YouTube Video : Top 5 Theory Transformation Builds for Patch 8.4, 4 Druids 1 Beastmaster, Last Epoch Build Guide - YouTube
Build Summary :
Hello, this is Dr3ad from Epoch Builds, in today’s forum topic we will go over 5 theorycrafted builds I have for the new 3 transformations for Patch 8.4. WARNING : These are all theorycrafted based on what knowledge we have now and not to be taken as full build guides or planners, and these are all builds I will be trying when the patch rolls around so if they end up being good, you will be sure I’ll have a video on it soon!
Serpent Strike Swarmblade Druid :
So in the Druid reveal, we got the absolutely insane Swarmblade transformation, and the main reason we like it for this build is due to the fact we can run any kind of weapon with Serpent Strike, which wasn’t a possibility before. We then of course run double Ruby Fang cleaver to make up for the poison effect we lose from not being Aspect of the Viper, then run a pair of wing guards to help boost our attack speed up to a decent spot. I’m not entirely sure how hard it is going to be to sustain rage, as we will have the proc of Tornado to give us more movement speed and attack speed, but we do have access to the Rage on Dodge and Boss Hit, meaning in theory we can effortlessly keep our rage up due to how much dodge we get from Serpent Strike’s tree. This all of course is reliant on the fact Serpent Strike stay’s in its current state, as it could change. We actually don’t know, but if it stays in its current spot, and theres a little more support for the Armblade Serpent Strike Archetype, then we could be in buisness.
Upheaval Necrotic Totem Werebear Druid :
So this build is based off a few nodes. Upheaval is a new melee attack that is coming in patch 8.4, and it resembles a lot of old sunder back from the old PoE days, but there is a node that allows us to turn it into a Melee totem, which has some interesting applications. We also combine that with the ability to use Upheaval while in Werebear form thanks to the node for Maul. This allows us to consistently summon our Upheaval Totem in werebear form. We then have the node that gives us the 200% minion damage buff for 8 seconds after we Maul, which can stack. It means as we summon our Totem through monoliths we get an insane incendental buff for it, and this combined with the melee necrotic damage flat and soul harvester combo with Yulia’s path, it means we should have an upheaval totem that attacks fast and smacks hard, while also benefitting from being inside Werebear form.
Poison Spell Spriggan Beastmaster :
This build is abusing the fact since we are in the bottom half of Druid for Spriggan, so we can in turn go Beastmaster to get Aspect of the Viper. Why this is important is because Spriggan is getting 2 different ranged spell attacks, Thorn Shield and Spirit Thorns. Thorn Shield is an AoE attack that can make our clear buttery smooth, as it seems it has auto pierce, and we can stack many of them at once. This combined with the ability of Spirit Thorns being able to hit the same target multiple times, this makes it very good for stacking poison stacks in theory. We can also take this, with the 10% chance to cast Spirit Thorns from our Healing Totems (which im assuming we can have 5 like now), it means we can get insane amounts of poisons quickly. This combined with the ability of turning a Plague Bearer’s Staff into a legendary with Cast Speed, it means this build could easily function if we don’t have anything that we don’t know stop us on Patch day. We can also abuse a solo companion, probably solo Spriggan which can apply poisons to shred for our damage, and can heal us to make up for the fact we have no sustain outside of our healing totems and Spriggan, and in theory this could become a very strong combination.
Bhuldar’s Wrath Maul Werebear Druid :
So with the Bhuldar’s Wrath Charge Bear removal in patch 8.4, I seriously thought it was dead. But with the addition of Maul, it seems like the build will become something else in Patch 8.4, into a much harder hitting version than its cousin. This + the ability to get base crit on a bhuldar’s with the new legendary crafting system (one of the biggest weaknesses of charge bear was reaching max crit due to lack of base crit) We also gain access to the Fury Leap tree to augment our Fury Leap, hopefully leading to even more damage, as not only are the earthquakes hitting, the Mauls should be hitting super hard too. Now depending on how easy it is to sustain rage in this setup, we can easily swap to the triple hit setup, meaning we can do almost as much damage as the old werebear was doing, if not more. Although we won’t be nearly as manueverable.
Swipe Maelstrom Physical DoT Werebear Druid :
So for the last build, this is a huge wild card. But with the ability of casting maelstrom through Roar (which in built has your Warcry tree, giving you more maelstroms) and Swipe casting maelstroms on hit, it means in theory we could have a physical maelstrom build that could get to very high stacks very effiecently depending on how the rage feels in the end. This is the most experimental of the 5 builds I show you today, but the most exciting if it works!
