3.30 / COVENS OF UMBRA
Path of Exile 1
3.30 builds
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Witch Occultist
Essence Drain / Contagion Occultist
Build overview
Spread Essence Drain through packs with Contagion. The guide uses a wand and Spellslinger for early progression, then switches to self-cast.
The early wand and shield setup can start on found gear. Treat the late Chaos Inoculation and staff loadouts as gear checkpoints.
Gear and skill requirements
- Rare wand and shieldRecommendedLook for chaos gem levels and damage over time multiplier while leveling.
- Cane of UnravellingUpgradeA strong early staff option once your cast speed and area feel ready for self-cast.
- Blight of ContagionUpgradeThe late setup uses this transfigured gem alongside Essence Drain.
Stat requirements and priorities
- Gem attributes at level 2068 Dex · 98 IntUsable at character level 12 with 14 Dex and 21 Int.
- Chaos damage over time multiplierOffensive priorityScale both Essence Drain and Blight with the same gear investment.
- Cast speed and area of effectCheck before self-castingThe guide calls these the major comfort checks when dropping Spellslinger.
- Energy shieldGear before CIBuild enough energy shield to replace your life pool before taking Chaos Inoculation.
Sources
Campaign walkthrough · Acts 1–10
Campaign walkthrough
Checks are saved in this browser. Look for links for your main skill. Any socket fits any gem. Matching colours add 10% quality.
Act 1 Merveil
Gems, gear & play
- Take Kinetic Bolt after Hillock. Buy Holy Flame Totem and Flame Wall after Breaking Some Eggs. Link Combustion to the totem after The Caged Brute.
- Check Nessa for Prismatic Burst and link it to Kinetic Bolt with Elemental Proliferation from Mercy Mission. Added Lightning Damage from The Caged Brute also works.
- Get Contagion after Breaking Some Eggs. At the Cavern of Wrath, take Essence Drain and buy Kinetic Fusillade from Nessa. Level Essence Drain and Contagion in spare sockets.
Quests & route
- Kill Hillock for Enemy at the Gate. Take the Coast waypoint. For Mercy Mission, trade Nessa Tidal Island’s Medicine Chest for a Quicksilver Flask.
- For Breaking Some Eggs, put three Mud Flats nest glyphs in the Glyph Wall. Enter the Submerged Passage. Kill The Dweller of the Deep in the Flooded Depths. Claim Tarkleigh’s skill point.
- Cross the Ledge and the Climb. Do the Lower Prison trial on the way to Brutus for The Caged Brute.
- For The Marooned Mariner, bring Fairgraves the Allflame from the Ship Graveyard Cave. Kill him and claim Bestel’s skill point. Enter the Cavern of Wrath to unlock The Siren’s Cadence gems. Cross the Cavern of Anger and fight Merveil with cold resistance.
Act 2 Vaal Oversoul
Gems, gear & play
- Link Kinetic Fusillade to Volley from Nessa after Mercy Mission and Added Lightning Damage. Fire in short bursts, then pause to release the projectiles.
- Take Cold Snap after Intruders in Black and Controlled Destruction after Sharp and Cruel. Look for chaos gem levels or chaos damage over time on a wand.
Quests & route
- From the Crossroads, do the Chamber of Sins Level 2 trial. Rescue Helena and take Fidelitas’s Baleful Gem for Intruders in Black.
- Find Kraityn at the Broken Bridge. Cross Fellshrine Ruins for the Crypt trial. For Through Sacred Ground, bring Yeena the Golden Hand from Crypt Level 2 for a skill point.
- From the Riverways, find Alira and Arteri in the Western Forest. Open the road with Arteri’s emblem for The Way Forward. Claim Bestel’s point in Act 1. Kill the Weaver for Maligaro’s Spike in Sharp and Cruel.
- Find Oak in the Wetlands for Deal with the Bandits. Use your build’s choice if listed. Alira grants +15% elemental resistances. Eramir grants one passive point for killing all three. Collect the amulets and claim the Apex.
