemy is dead or you're out of mana.
- Use Mana Strike or Focus to gain your mana back
- Use Flame Ward defensively before you take Damage.
- Refresh your Teleport defensive buffs by casting it before they expire.
Mapping
- Group as many enemies as possible before attacking with Shatter Strike to maximize its AoE.
- Time Enchant Weapon and maximize the uptime of its buffs.
- Use Teleport to leave dangerous enemies behind and traverse terrain gaps.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Use Enchant Weapon during your DPS window against Bosses.
- Use Mana Strike or Focus in between DPS windows. Make sure you're full mana when Enchant Weapon becomes available.
- Flame Ward can save you from incoming Damage. Time it against dangerous 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 Empowered 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 (Poison can be lower)
- Capped Critical Strike Avoidance
- 400-500% Ward Retention
- 30% - 40%+ Armour (Pre Buffs)
- 5000+ Ward (out of combat)
- 300+ Mana
- 100% Critical Strike Chance
- 100%+ Increased Attack Speed
- 400% - 800%+ Increased Damage
- 200+ Added Melee Cold Damage
- 30% - 60%+ Movement Speed
Gear Progression
Milestone 1
Aim for good Item Bases with two valuable T5 Affixes. The Defensive rolls on T5 Suffixes are very important at this stage as they can easily cap all your Resistances when combined with Item Implicits, Idols, Blessings or Passives. Get a Weapon with double T5 offensive Affixes as soon as possible.
Milestone 2
Get a source of Leech. The easiest sources are from Melee Damage Leeched as Health on your Gloves or Weapons, or from Bleeding Heart.
Milestone 3
Make sure your Critical Strike Avoidance is capped. Remember that Woven Flesh is always an option early on. It can be farmed by killing the Abomination in the Fall of the Outcast Monolith Timeline.
Milestone 4
Fit as much Mana into your gear as possible. This stat determines how much the duration of your DPS phase with Shatter Strike.
Milestone 5
While you look for this basic set of gear, start farming your Empowered Blessings and look for any Idols that can help you cap all your Resistances momentarily or increase your Damage output. Keep an eye out for any Grand Glass Idol with Mana And Armor Suffix. These will have a substantial impact on your mana pool.
Milestone 1
At this point we start transitioning into the Low Life setup. Farm an Exsanguinous, Last Steps of the Living and Gloves with Exalted Experimental Ward per Missing Health. Exsanguinous is a random world drop. Last Steps of the Living drops from Formosus the Undying in Blood, Frost, and Death. The Experimental Gloves are from Exiled Mages.
Milestone 2
Look for Crystal Swords or Katanas with Melee Critical Strike Chance, the higher the better.
Milestone 3
When all your core Defenses are covered, start working on your Damage. Critical Strike Chance and Intelligence are your best stats. Continue to push mana to supercharge your Ward gen and Shatter strike uptime.
Milestone 5
As you finish up your Empowered Blessings keep your Resistances and Critical Strike Avoidance capped. Your goal is to have items with 4 valuable T5 Affixes, also known as T20.
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. Ward and Ailment Cleansing on Potion Use is a must have for Belts.
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
Push your mana, Intelligence and Dexterity as high as can while also working towards being Crit capped. These stats are what turn this build into a true powerhouse, so focus them hard!
Milestone 1
Keep upgrading your gear with Exalted Items with Sealed Affixes. Get every stat in the right place and in the correct Item Base. Min/Maxing your gear in Last Epoch can be pushed to the extreme as Items with multiple Exalted Affixes are technically possible.
Milestone 2
Get as close to perfect rolls for all your Empowered Blessings and find all your desired Idols with the best in slot Prefixes and Suffixes.
Milestone 3
Continue farming Exsanguinous, Peak of the Mountain, and Last Steps of the Living with the maximum Legendary Potential you can find. Also look for a Twisted Heart of Uhkeiros with 2LP or higher to slam Intelligence and Dexterity into. Remember that some of these Items are extremely hard to get with multiple Legendary Potential. Good luck with the chase!
Milestone 4
Continue to push your Mana and Health as hard as you can. With enough of each it's possible to get very high burst and tankiness.
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
- Crash of the Waves
- Survival of Might
- Persistance of Will
- Protection of Heorot
- Resolve of Grael
- Heart of the Caldera
- Embers of Immortality
- Body of Obsidian
Note: Don't target farm Normal Blessings. Get to Empowered Monolith as fast as you can.
Reaching Empowered Monolith unlocks all the level 100 Timelines and the ability to farm Empowered Blessings. Unlike Normal Blessings, these need to be farmed until you get the desired ones for your build. It is extremely important to get this set up as fast as possible to free up affix slots on your gear. Remember, the more value you get from your Blessings, the easier it is to craft efficient gear!
These are the core Combat Empowered Blessings for this build:
- Start with Grand Survival of Might. A high roll on this Empowered Blessing can be combined with Mystic Plate or a single high rolled T5 Critical Strike Avoidance to cap it.
- Farm a well rolled Grand Light of the Moon next.
- Grab Grand Winds of Oblivion to help get Crit capped
- Grab Grand Emptiness of Ashfor a big boost to your damage. If you prefer defense pick up Grand Bulwark of the Tundra instead.
- Finish up by farming the best rolled Grand Body of Obsidian and Grand Bulwark of the Tundra you can get. It grants an insane amount of Flat Armour that helps increase the survivability of the build and synergises greatly with Shattered Aegis and Throne of Ambition.
These Empowered Blessings are flexible and depend on your current needs and goals.
