Ruthless mode

"Ruthless" redirects here. For other uses, see Ruthless (disambiguation).

There may be changes in the 3.20 Beta release that differ from Alpha. Please use the discussion page to discuss updates.

Ruthless mode (also known as Hard Mode) is a character creation flag that significantly increases the difficulty and changes the playstyle of the game by opting-in to extreme item scarcity and various other changes. It released alongside version 3.20.0 on December 9th, 2022. Challenges cannot be completed in Ruthless during the 3.20 Challenge League.

Named after the historical Ruthless difficulty from Closed Beta, it employs item scarcity and shifts of relative item values to simulate the Path of Exile experience in the early days (without the desync). This mode is meant to be intentionally brutally difficult, where reaching higher acts is an achievement, and traditionally weak items are felt as valuable. For example, a player may have difficulty equipping a full set of items by Act 4. Most items found will be normal rarity, and crafting currency will be extremely rare.

This mode was designed as a pet project of Chris Wilson and other senior developers over 18 months. Features of Ruthless mode will have little to no impact on the core gameplay of the rest of the game. It is intended as a testing ground for radical changes and experiments (such as mid-league buff/nerfs). A change in Ruthless does not indicate that the change will also be made in the regular game.

Overview

Ruthless can be selected by ticking a checkbox in the character selection screen. This mode is available for selection at any time after creating an initial character on an account. A Ruthless character can only be created on initial character creation. Unlike SSF, Ruthless characters cannot be migrated into a non-Ruthless league.

Ruthless characters will play in a separate league with their own ladder. Together with the flag, this results in the following restrictions:

Item acquisition

• All items and currency drop rates are significantly reduced.
• The quantity of items dropped are significantly reduced globally.
• Magic, Rare, and Unique items are significantly rarer globally.
• Rings, Amulets and Belts are much rarer globally.
• League reward systems (e.g. Extra Content) only drop items specific to that league, or core drops.
  • e.g. Delirium is the only source of Cluster Jewels
• Many deterministic sources of Unique items like Divination Cards or are disabled.
  • Some items only available via Divination Cards can be obtained as a core drop:
  • The Labyrinth Darkshrine modifier that causes Izaro will drop an additional Unique item on death is disabled.
• Many bosses like Atziri that guarantee unique drops still do, but are often harder to access.
• Various gems can only be obtained as random drops and cannot be obtained as quest rewards.
  • cannot be obtained as a Quest Reward from Breaking Some Eggs due to the reward interface being disabled for that part of the quest reward (as and DashDashSpell, Movement, Travel, Blink
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: (4-16) Mana
    Cooldown Time: 2.50 sec
    Can Store 1 Use(s)
    Cast Time: 0.15 secRequires Level 4Performs a series of quick teleports towards a targeted location. If using the "Attack in Place" option, the direction is reversed. Shares a cooldown with other Blink skills.(0-19)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
    (0-57)% increased travel distance
    This Spell's Cast Speed cannot be modified
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    (0.5-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., the other options, are disabled). It can still be obtained from Siosa.
  • Some skills like are not naturally offered as a Quest Reward in the core game, therefore also not available from Quest Rewards in Ruthless; these skills are only available from Siosa or as random drops.
  • and Detonate MinesDetonate MinesMine, Spell
    Level: 1
    Cooldown Time: 0.20 sec
    Can Store 1 Use(s)
    Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 8Detonates a Mine, starting a Detonation Sequence which will detonate other Mines around it.First Mine Detonates Instantly
    Mines get 10% more Detonation Speed for each prior Mine in Detonation Sequence
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    Mines have (1-20)% increased Detonation SpeedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. can only be found as random drops.
  • Most Gems that have a % reservation can only be found as random drops.
    • This includes percent reservation Auras, Heralds, Banners, Arctic ArmourArctic ArmourSpell, Duration, Cold
      Level: (1-20)
      Reservation: 25% Mana
      Cooldown Time: 1.00 sec
      Can Store 1 Use(s)
      Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 16Conjures an icy barrier that chills enemies when they hit you. You drop chilled ground while moving, and take less Fire and Physical damage while stationary.Base duration is (2.50-4.40) seconds
      Buff grants (11-21)% less Physical Damage taken from Hits while stationary
      Buff grants (11-20)% less Fire Damage taken from Hits while stationary
      Chill Enemy for 0.5 seconds when Hit, reducing their Action Speed by 30%
      Buff grants Immunity to Freeze
      
      Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
      (1-20)% increased Skill Effect DurationPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., , , , , and .
    • This excludes flat reservation Auras (ClarityClarityAura, Spell, AoE
      Level: (1-20)
      Reservation: (34-279) Mana
      Cooldown Time: 1.20 sec
      Can Store 1 Use(s)
      Cast Time: Instant
      AoE Radius: 36Requires Level 10Casts an aura that grants mana regeneration to you and your allies.+(0-1.9) metres to radius
      You and nearby Allies Regenerate (2.9-33) Mana per second
      
      Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
      (2-40)% increased Area of EffectPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., , and ), Blood and SandBlood and SandSpell, Stance
      Level: (1-6)
      Reservation: 10% Mana
      Cooldown Time: 2.00 sec
      Can Store 1 Use(s)
      Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 4Casts a buff that grants different bonuses to melee skills depending on your stance. Using the skill again alternates between Blood Stance and Sand Stance.Melee Skills deal (10-15)% more Area Damage while in Blood Stance
      Melee Skills have 5% less Area of Effect while in Blood Stance
      Melee Skills have (10-15)% more Area of Effect while in Sand Stance
      Melee Skills deal 5% less Area Damage while in Sand Stance
      (0-50)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
      
      Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
      (0.5-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., and mine skills.

Vendor changes

• Rings, Amulets and Belts cannot be purchased from Vendors.
• Gems cannot be purchased from vendors.
  • The quests A Fixture of Fate and Death to Purity each award you an that can be traded to Siosa for any droppable Skill Gem of level 34 or lower (see above).
• Items vendor for fewer currency shards. Generally speaking:
  • Items and affixes that normally sell for Alteration ShardAlteration ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Orb of Alteration.s now instead sell for s.
  • Magic, rare, and unique item affixes vendor for 1/4 of their currency shard values, rounding up.
• now cost 1 from Kirac instead of 2 .
• Many vendor recipes are disabled. A few vendor recipes unique to Ruthless mode are available.
  • Gems cannot be made 20% quality via the reset recipe.

Drop disabled items

The following items cannot be obtained in Ruthless mode:

• All Divination cards
• All Winged scarabs
• Divine VesselDivine VesselUnique Boss deals 10% increased Damage
  Unique Boss has 10% increased Attack and Cast Speed
  Unique Boss has 10% increased Life
  Unique Boss has 20% increased Area of EffectPower is a curious thing.
  It can be contained, hidden, locked away,
  and yet it always breaks free.Can be used in a personal Map Device, allowing you to capture the Soul of the Map's Boss. The Vessel containing the captured Soul can be retrieved from the Map Device. You must be in the Map when the boss is defeated.
• All incubators
• All Delirium Orbs (replaced by Delirium OrbDelirium OrbStack Size: 10Modifies a Map item adding layers of Delirium with the Generic Item reward typeRight click this item then left click a Map item to apply it. Can apply up to 5 to a single Map item.
  Shift click to unstack.)
• All Rogue's equipments
• Experimented base type items

Currency

• Enkindling OrbEnkindling OrbStack Size: 20Adds an enchantment to a utility flask that will improve it
  but prevent it from gaining charges during its effect
  Replaces any existing enchantmentRight click this item then left click a flask to apply it.
• (note: these enchantments are available from Einhar's beastcrafting options instead)
• • Binding ShardBinding ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Orb of Binding.
• Crusader's Exalted OrbCrusader's Exalted OrbStack Size: 20Adds Crusader influence and a new Crusader modifier to a rare itemRight click this item then left click a high-level rare item with no influence to apply it. Rare items can have up to six random modifiers.
• Awakener's OrbAwakener's OrbStack Size: 10Destroys an item, applying its influence to another of the same item class
  The second item is reforged as a rare item with both influence types and new modifiersRight click this item, then left click the item you wish to take the influence from, then left click an item of the same item class you wish to apply it to.

Unknown availability

The following items have not been seen on Ruthless trade:

• Memory line items
• ,

Gems

Most movement skill gems are not available in Ruthless mode.

