[3.16] ShakCentral's (Pre-3.16 Skill Tree) Leveling Guides
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Teal 00ffff Yellow ffff00 10/17/21 NOTE: The initial 3.16 update was done before the release of the 3.16 Passive Tree Rework. The leveling guide will work, but there may be a better method discovered pre-launch. Any overhauls to the leveling process will be posted in Discord. Welcome! Whether you're here from Cold DoT For Everyone or just looking for a general leveling guide, you've come to the right place. This is the hub for my leveling guides. I host them in the same place for easier updating and to avoid hitting the forum's character limit in the main build guides. These guides purposefully "over-explain" what to do and where to go. They're made for new players, and they assume you're playing in a new league without leveling items or currency. My build guides have an abbreviated leveling summary for experienced players.
Color Key and Guide Terms
Red / Green / Blue : Get this gem, either as a free reward or purchase. Pink / Purple : First time zone entry is denoted in pink. Purple highlights Labyrinth progress. "GGG" / "GGB" etc : These are linked colors. G = Green links, B = Blue, and R = Red. GGG would be 3 green sockets linked together, GGB is Green=Green-Blue, etc. "WP" : Waypoint. These save your progress and allow fast travel to that WP from towns/hideouts.
Cold DoT For Everyone 3.16 Leveling Guide
PoBs have Act 1-10 trees via the bottom left dropdown. Gem links are in Notes. Trade League / Low-Life PoB: https://pastebin.com/tBf6e3D6 SSF / Chaos Inoculation PoB: https://pastebin.com/2dWXHgHu Scourge Launch Day Note: Use the PoB Notes for leveling gems. Unfortunately ran out of time for a full leveling guide update before launch. It's updated through most of Act 2, but not beyond. Act 1
Spoiler
Starting Notes ❄️ Save your currency while leveling. Equipment is upgraded frequently in Acts 1-10, and there is rarely a need to invest currency in an item that will only be used for a few levels. ❄️ We can use 5+ Transmutes in Act 1, so sell items unidentified for Transmute Shards. ❄️ You can have 2 wands in your "weapon swap" (x by default) to level up gems. ❄️ Act 1 difficulty has recently been increased. The Mud Flats zone and Hailrake boss are especially dangerous for new players. Take your time. ❄️ Create your Witch, grab Arcane Surge halfway through the Strand, and kill Hillock. Enter Lioneye’s Watch, check Nessa's shop for wands with BG links, and buy Stormblast Mine (her 2nd tab sells gems). Take Freezing Pulse from Tarkleigh and check his shop for movement speed boots. Socket Stormblast Mine (put Detonate Mines on your skill bar) and link Freezing Pulse with Arcane Surge, keeping Surge at level 1 to let it activate more often. Progress to The Coast Waypoint . ❄️ Do the Mud Flats quest, open Submerged Passage, and take the WP back to the Coast. Enter Tidal Island and kill Hailrake. Go to town, get a Quicksilver flask and any blue gem from Nessa, and buy Orb of Storms and Swift Assembly from her. Get Frost Bomb and Frostblink from Tarkleigh for free, and check vendors again for movement boots, BG wands, or other needed items. At level 4, your gem links should be: - Frost Bomb, Orb of Storms || Stormblast Mine + Swift Assembly - Frostblink + lvl 1 Arcane Surge (Can link Frost Bomb for Arcane Surge procs with a BBG) -As you get Transmutations, buy a Jade Amulet from Nessa ASAP. You'll need the Dex. ❄️ Run from Submerged WP through The Ledge and The Climb. Near the end of the Climb, kill the big goat and rescue Navali. Enter Lower Prison, WP to town, and get Added Lightning Damage from Nessa. Socket Added Lightning with Stormblast Mine and use Transmutes to buy Lesser Multiple Projectiles and Efficacy to level in open gem slots. WP to Submerged, find Flooded Depths, kill the skill point crab, and get the skill point from Tarkleigh. NOTE: You have 2 options for crafting powerful leveling wands using vendor recipes. 