[WIP]PewPewPews Official Cheap Firestorm Build - Levelling Guide and Mapping

Because I'm a dork, and like to type loads, I have to make a new topic for the leveling guide(Curse you 50.000 characters!)

Bada_Bing, no need to include this in the witch build guide since this topic is an attachment to my main firestorm build(The leveling Section). I will link it myself from the main topic.

Once it's done, This will be the introduction and the Table of Contents

A beginners guide to Firestorm(and Path of Exile while we're at it!)
So you wake up on the beach. Fireball and driftwood wand in hand. Now what? Don't worry, I'll have you covered. In this section of the guide, I'll help your through the game, step by step. I'll add various tips and tricks for leveling as well. This section of the guide is aimed at complete beginners, but might also provide some handy tips for the more veteran players.

Table of Contents
Act 1 normal

• [A1n001]Twilight Strand
• [A1n002]Lioneyes Watch
• [A1n003]The Coast
• [A1n004]Tidal Island
• [A1n005]Mud Flats
• [A1n006]Fetid Pool
• [A1n007]The Submerged Passage
• [A1n008]The Flooded Depths
• [A1n009]The Ledge
• [A1n010]The Climb
• [A1n011]The Lower Prison
• [A1n012]The Upper Prison
• [A1n013]Prisoner's Gate
• [A1n014]The Ship Graveyard
• [A1n015]The Ship Graveyard Cave
• [A1n016]The Cavern of Wrath
• [A1n017]The Cavern of Anger

Act 2 normal

• [A2n001]The Southern Forest
• [A2n002]The Forest Encampment
• [A2n003]The Riverways
• [A2n004]Western Forest
• [A2n005]The Weaver's Chamber
• [A2n006]The Old Field
• [A2n007]The Den
• [A2n008]The Crossroad
• [A2n009]The Fellshrine Ruins
• [A2n010]The Crypt
• [A2n011]The Chamber of Sins
• [A2n012]The Broken Bridge
• [A2n013]The Wetlands
• [A2n014]The Vaal Ruins
• [A2n015]The Northern Forest
• [A2n016]The Caverns
• [A2n017]The Ancient Pyramid

Act 3 normal

Leveling Tree for act 1 normal

[A1n001]Twilight Strand: The first steps
Recommended level: 1
Since we cannot use firestorm from level one onward, we have to do with what we have. Pick up the driftwood wand, and talk to the dying exile. Kill the zombie, and put your fireball gem in your wand. You're set to go! Travel down the beach, and kill the zombies and sandspitters. Sandspitters have a ranged attack, and while they don't deal much damage, they can take a chunk of your life if you don't pay attention to them. Don't forget to use flasks to keep up your mana and health. Don't worry, they will refill as long as you keep killing. At the end of the beach, you'll have to fight Hillock.

Hillock
While big and intimidating, he is nothing but a pushover. Keep your distance, and use your fireball to melt him down. Once he reaches half HP, he will regenerate a bit of his health, and deal more damage with his basic attacks. Just keep firing your fireballs until he runs out of health. If you are running low on health, don't forget to use your flasks.

Tip: Pick up white items you find on the beach. Equip a few, and throw away those you can not equip. Leave blue items on the ground, but pick up any yellow(rare) items. Identify those items, and equip them if possible. Do not worry too much about stats just yet. You can vendor any unwanted rares once you're in town.

Skillpoint: If you killed enough, you'll be level 2. Hit P or press the cross to access your leveling tree, and apply your first point in Spell damage. After you're done, enter the first save zone: Lioneyes Watch.

[A1n002]Lioneyes Watch
Once you're in town, talk to Nessa, Bestel and Tarkleigh. Nessa and Bestel will give you a quest(Mercy Mission), while Tarkleigh gives you a reward for killing Hillock. I recommend picking up Raise Zombies. While they won't be a great asset just yet, it's nice to have them around, so you can get a feel for it. If you did not pick up anything from Twilight strand, you won't be able to equip the gem. But don't worry about that, we will find plenty of gear among the way.
Feel free to listen to every NPC in town. As you talk to several of them, more chit chat options will be available. Once done, Head to the Coast.

[A1n003]The Coast: That stench.
Recommended level: 2
The Coast introduces a few new enemies. Be wary of the cannibals. They are fast, and come in several versions. The ones holding fire, will throw down a molotov cocktail like projectile that combusts upon impact, leaving behind burning ground. Most of the cannibals are melee, but some are ranged. Besides cannibals, you'll encounter the infested Crabs. They come in different sizes, but in the end they all do the same: walk up to you and hit you in melee range. Just stay away from them, and you should be fine.

Travel up the hills to the other side of the map. On top of the hills, you can encounter Fire fury. Be careful of her, since she can easily kill you. That skill she uses is firestorm. You can chose to fight her or run. If you decide to fight her, just move away whenever she casts her firestorm on you, and keep up the fireballs. Your zombies can help in this fight, by distracting her. At the other side of the hills, you'll find your first waypoint. Activate it by clicking on it(it will turn blue). Then, continue south for the Tidal Island(optional), or East towards the Mud flats.

Tip: Keep an eye out for magic or rare boots. The only stat we are interested in is movement speed.

[A1n004][Recommended][Optional]Tidal Island: getting that Medicine Chest
Recommended level: 3
Our objective here is to find and kill Hailrake who is holding onto the medicine chest. The area is shaped as a donut, just pick a way and follow it until you reach Hailrake.

Hailrake
This fight is a tad harder than the Hillock one. Hailrake moves faster, and uses Glacial Cascade. On top of that, he's accompanied by a bunch of Cannibals. Fireball will make short work of the cannibals. But it's very important that you stay on the move. It's best to circle around Hailrake since his Glacial Cascade travels in a straight line. Use flasks to regain missing health, and keep firing fireballs to the guy. He will fall once you hit him enough.

Once done, travel back to Lioneyes Watch. Talk to Nessa to receive your reward. I highly recommend getting the Quicksilver flask. Once you're done, go back to the Coast, and enter the mud flats.

[A1n005]Mud flats: Rhoas, rhoas and more rhoas..
Recommended level: 3
The mud flats is a big open area. It also introduces the rhoa. These beasts charge in a straight line once they locked onto you. They often charge in groups at the same time, so be careful of them. In the middle of this area are three Rhoa's Nest. Each of these nests hold a quest item. We need to collect all three of them in order to proceed. To locate the nests, look at your minimap. You will see several streams leading land inwards. Follow the streams to find the different nests.

The unique boss in this area is called Oozeback Bloom, a big overgrown Rhoa. Besides his charge, he also has an aura that deals damage to you. Stay away from him, and nuke him from afar whenever you can.

Once you found all three of the items, head to the east. Put the gems in the wall(just click on it), and a new way will open. You can chose to enter the Submerged passage, or head back, and find another entrance to the north: The Fetid Pool(optional).

Skillpoint: By now, you'll have reached level 4. You'll be able to chose between Cast speed and Spell Damage. Just go for Spell Damage and keep following this track.

Tip: By now, you'll be level 4. Start looking for medium health and mana flasks. Whenever you find one, replace one of the small flasks with a medium one!

[A1n006][Optional]Fetid Pool: Dead Rhoas. That's cool.
Recommended level: 4
Just like Tidal Island, this area is also shaped like a donut. We have to kill every single monster in this area, so make sure you won't miss a single one. The skeleton Rhoas hit hard, so be wary of them. At the other side of the area, you'll encounter Kadavrus the Defiler.

