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Hey everybody, leveling strategies in Path of Exile 3.25 have been significantly impacted by recent changes. Specifically, the removal of Taching Shrine scarabs, which were previously a go-to method for gaining experience, has left many players scrambling to find new ways to efficiently level up their characters and gems.

In this guide, I'll walk you through a new strategy that I've been using in 3.25 to maintain a high experience gain while also providing a decent amount of POE Currency and potential for valuable drops. As always, you can check out the timestamps for specific sections, and let's dive right in!

Core Mechanics: Shrines, Beyond, Breach, and Delirium

To keep your experience gains high, we'll be leveraging a combination of different game mechanics that synergize well together. The main mechanics we'll focus on are Shrines, Beyond, Breach, and Delirium. When combined, these mechanics create a high-density environment filled with monsters, which is crucial for maximizing experience.

1. Shrines: Using the Dominating Shrine and Scarabs of Evolution will allow you to spawn more monsters and evolve them, increasing their experience value. The key here is to utilize the Evolving Shrine, which upgrades monsters from white to magic and from magic to rare. This evolution process not only increases experience but also improves the gold drops, making this strategy more profitable.

2. Beyond: This mechanic is essential as it adds additional monsters to the map, especially when paired with Shrines, Breach, and Delirium. Beyond monsters are notorious for being tough but rewarding, and they can stack with other mechanics to create densely packed encounters.

3. Breach: Breaches create timed events where a flood of monsters spawns, providing a concentrated source of experience. By using Breach scarabs, you can increase the number of Breaches on the map, further amplifying the experience gain.

4. Delirium: Adding a Delirium orb to your map introduces Delirium monsters and layers a fog over the map, which also spawns additional monsters. The key benefit here is the sheer number of enemies that Delirium adds, making it a great tool for farming experience.

Setting Up Your Map

To effectively execute this strategy, you'll need to carefully set up your maps. Here's how:

1. Map Selection: Choose a map with a large, open layout. For example, the Massa map is an excellent choice due to its spacious design, which allows for better mob density and easier maneuverability. Aim for maps with at least 100% increased quantity and around 30% pack size. The pack size is particularly important as it directly correlates with the number of monsters, and more monsters mean more experience.

2. Using Scarabs: For this strategy, you'll need to use a combination of scarabs:

    • Domination Scarabs of Evolution: Use at least two of these to ensure you have plenty of Shrines. However, if you encounter an Evolving Shrine while already under its influence, wait until the first effect runs out before engaging with a new one.

    • Breach Scarabs: Use at least two Breach scarabs to ensure you have enough Breaches to maximize the experience gain.

    • Beyond Scarabs of Invasion: These scarabs add additional Beyond portals from rare monsters, providing extra enemies and potential loot.

3. Delirium Orbs: Add any Delirium orb to your map to introduce Delirium mechanics. This will ensure a consistent stream of Delirium monsters, further boosting your experience gain. Delirium orbs are relatively cheap, costing around 3 Chaos Orbs, and any type will work as long as it adds a level of Delirium to the map.

Crafting and Atlas Passive Choices

Once your map is set up, it's time to consider the crafting and atlas passives to further enhance the experience gain.

1. Map Crafting:

    • Domination Craft: This craft costs only 3 Chaos Orbs and adds additional Shrines to the map. More Shrines mean more monsters and faster map clearing.

    • Breach Craft: This option adds three additional Breaches to the map, increasing the number of enemies. While it’s more expensive than the Domination craft, it can significantly boost experience gain.

2. Atlas Passives:

    • Focus on nodes that increase pack size, such as those affecting Beyond, Breach, and Shrine mechanics.

    • Swarming Hive: This node can help with additional Divination card drops, adding a layer of potential rewards.

    • Endless St: This is crucial for keeping Beyond portals active, even after defeating a Beyond boss.

    • Elder Gaze: This passive will provide more bonuses from Elder-influenced areas, which can be a great addition to your strategy.

    • Drawn to Power: Increases the chance of encountering magic monsters, which are more valuable for experience farming.

Adjusting for Performance and Preferences

Not every player or build will be able to handle the intense encounters that this strategy can generate. Here are some adjustments you can make:

    • Delirium: If your build or PC struggles with Delirium, you can opt to leave it out entirely. The experience gain will still be substantial without Delirium, and it might speed up your maps if you're struggling with performance issues.

    • Breach Speed: If you find that Breaches are closing too quickly, you can take the "Flash Breach" passive to speed up Breach openings. However, be cautious as this might reduce the overall experience per hour if you can't clear the Breaches fast enough.

    • Abyss vs. Breach: While Abyss can be tempting due to the number of monsters it spawns, I generally recommend sticking with Breach. Breach mechanics are faster and easier to control, making them more efficient for experience farming in this setup.

    • Omen of Amelioration: For those who are not playing in Hardcore mode, consider using Omen of Amelioration. This item saves 75% of your experience lost on death, which can be a lifesaver in particularly intense encounters. Just make sure you don’t have other Omens in your inventory, as it could cause the Omen of Amelioration to fail when you die.

Final Tips and Considerations

As you run this strategy, you'll likely encounter a significant number of Breaches related to Chayula. While this strategy isn't specifically designed for Chayula farming, the splinters you gather can be used to run Chayula Breachstones later for additional experience and rewards.

This strategy is designed to balance fast leveling with decent drops and gold gain. While the removal of Taching Shrine scarabs has made leveling a bit slower in 3.25, this method provides a reliable alternative that still offers a solid experience rate. Whether you're looking to level up your character, power-level gems, or farm for drops, this setup should serve you well.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you found this guide helpful. If you have any questions or additional tips to share, feel free to leave a comment.