1. Selling a Normal wand, Blacksmith's Whetstone, and a Magic or Rare Chain Belt will give you a Magic wand with "% Increased Spell Damage". Rare Chain Belts give a higher tier mod. This wand gives a medium DPS boost to all of your spells. 2. Selling a Magic wand, Orb of Alteration, and a Ruby, Sapphire, or Topaz Ring will give you a Magic wand with "Adds x to x Fire/Cold/Lightning Damage to Spells." Higher rarity rings will give higher tier mods, but increase the level requirement of the wand. This wand does not increase the damage of Cold DoT skills, but gives much higher single target DPS from Stormblast Mine in Acts 1-3. ❄️ Run Lower Prison. If you find the Labyrinth Trial, run it now. If not you can run it later when you have better movement skills. Progress through Upper Prison to the Warden's Chambers and kill Brutus. NOTE: The Brutus fight is difficult, and new players will likely die at least once. If you're dying a lot, use a portal scroll so dying doesn't make you run the full zone every time. ❄️ Go to town and get Flame Dash from Tarkleigh. Buy Clarity and Vitality from Nessa. Use them, but be careful of leveling them too much before getting mana reservation efficiency on the skill tree or you may be limited on your other auras. At level 10, swap Frostblink for Flame Dash. ❄️ Go to Prisoner's Gate and follow the side of the road that dips down, progressing to Ship Graveyard. Find the Ship Graveyard Cave, get the Allflame, and continue to Cavern of Wrath. ❄️ Go back to the Ship Graveyard WP and kill Fairgraves. Go to town and get a skill point from Bestel. Get Creeping Frost from Nessa. At level 12, start using Creeping Frost + Efficacy + Lesser Multiple Projectiles as your clearing skill instead of Frost Bomb. Clear with CF and use Stormblast for single target. ❄️ Run Cavern of Wrath to Cavern of Anger and kill Merveil. Move on to Act 2. Act 2
Spoiler
Starting at zone level 16 (Chamber of Sins), complete all Vaal Side Areas. After killing the boss, the "Vessel" will drop Vaal gems. We need Vaal Cold Snap and eventually (at level 24+) Vaal Discipline. As you now need Alterations more than Transmutes, start IDing items before selling them. ❄️ Run Southern Forest to Forest Encampment. Go North to Old Fields. Find The Den, kill the beast, and continue to Crossroads. Go to town and get a Quicksilver from Yeena. ❄️ Go to Crossroads and head north to Chamber of Sins. In Chamber Level 2, complete the Labyrinth Trial and kill Fidelitas. In town, get Herald of Thunder from Gruest. Buy Summon Skitterbots from Yeena. Use Skitterbots and HoT if mana allowes. The Skitterbots' shock increases all damage that enemies take, including Cold DoT. ❄️ Go to Crossroads and head south to Fellshrine Ruins. Find The Crypt and complete the Labyrinth Trial. Go to Crossroads again, head east to Broken Bridge, and Kill Kraityn. ❄️ Run west out of town to Riverways. Go west to Western Forest. The bandit Alira is on the WP side of the road against the far wall. Kill her, go south, kill Captain Arteri, and open the passage. ❄️ Run to Weaver’s Chambers on the opposite side from Alira and kill Weaver. In town, take Elemental Focus from Silk and buy 2x Controlled Destructions, Tempest Shield, and Trap and Mine Damage from Yeena. Go to Lioneye's Watch in Act 1 and get a skill point from Bestel. Your links should now be: - Stormblast Mine + Trap and Mine Damage + Added Lightning Damage - Creeping Frost + Efficacy + L.M.P. - Skitterbots, Herald of Thunder, Clarity, Vitality - Flame Dash + Arcane Surge - Frost Bomb for Cold Exposure and cancelling regen ❄️ Go to Riverways and head north to The Wetlands. Kill Oak and get the WP. Go to town and get 2 skill points and a quest item from Eramir. ❄️ Run Vaal Ruins, Northern Forest, The Caverns, and Ancient Pyramid. Kill Oversoul. Act 3
Spoiler
