Acolyte Leveling Guide
Last Updated:April 11, 2025|Changelog
Welcome to the Acolyte Leveling Guide! Ready to rip open Chthonic Fissures, unleash torrents of Chaos Bolts, and watch enemies melt under potent curses and shades? This Warlock Leveling Guide shows you the way!
Your dark journey begins by siphoning life with Rip Blood while Wandering Spirits haunt your foes. Around level 20, the build embraces true Warlock power, casting Chthonic Fissure and unleashing barrages of Chaos Bolts. Later on, Infernal Shade comes online to melt bosses with fire damage over time.
Reposition instantly across the screen with Transplant. Staying alive involves stacking Ward Per Second and Ward Decay Threshold as key defensive layers, backed up by Health and capped Physical Resistance for a smooth campaign experience.
The build truly hits its stride when you're layering curses and DoTs while spamming Chaos Bolts across the screen. It's easily one of the most powerful and satisfying ways to level an Acolyte, letting you melt through the campaign and easily clear the Normal Monolith timelines, preparing you for the challenge of Empowered Monoliths.
This guide focuses on the Warlock Mastery to provide the optimal Acolyte leveling experience, feel free to respec your Mastery after the leveling process at the Respec NPC 
in the End Of Time.
Gameplay and Skills
As you level the power of skills evolves, with some becoming stronger while others getting weaker. To account for this, you transition from setups that are optimized for early game to one that is more suited to tackling endgame content.
Starting Setup
- At level 2 :
- Summon your 3 Summon Skeletons.
- At level 4 :
- Spec into Rip Blood.
- Use Wandering Spirits on cooldown.
- At level 7 :
- Use Bone Curse on bosses and refresh it every 8 seconds.
- At level 8 :
- Spec into Wandering Spirits.
- At level 9 :
- Use Transplant to move quickly through the chapters.
- At level 15 :
- Replace on the Action Bar Summon Skeleton for Spirit Plague on bosses and refresh it every 3 seconds.
At level 20, switch to the Intermediate Setup tab.
Early Setup
- At level 20 :
- Respec and replace on the Action Bar :
- Rip Blood for Chaos Bolts.
- Wandering Spirits for Chthonic Fissure.
- Spec Spirit Plague.
- Respec and replace on the Action Bar :
- At level 35 :
- Spec Rip Blood.
- Don't use Rip Blood yourself, it gets procced by Chaos Bolts.
- Use Chthonic Fissure to clear and on single target.
- Use it when you are low on mana.
- Use Spirit Plague once or twice depeding on how many mosters you attack.
- You have to curse monsters with it to generate lots of ward.
- Then spam Chaos Bolts.
- Use Transplant to move quickly through the chapters.
At level 50, switch to the Final Setup tab.
Final Setup
- At level 50 :
- Spec Infernal Shade.
- Use Chthonic Fissure to clear and on bosses.
- Use Spirit Plague once or twice depeding on how many mosters you attack.
- You have to curse monsters with it to generate lots of ward.
- Then spam :
- Chaos Bolts for clear and when you are low on mana.
- Infernal Shade for single target.
- Use Transplant to move quickly through the chapters.
Passives
Passives provide powerful effects that dictate the playstyle of a Class and its Masteries. Remember that you can allocate Passives in the first half of any Mastery regardless of the one you chose.
Gearing and Side Quests Step by Step
Itemization is a vital aspect of your journey in Last Epoch. While prefixes and suffixes matter, what sets Last Epoch apart is the power of item bases. Many items have potent implicit attributes that can rival or even surpass modifiers.
Items
- Focus on Ward per Second, Health and Physical Resistances affixes in the campaign for defenses.
- Equip Silver Rings to boost your movement speed.
- Look for a Skull Cage and Defiled Bones to significantly boost your damage.
- Focus on better sources of Increased Damage rather than Adaptive Spell Damage, as we get plenty thanks to Rip Blood.
- Ward Per Second and Ward Decay Threshold is a massive boost to your defense and sustain.
Side Quests
- Storeroom Sabotuers for 1
Passive point.- The Storerooms - Area level 5.
- Evacuation Quest for 1 Passive point.
- Last Refuge Outskirts - Area level 10.
- Erza's Ledger Quest for 1 Passive point and Avarice.
- Erza's Library - Area level 11.
- The Upper District Quest for 1 Passive point.
- The Upper District - Area level 14.
- An Ancient Hunt for extra
Idol slots.- The Ancient Forest - Area level 20.
- The Lesser Refuge Quest for 2 Passive point.
- The Lost Refuge - Area level 21.
At level 20, switch to the Intermediate Setup tab.
Items
- Focus on Ward per Second, Health and Physical Resistances affixes in the campaign for defenses.
- Use a Wand and an Off-Hand Catalyst to get high enough intelligence to proc Rip Blood reliably.
- Equip Avarice as soon as you get them, these gloves provide you a source of leech.
- Look for Increased Mana Regen to make the gameplay feels smoother. Coven Hat, Coven Robes, Sapphire Ring and Noble Gloves are great sources of it.
- Cursed Bones, Fiend Robes and Heoborean Boots are great bases to cap your resistances.
- Get Ward and Ailment Cleansing on Potion Use on your belt.
Side Quests
- The Corrupted Lake Quest for 1 Passive point and extra Idol slots.
- The Corrupted Lake - Area level 26.
- Hidden Gems Quest for 1 Passive point.
- Maj'elka - Area level 33.
- The Sapphire Tablet Quest for 1 Passive point and extra Idol slots.
- The Ruined Coast - Area level 35.
- A Heoborean Cure Quest for extra Idol slots.
- The Wengari Fortress - Area level 47.
- The Ice Caverns - Area level 46.
- The Tundra - Area level 46.
