Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising Talent Builds – Full Guide

What You'll Get From This Guide

This guide shows you how to create effective talent builds in Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising. By the end, you'll know how to navigate the Temple Baptism system, lock and unlock talents properly, and assemble a build that supports your class and gear. You'll also learn how to recover from common mistakes that waste resources.

Requirements Before You Start

Use this page after you understand the basic class and gear loop. Before you spend Baptism resources, confirm your class identity, current gear direction, and available reroll currency.

What You Need Before Building Talents

Before you start optimizing talents, make sure you have:

• Unlocked Temple Baptism – This is where talent rerolling happens. If you haven't reached this building yet, progress through the main town construction chain until it's available.
• Abyssal Scales – These are the currency used for Baptism. The exact amounts vary by reroll tier.
• A clear class identity – Each of the six classes has its own skill system. Know which class your Godsworn belongs to before spending resources.
• A basic gear direction – Talents should complement your gear, not fight against it. Have at least a rough idea of what stats you're stacking.

Note on recent changes: As of the August 16, 2026 patch, Agony Scales are no longer useful and convert back into Abyssal Scales at a 6x rate. If you have Agony Scales sitting in your inventory, convert them before spending anything.

How to Build Talents: Step-by-Step

Step 1: Identify Your Core Talents

Every class has a handful of talents that define its playstyle. These are your "core" talents – the ones you never want to lose. Before you touch Baptism, write down or mentally note which 2–3 talents are non-negotiable for your build.

For example, if you're running a damage-focused build, your core talents might be the ones that boost critical strike or attack speed. If you're building a tank, you'll want the damage reduction and health regeneration talents.

Step 2: Lock Your Core Talents

The Temple Baptism system now lets you lock and unlock Talents by clicking them. This is the single most important mechanic for efficient building.

• Click a talent to lock it in place.
• Locked talents will not be rerolled when you perform a Baptism.
• Click again to unlock if you change your mind.

Always lock your core talents before rerolling. This protects your build from being destroyed by a bad roll.

Step 3: Reroll the Rest

With your core talents locked, perform a Baptism to reroll the remaining slots. The system will only randomize unlocked talents, giving you a much higher chance of landing useful upgrades.

Step 4: Evaluate and Iterate

After each Baptism:

1. Check what new talents appeared.
2. Decide if the new set is better than what you had.
3. If yes, lock any new keepers and reroll again.
4. If no, either accept the result or reroll again if you have resources.

Step 5: Apply Preferred Skills

The August 16 patch also notes that Preferred Skills now apply to Baptism. This means you can set preferred skills in your class screen, and Baptism will bias toward them. Use this to steer your rerolls toward specific talent categories.

Recommended Setup for Your First Build

Here's a practical starting point for a balanced first build:

This setup works for most classes because it doesn't over-commit to one stat. You can refine it once you see what gear you're actually finding.

Common Mistakes and How to Recover

Mistake 1: Rerolling Without Locking

The problem: You perform a Baptism without locking any talents and lose your entire build. Your Godsworn now has a random assortment of talents that may not synergize.

How to recover: If you remember what your core talents were, use the lock system and reroll until they come back. This will cost resources, but it's the only way back. If you don't remember, check your class's skill list and rebuild from scratch.

Mistake 2: Ignoring the Agony Scale Conversion

The problem: You're holding Agony Scales that are now useless after the August 16 patch.

How to recover: Convert them to Abyssal Scales at the 6x rate before they clutter your inventory. This gives you more Baptism currency.

Mistake 3: Building Against Your Gear

The problem: You pick talents that boost critical damage, but your gear is all attack speed. Your build underperforms because the stats don't reinforce each other.

How to recover: Audit your gear first. Look at what stats appear most frequently, then rebuild your talents to match. Lock the talents that align with your gear and reroll the rest.

Mistake 4: Spending All Resources on One Godsworn

The problem: You dump all your Abyssal Scales into one character's talents, leaving nothing for your other team members.

How to recover: This is a resource management issue. Going forward, set a budget per Godsworn. Only spend a portion of your scales on each character per session.

Advanced Tips for Talent Optimization

Tip 1: Use Baptism as a Soft Respec

Because you can lock and unlock talents freely, Baptism doubles as a respec tool. If you want to change your build's direction, unlock everything and reroll with a clear goal in mind.

Tip 2: Pair Talents with Runewords

The game's gear system includes Runewords. Certain talent combinations pair exceptionally well with specific Runewords. If you have a Runeword that boosts a particular damage type, prioritize talents that scale with that type.

Tip 3: Build for the Mode You're Playing

The five adventure modes – Expedition, Exploration, Divine Tower, Alternate Dimension, and Finality – have different demands. A build that crushes Expedition may stall in the Divine Tower. Keep a second talent loadout ready for tower climbing if the game allows it.

Tip 4: Track Your Rolls

Keep a simple log of what talents appear during Baptism. Over time, you'll notice patterns in what the system offers. This helps you predict whether to keep rolling or settle for what you have.

Related Guides

• Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising Builds – Full character build breakdowns for all six classes.
• Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising Build – Focused guide on assembling a single cohesive build.
• Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising Guide – General gameplay guide covering town building, gear, and progression.

Sources

• Path of Idle: Old Gods Rising on Steam – Official store page with game details, patch notes, and feature descriptions.