S-TIER | BUILD CHASSERESSE LIGHTNING SPEAR AMAZON (@Lazy Exile) | SAISON 5

Build Video

Build Overview

Lazy Exile’s Lightning Spear Amazon is one of the most reliable choices for league starting in Season 5 « Return of the Ancient ». Designed to kick off the league on a tight budget, this build fully embraces its glass cannon identity while remaining surprisingly tanky thanks to the defensive power provided by the Amazon ascendancy and its Refutation node. The result: a character that clears maps « like a dream » from day one of the league, and can even run the Lab without taking a single hit of damage.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a one-button build. The core gameplay revolves around a two-step loop: generate Frenzy Charges via Bear Form, then spend them by throwing Lightning Spear. Thanks to a high attack speed, this rotation becomes very fluid once you get the hang of it, even if it takes a little adjustment compared to a fully automated setup.

The big novelty of this update lies precisely in the Frenzy Charge generation. By spending Rage in Bear Form, you gain Endurance Charges, which are immediately converted into Frenzy Charges through keystone Resonance. This tech feeds both Lightning Spear for clearing and the empowered Storm Lance for single-target, making the current version significantly more comfortable than previous iterations of the build.

Strengths / Weaknesses

Skill Gem Setup by Step

This build offers 8 progression steps from leveling through to the final build. Select a step to view the corresponding gem setup.

A1 A2 A3 A4 Interlude Early Mapping Budget Setup End Game

A1

9 skills • 16 gemmes

Jet de lanceSpear Throw

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

Contagion

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

BondissementPounce

DésengagementDisengage

A2

9 skills • 21 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Rugissement féroceFerocious Roar

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Bombe de givreFrost Bomb

BondissementPounce

DésengagementDisengage

A3

9 skills • 28 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

BondissementPounce

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Rugissement féroceFerocious Roar

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

DésengagementDisengage

A4

9 skills • 29 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

BondissementPounce

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Rugissement féroceFerocious Roar

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

DésengagementDisengage

Interlude

9 skills • 30 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

BondissementPounce

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Furie de la montagneFury of the Mountain

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

DésengagementDisengage

Early Mapping

9 skills • 37 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

BondissementPounce

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Furie de la montagneFury of the Mountain

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

Budget Setup

9 skills • 37 gemmes

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

BondissementPounce

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Furie de la montagneFury of the Mountain

Refutation

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

Danseur du ventWind Dancer

End Game

11 skills • 52 gemmes

Éruption élémentaireElemental Surge

Pureté de la foudrePurity of Lightning

Refutation

Lance de foudreLightning Spear

Lance de tempêteStorm Lance

Lance explosiveExplosive Spear

Furie de la montagneFury of the Mountain

Marque du tireur d'éliteSniper's Mark

Rage éternelleEternal Rage

Héraut du tonnerreHerald of Thunder

Archer mirageMirage Archer

Recommended Equipment

The goal with equipment is to stay budget: we rely mostly on affordable unique items and a few well-rolled rares. Here are the key pieces mentioned in the video (the interactive grid below shows the exact build equipment).

• Weapon — the spear: at endgame, a self-craft rare spear (base Akoyan Spear) focusing on Accuracy and flat physical damage (at league start, the unique spear Amor Mandragora gets the job done and provides Skill Speed). Thanks to notable Penetrate, Accuracy converts into « free » physical damage, which removes the need for the premium physical spear that Spirit Walker builds chase.
• Body Armour — Brass Dome: the centerpiece that makes Refutation genuinely viable and unlocks full glass cannon gameplay.
• Helmet — The Black Insignia: prioritize Accuracy (which means more crit); blocking generates Tailwind, though it is lost as soon as you take a hit, even one blocked by Refutation.
• Amulet — Beacon of Azis: the build’s unique amulet, which bolsters defenses and scaling. The Skill Speed that smooths out mapping comes mainly from the budget Amor Mandragora spear and from Druidic Prowess gained by spending Rage.
• Off-hand — Guiding Palm of the Mind: the unique sceptre held alongside the spear.
• Rings: flat lightning damage, capping resistances, and a Void Flux trick that converts an elemental resistance into Chaos resistance (up to a T2 tier).
• Mana sustain: a single line of « physical attack damage leeched as mana » (on a glove, weapon, or ring) is enough, provided you convert it into elemental leech (see below).