Kadavrus the Defiler
Kadavrus will spawn with a few skeleton rhoas. Whenever you kill one of the rhoas, Kadavrus will raise them back to life. If you use raise zombie on the skeleton's corpses, kadavrus won't be able to raise any more skeletons. Once you dealt with the corpses, just kill Kadavrus with your fireball.

Clear the pool and then head back to the mudflats, and enter the Submerged passage.

[A1n007]The Submerged Passage: Do they make good squid rings?
Recommended level: 4
Before venturing deep into the Submerged Passage, activate the waypoint, and go back to Lioneyes watch. Tarkleigh will have some rewards for you. We do not really need any of the gems. You can pick whatever, and test it out on monsters you encounter. If you did the Fetid Pool quest, you will also obtain the Book of Regrets. Use the book, and head back into the Submerged Passage.

Tip: You can pick a random blue gem from the Tarkleigh, and sell it to a vendor together with an iron ring for a sapphire ring. You can find iron rings as random drops, or buy it off nessa. The Sapphire ring will help a lot during the final bossfight in this act. Thank you Empire_ for this tip

Tip: You should have earned a few alteration orbs by now. See if Nessa is selling any Gold rings. Buy them if she does, and equip them. If you have any transmutation orbs, and the gold ring is still white, put the transmutation on it for the bonus stats. Gold rings will increase the chance of obtaining better items. It is worth to check her stock every now and then until you have two gold rings.

The underground passage is filled with narrow passageways, and can be hard to navigate. Keeping an eye on the minimap will help a lot. These caves are filled with Cursed spawns, zombies and Crustaceans. The only ones you need to be careful for are the crustaceans, since they have somewhat high health, and spawn a ranged spitter upon death.

You can encounter the unique boss Brood Princess here. She will keep spawning various spawn. But if you keep your distance, she can be taken down without any problem.

I highly recommend going to the Flooded Depths(Optional) first. It's always located before the stairs leading toward the upper part of the passage. If you don't feel like doing this quest, just move on to the ledge.

[A1n008][Recommended][Optional]The flooded Depths: They get weirder and weirder.
Recommended Level: 5
Similar to the previous area, but with less narrow passages. You will encounter a new enemy in here, the drifting eye. They hit hard, but are very easy if you know how to deal with them. Once they charge, move out of the way, or kill them. The charging takes time, and should be easy to dodge. At the end of the area, you'll encounter the Dweller of the Deep.

Dweller of the deep
This boss is based on the crustacean enemy, and has two phases. The first one is straight forward. He will move to you and try to hit you in melee. His attacks can chill, slowing you by a bit. He will also summon more crustaceans to the scene. Just keep on nuking the guy, and he should go down fast enough. His second phase makes him ranged. Make sure to have some zombies up as meatshields. Every now and then, he will release a barrage of bullets. They will hurt you, so make sure you won't get hit by all of them.

Once you've dealt with the guy, go back to the submerged passage, and enter the Ledge.

[A1n009]The Ledge: Fresh air!
Recommended Level: 6
A long linear area for you to navigate. You can encounter the Gluttonous Gulls here. These fiends will rush towards corpses, eat them, and spit them back at you. Eating corpses takes a while, and you can take them out before they can harm you. You will also find skeleton archers. While they can pack a punch, they have little health. When you're halfway through the ledge, you will find the waypoint of this zone. If you have done the Dweller of the Deep quest, you can go back to town to pick up your reward(A book that grans you one skill point). If not, keep pushing on.

Tip: At the waypoint the 3 little rocks are the way to Kuduku. Thank you stealth6666 for this tip.

Skillpoint:You should be near, or past Occultist's Dominion. With the next two points, head toward Fire Walker, then to Lord of the Dead.

Near the end of the zone, you'll encounter Kuduku, the false god. Be careful with this one, he is surrounded by a lot of mobs, and will fire sparks in all directions. When you get closer to him, he will cast Shock nova. The best strategy here is to take out everything around him, and then Kuduku himself. Kuduku is immobile, so you can lure away everything near him for an easier fight.

Once you killed him, or ran past him, leave the zone and enter The climb

[A1n010]The Climb: Mom, did you bring my hiking boots?
Recommended Level: 7
More skeleton archers and... Goats! Goats come in two variations. Melee and Mages. The melee Goats jump towards you, dealing damage on impact. Just like Rhoas, they will jump in big groups, so be careful of them. The mages will shoot fireballs at you, and sometimes cast a shield around them. You can ignore the shield, since it won't affect you in any way(it will trigger when they take enough physical damage, and explode). You will also encounter hellions. The fire hellions will explode on death, leaving behind burning ground. The black hellions will bite you, and sometimes inflict puncture. Puncture will drain your life while active, and while you move, the DoT taken will increase. So be careful of that!

Near the end of the area, you'll encounter Ironpoint, the forsaken. This skeleton archer will use either Split arrow or rain of arrows. His Rain of arrows can deal serious damage. If you aren't used to the game yet, I recommend skipping this guy. If you decide to fight him, always have a few zombies raised. Make sure you put some distance between you and your zombies during the fight.

[A1n011]The Lower Prison: It's a place filled with happiness. And Necromancers.
Recommended Level: 8
Before you go inside the prison, go back to town and talk to Nessa. She will have support gems ready for you. Pick added lightning damage. Now, if you have an item with two blue sockets that are linked, put in one your fireball, and in the other added lightning damage. This will increase the damage of your fireball. If you do not have any gear, talk to Tarkleigh, and see if you can find anything with him. once you are done, head back to the prison.

Ah yes. Did you do the Fetid Pool? Remember that Necromancer? You'll have many of those in here now. They can raise any undead monster, so taking them down first will make your life a lot easier. They will also curse you, reducing the damage you deal. If you are having trouble dealing with them, having Contagion with you will make it easier to get through this first part of the prison.

The unique boss here is Chatters, another melee boss.. Like with the other melee bosses, stay at a distance, and try to melt him down. If he hits you, he will chill you.

Once you're through the first part of the prison, enter the second part.

[A1n012]The Upper Prison: Skeletons, chains and a big guy.
Recommended Level: 9
This area is similar to the previous one. The biggest difference is that you will encounter skeleton archers and mages as well. Nothing out of the ordinary, just head through everything. You might encounter Sawbones, another unique necromancer. This guy has high health, and will also summon skeletons. He does not need any bodies to summon those skeletons, so just removing all the bodies won't do much in this fight. Just keep moving around while shooting fireballs, and you will have him down in no time.

At the end of this area, you'll find the Warden's Quarters. While this is still a part of the prison, you will only have one enemy in this place: Brutus. You will find Brutus at the end of the long road. Just follow the... blood. Huh.

The warden is the first boss that might take your life. He has multiple attacks and hits really hard(can easily hit over 50% of your health in one hit). To make this fight a bit easier, you can go back to town to prepare for this fight. Nessa sells Coral rings for a bit more health. If you haven't picked up an amulet, you might as well get a Paua Amulet. The mana regen will place less stress on your potion use. If you're ready, head for the boss.

Brutus, Lord Incarcerator.
Brutus has a few attacks. He might throw his chain, and tries to pull you into melee range. He will slam the ground, and hit everything in front of him in a large cone, he will summon spikes from the ground, that stay there and deal damage for a short time. Once he reaches half health, he will periodically summon skeletons from the ceiling.
While fighting this guy, stay in motion as much as possible. If he manages to pull you, run away immediately. If you see him reach back to do his big ground slam. run side wards, preferably in a circle around him, and keep track of the spike pits, just steer clear of them. Once you got him to half health, kill few of the skeletons to create some bodies. Summon two to three zombies to distract Brutus. Meanwhile, keep nuking the guy while dodging his skills. If everything is done well, you should be victorious.

