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 Shatter Strike Spellblade Build.
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. We also take Whiteout to get our cost over the 40 mana threshold needed for Lost Knowledge, which provides a huge defensive boost.
Mana Strike
Mana Strike serves as our Mana generator. The biggest nodes here are Arcanist's Blade, Mana Drain and Critical Mana. We also take Critical Rejuvenation to guarantee we get the extra mana from Critical Mana
Teleport
Teleport is your Movement Skill. This setup also grants Cold Resistance, Flat Armour and Stun immunity for a duration on use. The immunity ensures that we are not prevented from using Shatter Strike to replenish our ward.
Flame Ward
Flame Ward is a powerful Defensive Skill. The Damage Reduction it provides is incredible. You are extremely tanky while it's active but its duration is short! Dual Aegis is a crucial Node, as it provides a second charge for the ability. This setup also provides us with damage through Infusion and its conversion to Cold from Frost Ward.
Enchant Weapon
Use Enchant Weapon to gain a massive Damage buff for a duration. It provides 50% More Elemental Melee Damage by default, increased Attack Speed with Celerity and Flat Cold Melee Damage thanks to Frostbrand while it's active.
Alternative Skills & Tips
- For better clear time in Echoes, you can take points out of Flame Ward's Frost Ward, Retribution and Infusion nodes to pick up Flame Runner. The lost damage is overkill in Echoes, and by using Flame Ward before Teleport, you can have almost permanent Haste uptime thanks to Comet Rush.
- With enough Cooldown Reduction, you can have permanent Enchant Weapon uptime. If you reach that point, consider taking Kindling Blade to automatically refresh the buffs it provides.
- If your mana is high enough (~1000) you can swap out Mana Strike for Focus and take the nodes Null Profusion Null Infusion for a big burst of mana every ~10 seconds (CDR dependent). This is largely a stylistic choice that will provide a smoother experience in Echoes but may create large windows of inactivity on bosses.
- If you want to be even tankier against Elemental damage, grab Prismatic Buffer from Flame Ward instead of the Damage. This is complete overkill for almost all content, but it could have some situational use, particularly in the Endless Arena.
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.
- Lost Knowledge is by far the most important defensive passive for this build. Take it early!
- Take Mage Flurry and Essence Duel for the Attack Speed.
- Investing points into Arcanist and Elemental Affinity helps cap Elemental Resistances.
- Get Infused Weapon and Prismatic Blade for the Flat Fire 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.
- Knowledge of Destruction helps to reach Crit cap.
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.
- Attack with Flame Reave and release a giant wave of destruction.
- 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
- If you don't have Vessel of Strife yet you can offset the ward loss by starting the Echo/Boss fight with a few Shatter Strike attacks. This will provide you with a Ward buffer. Make sure to keep it up! Once you have the Relic you can skip this.
- Always refresh the buffs provided by Teleport before they expire.
- Teleport is a blink and can be used to go over incoming attacks or terrain.
- You can use Flame Ward preventively before you engage dangerous enemies.
- Always hold one charge of Flame Ward for emergency situations.
Learn more about how to maximize your gameplay in the Build Scaling section of this guide.
