Overview
This is a pre-launch analysis of the Spirit Walker, the Huntress ascendancy that arrived with 0.5, built around three animal spirits (a deer stampede, an owl and a bear) plus idols and a tameable companion. It walks through GGG’s second showcase and flags which nodes had already changed since the first reveal. Treat it as a first look at the ascendancy rather than a finished build guide.
The deer node now summons spirit deer after you have moved a set distance and attacked. They shock on landing and leave shocked ground, which pairs naturally with Twister. The owl still grants a charge that a dodge roll consumes for extra projectiles and projectile speed, and the bear is a large companion that does not count toward the companion limit. Taking all three unlocks the hidden Sacred Unity node, which now lasts longer and adds a skill and movement speed buff. Natural Order, the capstone that lets you keep a captured boss spirit, no longer rotates spirits every 20 seconds. That is a nerf in raw power but removes the randomness.
GGG previewed two league-start directions. One is a Twister / Whirlwind projectile build that stacks Salvo, owl charges, Barrage and a roll before releasing one huge Twister. The other is a companion “zookeeper” build that relies on the bear, a tamed rare beast and weapon damage shared with companions.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- The owl and deer nodes both feed projectile builds like Twister very directly
- Shocked ground from the deer spirits is free extra damage while mapping
- The bear companion sits outside the companion cap, so companion builds get an extra body
- Two clear starter archetypes, one projectile and one companion, from the start
Cons
- The deer node needs you to keep moving, so it helps little on stationary boss fights
- The Twister setup needs a multi-step buff cycle before each big cast
- The companion damage shown in the showcase looked modest compared with the Twister version
- Idols felt oddly timed next to runes and needed further tuning to compete
Key Skills
- Twister — the main projectile payoff for the owl and Sacred Unity buffs
- Whirlwind — builds up the tornadoes that Twister releases
- Barrage — stacks extra projectiles before the big release
- Companions (bear + tamed beast) — the core of the zookeeper direction
Gear & Anointments
The companion direction wants a spear with high weapon damage, since a node shares 60% of weapon damage with companions. Spears, bows and talismans can also roll companion damage as an Abyss suffix. The zookeeper preview used a sceptre that removes the companion limit, and its price was unknown before launch because it drops from Ritual. Specific uniques beyond that should be confirmed against the source video.
Credits & Source
Analysis credited to La Taverne de Minii & Driinj. See the source video for the showcase footage and full commentary: LA SPIRIT WALKER DÉJÀ NERF ?? | Analyse du nouveau showcase PoE 2.