Poison Concoction/Bladefall Blade Blast Occultist - PoE League Starter Guide - Maxroll.gg (2024)

With your main hand empty, throw your Poisonous Concoction to cover your foes with an acrid mix of toxins. Overlap your projectiles to inflict many Poison stacks onto enemies, dealing Chaos Damage over time. Upgrade your weapon by turning the life recovery of your Divine Life Flasks into Chaos Damage causing massive damage, at little cost. Level and clear the atlas as Poisonous Concoction until you have enough gear to swap your main ability to Blade Blast.

Unleash a torrent of blades with Bladefall to leave Lingering Blades surrounding your foes. Before they react, use Blade Blast to cause your Lingering Blades to explode dealing massive damage to anyone caught within their radius.

Activate your Auras giving you Evasion and Armour through Grace and Determination. Molten Shell activates a shield scaled with your Armour. Shield Charge is your main movement ability, causing you to slam your shield, face first, through enemies.

Despair is the main curse of our build and gives us gigantic explosion chains when you obtain a Despair On Hit Ring. This causes your Profane Bloom to also apply Despair. Your second curse Temporal Chains will bind your enemies movement (slowing them to a glacial pace) while your Poison inflicts its damage over a longer duration.

Ancestral Protector provides you with the speed of your ancestor, giving you more Attack Speed. Throw down this totem on strong enemies to inflict many more stacks of Poison.

You can incubate (store) your Poison inside of you with Plague Bearer. While incubating for use later, you deal less Poison damage. Activate your Plague Bearer when full to unleash a Chaos Damage cloud around you. While releasing your Plague, run through packs of monsters and let your Profane Bloom wreak havoc among their ranks.

Poisonous Concoction Occultist is a Chaos Damage over Time Poison Attack build scaling with:

• #% increased Amount Recovered rolled onto a Divine Life Flask. Upgrading your Life Flasks gives you damage, so do it often while leveling!
• #% Increased Chaos Damage
• #% Increased Attack Speed
• Despair and Temporal Chains to increase and extend Poison Damage.
• Accuracy to obtain 100% hit chance.
• #% chance to Poison Enemies on Hit
• #% increased Damage over Time
• #% increased Poison Damage/Duration
• +x% to Chaos Damage over Time Multiplier
• #% increased Area of Effect causing Multiple Projectile overlaps

Once you make the swap to BF/BB (Bladefall + Blade Blast) you will no longer scale #% Increased Attack Speed or Accuracy, instead you scale #% Increased Cast Speed and Gain #% of Physical Damage as Extra Chaos Damage.

The Occultist's lack of good recovery is one of the main reasons to swap to BF/BB (Bladefall + Blade Blast). Your mitigation and avoidance is plenty for mapping.

• Armour from Determination and Granite Flask combined with Molten Shell provides a large shield.
• +18 Life gained for each Enemy hit by your Spells (When playing BF/BB)
• 100% Spell Suppression
• Freeze Immunity
• Reflect Immunity
• 10% reduced Damage taken from Malediction
• 20k Evasion Rating giving 70% Evade Chance.
• 20k Armour giving us a moderate protection against Physical Damage.
• % of Physical damage from Hits taken as Fire damage
• 3 Endurance Charges granting 12% Physical damage reduction total.

These defences preform well in Maps with some Evasion Rating giving enough avoidance against attacks. Your Armour combined with Endurance Charges and Physical damage from Hits taken as Fire mods provide enough Physical Mitigation. .

Step 1: Level 2

• Create a Witch character
• Kill Hillock. Talk to Nessa, click Purchase Items, and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
  • Paste it in the vendor window in-game and it will highlight four links, movement speed boots, and items with Blue-Blue-Red (BBR), Blue-Blue-Blue (BBB), or Green-Green-Green (GGG) sockets. This is called a regex filter, and is imperative to finding important items quickly! GGG items are important for your swap in Act 3, but are not important right now.
• Talk to Tarkleigh and choose Freezing Pulse as your reward.
  • This spell does more damage at point blank range, so don't cast this far away from monsters!
• Talk to Tarkleigh, click Purchase Items, and copy the following line : -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• After this, complete the quests Mercy Mission and Breaking some Eggs.
  • Upon killing Hailrake, hit escape and press EXIT TO CHARACTER SELECT (or type /exit in chat). This saves you a Portal Scroll. Selecting a different log out option puts you in a queue on a league start. This "return to town" method is used many times in this guide.

