Path of Exile strategy guide focuses on gameplay mechanics and describes all aspects of character classes and their advancement. You'll find here example character builds and some useful advice.
Path of Exile guide includes:
Path of Exile is a debut RPG of Grinding Gear Games. This dark fantasy hack'n'slash is based on online multiplayer that allows players from all over the world fight on many servers. Charming Diablo-like atmosphere, original game mechanics and dozens of hours of exciting gameplay are just some of this game's upsides.
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In the following chapter you can see the description of the interface in Path of Exile. All of its elements have been marked with a proper symbol and described so it's easy to understand even for beginners.
Movement, primary attack
Secondary attack
Tertiary attack
Using item from the first slot
Using item from the second slot
Using item from the third slot
Using item from the fourth slot
Using item from the fifth slot
Using first skill
Using second skill
Using third skill
Using fourth skill
Using fifth skill
Hold while clicking LMB to attack without moving around
Change weapons (if you have another one in a slot)
Detonate a mine
Briefly highlight items on the ground
Toggle highlighting items on the ground
Toggle searching through corpses
Chat
Map
Options
Character panel
Social panel
Inventory panel
Achievements panel
World panel
Passive skills panel
Microtransactions panel
Close all opened panels
Take a snapshot
Move screen up/down
Performance stats
When you create a character in Path of Exile you have several game modes, or - to be specific - leagues. They are separate game servers. What's important, you can't interact with players in other leagues in any way. There's a similar separation in ranks and challenges. The leagues vary in many aspects - mainly difficulty and frequency with which rare or even legendary items and artifacts appear.
Basic mode, it doesn't stand out in any way. It's recommended for beginners who have just started playing.
It's just standard mode with permadeath. If you die, you're being moved to standard league. Luckily, you can keep your experience and equipment.
Aside from the two modes listed above that don't have much to offer if you're looking for a challenge, there's also a system in which two new leagues with specific rules appear every four months. The newest ones - Domination and Nemesis started on 23rd of October and will be taken down on the 23rd of February 2014.
A variety of powerful shrines appears all around the game's world, each is protected by hordes of monsters. After you defeat them and get to a shrine for a moment, you'll get a massive bonus for your character. When the league is over, all players will be moved to Standard league.
The hardest of currently available modes, it lets you confront legendary, incredibly powerful monsters. Not only they are quite rare (so you have to spend some time looking for them) but each of them has a random powerful upgrade. Disaster. When the league is over, you'll be moved to Hardcore and if you die, to Standard. No mercy.
Which one will you choose?In Path of Exile there's even (or only?) six character classes. You can also develop a hybrid character. There are three attributes - strength, dexterity and intelligence - that can be developed by our characters. Three of the classes have a single attribute that they improve while gaining experience. Hybrid characters have two attributes but they can't max out any of them. They'll never be as good in some skills as the pure characters. Choosing stats while leveling up will be described in the next subchapter.
My hammer and your head have to talk.Marauder is a natural born warrior. Embodiment of war, or even carnage. His main attribute is strength, which causes massive damage to the enemies, he's also very resistant to opponents' attacks. It makes him a killing machine that gladly smashes heads of his enemies. This character is recommended for beginners because of the "power" that you can feel in the beginning of the game. Heavy two-handed axes and clubs let him make his way through hordes of enemies.
Screw stereotypes!Ranger is an excellent archer who fights mainly with a... bow. This character fights from a distance and focuses mainly on long-distance weapons, however she doesn't mind daggers or even claws. Dexterity, makes her a character with incredible accuracy and agility which lets her avoid enemy hits. One arrow - one kill. Nothing more, nothing less.
I might look inconspicuously, but looks can be deceiving.Witch on first sight looks like a helpless little girl but she wields incredible power. She attacks mainly with magic - various spells often based on elements. In a close combat she can make use of wands and staffs. Her intelligence lets her increase her mana level and use energy shield more effectively. Wanna say something, my dear, before I burn a hole in your guts?
