Path of Exile 2 beginner guide and campaign walkthrough

Pick up the weapon the first zombie drops and equip it. In the middle of the zone, open the big chest: it has your first skill gem.

Kill the Bloated Miller at the end of the beach and walk into Clearfell Encampment, the first town. Talk to everyone. The quest reward is another uncut skill gem.

Beira of the Rotten Pack waits in the middle of Clearfell. Kill her and use the Head of the Winter Wolf: +10% cold resistance, forever.

The Mud Burrow is next to the Clearfell waypoint. Kill the Devourer: the reward is your first uncut support gem.

Go through the Grelwood to the Red Vale. Touch the three Obelisks of Rust; the third one brings out the Rust King. Take the three Runed Girdles to Renly in town.

Back in the Grelwood, find the Tree of Souls and push Renly's spikes into the three seals. Talk to Una there and again in town.

Bonus: the witch Areagne in her hut gives an uncut support gem. She teleports and curses a lot, so skip her if you struggle.

Go through the Grim Tangle to the Cemetery of the Eternals. Find the Tomb of the Consort (kill Asinia) and the Mausoleum of the Praetor (kill Draven). Each gives a key piece.

Open the Memorial Gate with both pieces, follow Lachlann to the grave and kill him. Go on to the Hunting Grounds.

The monsters here hit hard. The Crowbell is an optional boss: +2 weapon-set passive points.

Don't skip this one. In Freythorn, clean the three small ritual altars, then the big one at the top. Kill the King in the Mists and use the Gembloom Skull: +30 spirit and an uncut spirit gem. His purple mark means keep moving; the red one means stand still.

Finn in town lets you pick one charm: Ruby, Sapphire or Topaz. Charms fire on their own when something bad happens to you.

Find Una's Lute in a hut on the Ogham Farmlands and bring it to Una: +2 weapon-set passive points.

In Ogham Village, pick up Renly's Smithing Tools (unlocks the salvage bench) and open the Blacksmith's Chest next to them: an Artificer's Orb and a rune. Kill the Executioner and free the prisoner. In town, Leitis gives you an uncut skill gem (level 5).

Use the Artificer's Orb on your weapon to add a socket, swap the blank rune at Renly for an elemental rune, and put it in the socket for extra damage.

On the first floor of the manor, kill Candlemass: +20 maximum life, forever.

Count Geonor on the top floor ends Act 1. Cold resistance helps a lot. When he disappears into the fog, stand in the clear circle in the middle and dodge when his voice line ends. Afterwards, talk to the Hooded One in town.

Kill Rathbreaker in the fight zone next to town. Stay away from the cliffs at the top: spear throwers stand there. Zarka then gives an uncut skill gem (level 5).

Talk to the Hooded One and Sekhema Asala to open the desert map. A golden chisel on the map marks where to go next. The Hooded One identifies items for free and can refund passive points for gold.

Cross the Mawdun Quarry into the Mawdun Mine and kill Rudja, the Dread Engineer (fire damage). Free Risu from the cage.

The Halani Gates are shut, so take the Traitor's Passage. Kill Balbala, the Traitor there: her Djinn Barya is the key to the Trial of the Sekhemas, your first ascendancy trial (2 ascendancy points). You can try it from about level 20–22, and you get a new key for free if you fail, but it's much safer at level 26–30. The guide reminds you at the end of Act 2.

Help Asala open the three gates, then fight Jamanra until he runs. Back in the caravan Zarka gives an uncut skill gem (level 7). Now three quests open; do them in the order below.

In the Mastodon Badlands and the Bone Pits, pick up the Sun Clan Relic while you clear, and kill Iktab and Ekbab. Bring the tusks to Zarka: an uncut support gem.

In Keth, kill Kabala, Constrictor Queen: +2 weapon-set passive points. Watch out for the lightning beetles.

Bonus: the Golden Tomb in the Lost City holds an uncut spirit gem. Also look for the Kabala Clan Relic here or in the Buried Shrines.

Before the boss, find the Elemental Shrine room and pick one offering: a resistance ring plus a matching rune.

Kill Azarian, the Forsaken Son (fire). Try not to let him break the pots in the corners: they set the floor on fire. Light the Water Goddess and bring the Essence of Water to Zarka: an uncut support gem.