Step 2: Level 4

• Talk to Nessa and grab: Quicksilver Flask and Summon Phantasm Support.
• Purchase Holy Flame Totem from Nessa and paste: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Talk to Tarkleigh and grab: Flame Wall and Frostblink.
  • The primary purpose of Flame Wall is so any projectile that passes through the wall gains extra damage. Cast Holy Flame Totem followed by Flame Wall. Any monster still alive should be finished off with Freezing Pulse.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Complete the quests Dweller of the Deep and The Caged Brute.
  • Note: you only have to reach the Waypoint in Lower Prison to acquire a gem from the quest.

Step 3: Level 8

• Reach Lower Prison and use the Waypoint back to town.
• Talk to Nessa and grab: Added Lightning Damage Support.
• Purchase Combustion Support from Nessa.
• Click Purchase Items from Nessa and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Sell Nessa a magic wand, an Orb of Alteration, and a normal Topaz Ring. This step is incredibly important, and is covered in the Key Leveling Notes found above.
• Talk to Tarkleigh to grab your Passive Skillpoint.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Go back to Lower Prison, complete the Trial of Ascendancy, and slay Brutus.

Step 4: Level 10

• After killing Brutus, return to town.
• Click Purchase Items from Nessa, then paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Talk to Tarkleigh and grab Flame Dash. This replaces Frostblink.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh, then paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Complete the quest The Marooned Mariner and grab the waypoint in Merveil's Caverns.

Step 5: Level 12

• After killing Fairgraves and reaching the Waypoint in Merveil's Caverns, return to town.
• Talk to Bestel and grab the Passive Skillpoint, then complete The Siren's Cadence.
• Equip a Sapphire Ring for Merveil to nullify her Cold Damage. Kill Merveil and move onto Act 2!

Step 1: Level 12

• After killing Merveil, walk north into The Forest Encampment (Town).
• Talk to Greust, click Sell Items, and sell all items you acquired from Merveil.
  • You CAN try to purchase a 3-linked item if you have not found one yet, but it will likely cost an Orb of Transmutation.
• Go to the right of town into The Old Fields and complete The Great White Beast.

Step 2: Level 13

• After completing The Great White Beast, go to the Waypoint at The Crossroads and return to town.
• Talk to Yeena and select the Magic Quicksilver Flask reward.
  • At this point, use two Life flasks, one Mana flask, and two Quicksilver Flasks.
• Waypoint back to The Crossroads, and finish the quest Intruders in Black in the Chambers of Sin 2.
  • Make sure to complete the Trial of Ascendancy in the Chambers of Sin 2.

Step 3: Level 16

• After killing Fidelitas and getting the Baleful Gem, return to town.
• Talk to Greust and select the gem Herald of Thunder.
  • Herald of Thunder is an Aura that gives a slight increase to damage, and will occasionally rain lightning bolts on enemies. This will be replaced later on.
• Talk to Yeena and purchase Summon Skitterbots
  • Summon Skitterbots summons two small little minions. They run around and apply Shock and Chill to monsters. Shock increases damage taken, and Chill slows down enemies.
• Go left from the Town to complete the quest Sharp and Cruel in The Weaver's Chambers.

Step 4: Level 18

• Kill The Weaver, pick up Maligaro's Spike, and return to town.
• Talk to Silk and get the gem Controlled Destruction Support.
• Complete the quest Deal with the Bandits.
  • Waypoint to the Crossroads, go right to the Broken Bridge, kill Kraityn, and return to town.
  • Waypoint to the Riverways, go north to The Wetlands, and kill Oak.
  • While in the Western Forest, kill Alira and complete the quest The Way Forward.
  • Note that The Way Forward is an Act 1 quest that is only completable in Act 2.

Step 5: Level 18

• Talk to Eramir for two Passive Skillpoints.
• Take the Waypoint back to the Act 1 town Lioneye's Watch. Talk to Bestel for an additional Passive Skillpoint for completing The Way Forward.
• Use the Waypoint to travel to The Wetlands in Act 2. Click the Vaal Ruins to open it if you have not already done so.
  • Use a Ruby Ring for this zone, as the monsters casting Explosive Arrow are scary.
• At level 20, return to town. With your other wand, sell a magic wand, an Orb of Alteration, and a rare Topaz Ring. Although this build switches over to Poisonous Concoction in act 3, this wand craft is necessary to help get there.
• Complete the quest Shadow of the Vaal by killing the Act 2 boss, Vaal Oversoul. After this, return to town and complete the Trial of Ascendancy in The Crypt. Once these are done, move onto Act 3!