Don't I look like a musketeer?Duelist who looks like a typical musketeer with a rapier, is one of the hybrid characters, which means he focuses on two attributes at a time. In this case, our handsome young man has to oscillate between strength and dexterity. This lethal combination lets him use both fast and strong attacks and gives him a basic abilities in defence - stamina and ability to dodge attacks. Development of a hybrid character is up to the player because there's a lot of development paths here. Nothing stands in your way if you want to turn him into a heavy archer or a cutthroat with two swords. Just a matter of choice.
This reminded me of something for a moment...Shadow is a master assassin, a real professional who values mission's success above everything else. Recommended for players who like this dark vibe that assassins bring and their most characteristic weapon - two daggers. Many people prefer throwing weapons, it's a matter of your taste. All his power is based on dexterity which gives him mobility and intelligence that gives him critical damage and supporting (or destructive) spells. Decide! Speed matters. We'll see who'll have a knife on his throat first.
Old but still strong!Templar, as a religious warrior, combines ancient magic and strength of soldiers in a battle. You can say he's a battle wizard, whose main powers are strength mixed with intelligence. This character will not only strike someone with a lightning but also, if needed, he won't hesitate to hit someone with a hammer.
Ayes. It is little complicated.In Path of Exile there are two types of skills - passive and active (that require being used). First, let's have a look at the former category, which is directly linked with increasing the characters' attributes. The monstrous skill tree represents all passive skills in the game. They're shown as nodes of various types and sizes. There are three types of these nodes:
Small nodes that make playing a bit easier by slightly increasing our abilities, for example max health or axe damage.
Pathway nodes add 10 points to a specific attribute and serve as a pathway to desired passives.
Big nodes are an improved type of the first category that gives us major bonuses in either percentage or points (not only increasing the stats).
All nodes are connected to a certain attribute so when you choose the strengths of your character, you should unlock only the ones we need. This strategy ensures an effective development based on abilities. When you create your character, you should take a closer look at all the tree and decide which big nodes you want to unlock, then which of the small ones are connected to these skills and finally plan a development path through the pathway nodes. Big amounts of points invested in specific attributes let us use more powerful items and skill gems that are described in the next subchapter. Speaking of items, many passive skills are about using specific types of weapons. So if your inventory consists of bow and arrows, you should increase your accuracy and damage dealt with bow. A warrior specialized in melee combat - for example with clubs - should focus on stunning the enemies and critical hits.
When you pick the weapon you want to use, choose around 7 big nodes connected to it and affecting other useful character attributes. Obviously, initial choices are just a beginning of a long and very enjoyable character development. You can change it to match the current gameplay later on. You can either act spontaneously or plan everything. Beginners should unlock only the nearest nodes because going farther into the tree might cause a lot of problems.
The next step is to choose a path to selected nodes. It will often have more of the big ones that you didn't choose but can be useful. In this case it's up to you if you decide that, for example, defense against elements is useful or useless. You should however avoid skills that are completely useless for your character. The easiest way to get to the desired nodes is along the pathway ones but it has many disadvantages. Firstly, unlocking small nodes gives you more than the pathway ones. Secondly, if you only use pathway nodes, you may end up with a huge amount of points in attributes, which isn't very useful. Remember that you also improve stats with items in your inventory, so you should distribute your points wisely.
Each character can unlock only 120 nodes in the tree. What's important, you can't skip any nodes in favor of other. A connection must be kept. It's not easy considering the size of the tree and precision with which it was created, so beginners should see the chapter with example characters first.
I know many ways of decapitating you.Aside from passive skills that can't be simply used in a fight, there are also active skills that can. Active skill system is very original here so you should definitely see its description. Character skills (either physical or magical) are linked to the well-known attributes. All of skills in the world of Wraeclast are shown as colorful gems that can be found or obtained from NPCs (or bought from other players). To use their power, they need to be placed in special slots in items. Of course colors must be matching for everything to work. Every item (except amulets, rings etc.) has from one to six slots so you may possess many useful skills. For example, when you place strength gem with "Heavy Strike" attack in a proper slot in a sword, you'll be able to perform a powerful strike that throws the enemies back aside from basic attack. Gems (stones, gems, crystals, whatever) that haven't been used by other players are on the first experience level. When you use the weapon with it, it levels up and improves its abilities. In a word, it becomes more useful.