• Blink ArrowBlink ArrowAttack, Minion, Duration, Movement, Travel, Bow
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (14-20) Mana
  Cooldown Time: 3.00 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)Requires Level 10Fires an arrow at the target destination. When the arrow lands, you are teleported to it and a clone is summoned at your old location. The clone is a minion that uses your bow and quiver.Base duration is 3.00 seconds
  (0-47)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
  Minions deal (0-57)% more Damage
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (2-40)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
• BodyswapBodyswapMovement, Spell, AoE, Fire, Travel
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (8-23) Mana
  Cast Time: 0.70 sec
  Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%Requires Level 10Violently destroys your body and recreates it at the location of a targeted enemy or corpse, dealing spell damage in an area at both locations. If there is no specific target, it will prioritise corpses over enemies. If targeting a corpse, the corpse will also explode, dealing damage around it that is not affected by modifiers to spell damage, and cannot be reflected. This spell cannot be repeated.This Spell deals (3-210) to (5-315), plus 4% of your maximum Life, as base Fire Damage
  Explosion deals base Fire Damage equal to (6-7.9)% of the corpse's Maximum Life
  +(0-0.2) metres to radius
  200% more Area of Effect if Consuming a corpse
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Deals +(0.2-4)% of your maximum Life, as base Fire DamagePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
• Charged DashCharged DashMovement, AoE, Channelling, Attack, Lightning, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 4 Mana
  Attack Speed: 160% of base
  Attack Damage: (95-121)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (95-121)%Requires Level 28Channel to project an illusion which you steer. You gain stages while it moves, until it stops at a maximum total distance. Waves of area damage frequently pulse along its path, based on your attack speed. Stop channelling to teleport to the illusion, dealing a final wave of damage. Requires a Melee Weapon.50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage
  Deals 150% more Damage while Channelling if Illusion has finished moving
  Hits from Final wave deal 75% of Damage per stage
  Illusion moves at 130% of your Movement Speed
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Illusion moves at an additional +(1-20)% of your Movement SpeedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.
• DashDashSpell, Movement, Travel, Blink
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (4-16) Mana
  Cooldown Time: 2.50 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: 0.15 secRequires Level 4Performs a series of quick teleports towards a targeted location. If using the "Attack in Place" option, the direction is reversed. Shares a cooldown with other Blink skills.(0-19)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
  (0-57)% increased travel distance
  This Spell's Cast Speed cannot be modified
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (0.5-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.

Additionally, 's Rune Blast teleports you to the detonated Rune if you have not detonated Runes in the past # second Helmet Enchantments are disabled and cannot be obtained.

Other removed gems:

• (disabled due to its reliance on Whirling Blades)

Ruthless-exclusive items

• Eternal OrbEternal OrbStack Size: 10Creates an imprint of an item for later restoration
  The imprint can't be applied to Fractured ItemsRight click this item then left click on an item to create an imprint. This imprint can later be used to restore this specific item to that imprinted state.
• - guaranteed to drop from Hillock in The Twilight Strand
• - replaces certain quest rewards; can be traded with Siosa for a skill gem
• Alchemical Resonators - replaces Chaotic Resonators
• Delirium OrbDelirium OrbStack Size: 10Modifies a Map item adding layers of Delirium with the Generic Item reward typeRight click this item then left click a Map item to apply it. Can apply up to 5 to a single Map item.
  Shift click to unstack. - replaces all other Delirium Orbs

Core game mechanics

• A compounding experience penalty is applied to your character from level 68.
• Gems gain less experience.
• Pantheon powers are disabled.
• The levels where you start finding four socket, five socket and six socket items have been adjusted.
• Sources of item rarity are rarer. and are no longer offered as quest rewards. is drop-disabled.
• The formula for player quantity has been changed such that it suffers from harsher diminishing returns. The result of this change is that IIQ on gear (MF uniques) is weaker.
• Flask charges and Life/Mana are not refilled automatically when you enter a town or hideout. Vendor NPCs that sell flasks (or Helena at your hideout) refill your flasks upon interacting with them.
• Utility Flasks cannot gain charges while active and have lower duration than they normally do.
  • Utility Flasks cannot be crafted with Enkindling OrbEnkindling OrbStack Size: 20Adds an enchantment to a utility flask that will improve it
    but prevent it from gaining charges during its effect
    Replaces any existing enchantmentRight click this item then left click a flask to apply it.s or s
• If you die near a quest boss in the campaign (approximately a distance of 120 units), it recovers a certain percentage of Life, approximately 40%.
  • Includes: all Act bosses; Brutus; Weaver; Piety (Act 3); Voll; Kaom; Daresso; Avarius and Innocence; the Pantheon Gods; Shavronne (Act 6); Maligaro (Act 7); Doedre (Act 8); the Gorgon; General Adus; the Depraved Trinity; and Avarius, Reassembled
  • Excludes: Fidelitas; Gravicius; Dominus' minibosses; Piety, the Abomination; the Unholy Trio in The Harvest (Act 4), Overseer Krow, Justicar Casticus; and the Unholy Trio in the Rotting Core (Act 9)
• Hardcore Ruthless characters are not migrated to Standard Ruthless upon death and are instead moved to the Void League.
• The minimum spawn levels of certain league mechanics have been adjusted. Content from past leagues is encountered less often than normal.
  • Shrines first spawn in the middle of Act 1
  • Tormented Spirits first spawn in Act 2
  • Strongboxes first spawn in Act 3
  • Rogue Exiles first spawn in Act 4

