PoE 2 Act 3 Walkthrough — Sandswept Marsh to Ziggurat (Patch 0.5)

Permanent Rewards

+4 Weapon Set Skill Points

+10% Fire Resistance

+30 Spirit

Reforging Bench (1st char)

⚡ Second Ascendancy

⚠ Permanent Servi choice

Routing Notes

◆ Servi's choice is permanent — most builds pick Stun Threshold (logout cures bleeds/freeze)
◆ Field vendors give guaranteed rares — Jungle (gloves), Infested (boots), Chimeral Ravaged Camp (armour)
◆ Servi's Son in Jungle = guaranteed rare belt
◆ Trial of Chaos: soul core dodge-skip — duplicates the core into all sockets
◆ Sacrificial Heart drops from Vaal Goliaths (canister on shoulder) in Utzaal & Aggorat
◆ 0.5: monster density is reduced in the back half of the campaign — XP pacing is tighter, lean on the margin-of-safety rule (3 levels under area)

⚡ Speedrun Tips (Community)

◆ Don't study layouts. GGG (Sunna, level designer) said publicly: too much is reworked in 0.5 to make layout study worth it. Push forward — even when unsure of direction.
◆ Use a regex in vendor search bars to highlight wanted bases. Cuts town shopping from minutes to seconds.
◆ Menu hotkeys: hold Ctrl on the passive tree to auto-confirm points. Bind Quick Assign (no default key) for attribute nodes. Ctrl+Shift+L/R-click on hotbar = weapon-swap assign.
◆ Magic packs only while pushing — ignore white werewolf packs etc. unless underleveled. Pre-mapping XP is mostly about magic-monster efficiency.

0.5 RoutingThe body now follows the live 0.5 order — Jungle Ruins → Venom Crypts → Infested Barrens → Chimeral Wetlands (matching the sidebar). Transitions are still being finalised in 0.5: for the moment you reach the Infested Barrens from the Jungle Ruins, and the Azak Bog is now reached later via the Matlan Waterways rather than from the Infested Barrens. Treat the exact transitions as provisional.

Sandswept Marsh Lvl 30

Talk to The Hooded One

(Opt) Kill Rootdredge Skill Gem Lv9

(Opt) Basket at Orok Campsite Lesser Jeweller's Orb

(Opt) Hanging tree corpse Magic Ring Skill Gem Lv9

Enter Ziggurat Encampment

Ziggurat Encampment TOWN

Talk Alva, Oswald, The Hooded One

Lvl 30 flask upgrade from the town vendor (Servi) — increased recovery + charges

Enter Jungle Ruins (top exit)

Jungle Ruins WAYPOINT Lvl 30–31

0.5 PathingThe jungle's explorer camps are no longer just vendors. Talk to the explorers — they point you toward the next area, and the destination is now revealed on your minimap. Cuts a lot of wandering out of the act.

0.5 LeagueRunes of Aldur: Farrow (first met back in Act 1) now appears at the start of the Jungle Ruins — and at the start of any zone holding a Runestone. Act 3 has three Runestones: Jungle Ruins, Venom Crypts and the Azak Bog. Collect all three, then return to the Infested Barrens and enter the Mystic Refuge (the locked jungle vault) — clear it and talk to Farrow at the end to unlock Unique Verisium Runeforging at the Verisium Anvil. On Uniques level 55 and below, weapons gain increased base damage + defence and armour gains Runic Ward with no trade-off (level 56+ take the standard base-stat trade-off); best value is on Kalguuran uniques.

Runeforging ladderOne tier unlocks per act: Act 1 Armour Runeforging → Act 2 Runic Inscriptions → Act 3 Unique Runeforging → Act 4 Ancient Runes.

Talk to Farrow at the start → Runes of Aldur / Runeseeker Unlocks Unique Verisium Runeforging

0.5 Fate of the VaalA Vaal Beacon appears in the jungle — your first Fate-of-the-Vaal encounter (a red-stone ring that empowers the pack around it; that dense corrupted pack is the "warning"). Clear the pack to light a crystal — this is beacon 1 of 6. Six beacons across Act 3 open a portal to the Vaal Ruins. See the endgame guide →

Kill Mighty Silverfist +2 Skill Points

Dodge slam SIDEWAYS (not backwards) — wave travels in attack direction

Jungle Grave (ravaged corpse) → Servi gives Rare Belt (choice)

(Opt) Troubled Camp (Gwendolyn Albright) Guaranteed Rare Gloves

(Opt) Activate the Jungle Ruins Runestone (Runes of Aldur)

Find WP near Venom Crypts → Enter The Venom Crypts

The Venom Crypts ⚠ Area Lvl 35

0.5 Fate of the VaalAnother Vaal Beacon spawns here (2 of 6) — clear its pack to light another crystal toward the six needed for the Vaal Ruins.