Owner of "Cleave" can slay hordes of enemies with a single swing.It's worth mentioning that a gem that had once been placed in an item may be removed at any time with no consequences. This way you may sell weaker equipment after you remove the gems and place them in new, more deadly weapons. Last but not least, the controls. By default, left mouse button is responsible for the basic attack while middle and right for skills that you use the most. The remaining 5 - QWERT are usually additional skills - spells, summoning etc. Of course assigning skills to keys is up to the player.
When the storyline progresses and you visit new, more challenging places, you'll be able to acquire many different items. More rare and powerful, of course. One of the categories you'll see later in the game are support gems. They're responsible for supporting the skill gems with many bonuses and skill modifiers, so the former ones are much more effective. As it was said before, you'll get new, more powerful items. At one point we'll start getting items in which gem slots will be linked. To upgrade a skill gem with a support gem, you have to place both in the item so that both slots are connected. It's the simplest possible solution. For example combining "Double Strike" with "Added Cold Damage" lets you perform two quick hits that additionally deal cold damage.
Combining work and pleasure.If there are more slots, you can obviously experiment with number of skill and support gems. You can get several bonuses for a single skill (support gems don't have to be directly connected to skill gem but any connection must be made) or the other way around - one support gem may modify all skill gems. Before you do anything, remember two important rules. First, combining two gems of the same category will not give you any results. Second, using support that has nothing to do with a particular skill will always result in a failure. For example "Discipline", that gives the character and allies an energy shield has nothing to do with "Minion life" that's responsible for increasing health of summoned units. The last thing - remember about matching colours.
Anything you wantIn this subchapter we'll describe two remaining categories of items in Path of Exile. The characters might obtain precious gems with a practical application and many types of equipment - defensive (helmets, armors etc.) and offensive. The items are additionally divided into four categories:
Normal simple items. There are lots of them everywhere and that's their only advantage. In the beginning of the game they're the only way to defend yourself from monsters but at one point they become completely useless. They are however useful as a base while creating better equipment. Their names are white.
Magic are stronger versions of normal items, they have one or two additional properties that increase their value. They are a bit more rare then normal ones but still easy to find. Usually you can find them marked as "unidentified" which means that you won't be able to use them until you use a proper scroll. Their names are blue.
Rare are very hard to find so owning them should feel like a success. They are the elements from which you should make your final equipment. They have numerous bonuses (usually from four to six) that can increase basic stats, damage, resistance to elements and much more. Names in yellow.
Unique - the most exceptional and desired items in Wraeclast. There are from a few to few dozens of unique items in every equipment category, their properties are not random. Currently there are 191 unique items and counting. There's a very small chance of finding any of them but it's not impossible. You can find them only in locations you're in (in corpses or various objects) regardless of your level, where you are or who you kill. That's why you should watch out for orange items.
You can also find something essential for every hack'n'slash - potions. Obviously there are health and mana potions (but not only them). The potions can be used many times, they keep refilling all the time (refill speed depends on many factors) so you don't have to fill up your inventory with potions to survive. Moreover, single use of a potion won't use all of it, just some part.
What? I'm just checking if it's genuine.The last type of items you'll see in the game are "Currency items" - items that are used as currency in Wraeclast. That means that merchants found in towns may only barter. Two questions arise. How are they priced and are they made only to be traded? The former one is very hard to answer. The authors are probably the only people who can do it. The latter needs a detailed answer because it's related to equipment modification. Modifying equipment and weapons is one of the most important things in the game. Currency items are divided into many types, their main task is to improve equipment so that the characters may survive in Wraeclast. The list goes as follows:
1. Improving items by percentage.
Every item (even a potion or a belt) can be improved by items from this category. It changes basic attributes of items (for example maximum weapon damage) but doesn't affect special bonuses. Maximum status is 20% and the added value depends on four categories of items. Normal items are improved by 5%, magic 2%, rare and unique 1%.
