Considering the latest Soulstone Survivors patches, the game now features a whopping 17 characters! That's a lot of build variety in terms of different classes so naturally everyone's going to want to know what are the best Soulstone Survivors builds to run end-game content with. This is why I'll be guiding you on the five best beginner builds for Soulstone Survivors— their character skills setup, upgrades, runes and much more.
Best Beginner Elementalist Build
The elementalist class is really popular as you have it from early on in the game, it has flashy spell effects and overall is one of the best Soulstone Survivors builds you can run with as a beginner.
Skill Tree Overview
Focus on these key upgrades:
- All Skills Dazed
- All Skills Burning
- All Skills Slow
- Area of Effect Modifiers
- Movement Speed
Red and green upgrades will benefit the Elementalist the most. While other upgrades like critical damage and critical chance are also good, drop rate increases are less important.
Skills Breakdown
Here’s the build we’re going with:
- Frostbolt (Starting skill for Elementalist)
- Frozen Warhammer (Unlocked at Prestige 20+ for Elementalist)
- Light Beam (Unlocked by killing 500 Elites)
- Shadow Orb (Unlocked by killing 100,000 enemies)
- Arcane Power
- Freezing Blow (Second skill from the Elementalist’s second weapon)
If you can't find Frostbolt, substitute it with Blizzard (unlocked by killing 300 Void Lords).
Runes
For runes, we're going to be using:
- Weapon Expert
- Efficient Extraction
- Unconventional Start
- Multicast Mastery
- Dash Mastery
- Crit Mastery
- Executioner
Gameplay Tips
Start with Frostbolt, which has a low cooldown. Use Freezing Blow to turn slow stacks into paralysis for more damage. Aim to stack negative effects like paralysis, slow, and brittle for the Executioner rune to maximize your damage output.
Core Skills: Focus on Frostbolt and Light Beam as your primary skills.
Substitute Skills: If needed, use Arcane Beam or Thunderclap until you find the core skills.
If you can't find Frozen Warhammer, consider using Vortex or Blizzard as substitutes. The goal is to maintain high slow stacks for your damage-dealing skills
Combat Strategy
When fighting bosses:
- Manual Aim: Turn off auto-aim to better target bosses with skills like Light Beam.
- Movement: Utilize high movement speed to dodge attacks and reposition.
- Negative Effects: Apply as many negative effects as possible to boost Executioner’s damage.
Best Beginner Sentinel Build
Skill Tree Overview
While leveling up, use a combination of Storm of Arrows, Ballista, Sniper Shot, and Ricocheting Shot (available at Prestige level 50). Here’s a rundown of the build and skill tree:
- Huntress Bow: First weapon for the Sentinel.
- Skill Tree: Focus on essential upgrades to maximize damage and survivability.
Skills Breakdown
Here are the core skills for this build:
- Storm of Arrows: Essential for applying poison to multiple enemies.
- Ballista
- Sniper Shot
- Ricocheting Shot (optional, replaceable as you progress)
- Frag Shot
- Bloodlust
- Rain of Arrows
Runes
Use the following runes for the Sentinel build:
- Multicast Mastery
- Critical Mastery
- Focus Fire
- Weapon Expert
- Efficient Extraction
If you have additional runes unlocked, consider using Skill Affinity: Nature with the Beast Master at Prestige level 30.
Gameplay Tips
- Initial Setup: Aim to replace the default shoot skill as soon as possible with skills like Rain of Arrows and Storm of Arrows.
- Skill Choices: If you’ve unlocked skills from events, use them. Skills like Avalanche, Surprise Gift, and Summon Helper Elves are very effective.
- Mounting Panther: Whenever you start taming the panther, if it runs away, it will always go to the center of the map. Use this to your advantage to quickly remount and gain its benefits.
Combat Strategy
- Positioning: Stay mobile and use the corners of the map to your advantage.
- Skill Usage: Focus on skills with low cooldowns to maximize damage output. Skills like Lightning Bolt and Bladed Chakram can be good additions for their low cooldowns and high damage potential.
- Boss Fights: Use your mobility and skills to quickly dispatch bosses. Aim to keep your distance and avoid their area-of-effect attacks.
Best Beginner Legionnaire Build
The Legionnaire Build performs really well, completing runs efficiently and the Legionnaire’s combination of electric skills & summons is powerful in handling both crowds and bosses, easily earning its place as one of the best Soulstone Survivors builds.
Build Preparation
Prestige Requirements
To start, you’ll need two characters at level 60+ in Prestige:
- Elementalist at Level 60 Prestige to unlock Electric Inclination.
- Beast Master at Level 61 Prestige to unlock Versatile Strength Rune.
Additionally, ensure your Legionnaire character is at level 10 Prestige.
Runes
The key runes for this build are:
- Multicast Mastery
- Critical Mastery
- Versatile Strength
These three runes are essential for most builds. For additional versatility, use: weapon expert and electric inclination.
