Before unlocking Warlock mastery around level 20, players can rely on early Acolyte skills like Rip Blood, Summon Skeletons, Bone Curse, and Wandering Spirits. These abilities provide enough utility and damage to Last Epoch gold progress comfortably through the opening chapters.

Once Warlock becomes available, the build takes its true form. At this point, replace early skills with Chthonic Fissure and Chaos Bolts, and specialize in Spirit Plague as well. Chthonic Fissure becomes the main tool for clearing packs, with Chaos Bolts chaining through enemies to amplify damage. Spirit Plague should be applied against bosses for consistent damage over time.

By level 35, a fourth specialization slot opens up. At this stage, reintroduce Rip Blood, but this time focus its specialization tree on Ward generation and enhancing its splatter effects. Finally, at level 50, Infernal Shade becomes the last specialized skill, used primarily for melting boss health bars with its concentrated burn damage.

Throughout leveling, Transplant remains a key mobility tool, allowing you to reposition quickly and keep pace with the build's fast-clearing playstyle.

Passive Trees

For the Passive Tree, start by investing 20 points into the base Acolyte tree. Blood Aura and Forbidden Knowledge provide early boosts to damage, while Unnatural Preservation grants essential resistances and Ward retention.

The majority of points should then be funneled into the Warlock tree. Notable damage nodes include Infernal Lash, Chains of Ruin, The Ashen One, and Grimhilde's Domain, all of which amplify Fire, Necrotic, and elemental damage while also enabling Witchfire damage-over-time effects. Defensive options like Ward of Malevolence and Dark Protections significantly bolster Ward generation, keeping the Warlock resilient in tougher encounters.

Managing mana is crucial for this build, as Chthonic Fissure and Chaos Bolts can quickly deplete resources. The Soul Stealer node in the Warlock tree, combined with Devour the Damned in the Chaos Bolts specialization, helps replenish mana while actively casting. Additional nodes like Cauldron of Blood and Crimson Favors further improve damage output by increasing Bleed chance and scaling physical interactions with buy Last Epoch gold Rip Blood.