S-TIER | BUILD CHASSERESSE BRUTUS LEAD SPRINKLER (@PhylarisPOE) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

This Huntress Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler Spirit Walker build by Phylaris is a blasty variant that leverages extra projectiles, movement speed, and Shock (shock) scaling from the Spirit Walker ascendancy. At its core, this is a strength stacking build: you stack Strength everywhere, because Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler converts that Strength into flat damage. The result is a highly versatile character with full-screen coverage and solid Mobility.

The clear speed relies on Molten Blast, cast with Nova Projectiles to cover the entire screen and trigger Molten Shower everywhere via Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler. Single target requires no dedicated skill: simply place Voltaic Barrier, a devastating skill that re-triggers Molten Shower at maximum Cadence. All the magic of this build comes from these interactions, where every hit (Herald of Thunder, stags, Repulsion) re-triggers Molten Shower in a loop.

The build can also be played as a Juggernaut Legionnaire: a bit tankier, but slightly slower. Spirit Walker remains the fastest choice, especially at high budget. Expect around 4,500 life (5,500 as Juggernaut) — not a pure tank, but more than enough to survive outside of the most punishing content.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

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

Endgame

Endgame

14 skills • 72 gemmes

Munificence primitivePrimal Bounty

Protecteur sauvageWild Protector

BondissementPounce

Moment de détresseTime of Need

BlasphèmeBlasphemy

Ruée vivaceVivid Stampede

Molten ShowerMolten Shower

Molten ShowerMolten Shower

Déflagration volcaniqueMolten Blast

Voltaic BarrierVoltaic Barrier

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

BerserkBerserk

Étendard de guerreWar Banner

Rugissement féroceFerocious Roar

Recommended Equipment

• Weapons (×2, dual wield): Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler — the core item that converts Strength into fire damage and triggers Molten Shower. Aim for 20% quality (which increases the cooldown reduction of Molten Shower up to 20%), 5 sockets, and a level 18+ Molten Shower — there is no need to overpay for level 19–20, the gain per level is negligible. A « +1 Rage on Hit » corruption on just one of the two weapons avoids having to invest in Eternal Rage.
• Gloves: Valakos Vice — converts 100% of fire damage to lightning, which is the key to the build. They also provide attack speed, Strength, Dexterity, and lightning resistance.
• Helmet: Black Sun Crest — inexpensive (~1 divine in 2 sockets), provides Strength. No need to hunt for an over-corrupted version.
• Body Armour: Morior Invictus — a strength stacking chest piece that grants attributes, chaos resistance, and maximum life per socket filled. The author prefers it over Titan Rock Cataphract, which provides more raw Strength but cuts off life regeneration: too high a price in their opinion.
• Amulet: Astramentis to start, then a rare with flat Strength + % Strength (essence mod) once you progress further. Recommended anoint: Titanic (+5% Strength). You need 115 Spirit total, but not necessarily a Spirit roll on the amulet.
• Rings: life, damage, resistances, and Strength.
• Belt: life + resistances, then Mageblood as an endgame goal (Silver, Quicksilver, and Bismuth flasks recommended for resistances, skill speed, and movement speed).
• Talisman (offhand, weapon set 1): attack speed + « +5 to the level of melee skill gems » to scale Pounce and reduce its cooldown. The rest matters little.
• Jewels: Against the Darkness (% Strength on notables within radius), Heart of the Well (cooldown reduction for Pounce and Molten Shower, plus Life Drain/mana on kill), and rare jewels with Strength, lightning/attack/elemental/projectile damage.