- Use the Baleful Gem and Maligaro’s Spike at the Vaal Ruins for The Root of the Problem. Cross the Northern Forest and the Caverns. Use the Apex atop the Ancient Pyramid to summon the Vaal Oversoul for Shadow of the Vaal.
Act 3 Dominus
Gems, gear & play
- Take Spellslinger and buy Despair after Lost in Love. Get Soulrend after Sever the Right Hand and buy Frenzy from Siosa after A Fixture of Fate.
- Around level 28, link Spellslinger to Contagion and Essence Drain. Activate its reservation, then attack with Frenzy. Add Controlled Destruction when mana allows.
- Take Vile Bastion in Normal Lab and the wand mastery for Spellslinger reservation. If mana is still tight, self-cast Essence Drain and Contagion.
Quests & route
- Rescue Clarissa in the City of Sarn. Do the Crematorium trial and defeat Piety. For Lost in Love, trade Tolman’s Bracelet to Clarissa for the Sewer Keys.
- Find three Sewer busts for Victario’s Secrets. Claim Hargan’s skill point. Do the Catacombs trial off the Marketplace.
- Get The Ribbon Spool in the Battlefront and Thaumetic Sulphite in the Docks for Fiery Dust. Bring both to Dialla in Solaris Temple Level 2. Use the Infernal Talc to clear the Sewers.
- Kill Gravicius in the Ebony Barracks for Sever the Right Hand and level 28 gems. Kill Piety in Lunaris Temple Level 2 for Piety’s Pets. Take the Tower Key and claim Grigor’s point.
- Do the Imperial Gardens trial. For A Fixture of Fate, bring Siosa four Archives pages in the Library. Carry currency for off-class gems. Run Normal Lab when ready. Use the Tower Key to climb The Sceptre of God and kill Dominus.
Act 4 Malachai
Gems, gear & play
- Add a second Spellslinger with Cold Snap and Soulrend if enough mana remains to attack. Cast Despair manually.
Quests & route
- Kill Voll in the Dried Lake. Use Deshret’s Banner to open the Mines for Breaking the Seal. Free Deshret in Mines Level 2 for An Indomitable Spirit. Claim Tasuni’s skill point.
- From the Crystal Veins, beat Kaom and Daresso. Bring their eyes to Dialla and check Petarus and Vanja for support gems.
- Cross the Belly of the Beast. Take the three Harvest guardians’ organs to Piety for Corpus Malachus. Kill Malachai in the Black Core. Claim Dialla’s support for The Eternal Nightmare.
Act 5 Kitava
Gems, gear & play
- Keep Essence Drain and Despair on Kitava while moving. Reapply both to the exposed heart.
Quests & route
- Take the Ascent to the Slave Pens. Kill Krow for Return to Oriath. Bring Vilenta the Control Blocks Miasmeter for the In Service to Science skill point.
- Cross Oriath Square and the Templar Courts. Defeat Innocence for Death to Purity. From the Ruined Square, get the Sign of Purity in the Ossuary. Find three Reliquary relics for Kitava’s Torments and claim Lani’s skill point.
- Check life flasks and save resistance gear. Fight Kitava on the Cathedral Rooftop for The Ravenous God. All resistances drop by 30 points permanently.
Act 6 The Brine King
Gems, gear & play
- Buy missing gems from Lilly after Fallen from Grace. Link Wither and Spell Totem for bosses if you have spare sockets and mana.
Quests & route
- Clear the Twilight Strand and talk to Lilly Roth for Fallen from Grace. She now sells regular gems to all classes. Use rings or bench crafts to restore elemental resistances toward 75%.
- Kill Tukohama in the Karui Fortress for The Father of War. Do the Lower Prison Cruel Lab trial. Defeat Brutus and Shavronne in the tower.
- Kill Abberath off the Prisoner’s Gate for The Cloven One. Kill Ryslatha in the Wetlands for The Puppet Mistress. Claim all three skill points in town.
- Take the Black Flag from the Cavern of Anger. Escort and ignite the Beacon fuel carts. Signal Weylam and sail for The Brine King. Stay inside the storm boundary and dodge lightning.