After the fight you can use a townportal back to town to sell the loot. The next waypoint (Prisoner's gate) is available after you kill him. Thank you stealth6666 for this tip.

[A1n013]Prisoner's Gate: Oh Hi Piety. Oh.. Bye Piety.
Recommended level: 11
Before you go in, head back to town, and speak with Tarkleigh. The good man has another present for you. There are two things we want from him: Clarity and either Flame Dash or Lightning Warp. We can only get one of them. Get Clarity from him for now. Go to Nessa and check her shop. If you navigate to the second tab, you'll see a lot of gems. Find either Flame Dash or Lightning Warp, and buy it from her. Equip both gems, and head back to Prisoners Gate!s

Tip: By now you should have found a few rare items. It's time to start looking at the statistics of items. On armor related gear(helmet/gloves/Body armor/boots/shield), you will want to look for life. On boots, you will also want Movement Speed. Rings and Amulet can have % Fire damage or % Spell damage on them. Just be careful, the mod that adds a flat amount of fire damage to attacks, will not do anything for us! For the weapon, you will either want a Wand or Scepter. Try to find one with a combination of high Spell damage + Elemental Damage + Fire damage. Cast speed is also preferable on our weapons.

Once back on Prisoners gate, turn on your clarity aura. This will give you enough mana regen to last for quite a bit. You can follow the road to see piety for a brief second. If you're not interested, find the cliff to either the left or right side, and follow the path below it. You will encounter several bigger area's among the way. Navigate through them, You might encounter either the Burning Menace or The Guardian of the Mound here.

The Burning Menace is a bigger version of the Flame Hellion. While he only has a basic attack, he will ignite you hit, dealing additional damage over time. Upon death, he will drop a large amount of burning ground.

The Guardian of the Mound is a goat mage that has a variety of spells. He will use Storm Call, (Vaal)Fire ball totems, Skeleton totems. The trick to this boss is to either move away from the totems, or take them down quickly. I would recommend beginners to skip this boss however.

Once you're through this area, enter the Ship Graveyard.

[A1n014]The Ship Graveyard: Ghosts and... Rhoas?
Recommended Level: 11
The Ship Graveyard can sometimes be a pain to navigate. Sometimes it's also rather easy to get through it. Good thing that the mobs are easy in here. Find the shoreline, and follow it. If right, you will encounter Fairgraves and his ship. Just outside the area Fairgraves is standing, you'll find the waypoint. Activate it, and keep following the shoreline. If it ends, just follow the walls until you reach another shoreline. Eventually, you'll find the Cavern of the Wrath. Enter the Cavern and activate the Waypoint here. Use this waypoint to get back to Lioneyes Watch.

Whether you are level 12 or not, Nessa will have a reward for you: Another set of gems including Firestorm! Pick up Firestorm, and if you can, put it where you had fireball socketed. You can either keep leveling fireball, or throw it away. We have no use for it anymore.

If you want to do the fairgraves sidequest(Recommended), go back to the Ship Graveyard. If not, take the waypoint to the Cavern of Hatred.

Back on the Ship Graveyard, follow the wall opposite of the shoreline. You should encounter the Ship Graveyard Cave there. Enter it.

Tip: Since you're 12, you can pick up the next tier of flasks: the Greater ones. Make sure you equip them whenever you find them!

Tip: With 12 comes also Firestorm. Firestorm might feel a bit weird after a straightforward attack like fireball, but it's AoE and damage are far greater than fireball. It is important to keep up your zombies whenever possible. Enemies will often target your zombies, so by raining fire onto them, you'll lead the enemy in a death trap. Just try to get adjusted, and don't forget to keep up your flasks!

[A1n015]The Ship Graveyard Cave: Some Ghosts fly, others...
Recommended Level: 12
This area has Cursed Mariners. These ghosts use Flicker Strike, teleporting towards and dealing damage to their target. The trick is to stick close to your zombies, and keep raining firestorms on top of yourself. At the end of this area, you'll find Stranglecharm. While his slow aura and frost nova can slow you down by quite a bit, you can take it's damage, and as long as you keep raining fire on top of him, he stands no chance. Interact with the slave girl, pick up the Allflame, and head back outside.

Run to Fairgraves, and talk to him. He will initiate a fight.

Fairgraves Eternal
An easy fight. Once you spawn him, run away from him and his crew. Once you put a little distance between you and the gang, rain death upon them. Just a few casts should be enough to take him down.

Once you dealt with the guy, go back to town to pick up your Skill book from Bestel. After that, take the waypoint to Merveil's caverns.

[A1n016]The Cavern of Wrath: More Cave exploring. Yay!
Recommended Level: 12
An easy area. Just navigate your way through the many small passages and bridges. Among the way, you can encounter Amarissa, Daughter of Merveil. An easy fight. She has an aura that adds lightning damage to nearby allies. Let your zombies tank her, and fire from afar. At the end of this area, you'll find the Cavern of Anger.

[A1n017]The Cavern of Anger: The big bad... singer?
Recommended Level: 13
While the area isn't anything too different from the previous ones, you might want to pay attention to the red Spawns, as they explode when they get close, dealing some decent damage. Make sure you have zombies up at all times. The boss here is slightly harder then her sister. Ambrosia, Daughter of Merveil uses firestorm and fireball. Use the same tactic as with her sister, only move away whenever she casts her firestorm on you. Merveil waits at the end of the area.

Merveil, the Siren
Merveil can hit hard, and if you aren't prepared for her attacks, she can mow you down in just a few second. Her first phase has three different attacks. She either shoots a barrage of projectiles to a target location - blockable by your zombies, casts an ice version of firestorm, leaving behind chilled ground, or summon minions to help her. It is important to move a lot. Once she has cast an attack, you can rain down one or two firestorms on top of her. Once down, move immediately to dodge the next attack. Keep this up, and she will fall rather quick. If you get caught in her icestorm, use a quicksilver, and relocate to a saver spot. Merveil will teleport from time to time from location to location. Make sure you always have some distance between you and her.

Her second phase is less about preemptive movement, but more about positioning. Again, she deploys several attacks. She either summons water spouts from the ground, that stay around for several seconds, scream, slowing and dealing damage to everything in her surrounding, cast a watery version of Freeze pulse, or summon adds. Make sure you always have a good distance between you and her. Once you brought her down to half health, she'll summon two minions. While one of them is ranged, and the other one melee, they are also slow. You can run from them, while firing your storm on Merveil. If everything goes right, you should be able to kill her with no problems.

Skillpoint: If you've done the recommended quests until now, you should have the first 14 points of the tree done. From this point onward, get the intelligence point to the left of Occulist's Dominion.

Leveling Tree Act 2 normal

[A2n001]The Southern Forest. And then, there were monkeys.
Recommended level: 14
New act, means new monsters. We're in the forest now, and we'll be fighting against several different animals here. The ones most prominent here are the monkeys. While the small ones aren't much of a threat, the big ones can be. Their damage is relatively high, but they can also summon more monkeys from nearby trees. Take them out fast, and it shouldn't be a problem. The area is linear, and at the end of the area, you'll reach the forest encampment.

[A2n002]The Forest Encampment: He hunts boars. And possible also Exiles.
New act, new town. Yeena will sell the act 2 gems, and Gruest is the basic weapon and armor merchant. Act 2 is quite confusing. Quests are scattered all over the place, and unlike act 1, it's not just a linear path from A to B. It already starts with the forest encampment, where we have the option to either go left or right. Both sides have some quests we have to do, and you can do them in any order really. For now, let's head left, into the Riverways!

