Path Of Exile Boosting

To ensure a packed schedule for ExileCon 2026 this November, Path of Exile is planning to host race finals for both the original game and Path of Exile 2 at the event. Naturally, the competitors will be selected through a series of recent qualifiers.

The final qualifier for Path of Exile 2 kicked off on August 27 and concluded this week. If you missed out or didn't secure first place, don't worry, Path of Exile 1 qualifiers have already begun!

We are providing a detailed overview here to help you maximize your chances of winning Path of Exile 1 qualifiers, provided you have the interest and skill to compete.

Path of Exile 1 qualifier schedule

Just like Path of Exile 2 events, there are four Path of Exile 1 qualifiers planned, with each round lasting one week. The first round has already started; the specific schedule is as follows (all times in PDT):

• Qualifier 1: Sep 03, 2026 2:00 PM
• Qualifier 2: Sep 10, 2026 2:00 PM
• Qualifier 3: Sep 17, 2026 2:00 PM
• Qualifier 4: Sep 24, 2026 2:00 PM

To avoid missing out, we recommend converting these start times to your local time zone in advance.

Qualifier requirements and rules

First, there are no entry barriers for Path of Exile 1 qualifiers; anyone can participate. However, the device requirements match those of the finals: participation is limited to PC (unlike Path of Exile 2 qualifiers, which allowed both console and PC).

Additionally, you must have a Twitch account linked to your game account; you can do this via the official Path of Exile website. This is required because the competition must be streamed live to prevent cheating.

Once you meet these requirements, you can log in to the game and join the current round of qualifiers. A Join option for the qualifier will appear on the character selection screen; simply click it and follow the prompts to create your character and begin competing.

Path of Exile 1 qualifiers are based on Standard mode difficulty but incorporate SSF and fixed-seed mechanics.

In other words, you must earn the gear and PoE currency needed for progression solely through your own farming efforts; furthermore, the layouts of available zones and maps are fixed.

Under these rules, all players must use their qualifier characters to progress through the campaign from scratch, aiming to defeat Act 5 boss Kitava. The player with the fastest completion time at the end of the qualifier wins.

Note that any death during the run will immobilize your character for one minute, directly impacting your final time.

What are the qualifier rewards?

The four qualifiers leading up to ExileCon 2026 race finals will each produce one winner, the player with the fastest time, resulting in a total of four finalists.

If you are among the winners, in addition to qualifying for the finals, you will receive a Super VIP ticket to ExileCon 2026, with the organizers covering your flights, accommodation, and meals for the event!

To showcase your status as a winner in-game, you may also choose one of the following four body armors:

• Thunderstruck Body Armour
• Engineer's Body Armour
• Crystallised Body Armour
• Demonic Stygian Armor

To avoid any issues that could cause you to lose your hard-earned rewards, please keep the following tips in mind alongside the rules mentioned earlier:

• Stream the entire run.
• Ensure your game interface remains unobstructed during the stream.
• The stream VOD must be made public.

If you win a qualifier but cannot travel to ExileCon 2026 in November due to scheduling conflicts, the relevant portion of the prize will be awarded to the runner-up of that qualifier.

Strategies to increase your chances of winning

Given the time penalty for dying, the key to maximizing your speed is to avoid unnecessary, dangerous combat during Acts 1–5 and focus strictly on farming resources.

Additionally, if you do not consider yourself an elite-level player, you might choose to wait and participate in one of the later three qualifiers, or join Qualifier 1 after it is already underway.

This is because the map layout remains fixed during the qualifiers; you can watch live streams of other players to figure out a highly efficient route for Acts 1 through 5 and then adopt it for your own run.

Of course, the most crucial factor is having a solid understanding of the final boss, Kitava, the Insatiable, so you can defeat him quickly without dying.

The fight against Kitava in Act 5 unfolds in multiple phases; you must alternate between attacking the boss himself and his heart until the kill is secured.

It is worth noting that attacking the boss's heart triggers the appearance of additional minor bosses, Champion of the Feast and Shaman of the Feast, which deal extra physical or elemental damage.

During the battle, Kitava deals physical damage using abilities like Slam, Swipe, and Throw Debris; furthermore, his special skill, Devouring Darkness, converts 50% of his physical damage output into fire damage.

Therefore, in addition to mastering strategies to counter his attacks, you must ensure you are equipped with high-value armor and a variety of flasks to maximize your resistances before the fight begins.

Don't miss out on Twitch Drops!

Even if you don't plan to participate in any PoE 1 qualifiers, we recommend watching a participating stream for at least 30 minutes within the first 24 hours of the event to earn Wild Footprints Effect Twitch Drop.

That covers everything regarding Path of Exile Race Qualifiers for ExileCon 2026. We hope this information helps those of you planning to compete!

Many players have reached the late stages of Path of Exile 3.29 and are now considering their final endgame build. Luminary players have plenty of options, and the different Mercenaries give them a great deal of freedom.

Kineticist Luminary is a highly recommended endgame choice thanks to its incredible clear speed and powerful single-target damage, although it requires substantial investment. Let's take a look at which Mercenary and equipment choices you should make.