- Liberating the Nomads Quest for extra Idol slots.
- The Wengari Fortress - Area level 47.
After defeating the Frostroot Warden boss and completing chapter 7 quests, you have reached the cap of 15 Passive points and 8 Idol slots. You can dive into the Monolith of Fate or you can choose to finish the campaign for a reward of +1 to all attributes.
At level 50, switch to the Final Setup tab.
Items
- Get as much Elemental Damage Over Time as you can, it is the best offensive stat for this build.
- Get as much Ward Per Second and Ward Decay Threshold as possible on your rings and amulet, it is the best defensive stat for this build.
- Bone Amulet and Spidersilk Sash are great bases to cap your resistances.
- Look for a Arcane Boots, Putrid Souls, Opulent Focus, Necropolis Helm and Necropolis Helm to boost your ward generation.
Monolith Progression
After beating the Abomination timeline boss and completing your first timeline, you have the choice to go between The Stolen Lance timeline and The Black Sun timeline. Go for The Black Sun timeline.
You want to do timelines on the right-hand-side of the Monolith progression as they provide more relevant Blessings for your character progression.
What awaits you is unlocking Empowered Monolith after pushing through the Spirits of Fire, The Age of Winter and The Last Ruin Timelines and activating the beacon in the middle of them.
Check out the Campaign Guide for an in depth breakdown of the campaign.
Stats Priorities
Offensive Stats
- Level of Skills
- Rip Blood and Wandering Spirits before the Intermediate Setup.
- Spirit Plague, Chaos Bolts, Chthonic Fissure, Rip Blood and Infernal Shade from the Intermediate Setup.
- Increased Elemental Damage Over Time
- Only after level 50
- Increased Necrotic Damage, Increased Spell Damage and Increased Damage Over Time
- Increased Fire Damage
- Only after level 50
- Increased Mana Regen
- Intelligence
- Increased Cast Speed
Defensive Stats
- Health Regen
- Until level 19
- Any type of Resistance
- Focus on Physical Resistance during campaign
- Ward per Second and Ward Decay Threshold
- Health
- Frailty Chance, Slow Chance and Chill Chance
- Vitality
- Endurance
- Armour
Scaling Tips
- Your single target damage after level 50 is mostly Fire, Damage Over Time and Spell, thanks to Infernal Shade. Since this build doesn't lack damage for clear, you want to invest in those affixes to increase your single target damage.
- Intelligence makes you proc Rip Blood more often thanks to Exacted Libation in Chaos Bolts tree.
- Rely on item bases to cover your Resistances.
- Focus on Ward per Second, Health and Physical Resistance during the campaign.
- Ward per Second and Ward Decay Threshold is massive for defense and recovery on this build. Get it to tier 5 on rings and amulet.
Uniques
If you are lucky you might get a Rune of Ascendance while leveling. Use this first on boots to get Advent of the Erased or Blood of the Exile.
Keep an eye out for these Uniques as they are very impactful for your build, such as :
Calamity         Font of the Erased         Advent of the Erased         Blood of the Exile         Ambitions of an Erased Acolyte         Soulfire         Mortality's Grasp         Atrophy         Chronicle of the Damned
Key Leveling Notes
- Keep your character at the area level by killing monsters.
- To use this guide, you need to maintain at most a 5 level difference with the area.
- Press C to open the character sheet to find your level and TAB to find the area level.
- Only collect loot that serves as an upgrade.
- The loot filter reveals many items that might not be an upgrade for your character.
- If your inventory is full, stick gear with high value affixes in your stash and sell the rest.
- Don't sell gear that has high value affixes to a vendor.
- Instead, keep it to use later or destroy it with a Rune of Shattering or Rune of Removal.
- Always get the best weapon you can.
- Weapons are a core part of your power and getting a higher level base boosts your damage significantly.
- Early on, you can buy them at the
Gambler NPC in the Council Chamber town and in the End of Time town. - After level 40, they don't sell you higher item bases.
- If you want to enter the Monolith of Fate early, unlock all the passive points and idol slots from quests first.
- By the time you complete chapter 7, you are ready to tackle the Monolith of Fate content.
- Crafting is powerful and important for enhancing your gear.
- Press F and place your item in the crafting interface to level up its affixes and craft new ones!
- Adding health or vitality on a few empty affix slots can increase your HP by a significant amount!
- The Nemesis system has the ability to grant incredibly strong equipment.
- It can generate exalted items with no high-level requirement, giving you a massive power boost.
If you need help with crafting check the Beginner Crafting Guide.
Loot Filter
Loot Filters are critical in Last Epoch. Highlighting all the related valuable Item Bases, Affixes, Uniques and Idols is crucial to your character's progression. As your gear gets better, remember to hide the rules that are no longer useful to avoid screen clutter.
Link : Download Lootfilter
Learn how to load and make Filters with our Loot Filter Guide.
Summary
This Acolyte leveling build is matchless in speed and damage. It kills monsters in seconds, is fast and super fun to play!
- Choose the Warlock Mastery.
- For damage, spam Rip Blood early, then cast Chthonic Fissure once and spam Chaos Bolts at level 20.
- After level 50, spam Chaos Bolts for clear and Infernal Shade for single target damage.
- Use Chaos Bolts when you are low on mana.
- Use Transplant to move quickly through the chapters.
- Focus on Ward Per Second, Health and cap your Physical Resistance early to make the campaign feel easy.
What's Next?
Congratulations, you completed the campaign and unlocked Empowered Monoliths! You can dive into dungeons, empower your character further and test your limits at the Arena leaderboard.
Check out our Acolyte Guides and find the perfect Acolyte Endgame build for you.
Explore the Monolith of Fate with our Beginner Guide and learn how to farm Dungeons.
Credits
Written by Terek.
Reviewed by Tenkiei.