Masters and league content mechanics

Core league mechanics

Unlike the core game, several types of Extra Content do not have a fixed base chance to spawn each mechanic. Instead, map areas have a fixed chance to spawn 1 or more league mechanics, with a decreasing chance per # of additional league mechanics spawned (approximately 35% for 1 mechanic, 5% for 2 mechanics). The chance for any individual mechanic to spawn is based on the weighting of the mechanic, which is roughly equal to each other at baseline. Sources of Your Maps have #% increased chance to contain <league mechanic> will modify the weighting of that mechanic but not affect the overall spawn chance for # of mechanics. This will cause the chosen mechanic to appear more frequently, but other mechanics will appear less frequently. The following mechanics use this weighting system:

1. Abysses - Abyss Chests in the map do not always contain Abyss Jewels. Stygian Spires in Abyssal Depths have ~1/4 chance to drop a . Liches do not guarantee an Abyss unique or Stygian Vise when killed.
2. Blights - Blights only contain generic chests without icons, and can sometimes drop Oils and Blighted maps. Blighted maps do not drop oils. Blighted maps can still drop Blight-exclusive uniques.
3. Breaches -
4. Expedition Encounters - Many generic Expedition Remnant buff effects have been removed, leaving just 25% increased Pack size, 50% increased Quantity of Artifacts dropped by Monsters, and 60% increased Experience. Logbooks contain generic rewards. Expedition Vendors are significantly more expensive and offer fewer varieties and quantities of items.
5. Legion Encounters - No longer drops incubators. Domain of Timeless Conflict#Ruthless mode no longer has an item reward tracker and instead has a Timeless Jewel tracker.
6. Metamorph Encounters - Metamorphs in maps only have no reward, or a specific type of catalyst as a reward. Metamorph Organs list specific catalysts as a reward.
7. Mirrors of Delirium - All Delirium Orb variants have been replaced by a generic Delirium OrbDelirium OrbStack Size: 10Modifies a Map item adding layers of Delirium with the Generic Item reward typeRight click this item then left click a Map item to apply it. Can apply up to 5 to a single Map item.
   Shift click to unstack.. Delirium rewards are exclusively cluster jewels or s.
8. Ritual Altars - Overall reduced rewards and more expensive items; only the currency/unique variants exist for the Special Reward outcomes. Rewards primarily magic/rare items and s, with a few Unique items. Contains Ritual base types at higher rates.
9. The Sacred Grove (Harvest) - See: Harvest crafting (Ruthless) for a list of removed/available crafts.
10. Smuggler's Caches (Heist) - Heist reward chests only contain generic rewards (Weapon, Armour, Currency, Map). Blueprint Curio Displays contain at random 2 or 3 each of alternate quality gems and Replica uniques, and rarely a Curio Display Replacement Unique. Cannot obtain Rogue's equipment, s, Experimented base types, or /.
11. Wild Master missions in maps - does not include Master missions added via the Map Device.

Standalone league mechanics

The following mechanics are not included in the weighting system, and instead, have the typical Your Maps have +#% chance to contain <league mechanic> sources. These chances can be improved by via Atlas tree, Scarabs, or the Map Device.

• Rogue exiles (Anarchy) - Exiles only drop jewellery, rather than a full item set.
• Shrines (Domination) - Minimal changes.
• Strongboxes (Ambush) - Minimal changes.
• Tormented Spirits (Torment) - Minimal changes.

The following are also standalone league mechanics, but do not naturally occur and need to be enabled (e.g. via the Atlas Tree or modifiers) to encounter them.

• Essence Monoliths - Essences do not spawn naturally and need to be enabled (e.g. via the Atlas Tree). Essence Monoliths are more likely to have a single Essence, and can as low as Whispering (T7) tier Essences.
• Harbingers - Appear to drop exclusively , , Ancient OrbAncient OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a unique equipment as another of the same item classRight click this item then left click a unique item to apply it., , , and their shards at area levels 68+. At lower area levels (e.g. Delve), they drop generic currency shards (e.g. ).
• Beyond - Minimal changes.

Other league mechanics

• Vaal side areas do not spawn. Sacrifice Fragments and Vaal Gems must be obtained via other means, such as or Tier 3 Room chests in the Temple of Atzoatl.
• Sanctum's item reward rooms do not guarantee a reward; instead, it has a chance to offer one or more of the three reward types (now, at the end of the floor, or at the end of the Sanctum). Offers lower rarity and quantity of currency.

