The Shaper

The Shaper
The Shaper
Level(s)	84 () 85 (Uber)
Location(s)	The Shaper's Realm
Quest(s)	The Shaper (legacy) Sanity's Requiem (legacy) The Eldritch Decay (legacy)
Health	74 712 908
Damage	5689
ApS	1.76
Resistance(s)	50% Fire 50% Cold 50% Lightning 30% Chaos
Modifier(s)	Cannot Be Fully Slowed Immune To Knockback Humanoid

"Shaper" redirects here. For the passive skill, see Shaper (passive skill).

I no longer believe these are realms of chance, rather, they must have been formulated by a sentient mind... a designer or architect. Every shadow in this place creeps about with an unforeseen purpose.

Zana, Master Cartographer

The Shaper is one of the bosses of the Atlas end game system. He is a pinnacle boss in the . The Shaper also occasionally appears in Shaper-influenced maps. Players can fight the Shaper using the map fragments set. These map fragments can be obtained by defeating the Guardians of the Void.

Defeating the Shaper is guaranteed to drop a map fragment required for the Uber Elder encounter, either or . The other 2 fragments are dropped by The Elder.

Items influenced by the Shaper have a red star icon on its header and have unique Shaper modifiers. Shaper-influenced items can drop from the Shaper boss as well as from monsters killed in maps influenced by the Shaper.

Entry

Players must use the following fragments in their map device to fight The Shaper. They can be collected by fighting various bosses, and can also be traded amongst players.

• - obtained by defeating the boss
• - obtained by defeating the boss
• - obtained by defeating the boss
• - obtained by defeating the boss

The arena is called .

Recommendations

The following is recommended:

• At least 1 million damage per second
• Capped elemental resistances (fire, cold and lightning resistance at 75%); additional Maximum Cold Resistance is also useful for Shaper balls.
• At least 5,000 combined Life and Energy Shield and a reliable source of recovery
• Moderate mitigation or avoidance, including Physical damage reduction, Armour, Block, Spell Suppression
• Movement skill to avoid Shaper's slams and beams

The fight consists of multiple phases. Before the Shaper encounter begins, the player must defeat four side bosses at the nexus. After that a portal opens to the Shaper's arena. The Shaper himself has three phases. At the end of the first and second phases he banishes Zana and the player to a passage while he heals up. The players must traverse the passage and return to the arena to begin the next phase. The Shaper recovers health slowly between phases.

Skills

Image	Skills	Details
	Default Attack	The Shaper lashes out at the player, dealing Physical damage He only uses it while in melee range. If the player is hit, it deals: Deals 100% of Damage 33% more Attack Speed
	Shaper Beam (Spell)	The Shaper unleashes an extremely powerful beam that deals heavy damage over time if the player is hit by it The Shaper fires the beam aiming at the player, and once fired, the beam does NOT rotate to target the player The player must dash away or run away from the beam area to avoid taking damage The beam can kill most builds in 1-2 seconds if they stand within the beam constantly The beam lasts for 3 seconds If players touch it, the beam does ALL of the following: Deals 5384 Fire Damage per second Deals 4405 Cold Damage per second Deals 6057 Lightning Damage per second
	Projectiles (Spell)	The Shaper fires 3 golden orbs consecutively, dealing massive cold damage if it hits the player. Each ball will deal: Deals 5639 to 8458 Cold Damage Damage Penetrates 25% Cold Resistance
	Teleport Slam (Attack)	The Shaper disappears into the void, and teleports to the player and slams the ground, dealing heavy damage that can one-shot most builds. To avoid this attack: Players must notice that the Shaper has disappeared and maintain constant movement When the Shaper reappears at the player's location he will perform the Slam attack If players were moving, they would have moved from their original location and avoided the attack If players are anywhere within the purple circle, they will be dealt heavy damage: Deals 300% of Damage 50% less Attack Speed
	Vortex (Spell)	Slow-moving grey balls that seek the player appear from the edge of the arena Once the ball touches the player, it will create a vortex on the ground, that deals heavy cold damage over time if players stand within it Players must attract the balls to the edges of the arena to prevent the vortex from restricting the player's mobility Each vortex lasts for 25 seconds Each vortex will be removed once the phase ends To escape a vortex: Players must immediately blink or run from it and continue attacking from another direction If the Shaper is surrounded by portals, simply wait till he relocates or till some of the portals disappear
	Monster Portal	The Shaper teleports to the side of the arena and opens a monster portal while he becomes immune to damage The monster portal will spawn various kinds of shaped monsters, one at a time The monsters will exit the portal and attack Zana and the player Players must simply kill the monsters to prevent Zana from losing health If she loses all her health, she retreats and slowly recovers health and while recovering she will be unable to create her protective bubble shield (see below) This is the only time in the fight when Zana is vulnerable to damage If Zana is successfully kept alive for several seconds during the portal phase, the portal is closed
	Bullet Hell (Spell)	The Shaper disappears from the arena and becomes invulnerable during this attack The Shaper fills the arena with purple "bullet" projectiles that deal heavy damage The only way to escape it is to stay within Zana's protective red bubble Each bullet will deal: Deals 5639 to 8458 Cold Damage Damage Penetrates 25% Cold Resistance 11 additional Projectiles
	Zana's Bubble	Once per phase Zana will create a protective bubble shield Players must stand in the bubble to avoid the Shaper's attacks (typically the Bullet Hell attack) Staying anywhere in the bubble's hemisphere will protect the player, even if the character is almost at the edge of it

Video guide

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Strategy

Promotional image of The Shaper

Summary

The following is a quick summary of the entire fight with The Shaper.