Act 7 Arakaali
Gems, gear & play
- Look for life and Energy Shield on armour and shield. Take Eldritch Battery when you have enough Energy Shield and recovery to pay skill costs.
Quests & route
- From the Crossroads, cross Fellshrine Ruins. Get Maligaro’s Map and do the Crypt trial. Open the map in Chamber of Sins Level 1 and kill Maligaro for Essence of the Artist. Trade the Black Venom to Silk for the Obsidian Key in Web of Secrets.
- Finish the Chamber of Sins Level 2 trial. Run Cruel Lab when ready. Kill Greust for The Master of a Million Faces. In the Dread Thicket, kill Gruthkul for Queen of Despair and collect seven Fireflies for Lighting the Way.
- Take Kishara’s Star near the end of the Causeway. Claim all three skill points. Give Yeena the Fireflies in the Vaal City. Descend through the Temple of Decay and kill Arakaali for The Mother of Spiders. Dodge her beam and purple ground.
Act 8 Solaris and Lunaris
Gems, gear & play
- Keep a movement skill for the temples. Drop Cold Snap and Soulrend first if the two Spellslinger setups leave you short on mana.
Quests & route
- Clear Doedre’s Cesspool for Essence of the Hag. Find the Ankh and defeat Tolman in the Quay for Love is Dead. Kill The Gemling Legion in the Grain Gate. Claim both skill points in town.
- Cross the Imperial Fields and kill Dawn in Solaris Temple for the Sun Orb in Solar Eclipse. On the other route, cross the Grand Promenade and do the Bath House trial. Kill Yugul in the High Gardens for the Reflection of Terror skill point.
- Kill Dusk in Lunaris Temple for the Moon Orb in Lunar Eclipse. Use both orbs on the Harbour Bridge. Keep moving when the inactive boss attacks.
Act 9 The Depraved Trinity
Gems, gear & play
- Use your best chaos gem-level or damage over time wand. Trigger Essence Drain on the Depraved Trinity and move while it ticks.
Quests & route
- Cross the Blood Aqueduct to Highgate. Get The Storm Blade in the Vastiri Desert. Inspect the Oasis sandstorm. Speak to Sin, then open the Oasis with Petarus and Vanja’s Bottled Storm. Kill Shakari for Queen of the Sands. Claim Irasha’s point.
- Take Basilisk Acid from the Boiling Lake. Do the Tunnel Merciless trial. From the Quarry, take Trarthan Powder in the Refinery. Kill Garukhan at the Shrine of the Winds for The Ruler of Highgate. Hand in her feather for a skill point.
- For Recurring Nightmare, give the acid and powder to Sin at the Quarry waypoint. Enter the Belly of the Beast. Kill all three Rotting Core guardians. Speak to Sin there to summon the Depraved Trinity.
Act 10 Final Kitava
Gems, gear & play
- Refresh Despair and Essence Drain in each Kitava phase. Keep the life/ES setup until the staff swap is ready.
Quests & route
- Rescue Bannon in the Cathedral Apex for Safe Passage. From the Ravaged Square, kill Vilenta in the Control Blocks for Vilenta’s Vengeance. Claim Lani’s point. Do the Ossuary trial. Run Merciless Lab before Kitava if ready.
- For Death and Rebirth, kill Avarius in the Desecrated Chambers. Bring the Staff of Purity to Bannon. Speak to Innocence in town, then meet him in the Ravaged Square to open the Canals.
- Kill Kitava in the Feeding Trough for An End to Hunger. Dodge fire and slams. Attack the exposed heart. Follow Lilly to the Karui Shores. Claim two skill points from Lani. Use /passives in chat to find missed quests. All resistances drop another 30 points. Check them before mapping.
Ready for maps
Clear with wand and shield, using Spellslinger or self-cast Essence Drain and Contagion. Move to a staff once cast speed and area feel good. Save Chaos Inoculation for gear with enough Energy Shield and recovery.