Put both clan relics into the altar near the waypoint: +1 charm slot and a charm bonus you can change later. Then touch the three Ancient Seals.

Kill Zalmarath, the Colossus. Zarka gives an uncut support gem and the Horn of the Vastiri: blow it at the top of the caravan to clear the sandstorm.

In Deshar, find the Fallen Dekhara and take the Final Letter to Shambrin: +2 weapon-set passive points.

Kill Tor Gul, the Defiler. Before you leave, touch the Sisters of Garukhan: +10% lightning resistance.

Now do your first ascendancy trial: go to the Trial of the Sekhemas and put the Djinn Barya on the pedestal. Instead of dying, you have an Honour bar: every hit you take lowers it, and at zero the run fails. Kill fast, walk around the traps and don't rush. If you fail, you get a new key for free, so just try again.

Final boss of Act 2. Lightning resistance helps. When the wind starts, stand next to Asala inside her shield. If he's too hard, level up on the carts first.

Cross the marsh to the Ziggurat Encampment. On the way: Rootdredge (optional boss) drops an uncut skill gem (level 9), and the Orok Campfire basket has a Lesser Jeweller's Orb.

Mighty Silverfist, the big ape, is optional: +2 weapon-set passive points. Dodge his swings and his rolling attack.

The Venom Crypts are next to the Jungle Ruins waypoint. Bring the Corpse-snake Venom to Servi: an Artificer's Orb and a permanent bonus. You can't change this one later.

Go through the Infested Barrens to the Chimeral Wetlands and kill Xyclucian, the Chimera. He drops the Inscribed Ultimatum, the key to the Trial of Chaos (its entrance is in this zone), your second ascendancy trial. It opens around level 35–40, but it's safest at 42–45 with fire and lightning resistance capped. The guide reminds you before the last boss of Act 3.

Carry small soul cores to open the doors. Use the spare ones to reach Blackjaw, the Remnant: +10% fire resistance.

Put two medium soul cores into the generators and kill Zicoatl. During his triangle slam, stand at a corner. Take the Large Soul Core to the Stone Altar in the Jungle Ruins, then drain the Matlan Waterways and pull the big lever at the end.

Don't skip this one. The Azak Bog is off the Matlan Waterways. Touch the effigies of the Flameskin Ritual for a fire resistance buff, then kill Ignagduk, the Bog Witch: +30 spirit and an uncut spirit gem.

Bring Ignagduk's spear to Servi and pick a charm.

In the Drowned City, take the side path to the Molten Vault. Mektul, the Forgemaster must die within about 4 minutes. Take his hammer to Oswald: an uncut skill gem (level 10), and the reforging bench opens.

Kill the Queen of Filth in the Apex of Filth, then climb the Temple of Kopec. Stay in the shade: the sunlight burns. Kill Ketzuli at the top, then follow Alva into the past.

Viper Napuatzi is a hard fight: level up first if you need to. Pick up the Sacrificial Heart in this zone.

Put the heart on the altar in Aggorat and stab it with the dagger: +2 weapon-set passive points.

Time for your second ascendancy trial. Go back to the Chimeral Wetlands, enter the Trial of Chaos and use the Inscribed Ultimatum. You survive waves of monsters while the floor fills with damaging effects. Get fire and lightning resistance to 75% first; melee characters should also bring extra life. Spare key: the Chaos Statue in Utzaal gives another Inscribed Ultimatum.

Doryani ends Act 3. Get fire and lightning resistance as close to 75% as you can, or he one-shots you. When his machine fires lasers from its back, don't stand behind it.

Talk to everyone in Kingsmarch. Ange opens trading and the currency exchange. Get the Boat Charter from Rog, then talk to Makoru on the dock to sail. You can visit the islands in any order; this order is easiest.

The Blind Beast is optional: it drops a Blank Greater Rune, which Dannig in Kingsmarch swaps for the Greater Rune you choose. The Beast Pen has a rare beast with an uncut support gem (level 4). Then kill Krutog in the Volcanic Warrens.

Through Kedge Bay to Journey's End: kill Captain Hartlin, have Dannig turn the Verisium into spikes, then free 'Freya'. It's a trap: beat Omniphobia. Tujen gives an uncut skill gem (level 13) and +2 weapon-set passive points.

Find the Chapel key and pray to the Goddess of Justice: faster life or mana recovery from flasks (you can change it later). Kill the Prisoner below: when he starts to heal, shoot him with the ballista at the edge.