(Opt) Sarcophagus event Guaranteed Lv3 Support

Find corpse → loot Orok Poison → head to the safe zone A Reprieve

(Opt) Activate the Venom Crypts Runestone (Runes of Aldur)

TP back to town

Ziggurat Encampment

Hand Orok Poison to Servi PERMANENT CHOICE Artificer's Orb

PERMANENT — cannot change later!
• +25% Stun Threshold (popular — logout cures bleeds/freeze)
• +30% Elemental Ailment Threshold (good if tree lacks it)
• +25% Mana Regeneration (rarely picked)

Head to the Infested Barrens (via the Jungle Ruins for now)

Infested Barrens WAYPOINT Lvl 31–32

0.5 RoutingProvisional: for the moment you reach the Infested Barrens from the Jungle Ruins. The exact 0.5 transition is still being confirmed against the live build.

0.5 Fate of the VaalA Vaal Beacon spawns here (3 of 6) — clear its pack toward the six needed for the Vaal Ruins.

Find/talk Alva, take WP near her

(Opt) Troubled Camp (Sebastian Carroway) Guaranteed Rare Boots

Enter Chimeral Wetlands

Chimeral Wetlands WAYPOINT Lvl 32–33

0.5 Fate of the VaalA Vaal Beacon spawns here (4 of 6) — clear its pack toward the six needed for the Vaal Ruins.

(Opt) Ravaged Camp → Lost Temple Logbook (reveals the Temple of Chaos) + gold chest Guaranteed Rare Armour

(Opt) Toxic Bloom point of interest (Noxious Behemoth) Magic Amulet

(Opt) League mech Skill Gem Lv9

Enter Temple of Chaos → take WP → return 2nd Ascendancy

Kill Xyclucian, the Chimera → loot Inscribed Ultimatum

Enter Jiquani's Machinarium behind boss

2nd Ascendancy (when ready)

Trial of Chaos Lvl 33+

Use Inscribed Ultimatum at trial entrance

Pick favorable mods (avoid lightning runes if low Lightning Res)

Soul Core skip: dodge roll between slam & twist of placement animation — duplicates core into all sockets

Complete trial → 2nd Ascendancy

Jiquani's Machinarium Lvl 33

Layout = squared U-shape, generators at opposite tips

Summon/talk Alva

Loot Small Soul Core → use on Stone Altar next to Alva

Loot the remaining Small Soul Cores (4 total) — 1 opens Jiquani's Sanctum, 2 for the optional Blackjaw door or a secret loot room

Open the Blackjaw door → kill Blackjaw, the Remnant → use Flame Core +10% Fire Res

Open another door → enter Jiquani's Sanctum

Jiquani's Sanctum Lvl 33–34

Summon/talk Alva

Loot 2 Medium Soul Cores, place in Generators

Back to start → click Large Soul Core → kill Zicoatl, Warden of the Core → loot core

0.5 Fate of the VaalA Vaal Beacon spawns in the Sanctum (5 of 6) — clear its pack toward the six needed for the Vaal Ruins.

Paquate's Mechanism (corruption altar) sits in the Sanctum — Vaal-orb-style item corruption while you clear.

TP to the Jungle Ruins

Jungle Ruins (Return)

0.5 RoutingAfter the Sanctum you return to the Jungle Ruins (not the Infested Barrens) and use the Large Soul Core on the Stone Altar there to resurface the Matlan Waterways entrance.

Use the Large Soul Core on the Stone Altar → resurfaces the Matlan Waterways entrance

Enter The Matlan Waterways

The Matlan Waterways Lvl 35

(Opt) Narag's Hut → kill Narag of the Vile Word Rare Weapon Blacksmith's Whetstone

Walk over pressure pads (6–8 per layout) — auto-activate on contact

Proceed to end of zone — final section is now pre-drained

0.5 QoLLevers became walk-over pressure pads, and the final canal section ships pre-drained. The old portal-skip is no longer needed — just walk straight through.

0.5 Fate of the VaalThe 6th and final Vaal Beacon spawns here — energising it completes the set and opens the portal to the Vaal Ruins (enter promptly; the entrance can disappear and stall the quest). The storyline continues in the Interludes (6 more beacons) and becomes a full endgame storyline. See the endgame guide's Fate of the Vaal section →

(Opt) Ravaged Corpse at the Azak Bog entrance → summon Servi Unidentified Rare Belt

Servi appears here at the entrance only — she is not inside Azak Bog (Farrow holds the Runestone in there).

