Reaper Form is the centerpiece of this build, but it does not become available until you have invested 30 points into Last Epoch gold the Lich passive tree. Before then, you'll rely on other early Acolyte abilities to bridge the gap. Rip Blood, the starting skill, remains useful even later in the game, and Bone Curse and Transplant are unlocked early, making them strong candidates for leveling.

In Rip Blood's skill tree, focus first on nodes like Hemomancer and Arcane Absorption for early power. Sustain comes from Quenching and Mana Feast, while Thirst helps maintain uptime. Later, the Rip Spirit node becomes important for scaling Rip Blood with the rest of the build. Splatter and Eviscerate offer extra area damage, though Eviscerate should be delayed since its higher mana cost can slow down early progress.

Once you unlock Reaper Form, prioritize the Unholy Dominion node so that Reap and Transplant no longer share a cooldown. This significantly increases mobility, allowing you to chain movement abilities and maintain Reaper Form longer by leeching health from enemies. From there, take offensive nodes like Reaper's Curse and Rapid Destruction, then balance your tree with defensive choices such as Mistress of Decay, Soul Shroud, and Vile Shroud. Finish the tree with Death's Door, but only after you have Death Seal and Deadlock active to ensure the bonus damage works consistently.

For Death Seal, begin with Corrupted Consciousness and Mortal Pulse for strong damage scaling, then move into Desperate Shroud and Deadlock. Deadlock automatically sets your health to 33 percent, which synergizes with multiple low-health bonuses in the Lich tree. On the right side, Doomcall dramatically amplifies damage, especially if you're lucky enough to obtain Marina's Lost Soul Unique Wand. Tachycardia adds even more offensive power.

Passive Tree

Your passive point distribution is split across the base Acolyte tree, the Warlock tree for supplemental Intelligence, and the Lich tree for core power.

Start with 20 points in the Acolyte base tree to unlock the Lich. Blood Aura and Bone Aura are the best early choices. If you're running Summon Skeletons during leveling, you can temporarily invest in Dark Rituals for additional damage. After unlocking Lich, respec to focus on Bone Aura and Forbidden Knowledge, with a few points in Stolen Vitality or Blood Aura depending on buy Last Epoch gold whether you need more defense or offense.