Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder - PoE League Starter Leveling (2024)

Step 1: Level 2

• Kill Hillock. Talk to Tarkleigh and choose Caustic Arrow as your reward.
  • Caustic Arrow clears extremely well when paired with Pierce Support
• Talk to Tarkleigh, click Purchase Items, and copy the following line: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|nne
  • Paste it in the vendor window in-game and it highlights four links, movement speed boots, and items with Green-Green-Green (GGG) sockets. This is called a regex filter, and is imperative to finding important items quickly!
• 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 Mirage Archer Support.
• Talk to Nessa and Purchase War Banner.
  • War Banner is our first aura. Activating it causes monster deaths to store 50 charges. When released, it gives us the Adrenaline buff for a huge damage boost. This is best used on magic packs, rare monsters, or large packs of regular monsters.
• Talk to Tarkleigh and grab: Shrapnel Ballista and Dash.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|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.
• Ideally you have a Green-Green-Green (GGG) item for Caustic Arrow - Pierce Support - Mirage Archer Support
  • If you only have a Green-Green then just link Caustic Arrow to Pierce Support

Step 3: Level 8

• Reach Lower Prison and use the Waypoint back to town.
• Talk to Nessa and grab: Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support.
  • You can level this gem in any Green Socket you are currently not using, including in your off-hand!
• Talk to Tarkleigh to grab your Passive Skillpoint.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|nne
• Go back to Lower Prison, complete the Trial of Ascendancy, and slay Brutus.
• Start to look for a shield from this point onwards. Any shield will do, but best case scenario find a rare shield with some life and resistances.

Step 4: Level 10

• After killing Brutus, return to town.
• Talk to Tarkleigh and grab Smoke Mine. This replaces Dash.
• Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh, then paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|nne
• Complete the quests The Marooned Mariner and The Siren's Cadence.
  • Note: you do not need to kill Merveil to acquire a gem from The Siren's Cadence.

Step 5: Level 12

• After killing Fairgraves and reaching the Waypoint in Merveil's Caverns, talk to Nessa for Poisonous Concoction.
  • Poisonous Concoction requires your main hand to be empty, so unequip your bow, and equip any type of shield that you have found so far. The skill consumes your Life Flask if possible to deal more damage, so keep up to date with your Life Flasks! You may see the most relevant Life flasks here. Lastly, the projectiles from Poisonous Concoction may overlap if the player has enough Area of Effect and number of projectiles. This becomes more relevant later on, when the character equips Greater Multiple Projectiles Support and Greater Volley Support.
• Talk to Nessa and purchase Withering Step, Onslaught Support, and Volley Support.
  • Use Volley Support rather than Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support for more projectile damage. Replace Onslaught Support with Lesser Multiple Projectiles Support during boss fights
• 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 Green-Green-Green (GGG) item if you have not found one yet, but it will likely cost an Orb of Transmutation.
  • If you sell rare items identified they will give you Alteration Shards, while selling them unidentified gives you Transmutation Shards.
• 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 Agony.
  • Herald of Agony is an Aura that gives 10% MORE damage with poison and 20% increased chance to poison. It also gives a spider that gains stacks as you poison monsters, and loses stacks quickly over time, though it is primarily used for the self-buff.
  • Blood Rage is a buff that gives attack speed, leech, and has a chance to generate frenzy charges on kill - which give MORE Attack/Cast Speed and damage.
• Talk to Yeena and purchase the gems Blood Rage and Summon Skitterbots.
  • Blood Rage is a buff that gives attack speed, leech, and has a chance to generate frenzy charges on kill - which give MORE Attack/Cast Speed and damage.
  • 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 Faster Attacks Support.
  • Don't link this to anything yet, but level it in one of your off-hand weapons or spare Green sockets.
• 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.
• 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 Maramoa and choose the gem Despair. Use this Curse on magic, rare, or boss monsters to reduce their chaos resist and give us extra chaos damage on hit.
• Talk to Clarissa to obtain the Sewer Keys.
• Purchase Plague Bearer from Clarissa.
  • Plague Bearer functions as a toggle, storing up some of your poison damage. Release it on larger packs of monsters or any magic, rare, or boss monsters.

Step 2: Level 24

• Talk to Hargan and select Purchase Items. Paste in the regex -[rgb]-.-|g-g-g|nne
  • If it is not already g-g-g-g, use Chromatic Orbs on a Dexterity base. If you find a four link that requires Strength in any way, using Chromatic Orbs would not be a good idea since they are very likely to roll Red sockets.
• Complete the quests Victario's Secrets, The Ribbon Spool and The Gemling Queen. Choose the rare Lapis Amulet as a reward.
• Ensure that you complete the Trial of Ascendancy from The Catacombs at some point during this cycle.

Step 3: Level 26

• Complete the quest Piety's Pets.
  • Ignore the quest Sever the Right Hand. We do not need to kill Gravicius for this build.
• 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 4: Level 27

• While in the Imperial Gardens, 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.
  • Talk to Siosa and purchase Shield Charge and Unbound Ailments Support
    • Shield Charge is now your primary movement skill, link it to Faster Attacks Support.
    • Unbound Ailments Support will replace Onslaught Support, as at this point you should have the passive point Graceful Assault.

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|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 a Pathfinder, and choose Nature's Reprisal.
  • Nature's Reprisal gives 15% more damage to chaos attacks, which synergizes perfectly with Poisonous Concoction. The best part of this node is the 30% increase to Area of Effect with Chaos Skills. This will help you overlap projectiles with Poisonous Concoction, and will give Plague Bearer a much larger AoE.

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 Jade 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 hone in on your location in an X formation, exploding in 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. Purchase Increased Area of Effect Support because you will likely not have the Intelligence required for a higher level version from Act 4.
• Additionally, purchase Flame Dash to replace Smoke Mine.
• Talk to Bestel for either a rare Leather Belt or Agate 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 Fencer Helm 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 The Master of a Million Faces 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 choose Master Toxicist.
  • Master Toxicist causes any poison you apply to have a 20% chance to double in damage, greatly helping your DPS. Additionally, the Poison "Proliferation" on kill effect will smooth out any issues you may have with clearing. Note that this Proliferation and chance to deal double poison damage does not affect Plague Bearer.

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.
• 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 Trail 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 Lacquered Buckler, 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 Sulphur Flask.

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 Nature's Adrenaline.
  • 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.
  • Nature's Adrenaline gives a substantial boost to both Attack Speed and Movement Speed, provided the player is ensuring good flask uptime. The gem Shield Charge scales incredibly well with both of these stats, so you will feel a large boost to your maneuverability.

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 Zodiac Leather.
• 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.