Step 1: Level 21

• Waypoint to the City of Sarn, kill the Guard Captain, and talk to Clarissa. Complete the quest Lost in Love.
• After completing the Trial of Ascendancy and obtaining Tolman's Bracelet, return to town.
• Talk to Clarissa to obtain the Sewer Keys.
• Talk to Maramoa and choose the gem Despair. Although this gem gives extra chaos damage, it will still help your DPS slightly on bosses for now.

Step 2: Level 24

• Talk to Hargan and select Purchase Items. Paste in the regex -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
  • The main thing to look for at this point are four-linked items and a g-g-g item to make the swap over to Poisonous Concoction possible.
• Complete the quests Victario's Secrets, The Ribbon Spool and The Gemling Queen. Choose the rare Jade Amulet as a reward.
• Ensure that you complete the Trial of Ascendancy from The Catacombs at some point during this cycle.

Step 4: Level 25

• Rather than kill Piety, go to the Imperial Gardens, then go to the Library and complete the side quest A Fixture of Fate.
  • This quest gives access to all gems in the game level 31 and below.
  • Gems can level up in any socket, including your off-hand!
  • Talk to Siosa and take Blasphemy Support for the quest reward.
  • Follow the embed above and purchase the following gems in order:
  • Poisonous Concoction, Volley Support, Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support, and Unbound Ailments Support.
  • Shield Charge - Faster Attacks Support
  • Herald of Agony
  • Plague Bearer
  • Precision
  • Withering Step
  • Blood Rage
  • Getting all of these gems at once will be too expensive, and you will likely not have enough Orb of Transmutations or Orb of Alterations. This is okay, go back to The Docks and farm gem XP, as swapping right now feels a little weak for an act or two.

Step 3: Level 26

• Complete the quests Sever the Right Hand and Piety's Pets.
• Aim for at LEAST level 27 before killing Piety.
  • Farm in The Docks if you are behind in XP. You can reset a zone by holding down Ctrl and left clicking on either a zone entrance or Waypoint.

Step 5: Level 27

• Try to get your resists close to 75% Fire, Cold, and Lightning.
• The best craft you can make is with the Crafting Bench in your hideout. Use the 16-20% of a single resist craft, which only costs an Orb of Transmutation.
• Talk to Hargan for a Passive Skillpoint (from the quest Victario's Secrets). Then talk to him again and shop for a four-link by pasting in the regex -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|b-b-r|b-[br]-b|r-b-b|nne
• Talk to Grigor to get a Passive Skillpoint.
• Complete the Trial of Ascendancy in The Imperial Gardens.
• While fighting Dominus, avoid getting slammed when he says "The Touch of God!". Kill Dominus and move on to Act 4!

Step 1: Level 28

• Complete the quest Breaking the Seal.
• Farm Dried Lake until at least level 30.
• Act 4 is when the game strains your resistances. Playing with below 75% elemental resists is extremely dangerous. Start to over-cap resists in this Act, as we are aiming for at least 105% by the time we kill Act 5 Kitava.
• Keep identifying rare items and keep chugging along with high Life and resists gear.

Step 2: Level 30

• Complete the quest An Indomitable Spirit
• Reach the Waypoint in the Crystal Veins and complete the normal Labryinth.
• Ascend as an Occultist and choose Profane Bloom.
  • Profane Bloom makes cursed enemies have a 40% chance to pop on death, which can then clear entire packs for you. Make sure to link Blasphemy Support to Despair at this point.
  • This ascendancy point in combination with Plague Bearer will feel amazing. For clearing, build poison stacks by casting Poisonous Concoction. Then cast Plague Bearer -> Withering Step and walk around exploding the screen!

Step 3: Level 32

• Do not progress past Crystal Veins without being at least level 32, farm Dried Lake if you need to catch up.
• Complete the quest The Eternal Nightmare by killing Daresso and Kaom.

Step 4: Level 34

• Kill Piety, then complete the quest Corpus Malachus.
• Talk to Piety again, go kill Malachai, and move on to Act five!

Step 1: Level 35

• Get at least 75% resists in Fire, Cold, and Lightning - but aim for 105%, as you lose 30% from killing Kitava.
  • Put every armor and jewelry piece you have into the crafting bench in your hideout to see if it has space for a Fire, Cold, or Lightning resist craft. This is only usable if the item has an Open Suffix (hold Alt on an item to see).
• Complete the quest Return to Oriath and talk to Lani for a ring matching the resists you need the most. Get any of the Two-Stones over the single-resist rings, as they are easier to replace later.
• Complete the quests In Service to Science, The Key to Freedom, and reach the Chamber of Innocence

Step 2: Level 38

• Once you enter the Chamber of Innocence, farm this zone until at least level 40. You can reset a campaign zone by holding down CTRL and clicking on the zone or Waypoint.
• If you are clearing the Chamber of Innocence and are still under level 40, use a Portal Scroll and talk to Lani for a Granite Flask
• Talk to Vilenta for a Passive Skillpoint.
• Complete the quest Death to Purity.