[A2n003]The Riverways: More monkeys, bandits and whatever more.
Recommended level 15:
The riverways is one of the bigger area's of Act 2. While it has a set path, there are many bridges among the way, and some of them are broken. While you can navigate the gap with flamedash or lightning warp, it's also possible to go around them. Usually there is another path up or down the river. Be careful for the Bramble Cobra as it spits poison a you, dealing chaos damage. The monkeys also have a new type of leader: the Stygian Silverback. They can still summon monkey's from the trees, but on top of that, they can also give surrounding monkeys frenzy charges increasing their attack speed and damage.

The unique boss of this area is Kall Foxfly, a bandit archer. This guy is dangerous and quite confusing. He uses either Barrage or Blink arrow. Whenever he uses blink arrow, he teleports to another location, while leaving behind a clone of himself. Don't bother attacking the clone, it will be gone within second, and just keep firing at him. Make sure you have your zombies raised, to catch all of those projectiles.

Close to the end of the riverways - usually after 2/3 streams, you'll find the waypoint of the area. It's important you pick this one up, since we will need to get back here at some point. If you picked up the waypoint, continue the road until you reach the Western Forest.

[A2n004]Western Forest: Alira and her army.
Recommended level 16:
This area is also big, and has several quests as well. Luckily, it's easy to navigate. The mobs in this map are rather unusual. We have different types of bandits in here, the purple ones explode after a short channel. If you kill them before they can detonate, nothing happens, so aim for that. The other bandits have the normal melee and ranged attacks. For now, we follow the road until we reach the waypoint. After you found it, keep a close eye on the minimap. At some point, the road will be broken at one side. Look closely on the ground, and you will find a path going deeper into the forest. Follow this path until you find the camp where Alira is hiding.

Upon entering the Camp, you'll notice that you can not attack anyone in there, nor that anyone in there will attack you. At the end of the camp, you'll find Alira. She is one of the three bandit lords here in Act 2. When you talk to her, you can either help her or kill her. All three banditlords will have this option. Though, you can only help one of them at the time. By helping one, you must kill the other two. Every Bandit will give you a different reward, depending on the difficulty you're playing. In normal we want to help oak, or kill all three of them. So for now, we chose to kill Alira.

Alira
When you start the fight, all the bandits surrounding you will attack you. Make sure you kill them at a distance, as Alira can explode their corpses dealing fire damage in that area. Alira will also summon Zombies from the giant kettle behind her(and yes, she will also use her corpse explosion on their corpses). Pay attention to the ground, and raise zombies if you want to get rid of nearby corpses. besides that, she'll use a ranged basic attack, and runs away. A lot. Just keep your zombies, up, pay attention to the bodys, and pile those Firestorms. She should be taken down rather easily. Pick up her Amulet, and move on.

[Recommended][Optional]
Once you've dealt with Alira, go back to the road and follow it until the end. At the end of the road, you'll encounter Captain Arteri and his gang of blackguards. We need to kill him.

Captain Arteri
While it's an easy fight, Arteri does hit hard. His cleave attack can hit multiple targets around him as well, so be careful not to stand next to him, even when he's targeting your zombies. The fight is simple though, let your zombies tank and pile the firestorms. If he switches focus to you, kite until your zombies are the main target again. Whenever you lose a zombie, resummon one immediately. Do this, and he'll drop in no time.

He'll drop the Thaumetic Emblem. Pick it up and use it on the Thaumetic Seal behind him and that's it. Next time you're going back to town, make a visit to Lioneye's Watch, and speak with Bestel. He'll give you a book with one skillpoint in it.

On with the main quest, at the other side of Alira, you'll find a part that has a different tileset. Spiderwebs, and spider mobs. Look around in this area, until you find the The Weaver's Chamber.

[A2n005]The Weaver's Chamber: Arachnophobia anyone?.
Recommended level 17:
Tip: As this area is lvl 18, it might be worth your time picking up Grand life and mana flasks. You will be able to use them once you are level 18, but that shouldn't be too far off.

As expected, lots of spiders here. The big ones come in two varieties: Leapers and Venoms. The leapers use flicker strike, teleporting to a nearby enemy, dealing damage on arrival. They ted to come in packs, so keep up your zombies, to make sure not all of them jump on you at the same time. Venoms use viper strike, a melee attack dealing chaos DoT on top of the initial hit. That DoT can stack, so don't get swarmed by them. The best tactic is to warp/dash away as soon as the spiders drop down from the ceiling, and cast firestorm from afar. At the end of this webby maze, you'll find the The Weaver's Nest. In here, we have to fight the Weaver herself.

The Weaver
The Weaver is a reasonably tough boss, using a Chaos version of Ethereal Knives. Besides that, she keeps summoning spiders. It's very important to have all your zombies up during this fight. They will act as our personal defence, while we nuke the thing from afar. It's important to keep distance. When she reaches half health, she will move up, and summon several waves of spiders. Those aren't that big of a deal, just keep taking them out. When she gets down again, repeat the previous strategy, and if everything goes well, you'll end up victorious.

Once you killed her, go back to town and talk to Silk. He'll offer you a few support gems. For now, we want faster casting. Talk to Yeena and buy from her Minion Life. You can also chose to pick up Minion Speed, but that will require you to have two items with three linked blue slots in it. If you have it, by all means. If not, just Minion Life is fine for now. We do want three linked blue slots for Firestorm now though. If you don't have anything yet, see if Gruest has one for you. Otherwise, hold onto the gems until you find one among the way. It doesn't matter if it's blue or not, while stats are important, links are more important for now.

Tip: If you have done the Blackguard Quest, don't forget to travel back to Lioneye's watch for your skill point!

Skillpoint: You can pick up the jewel socket now. We will get a jewel to put in there rather soon.

Once you are done with everything, head for the Old Fields.

[A2n006]The old fields: Old. And boring.
Recommended level 15: (In case you want to do this side first)
There are two new enemies in this area. One is the Ruined Titan. Stone golems that slowly walk up to you and attack you. They usually start out as a pile of rubble, when you get close to them, they raise themselves before they start attacking you. The unique boss of this area is based on one of those golems. Gneiss is bigger, stronger, can summon mini golems, and on top of that, he can also roll, moving quickly from point A to B, dealing damage to everything on it's path. The other new enemy is the Bonecrusher, a big bear. Again, it's slow, but hard hitting. Occasionally uses cleave, hitting enemies in front of him. Let your zombies tank, and finish them off from afar.

There is an optional area nearby, the Den. It should be located close to the road. You can do it, or skip ahead and move on to the next area.

[A2n007][Optional]The Den. Of evil right? Oh. Wrong game.
Recommended level 15:
The Cave will be filled with bears, titans, spiders and monkeys. Nothing special. The place is one long road with multiple branches. Find the right branch, and kill the Great White Beast.

The Great White Beast
It's an overgrown Cave Beast with Extra Health. Single target attacks, can hit hard, but he's slow. So just run away as soon as he starts walking up to you. This fight should pose no problems to us.

Once you killed the beast, return to town and talk to Yeena. She'll have a few belts for you. I recommend picking the Leather Belt, since it has some extra life on it. Once done, return and continue your road to the Crossroads

[A2n008]The Crossroads: Where to go?
Recommended level 16:
As the name implies, there are multiple exits in this area. Two are leading to different main quests, and the last one goes to an optional quest. For now, follow the road until you find the waypoint. We will be returning here so make sure to pick it up.

There are two unique bosses in this area, both pushovers. Bravalo uses sweep, hitting everything around him, and Calaf, Headstaver uses heavy blow, knocking back the enemy he hits. They spawn at different locations. For both, use the same strategy: let your zombies tank, and fire from afar.