The crab in the Crabshell Cavern drops an uncut support gem (level 4). The Great White One in the Shark Pit drops a Shark Fin: give it to Kaimana for a permanent Lesson. You can't change it later.

Diamora, Song of Death freezes and turns you to stone: a Thawing Charm helps. Free Matiki afterwards.

Kill the Scourge of the Skies.

At the Eye of Hinekora, pass the three tests, then visit the Silent Hall behind the checkpoint: +5% maximum mana. In the Halls of the Dead, the side tests give tattoos (permanent). Kill Yama and finish the Trial of the Ancestors: +2 weapon-set passive points.

Ring both Golden Bells: 3 Regal Orbs and 3 Exalted Orbs. Torvian gets shielded by three casters around the arena; when he throws his rock, stand near a caster so the rock breaks the shield. Then kill Benedictus in the Excavation.

Tavakai is the hardest boss of the campaign. Be around level 56 or higher, with all resistances capped and flasks that refill from kills. During Skyfall, run under him: that spot is safe.

Kill Isolde and Heldra in the Scorched Farmlands. In the Stones of Serle, light the six megaliths, then kill Siora in the stone circle.

Touch every Omen altar in the Blackwood: free crafting omens. In Holten, the Ferryman sells Greater Runes for gold.

Kill Oswin, the Dread Warden in Wolvenhold and use the Warden's Ledger: +2 weapon-set passive points.

Thane Wulfric and Lady Elswyth fight together. Kill Elswyth first, and break her bone ring fast or it explodes.

Head north to the Molten Shrine (Skullmaw Stairway): +5% maximum life. Kill Akthi and Anundr, then talk to Risu: +2 weapon-set passive points. Grab the waypoints of the two connected zones so you don't cross the desert again.

Kill Elzarah in the Sel Khari Sanctuary (bonus: two barya there let you wish for a rare ring, amulet or jewel), then Vornas at the Galai Gates.

In Qimah, find Orbala's Pillar and pick a boon. You can change it later.

Azmadi chains long combos. Keep dodging and wait until the whole combo ends before you hit back.

Bonus: the Ancient Monument in the Ashen Forest gives an uncut skill gem (level 14).

Kill Lythara, the Wayward Spear fast: every wisp that reaches her makes her stronger. Use the Gemcrust Skull: +40 spirit and an uncut spirit gem.

From the Glacial Tarn, enter the Howling Caves and kill the Abominable Yeti. Bring the Icy Tusks to Hilda: +2 weapon-set passive points. Then kill Rakkar at the Glacial Tarn.

Elder Madox on the Kriar Peaks gives you one free unique item.

Kill Stormgore in the Etched Ravine, then Zelina and Zolin in the Cuachic Vault. Go back to Kingsmarch and talk to the Hooded One: +2 weapon-set passive points, and you can travel to Oriath. The endgame starts there.

Open the waygate (the map device) in the Ziggurat Refuge and run your first map. Go straight to the boss, then talk to Doryani. From now on you start maps from the map device in your hideout.

The golden rule while you unlock the Atlas: rush to the map boss and only kill what's on the way. Side content pays much better once your Atlas passives are in, so save it for later.

Make a short detour to Hilda's camp and finish her first beast contract. It unlocks a master passive that turns a quarter of normal map bosses into powerful bosses, and those can drop a waystone one tier higher. One point is enough for now.

Doryani in your hideout sells waystones one tier below the best one you've finished. Later quests ask for tier 6, 11 and 14+ waystones, so after your first tier 7 map buy a few tier 6, and after tier 12 buy a few tier 11. You'll never be stuck without the right tier.

Your first Atlas points go to waystone drop chance and tablets, so you never run out of maps. Path through the Essence nodes, take the waystone-drop passive on the way, then the one that unlocks Overseer tablets (use them on maps without a powerful boss). Take monster effectiveness passives when offered: monsters get tougher but drop more of everything. Skip them only if your character already struggles.

Reach the nearby Precursor Tower to reveal the Precursor Fortress, then head for the Ancient Gateway. Only run the maps your quest needs: once you beat the fortress's final boss, you can finish whole regions of about 40 maps in one go.