Step 3: Level 40

• Complete the quests The Ravenous God and Kitava's Torments.
• When Kitava closes his fist, he will spawn orbs that close in on your location in an X formation, closing in on the center. Avoid any slams and abilities from the large unique monsters that spawn. Kill Kitava, and move onto Act six.
• After killing Kitava, your resists drop by 30%. This should be easy to overcome, and in softcore your resists should be at least 50% each. Every point of resistance gear from here on out drastically increases your survivability!

Step 1: Level 42

• If you are 42, you don't need to farm any XP past this point until Act 9, just be within 6 levels of the zone.
• Entering this Act without 75% all resists is perfectly fine (in softcore!). The elemental damage you take here depends on which part of the Act you are in. The Mud Flats and the Tukohama fight requires Fire res, the Shavronne fight Lightning res, and the Brine King Cold and Lightning res. Using this, it’s okay if your resists initially look like 75% Fire, 50% Cold, and 50% Lightning (again, in softcore). In hardcore, ensure that all resists equal 75% or more.
• Go to your hideout and throw each piece individually at the crafting bench to see if you can craft a Fire, Cold, or Lightning resist on them for 1 Orb of Transmutation each. Obviously only craft the types of resists you need!
• Go out to The Coast and get the Waypoint, then go to the Mud Flats and complete the quest The Father of War.
• Once at the Ridge Waypoint, take it back to The Coast and complete Bestel's Epic.
• Use a Portal Scroll, complete Fallen From Grace, and return to town.

Step 2

• Talk to Lily Roth for 2x Passive Respec Points.
• Talk to Bestel for either a rare Leather Belt or Citrine Amulet, depending on which slot needs a bigger upgrade.
• Talk to Tarkleigh for a Passive Skillpoint.
• Travel to The Lower Prison and complete the Trial of Ascendancy there.
• Finish the Essence of Umbra by killing Brutus and Shavronne.

Step 3

• Kill Abberath in Prisoner's Gate for The Cloven One.
• Grab the Waypoint in The Riverways, then go north to The Wetlands and kill Ryslatha for The Puppet Mistress.
  • You may skip Abberath and Ryslatha until late Act 7 if your character is too weak at this point.
• Return to town, then talk to Bestel for a Passive Skillpoint.
• Talk to Tarkleigh for a Callous Mask and a Passive Skillpoint.
• Complete the remaining questline to defeat The Brine King, then move onto Act 7.

Step 1

• Select the Brine King Pantheon (the Keybind is Y by default)
• Complete the quest The Silver Locket
• Travel to The Crypt for the Trial of Ascendancy and the map for Essence of the Artist.
• Waypoint back to The Crossroads, travel north to the Chamber of Sins, and complete Web of Secrets.
• Do the Trial of Ascendancy while in the Chambers of Sin 2, and complete The Master of a Million Faces.

Step 2

• Optionally, you may travel back to town at this point and talk to Helena for an Amulet reward.
• Gather the seven fireflies for the quest Lighting the Way, and kill Greust for the quest Queen of Despair while in The Dread Thicket.
• Exit The Dread Thicket and travel to The Causeway for Kishara's Star.
• Get to the Waypoint in the Vaal City and talk to Yeena there, then return to town.
  • This also frees your inventory of the fireflies!

Step 3

• Select the Pantheon Ralakesh, Master of a Million Faces.
• Talk to Eramir for two Passive Skillpoints.
• Talk to Weylam Roth to select the Quartz Flask and a Passive Skillpoint.
• Talk to Helena and select the Carnal Boots.
• After this, complete the Cruel Labyrinth and select Void Beacon.
  • Void Beacon reduces nearby monsters' chaos resist and life regeneration rate, which helps out with damage tremendously. While this node is good, it is primarily taken in order to reach Withering Presence by Merciless Lab.

Step 4

• Finally, Waypoint back to The Vaal City, travel to Temple of Decay 2, and kill Arakaali. Avoid the cone of poisonous bolts, as well as the purple orbs that spawn far away and travel towards the boss. After this, move onto Act 8!

Step 1

• Kill Doedre for the quest Essence of the Hag, then go to the right towards The Quay.
• Complete the quest Love is Dead, then travel to the Grain Gate to complete The Gemling Legion.
• Continue to the Solaris Temple and get the waypoint in Solaris Temple 1.
• Complete the quest Solar Eclipse and return to town.

