Learn about the key build info and how to increase damage and defense with your stats and gear for the Boneshatter Slayer Build.
Leveling Section
Key Leveling Notes
This build is easy to level, provided that the player understands how to create a good leveling Weapon. Pasting this line, called a regex, into the Search Bar of Vendors selling Armors and Weapons when you go back to town, substantially speeds up leveling.
-[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-g-g|nne
Your Weapon is your most important upgrade! Always keep your Two-Handed Weapon up to date within ~7 levels of yourself. Make sure your Weapon either has % Physical Damage or Flat Damage. Here is an example of a good Weapon at Level 23: Double Axe
Besides picking up an Axe and identifying it, our primary way of getting a weapon will be from using an Essence that adds Flat Damage on Two-Handed Weapons, whether its Physical, Fire, Cold or Lightning Damage. This method has the highest probability to create a good Weapon, especially early on.
When this method does NOT work, we use the Rustic SashVendor Recipe. When you sell a Rare Rustic Sash with a Blacksmith's Whetstone and a Weapon, the Recipe produces a % Physical Damage Weapon back! You may then use an Orb of Augmentation and pray that you land Attack Speed, a Resistance or a different (hopefully useful) stat.
The levels listed below are based on speedrunning. Always be greater or equal to the levels listed.
Use slider for progression.
Open Leveling Tree in new tab and use arrows at the bottom to navigate.
Choose Act
Act 1
Act 2
Act 3
Act 4
Act 5
Act 6
Act 7
Act 8
Act 9
Act 10
Act 1 - 10 Cheatsheet
Step 1: Level 2
Kill Hillock. Talk to Tarkleigh and choose Splitting Steel as your reward.
Splitting Steel gives a new skill called Call of Steel, which grants steel shards. Use Call of Steel to generate shards, cast Splitting Steel a handful of times to spend shards (if available), and then cast Call of Steel to finish enemies. Link this with Chance to Bleed Support for now.
Talk to Tarkleigh, click Purchase Items, and copy the line: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-g-g|nne
Paste it in the vendor window in-game and it will highlight four links, movement speed boots, and items with Green-Green-Red (GGR) 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 Onslaught 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: Ancestral Protector and Dash.
Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-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 will have a Green-Green-Red (GGR) item for Splitting Steel - Onslaught Support - Chance to Bleed Support.
If you only have a Green-Red then just link Splitting Steel to Chance to Bleed Support.
Our rotation on packs is Call of Steel for 12 stacks of Steel Shards, Dash forward constantly, place Ancestral Protector on packs of monsters, and use Splitting Steel until the pack is low.
Step 3: Level 8
Reach Lower Prison and use the Waypoint back to town.
Talk to Nessa and grab: Maim Support.
Link Maim to Ancestral Protector if you have a Red-Red item.
Talk to Tarkleigh to grab your Passive Skillpoint.
Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh and paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-g-g|nne
Two handed weapons are a substantial DPS increase and help tremendously on Brutus. The recommended weapons here are either a Longsword at 8, or a Jade Chopper at 9.
Step 4: Level 10
After killing Brutus, return to town.
Talk to Tarkleigh and grab Leap Slam. This replaces Dash.
Click Purchase Items from Tarkleigh, then paste in the regex: -[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-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, purchase Spectral Helix from Nessa for 1 Orb of Transmutation, OR grab Shattering Steel for free.
Spectral Helix is better, but many people dislike the playstyle of attacking twice and moving on. It is very comparable to the Hammerdin from Diablo II. A decent alternative to Spectral Helix is Shattering Steel, as it is better than Splitting Steel in almost every way.
Talk to Bestel and grab the Passive Skillpoint, then complete The Siren's Cadence.
Look for a Bastard Sword to use at level 12, or a Woodsplitter at level 13.
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-Red (GGR) 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.
Your ideal weapon at this point is a Woodsplitter at level 13.
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 Blood Rage.
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 Herald of Purity and Herald of Ash.
Herald of Ash is an Aura that gives 15% of Physical Damage as extra Fire Damage, and also helps smooth out clearing packs. This gem takes priority over all other auras at this point.
Herald of Purity gives us MORE Physical damage, and also summons some minions to help out while clearing or fighting a boss.
Equip all three auras. In the case that you can only equip 1 or 2 Auras, the priority is: Herald of Ash > Herald of Purity > War Banner. Remember that War Banner's primary usefulness comes from using the stacks, so use it at 50 stacks and/or when fighting a difficult monster!