Armourer's Scrap
Improves clothes' quality
Blacksmith's Whetstone
Improves weapons' quality
Cartographer's Chisel
Improves maps' quality
Gemcutter's Prism
Improves gems' quality
Glassblower's Bauble
Improves potions' quality
2. Changing item attributes' values.
This type of modifiers is responsible for random changes of attribute values, both base and special bonuses. Items from the first group can't have their bonus attributes affected - simply because they don't have them.
Blessed Orb
Randomly changes levels of items' basic attributes
Divine Orb
Randomly changes levels of items' special attributes
3. Changing bonus properties.
Two items of this type are made to completely change bonus attributes of specific items. New attributes are random.
Chaos Orb
Random new attributes of rare items
Orb of Alteration
Random new attributes of magical items
4. Changing gem slots.
Modifiers of this category affect mainly slots in weapons, clothes and their elements.
Chromatic Orb
Randomly changes slots' colour
Jeweller's Orb
Randomly changes the number of slots in items
Orb of Fusing
Randomly changes links between slots in items
5. Adding special properties.
Currency items of this category are responsible for adding bonus attributes to magic and rare equipment. Single use adds only one attribute. Rare items may have up to six of them, magic ones only two.
Exalted Orb
Adds one attribute to a rare item if their number isn't higher than 6 afterwards.
Orb of Augmentation
Adds one attribute to a magic item if their number isn't higher than 2 afterwards.
6. Changing item category.
The last type of modifiers changes item category. It affects not only the colour of their name but mainly new, precious attributes.
Orb of Alchemy
Changes a normal item into a rare one
Orb of Chance
Randomly changes a normal item into a magical or rare one
Orb of Scouring
Deletes all properties of an item
Orb of Transmutation
Changes a normal item into a magical one
Regal Orb
Changes a magical item into a rare one
Currency items might be stored in the inventory as stacks. Thanks to it, for example, ten identification scrolls take only one square instead of ten. That way, your inventory may be filled with what you find after battles. Stash is the best place to store your garbage and items you don't use very often. There's one with four tabs in every town.
Stash works well as a landfill.Only four currency items can't be considered modifiers. Two of them are scrolls that you know from Diablo:
Portal Scroll
Creates a portal that lets you travel one time to a city and back to a place where it was created
Scroll of Wisdom
Allows you to identify items that normally aren't identifiable
Aside from them, there are also two rare items that may come in handy:
Mirror of Kalandra
Clones any item except unique ones
Orb of Regret
Adds "Refund Point" that lets you remove one node from the passive skill tree, then you're able to select a passive again
Who would not like to win you...Scion - is the seventh and the new character class, which can by unlocked by completing the main quest-line with one of the existing heroes. Initially, her skill points are equally divided between strength, agility, and intelligence, which makes her a really versatile character. This allows you to develop the cute blonde in any way you fancy.
To be honest, I'd rather meet you in some other circumstances.In Path of Exile you can unlock the seventh and the last character class - Scion. To do this, you need to complete the main quest-line (currently it consists of three acts) on normal difficulty level with at least one of the heroes available at the start. On the last floor of Sceptre of God, or Upper Sceptre of God, you can meet a fair-haired girl of noble family caged like an animal. After having a conversation with her, you can select Scion for a new game in character creation menu.
Marauder, being a character that relies on strength which gives him a health and physical damage bonus, considers punching in the face to be his main argument. This strategy works best for him so if you choose this character, you should focus on close combat with heavy weapons. In this build he'll use two-hand maces.
Gameplay is not very challenging or innovative. Attacking hordes of enemies directly seems like the best way to play. Choosing single enemies and running away is pointless - when you use right gems and distribute passives correctly, you won't have to worry about your power.
This build focuses mainly on developing abilities related to maces - damage, chance to stun enemies with them etc. Moreover, he'll unlock health and armor abilities. Choosing passives related only to strength, the marauder will become a tank (character that combines massive damage with quite a lot of resistance). The scheme shows the beginnings of character development - it defines initial passives (7) and shows the best path towards them.
A Marauder built according to this guide should get skill gems that are related to strength, and don't collide with a weapon that the character uses. That means that their description should specify if their skill works for a mace owner. The chart below shows several gems that are perfect for this type of character. Make collecting them all your highest priority.
