Primal Strike Warder
A two-handed melee build using the Korvan Storm Halberd to convert physical into lightning, built around the cooldown-based Primal Strike as the main hit. Savagery fills the gaps between casts, and Fleshwarped Casque brings War Cry's cooldown down to near-permanent uptime. Level as pure Shaman first, adding Soldier as a second mastery around level 30. Cleared Hardcore Veteran through Ultimate on cheap green gear alone, and clears Shattered Realm 26 comfortably.
Primal Strike
The author personally cleared Hardcore Veteran and Ultimate (skipping Elite) and demonstrated comfortable SR26 clears using only cheap green gear and low-level components. As of v1.2.1.6. Beyond SR26, damage starts to lag behind a fully legendary-geared character, but upgrading further (e.g. to the Ultos Set) is described as straightforward.
Beginner ★★★★★
Gear need ★★☆☆☆ (few required items — beginner-friendly)
Skills & Priorities
9The main attack. Cooldown-based, and the Korvan Storm Halberd converts part of its physical damage to lightning while also cutting its cooldown.
The filler attack for Primal Strike's cooldown gaps. Feral Hunger and Upheaval round out its area coverage and sustained damage.
A two-handed-weapon-only passive that directly boosts early damage output.
Energy regeneration — Primal Strike is energy-hungry, making this a late-game investment target. Also used as the binding target for Crab's Arcane Barrier proc.
Lowers enemy damage output, with its Terrify modifier stripping resistances. Fleshwarped Casque's +skill bonus brings the cooldown to near-permanent uptime.
Soldier's exclusive buff, adding damage, regeneration, and damage absorption. Also used as the binding target for Behemoth's Giant's Blood proc.
An always-on aura that raises OA/DA. Also used as the binding target for Chariot of the Dead's Wayward Soul proc.
A Shaman passive that raises resistances — use it to plug Aether and Pierce resistance gaps.
Savagery's modifier. Also used as the binding target for Tempest's Reckless Tempest proc.
Devotion Route (In Order)
19- 1.1 point in Crossroads (Primordial).
- 2.Complete Sailor's Guide (4pt / requires Primordial 1, grants Primordial +5).
- 3.1 point in Crossroads (Eldritch).
- 4.Complete Quill (4pt / requires Eldritch 1, grants Ascendant +3, Eldritch +3).
- 5.Refund the Eldritch and Primordial Crossroads points together.
- 6.1 point in Crossroads (Order).
- 7.Complete Lotus (4pt / requires Order 1, grants Eldritch +3, Order +2).
- 8.Complete Kraken (5pt / requires Eldritch 5, Primordial 5 — accumulated Eldritch 6, Primordial 5 meets the gate; grants Chaos +2, Primordial +3).
- 9.Complete Harvestman's Scythe (6pt / requires Ascendant 3, Order 3, Primordial 5 — accumulated Ascendant 3, Order 3, Primordial 8 meets the gate; grants Ascendant +3, Primordial +3).
- 10.Refund Sailor's Guide (-5 Primordial. Confirmed this stays at or above both Kraken's and Harvestman's Scythe's Primordial 5 requirements).
- 11.Complete Lion (3pt / requires Order 1, grants Order +3).
- 12.Refund the Order Crossroads point (-1 Order. Confirmed Lotus's, Harvestman's Scythe's, and Lion's Order 1-3 requirements all still hold).
- 13.[Core] Complete Chariot of the Dead (7pt / requires Ascendant 5, Eldritch 5 — accumulated Ascendant 6, Eldritch 6 meets the gate; grants Chaos +2, Eldritch +3). Bind its Wayward Soul proc to Field Command.
- 14.Complete Crab (5pt / requires Ascendant 6, Order 4 — accumulated Ascendant 6, Order 5 meets the gate exactly; grants Ascendant +3). Bind its Arcane Barrier proc to Mogdrogen's Pact.