Step 2

• Talk to Clarissa for a Passive Skillpoint.
• Talk to Hargan for whichever Two-Stone ring reward you need the most.
• Talk to Maramoa for a Passive Skillpoint.

Step 3: Level 54

• Go back to Solaris Temple 1, travel to the Solaris Concourse, the Harbour Bridge, then Lunaris Concourse.
• Go to the Lunaris Temple 2 and complete Lunar Eclipse.
• Travel to the Lunaris Concourse and kill the Twins - Solaris the Eternal Sun and Lunaris the Eternal Moon. Stand behind Solaris when she throws her Fire Spear, and get move away when Lunaris fires Cold Rain from the sky. After this, continue onwards to Act 9 and the best zone in the campaign for farming - the Blood Aqueducts!

Step 1: Level 54

• Your goal is to farm Blood Aqueducts until character level 62 for both gem levels and currency. While farming Blood Aqueduct you might find Humility cards, which sell for approximately 2 Chaos Orb at the start of a league. Sell these, as a 6 link is not needed until Red maps.
• The final goal we have of Blood Aqueduct is to farm gear that has good resistances. We want our resists to be close to 105% when killing Act 10 Kitava, as we get another penalty to our resistances. Mapping with ~60% resists is fine for softcore, but is a definite no-go in hardcore. Continue farming gear, currency, and xp in Blood Aqueducts until 62, then move on to act 10.

Step 2: Level 62

• Go back to the Lunaris Concourse in Act 8 to get the Trial of Ascendancy in The Bath House and complete Reflection of Terror in the High Gardens.
• Return to town and talk to Hargan for a Passive Skillpoint.

Step 3: Level 62

• Complete the quest The Storm Blade. Return to town, talk to Petarus and Vanja for a Teak Round Shield, Sin for the next quest item, then Petarus and Vanja again. Return back to the Vastiri Desert waypoint and complete the quest Queen of the Sands.
• Return to town and talk to Irasha for a Passive Skillpoint.

Step 4

• Kill The Basilisk in the Boiling Lake
• Complete the quest Fastis Fortuna
• Complete the Trial of Ascendancy in The Tunnel
• Complete the Ruler of Highgate, then return to town and talk to Irasha for a Passive Skillpoint.

Step 5

• Finish the quest Recurring Nightmare by killing Act 9 boss The Depraved Trinity. Avoid the boss' slam, and avoid getting hit by the scorpion ads that spawn. Next, move onto Act 10!

Step 1

• Kill Plaguewing and complete the quest Safe Passage.
• Place a portal in the middle of the Ruined Square, and go to the waypoint in the Control Blocks (left).
• Take the waypoint back to town and talk to Lani in town for a Silver Flask.
  • Because this flask gives Onslaught, you can finally replace Onslaught Support with Unbound Ailments Support.

Step 2

• Don't complete the quest Vilenta's Vengeance in the Control Blocks at this time if your character feels weak. Instead, go through your portal that you placed earlier and go to the right this time towards the Ossuary.
• Complete the quest No Love for Old Ghosts and the Trial of Ascendancy in the Ossuary.
• Complete the Merciless Labyrinth and choose Withering Presence.
  • Go a bit slower than normal in Merciless Labyrinth, as there is a difficulty spike. Stop for dark shrines, and try to get extra keys if they are along your path. We are looking for currency and gear, and Merciless lab can actually provide a lot of both.
  • Withering Presence is amazing, as all three lines are extremely useful. 60% Chaos Resistance tremendously reduces the amount of Chaos Damage you take from hits, and makes it easy to reach a positive value of Chaos Resists. 15% More Chaos Damage is self explanatory, it is a 15% DPS boost. Withered is a mechanic that is primarily applied through Withering Step, but you would never realistically reach the maximum amount. You will continue to use Withering Step, but now you will have a substantial increase to DPS on bosses.

Step 3

• Kill Avarius to complete the quest Death and Rebirth, then return to town.
• Talk to Bannon with the The Staff of Purity in your inventory.
• Talk to Lani for a General's Brigandine.
• Talk to Weylam Roth for 2x Passive Respec Points.

Step 4

• Travel back to the Ravaged Square, talk to Innocence, and complete the quest An End to Hunger.
• Kill Kitava, and move onto the mapping section below - congratulations on completing the campaign!
  • Note that killing Kitava reduces your overall resistances by 30%. We prepare for this by obtaining gear with as high resists as possible. Aim for 75% Fire, Cold, and Lightning Resists.