The Stoneshaper is arguably the most powerful class in Spellbreak right now. It’s certainly one of the most prevalent, thanks to its forgiving playstyle, simple mechanics, and large damage output. You’re going to be running into the class a lot in Spellbreak, so here’s how to beat the ground-pounding Stoneshaper.
The first rule of taking down an opponent: Know your enemy. The Stoneshaper excels at ground-based combat. It’s primary attack, Shockwave, deals between 30 and 45 damage. Plus, it recharges the Stoneshaper’s shield by 5 if it has less than 20 points in it. The Stoneshaper’s Sorcery, Boulderfall, deals more damage the further it travels.
Off the drop
With that information in mind, I highly recommend you avoid engaging a Stoneshaper when you first land in the Hollow Lands. It can kill you with four hits, all the while regenerating its shield. Unless you’re very lucky or very good, you’re not going to be able to burst through its offensive defense. So, if you hear Shockwave going off or you see a Stoneshaper nearby, you should look for loot elsewhere.
The only exception to this is if you land in an area that has a lot of walls or cliffs. Then you might be able to avoid the Stoneshaper’s attacks. However, you’re still going to struggle to burst it down. The only class I engage Stoneshapers with during the early game, is the Toxicologist.
Keep it at a distance
The first rule to keep in mind in Spellbreak when you’re looking to beat a Stoneshaper, is to stay out of range of its Shockwave. You can run the Lightning or Frost Gauntlets as your primary or secondary, and use them to harass Stoneshapers from long-range. They will be forced to run or bring the fight to you, which is perfect because you always want to engage them on your terms.
Location, location, location
When engaging a Stoneshaper, the location for your duel is incredibly important – much more so than any other class. Shockwave doesn’t move through walls or jagged pieces of terrain. Use this to your advantage and fight in broken castles or dance around low walls in open fields.
The low wall blocks two of my Shockwaves.
Aerial superiority
The Tempest is the best class for dealing with Stoneshapers. However, the wind wielder of Spellbreak is one of the toughest classes to play. It doesn’t have high burst damage, but it can apply a lot of pressure. Plus, it can stay in the air almost constantly.
If you can get on top of a Stoneshaper and harass it with Wind Shear from above, you’ll be dealing damage while keeping yourself afloat. The Stoneshaper has no counter to this. You can also use your Tornado to give yourself more lift and prevent the Stoneshaper from flying away.
This is the position you want to be in against a Stoneshaper.
The final circles
Stoneshapers and other classes wielding the Stone Gauntlet are often frustrating to deal with at the end of the game. When the zone gets very small, they fly into the air with the Flight or Featherfall Rune and rain Boulderfall down on you. It seems like a good strategy, but I’m telling you it’s bad. There are numerous ways to deal with these players.
The terrain will play a large part in how you decide to tackle the situation. If there are a few trees or some buildings around, you can use these to take cover, avoid damage, and make it tough for the flying Stoneshapers to see you. You can hit them with everything you have when they land and, when they soar into the sky again, you’ll be able to safely heal out of sight and possibly under protective cover.
If you’re playing Tempest, you can use your Tornado to launch into the sky and pick them off. Tempest deals more damage and takes less damage in the air. I like to run the Toxic Gauntlet with Tempest and get right up to the cowardly Stone wielders and hit them with Toxic Spray for massive damage.
It doesn’t matter how high they fly, Lightning Strike will bring them back to earth.
Another excellent way to deal with this situation is to run Conduit. Your Lightning Bolts can hit flying targets fairly easily and your damage is incredibly high. Stoneshapers can’t heal if they’re in the air, so it’s basically target practice for Conduits. Plus, the Conduit’s Lighting Strike hits five times when you reach level four. This can deal up to 100 damage and it hits targets way up in the sky.
That’s how to beat the Stoneshaper in Spellbreak. It’s not tough if you are conscious of how and where you engage. If you’d like some more help with the magical battle royale, there are plenty of tips and guides on our Spellbreak guides and features hub.