NOTES:Starting in Act 3, 4-linked gear can drop or be sold by vendors. Be on the lookout for B-B-B-B and ESPECIALLY B-B-B-G items. When you find a B-B-B-G, add Controlled Destruction to your Stormblast Mine links
❄️ Run The City of Sarn, kill the guards, and talk to Clarissa. Run through town and The Slums to The Crematorium. Do Labyrinth Trial and fight Piety. In town, get Malevolence from Maramoa, Frostbite from Clarissa, and level them. Get the keys from Clarissa. ❄️ Go back to Slums and into The Sewers. Find the busts for a skill point quest and run to Marketplace WP. Get the skill point from Hargan in town, go to Marketplace, and run The Catacombs for theLabyrinth Trial. ❄️ Go from Marketplace WP to The Battlefront WP. Get the Ribbon Spool from a cart near the WP, and run Northwest to The Docks. Find the Sulphite, go back to Battlefront WP, and run Northeast to Solaris Temple 1 and 2. Trade the spool and sulphite to Dialla for the Talc (Take the Jade amulet as well), go to the Sewers WP, and blow up the butthole. Get the Ebony Barracks WP and go Northwest to kill General Gravicius. ❄️ Run east to Imperial Gardens WP. Go northwest to The Library and complete the quest. ❄️ Once the library quest is complete, you can buy most of the gems in the game from Siosa in the library. Take Swift Affliction as your free gem reward, and purchase Vortex and 2x Hypothermia with Chance Orbs Once you're lvl 31 and have 2 B-B-B-G items, you can go full Cold DoT. Gem links for the rest of the campaign: - Creeping Frost + Efficacy + Lesser Multiple Projectiles + Controlled Destruction - Vortex + Controlled Destruction + Elemental Focus + Hypothermia - Malevolence, Clarity - Storm Brand (lvl 1) + Hextouch (Buy in Act 4) + Frostbite - Flame Dash + Arcane Surge Beyond these links, purchase and level these gems for end-game links: Vaal Cold Snap (find/make ASAP), Bonechill (Buy in Act 4), Elemental Weakness ❄️ Go to Ebony Barracks and run Lunaris Temple. Kill Piety, get tower key, get skill point in town, and go to Imperial Gardens. ❄️ Complete Labyrinth Trial, run The Sceptre of God, and kill Dominus. Act 4
Spoiler
❄️ Run The Aqueduct to Highgate. If you're below level 30, control click the Aqueduct entrance to make a new one and farm Aqueducts until you're level 30.
❄️ Run The Dried Lake. Kill Voll and run The Mines. Free Deshret in The Mines Level 2: Electric Boogaloo. Run to The Crystal Veins WP. ❄️ This is a perfect time to run Normal Labyrinth. Finish the Lower Prison Trial if you didn't do it in Act 1. Go to The Sarn Encampment, enter The Aspirant’s Plaza, and kill Izaro. If your survivability is fine and you think you'll be good until lvl 50-55, you can take Void Beacon for damage. Otherwise, take Vile Bastion as your first ascendancy. ❄️ Buy some fire resistance rings if you’re under-capped (75% resistance) and run Kaom’s Dream to Kaom’s Stronghold and kill Kaom. Run Daresso’s Dream to The Grand Arena and kill Daresso. In town, get Bonechill as a quest reward, and buy Hextouch from the vendor. ❄️ Go to Crystal Veins and run Belly of the Beast Levels 1 and 2. Defeat Piety, run The Harvest, and kill Malachai. Run The Ascent and enter The Slave Pens. Act 5
Spoiler
❄️ Run The Slave Pens and enter Overseer’s Tower. Run The Control Blocks, get the Miasmeter (top left), and run to Oriath Square WP.
❄️ Go to town, get skill point and Silver Flask. Don’t neglect your resists. You’ll need more soon! ❄️ Run Oriath Square to The Templar Courts and into The Chamber of Innocence. Kill Innocence. The zone permanently changes after this fight. In the bottom right of the Innocence boss room there is a door to a changed Chamber. Go through the door into The Torched Courts. ❄️ Run to The Ruined Square. Get WP, then run The Ossuary. ❄️ Run Reliquary for a skill point. Run Ruined Square to Cathedral Rooftop and kill Kitava. Act 6
Spoiler
❄️ Surprise! Your resists suck now. Fix them.