Heavy Strike
The character deals lots of damage to an enemy and throws them backwards.
Leap Slam
The character leaps and deals physical damage while landing.
Sweep
The character turns 360 degrees and inflicts physical damage with their weapon while throwing the enemies backwards.
Vitality
The character activates an aura that regenerates their and their allies' health.
Heavy Strike is a perfect skill to use in boss fights. When you're close to dying, using it may turn the tide and finish the battle.
Leap Slam is not just a powerful attack that pushes the enemies back, but also a great way to escape a fight. When you're surrounded by enemies, using this skill will let you avoid fighting. There's also a less important, a bit humorous way of using it - you can move using leaps instead of walking.
A lethal 360 degree turn that harms and pushes back the enemies is called Sweep. It's mainly used for killing large groups of weak enemies. It lets you save some time.
Supporting Vitality aura is an excellent choice for fighting hordes of strong enemies that deal lots of damage. High regeneration may often save your life. It's also perfect for enemies that deal lasting damage.
Ranger is a character that develops dexterity that lets her increase accuracy and a chance to avoid attacks. Going towards archery is the most obvious choice here so we described it here.
The gameplay is based on long-distance fighting. Eliminating the distant enemies fast and precisely is the key to winning. Big groups of monsters might be a problem because they may surround you quickly. Sometimes the only way to avoid dying is to run away and kill enemies one by one. Luckily, there are skill gems that may give you a chance to win. You should only know which ones to choose.
With a character that uses archery, you should mainly focus on improving damage, accuracy and attack speed, also some supporting bonuses like moving speed and mana regeneration. Thanks to choosing passives related to dexterity (with some exceptions) the ranger will turn into a sharpshooter who will do a massive damage and shoot quite rapidly. The scheme shows the beginnings of character development - it defines initial passives (7) and shows the best path towards them.
Ranger should acquire dexterity skill gems that can work with a bow owner. The chart shows several gems that are perfect for this character. Make collecting them all your highest priority.
Explosive Arrow
The character shoots arrows that explode after reaching the target inflicting fire damage.
Phase Run
The character activates an aura that speeds them up for some time or until an performing an attack or spell.
Rain of Arrows
The character shoots many arrows in the air and they fall on a selected spot.
Split Arrow
The character shoots several arrows at once, hitting multiple targets.
Explosive Arrow is a perfect attack to destroy concentrated groups of enemies because it does area damage and puts nearby enemies on fire. With much resources it can work as a basic, not very effective shot.
Phase Run aura provides a temporary increase of movement speed. It's mainly used to escape fights, it might sometimes be necessary. Aside from that, it's convenient when you want to explore the map faster.
Rain of Arrows sends a rain of lethal, piercing arrows on your enemies. It's useful when you want to eliminate mages or archers surrounded by hordes of infantry.
Split Arrow is a perfect choice to use instead of a regular arrow attack. Thanks to this skill, the ranger can hurt several enemies at once, saving you some time. Shooting with this skill doesn't let anyone approach your character. Of course except bosses - their power is always a tough nut to crack.
Witch is a typical mage in this game, her high intelligence level positively affects mana resources and energy shield. Playing with this type of character is rather well known to everyone. She specializes in casting hundreds of deadly spells, often related to a preferred element. You can place your skill gems in various wands that can be used for close combat if needed.
The gameplay is mainly based on long-distance fighting. The destruction you bring with your spells lets you slay more and more enemies. You should remember about the fact that the witch is not a very resistant character so don't get overexcited about the power of magic. There's a downside - some enemies might be partially or completely resistant to the element you've chosen. There is, however, an alternative. You can choose to develop summoning skills but this build is focused on the character's power instead of summoning.
Witch, will develop spell damage, ice and attributes. Using wands is also important because they will put our skill gems to use. By choosing intelligence nodes, your character will quickly become a powerful mage whose skills related to ice will literally crush everything on her way. Huge amounts of mana will improve fighting because they let the witch cast spells without worrying about losing the blue energy. The scheme shows the beginnings of character development - it defines initial passives (7) and shows the best path towards them.
