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Welcome to my Path of Exile 3.25 Gauntlet journey! This challenge was intense, and I’m excited to share the ups and downs of my experience. This time, I took a "Zero to Hero" approach with a fun twist—building my character based entirely on the drops I got along the way. In a Gauntlet setup, no less!

A Shadow in the Gauntlet

I kicked things off with a Shadow character, one of my favorite classes in Path of Exile. With no plans or pre-determined build, I had to rely purely on luck and adapt to whatever the RNG gods threw at me. Unsurprisingly, my first Shadow didn’t survive very long. His life was tragically cut short by, you guessed it, Hillock. And judging by the kill feed, it seems I wasn’t alone. The Gauntlet’s difficulty ramped up right from the get-go, and a lot of players seemed to meet their demise at Hillock’s hands. But fear not—his younger brother swiftly avenged him!

Ethereal Knives: My First "Build"

Since I wasn’t aiming for anything meta, I decided to go with Ethereal Knives for my first build—a classic skill that may not be the strongest in hardcore solo self-found (HCSSF), but it did the job. It was fun, and I couldn’t complain, though I wouldn’t recommend it if you’re playing for efficiency.

The early game threw a curveball at me when I faced Hailrake. Or should I say Hailrakes? Yes, two of them! But the Gauntlet spice kept it interesting, and I walked away with my Quicksilver Flask and some shiny new jewelry. Brutus was next on the chopping block, and I prepped for him by swapping to Split Arrow and Puncture, which worked perfectly to counter his movement. Split Arrow felt strong enough to handle his armor, and Puncture kept him bleeding and unable to regenerate health. After Brutus, I decided to start building up the town in preparation for future rips because, well, the Gauntlet makes survival tricky.

Merveil: The Cold End for Shadow #3

After breezing through the early acts, the Merveil fight gave me my first real challenge. The second phase of the fight caught me off guard—her sirens were summoning explosive minions, and the cold damage was brutal. Unfortunately, I didn’t survive the freeze, and that marked the end of Shadow #3.

Enter: Toxic Rain Shadow

For my next character, I took a more strategic approach. I started with Caustic Arrow and the Chance to Poison support, which was great for clearing packs, and I was lucky enough to find a Quill Rain after beating Brutus (again). Quill Rain is an amazing bow for Toxic Rain builds, which quickly became my go-to skill after that. Toxic Rain is fantastic for Gauntlet because it deals strong chaos damage over time, and the overlapping pods are perfect for controlling enemies and bosses alike.

The Merveil fight was much smoother this time, thanks to the chaos damage from Toxic Rain. After that, I knew I had to fully commit to a chaos-based build, especially since I was determined to honor the fallen Shadows.

Facing the Vaal Oversoul and Beyond

Next up was the Vaal Oversoul fight in Act 2. Vaal Oversoul fights always feel like an early peak in Path of Exile, with so many mechanics to dodge and tons of visual clutter on the screen. But thanks to Toxic Rain’s pod mechanics and a bit of skill effect duration, the fight went better than expected.

Since I was running a Toxic Rain build, skill effect duration became critical. The longer the pods stay active, the more damage they deal. To improve my duration, I completed the Library quest and picked up gems like Increased Duration. With Grace and Determination auras active, I felt pretty tanky for a hardcore run. Act 3’s Piety didn’t stand a chance, and Dominus was manageable, though his Elder circles looked intimidating. Thankfully, being ranged made this fight relatively safe.

Gauntlet Twists: Doedre, Malachai, and the Labyrinth

Moving into Act 4, the bosses took on a whole new level of difficulty thanks to Gauntlet modifiers. Doedre had a nasty temporal bubble that slowed everything down, but with Toxic Rain’s projectiles, I managed to burst her down quickly.

Malachai, however, was a different story. The Maven’s Gauntlet mechanics made this fight a nightmare. Malachai’s Maven beams disabled all recovery, making it a true hardcore challenge. After a few close calls (and using the ol’ disconnect button to save myself from certain death), I barely scraped by.

Next up was the Labyrinth. Toxic Rain shined here as well, especially against Izaro, who fell quickly to the power of chaos damage and the overlapping pods. I even found a Withering Rain enchantment for my ballistas, increasing the chaos damage taken by enemies.

Gauntlet Endgame: Kitava and the Road to Maps

The final stretch of the campaign was full of tension. Kitava in Act 5 came with new tricks—floating beams and puddles that threatened to wipe me out—but the fight went smoothly. After that, it was time to prepare for the loss of resistances. Capping chaos resistance was my priority since so many monsters in the later acts convert physical damage to chaos damage, and my Shadow's skill tree was ideal for mitigating this.

Arakaali in Act 7 was surprisingly easy after all my preparation. With capped chaos resistances, she barely scratched me. This reinforced my confidence that Toxic Rain was the perfect build for the Gauntlet—at least for now. Act 8’s Doedre, though? Still hate that fight. There’s something about her mechanics that always gets under my skin.

Into the Endgame: First Maps and Jun Safehouse

With the campaign finally behind me, it was time to jump into maps. The first map I ran was Siege, and it went incredibly smoothly. After clearing several maps, I was fortunate to find some powerful new gear, including an Elreon ring that reduced mana costs for non-channeling skills—perfect for Toxic Rain.

I also ran a Blighted map to farm oils for anointing my amulet. With towers doing the heavy lifting and Toxic Rain pods dealing damage, I was able to loot some great items, including a fantastic amulet with health and damage over time stats.

One of the highlights of the endgame was completing my first Jun safehouse. Finally, some unveilings that didn’t disappoint!

Gauntlet Final Thoughts: Kitava and the Shadow’s Future

The Gauntlet challenge was an incredible experience. After finally defeating Kitava for good and adjusting my resistances, my Shadow felt stronger than ever. The guaranteed mystery box gave me Blood Tendril Footprints, which was a fun touch of flavor.

All in all, this Gauntlet journey was a wild ride, full of unexpected twists, lucky drops, and close calls. My Toxic Rain Shadow emerged victorious, and I can’t wait to see what other adventures await as I push further into maps. Whether it’s more boss fights, farming gear, or mastering the Atlas, one thing’s for sure—the Gauntlet experience is one for the books.

Thanks for coming along for the ride, and I hope to see you all in Wraeclast!

Stay tuned for more updates as I dive deeper into the endgame and tackle Maven, Sirus, and other endgame bosses! And Buy Path Of Exile Currency service here!