Take the Azak Bog side entrance (off the Waterways)

Azak Bog WAYPOINT Lvl 33–34

0.5 RoutingAzak Bog is now a side zone off the Matlan Waterways (no longer reached from the Drowned City). It holds the third Act 3 Runestone.

Talk to Farrow at the start → Runes of Aldur / Runeseeker

(Opt) Flameskin rituals Ignagduk's Harvest (Fire Res + Rarity)

Boss arena always top-right; rotation depends on entrance side. Reset farm magic packs around fire shrine for XP

Kill Ignagduk, the Bog Witch → use Gemrot Skull +30 Spirit Uncut Spirit Gem Lv10

(Opt) Activate the Azak Bog Runestone (Runes of Aldur) — 3rd of 3

0.5 LeagueWith all three Runestones collected, return to the Infested Barrens and enter the Mystic Refuge (the locked jungle vault) → clear it → talk to Farrow to unlock Unique Verisium Runeforging.

Return Ignagduk's Ghastly Spear to Servi in town Charm (choice of 3)

TP back to town

Ziggurat Encampment

Downstairs → talk Alva

Enter The Drowned City (bottom exit)

The Drowned City Lvl 35–36

Layout is fixed and mirrors Utzaal — the post-bridge chokepoint here is where Viper later ambushes in Utzaal.

Find Apex of Filth → take WP → return

Find The Molten Vault → take WP → return

(Opt) Drowned Quarters — hidden rooms/doors with rare monsters, gold & chests Rune drops

A Crawler swarm ambushes a chokepoint just after a bridge-with-checkpoint — has loot. Drowning orbs (teal) cut vision and kill if you linger; keep moving.

TP to The Molten Vault (1st char) or town

The Molten Vault WAYPOINT Lvl 36

(1st char) Kill Mektul, the Forgemaster Reforging Bench Uncut Skill Gem Lv10 Artificer's Orb

Return Hammer of Kamasa to Oswald in town to unlock the bench. Skip on alt characters

Mektul has a ~4-minute molten-flood timer — overlevel and bring Fire Res.

(Opt) Frost Cores → Stone Altars clear the Molten Flow blockages → Gold Chests.

TP back to town

Ziggurat Encampment

Talk to Oswald

TP to Apex of Filth

Apex of Filth WAYPOINT Lvl 36–37

(Opt) Find 3 Mushrooms → use the Cauldron (Cauldron Keeper) Quality Life/Mana Flasks

Pass through bottleneck-with-checkpoint, then check the back corners. The Cauldron Keeper is also a secret vendor — caster gear + jewellery.

Kill Queen of Filth → loot Temple Door Idol

Stay close to her — moving away triggers ultimate rolling slam

TP back to town

Ziggurat Encampment

Downstairs → talk Alva

Door behind her → enter Temple of Kopec

Temple of Kopec Lvl 37

Each floor is a triangle — far corner has 50% chance of being correct. Always check it first

Kill Ketzuli, High Priest of the Sun (upstairs)

Indoors the sunlight stacks a burning debuff — stay in the shade between packs.

Talk Alva, wait for lore

Ziggurat Encampment

Take the Gateway

Downstairs → enter Utzaal

Utzaal Lvl 38–39

Same layout as Drowned City. Follow the paved road — it leads to Viper

(Opt) Farm Sacrificial Heart from Vaal Goliaths (canister on shoulder)

Can also drop in Aggorat — only specific monster type drops it

(Opt) Side doors for idols (sell to Oswald for gold)

(Opt) A Chaos Statue here grants an Inscribed Ultimatum usable in the Temple of Chaos.

Kill Viper Napuatzi

Highly mobile + evasive — bait first attack cycle from consistent position to predict her

Enter Aggorat

Aggorat Lvl 39–40

Town crier chanting tells you the right direction. Edge of pyramid = boss

Find Sacrificial Altar (top right of map)

Place Sacrificial Heart → stab with Dagger +2 Skill Points

(Opt) League mech (Crag Tooth) Vaal Orb

Enter The Black Chambers (top left of map)

The Black Chambers Lvl 40–42

Kill Doryani, Royal Thaumaturge (Act Boss)

Three phases: caster → Doryani's Triumph mech below 50% (rage → fortifying buff before engaging) → airborne phase.

Wait for loot (~30s)

TP back to town

Ziggurat Encampment (End of Act)

Talk to Doryani

Talk Doryani again → Alva → Hooded One → Alva

Act III Complete — proceed to Act IV (Kingsmarch)