If you build the witch according to these instructions, you should provide her with skill gems that are related to intelligence, and don't collide with the character's weapon. The skill gem's description must specify that it will work for a wand owner. The chart below shows several skill gems that are perfect for this type of character. Make collecting them all your highest priority.
Clarity
The character activates an aura that speeds up his and his allies' mana regeneration.
Frost Wall
The character creates a wall of ice that separates the enemies from her and pushes them back while inflicting cold damage.
Ice Nova
The character creates a shockwave that inflicts cold damage.
Ice Spear
The character shoots a sharp piece of ice that pierces enemies nearby and explodes near one of the last targets.
Clarity aura works well in situations where you're being attacked by hordes of enemies or a powerful boss, when you have to cast lots of mana-absorbing spells. Such strategy usually makes you run out of mana - using this skill provides you with faster mana regeneration, thus its high level during battles.
Frost Wall is a purely defensive skill that creates a wall of ice which separates the character from enemies. You can use it during boss fights or battles against big groups of enemies.
Ice Nova is a shockwave that does ice damage, it's created around the character and goes to the outside. It's a perfect skill to use against big groups of enemies that may surround you. Aside from that, you may use it when you simply don't want to fight weak enemies.
Ice Spear is a sharp piece of ice that pierces through enemies and explodes while hitting one of the last targets. Its function is very common, it uses little mana and it's highly effective so it should be your primary attack.
Duelist is one of three hybrid characters that oscillates between strength and dexterity. The former affects his health and melee damage while the latter is responsible for accuracy and dodging enemy attacks. This combination makes it possible for him to become an agile warrior that uses two one-handed swords.
The gameplay is mainly based on close combat. Duelist developed in two attributes will be less tough than marauder but he'll attack much faster and dodge more effectively. Playing with this character will be more reserved and cautious while facing groups of enemies. Thanks to a combination of attack speed and right skill gems, your character will be able to slay more and more enemies.
In this build, duelist will go towards a balanced development based equally on both attributes. Passives should be related to melee physical damage, especially with swords and dual wielding. You should also focus on health level and its regeneration, dodges and, a bit less, armor. When you choose passives related to both strength and dexterity, your duelist will finally become a typical thug whose agility will let him survive many different situations. The scheme shows the beginnings of character development - it defines initial passives (7) and shows the best path towards them.
Duelist built accordingly to this guide should acquire skill gems that are related with strength and dexterity, they also can't collide with weapon used by the character. This means that their description should specify that they will work for an owner of one-handed swords. Compatibility with dual wielding is a nice addition but it's not crucial. The table below shows a few gems perfect for this character. You should make collecting them your highest priority.
Cleave
The character takes a 180 degree swing with his weapon
Dual Strike
The character strikes with two weapons at a time
Flicker Strike
The character teleports to a selected enemy and attacks them.
Viper Strike
The character performs an attack that poisons enemies.
Cleave is a skill related to strength that's useful when you want to quickly get rid of a group of enemies. Using it hits all enemies within its range. That means nobody will avoid getting hurt within 180 degrees.
Dual Strike is a very useful skill that uses both weapons that you're holding. You can get rid of single enemies and, what's more important, difficult bosses, because it does great damage to a specific target.
Flicker Strike will give you an excellent and simple way of escaping. It makes the character teleport to a selected enemy and hit them with increased damage. Thanks to it, you'll be able to escape when you're surrounded or use it to quickly get to enemies that fight from a distance.
Viper Strike can replace your basic attack, as long as you have enough mana or right potions. When the enemy gets hit with it will be poisoned which will save you some time to kill them. It's a good idea to begin boss fights with this attack.
Templar is another of the hybrid characters, he's based on strength and intelligence. The former one is related to his health and melee damage, while the latter is related to mana level and energy shield. This combination of attributes will make your character turn into a battle mage experienced in both casting spells and fighting. He will use two-handed staffs.
The gameplay is based on both physical and magical power. He'll have less magical power than the Witch and he'll be less tough than the Marauder but he'll have massive elemental bonuses. His staff will serve as a two-handed melee weapon while spells will work as a long-distance weapon.