- 15.Refund Quill (-3 Ascendant, -3 Eldritch. Confirmed this stays at or above Chariot of the Dead's Ascendant 5/Eldritch 5, Crab's Ascendant 6, and Harvestman's Scythe's Ascendant 3 requirements).
- 16.[Core] Complete Widow (6pt / requires Eldritch 6, Primordial 4 — accumulated Eldritch 6 meets the gate exactly, Primordial 6 clears it; grants Primordial +3). Bind its Arcane Bomb proc to Primal Strike.
- 17.Complete Tempest (7pt / requires Ascendant 5, Primordial 5 — accumulated Ascendant 6, Primordial 9 meets the gate; grants Eldritch +1, Primordial +1). Bind its Reckless Tempest proc to Upheaval.
- 18.[Core] Complete Behemoth (6pt / requires Chaos 3, Eldritch 4, Primordial 4 — accumulated Chaos 4, Eldritch 7, Primordial 10 meets the gate; grants Chaos +2, Eldritch +3). Bind its Giant's Blood proc to Menhir's Bulwark.
- 19.[Core] Complete Ultos, Shepherd of Storms (6pt / requires Chaos 6, Eldritch 10, Primordial 10, all met exactly by the running totals; grants nothing). Bind its Hand of Ultos proc to Savagery. With every Crossroads point eventually refunded, this uses exactly all 55 devotion points.
Gear
- ▸Start as Shaman and grab Hevill's Greatsword (eastern Lower Crossing) early to unlock the two-handed-only Brute Force. Attribute points go into Physique until roughly 50 points.
- ▸Switching to Troll Bonecrusher (a guaranteed drop from trolls near Old Arkovia) in the low 20s is a big DPS jump. Bone Talisman (from a Rovers NPC) is a fine relic placeholder until then.
- ▸Add Soldier as your second mastery around level 30 and rush War Cry. Once unlocked, switch to Fleshwarped Casque to shrink its cooldown.
- ▸From level 35, Rylok Crest (extra Savagery damage) as your medal and Black Legion faction gear (greaves, chest) help patch physical resistance.
- ▸Once in Forgotten Gods, side with the Cult of Solael and farm Korvan Storm Halberd from the animated statues in Temple City of Osyr. "Charged", "of alacrity", or "of thunder" affixes are ideal, but an affix-free roll works fine too.
- ▸The hidden "Hidden Path" quest grants the endgame pants Solael-Sect Legguards along with bonus skill and attribute points.
- ▸From level 90, switch to Coven of Ugdenbog's Elite shoulder/chest pieces and collect 2x Gollus' Ring for extra regeneration. The Elite tier of Rhowari Grips is a fine glove slot filler.
- ▸Desolation is a perfectly good beginner relic; upgrade to Eye of the Storm once you have the spare resources.
Playstyle & Notes
- ▸Fire Primal Strike on cooldown, filling gaps with Savagery.
- ▸Fleshwarped Casque keeps War Cry nearly always up — open every fight with it.
- ▸Menhir's Bulwark and Field Command auto-activate once learned, so defense and devotion proc uptime run themselves with no button management.
- ▸Energy runs out fast, so factor in the regen from the equally auto-activating Mogdrogen's Pact.
War Cry's Terrify modifier strips enemy resistances, while Oak Skin covers Aether/Pierce and Scars of Battle covers Bleed on your own side. Aim to overcap main resistances by 50% before entering Ultimate.
Comfortable up to roughly SR26, but damage starts to lag behind fully legendary-geared characters beyond that. It doesn't hit its full potential until Korvan Storm Halberd rolls a good affix (charged / of alacrity / of thunder).
Farm the animated statues in Temple City of Osyr for Korvan Storm Halberd. Troll Bonecrusher is a guaranteed drop from trolls near Old Arkovia early on. Solael-Sect Legguards come from the hidden "Hidden Path" quest, and Gollus' Ring from Gollus the Deepdweller.