---

Masters

Masters have received several changes in their reward systems:

• Players do not accumulate free daily Master Missions at reset.
• Masters are not guaranteed to show up in certain locations during the acts and have had their chance to appear reduced. They can appear from Act 2, Act 4, Act 7, and Act 9 respectively.

Einhar (Bestiary)

Main page: Beastcrafting (Ruthless)

Beastcrafting rewards have been completely reworked; they provide crafts for Talismans, flask enchantments, etc.

Niko (Delve)

Main page: Delve (Ruthless)

Fractured walls in the Azurite Mine are now more likely to contain deposits of Azurite and Resonators rather than reward chests. Nodes that contain <damage type> items provide fossils instead of rare items. Chaotic Resonators have been replaced by their equivalent Alchemical Resonators.

Alva (Incursion)

Main page: The Temple of Atzoatl (Ruthless)

Incursion modifier items cannot be obtained. Tier 3 Room special chests (e.g. "Contains a Valuable item") can contain sacrifice fragments. The area level for the Temple of Atzoatl in Ruthless is the average level of all your Incursions.

Jun (Betrayal)

Main page: Immortal Syndicate (Ruthless)

Members of the Immortal Syndicate no longer drop non-unique veiled items. The rewards for each member in safehouses have been reworked.

Kirac (Atlas)

Kirac Missions' highest map tiers are equal to or lower than the highest tier map you have completed, within the tier bracket (1-5, 6-10, 11-16). After a certain amount of progress into the Atlas, his map vendor options will generally only provide maps of lower tiers than the highest tier you have completed.

---

Maps and endgame mechanics

• The Eternal Labyrinth (Uber Lab) does not grant additional Ascendancy passive points. This limits a character's maximum number of Ascendancy Notables to 3 on all classes except Ascendant, which can get 2, or 1 and a secondary Starting Point.
• Kitava in Act 10 always drops a random T1 map on death.
• Map modifiers and map quality now also increase the chance to drop Maps in a Map, in addition to the increased quantity bonus granted by map mods. These two modifiers are multiplicative with each other.
• Corrupted map bosses drop s instead of Sacrifice fragments.
• Map drops no longer have a 4x weighting for adjacent maps.
• Scarabs only enable mechanics in a map. They do not scale in power with their tiers. Instead, higher tiers of Scarabs are needed for higher tiers of maps. Winged Scarabs do not exist.
• Awakened SextantAwakened SextantStack Size: 10Adds or rerolls a modifier on a VoidstoneRight click this item then left click a Voidstone to apply it. effects have been modified.
• The quest and tradeable versions of provide 5 Atlas respec points, for a total of 25. Other Maven's Invitations and the Eldritch Invitations no longer provide respec points.
• The Searing Exarch's and Eater of Worlds's invitation cycles now require 50 maps instead of 28. The Black Star's and Infinite Hunger's invitations now drop at the 25th map instead of the 14th.
• Voidstones now upgrade Maps in Ruthless, though the number of Tiers they upgrade Maps by is less than the base game.
• Various adjustments to Unique Maps:
  • 's currency chests have slightly reduced drops.
  • (and likely by extension) has an additional modifier: Grants Level 20 Dash Skill. This modifier allows players to temporarily equip DashDashSpell, Movement, Travel, Blink
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: (4-16) Mana
    Cooldown Time: 2.50 sec
    Can Store 1 Use(s)
    Cast Time: 0.15 secRequires Level 4Performs a series of quick teleports towards a targeted location. If using the "Attack in Place" option, the direction is reversed. Shares a cooldown with other Blink skills.(0-19)% increased Cooldown Recovery Rate
    (0-57)% increased travel distance
    This Spell's Cast Speed cannot be modified
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    (0.5-10)% increased Cooldown Recovery RatePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. on their skill bar while inside the map.
  • - final room contains the 5 strongboxes, including three specific Unique strongboxes.
  • - Headmistress Braeta drops several skill gems and support gems instead of Divination Cards.
  • - Harbingers only drop s and Ancient ShardAncient ShardStack Size: 20A stack of 20 shards becomes an Ancient Orb.s.
• Characters in Ruthless use a Ruthless-specific Atlas Passive Skill Tree with some nodes having different effects. You can preview the Atlas here - use the dropdown in the top-right to select Ruthless.
  • The four "Shaping the X" notables no longer grant a chance to obtain special Map Device crafts, bonuses to Fortune Favours the Brave, or chance to drop maps with special implicit modifiers. Instead, they cause enemies to have increased Resistances, Physical Damage Reduction, deal #% extra Physical Damage as X, etc.
  • Wandering Path and Grand Design no have modifiers to small passive nodes or pack size. Instead, they grant 20 additional Atlas passive points.