Phase	Summary
The Nexus	Navigate to the four corners of the arena and kill the 4 bosses. Enter the portal to begin the fight with The Shaper.
Phase One	Shaper starts at 100% health, damage the Shaper down to 50% health. If a portal spawns, kill the monsters appearing from the portal. Shaper heals to 60% health, damage the Shaper down to 50% health. Shaper teleports you to a passageway. Navigate down the passageway, kill The Uncreated and use the portal to return to the arena.
Phase Two	Shaper heals to 60-100% health depending on how long you took to return. Damage the Shaper down till Zana creates a red bubble and says To me exile, quickly!, then stay in Zana's bubble. If a portal spawns, kill the monsters appearing from the portal. Damage the Shaper down to 25% health. Shaper teleports you to a passageway. Navigate down the passageway, kill The Unshaped and use the portal to return to the arena.
Phase Three	Shaper heals to 50-100% health depending on how long you took to return. If a portal spawns, kill the monsters appearing from the portal. Shaper spawns a clone that will perform his attacks simultaneously. Damage the Shaper down till Zana creates a red bubble and says To me exile, quickly!, then stay in Zana's bubble. Damage the Shaper down to 0% health, after which he dies.

The Nexus

The map of the Nexus area, with 4 boss portals visible on the corners

The entry area is X shaped and contains four paths, each leading to a boss that must be killed before a portal in the middle opens. The bosses are four randomly-chosen map bosses. After they are killed, the Shaper fight can begin.

The 4 bosses will be a random selection from the following:

• The Cursed King (Dark Forest)
• God's Chosen and The Hallowed Husk (Palace)
• Eater of Souls (Core)
• Tyrant (Colonnade)
• Ambrius, Legion Slayer (Colosseum)
• The Infernal King (Caldera)
• Piety the Empyrean (Shrine)
• Shadow of the Vaal (Maze)
• Merveil, the Reflection and Merveil, the Returned (Legacy Mineral Pools)
• Penitentiary Incarcerator (Dungeon)
• Fire and Fury (Lava Chamber)
• Shock and Horror (Legacy Torture Chamber)
• Spinner of False Hope (Arachnid Nest)
• Olof, Son of the Headsman (Pit)
• The Goddess (Plaza)

Nightmare Manifest (Transformed Piety from Malformation) no longer spawns as a possible boss.

Phase Mechanics

The main Shaper arena with the Shaper and Shaper Beam (top right), Vortex portals on the ground (center), and Zana (bottom center)

An example of the passageway section that players must traverse between phases

You are prevented from opening portals to your hideout while in the Shaper's arena.

Phase	Attacks
Phase One	Default Attack Shaper Beam Projectiles Teleport Slam Monster Portal Vortex
Phase Two	All attacks from previous phases Bullet Hell Vortex Occurs more often than in phase 1.
Phase Three	All attacks from previous phases Vortex Occurs significantly more often than in the previous phases. Potentially makes most of the arena unsafe and leaves very little room for maneuvering. Clone An invulnerable, spectral clone that uses one of the Shaper attacks and then disappears.

Between Phases

Between each of the Shaper phases, Zana and the player must traverse an area filled with monsters and kill a boss at its end. Those areas use randomly-chosen tilesets, and appear to be thin, floating islands in a sea of stars. At the end of the area there is a boss that players must defeat, after which a portal opens up that returns players to the main arena.

Each of the bosses at the end are based on Riftwalker from the , but have much higher health.

• The Uncreated is the boss between phase 1 and phase 2. It has the same skill set as Riftwalker.
• The Unshaped is the boss between phase 2 and phase 3. He is similar to The Uncreated but also fires a volley of frostbolts in quick succession every once in a while.

The Shaper slowly regenerates his health during the between phases, so it's recommended to complete them as quickly as possible. Once The Uncreated/Unshaped is killed, this regeneration stops, and the between phase is complete.

