Storm Crows Beastmaster Guide
The Storm Crows Beastmaster summons a flock of Storm Crow Companions and obliterates any opposition with raging Crowstorms. He supports the flock and dives into combat with Tempest Strike, making it feel very active for a traditional summoner build. Perfect for players who want a blend of pet power and personal impact!
This is a Melee build that spams Tempest Strike to buff Summon Storm Crows. It then nukes enemies with Crowstorm, either directly cast or triggered by Swipe. The damage this build pumps out is absolutely insane, rivaled by only a select few others. It also has great tankiness and recovery, thanks to Bastion of Honour and Health Regeneration investment.
This setup does not require any Unique to function. However, Vessel of Strife increases its survivability drastically. It also synergizes very well with Cleaver Solution, which gives you a good amount of Ward Retention, and further synergizes with Bastion of Honour. Additionally, extra levels to Summon Storm Crows are very good for increasing damage, with items like Artor's Legacy, Ravens' Rise, and Mantle of the Pale Ox.
Overall, the Storm Crows Beastmaster performs exceptionally well in the endgame. If you're looking for one of the hardest hitting builds in the entire game, this is it. Welcome to the Storm Crows Beastmaster!
This build assumes the use of Snapshotting for Minions to maximize their Damage and Tankiness. While Snapshotting is not required to play the build, it greatly enhances their performance by using the Stats available at the time they are summoned. If you choose not to Snapshot, the build will still function, but you must invest into Affixes for Minion survivability. Check out the FAQ section for more details about Snapshotting.
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
Storm Crows
Summon Storm Crows' active ability Crowstorm is your main damage skill. Use it directly or trigger it with Swipe. Summon Storm Crows gets massive buffs from your Melee attacks, thanks to Huntsman and Observe and Learn, on top of Gladiator of Lagon from Tempest Strike.
- The Cold variant Skill Trees are available on the Gear Planner. It benefits from additional damage multipliers through extra levels of Summon Storm Crows and Apogee of Frozen Light. The Frozen Vengeance multiplier is gained by equipping a Keeper's Heretical Ornate Heorot Idol of Remedy, which allows bees to spawn and die regularly to monsters.
Skills showcase extra Skill Points in case you find +Level of Skills that may not be included in the Planners.
Passives
- You need 86 Strength to reach 100% Block Chance with Bastion of Honour.
- Rush Nature's Embrace for the additional Summon Storm Crows.
- Natural Fortitude is an easy pick since your recovery comes from Health Regeneration.
- Cry of the Lynx is mandatory to give your Storm Crows 100% Critical Strike Chance.
- Ursine Strength, Porcine Constitution, and Cornered Beast 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
- Cast Warcry on Cooldown for the buffs it provides.
- Attack with Tempest Strike to stack Gladiator of Lagon and buff Summon Storm Crows.
- Use Swipe on Cooldown to trigger Crowstorm.
- Utilize Crowstorm on Cooldown.
Bossing
- Take advantage of all your defensive buffs and keep them active.
- Keep as many stacks of Gladiator of Lagon as you can.
- Crowstorm has massive damage and some Stun Chance, making it great for interrupting key enemy abilities when timed right.
- Warcry's Cleanse, Immunity and Pulling Ability are amazing tools. Use them wisely!
Gear, Idols & Blessings
- Recovery is mainly based on Health Regeneration. Before Vessel of Strife, tankiness isn't amazing. Prioritise a comfortable amount of Health, Health Regeneration, and keep an eye out for Preserving Minor Weaver Idols of Respite. Use Vessel of Strife as soon as you can.
- This setup assumes you are Snapshotting Summon Storm Crows. Julra's Stardial and Communion of the Erased can double or triple the Affixes you Snapshot. Make sure to give them a good amount of Minion Health, Minion Dodge, Minion Health Regen, and more importantly Minion Damage Leeched as Health from Living Seed. Idols can also be Snapshotted. Click the Planner for the full Snapshot Gear Setup.
- Cleaver Solution grants a lot of Ward Retention from Intelligence, thanks to Strength stacking. It also easily enables Scheme of the Architect.
- Every + Level to Summon Storm Crows significantly boosts their damage. Items like Cleaver Solution, Artor's Legacy, Ravens' Rise, and Mantle of the Pale Ox are great sources for these levels. The Last Bear's Fury Reforged is a tankier alternative to Ravens' Rise, at the cost of + Levels to Summon Storm Crows.