Ruthless-specific item changes

• Rusted, Polished, and Gilded Scarabs instead only enable mechanics in white, yellow, and red maps respectively. They do not grant any additional bonuses to their mechanics.
• Items granting movement skills will have longer cooldowns:
  • ArborixArborix
    Assassin BowBow
    Physical Damage: (123-143) to (330-355)
    Critical Strike Chance: 6.70%
    Attacks per Second: 1.25Requires Level 62, 212 Dex+(15-25)% to Global Critical Strike MultiplierGrants Level 30 Dash Skill
    Adds (80-100) to (200-225) Physical Damage
    Bow Attacks fire 2 additional Arrows if you haven't Cast Dash recently
    (20-30)% increased Attack Speed if you haven't Cast Dash recently
    (100-160)% increased Evasion Rating if you've Cast Dash recently
    (20-30)% increased Movement Speed if you've Cast Dash recently
    Travel Skills other than Dash are Disabled
    Iron ReflexesThrough droughts, fires, floods and frost,
    the ancient giants stand resolute,
    while deep in the rich, dark earth,
    their grasp stretches ever farther.
  • , ,

Crafting

• The Crafting Bench is disabled.
  • It may still be possible to metacraft by using a Wild Bristle Matron in Beastcrafting.
• Veiled items cannot be obtained.
  • Veiled Unique items can still be unveiled via Jun.
• Eternal OrbEternal OrbStack Size: 10Creates an imprint of an item for later restoration
  The imprint can't be applied to Fractured ItemsRight click this item then left click on an item to create an imprint. This imprint can later be used to restore this specific item to that imprinted state. can be obtained in Ruthless mode, albeit extremely rarely.
• , , , Elderslayer's Exalted Orb and Awakener's OrbAwakener's OrbStack Size: 10Destroys an item, applying its influence to another of the same item class
  The second item is reforged as a rare item with both influence types and new modifiersRight click this item, then left click the item you wish to take the influence from, then left click an item of the same item class you wish to apply it to. cannot be obtained.
• When an influenced item is reforged (e.g via Chaos OrbChaos OrbStack Size: 20Reforges a rare item with new random modifiersRight click this item then left click a rare item to apply it.) and all of its influenced modifiers are removed, the influence is also removed.
• Einhar's Beastcrafting options have been completely changed, now providing crafts for flask enchantments, Talismans, etc.
• Chaotic Resonators have been replaced by Alchemical Resonators, meaning fossils can only be used on normal items and cannot reroll rare items.
• Essences can only be used on normal items and cannot reroll rare items at all tiers.

Miscellaneous

• Onslaught does not grant increased movement speed.
• Item allocation in parties is always marked Free-for-All.
• Playing in a party does not increase item rarity, only item quantity.
• Ruthless mode uses a different item filter file extension than the core game, requiring the ".ruthlessfilter" file extension.

Strategy

On your first character:

• Choose a skill that scales with levels rather than weapons (e.g. Spells), as you may not be guaranteed to find or craft a usable weapon
  • Avoid skills that require specific support gems to work. Area skills are generally better than projectiles or strike skills
  • Opt for a generic build rather than focusing on a specific archetype due to limited s
  • Avoid building around specific unique items due to drop rate nerfs and lack of divination cards.
  • BaneBaneChaos, Trigger, Spell, AoE, Duration, Hex
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: (10-20) Mana
    Cast Time: 0.60 secRequires Level 24Applies a debuff to enemies in an area, which deals chaos damage over Time. Linked hex curses are also applied to those enemies. The debuff deals more damage and lasts longer for each hex applied this way. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.Only applies Hexes from Curse Skill Gems requiring Level (24-70) or lower
    Deals (45.6-895.6) Base Chaos Damage per second
    Base duration is 2.00 seconds
    Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect
    Base radius is (2.1-2.4) metres
    (28-42)% more Damage per Curse applied
    50% increased Debuff Duration per Curse applied
    Applied Curses have 25% less Effect
    This Gem can only Support Skill Gems requiring Level (24-70) or lower
    You cannot Cast Supported Curse Spells
    25% less Effect of Supported Curses
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    Applied Curses have (1-20)% increased Effect
    (1-20)% increased Effect of Supported CursesPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. can use hex skill gems as pseudo-support gems
  • or Detonate DeadDetonate DeadSpell, AoE, Fire
    Level: (1-20)
    Cost: (5-20) Mana
    Cast Time: 0.60 sec
    Critical Strike Chance: 6.00%
    Effectiveness of Added Damage: 160%
    AoE Radius: 22Requires Level 4Targets a corpse, and deals spell damage to enemies around the corpse, as well as causing the corpse to explode, dealing fire damage. The explosion is not affected by modifiers to spell damage and cannot be reflected.Deals (15-798) to (22-1197) Fire Damage
    Explosion deals base Fire Damage equal to (6-7.9)% of the corpse's Maximum Life
    Base radius is (2.2-2.6) metres
    
    Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
    (0.75-15)% chance to detonate an additional corpsePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. ignite builds, or with or on an Elementalist can deal high damage early on without support gems
• Taking resistance nodes on the tree can be helpful until better resistance can be acquired on gear.
• Be especially cautious of Cold Damage as there are no early sources of Freeze removal or immunity. Pick up an Aquamarine FlaskAquamarine FlaskLasts 8.00 Seconds
  Consumes 20 of 50 Charges on use
  60% reduced Effect of Freeze on youRequires Level 27Creates Chilled Ground on UseRight click to drink. Can only hold charges while in belt. Refills as you kill monsters. from The Silver Locket quest in Act 7 if you are unable to roll a freeze removal flask.
• Use a very lenient filter due to extreme item scarcity.
• The only obtainable skills for functional movement are , AmbushAmbushCritical, Spell, Movement, Duration, Travel
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (8-23) Mana
  Cooldown Time: 5.00 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: 0.30 secRequires Level 34Teleports you to a nearby enemy, applying a buff to you for a short duration and blinding the enemy for a secondary duration. Performing a melee attack with a One-Handed Weapon removes the buff to exert that attack.Base duration is 1.50 seconds
  Base secondary duration is 3.00 seconds
  Buff is removed to Exert the next Melee Attack you perform
  Attacks Exerted by this Skill cannot be Exerted by other Skills
  Exerted Attacks have +25% to Critical Strike Chance
  Exerted Attacks have +(100-138)% to Critical Strike Multiplier
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Exerted Attacks have +(0.5-10)% to Critical Strike ChancePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Consecrated PathConsecrated PathFire, Attack, AoE, Movement, Duration, Slam, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 8 Mana
  Attack Speed: 80% of base
  Attack Damage: (150-230)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (150-230)%Requires Level 28Slams the ground at a targeted location. If an enemy is near where you target, you'll teleport to it from a short distance away, slam, and create an area of consecrated ground. Can't be supported by Multistrike, and requires a Sword, Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.Base duration is 4.00 seconds
  50% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage
  Deals up to 20% more Damage with Hits to closer targets
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Deals up to +(0.5-10)% more Damage with Hits to closer targetsPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket., Chain HookChain HookAttack, AoE, Movement, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 8 Mana
  Attack Speed: 120% of base
  Attack Damage: (115-169)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (115-169)%Requires Level 12When used at range, throws out a chain, pulling you to the enemy hit dealing damage in an area behind them. When close to the enemy, just causes the area damage directly. Requires a One Handed Mace, Sceptre, Sword or Axe.+0.1 metres to Radius per 5 Rage
  Gain 1 Rage if this Skill Hits any Enemies
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  Gain +(0.05-1) Rage if this Skill Hits any EnemiesPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. (optionally with , colloquially known as "hydrojerking" or "ballhooking"), or . technically counts, but isn't particularly controllable.
• Pick up all magic and rare items to identify and vendor as your primary source of Transmutes and Alchs.
• Picking up on a Duelist or Ranger can help with killing Brutus via bleeds.

• CycloneCycloneAttack, AoE, Movement, Channelling, Physical, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 2 Mana
  Attack Speed: 300% of base
  Attack Damage: (44-59)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (44-59)%
  AoE Radius: 1.6Requires Level 28Channel this skill to move towards a targeted location while spinning constantly attacking enemies in an area around you. While channelling this skill, you cannot be knocked back.(5-28) to (8-42) Added Attack Physical Damage
  10% increased Area of Effect per 0.1 metre additional Melee Strike Range
  30% less Movement Speed
  
  Additional Effects From 1-20% Quality:
  (0.5-10)% more Movement SpeedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. can be used as pseudo-phasing to get out of tight packs of monsters in a pinch.

Mapping

• In maps, prioritize Alva and Kirac Atlas Passives; these mechanics are the best for Atlas completion as well as a reliable source of map returns compared to other mechanics. Aim to get Map Room and Corrupting Tempest together.
• Shallow Delving (Depth 10-30ish) and refreshing Niko's shop by completing a node is a great sustainable source of gems and Fossils. Fractured Fossils can be used to duplicate 6-links and Blueprints. Sulphite Infusion can be taken to guarantee passive Sulphite even without missions.
• Betrayal farming for Catarina is a good source of strong deterministic Unique items.