❄️ Run from Lioneye’s Watch to The Twilight Strand and clear the zone. You can now buy (nearly) any gem in the game from Lilly Roth. Take stock of your gem setups. Buy any needed gems. ❄️ Run The Coast to The Mud Flats and kill Queen. Run The Karui Fortress, kill Tuko, and get skill point. Run Karui Fortress to The Ridge to The Lower Prison. Complete Labyrinth Trial, enter Shavronne’s Tower, and kill Shav/Brutus. Grab the crafting recipe inside! ❄️ I recommend doing the two skill point quests in Act 6 (Killing Abberath and The Puppet Mistress) once you reach Act 7 or 8. Go Prisoner’s Gate to Western Forest to The Riverways. Grab WPs in each zone and a crafting recipe from Alira’s old camp in W. Forest. ❄️ Run Riverways to The Southern Forest to The Cavern of Anger. Pick up the banner inside and run to The Beacon. Complete the escort quest and light the beacon. ❄️ Travel to Brine King’s Reef and catch a big crab. Take Weylam’s boat to Bridge Encampment. Act 7
Spoiler
❄️ Run The Broken Bridge and find locket. Run to The Crossroads WP, go to town and turn in locket for a Quartz flask.
Note: At this point you can start utilizing flasks much better than just 3 life/mana flasks and 2 Quicksilvers. Use your better Quicksilver (from the Den) along with your new Quartz and the Silver flask we got in Act 5. Start practicing using those as you run through zones. You have Onslaught, movement speed buff, and phasing up most of the time. Keep 1 mana and 1 life flask for emergencies, and if your mana is good enough, maybe even a large HP flask and 1 HP flask rolled with a bubbling or seething prefix for a quick instant heal. ❄️ Go to Crossroads WP and South to The Fellshrine Ruins and into The Crypt. Complete Labyrinth Trial and run Level 2 to get Maligaro’s map. ❄️ Go to Crossroads WP and North to The Chamber of Sins WP. Talk to Silk and kill Maligaro in his map. Complete Labyrinth Trial in Chamber 2 and enter The Den. ❄️ Run The Den to The Ashen Fields and fight Gruest. Get The Northern Forest WP and run The Dread Thicket for Fireflies. I recommend leaving Gruthkul skill point until Act 9/10. ❄️ Go to Northern Forest and run to The Causeway. Find Kishara's Star skill point near the end and run to The Vaal City WP. Go to town for skill point, back to Vaal City, set Yeena on fire and run The Temple of Decay Levels 1 and 2 to kill Arakaali. Enter The Sarn Ramparts. Act 8
Spoiler
❄️ Go to Prisoner’s Gate WP (Act 6), find the Valley of the Fire Drinker, kill Abberath. Go to The Riverways WP (Act 6), run The Wetlands, find The Spawning Grounds, kill The Puppet Queen. Go Lioneye’s Watch for 2 skill points.
❄️ Run The Sarn Ramparts to The Sarn Encampment. Run The Toxic Conduits to Doedre’s Cesspool and kill Doedre. ❄️ Keep right and run The Quay. Stay south, find the Ankh, and the Resurrection Site. Kill Tolman and run The Grain Gate, killing the Legionnaires. Run to The Imperial Fields WP and go town for 2 skill points. Go to Imperial Fields WP and run The Solaris Temple 1 and 2 and get the Sun Orb. ❄️ Go to Doedre’s Cesspool WP and go left. Run The Grand Promenade to The Bath House WP. Complete Labyrinth Trial and run to The Lunaris Concourse WP. Leave High Garden skill point for Act 10. ❄️ Run The Lunaris Temple 1 and 2 and get the Moon Orb. ❄️ Go to Lunaris Concourse WP, run to the center of The Harbour Bridge, and kill Solaris/Lunaris. Enter The Blood Aqueduct. Act 9
Spoiler
❄️ Run Aqueduct to Highgate. Farm Aqueduct as needed for levels. When you're up to it, run Cruel Labyrinth the get whichever of Void Beacon / Vile Bastion you didn't previously get.