Weapon Choice
We’re using Jupiter’s Reach for the Legionnaire’s weapon. To unlock it, you need:
- 500 Gold (Whispering Grove)
- 100 Iron (Dungeons of Despair)
- 6 Quartz (Dungeons of Despair)
- 6 Wicked Soul Stones (from the third wave of bosses on any level)
Skills
Since we’re using Electric Inclination, all our skills will be electric-based:
- Jupiter’s Spear
- Summon Infantry
- Chain Lightning
- Lightning Bolt
- Thunder Strike
- Thunder Clap
These skills will provide a lot of daze and stun effects, enhancing your crowd control and damage output.
Gameplay Tips
With Weapon Expert, you start with both Jupiter’s Spear and Summon Infantry, allowing you to deal with monsters early on. Here’s a step-by-step strategy:
- Disable Auto Aim: Turn off auto aim when fighting bosses for better targeting and damage. Use the middle mouse button to toggle auto aim.
- Skill Selection: Choose skills with low cooldowns for maximum damage output. Thunder Clap and Thunder Strike are great early picks.
- Positioning: Stay clear of Void Presence to keep your summons alive. Focus on dodging and moving around bosses in a circle to avoid their attacks.
- Versatile Strength: Pick up a variety of skills and passives to increase your overall damage.
Best Beginner Death Knight Build
Runes
The runes we are using for this beginner Death Knight build are:
- Weapon Expert
- Skill Inclination: Swing
- Multicast Mastery
- Critical Mastery
- Surefooted
- Versatile Strength
They are relatively easy to obtain, though some may require specific unlocks (which will be useful for most loadouts from the best Soulstone Survivors builds list. Once you have them, they work perfectly together.
Weapon
For our weapon choice, you are gonna be using the Death Knight’s very first weapon. This weapon is straightforward and effective for the build.
Skills
The six skills you will be using are:
- Obliterate
- Festering Strike
- Blade Storm
- Heroic Strike
- Subdue
- Bloodlust
If you can’t find Bloodlust immediately, use Ray of Doom until you do.
Skill Tree
Here are some beneficial upgrades from other characters that can help you out:
- Additional Area of Effect from the Elementalist
- Block from the Barbarian
- +10 Armor from the Spellblade
- XP Gain from the Arcane Weaver
Early Game Strategy
- Skill Selection: Start with the core skills: Festering Strike, Heroic Strike, and Blade Storm. Use rerolls if necessary to get these early.
- Movement and Positioning: Stay mobile and avoid obstacles.
- Skill Upgrades: Focus on critical upgrades that enhance damage, area of effect, and cooldown reduction. Prioritize movement speed to help with dodging attacks.
Mid to Late Game Strategy
- Boss Fights: Turn off auto-aim to better target bosses with skills like Heroic Strike and Blade Storm. This increases your damage output significantly.
- Skill Synergy: Utilize Bloodlust for increased attack speed and movement. Subdue can be effective if you manage to get Brutal Strike.
- Survivability: Avoid taking unnecessary damage by staying clear of high-damage zones and using your movement speed to your advantage.
Final Boss Fight
- Mobility: Use your enhanced movement speed to dodge boss attacks. Stay out of puddles and avoid getting slowed down by attacks.
- Targeting: Focus on the bosses one at a time, using your skills strategically to deal maximum damage.
- Health Management: Keep an eye on your health and pick up any health drops to stay in the fight.
Best Beginner Necromancer Build
The build performs well, completing Curse 7 efficiently. The Necromancer's summons provide excellent damage and tanking, easily making it a one of the best Soulstone Survivors builds for beginners.
Runes
For this build, you will be using the following runes:
- Weapon Expert
- Skill Inclination: Summoning
- Efficient Extraction
- Multicast Mastery
- Critical Mastery
- Versatile Strength
- Surefooted
If you have 10 out of 10 rune slots, you can replace Surefooted with Harmony for additional damage and as far as the skill tree goes, The Ascension is extremely powerful, so if you have 21 prestige on the character, feel free to use it for an added boost.
Skills
The end-game goal is to get the following skill build:
- Skeletal Mage
- Skeletal Archers
- Chaos Golem
- Arcane Power
- Bloodlust
- Skeletal Warriors
At the start of runs use Shadow Nova, which is helpful in the early stages for summon sustain and dealing some Doom damage. However, you'll replace it as soon as you find the main skills.
Early Game Strategy
- Skill Selection: Prioritize getting Arcane Power and Bloodlust to enhance your summons' capabilities.
- Movement Speed: Focus on upgrading movement speed to dodge red circles and stay out of danger.
Mid Game Strategy
As you progress, the build becomes more powerful with each upgrade. Summons are excellent at tanking and dealing damage, allowing you to focus on dodging and positioning.
- Summon Upgrades: Look for Skeletal Mage and Chaos Golem to bolster your summoning arsenal.
- Buffing Allies: Use the area of effect upgrades to ensure your buffs affect as many summons as possible. Both Arcane Power and Bloodlust mention "you and nearby allies," so increasing their area of effect will benefit your summons.
Late Game Strategy
- Skill Mastery: Replace Shadow Nova with Chaos Golem when you find it. Aim to get Skeletal Archers to complete your build.
- Staying Alive: Utilize your movement speed and positioning to keep yourself and your summons out of harm’s way. Focus on dodging while your summons deal the damage.