These are valuable Empowered Drop Rate Blessings for this build:
- Grand Winds of Fortune since this build can use many Unique Items.
- Grand Enmity of the Clans helps you find more Exalted Crystal Swords.
- Lastly, take Grand Talon of Granduer, Grand Vision of the Aurora or Grand Binds of Sanctuary depending on what type of Unique you are looking for.
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:
- Get some Stout Lagonian Idol with double health or resistances.
- Use Throne of Ambition for Boss fights. You can farm it in The Stolen Lance Empowered Monolith Timeline. It's a rare drop from God Hunter Argentus.
- Fill the 1x1 slots with whatever resistances you need.
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 build uses Shatter Strike to deal massive damage and build huge amounts of Ward by scaling Mana and Attack speed.
- Flat Melee Damage: This build gets great Flat Damage support from both the dual Wield setup and Spellblade passives. Dexterity also provides Flat Damage.
- Melee Attack Speed: The faster you attack the higher your DPS is and faster you build Ward. Enchant Weapon grants a whopping 50% Melee Attack Speed while it's active thanks to the Celerity Node and the Shatter Strike node Iceblink adds another 75%.
- Cooldown Reduction: You can have permanent Enchant Weapon uptime with enough Cooldown Reduction. We don't explicitly build for it in this setup, but finding it on gear is a bonus if you can fit it.
- Crystal Sword: Its Implicits are insane for the build. Get a good rolled one!
- Intelligence: Shatter Strike gains 4% Damage per point of Intelligence. Additionally it grants 4% Ward Retention per point, which is a very important stat for this build.
- Dexterity: Shatter Strike gains 4% Damage and 1 Flat Damage per point of Dexterity.
- Throne of Ambition: Provides an insane DPS boost against Bosses.
- % Increased Damage: Any extra source of % Increased Cold Damage is welcomed.
- Critical Strike Chance: This build has a ton of Crit Damage, so scaling your Crit Chance as high as possible is a priority.
- Critical Strike Multiplier: Increases the Damage your Crits deal. This build gets a tremendous amount from the Shatter Strike node Cold Steel
- Chance To Shred Armour on Hit: Each stack of this Ailment reduces enemy Armour by 100 for 4 seconds and stacks infinitely. Enemies have 0 Armour by default and it can go into the negatives. At -1000 Armour a target takes 16.5% increased Cold Damage, while at -4000 Armour it takes 40%. With the amount of hits the build has, it's very reasonable to get to -10000 (54%) and can realistically get to -20000 (58%)!.
- Grand Rage of Winter: This provides a 20% increase in damage to bosses. Getting to the cap of 10 stacks is trivial for this build.
- Throne of Ambition: This Idol is a 40% damage multiplier against bosses is they manage to survive long enough to reach max stacks.
- Cooldown Reduction: Cast Flame Ward and Teleport more often.
- Flame Ward: The Damage Reduction is insane. While this Skill is active you are almost immortal! Get all the charges you can (3 max) and lower its Cooldown as much as possible.
- Arcane Shielding: Combined with Shattered Aegis it provides 12% Damage Reduction and 80% increased Armour at 4 stacks.
- Armour Mitigation: This build can get high levels of Armour. Just with the implicit Armour from your gear, Grand Body of Obsidian Blessing, Flat Armour from Teleport and Shattered Aegis you reach 50%+ Mitigation. Throne of Ambition boosts this Mitigation to 60%+ while Bossing. This is huge on top of all the other defensive layers the build has.
- Ward: A shield above your Health that is generated by certain effects, rapidly decays over time and is protected by Armour Mitigation. This build is one of the best Ward generators in the game, capable of reaching 20K+ Ward with great gear.
- Health: This is one of the few builds where Health stacking isn't optimal. Get some before you have Vessel of Strife, then drop it for Health Regen
- Vessel of Strife: This Unique allows us to convert Health Regen into Ward gen. It's a powerful tool that allows us to overcome the limitations created by using Peak of the Mountain and also synergizes very well with our Ward based setup. It also provides a buffer from damage at the start of fights before we've used Shatter Strike.
- Chill: An Ailment that greatly reduces the Action and Movement Speed of your enemies. It's a must have on most builds, especially once you reach hard content with insane speed modifiers.
- Frailty: This Ailment reduces the Damage dealt by enemies by 6% for 4 seconds. Stacks 3 times.
- Ward and Ailment Cleansing on Potion Use: Cleanse all Ailments on Potion use.
- Stun: Thanks to its Damage output the build is able to Stun most enemies.
- Freeze: Even though we don't build for it, this build can still freeze many enemies, providing an additional CC layer beyond Stun.
- Stun Immunity: Provided by the Rock Phase Node from Teleport. The buff is sustainable thanks to Tunnel Finder and Time Dilation. This is recommended while doing hard content.
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 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
Overall the Shatter Strike Spellblade is an excellent Melee build that will destroy the content with enough investment. It's easy to play, has incredible damage and incredible survivability thanks to its multiple defensive layers and huge Ward generation.
- Deal huge amounts of damage with Shatter Strike by scaling Crit thanks to Cold Steel
- While they are not mandatory [Peak of the Mountain, Exsanguinous, and Last Steps of the Living are great items that you want to scale the build to its full potential.
- Cast Enchant Weapon to buff your Damage momentarily.
- Teleport is a great Movement Skill that grants great defensive buffs on use.
- Flame Ward is an incredible Defensive Skill with tons of Damage Reduction that can save you from incoming Damage. Time it against dangerous telegraphed Boss attacks.
Credits
Written by McFluffin.
Reviewed by Lizard_IRL, Facefoot