❄️ Run The Descent to The Vastiri Desert WP. Run to The Foothills WP, run The Boiling Lake, and kill the boss. ❄️ Go to Foothills WP and run The Tunnel. Complete Labyrinth Trial and run The Quarry WP. ❄️ Run The Refinery and kill boss. Bring Powder and Acid to Sin. ❄️ Take Vastiri Desert WP. Find the Storm Blade and look for a sandstorm blocking an area. TP, talk to Sin and the PDA couple, TP back to Vastiri. Enter The Oasis and kill boss. ❄️ Go to Quarry WP and find Shrine of the Winds. Kill boss. Go to Highgate and pick up 2 skill points. ❄️ Go to Quarry WP, run The Belly of the Beast. Run The Rotting Core. Kill the 3 mini-bosses, then kill The Depraved Trinity. Travel to Oriath Docks. Act 10
Spoiler
❄️ Go to The Northern Forest WP in Act 7. Enter The Dread Thicket, then Den of Despair, and kill Gruthkul, TP for skill point. Go to The Bath House WP in Act 8. Enter The High Gardens, find Pools of Terror, kill Yugul, TP for skill point.
❄️ Run Cathedral Rooftop and save Bannon. Run the Rooftop to The Ravaged Square and get the WP. ❄️ Go to Ravaged Square WP and run to The Control Blocks. Kill Vilenta, TP for skill point. Run The Ossuary and complete Labyrinth Trial. ❄️ Run The Torched Courts and into The Desecrated Chamber. Kill boss, TP, talk to Bannon. ❄️ Run Merciless Labyrinth if you're able and take Frigid Wake. If you can't solo, see about getting a carry, even if it's paid. It will be much harder after Kitava lowers your resists, so get it done beforehand, even if you have to farm levels a bit. ❄️ I HIGHLY recommend doing a few circles around the Ossuary, using my filter to pick up ES bases until you have enough for a full set of starting CI gear. This process is explained in the written guide. ❄️ Run The Canals to The Feeding Trough. Kill Kitava. Your resists suck again. Post Act 10 & Pre-Maps
Spoiler
❄️ Get 2 skill points from Kitava kill in Oriath.
❄️ Run Merciless Labyrinth if you haven’t. ❄️ Fix resists. As you'll be in Ossuary for a little while, this can wait if absolutely necessary. ❄️ Return to Cold DoT for Everyone to continue from here. Thanks for reading! The "generic guide" has been removed to prepare for new guides coming soon! Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 Last edited by ShakCentral on Oct 22, 2021, 2:45:07 PM Last bumped on Jan 17, 2022, 3:19:21 PM
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The Tornado Shot Leveling Guide has been removed because the guide is severely out of date. Maybe one day..
Reserved for future guides Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 Last edited by ShakCentral on May 17, 2021, 11:33:31 AM
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Reserved for honored guests
Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 Last edited by ShakCentral on May 17, 2021, 11:33:45 AM
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Reserved for the spirits of my ancestors
Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 Last edited by ShakCentral on May 17, 2021, 11:33:53 AM
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If I ever have enough build guides to take up this many comments, call the police.
Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120 Last edited by ShakCentral on May 17, 2021, 11:34:19 AM
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I would add decoy totem as a gem to pick up. Either pick up heavy belt or amber amulet.
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" That's a great point. I usually don't take the time to pick it up, but I have 2500 hours or so played and I forget about how useful decoy totem is for newer players all the time. Thanks! Cold DoT For Everyone: https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2661120
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Another thing you might add for newer players:
1. A rough number to aim for of life and damage on the bow (and maybe mana) per act. Resistance of course as high as possible. Just so you know if your difficulties come from lacking stats or are normal at this point. 2. How to gemslot if you got another character that finished the story and have access to a tabula rasa, Lily and all the other stuff. Maybe other items you could try to get (mostly farm) with the other one in preperation beforehand. 3. When you could change to tornado shot at the earliest if playing on its own and when you have access to the things from 2. |
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Thanks, the walkthrough was helpful.
I did try out Herald of Agony + Toxic Shot but it just wasn't as effective as Rain of Arrows + Concentrated Effect for either clear or bosses. | |
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Hi, why take in act 9 on vortex build a passive skills assassination, that gives critical strike chance/multi, they also do not work elemental overload. And overall the guide is very cool.
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