From level 1 to the Atlas
The game ships 4 Acts + 3 Interludes(Act 4 arrived in 0.3, the Interludes replaced what was called “Cruel” in Early Access). About 15-25 hours on a first run, 6-10 on a re-run with a build. Atlas unlocks at the end.
The big picture
The campaign is a tutorial. The Atlas is the game. You won't get rich during the campaign, and you don't need 75% all resistances yet. Aim 30-40% per element through the campaign, cap when you hit maps.
Three constants matter more than any specific zone:
- Get every skill point quest. 24 free passive points are at stake (cheatsheet below).
- Do both Ascendancy Trials before the end of the campaign. 8 of your build's power lives there.
- Visit the Caster Vendor and Salvage Bench at every hub. Free resistance and cheap upgrades.
Permanent rewards cheatsheet
Every permanent stat / passive point / choice quest across the 4 Acts + 3 Interludes. Cards are color-coded by act. ◆ = swappable choice, “Lich pick” flags my recommendation for a Witch Lich ED Contagion / Plants Abyssal Lich build.
- 1.Clearfell·Beira of the Rotten Pack (boss)+10% Cold Resistance
- 2.Hunting Grounds·Crowbell (boss)+2 Passive Skill Points
- 3.Freythorn·The King in the Mist (ritual)+30 SpiritSummon then kill via Ritual encounters
- 4.Ogham Farmlands·Una (quest)+2 Passive Skill PointsRetrieve Una's Lute
- 5.Ogham Manor·Candlemass, the Living Rite+20 Maximum LifeClick Psalm of Madness to wake the boss
- 1.Keth·Kabala, Constrictor Queen+2 Passive Skill Points
- 2.Valley of the Titans·Altar (deliver both relics)+1 Charm Slot + choice
- ◆30% increased Charm Charges gained
- ◆30% increased Charm Effect Duration
- 3.Deshar·Shambrin (Final Letter)+2 Passive Skill Points
- 4.The Spires of Deshar·Sisters of Garukhan Shrine+10% Lightning ResistanceClick the shrine
- 1.Jungle Ruins·Mighty Silverfist+2 Passive Skill PointsDodge sideways from his slam, never backwards
- 2.The Azak Bog·Ignagduk, the Bog Witch+30 Spirit
- 3.The Venom Crypts·Servi (Venom Vial)1 of 3 stats
- ◆+25% Stun Threshold
- ◆+30% Elemental Ailment Threshold
- ◆+25% Mana Regeneration Rate (Lich pick)
- 4.Jiquani's Machinarium·Blackjaw, the Remnant+10% Fire ResistanceDeliver Small Soul Core to the altar first
- 5.Aggorat·Sacrificial Heart at the altar+2 Weapon Set Passive Skill PointsHeart drops from Vaal Goliaths in Utzaal / Aggorat; stab it with the Sacrificial Dagger at the Blood Sacrifice altar
- 1.Journey's End·Omniphobia, Fear Manifest+2 Passive Skill PointsDark Mists quest line
- 2.Eye of Hinekora·Silent Hall shrine+5% Maximum Mana
- 3.Halls of the Dead: Tawhoa's Test·3 ancestral trials (one bonus each)Choose Dex or Lightning
- ◆+5 Dexterity
- ◆+5% Lightning Resistance
- 4.Halls of the Dead: Tasalio's Test·.Choose Int or Cold
- ◆+5 Intelligence (Lich pick)
- ◆+5% Cold Resistance
- 5.Halls of the Dead: Ngamahu's Test·.Choose Str or Fire
- ◆+5 Strength
- ◆+5% Fire Resistance
- 6.Trial of the Ancestors·Yama the White / Hinekora+2 Passive Skill Points
- 7.Abandoned Prison·Goddess of JusticeFlask recovery choice (swappable)
- ◆+30% Mana recovery from flasks (Lich pick)
- ◆+30% Life recovery from flasks
- 1.Wolvenhold·Oswin, the Dread Warden+2 Passive Skill Points
- 1.Clearing the Way·Risu: after Akthi & Anundr+2 Passive Skill Points
- 2.The Khari Crossing: Skullmaw Stairway·Molten One's Gift (Molten Shrine)+5% increased Maximum Life
- 3.Qimah: The Seven Pillars·Choose 1 (swappable any time)1 of 7 boons
- ◆+5 to all Attributes
- ◆+5% to all Elemental Resistances
- ◆12% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
- ◆3% increased Movement Speed
- ◆20% increased Presence Area of Effect (Lich pick for Blasphemy)
- ◆15% increased Global Defences
- ◆5% increased Experience Gain (carries a -5% to all Attributes debuff)
- 1.Kriar Village·Lythara, the Wayward Spear+40 SpiritHardest fight of the 3 Interludes ; do this last
- 2.Kriar Peaks·Elder MadoxFree unique item (1 choice)
- 3.Howling Caves·The Abominable Yeti+2 Passive Skill Points
- 4.Kingsmarch: Siege of Oriath·The Hooded One+2 Passive Skill PointsFinal quest of the campaign, unlocks the Atlas talk
Act-by-act pace
The tutorial. Forgiving combat. Pick up every uncut Skill Gem AND every uncut Spirit Gem you see. Drop your first skill in the Skills panel (S). Engage the Salvage Bench in town to break a useless rare into Armourer's Scraps. First boss at the end. No resistance pressure yet.
