S-TIER | BUILD HUNTRESS OIL BARRAGE AMAZON (@J_Macc) | SEASON 4

Build Overview

Oil Barrage is usually considered a pure single-target skill, but this build proves it is also one of the best AoE clear skills in the game. The Amazon Huntress exploits the channeling mechanic with power charges to fire up to 9 projectiles in a nova, which then Fork into 3 additional projectiles each, creating a true rain of damage across the entire screen.

The gameplay revolves around a smooth weapon swap system: spears (Weapon Set 1) are used for fast movement via Whirling Slash and power charge generation, while the talisman (Weapon Set 2) unleashes Oil Barrage. The Salvo snapshot mechanic allows bonus projectiles to be retained for the entire channeling duration, making the build extremely satisfying to play.

On the defensive side, the Amazon ascendancy with Stalking Panther offers one of the tankiest setups in the game by doubling evasion on the helmet, gloves, and boots, while still allowing a pure armour energy shield. With over 4400 ES, 26k evasion, and 66% deflection, this build absorbs enormous amounts of damage while dealing considerable damage in return.

Build Strengths

• AoE and single-target without swap: Oil Barrage handles both map clear and Bosses without changing gems or passive tree
• Exceptional defenses: Stalking Panther doubles evasion, Ghost Dance recovers energy shield, and deflection adds an extra layer of mitigation
• Devastating projectile scaling: 9 base projectiles × Fork (×3) × Ricochet = full screen coverage
• Very fast movement: Whirling Slash with stacked Attack Speed turns movement into a permanent dash
• Accessible budget: Headhunter is very affordable right now and the rest of the gear does not require excessive investment

Build Weaknesses

• Power charge management: The build requires generating power charges via weapon swap before each Oil Barrage use, which adds a setup time
• Situational Ricochet: The Ricochet gem loses effectiveness in Boss arenas without terrain to bounce off, requiring a support swap
• Isith’s Chimes at level 65: The lineage gem for generating power charges is only available at level 65, so an alternative must be found beforehand

Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 1 progression step from leveling to the final build. Select a step to see the corresponding gem setup.

Default

Default

12 skills • 50 gems

Coup de lanceSpear Stab

DéchirureRend

BondissementPounce

Rugissement féroceFerocious Roar

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Barrage d'huileOil Barrage

Taillade tourbillonnanteWhirling Slash

Danse fantomatiqueGhost Dance

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Reliquats de ManaMana Remnants

Régulation des chargesCharge Regulation

Jet de lanceSpear Throw

Recommended Equipment

• Belt: Headhunter. Very accessible right now in the current economy
• Body Armour: Pure energy shield with the highest possible ES. A « damage taken from mana before life » roll is a nice bonus to add an extra buffer
• Helmet: High evasion with a deflection rating roll. Socket Heer’s Gaze to convert the helmet’s evasion into accuracy (and therefore into crit chance via the ascendancy)
• Gloves: High evasion with attack speed and deflection rating
• Boots: Pure or hybrid evasion (evasion/ES). No need for movement speed, everything comes from Whirling Slash. Look for a « gain deflection rating equal to evasion rating » roll
• Rings: Prioritize resistances, then rarity and attack damage. Get at least one « life/mana leech from physical attack damage as life » roll on a ring or gloves
• Amulet: Resistances, increased energy shield from equipped body armour destruction, max energy shield, spirit and +level to all projectile skills. Spirit is not mandatory if you drop Mana Remnants
• Quiver: Physical damage, +level to all attack skills, gain damage as extra physical, chance to gain onslaught on killing hits (very important for movement), increased attack speed
• Spear (Weapon Set 1): Maximize attack speed. It is the only stat that truly matters on this weapon, it is used solely for movement

Gameplay Tips

• Gameplay loop: Whirling Slash through enemies → Spear Stab to spend the combo and generate power charges → Oil Barrage to destroy everything. Repeat
• Don’t forget the weapon swap: The combo accumulated with Whirling Slash is lost when you switch weapons. Always use Spear Stab BEFORE switching to the quiver
• Oil Barrage without power charges: Never use Oil Barrage without power charges. The channeled version is infinitely superior
• Salvo and snapshot: If you start channeling Oil Barrage with 3 seals of Salvo, the 6 bonus projectiles are kept throughout the channel. But even with 1 seal (2 bonus proj), it is sufficient for mapping
• Ricochet swap: For open-terrain Bosses, replace Ricochet with Rage Forged (movement in maps) or Burden 2 (+40% more damage at max channeling) or Garukan’s Resolve if you have the budget
• Ferocious Roar before bosses: Use Ferocious Roar just before the Boss becomes attackable to quickly max out your rage thanks to Echoing Cry
• Pounce Wolves: You can accumulate 7 wolves with Brutus Brain then switch to Sniper Mark while keeping the wolves active. They serve as body blockers and absorb projectiles