If you want to do the optional quest(recommended), take the bottom right path to the Fellshrine ruins. If not, proceed to the top left towards the Chamber of Sins.

[A2n009][Recommended][Optional]The Fellshrine Ruins: Why is everything dead?
Recommended level: 17
Another large area. We deal with skeletons, zombies, and a few stone golems. Just be careful, these golems can roll just like Gneiss. The unique boss here is Soulmourne.
SoulMourne is a statue like boss that uses both Leapslam and Molten Strike. He often jumps to you, ignoring the minions. So moving around inbetween attacks is important.

Follow the road until you get to the next area, the Church Crypt

[A2n010][Recommended][Optional]The Crypt: Used to have better BGM. And a better name.
Recommended Level: 18
We're back indoors. Filled with skeleton mages and archers. It's easiest to stand outside a room, and fire storms inside. Your zombies will run in, and attract all their attention. From that point on, it's cake. The first level of the crypt won't pose much of a problem. The second level adds necromancers to the bunch. These cast Elemental Weakness temporarily lowering your resistance. Be careful not to be the main focus of fire while you have this curse on you, it will hurt a lot.

Tip: The second level of the Crypt is lvl 18. Keep an eye out for those Grand flasks

At the end of the second level, you will find Archbishop Geofri the Abashed. He is on his platform with a magic pack. Once you enter the arena, spiders will crawl up from all sides. Though, your firestorm will make work of everything around you fast, leaving only Geofri. He has two curses in his arsenal, Temporal Chains, will slow you down, while Vulnerability will increase the damage you will take from his basic attacks. Let your minions tank him, and finish him off.

Once you dealt with him, activate the Altar behind him, and grab your prize. Return to town, and talk to Yeena. She will offer you a few b]Unique Jewels[/b] and the Book of Regrets. We want the Survival Secrets Jewel. Now, open your tree, and press I to open your inventory. Put the jewel in the jewel socket, and you will get the bonusses on it. Once you are done here, return to the Crossroads, and take the top left path, leading to the Chamber of Sins.

[A2n011]The Chamber of Sins: Another meeting with Piety.
Recommended level: 17
Just like the Crypts, this area has two levels. Beware of the zombies on the top level, when they die, they leave a caustic cloud behind, dealing chaos damage to you as long as you stand in them. Since there are necromancers around to raise them, it could get nasty if you don't pay attention to it. The skeletons archers here use Lightning Arrow, dealing damage to multiple targets at once. If you stand close to your zombies, you might be taking damage from arrows not aimed at you.

The unique Boss here is a spider called Black Death. He's nothing much of a threat, just attacking you occasionally using Viper strike. Keep your zombies up front, and you will be fine.

The second level has more undead. Everything in here deals lightning damage, so pick up some Topaz Rings if you are having trouble staying alive. Be careful, the necromancers here will reduce your lightning resistance. Find your way to the area where Piety is waiting for you. Shortly after the meeting, you will encounter Fidelitas.

Fidelitas, the mourning
This guy hits hard. If you aren't prepared, it can easily kill you. He uses lightning strike, which is a melee attack, but has projectiles traveling onwards. Your minions will not block these projectiles, so try not to stand directly behind your zombies. The best place is behind Fidelitas, just be careful he does not switch focus to you. Once you kill him, pick up the Baleful gem and go back to town.

Gruest will have a reward for you. For now pick up Herald of Thunder and equip it. Once you're done in town, take the waypoint to the crossroads, and take the top right road, leading to the Broken Bridge.

Tip: Don't forget to activate Herald of Thunder when you leave town. It will also deactivate upon logging out or dieing. Make it a habit of turning them on whenever they're off.

[A2n012]The Broken Bridge: Bandits and Rats.
Recommended level: 17
The bandits in this area can be dangerous as the ranged bandits use Explosive Arrow, and the melee bandits Puncture. Explosive arrows will explode, as the name implies. Only, the damage of the explosion depends on the number of arrows on you, at the time of explosion. If a group of ranged archers shoot arrows at you, at the same time, the damage can be big. Keep distance from your zombies, and kite everything from afar. Your damage should be big enough to kill them rather fast.

At the end of the road, you will find Kraitlyn, another one of the three bandits. Just like Alira, we kill him.

Kraitlyn
Just like the previous fight, Kraitlyn spawns with a big group of bandits. Take those out first, then focus on Kraitlyn. Kraitlyn uses flicker strike and tends to stick close to you, dealing decent damage. If you keep your zombies up, he will target you less often. The best strategy here is to deal with the small fry first, and then stick close to your zombies. Krailyn will jump around in the group, staying close, making it easy for you to pile those storms on top of each other. Once you killed him, pick up his amulet, and head back to town.

Once you've done your business in town, take the waypoint to the Riverways, and take the broken path leading off road. you'll find the entrance to the wetlands here.

[A2n013]The Wetlands
Recommended level: 20
By now, you should be used to the monsters in this area. The bandits will cast Warlords Mark on you, but really, it's nothing to be afraid of. Stay in the middle of the map to find the camp with Oak. Here, you have to make a decision. Kill, or Help oak. If you plan to play a lot with this character, level it up to 85+, and get good gears and everything, it's best to kill Oak. If you don't think you will be getting to that point, or are unsure if you get that far, Help Oak for the flat HP. I recommend beginners to Help Oak. If you do get far, you can always revert this decision - for a price that is.

If you decide to Kill Oak, you have to fight him.

Oak
Oak is quite dangerous. Just like Kraitlyn and Alira, he spawns with a mob of bandits. These ones will cast Warlords mark on you, regenerating Oak's health by a bit if he manages to attack you. Kill those adds before you deal with Oak. Oak will jump around a lot. Do not stay near your minions, as Oak will hit hard. Just Cast once and Run to the next location. Stay in motion, and try to keep your distance from oak. If you start losing zombies, Resummon one or two. You only need just a few zombies alive for this fight. Once you killed Oak, take his Amulet and return to town. Talk to Eramir to get your skillpoint.

Whatever you picked, you should have the Apex in your inventory now. Head back to the wetlands, and follow the Western wall. You'll eventually find the waypoint and entrance to the Vaal Ruins here, blocked by tree roots. Since we already got Maligaro's Spike and the Baleful Gem, we can destroy the roots, and enter the ruins.

Skillpoint: At this point, you'll have plenty of skillpoints. If you haven't already, pick up Shaper for that life regen, and head to Potency of Will for that extra duration.

[A2n014]The Vaal Ruins: Enter the Ancient Vaal.
Recommended level: 21
The Vaal Ruins are filled with new enemies. Nothing here is anything scary though. The Vaal Fallen will shock, burn or freeze you when they hit you, but they are slow so it should be easy to kite them. The Vaal Constructs will shoot chaos bolts at you from quite the distance. Can be dangerous if you leave them be, but they have little health, and often stand still in one spot, so a single firestorm should take care of most of them. Navigate the ruins until you find the Ancient Seal. Release the seal, and move on. The Northern Forest will be up ahead.

[A2n015]Northern Forest: Why is it so dark?
Recommended level: 22
This area is easy to navigate. Just follow the water, and you will find both the waypoint and the entrance to the next area. This area does introduce the much hated Devourers. Devourers are diglets snakes that pop out from the ground. They deal high damage with their melee attack, and on top of that, they can shoot a fast fireball, dealing AoE damage on impact. Maintain distance as soon as they pop up, and lay down the storms. Your zombies should block most of the incoming fire this way.