Go left from the Town to complete the quest Sharp and Cruel in The Weaver's Chambers.
Your ideal weapon at this point is a Poleaxe at 18
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.
It is critically important to link this to Leap Slam as soon as you can at 18.
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 Clarissa to obtain the Sewer Keys.
Talk to Maramoa and choose the gem Poacher's Mark. Use it on bosses to gain Life and Mana back on hit.
The Ideal weapon at this point is a Double Axe at level 23.
Step 2: Level 24
Talk to Hargan and select Purchase Items. Paste in the regex -[rgb]-.-|g-g-r|g-r-g|r-g-g|nne
After level 24, you may find a four-link item. Ideally, it will already be G-G-G-R or G-G-R-R.
If it is not already these colors, use Chromatic Orbs on either a Dexterity or Strength-Dexterity base. If you find a four link that requires Intelligence in any way, using Chromatic Orbs is not a good idea since they are very likely to roll Blue sockets.
G-G-G-R links: Spectral Helix - Onslaught Support - Faster Attacks Support (Act 2) - Chance to Bleed Support
G-G-R-R links: Spectral Helix - Onslaught Support - Cruelty Support (Act 2) - Chance to Bleed Support
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 quests Sever the Right Hand and Piety's Pets.
Although killing Gravicius rewards Boneshatter, do not swap until after completing your Normal Labyrinth!
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.
Getting two-stone rings and using essences that give rings flat damage to attacks (like an Wailing Essence of Torment) is amazing here.
Step 4: Level 27
The Ideal weapon basetype starting at level 28 is a Gilded Axe.
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-r|g-r-g|r-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 raises his fist. 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 Slayer, and choose Impact.
This is when the build swaps to Boneshatter, as the normal lab plus Tribal Fury makes the build actually playable.
Use Boneshatter - Ruthless Support - Onslaught Support - Close Combat Support. After Act 6, replace Onslaught Support with Fortify Support.
Step 3: Level 32
Do not progress past Crystal Veins without being at least level 32, farm Dried Lake if you need to catch up.
Complete the quest The Eternal Nightmare by killing Daresso and Kaom.
Step 4: Level 34
Kill Piety, then complete the quest Corpus Malachus.
Talk to Piety again, go kill Malachai, and move on to Act five!
Step 1: Level 35
Get at least 75% resists in Fire, Cold, and Lightning - but aim for 105%, as you lose 30% from killing Kitava.
Put every armor and jewelry piece you have into the crafting bench in your hideout to see if it has space for a Fire, Cold, or Lightning resist craft. This is only usable if the item has an Open Suffix (hold Alt on an item to see).
Complete the quest Return to Oriath and talk to Lani for a ring matching the resists you need the most. Get any of the Two-Stones over the single-resist rings, as they are easier to replace later.
Complete the quests In Service to Science, The Key to Freedom, and reach the Chamber of Innocence
Step 2: Level 38
Once you enter the Chamber of Innocence, farm this zone until at least level 40. You can reset a campaign zone by holding down CTRL and clicking on the zone or Waypoint.
If you are clearing the Chamber of Innocence and are still under level 40, use a Portal Scroll and talk to Lani for a Granite Flask
Talk to Vilenta for a Passive Skillpoint.
Complete the quest Death to Purity.
Step 3: Level 40
Complete the quests The Ravenous God and Kitava's Torments.
When Kitava closes his fist, he will spawn orbs that 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.
Talk to Bestel for either a rare Leather Belt or Citrine Amulet, depending on which slot needs a bigger upgrade.
Talk to Tarkleigh for a Passive Skillpoint.
Travel to The Lower Prison and complete the Trial of Ascendancy there.
Finish the Essence of Umbra by killing Brutus and Shavronne.
Step 3
Kill Abberath in Prisoner's Gate for The Cloven One.
Grab the Waypoint in The Riverways, then go north to The Wetlands and kill Ryslatha for The Puppet Mistress.
You may skip Abberath and Ryslatha until late Act 7 if your character is too weak at this point.
Return to town, then talk to Bestel for a Passive Skillpoint.
Talk to Tarkleigh for a 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.
Complete the Trial of Ascendancy while in the Chambers of Sin 2, and complete The Master of a Million Faces.
