The Path of Exile Survival Guide - Full Game Walkthrough with ZiggyD

The Path of Exile Survival Guide is a full walkthrough aimed at taking beginners not only through the game's quests but also through gear progression, character building and efficient farming techniques. It's an ambitious project based on over a year's worth of game experience and it's going to take some time to complete. By the end I hope it will become a resource that will help many new players get past those progression 'walls' that prevent them from getting to end game maps and having a satisfying game experience.

Preparing For Wraeclast - Some Beginner's Info & Builds

Before we get started I want to take a moment to share some videos that will help you understand a lot of the basics of Path of Exile. I'll also use this section to share the build that I'll be using in the walkthrough series. Keep in mind you are free to use any build you like and a lot of the advice will still apply - but if this is your first time playing then you may want to follow along with the Tanky Blood Magic Bow Ranger build.

The Quick Start Guide - Breaking Down the Basics of PoE

If you want to more fully arm yourself then I highly suggest checking out this playlist of Beginner-Oriented guides.

The Tanky Blood Magic Bow Ranger Build

This video was the original iteration of the Tanky Blood Magic Bow Ranger. It was designed to be as simple and beginner-friendly as possible. It's not as flashy as some other end game builds but it will carry you through the entire game pretty easily and will even perform in end game maps. Use it as a launching point to get used to the game's mechanics before making your own build!

However, a few things have changed since patch 1.0.0 and this build has adapted along with it. You can find an update for the passive tree below:

We now focus on Physical Damage and elemental damage conversion through Ice Shot and the Added Fire Support Gem. It's tankier than ever and we no longer even worry about Auras on this build. Instead we use the saved points to run some awesome defensive procs at end game and spec for a bit more inherent damage. Some people like to feel auras are mandatory in any build but this Ranger is designed to be as simple as possible while still being effective - you don't need auras to kick ass.

Lightning Arrow
- Lesser Multiple Projectiles
- Pierce or Chain or Neither (if you instead rely on pierce from Projectile Weakness)
- Weapon Elemental Damage (preferred over added fire due to high ele conversion)
- Faster Attacks
- Life Leech (survivability) OR Added Fire (more damage)

Primary Single Target Skill: Frenzy + Life Leech + Added Fire + Faster Attacks

Curse: Projectile Weakness &/or Enfeeble

Defensive Proc Setup: Cast on Damage Taken (level 1) + Molten Shell + Enduring Cry + Decoy Totem

Early game we level up using Poison Arrow and Fire Trap and pretty much any of the other bow skills (I like Split Arrow as it's cheap). You'll see this in more detail in the Walkthrough itself.

Here's the Passive Tree![www.pathofexile.com]

You can find more detail on this build in the official forum thread![www.pathofexile.com]

Interested in trying another build? I have a playlist of them here! Otherwise I suggest a website like PathofPoe.com or the official forums.

Act 1 Normal

Act 1 Normal kind of functions as PoE's tutorial - but not in the conventional way. It teaches you what will kill you later on by killing you. Wraeclast is kind of harsh like that.

Use every opportunity in Act 1 to learn the basic mechanics of dodging spells, avoiding heavy hitting mobs and using your flasks properly. You'll need these skills later on!

Act 2 Normal

Act 2 Normal is where the game start's introducing the importance of resists to you. Make sure to always prepare for the damage types you'll be encountering in the next zone. Sure you can yolo through most of normal with just high life but learning to mitigate elemental damage is essential for survival in the later difficulties.

Act 2 is also quite intersesting in it's layout, I show off the most efficient way to clear the zone solo in the following videos.

Bonus Video!

If you are a hardcore gaming junkie and want to play Path of Exile's Hardcore, one-life leagues then this video will help out with some tips for staying alive on any character!

Act 3 Normal

Act 3 is much more complex than Act 1 and 2 and features some of the hardest challenges you'll have to face. Resistances are becoming even more important as you'll enter zones very strongly themed towards certain elemental damage types so make sure to keep your resistance rings up to date and handy!

After the terrifying fight with Dominus you'll make your way into Act 1 Cruel difficulty where you get to do it all over again - only this time it's harder! You've beaten the game once, but you've only scratched the surface of what this game has to offer.

In my opinion Path of Exile really starts to hit it's stride in Cruel - resists are tougher to get, enemies hit harder, bosses are scarier and side quests are actually difficult! So you have a lto to look forward to. Head on to the next section to begin your Cruel progression.

Act 1 Cruel

Welcome to Cruel.

Path of Exile really ups the ante from now on. Act one is pretty cruisy but there are some specific challenges. Most notable is that side quests are much higher level so you should do these later, rather than when you first encounter them.

In my opinion this is where PoE starts to get really fun.

If you're hurting for gear at the moment, stopping to farm Merveil about 10-20 times will give you a lot of good gear. Not to mention you will probably find some uniques which is always fun.

Act 2 Cruel

Act 2 Cruel is pretty quick to progress through if you've been keeping your gear up to date. There are only a few minor hurdles (like Chamber of Sins & the Weaver) but these can mostly be overcome with some preparation and clever play. In these episodes I also show off how to craft yourself some progression gear - a very useful skill to develop when leveling without trading.

Gearing guide:

About the Author - ZiggyD

G'day ZiggyD Here!

I am an Australian full time professional gamer and YouTube producer (hoping to also move into livestreaming soon!). I've been playing Path of Exile since closed beta pretty consistently and covering it with guides on YouTube for almost as long.

I cover a few different games but Path of Exile has been my favourite for a long time because of how amazing the community is and how open and interactive the developers are. PoE is an amazing game and I want to continue to help players enjoy it on a deeper and more fulfilling level for a long time to come. I fully expect to still be making videos on this game in 5 years time when they release Act 10 - the developers and this community has what it takes to be around for at least that long.

You can find me on YouTube, Facebook[www.facebook.com], Twitter, http://ziggyd.tv and, of course, on Path of Exile[www.pathofexile.com]! Please feel free to suggest videos you'd like to see or ask me questions about this amazing game!

Cheers,
ZiggyD

[Drake]

@Aritani you are not being cruel enough?

[Aritani]

Can't seem to get to cruel mode. What am i doing wrong?

[Learned Hand]

Great guide! Thanks for the help!

[Bonzo The Brown]

Good beginners guide, great to see props to the devs and the weird-hat community :)

I agree that there'll still be millions playing this in 5yrs.
The extra content, league mods and balancing (over time) make it endlessly replayable.

[Irhamel]

Man! this is one hell of an amazing guide! dood, kudos to you! great work!

[χєвяα]

Brilliant work good sir. (:

[Kifli]

why no merciless ? is where I actually have problems. that chaos resitace is hard to get....

[SirDownaLot]

Greust says WHAT

[chances.folly]

The build has been updated since this steam guide was last edited. Check out the main thread here for current info:

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/300860/page/1

[SolusN]

Really nice job mate!
Have been playing since closed beta myself, but due to having a wacko internet connection, lag and desync are more common than regular gameplay for me, so I'm still doing what you've covered so far due to not beiong able to move on xD