Smite is one of the most powerful and versatile abilities in Last Epoch, particularly when harnessed for Lightning Burst builds. Whether you're playing as a Paladin or a Void Knight, Smite offers potent single-target damage, chain-clearing potential, and Last Epoch Gold excellent synergy with lightning-themed skills and passives. This guide will walk you through how to unlock Smite, how to build around it for maximum lightning damage, and how to optimize your character for efficient mapping and bossing.

How to Unlock Smite

Smite is a Sentinel class skill, accessible early on by specializing into either the Paladin or Void Knight mastery.

Unlock Path:

Start as a Sentinel.

Reach Level 5, then invest points in the base Sentinel tree until Smite becomes available.

Once unlocked, equip Smite and assign it to a hotkey.

Smite is usable even before choosing a mastery, but it truly shines once you ascend into Paladin (for elemental scaling and healing) or Void Knight (for cast-on-hit and echo synergy).

Why Smite for Lightning Burst?

Smite scales excellently with Lightning Damage, Cast Speed, and Spell Crit. When paired with the right skill tree upgrades, it becomes a burst-heavy ranged nuke that can be auto-triggered from ranged or melee attacks, making it ideal for hybrid builds.

Smite Specialization Tree: Lightning Burst Focus

Once you can specialize Smite (typically around level 10–12), here’s how to path it for lightning burst:

Key Nodes to Take:

Holy Fury – Adds Lightning Damage over time to Smite. Boosts damage with Lightning and increases burst potential.

Unbalanced Scale – 40% chance to cast Smite twice, boosting single-target output dramatically.

Descending Judgement – Converts Smite’s base damage to Lightning.

Righteous Flurry – Gives a Haste buff on crit, improving mapping speed and mobility.

Sacrifice – Consumes mana for massive base damage scaling, especially potent for caster-style Smite builds.

Optional:

Merciful – Increases healing per cast, great for survivability in Paladin builds.

Empyrean Wrath – Adds area damage, which helps with map clear.

Gearing for Lightning Smite

Whether you're casting Smite manually or triggering it on-hit (via idols or passive trees), your gear should enhance its lightning spell damage and critical strike chance.

Core Stats to Prioritize:

+% Lightning Damage

+% Spell Crit Chance or Crit Multiplier

+% Cast Speed

Mana Regeneration (if manually casting)

Increased Healing Effectiveness (for Paladin support)

Recommended Idols:

Smite on Throwing Attack Hit Idols (e.g., "Chance to cast Smite when you hit with a Throwing Attack") – These allow you to auto-cast Smite when using skills like Hammer Throw or Javelin.

% Lightning Damage to Spells – Passive amplification for Smite.

Mastery Synergy: Paladin vs. Void Knight

Both masteries can use Smite effectively, but with different strengths:

Paladin (Fire/Lightning Hybrid + Sustain)

Gains increased healing, fire conversion, and defensive boons.

Works well with manual casting Smite and hybrid melee-caster builds.

Passive tree boosts elemental protection, healing effectiveness, and crit chance with elemental skills.

Best for:

Solo players

Hardcore mode

Balanced survivability and DPS

Void Knight (Cast-on-Hit and Echo Builds)

Can trigger Smite automatically using melee or throwing attacks.

Gains access to Echo mechanics, letting Smite cast multiple times per trigger.

Focused more on offense, less on healing.

Best for:

DPS burst builds

Echo-themed builds (e.g., Smite + Devouring Orb)

Speed mapping and damage stacking

Skill Combos with Smite

Smite can be used manually or automatically with skill combos:

Auto-Trigger with Throwing Skills

Use Hammer Throw with idols that trigger Smite.

Hammers hit frequently, triggering multiple Smites per second.

Works well with Unbalanced Scale and cast speed gear.

Cast-on-Melee or Hybrid

Use Rive or Vengeance and trigger Smite through Void Knight passives.

Combines melee and spell damage for hybrid playstyles.

Smite + Javelin + Healing Hands (Paladin Support Build)

Cast Javelin to zone enemies.

Use Smite for burst and healing.

Cast Healing Hands to sustain party members.

Bossing with Smite

For boss encounters:

Cast Smite directly for controlled burst on the boss.

Stack Shock or Increased Lightning Damage Taken via gear or passives.

Consider Sigils of Hope for added damage buff and health regen.

Time Unbalanced Scale procs for high-impact burst phases.

Dodge in-between casts and use Righteous Flurry for mobility.

Sample Lightning Smite Loadout (Paladin)

Skills:

Smite (Lightning Burst focus)

Sigils of Hope (for +damage)

Javelin (zone control)

Holy Aura (buffs)

Healing Hands (support)

Stats to Stack:

+Lightning Damage

+Cast Speed

+Spell Crit Chance

+Health / Armor

Gear Example:

Wand with +% Lightning Damage

Shield with +Health or +Block

Idols that cast Smite on hit

Final Tips for Mastery

Specialize early into Smite to unlock its key nodes faster.

Pair with high-hit-rate skills to maximize triggers.

Balance mana usage if manually casting—use Sigils or gear with +Mana Regen.

Bosses melt quickly when Smite crits—focus on crit scaling after level 50.

Conclusion

Smite is a top-tier skill in Last Epoch when built around Lightning Burst damage. Whether you prefer an auto-casting hybrid or a direct spellcaster, Smite’s synergy with cast speed, lightning damage, and Last Epoch Gold for sale crit scaling makes it a centerpiece for powerful builds. By optimizing your skill tree, gear, and mastery, you’ll not only crush endgame bosses but do so with electrifying style.