Step 2
Optionally, you may travel back to town at this point and talk to Helena for an Amulet reward.
Gather the seven fireflies for the quest Lighting the Way, and kill Greust for the quest Queen of Despair while in The Dread Thicket.
Exit The Dread Thicket and travel to The Causeway for Kishara's Star.
Get to the Waypoint in the Vaal City and talk to Yeena there, then return to town.
This also frees your inventory of the fireflies!
Step 3
Select the Pantheon Ralakesh, Master of a Million Faces.
Talk to Eramir for two Passive Skillpoints.
Talk to Weylam Roth to select the Quartz Flask and a Passive Skillpoint.
Talk to Helena and select the Goliath Greaves.
After this, complete the Cruel Labyrinth.
Completing Cruel Lab awards you with Bane of Legends, which helps a little bit on clearing trash, and helps tremendously on killing bosses! If you kill something before killing a unique monster, you gain 30% more Damage against it!
Step 4
Finally, Waypoint back to The Vaal City, travel to Temple of Decay 2, and kill Arakaali. Avoid the cone of poisonous bolts, as well as the purple orbs that spawn far away and travel towards the boss. After this, move onto Act 8!
Step 1
Kill Doedre for the quest Essence of the Hag, then go to the right towards The Quay.
Complete the quest Love is Dead, then travel to the Grain Gate to complete The Gemling Legion.
Continue to the Solaris Temple and get the waypoint in Solaris Temple 1.
Complete the quest Solar Eclipse and return to town.
Step 2
Talk to Clarissa for a Passive Skillpoint.
Talk to Hargan for whichever Two-Stone ring reward you need the most.
Talk to Maramoa for a Passive Skillpoint.
Step 3: Level 54
Go back to Solaris Temple 1, travel to the Solaris Concourse, the Harbour Bridge, then Lunaris Concourse.
Go to the Lunaris Temple 2 and complete Lunar Eclipse.
Travel to the Lunaris Concourse and kill the Twins Solaris the Eternal Sun and Lunaris the Eternal Moon. Stand behind Solaris when she throws her Fire Spear, and get move away when Lunaris fires Cold Rain from the sky. After this, continue onwards to Act 9 and the best zone in the campaign for farming - the Blood Aqueducts!
Step 1: Level 54
Your goal is to farm Blood Aqueducts until character level 62 for both gem levels and currency. While farming Blood Aqueduct you might find Humility cards, which sell for approximately 2 Chaos Orb at the start of a league. Sell these, as a 6 link is not needed until Red maps.
The final goal we have of Blood Aqueduct is to farm gear that has good resistances. We want our resists to be close to 105% when killing Act 10 Kitava, as we get another penalty to our resistances. Mapping with ~60% resists is fine for softcore, but is a definite no-go in hardcore. Continue farming gear, currency, and xp in Blood Aqueducts until 62, then move on to act 10.
Step 2: Level 62
Go back to the Lunaris Concourse in Act 8 to get the Trial of Ascendancy in The Bath House and complete Reflection of Terror in the High Gardens.
Return to town and talk to Hargan for a Passive Skillpoint.
Step 3: Level 62
Complete the quest The Storm Blade. Return to town, talk to Petarus and Vanja for a Teak Round Shield, Sin for the next quest item, then Petarus and Vanja again. Return back to the Vastiri Desert waypoint and complete the quest Queen of the Sands.
Return to town and talk to Irasha for a Passive Skillpoint.
Step 4
Kill The Basilisk in the Boiling Lake
Complete the quest Fastis Fortuna
Complete the Trial of Ascendancy in The Tunnel
Complete the Ruler of Highgate, then return to town and talk to Irasha for a Passive Skillpoint.
Step 5
Finish the quest Recurring Nightmare by killing Act 9 boss The Depraved Trinity. Avoid the boss' slam, and avoid getting hit by the scorpion ads that spawn. Next, move onto Act 10!
Step 1
Kill Plaguewing and complete the quest Safe Passage.
Place a portal in the middle of the Ruined Square, and go to the waypoint in the Control Blocks (left).
Take the waypoint back to town and talk to Lani in town for a Silver Flask.
This flask gives us a buff called Onslaught, which substantially increases our speed.
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 the ascendancy point Brutal Fervour.
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.
Brutal Fervour gives you the ability to cull any monster under 20% or lower life, in addition to giving a near permanent 10% attack speed and movement speed buff!