Resistances start mattering. Slot res rings, the Caster Vendor sells them cheap on level up. The Trial of the Sekhemas entrance opens here: kill monsters to drop a Djinn Barya, take it to the Trial Hall, complete the 3 floors to get your first 2 Ascendancy points and lock in your sub-class. See the Trials section below.
Difficulty spikes. Chaos damage shows up: cap chaos resistance to 30%+. Mobs hit hard, dodge tells matter. The Trial of Chaos entrance opens here. Drop Inscribed Ultimatums and run a 10-round roguelike arena for your second pair of Ascendancy points.
Added in patch 0.3. Hub town is Kingsmarch. Ange hosts the Currency Exchange(don't skip, you can convert your trash currency to what you actually need). Final stop is the Vaal Ziggurat where you meet Doryani. He unlocks the Map Device = the Atlas.
Interludes 1 to 3: pacing
After Act 4, three Interludes recap the campaign at higher difficulty. They replaced what was called “Cruel” in Early Access. Same zones, harder mobs, more loot.
Order matters : zone levels scale with bosses killed in the other two Interludes. Do Ogham → Vastiri → Doryani's Contingency. Vastiri's +5% Life bank carries into the harder Doryani fights, and the +40 Spirit from Lythara (last boss of Interlude 3) lands right before mapping when Lich needs the Spirit budget for Convalescence + Withering Presence + Ravenous Swarm.
During the Interludes, your damage feels weak until you find a weapon upgrade. Cadence : rotate weapons every 5-10 levels in early Interludes, then every 15-20 in later ones. Use the Salvage Bench to refund Quality and recover Armourer's Scraps from old gear.
End of Interlude 3 = back to Doryani in the Vaal Ziggurat. That's the Atlas unlock conversation. You should be around level 65. Full reward list in the cheatsheet above.
Trial of the Sekhemas (Act 2 entrance)
A roguelike with an Honor system. Honor is your shared health pool for the run, equal to your combined Life + Energy Shield. Take damage = lose Honor. Hit zero = run failed, no points.
- Evasion mitigates Honor loss via chance to take zero. Armour partially absorbs it.
- Pure CI / low-life builds have it rough: your Honor pool is tiny without Life.
- Boons (positive) and Afflictions (negative) offered between rooms. Read carefully. Some Afflictions are runs-enders.
- Relics are persistent items you can equip at the Hall before each run. They give boons, drop bonuses, or skip mechanics.
The endgame version is Zarokh, the Temporal at area level 75+ (Floor 4 boss). Drops Temporalis. See the Atlas pinnacle section.
Trial of Chaos (Act 3 entrance)
A 10-round Ultimatum-style escalation. Each round is a circular arena with one or more modifiers you pick from an offer of three. Modifiers stack. Round 10 is a boss fight.
- No Honor: this trial uses regular Life / ES. Caster builds prefer this over Sekhemas.
- The boss at round 10 is one of three mini-bosses (Uxmal, Bahlak, Chetza) and drops a Fate Fragment (Cowardly / Deadly / Victorious).
- 3 different Fragments unlock the endgame Trialmaster fight.
Skill point quests (don't skip)
Each Act has 1-3 side objectives that hand out passive points or attribute / resistance bonuses. The quests are not highlighted as “side”: they look like main objectives. Common patterns:
- Hidden zones with an optional boss. 1-2 passive points each.
- Help an NPC quest. Usually +20-40 to one attribute or +10% to one resistance.
- Killer Of-style achievements. Hunting down all named bosses in an Act gives a free reward.
A complete checklist is build-guide territory. Maxroll and Mobalytics maintain per-act passive-point sheets that get updated every patch. Maxroll PoE 2 · Mobalytics.
On a first run, expect to miss 3-5 points. That is fine. On rerolls, follow a checklist and pick up everything.
Gear upgrade rhythm
You don't need to chase perfect items during the campaign. The pattern that works:
- Weapon every 5 levels (more in Interludes 1-2). Damage scales with the base ilvl.
- Body armour every 10 levels. Rare with life + resistances.
- Rings, amulet, belt as you find them. Trade or rare-craft when you stall.
- Boots = Movement Speed. 30% MS basic, 35% comfortable. Below 25% you feel slow.
- Gloves and helmet last. Cheap to upgrade in early maps.
Read the anatomy in How to read an item before your first rare upgrade.