On the way to the Burning Monolith, maps beside the middle path hold guaranteed trial keys. Take a Djinn Barya and do ascendancy trial 3 at about level 68–70. Relics with Honour resistance make the Sekhemas much easier: identify and upgrade them until your set gives 75%.

At the Burning Monolith you get the quest for the east and west gateways. Kill the Precursor Refiner in the east and the Precursor Separator in the west, and light the beacon at each.

Both Enigma Chambers need tier 10 waystones. They give the Crisis Fragments for the Arbiter of Ash at the Burning Monolith (the quest already placed the first one). He can be learned even with a weak character, but if he's too much right now, skip him and gear up first.

Stay in tier 11 maps for now. The most common mistake is rushing to tier 15 with a character that isn't ready. Tier 11 is area level 75, so items drop at item level 75: enough for almost every top roll (the best flat damage on rings and gloves, top life rolls, strong resistances, level 18 gems). Gear up here.

Clear the Nexus of the nearby corrupted zone for a Doryani master point. Take the extra revival, so one death doesn't end your map.

Detour to the Withered Willow and kill 5 map bosses with Delirium fog active: this unlocks anointing amulets. Also run the first few Delirium point maps and take the passive for more Liquid Emotions. Then stop Delirium for now and just walk through its mirrors in your maps until you have enough emotions for a good anoint.

Abyss comes first among the league mechanics: it drops raw currency plus bones and omens for crafting, which help every build. Follow its quest from the Well of Souls to the top, bottom and right of the area, then kill the Vessel of Kulemak (about 6 Atlas points). While unlocking a mechanic, don't use its tablets: more of it only makes the quest slower. Some of its passives stay locked until its boss is dead.

Next, Breach: it's the best early source of belts, usually your weakest item. Go to the Monastery of the Keepers, clear breaches, the hives and the colony, then kill Xesht, We That Are One. On its tree, take the passive that makes breaches drop belts first, then ones that add more Breach monsters.

Need currency, levels or skill gems? Expedition from Kingsmarch has no Atlas tree yet, so it's efficient straight away. It drops uncut skill and spirit gems, and its chests hold several waystones.

Once your build is finished and you're around level 82–85, do ascendancy trial 4 to complete your ascendancy. Farming tier 11 maps gets you the lowest-level key with four trials (level 75), which is the easiest one. Do it before the final fortress boss.

Now the final fortress boss, in tier 15 maps. The Matriarch and Patriarch halls are in the middle of the fortress: they drop the Origin Cradle and the Origin Spark. Take both to the engine room of the Origin Tower for the Origin Core, then fight the Arbiter of Divinity at the top. Afterwards, use a cardinal device around the tower to finish a whole fortress region (about 40 Atlas points). Start with the bottom-left one and run the wall tower it reveals.

Spend the big batch of points on the strongest loot passives: the one that lets you regal tablets for an extra modifier, the Rogue Exile passives (your main early source of rings and amulets), the corrupted and cleansed zone passives, and then the top forks with their Memory nodes. Those scale your waystone and tablet modifiers, which is where most of your loot comes from.

You need 5 Arbiter of Divinity kills in total. Find more Matriarch and Patriarch halls on the open Atlas: they show a smooth orange beam and usually sit next to each other. Head away from the fortress, clear corrupted zones on the way for more Doryani points (faster travel, extra Atlas reveal), and run waystone-drop tablets there for a better chance at extra Cradles and Sparks. After each kill, finish a new fortress region and run its wall tower.

With the fortress done, take the generic passives next: more magic and rare monsters, item rarity and pack size. They help whatever you farm. After that, pick the passives of the mechanic you enjoy most.

Optional, to unlock everything. Ritual: spend tribute on an audience with the King and use it at a crack of nothingness to fight the King in the Mists, then collect the pieces for the Bodach. Don't run Ritual tablets while you do this.

Vaal temple: run the city maps that give points, then build a road to the top of the temple to reach the Architect, and later connect the chambers to fight Atziri, the Red Queen.

Delirium last, because it's the hardest: go to the Grand Mirror, push the fog maps to 100%, clear the Simulacrum, then fight Tangmazu. Remaining points come from nearby Delirium maps.

Finish the masters: Hilda's remaining great beasts, then Jado's missions (the Sealed Vault near the fortress, the Jade Isles near Kingsmarch, and the other sites close to your start). Finally, the Expedition quest from Kingsmarch ends with Olroth, Origin of the Fall.