PoE Acts Guide
The PoE Acts system can be confusing to newer players, so we’re going to go over all the parts that can be confusing – focusing on which acts have passive skill points, and a few acts with special things within them.
In this article we will discuss:
- The Acts system in Path of Exile.
- What is required of you in each PoE act.
- How to get the skill points scattered through the acts in PoE.
Table of Contents
Where Can I Find Skill Points in the PoE Acts?
Starting off easy but important, we’re going to go over all the skill points available throughout the Path of Exile acts, and how to get them. This may seem trivial, but there are up to 24 skill points hidden throughout the game, and your character will be significantly weaker if you don’t collect them all. This is probably the most important part of our PoE Acts Guide.
Act One:
In act one there are three skill points to collect. ‘Dweller of the Deep’ has you venture into a side zone within the Submerged Passage and track down and kill a monster at the end of it. Return to Tarkleigh in town for your skill book.
‘Marooned Mariner’ has you venture inside a sunken ship within the Ship Graveyard, collect the Allflameitem located at the end of it, then take it back to the Ship Graveyard and find Fairgraves. After a short battle with Fairgraves and his underlings, you can return to Bestel in town for your skill book.
In ‘The Way Forward’ you are required to venture into act two, travel to the Western Forest, defeat the group of bandits in the far west, and open the gate with the item they drop. Once done, return to Bestel in act one for your skill book.
Act Two:
‘The Deal with the Bandits’. We’ll discuss this more below, but if you choose to defeat all bandits you can talk to Eramir in town for two skill points.
Act Three:
‘Victario’s Secrets’ has you go into The Sewers within the Slums and find three Busts within it. Deliver them to Haragan in town for your skill book.
‘Piety’s Pets’ merely has you kill Piety, which is already required for the main story. Once you have done so, talk to Grigor in town for your skill book.
Act Four:
‘An Indomitable Spirit’ can be completed in The Mines, Level Two, by finding and clicking Deshret’s Spirit. Once done, talk to Tasuni in town for your skill book.
Act Five:
For ‘In Service of Science’ you must find a Miasmeter, located within The Control Blocks, on the far west side. Once you find it, return it to Vilenta for your skill book.
‘Kitava’s Torments’ asks you to find three artifacts within The Reliquary, each named after Kitava. Once you find all three, return them to Lani in town for your skill book.
From act six and onwards, most of your skill points will be connected to the pantheon gods. Each one that you defeat will open up a new node within your pantheon, as well as grant you a skill point.
Act Six:
‘The Father of War’ is both a pantheon god quest, and is also required to progress through the main story. Once you’ve killed Tukohama in The Karui Fortress, head back to town and talk to Tarkleigh for your skill book.
‘The Puppet Mistress’ forces you to venture off the main path for your next pantheon god. Head north of the waypoint in The Riverways and all the way through The Wetlands to find and defeat the Puppet Mistress. Once you have, talk to Tarkleigh for your skill book.
‘The Cloven One’ has you find and defeat the pantheon god Abberath in Prisoner’s Gate. Once you’ve found and defeated his two phases, head to Bestel in town for your skill book.
Act Seven:
‘The Master of a Million Faces’ is another pantheon god quest that you must complete to continue the story. Once you’ve defeated Gruest in The Ashen Fields, head back to town and talk to Eramir for your reward.
‘Queen of Despair’ is a pantheon god quest located within The Dread Thicket. While you are collecting fireflies, you may notice a pit leading into the ground. Enter it to find Gruthkul, the Mother of Despair. Her name is very accurate, as this beast can be quite tough during level, so be careful! Defeat her and talk to Eramir in town for your skill book.
‘Kishara’s Star’ asks you to pick up an item called, shockingly; Kashira’s Star, at the end of The Causeway. It’s in a small chest at the very end, right before entering The Vaal City. Take the star to Weylam for your skill book.
Act Eight:
‘Love is Dead’ has you find an Ankh in the Quay and then bring it to Clarissa near the end of the Quay map. Defeat all the mobs that spawn, then defeat Tolman. Once that’s done, head to town and talk to Clarissa again for your skill point.
‘The Gemling Legion’ asks you to defeat a group of mercenaries hanging out in The Grain Gate. Once you’ve done this, talk to Maramoa for your reward.
‘Reflection of Terror’, another pantheon god quest, sends you to The High Gardens, an offshoot from The Bath House. Find Yugul at the end of the gardens and defeat him, then talk to Hargan in town for your skill point.
Act Nine:
‘Queen of the Sands’ is another pantheon god quest that begins with you finding the item Storm Blade from a small gauntlet found in The Vastiri Desert. Once you’ve done this, take the blade to town and alternately talk to Petarus and Vanja, and Sin until you are given The Bottled Storm. Take it to the edge of The Vastiri Desert to open the passage to The Oasis. Enter the Oasis and find Shakari within it. Defeat him and talk to Irasha in town for your skill point.
‘The Ruler of Highgate’ is another pantheon god just off to the side within The Quarry. Find and defeat the tornado boss Garukhan, then talk to Irasha in town for your skill point.
Act Ten:
‘Vilenta’s Vengeance’ has you track down the traitorous Vilenta in The Control Blocks, found at the far west of The Ravaged Square. Traverse The Control Blocks and defeat her, then talk to Lani for your skill book.
Epilogue: Once you have defeated Kitava and are taken to Oriath, talk to Lani once more to receive a skill book worth two skill points.
What’s the Deal with Deal with the Bandits in PoE Acts?
We said we’d talk about it, and here we are! ‘The Deal with the Bandits’ is a quest found in act two, and it’s the only quest in Path of Exile that allows you to customize your character depending on your decision. Each bandit has a different reward for helping them or, if you decide to kill them all, Eramir will reward you.
If you kill them all, you are granted two skill points to use on your tree. If you help Alira you are granted 5 Mana Regenerated per second, 20% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier, and 15% to all Elemental Resistances. These two choices will typically cover most builds, critical strike-based builds choose Alira, and others choose to kill all.
The other two choices, if you choose to do something niche, are to help Oak for 1% Life Regenerated per second, 2% Physical Damage Reduction, and 20% Increased Physical Damage. Kraitlyn gives 6% Increased Attack and Cast Speed, 3% Chance to Dodge Attacks, and 6% Increased Movement Speed. As I said, these two tend not to be chosen other than for niche builds.
Last Word
Hopefully our PoE Acts Guide has helped you find the last few missing skill points, or helped you understand the bandits in act two a bit better! If you’re unsure whether or not you’ve completed a quest, type /passives in game for a complete list of all passive skill quests and whether or not you’ve completed them. Hope to see you out there Exiles!