Step 3
Kill Avarius to complete the quest Death and Rebirth, then return to town.
Talk to Bannon with the The Staff of Purity in your inventory.
Talk to Lani for a General's Brigandine.
Talk to Weylam Roth for 2x Passive Respec Points.
Step 4
Travel back to the Ravaged Square, talk to Innocence, and complete the quest An End to Hunger.
Kill Kitava, and move onto the mapping section below - congratulations on completing the campaign!
Note that killing Kitava reduces your overall resistances by 30%. We prepare for this by obtaining gear with as high resists as possible. Aim for 75% Fire, Cold, and Lightning Resists.
Act 1
Use Longsword at Level 8 or Jade Chopper at Level 9
Use Bastard Sword at Level 12 or Woodsplitter at Level 13
Splitting Steel + Chance to Bleed Support + Onslaught Support
Dash, War Banner anywhere
Ancestral Protector + Maim Support (Optional)
Leap Slam and optionally Frostblink
Splitting Steel to Spectral Helix (best option) or Shattering Steel (close second)
Act 2
For Bandits, kill all for 2 Skill Points
Weapon Base Type: Woodsplitter at Level 13, Poleaxe at Level 18
Spectral Helix (or Shattering Steel) - Chance to Bleed Support - Onslaught Support
War Banner, Ancestral Protector and Leap Slam anywhere
Blood Rage, Herald of Ash, Herald of Purity (Level 16) anywhere
Act 3
Ideal Weapons: Poleaxe at Level 18, Double Axe at 23, Gilded Axe at Level 28
At Level 24, get Poacher's Mark quest reward and skip Gravicius quest
Paste your regex string starting at level 24 to look for a four-link
G-G-G-RSpectral Helix - Onslaught Support - Faster Attacks Support - Chance to Bleed Support
Or G-G-R-RSpectral Helix - Onslaught Support - Chance to Bleed Support - Maim Support
Act 4
Ideal Weapons: Whatever Two-Handed Axe that provides the highest tooltip DPS
Keep Resistances at 75% and keep identifying Rares for potential upgrades
Act 5
Ideal Weapons: Jasper Chopper at Level 37, Timber Axe at Level 41
Get resists to 105% or at least close to
Farm Chamber of Innocence until at least Level 40
Act 6
Ideal Weapon: Headsman Axe at Level 45
Get Resistances back up to 75%
Take Brine King as Major Pantheon
Act 7
Ideal Weapon: Labrys at Level 49
Take Ralakesh as Minor Pantheon
Complete your Cruel Labyrinth after collecting all Act 6 & 7 Quest Rewards Skill Points
Act 8
Ideal Weapon: Labrys at Level 49 or highest tooltip DPS
Level 54 before entering Blood Aqueducts
Act 9
Take Garukhan as Minor Pantheon
Act 10
Complete the Trials for the Merciless Lab and run it.
Continue gearing for 105% to All Resistances (75% post Kitava).
Pantheon
For information about the Pantheon and how it works, consult our Pantheon Guide!
For Major Pantheon, select Brine King to gain Immunity to Freeze and Reduction of Chill Effect. This bonus is not available at first. It’s acquired with Divine Vessel.
For Minor Pantheon, select Garukhan and upgrade it. This grants reduced Effect of Shock, and Cannot be Blinded.
Mapping Preparation
You're done with the Campaign and are ready to take on the Path of Exile Endgame. Priority 1 is to ensure your Elemental Resistances are capped (75%) and have sufficient Attributes to continue leveling your Skill Gems. Use Essences you have gathered on any item that is not Magic or Rare already. Items with an open modifier slot can be crafted on. Head to the Crafting Bench and craft Resistances wherever possible according to what you need, and Life wherever else possible.
On league start, Heisting and doing the Chaos Orb recipe is a great and easy way to obtain currency. From this point on, grind your Atlas out by progressing and completing Maps. Make sure to buy or craft Weapon upgrades to maintain your skull bashing potential.
Map Modifiers
Take note of the below modifiers, as they should be avoided if they appear on your maps:
Less Armour and Block Chancereduces your main defences.
Reduced Effect Of Auras eliminate our defences and our Accuracy.
Cannot Leech removes the only recovery source we have.
Monsters cannot be Stunned stops our area explosions based on Stun duration.
-X% maximum Player Resistances makes you take too much extra Elemental damage.