Oil Barrage Mechanic: Projectiles and Shotgun

Oil Barrage is a projectile attack that turns into an AoE when it hits an enemy, a wall, or when the projectile reaches the end of its path. By consuming power charges, the skill enters channeling mode, which is the only recommended way to use it in this build.

Projectile scaling is at the core of the build’s power. Oil Barrage fires 3 base projectiles. With Salvo and its maximum 3 seals, each seal adds 2 projectiles, for a total of 9 projectiles. The Salvo snapshot means that if you start channeling with 3 seals, you keep all 9 projectiles throughout the channel.

Nova Projectiles transforms the firing pattern into a circle, providing phenomenal AoE clear. Fork splits each projectile into 3 on first enemy contact (thanks to passives). This means potentially going from 9 to 27 projectiles per volley. Ricochet adds a 50% chain chance from terrain (+20% from the passive), further multiplying coverage.

Power Charge System and Weapon Swap

Power charge generation relies on the weapon swap to spears (Weapon Set 1). Whirling Slash is one of the few skills that physically moves the character, and by stacking attack speed, it becomes a true permanent dash.

The combo works as follows: Whirling Slash generates combo points for Spear Stab via Culmination. When you use Spear Stab, the combo is consumed and Isith’s Chimes generates power charges. The loop is smooth: Whirling Slash (movement + combo) → Spear Stab (combo → power charges) → weapon swap → Oil Barrage.

An important point: the accumulated combo is lost on weapon swap. You must therefore always use Spear Stab before switching to the quiver. In maps, Oil Barrage consumes charges slowly and can often be used 2 to 3 times before having to regenerate power charges.

Defensive Setup: Stalking Panther and Ghost Dance

The Amazon ascendancy with Stalking Panther is one of the tankiest setups in the game. The node doubles the evasion from the helmet, gloves, and boots, while halving that of the body armour. This allows you to wear a pure energy shield body armour while keeping a massive evasion rating.

The current defensive stats are impressive: over 1700 life, 4400 ES, 26000 evasion rating (72% chance to evade), 66% deflection preventing 43% of damage. Ghost Dance adds a recovery layer: ghost shrouds regenerate periodically and, when you are hit, you recover energy shield equal to 5% of your evasion.

The build also uses « damage taken from mana before life » on the body armour and in the passive tree, providing an extra buffer if enemies break through the energy shield. Mana Remnants allows you to recover this mana quickly while mapping.

Amazon Ascendancy: Precision and Weaknesses

The Amazon ascendancy brings Critical Strike: hit chance can exceed 100%, and the excess is converted into crit chance (25% of the excess). The build uses Heer’s Gaze in the helmet to convert the helmet’s evasion into accuracy, which directly feeds crit scaling through this mechanic.

Predatory Instinct reveals the weaknesses of rare and unique enemies, allowing you to deal 50% more damage against enemies with an exposed weakness. In for the Kill adds 20% movement speed and 40% skill speed when an enemy with a weakness is nearby, boosting the smoothness of gameplay.

An interesting alternative to In for the Kill is Mystic Harvest, which allows all damage types to contribute to life/mana leech, not just physical damage. Note that Elemental Surge does not work with Oil Barrage, likely due to its status as a channeled skill.

Herald of Thunder and Endurance Charges

Herald of Thunder plays a defensive rather than offensive role in this build. Its main utility is to shatter enemies’ armour in maps, which generates Endurance charges via Charge Regulation. Endurance charges increase the character’s overall defenses.

For Herald of Thunder to be able to shatter armour, it needs to deal physical damage. However, Herald of Thunder converts 100% of physical damage to lightning. The trick is to use a « gain damage as extra physical damage » roll on the quiver, which allows the lightning to also deal physical damage and therefore break armour. Armour Explosion then creates chain explosions similar to what we see with Herald of Ice in other builds.

Passive Tree