In this build, the templar will develop both attributes, however intelligence will get a bit more attention. The passive skills you'll unlock will be related mainly to elements, specifically their efficiency with spells and weapons. In further development you should choose nodes related to lightnings (skills in this build are based on this element). This guide doesn't contain any of these passives because of their distance from the start. You should also focus on damage, area of effect and mana regeneration. Nodes linked with strength should be related to two-handed weapons and health level.
A Templar built accordingly to this guide should acquire skill gems that are related to strength and intelligence, they also mustn't collide with the character's weapon. This means that their description must specify that they will work with a two-handed staff. The table below shows several gems perfect for this character. You should make collecting them your highest priority.
Lightning Strike
The character performs a basic attack which additionally creates projectiles that inflict lightning damage.
Lightning Warp
After a brief moment, the character teleports to a selected spot where he does lightning damage.
Shock Nova
The character creates a shockwave that hurts enemies with lightning.
Wrath
The character activates an aura that increases lightning damage done by him and his allies.
Lightning Strike is an excellent form of attack for the Templar. This skill makes the character perform the basic attack that also releases lightnings. They deal damage to enemies the character is facing and they're a useful addition to basic melee attack. It uses little mana and it's effective so you should make it your basic attack.
Lightning Warp is a spell that lets you move quickly to a selected place (within a limited range), therefore escape the enemies. It also releases lightning shockwaves in the places you are before and after casting this spell. It won't work as a way to move faster because walking somewhere takes less time than this type of teleportation.
Shock Nova is a powerful area skill that creates a lightning shockwave It's a good way of dealing with many enemies around your character You can also use it if you don't want to fight weaker enemies. You just have to press the correct button and the lightning attack will clear your way.
The last skill, or rather aura, is called Wrath. It adds lightning damage to all of your character's attacks. If it's combined with spells listed above, it provides a concentrated power of the element which literally strikes the enemies.
Shadow is the last hybrid character in Path of Exile. He oscillates between dexterity and intelligence, that means he has high accuracy and ability to dodge attacks, also high level of mana and energy shield. Thanks to these abilities and right development, he'll eventually become an assassin that uses two daggers and cast spells incredibly quickly.
The gameplay is based mainly on fighting with two daggers at once. If you unlock passives that are also related to magic and, what's more important, lightnings, he'll be able to use many useful spells. Fighting with Shadow is based on approaching enemies many times since you can't go fully offensive - you don't have enough health and armor. The skill gems in this build are great against big groups of enemies.
Although this build focuses mostly on dexterity, intelligence is important too. Passives you unlock are mainly related to damage dealt with one-handed weapons, especially with two of them. You'll also need to improve critical hits and damage from elements. Obviously you need to focus on lightning because skill gems in this build are related to it. Moreover, you'll have to spend some points on spell casting rate to make your character shoot his spells like a machine gun.
A Shadow built accordingly to this guide should acquire skill gems that are related to dexterity and intelligence, they also mustn't collide with the character's weapon. This means that their description must specify that they will work with two daggers. The chart below shows several gems perfect for this character. Make collecting them your highest priority.
Arc
The character releases an electric arc that does damage to a selected enemy, then moves to other targets.
Ethereal Knives
The character throws knives that harm the enemies.
Whirling Blades
The character creates a whirl that harms enemies.
Wrath
The character activates an aura that does thunder damage to his and his allies' attacks.
Arc is a great offensive attack that deals damage to a large group of enemies. Lightning reaches a selected enemy, moves on to another one and so on. By spending points on lightning, you can make this skill incredibly lethal and spectacular.
Ethereal Knives is an attack that makes your character throw many sharp knives that deal damage to the nearest enemies. It's good for eliminating hordes of weaker enemies or getting through infantry to reach archers and mages.
Whirling Blades skill is mainly a very effective way of escaping. It makes your character leap forward and transform into a lethal, greenish whirl. All enemies in his way will get damage from currently wielded weapon. You can't get hurt during this move.
The last skill, or rather an aura is called Wrath, it adds lightning damage to all attacks performed by your character. It can be combined with Arc and basic attacks. It's so useful that it's also in Templar's build.
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