Version history

Version	Changes
3.21.0	Voidstones now upgrade Maps in Ruthless, though the number of Tiers they upgrade Maps by is less than the base game. Eternal OrbEternal OrbStack Size: 10Creates an imprint of an item for later restoration The imprint can't be applied to Fractured ItemsRight click this item then left click on an item to create an imprint. This imprint can later be used to restore this specific item to that imprinted state.s have been added to the core drop pool in Ruthless. Ruthless no longer has alternative levels for when you start finding four, five, and six socket items. The Time Dilation Notable Atlas Passive in Ruthless no longer causes Incursions in your Maps to have 33% chance for all Monsters to be at least Magic. The Shaping the Seas, Shaping the Mountains, Shaping the Valley and Shaping the Skies Atlas Passives were somewhat necessary to progress your Atlas in Ruthless. We've increased the base drop chance for Maps in Ruthless, and changed these Atlas Passive so they now provide Maps found have 8% chance to be 1 tier higher (previously 10%). The Otherworldly Artefacts Notable Atlas Passive in Ruthless now provides "Breaches in your Maps have 20% increased Monster density", instead of "Rare Breach Monsters in your Maps have 0.2% chance to drop an additional Breach Blessing". Reduced the chances for Kirac to offer Unique or Synthesised Maps as an available mission in Ruthless. Rogue Exiles in Ruthless only drop jewellery, instead of an item for each equippable slot. Chests in Heist Blueprints in Ruthless now have appropriate minimap icons. Non-Unique Monsters in Delve now drop 50% less items in Ruthless. Special Expedition Logbook Remnants in Ruthless can now have upsides. The area level for the Temple of Atzoatl in Ruthless is now the average level of all your Incursions. The number of chests in the Temple of Atzoatl in Ruthless has been very slightly reduced. It that Fled's Betrayal Research Safehouse reward in Ruthless is now a Jewel Crafting Spree. The price of some items offered by Tujen in Ruthless has been reduced. The drop chance for Primordial Jewels in Ruthless has been slightly increased. The drop chance for s in Ruthless has been increased. Fixed an issue in Ruthless where Map chests in Logbook areas were only capable of dropping Tier 1 Maps. Fixed an issue where Hillock was providing an incorrect reward on Research duty in Ruthless.
3.20.2	Fixed a bug in Ruthless where could drop in LogbooksExpedition LogbookTake this item to Dannig in your Hideout to open portals to an expedition.. Fixed a bug where the Antagonist's modifier on Heist Contracts and Blueprints was not providing any stats in Ruthless. Fixed a bug where certain Minion Delve Encounters were not giving any rewards in Ruthless.
3.20.1b	The Imagined Pursuits Atlas Passive in Ruthless now causes Cluster Jewels from Delirium Rewards to have a 10% chance to be Rare and Corrupted, instead of "800% increased Rarity of Cluster Jewels from Delirium Encounters in your Maps". Fixed a bug where Vaal Venom Gyre was able to be obtained in Ruthless.
3.20.1	The Mycelial Swarm Notable Atlas Passive now provides "Lanes of Blight Encounters in your Maps have 20% chance for an additional Reward Chest" in Ruthless. The two small Atlas Passives prior now provide "Blight Encounters in your Maps spawn 3% more Non-Unique Monsters" in Ruthless, instead of "Lanes of Blight Encounters in your Maps have 5% chance for an additional Reward Chest." The following Oils have been changed in Ruthless: Clear OilClear OilStack Size: 10 Oil Tier: 1Can be combined with other Oils at Cassia to Enchant Rings or Amulets, or to modify Blighted Maps.: 12% reduced Monster Movement Speed (previously 6%). : Towers deal 25% more Damage (previously 20%). Amber OilAmber OilStack Size: 10 Oil Tier: 3Can be combined with other Oils at Cassia to Enchant Rings or Amulets, or to modify Blighted Maps.: 25% reduced Cost of Building and Upgrading Towers (previously 20%). : 15% increased Experience Gain (previously 10%). : Blight Monsters spawn 30% faster (previously 25%), Encounter duration is 50 seconds shorter (previously 40).
3.20.0b	Increased the chance for Sanctum rooms that may offer items on completion to offer items in Ruthless. Fixed a bug where Sanctum challenges were able to be completed in Ruthless Private Leagues. Fixed a bug where the "Legion Sergeant Rarity" Ruthless Atlas Passive was missing its description.
3.20.0	Added to the game.