Overview
This is Zizaran’s preliminary 0.5 league-starter plan for the new Huntress Spirit Walker ascendancy, leaning hard into the reworked Tame Beast companion system. Zizaran openly frames the build as a work-in-progress — he is still deciding between this and a totems route, hasn’t seen the new pinnacle bosses, and expects a lot of live theorycrafting once the patch goes live. The video is best read as a planning piece rather than a finished guide, with the creator stressing that he doesn’t recommend it as a safe league-start choice for most players.
The core idea is to level with grenades into the first ascendancy at level 22, then transition into a companion-driven playstyle once Tame Beast unlocks as a level-7 gem. Spirit Walker turns Tame Beast into a permanent storage system: you keep multiple unique beasts (Bramblegast, the act-three Monkey, the Devour bell pet, etc.), but only one is summoned at a time, so you swap between a clear-focused companion and a single-target one as fights demand. Zizaran is also planning a hybrid weapon setup — likely a spear-and-shield or crossbow — so the player still contributes to clear while companions handle rares and bosses. He is starting this on hardcore.
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Tame Beast moving to a level-7 gem lets the companion fantasy come online very early (around level 22)
- Multiple stored unique beasts means one character can flex between AoE clear and single-target without rerolling
- Hybrid weapon plan keeps the player active during clear instead of being purely a follower build
- Stacking evasion plus energy shield via the Spirit Walker tree gives a solid defensive base, with Soul Core recharge tricks layered on top
- Lots of damage mitigation tools (15% of damage taken from companion’s life, anointable nodes, bear-style tanky companions)
Cons
- Creator explicitly calls this risky and not recommended for typical league-starters
- Resistance and gearing path is admitted to be rough since Idolatry locks out idol slots
- New companion passive nodes are sparser than hoped — limited filler damage means scaling is uncertain
- Endgame viability is unverified — pinnacle bosses and tuning will only be known after launch
- Transition window (around level 22, swapping off grenades) is the most fragile part of the plan
Key Skills
- Tame Beast — central skill; Spirit Walker reshapes it into a multi-beast storage system summoned from the gem menu
- Grenade skills (leveling) — Zizaran’s tested leveling path through Act 1 uses grenades supported by Primal Instinct, Careful Aim, Heavy Ammunition, and Primal Sundering
- Inspiring Ally — rushed early so the grenade-to-companion handoff keeps minion damage relevant during the transition
- Spear or Crossbow (player weapon) — kept active in the hybrid plan, with a shield slot or two-handed crossbow depending on damage needs
- Minion Splash Support — new support gem expected to amplify companion clear via the AoE nodes Zizaran is targeting
Gear & Anointments
The weapon plan is unresolved on purpose — Zizaran is choosing between a one-hand spear with shield (defense plus block) and a two-handed crossbow that benefits from “companions gain added damage equal to 60% of your main-hand weapon damage.” Either way the player weapon scales companions, so investing in a good rare crossbow or spear is the highest-impact upgrade. Specific uniques to be confirmed against the source video, but Zizaran calls out Bramblegast and the unique act-three Monkey as the tame-beast targets, with the Devour bell pet and Hyena as fun options.
For support gear the standout call is the reworked Soul Core: when socketed in gloves it grants energy-shield recharge start when minions are reformed, which Zizaran reads as a weapon-swap ES recharge button. Defensively he plans to anoint a node that routes 15% of damage taken to companion life, stacking on top of evasion and energy shield from the Spirit Walker tree. From Nothing-style jewel sockets and additional minion-damage / energy-shield jewels are also on the wishlist. Resistance roll requirements are acknowledged as a major sticking point.
Endgame Notes
Zizaran admits the endgame is not yet figured out. He hasn’t seen the new pinnacle bosses, doesn’t know how companion damage scales against unique enemies, and expects to adjust the tree heavily based on whether block, more evasion, or more recharge ends up mattering most. Ascendancy priorities include the Spirit Walker first node, the bear companion option for tankiness, and eventually a node that grants added damage to companions based on the player’s weapon. If companions end up underwhelming he plans to pivot to totems, with Twisters Spirit Hunter and Essence Drain Lich named as safer fallback starters.
Credits & Source
Build credited to Zizaran. See the source video for the full build’s gameplay footage + voice commentary: My PRELIMINARY Starter Build for 0.5.