Gameplay Tips

• Voltaic Barrier for single target: place it and wait. It strikes every 0.25 second, which matches exactly the base cooldown of Molten Shower — it therefore triggers your Molten Showers at maximum rate without doing anything else.
• Watch out for pylons: with the linear support, Voltaic Barrier pylons are placed in a line from your starting position. Do not attempt a Pounce right after placing them or you will dash straight into them. On a boss: Pounce first, then place the pylons while backing away.
• Boss rotation: Pounce onto the boss (triggers Her Declaration and Predator’s Mark), back away, place Voltaic Barrier, then Molten Blast. Pinnacle bosses melt in seconds.
• Rage generation: use Ferocious Roar from the talisman weapon set. A warcry has a minimum power of 10, which instantly fills your Rage to maximum. Once or twice per map is enough.
• Mobility: Pounce puts you in werewolf form (+30% movement speed) and drops consecrated ground (via Holy Descent and Encroaching Ground), regenerating 5% of your life.
• Herald of Thunder armor explosion: only run this setup (Uruks Smelting + Armour Explosion + Shock) if you have Right of Passage Spirit of Wolf. Otherwise, replace them with Elemental Focus, Lightning Penetration and Long Shot.
• Pitfall to avoid: do not run Nova Projectiles before you have Olroth’s Conviction on Primal Bounty — the interaction is detrimental and wastes empowered attacks.

Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler: a Strength-Stacking Build

The core of the build revolves around Brutus Lead Sprinkler, a strength stacking weapon: the more Strength you stack from your gear and passive tree, the more flat damage it adds. The goal is therefore to find Strength everywhere. This item also has a central property: it triggers Molten Shower whenever you hit an enemy with the weapon, with a base cooldown of 0.25 second.

This is what makes the build so fluid: everything that counts as a hit with the weapon (hits from Herald of Thunder, stag leaps, Repulsion procs, Molten Blast) re-triggers Molten Shower. This creates a pseudo-loop where Molten Shower procs Herald of Thunder, which re-procs Molten Shower, noticeably improving the consistency of your clear.

Voltaic Barrier: the Hidden Single-Target Weapon

The build has no dedicated single target skill, and that is intentional. Voltaic Barrier is, according to the author, a vastly underused and completely broken skill on Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler builds. It places a barrier that empowers projectiles passing through it and strikes every 0.25 second, independently of your attack speed.

Supported by Ahns Citadel and Kaoms Madness, it spreads in a cone. Since its strike rate matches exactly the cooldown of Molten Shower, simply placing it is enough to trigger your Molten Showers at full speed, without doing anything else. Combined with Living Lightning and Repulsion, it often allows you to kill enemies simply by walking.

Lightning Conversion and Herald of Thunder Synergy

Even though Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler deals fire damage through strength stacking, we convert everything to lightning thanks to the Valakos Vice gloves. Why? First, Herald of Thunder is overall superior to Herald of Ash in endgame, and most importantly its damage consists of real hits that retrigger Molten Shower — unlike Herald of Ash.

Furthermore, the stags you summon when attacking benefit from massive shock bonuses: higher magnitude and increased shock chance per leap. Dealing lightning damage instead of fire lets them apply heavy shocks and massively amplify your single target damage. With Right of Passage Spirit of Wolf, you also unlock the armor explosion chaining from Herald of Thunder.

Spirit Walker or Juggernaut: Which Ascendancy to Choose?

This build works with two ascendancies. Spirit Walker is faster (especially at high budget) thanks to its additional projectiles and movement speed, while Juggernaut is tankier (around 5,500 life versus 4,500). On Spirit Walker, Molten Blast benefits from two additional projectiles via attacks empowered by Owl Feather.

Important: Spirit Walker absolutely requires the lineage support Olroth’s Conviction (around 20–25 divines) to empower three attacks at once instead of one. Without it, do not play Spirit Walker. For the ascendancy nodes, take the 4-stag line (2 owl, 2 bear, plus the free Sacred Unity point) and avoid the 4-owl line, which interacts poorly with Olroth’s Conviction.

Managing Weapon Sets and Spirit Economy

The build cleverly makes use of two weapon sets to save Spirit. The talisman set (set 1) carries Pounce, Ferocious Roar and War Banner, while the Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler set (set 2) carries Molten Blast, Herald of Thunder and Berserk. Since some skills are only active on one set, you don’t pay their Spirit cost permanently.

This trick also lets you benefit from War Banner essentially for free, and enhance it with Her Declaration (which intimidates enemies for 4 seconds), increasing the damage they take from bosses. Another advantage: in werewolf form after a Pounce, you don’t suffer the Decaying Hex degeneration from Berserk while moving. The author prefers this approach over wasting all their Spirit on Eternal Rage, the current standard for Gemling builds.

Skill Tree