Another threat is the miniboss in the area. Tailsinger is fast and can be hard to take down. He will use puncture to apply bleed, and leave behind small clouds of caustic, dealing additional damage over time when you stand in them. The best strat is to not get hit by his puncture, and keep piling down those firestorms. Run away if he chases you, fire storms, when he's distracted. Keep up your zombies, and he should fall.

At the end of this area, you'll find The Caverns.

[A2n016]The Caverns: What's this thing doing here?
Recommended level: 23
More Devourers, Cave bears, Spawn, nothing you don't know by now. The shaggy monstrosities have high health though, and a chaos degenerate aura. It's best to take them out from afar, and resummon zombies as soon as they fall. Follow the road, and you'll eventually find a big structure. Inside will be the waypoint. If you haven't received The Apex yet, you can't continue, So make sure you got it with you.

Tip: As you'll be nearing level 24, it might be worth it to buy the Reverberation Rod. To do so, go to Poe.trade. In the top left, select the league you are playing in, and enter below that the name "Reverberation Rod". Scroll to the bottom and set both "Online only" and "Buyout only" to on. Press "Search" and wait until the results are posted. Depending on how long the league has been going, you will find different buy outs. I recommend paying one alchemy if the league is a few weeks old, and up to 3 chaos if the league is new(day one). In order to actually buy the item, click on "Whisper", copy the text ingame, and just paste it in the chat. If you're lucky the one who's selling will respond fast. If not, try another.
If you have a few Jewelers orbs, Orbs of fusing, and Chromatic orbs, it might be worth your while to get Three blue linked sockets on your weapon. Once you got that, put Firestorm in your weapon, with the supports you want(Recommended is Faster Casting and Concentrated Destruction). This should give you a huge boost in damage.

The Pyramid contains different monsters. But nothing we haven't seen yet. Push through and find the way to the Ancient Pyramid.

[A2n017]The Ancient Pyramid: The source of the Darkness.
Recommended level: 24
More of what we found on the previous levels. Though these monsters are often supported by totems. These totems will either regenerate their life, keep surrounding allies alive or speed allies around it up. They are immobile and have little health, so taking them down is often the best strategy. We will traverse several stairs before we get to the end, even though each room will be smaller then the previous one. At the end, the big boss is waiting.

Vaal, The oversoul
While this boss looks intimidating, it's actually an easy fight. Vaal has three modes he will switch between. If he's holding the big round ball, he will either Slam it on the ground, dealing major damage, or channel for a while, dropping debris randomly across the field. If he's holding the longer weapon, he will either shoot Three lazers in succession, shocking you once hit, or shoot ice on the ground, dealing no damage, but slowing you as long as you stand in it. His Cone shaped weapon has only one attack, he will summon several monsters to attack you, after which he burrows under the ground.
Just dodge his attacks. That's the key to this fight. If he winds up for the major slam, move sidewards, and if he starts shooting the lazer, keep running to dodge them. The monsters he summons before burrowing will be useful to refill your flasks.

Once you killed the oversoul, exit the Pyramid, and enter Act 3.

[A3n001]The City of Sarn: Back in the big city
Recommended level: 25
New Area, new monsters. While there are quite some new things around here, none are really noteworthy. The Undying Outcast might be slightly dangerous as they are quite fast and use Whirling Blades to close the gap, but other than that, there's nothing to be afraid off really. There is a boss we have to kill though.

Guard Captain
This fight is similar to the Captain Arteri fight in Act 2. Only, instead of Cleave, he uses Double Strike. Employ the same strategy, let your zombies tank, and rain fire from afar. He should go down without any problems.

After you dealt with the Blackguards, talk to Clarissa. She will ask you to save Tolman, who's brought to the Crematorium. For now, stay at the water side, and take the entrance to the Sarn Encampment.

[A3n002]The Sarn Encampment: Remains of a great city.
The main city of the third act, Sarn. It's a long walk around before you get to the vendors, first time we get here, but once you're there, Hargan is our weaponsmith while Clarissa(given you've saved her)sells us gems, jewelry and wands. While there are two exits in Sarn, only one matters. The Sarn Arena at the top of the stairs is just a PVP area, you can join and leave at any time. To continue with the main quest, we have to go to the Slums, located to the north east of Sarn.

[A3n003]The Slums: Poor people and giant beetles.
Recommended level: 25
A big area, the slums is divided into two area's. The first area consist out of open spaces on different levels connected by stairs. Use your Lightning Warp or Flamedash to quickly move up and down those ledges. The second area consists out of narrow paths. Both sides has the same monsters: More Undying, Snakes and Giant Beetles. Carrion Queens spawn with several Carrion Minions. They spawn more Carrion Minions, or shoot a fireball at you. They have high health and decent damage, but are fairly immobile, so easy to take out. The minions they spawn, either attack in melee, or explode upon making contact. Their damage is low, so you don't have to fear them.

The first part of the Slums has the entrance to the sewers as well. You can not access it, since it's locked, but it's good to know where it is, since we will be going there shortly. There is also a chance you will encounter Perpetus in here. An undying boss using Ethereal knives and Beartraps. The beartraps root you in place for several seconds, so make sure you don't get hit by them. At the end of this area, you'll find the entrance to the Crematorium.

Tip: As this Area is 24, you can find the next upgrade to your flasks in here. Make sure you pick up a few Life and Mana Giant Flasks.

[A3n004]The Crematorium: Is that you Tolman?
Recommended level: 26
Pick up the waypoint as soon as you enter. You will encounter some known enemies in here, necromancers, skeletons, undying, and a few new ones. The undying will have another puppet in their arsenal, the undying incinerator. These guys throw firetraps, leaving burning ground upon detonation. When they are reducded to low life, they also might explode. It's best to kill them from afar. The other one is the Cinder Elemental. Similar to the golems in act two, these guys leave behind burning ground as they roll. The unique mini boss in here is also based on the cinder elementals. Hatebeat has also Firestorm in his kit, to harass you from afar. Though, if your minions tank the thing, while you rain fire on him from afar, he shouldn't be much of a problem. At the end of the Crematorium you will find, once again, Piety. This time we get to fight her.

Tip: You can attack from behind the bars and use flamedash or lightning warp to cross the bars. If you leave the doors closed, you can safely attack most enemies, without taking any damage.

Piety
Piety has three attacks. She uses either Storm Herald, Raining Lightning in a certain area, Ball Lightning, a ball of lightning that travels forward, dealing damage to everything near it, and Arc, chaining from enemy to enemy. She will spawn with several of blackguards as well. Deal with them first, then focus on Piety. As usual have your zombies tank her, while staying at a distance. As soon as she cast her storm herald on you, Move away as soon as possible. Her Storm herald will deal high damage, and can stun you. Staying in it, will most likely kill you.

Once you dealt with Piety, interact with Tolman, pick up his item, and go back to town. Talk to Clarissa, and she will give you the keys to the sewer. Now talk to Maramoa to receive another skillgem. For now, we pick up Convocation. Equipping this gem will allow us to summon our zombies to us, whenever we need them. Remember the sewer entrance in the Slums? We can enter it now. So make your way to the sewers and enter them.

[A3n005]The Slum Sewers, So what did Sarn eat last night?
Recommended level: 26
More Undying, this time they brought along the chaos version of the incinerator, the Undying Alchemist. Similar, witht he key difference that the traps they throw leave behind caustic clouds. The Soulless Watchers are the same as the drifters encountered in act 1. Just like them, they are no trouble at all, as long as you kill them before they can charge up.
There will also be giant frogs, the Fetid Maw, in here using Leapslam. While they aren't too much of a threat, their unique variant can be. Spinesnap has a chaos degen aura, and jumps three times in a row. His jumps and aura will quickly demolish your zombies, so make sure you kill him quickly. If you fail to do so, run away, resummon your army, and head back in.

