Notable Passives:

1. Arcanist - increases your maximum Intelligence which is the core attribute in this build. Intelligence increases your Ward Retention and damage
2. Mage Flurry - grant increased Attack Speed which increases both your DPS and Ward generation
3. Warden - Warden lets you reach a higher maximum Ward by increasing your Ward Retention

Spellblade Skill Tree (61 Points)

Notable Passives:

1. Arcane Warden - you generate additional Ward with each Melee Attack
2. Essence Duel - grants high bonus Attack Speed and Ward generated on Melee hit
3. Volka's Razor - grants up to 150% (!!) bonus Damage to your Flame Reave, which combined with 10 Stacks from Blade Weaver that you quickly generate with Mana Strike generate some devastating Hits

Our Mana Strike Spellblade's Passive Tree is fully oriented on increasing your Melee Damage and Attack Speed. Most of the other Passives are supposed to increase the amount of Ward you generate and your defenses like the Arcane Shielding Passive

Mana Strike - a melee attack which thanks to Teleporting Strikes Passive becomes a ranged skill. It has great damage scaling potential with increased maximum Mana and automatically targets enemies making it very convenient to use. Thanks to its' high Attack Speed and 0 Mana Cost, it generates Blade Weaver stacks quickly to boost the damage of your next Flame Reave attack. It still benefits from Melee Attack Speed and Passives, but it's not clear whether the effect of Teleporting Strikes will remain in its current form upon release

Teleport - used for mobility, Ward generation, and temporary buffs it grants for a few seconds after teleporting. 

Flame Ward - a defensive spell that grants a very high bonus Ward. It replaced the Ice Ward in one of the recent Patches. It reduces all damage you take from Hits while it's active, generates Ward over time, and increases your Ward Retention

Flame Reave - your secondary Attack which deals some massive damage when you use it at 10 Stacks of Blade Weaver. It has a high Mana Cost, so it's not recommended to use it as a primary Attack and spam it, but rather treat it as a filler whenever max stacks are accumulated via Mana Strike

Enchant Weapon - increases the Elemental Damage you deal with attacks. The Passives chosen are going to increase your DPS significantly, and the skill will be triggered automatically whenever off cooldown thanks to the allocation of Kindling Blade

Stat priority:

This build's primary DPS is based on your Intelligence attribute, Melee Damage, Attack Speed, and Maximum Mana - though currently, it's too early to say whether it will be more beneficial for you to stack Mana or bonus Lightning Damage with Attacks for the best performance. Also, having high Attack Speed allows you to stack a lot of Ward for defensive purposes

1. Intelligence
2. Maximum Mana
3. Melee/Lightning Damage
4. Attack Speed
5. Life

Recommended Unique Items:

Wing Guards - this pair grants insane DPS bonuses by increasing your Attack Speed, however, making you unable to Critically Hit

Stormbreaker - it's recommended to use one-handed weapons with higher base Attack Speed in this build, but Stormbreaker grants terrific bonuses to both damage and defenses, making it a very decent pick for mid-tier levels

Strong Mind - grants a very high maximum Mana bonus and Stun Avoidance based on your Mana making it a perfect pick for the Amulet slot

Tome of Elements - adds extra maximum Mana, very high Life Leech, and increases your chance to Shock. One of the best Relics for this builds 

END NOTE

This is an early beta Mana Strike Spellblade Mage build for Last Epoch. We are looking forward to having all the Spellblade's skills finished and polished and continue our work on this project. It had the highest burst DPS out of all builds we have tested so far, so we have our hopes high. If you decide to try out this build for yourself, don't forget to leave a comment below with your feedback.