- Bastion of Honour is a great shield for Strength stacking builds. You can easily cap your Block Chance with 86 Strength. Use it even without Legendary Potential.
- Advent of the Erased is an excellent source of Damage Mitigation against DoTs, which this build lacks. Aim for high Movement Speed and Armor and Reduced Bonus Damage from Crits.
- Aurora's Time Glass is a great addition for extra survivability and synergises well with Cornered Beast. You gain Damage Reduction when it procs.
- Brewmaster's Buckle is an Armor base Belt with Endurance, excellent defensively. It also serves as a panic button, as Potions used grants you Endurance Threshold. This effect can stack.
- In the Cold variant, Apogee of Frozen Light is the best weapon. It provides many Skill Levels and 2 different Multipliers. If dual wielding, Minions deal 24% more Cold and Necrotic Damage to Chilled Enemies, stacks. Make sure to use an Idol with Bees Per 10 Seconds to easily proc Frozen Vengeance.
- Orian's Descent provides a good chunk of Intelligence for the Cold variant, helping reach 50 Intelligence for Scheme of the Architect.
- Red Rings of Atlaria are amazing since you easily reach the Attributes requirements. They help immensely with Resistances gearing and grant Damage Reduction.
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
- Strength
- Attunement
- Minion Flat Lightning Spell Damage
- Minion Increased Lightning Spell Damage
- Minion Critical Strike Chance
- Minion Critical Strike Multiplier
- Minion Lightning Penetration
- Cooldown Recovery Speed
Defensive Stats
- Health
- Ward
- Armor
- Endurance
- Health Regeneration
- Ward Per Second
- Block Chance
- Block Effectiveness
Scaling Tips
- Melee Attack Speed helps keep a high number of stacks of Gladiator of Lagon. Viper Fangs grants a good amount for a few points invested.
- Cooldown Recovery Speed: Helps use Swipe and Crowstorm more often.
- Snapshotting: Provides a tremendous amount of Damage when used properly. Check out the full setup in the Gear Planner.
- Ursine Strength: Grants 16% Damage Reduction against Nearby enemies.
- Mantle of the Pale Ox: Up to 24% of damage is redirected to your highest Health minion.
- Aurora's Time Glass: Acts like a second life, restoring you to full when you drop below 30% Health. Excellent synergy with Cornered Beast.
- Porcine Constitution: Good uptime of Damage Reduction since the build is Melee.
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.
Snapshotting refers to summoning a Minion while wearing Gear and Idols that boost its Stats, then swapping to different Gear without affecting that Minion’s performance. Minions retain the Stats they had at the moment they were summoned, including bonuses from Attributes, Minion Health, Minion Regen, etc.
This means you can gear purely for Minion defense or offense, summon the Minion, and then switch to gear that benefits your main skills or survivability.
When does Snapshotting reset?
Snapshotting lasts until the Minion dies or is automatically resummoned. This typically happens when entering a new zone. However, in Monoliths, all Echoes are considered a single zone, so you only need to Snapshot once as long as you stay in the Monolith.
Minions are also resummoned when you allocate points in their Skill Tree. Be mindful of this if you swap gear with + Levels of Skills.
Is it necessary?
No, but it can offer a noticeable power boost, especially for fragile but valuable Companions like Summon Storm Crows.
Equip the Snapshot Gear Planner setup. Use Evade, then a Potion, then Summon Storm Crows. This Snapshots Summon Storm Crows with buffs from Julra's Stardial and Communion of the Erased. Lastly, swap back to main variant of the build in the Gear Planner.
Video Guide
Summary
The Storm Crows Beastmaster is a Minion build which leverages the massive damage output of Crowstorm. It jumps into the Melee with Tempest Strike to buff Summon Storm Crows. Overall, this Beastmaster performs exceptionally well in the Endgame.
- Summon Storm Crows delivers some of the highest damage in the game, thanks to the Crowstorm ability.
- Snapshotting is amazing at increasing Summon Storm Crows' damage and survivability, though it's not required to make the build effective.
- This build relies on high Health Regeneration in combination with Vessel of Strife for sustain, covering the usual weakness of Minion builds.
- While they are not mandatory, Uniques like Cleaver Solution, Vessel of Strife, Mantle of the Pale Ox, and Bastion of Honour are key for balancing power and tankiness.
Credits
Written by BinaQc.
Content Reviewed by Lizard_IRL.