[Recommended][Optional]
The Slum Sewers will also have one of the three busts you need to collect for Hargan. I highly recommend you getting this bust, since all three are among the way, and the reward is nice. The bust is located in the stash, somewhere in the area. The stash is guarded by a blue pack, and some other monsters. Be careful rushing in, it's usually a big fight in there.

Tip: You do not need to hold onto the bust. You can return to town, and give this one already to Hargan.

Once you're done here, find the way to the Warehouse sewers.

[A3n006]The Warehouse Sewers: Is that... a giant asshole?
Recommended level: 26
Same layout, one new enemy. Undying Grapplers. These guys gain power charges when surrounding allies are killed. They use both Flicker Strike and Discharge. Their discharge will usually deal pure lightning damage. The more charges they have, the more damage they will deal. As you keep doing, you'll find the Undying Blockade, with a waypoint nearby. We can not do anything about the blockade, so grab the waypoint and move on.

[Recommended][Optional]
There will be another bust in the area. Same as last time, hidden in a stash, guarded by a blue pack.

At the end of the sewers, you will find the entrance to the Warehouse District.

Skillpoint: By now, you should be 27. Head down the big circle of life and pick up Constitution. After Constitution, we will head left from Elemental Dominion, picking up the dexterity node.

[A3n007]The warehouse District: Going in, going out.
Recommended level: 27
The warehouses is a unique area. It consists out of two area's: inside the warehouse, and outside. Both area's have their own set of monsters. Inside, you'll find the undying accompanied by Grapplers, while outside, you'll find skeleton archers, undying outcasts and spine serpents. Be careful of those serpents, as they shoot projectiles that pierce through everything. Your zombies won't be able to save you from them.

The unique boss in this area is a group of Gemling Legionnaire. They consist out of six, and each of them has it's own unique attack. Some of the skills they use are: Glacial Cascade, Fireball linked to LMP, Dual Strike and Whirling Blades. Stay at a distance, and keep raining the firestorms. There will be several that try to stick to you, so make sure you take them out first. Once you dealt with the melees, everything ranged shouldn't be a problem. Careful for the Glacial Cascade guy, as his attack will go straight through your minions. Just like Hailrake, Circle around him to get an easy kill.

In order to progress to the next area, you have to go inside various warehouses, and traverse other open spaces. At the end of the area, you'll find the entrance to the Marketplace.

Tip: Some of the entrances will have a dead guard next to them. This is the correct way to the marketplace. As long as you enter the buildings with a guard in front of it, you should be able to find the exit without any problems. Thank you stealth6666 for this tip!

[A3n008]Marketplace: Excuse me, where can I buy bread, eggs and some milk?
Recommended level: 27
Enemywise, it's similar to the slums. But be careful, as the undying here will hit you with puncture. Clear them before they can hit you, and you should be fine. Besides them, there will also be statues around. These statues will step off their socket and attack you as soon as you come close. They come in two variants, melee and ranged. The ranged ones use Ice shot which leaves chilled ground behind.

The third and last bust is nearby. I recommend getting it. If you don't want to pick it up, just stay on the upper level. You will have to traverse through a small passageway with many statues and a boss. Marceus the Defaced. This guy uses lightning strike, and Tempest Shield, occasionally blocking hits and dealing lightning damage on block. He has high health and decent damage, so be careful when fighting him. Try to stand behind him as he is facing your zombies. At the other side of this passageway, you will find the waypoint.

[Recommended][Optional]
In the area before you enter the passage way the with many statues, there will be an entrance to the Marketplace sewers. Go inside. You will encounter the standard Sewer monsters in here. Deal with them and venture through. The bust will be, just like the previous ones, protected by a blue pack. Once you found it, just keep continuing. There should be another exit, leading up to the Marketplace. This exit will place you at the other side of the passageway. If you walk to the south east, you should find the waypoint. Take it back to town, and give Hargan the busts. Once you are done, return to the waypoint.

There will be several exits in this part of the marketplace. We need to find the Battlefront, located near the edge of the map.

[A3n009]Battlefront: Blackguards and Cockroaches.
Recommended level: 28
You've seen them a few times before, blackguards. most of this area is covered with them. This time, they brought along their mages, providing long range support. Blackguard mages will cast both spark and lightning thorns. Lightning thorns is a buff they can cast on allies. An ally with the buff will return flat lightning damage for each hit taken. This shouldn't be too much of a hassle, in most cases, the enemy is dead before the thorns can deal significant damage.

Be careful: If you see a blue pack with the mod Necrovigil, be very careful with stacking multiple firestorms on top of each other. Monsters with necrovigil will leave an area on the ground where others of their pack can not die in. If you attack an enemy inflicted with lightning thorns, you will keep hitting the enemy without killing it, resulting in high damage taken. While the chances of this happening is slim, keep this in mind as long as you find necrovigils, with these enemies around.

Go up one level, and walk around to find the waypoint. Once you found the waypoint, head south west on the same level, until you encounter a large pack of blackguards with a chest near it. A boss will be waiting near it.

Captain Aurelianus
Similar to the previous blackguard bosses, this guy uses both Cleave and dual strike. He can quickly deal with your zombies, so make sure you nuke him down as soon as possible. It helps to resummon one or two zombies once all your zombies are near death.

The chest will contain the ribbon spool. We will need this item soon. From here, head north west to find the entrance to the docks.

[A3n010]The Docks: Fairgraves, that you?
Recommended level: 28
Dogs and ghosts. The only real new enemy here will be the Voidbearer. These demondogs will spit fire when they get close. They are immobile as long as they attack, so as long as you don't stand in their fire for no good reason, they are quite easy. The ghosts here shouldn't pose any trouble as well. The unique boss in this area is based off those Voidbearers. The Revenant has also Cyclone and Searing Bond added to his arsenal. He's quite fast. The best strategy is to Flame dash or lightning warp away, as soon as he starts channeling his fire. Then just nuke the guy from afar. Zombies won't be much of a use, since he tends to ignore them.

Navigating the docks should be easy. There are several paths branching from the main area. At the end of each path, you'll either find a blue pack with a dead end, the waypoint and Fairgraves, or a blue pack guarding the Supply Container. Inside you will find the Thaumetic Sulphite. If you wish, you can do the second Fairgraves quest. If not, pop a portal and head back to town.

[Optional]
The second quest Fairgraves will give you, consist out of two parts. We can do the first part right away. Head to the marketplace using the waypoint. To the north, you'll find a big building. Walk around this building to find an ornate chest with the Decanter Spiritus in it. Talk to Fairgraves and give him the item. Once done, head to town.

Tip: The Docks usually has good mob density and many blue packs walking around. If you feel weak or under leveled, this is a great place to quickly gain some levels.

Skillpoint: Picking up the minion regeneration node will be big. You don't need to get the other nodes as well, just minion life regeneration so your minions won't die as often. After that, continue to Retribution, Amplify and Elementalist.

[A3n011]The Solaris Temple: The Ribbons are Order.
Recommended level: 29
Once you're done with your business in town, take the waypoint to the Battlefronts to continue your journey. From this waypoint head north and climb to the second level. You will find a new type of enemy in here. The ribbons. For now they come in two variants. Assault Ribbons will charge in swiftly, often ignoring your zombies. They have little health and low damage, so they are fairly easy to take care off. The bigger ones either shoot lightning or fire. Flame Sentinels will shoot fireball at you, some of them which fork. Galvanic Ribbons charge for a short time, before they unleash three unavoidable bolts of lightning. Both these Ribbons have more life than the assault variants, and can deal some damage if not careful. Behind the army of ribbons, you will find the entrance to the first level of the Solaris Temple.