Why Choose Kineticist?

Kinetic Bolt and Kinetic Blast are already very powerful skills, offering high damage and excellent area coverage. They can demonstrate impressive clear speed even during the early stages of the game.

In the endgame, even without heavy investment, a Kineticist Mercenary can deliver near-screen-wide clearing power. With higher investment, its damage potential becomes even more impressive.

Although other Mercenaries may perform better in specific situations, Kineticist's clearing ability is simply too strong to overlook. If you plan to repeatedly farm maps in the endgame, Kineticist Luminary can save you a great deal of effort.

Which Mercenary Should You Choose?

There are currently 3 Mercenary types widely regarded by the community as top-tier options, and this build chooses the Kineticist.

The 3 mainstream Mercenary types are:

• Manyshot: Similar to a Ranger using Ice Shot and Vaal Grace.
• Combatant: A Duelist using Frost Blades and Static Strike.
• Kineticist: A Witch using Kinetic Blast. This is the type used in this build.

The key to a Mercenary's effectiveness lies in the support gems linked to its main skill. You should look for one Support Gem dedicated to clearing and as many damage-oriented Support Gems as possible.

For Kineticist, the optimal main skills are Kinetic Blast of Clustering and Greater Kinetic Blast. Elemental Weakness and Flame Wall are usually standard choices and are essential.

Recommended Support Gems

Chain is currently the best clearing Support Gem and is superior to Fork. Greater Multiple Projectiles Support is also an excellent choice.

Elemental Damage with Attacks, Increased Critical Strikes, and Increased Critical Damage are all major damage multipliers.

By comparison, Support Gems that simply add a specific type of elemental damage provide very little benefit because your Flame Link already supplies thousands of points of base Fire Damage, making an additional few dozen points of base damage almost negligible.

Return is the key modifier that can fundamentally change a Mercenary's damage output. A Mercenary equipped with Returning Projectiles Support can cost hundreds of Divine Orbs. However, the benefit is enormous, effectively doubling your damage output.

Skills to Avoid

In Path of Exile's projectile behavior sequence, Pierce takes priority over Split, Chain, and Return. If a Mercenary's skill gem has Pierce, projectiles will penetrate several targets before they begin chaining or returning, which can severely reduce their clearing performance.

For Combatant, Multistrike makes Mercenary's attacks much slower. Unrelated skills such as Icicle Mine should also be avoided because they occupy valuable skill slots.

Luminary Equipment and Skills

The Hallowed Monarch (Faithful Helmet)

• Minion Life
• Animate Guardian
• Meat Shield
• Raise Spectre

Rapture Palm (Leviathan Gauntlets)

• Empower
• Vitality
• Flame Link

Svalinn (Girded Tower Shield)

• Shield Charge
• Precision
• Faster Attacks

Nycta's Lantern (Crystal Sceptre)

• Molten Shell
• Automation
• Convocation

Oblivion March (Goliath Graves)

• Eternal Blessing
• Purity of Elements

Oblivion March (Goliath Graves)

• Petrified Blood
• Flame Dash

Rapture Palm (Leviathan Gauntlets)

• Wall of Force

Kineticist will frequently cast Elemental Weakness curse, so there is no need to sacrifice passive points or use an expensive amulet enchantment just to apply an additional curse.

Flame Link needs to be linked with Empower, allowing it to provide a substantial damage increase.

Wall of Force works exceptionally well with the projectile Return mechanic. When a projectile hits an enemy and passes through it, it collides with Wall of Force and rebounds, passing through the enemy again.

When the projectile reaches the end of its flight, Return effect activates, causing it to fly back and hit the target again. This effectively gives your attacks multiple additional opportunities to hit.

Kineticist Mercenary Equipment Setup

• Piscator's Vigil: This weapon is used to gain additional elemental damage.
• Rathpith Globe: Provides Mercenary with increased Spell Damage based on the player's maximum Life.
• The Taming: Provides elemental resistances and a chance to inflict effects such as Ignite and Freeze on enemies.
• Enmity's Embrace: The more your Fire Resistance exceeds its maximum cap, the more Fire Penetration you gain.

All of the items above are Unique Items. You need to allocate Legendary Arms on Luminary passive tree, which grants Mercenary 8% more damage for each Legendary Item equipped.

The remaining equipment can be filled with Rare Items crafted with your own currency, or you can search the official trading website for suitable gear.

When crafting your equipment, stack as much Attack Speed, Crit Chance, and Crit Multiplier for Mercenary as possible. For boss fights, Assassin's Mark curse can also provide useful support.

By equipping Mercenary with Enmity's Embrace and stacking its Fire Resistance to around 275%, you can gain an extremely high amount of Fire Penetration. Therefore, you should look for Fire Resistance modifiers on every piece of equipment.

Stacking Life and Light Radius through mechanics such as Golden Glory, combined with Flame Link, can provide Mercenary with a huge amount of base Fire Damage.

Kineticist Luminary in PoE 3.29 offers exceptional clearing performance even with relatively low investment, while higher investment takes its damage and efficiency to another level. It can be used to progress through the campaign, with equipment gradually upgraded as you move deeper into the endgame.