Uber boss variant

With the Cosmic Wounds Atlas keystone passive, the Shaper is fought in Area Level 85 and greatly increases in difficulty. The fight with the Shaper will have the following changes:

• Area has the mod Monsters take 70% less damage
• The Shaper will summon two shadow clones throughout the fight, which can use Shaper's balls, melee, and beam skills.
• Volatile Anomalies (and their Vortexes on detonation) are not cleared between phases.
• The Shaper's ball projectile spell fires two additional projectiles to the side, and penetrates 40% of Cold Resistance instead.
• The Shaper's slam attack is faster, has a larger area of effect, does more damage, and cannot be blocked.
• Zana will not shield you against his Bullet Hell attack, but he fires less projectiles per attack. Penetrates 40% of Cold Resistance instead.

Uber Shaper also has a 100% increased chance to drop an , and can also drop .

Drops

This boss drops a guaranteed unique from a pool.

Always drops one of the two:

• (50%)
• (50%)

The Uber Shaper encounter will drop one of these unique items instead:

In addition, the Shaper can also drop:

• (Uber Shaper)

Additionally, The Shaper drops several Shaper-influenced items when slain.

There is a chance to find and unlock the Celestial Hideout upon killing the Shaper. Each player in the area receives the hideout, irrespective of who deal the final blow.

Lore

See also: Memory Fragment (Atlas of Worlds), Book of Memories, and Cavas, Forgotten Spirit#Plot

The Shaper is the creator of the Atlas of Worlds and was the main antagonist of the Atlas of Worlds expansion. The Shaper's real name is Valdo Caeserius, and is the father of Zana Caeserius. Zana assists the player during the battle with the Shaper and constantly implores him to stop fighting and join her, but he refuses.

The Synthesis league also expanded the backstory of the Shaper and his construction of the map device.

Historical

Path of Exile has gone through multiple expansions since the Shaper was introduced, and as such mechanics that used to pertain to him no longer exist, or were modified.

Background information about the Shaper was written in the Book of Memories, which is filled as the exile collects his Memory Fragments from Elder-influenced zones.

Dialogue

The Shaper is voiced by New Zealand actor, Daryl Habraken.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.23.1	Improved the default volume of The Shaper's and Divinia's dialogue.
3.20.0	Pinnacle bosses, Map bosses, Incursion architects, Betrayal targets, Breachlords and others no longer have 33% or 66% less effect of curses on them respectively.
3.19.1	Lowered the damage dealt to minions by League monster skills and endgame Map Boss skills that felt punishing, for example, Shaper's Beam and Slam skills, Tul, Creeping Avalanche's Barrage skill, and many of Sirus, Awakener of Worlds' skills, amongst many others.
3.18.0	Added 7 new uber versions of Pinnacle Boss fights, accessible through Atlas Keystone Passives. These fights are extremely difficult, so only attempt them if you have a very powerful character. The Shaper now also can drop . [Undocumented This change was not documented by any official sources. It was discovered through player testing or datamining.]
3.13.1e	Sirus, Awakener of Worlds and The Shaper can no longer appear in The Sacred Grove, Temporal Incursions, Syndicate Laboratories and Conquerors arenas.
3.13.1	While witnessing The Shaper encounter, The Maven will no longer use her Heal skill during The Shaper's immunity phases.
3.9.0	Conquerors of the Atlas: A brand new endgame mapping experience. The Shaper and the Elder have both been defeated! ...Just not by you. Another group of Exiles has saved Wraeclast from these celestial harbingers of doom, but that wasn't enough. They continued to cut paths through the Atlas, leaving carnage in their wake, and forcing Zana to seal them in the Atlas forever. But they are trying to find a way out... Can you stop them before they bring ruin to Oriath? Featuring 5 new endgame boss encounters, powerful rewards (including new currency), and new ways to modify your Atlas. We've added an Ailment Threshold to monsters. In the great majority of cases, the Ailment Threshold matches the monster's Maximum Life. It primarily differs for especially high-life monsters (such as The Shaper), where the threshold is reduced to allow ailments to be applied with hits that wouldn't ordinarily reach the required Life thresholds. The Elder, Shaper, and combined Elder and Shaper encounters can still be accessed. If you're lucky, Zana may offer a Shaper or Elder guardian's map! The health value of the Shaper has been adjusted. [Undocumented This change was not documented by any official sources. It was discovered through player testing or datamining.]
3.6.0	Bosses which previously had 60% or 80% less effect of curses on them now have 33% or 66% less effect of curses on them respectively. This includes map bosses, Incursion architects, Betrayal targets, Breachlords, Shaper, Elder and others.
3.2.0	No longer immune to Taunt, though they may not retarget based on being taunted.
3.0.0	Many unique monsters which were previously immune to Ailments have had their immunities removed, with the exception of Freeze. Notably, this includes several Beyond Demons, the Atziri Trio, Atziri herself, The Shaper and his Guardians, among others. The Shaper now prevents players from opening portals while fighting him. Zana has 50% more life during the Shaper encounter. The grace period when re-entering the Shaper encounter mid-fight has been reduced to 3 seconds.
2.4.0	Introduced to the game.

See also

• Uber Elder - Dual boss fight along with the Elder
• Book of Memories - Lore that provides the backstory of Valdo Caeserius's quest against the Elder