Easy to navigate, the first level is quite straight forward. The temple is filled with ribbons, and also has two unique bosses near each other. The Voltaic Seal and the Infernal Seal both spawn near each other. the Voltaic Seal will curse you with conductivity, decreasing the lightning damage you take, and rapidly cast shock nova's. Stay at a distance, since staying in melee range, and thus in the deadzone, can be tricky. The Infernal Seal will cast Flammability, lowering your fire resistance, and tries to nuke you down with firestorm. Don't stand still in the storms and move around. To deal with both of these at the same time, Keep your distance and stay on the move. Focus down one before you attack the other one. Proper play will turn this into an easy fight.

Keep following the road, and you'll find the entrance to the second level. is similar to the first level. You will find some holy waters in the water, trying to kill you with ice nova. They are easy to kill. The unique boss of this area is a statue that summons more holy waters as she fights you. The Goddess of Purity has a decent lifepool, but nothing else. Stay close to your zombies, and all the holy waters should die as you damage the boss. At the end of this area, you will find Dialla. She will have two quest rewards for you, one if the choice between several amulets - I strongly recommend picking up the gold amulet. If it has good rolls,(life or resists, perhaps additional increased rarity), it's worth equipping it. The rarity will noticeably increase the drops you will get - and the Infernal Talc, we need to proceed.

Take the Waypoint to the Warehouse District, and click on the big asshole Undying Blockade. It should dissolve allowing you access. Keep moving until you find the Ebony Barracks.

[A3n012]The Ebony Barracks: One not-a-cockroach between the cockroaches.
Recommended level: 30
More blackguards, with the key difference that the mages here cast arc instead of spark, and the blackguard soldiers tend to use shield charge in here. They also brought in the experimenters, who either blow up corpses of their fellow men, or raise zombies out of the corpses.

The area is straight forward. Just keep traveling north, up the stairs and you'll encounter all you need to find. The first thing you will encounter is the waypoint, one stairs up from the start. Going up two more sets of stairs will lead to General Gravicious, who you can kill for a sidequest.

[Recommended][Optional]General Gravicious
The General is a tad stronger then the average blackguard captain. Engulved in flames, the guy drops firestorm from above, throws fire traps with instant detonation all around him, and casts a strong molten shell, that explodes upon taking enough physical damage. Your zombies can trigger the explosion, so maintain a fair distance. upon starting the fight, several blackguards will come forth as well. The mages will cast flammability, so take them out as soon as possible. Once you've dealt with the rest of the adds, just pile the storms on top of the general, while staying in motion. Even though the General has a high energy shield, you should be able to get him down rather fast. After you defeated him, you can go back to town to obtain your reward. Maramoa will offer you a skillgem for defeating the man. Pick up Ball Lightning for now.

Continue north until you reach the next area.

[A3n013]Lunaris temple lvl 1: Brutus 1.0
Recommended level: 30
As you enter Piety's stronghold, you'll have to fight through more masses of blackguards. The mages are gone, but there are plenty of experimenters and reanimators to blow up corpses all around you, or turn them into zombies. They tend to run away, so if you can't get to them the first time, don't chase them. Deal with the blackguards and the zombies they raise, since firestorm's duration should be rather long, you won't have any trouble clearing them. The long hallways give you plenty of room to move around, so use that space to dodge charging blackguards. Near the end of the second long hallway, you'll encounter a unique boss, Fleshrend, Grand Inquisitor.

Fleshrend will raise bigger zombies, and detonate groups of corpses giving his army a bonus to movement and attack speed. Just clearing the zombies won't get you far. Keep as many zombies up as you can, and fire firestorms inbetween. If he runs away, try to push closer. Pile the storms, and he should go down rather fast.

The third hallway will be shaped differently, containing benches and all. Follow the carpet to reach the next zone. And prepare yourself for a fight as Kole will be waiting for you. Kole will spawn with several Mortality Experimenters, who don't only blow up corpses, but also cast Temporal chains on you, slowing you and your army. As Kole hits really hard, make sure you dodge his attacks whenever you can. Whenever he is winding up, he will use groundslam, dealing damage in a cone in front of him. Besides that, he will occasionally throw his chains, pulling you towards him. The best strategy is to keep moving in circles. Cast firestorms whenever you can, and try to raise corpses whenever your zombies fall.

Once you dealt with him, you'll enter the second part of the Lunaris Temple. You will have to face the Miscreations in here. Shocked Miscreations will use lightning warp, dealing damage from the point the teleport from and the point they are teleporting to. Burning Miscreations will use unrighteous fire, an aura that deals burning damage to everything that comes close. Drenched Miscreations will cast Arctic armor, leaving behind a trail of chilled ground, Whipped Miscreations will curse you with vulnerability on hit, and finally, the Tentacle miscreations will shoot multiple projectiles at you from range. They are immobile when firing, and cannot change direction until they are done.

At the end of Lunaris 1, you will find the waypoint, and the stairs down to Lunaris 2.

[A3n014]Lunaris Temple lvl 2: That's a lot of experiments going on.
Recommended level: 30
Tip: As this area is lvl 30, the next tier of flasks can drop in here. Keep an eye out for those Colossal Flasks

More miscreations in this area. Be careful, as the miscreations tend to spawn in packs. Especially Tentacle Miscreations can be a threat since they all attack from quite a distance, and will mow through your minions. Proceed carefully, and react swiftly. Lunaris Temple two has multiple levels separated by stairs. The first three levels will have narrow passageways with some slightly bigger area's. Stick with the outside wall, and look for the stairs up. Among these first three levels, you can encounter Spinecrack, a unique whipping miscreation that uses lightning strike. Be careful as it is fast. Though due to his low life, you can easily take him out.

Once you reach the 4th level, the tileset will change, and you will have more room to walk around. The second part of this area features bigger area's, bars you can dash through, and in the end a big are with a last set of stairs you'll have to climb. At the end, you will find a portal. Enter the portal to find Piety.

Piety
She starts out similar to the last time you fought her, casting Storm Herald, Arc and Ball Lightning. In addition to that, she also can summon groups of monsters from the pool of blood in the middle. On top of that, blue and red portals will randomly spawn across the room. If Piety access one of these portals, she will temporarily change form. If she enters the red portal, she will become much faster, and attack you in melee. Each attack adds a stacking debuff that let's you take more damage from her other melee attacks. If she enters the blue portal, she will become an archer, and will shoot Ice shot with several projectiles. These hits will hurt a lot, so make sure you don't stand in sight.
The best strategy is to fight her in her normal form. If she enters a portal, it's best to run or hide. Your zombies will have a hard time staying alive, and she won't summon too often, so you won't be able to rely on your zombies too much in this fight. If she enters a red portal, just stay on the move, don't bother attacking, she will run out of the storms fast enough unless she is focusing one of your zombies. When she turns into the frost archer, hide behind a pillar. Her shots will not pierce. As for the rest of the fight, Fire storms and stay on the move. Don't worry too much about zombies, or destroying the portals. It's best to deal with Piety as soon as you can.

Once you dealt with Piety, Pick up the key and return to town. Talk to Grigor for a very nice reward. The skillbook he will give you, will grant you two skillpoints.


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[A3n001]Twilight Strand: The first steps
Recommended level: 1

Hillock

[Recommended][Optional]

Tip:

Skillpoint:

Be careful:

Act 4 Normal

Cruel

Merciless

Mapping

Reserved

Reserved II