Choose the route for your current character
These are conditional routes assembled from the original client’s talent descriptions. Check prerequisites and the points you have already spent in the game before following an endpoint. [1]
| Route | Talents to inspect | What makes it work | Condition that changes the choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combat | Blade Flurry → Killing Spree | Blade Flurry sends Sinister Strike and Eviscerate hits into additional nearby enemies. Killing Spree adds targets and a free Sinister Strike every three seconds. | The direct attack must connect, and other enemies must be nearby. It is not a free ranged safety layer. |
| Assassination | Poison/bleed support → Toxic Bloom | Toxic Bloom turns deaths of poisoned or bleeding enemies into toxic clouds. | An unpoisoned, unbleeding kill does not satisfy the stated trigger; a large single target may not feed a death chain. |
| Subtlety | Backstab support → Shadow Dance | A separate damage direction for players building around Backstab rather than the default attack. | Do not automatically combine every Subtlety benefit with a Combat or poison route. Check the selected talent text. |
What to prioritise during the run
- With a fresh Sinister Strike start, first make the attack you can actually deliver useful. A poison capstone cannot rescue an opening before it is allocated.
- For Combat, prioritise the supported direct hits and multi-target interaction, then take survival that allows safe melee contact.
- For Assassination, establish poison or bleed application before expecting Toxic Bloom to clear the crowd.
- If elites die but small enemies surround you, invest in the relevant spread/nearby-hit engine. If contact kills you immediately, resolve survival before adding another trigger.
This is an editorial choice order, not a guaranteed card sequence. The offered upgrades and your current permanent investment still determine which step is available. [1]
When the intended build is not ready
When a desired spell does not appear, choose support for the engine you already have rather than spending every offer on a disconnected skill. Against an isolated boss, judge repeatable hits and recovery; a build’s best wave-clearing death chain may not be active.
Before changing the whole plan, identify the failure: no room to move, too little recovery, or too little damage on the target. Change the part that addresses that failure, then compare another run with similar talents and equipment.
Check the starter and trigger before copying a build
Baseline starter: Sinister Strike. Talents can replace it; use the route conditions above rather than treating this as the opening for every developed character. [1]
Do not copy a developed character’s jewellery-dependent choice as a universal opening order. This guide compares talent triggers; it does not establish a best necklace drop or a guaranteed clear.
Record the game version, zone, difficulty, selected capstone, permanent equipment and the card that changed the run. Comparing two different progression states cannot establish that a single spell was better. Use the meter carefully →
Sources & verification
- Aethus · original game ↗ (external website, opens in a new tab) — Original v0.127.0 / d1c85453 public client text inspected 29 October 2026. Single-source menu and talent evidence; no completed run or damage benchmark.