Gameplay Tips

• Core rotation: in maps, switch to Bear Form to generate Frenzy Charges, then chain into Lightning Spear for clearing.
• Storm Lance for tough packs: always throw it with Frenzy Charges banked, as its empowered version hits very hard.
• Never stack Storm Lances: a new one replaces the old one. Except for the very first rotation, keep only one active at a time.
• Watch your Spirit (≈ 140) with every form swap: that is the condition for Eternal Rage to remain active across both weapon sets.
• Cap your Chaos resistance using the Void Flux trick on a ring.
• Place the Lineage supports on the elemental attack to convert physical leech into elemental leech and sustain mana automatically.

The Frenzy Charge Tech: Bear Form + Resonance

This is the engine of the build, and the key difference from previous versions. The long-standing problem with Lightning Spear has always been the lack of a comfortable way to generate Frenzy Charges. Here, we work around this with a two-step trick: spending Rage in Bear Form produces Endurance Charges, which keystone Resonance immediately converts into Frenzy Charges.

In practice, you alternate during mapping: Bear Form to stock up on charges, then Lightning Spear (and an empowered Storm Lance for single-target) to spend them. The high attack speed and Rage generation make this loop very consistent, where older versions struggled to maintain the charges.

Why the Amazon Is So Budget: The Penetrate Node

The secret behind this build’s low cost lies in the ascendancy node notable Penetrate, which grants physical damage equal to 25% of the weapon’s Accuracy rating. In plain terms: every point of Accuracy becomes « free » flat physical damage. You scale Accuracy instead of buying an expensive physical spear, and that changes everything for a league start.

As a bonus, Accuracy also feeds crit, which is very easy to stack on the Amazon. This is precisely why Lazy Exile did not switch to Spirit Walker, which demands a high-physical-damage spear — far more expensive — for comparable results at league start.

Refutation: The Unkillable Glass Cannon

The ascendancy defense provided by Refutation is what allows a fully offensive playstyle without becoming a fragile target. As long as you stay mindful of what needs to be dodged, the character soaks up damage remarkably well — to the point of clearing the Lab without taking a single hit.

To maximize this effect, you aim for near-100% uptime through skill effect duration jewels and items such as jewel unique Heart of the Well. Occasional downtime is manageable, but it is also the build’s theoretical Achilles’ heel: if a patch were to add a cooldown to Refutation, survival would become significantly more demanding.

Sustaining Mana Without a Flask

Mana sustain relies on a single leech line: « physical attack damage leeched as mana », which can be placed on a glove, weapon, or ring. The trick is to put Lineage supports on the elemental attack: since you are constantly spending Frenzy Charges that trigger elemental attacks, the leech also fires on that damage.

The result is self-sustaining mana in both mapping and bossing, with no need to spam a mana flask. A single small physical leech line is all it takes — the rest is handled by the elemental conversion.

Evolving the Build Toward Endgame

Once the league is underway and you have a bit of currency to spare, two paths open up: chasing a better spear and higher-end gear. But Lazy Exile recommends above all, at this stage, considering an ascendancy pivot — for example toward Spirit Walker, or Ritualist which benefits from a recently buffed amulet.

Be aware, however, that most of the Accuracy stats driving the strength of this Amazon version become largely irrelevant once you switch ascendancies. You then need to transition toward the more expensive gear that other archetypes rely on. As long as you stay on the Amazon, this build remains an excellent all-around option — slightly behind on bossing, but very well-rounded for league start and farming.

Skill Tree