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PoE 2 Build

Thorns Shaman - Leveling and End Game Guide

Druid

0.4 TLotD

Shaman

End Game

Speed Leveling

Starter

By KallTorak

Updated on Jan 7, 2026

Jan 7, 2026

Build Overview

Hey guys, KallTorak here! I'm an Off-Meta creator with an affinity for silly goose time builds! This is my Thorns Shaman guide for leveling through the campaign & end game.

Watch This Before League Starting Thorns!!!!

For years now monsters in ARPGs have gotten too used to the idea of hitting us with no repercussion. Thorns is a really fun playstyle where you take damage to deal damage! However that isn't the only way we deal damage. Thorns is a very diverse playstyle that can be used to enhance many different skills in the game. Crown of the Pale King makes it to where all hits we take deal thorns damage and proc us Barbs and Quill Burst. This helmet is required to play thorns, so if you are SSF do not play this build until you have it. Thorns builds play no different than your standard melee skill builds, we just take advantage of the fact that melee characters are always getting pummeled with lots of blows!

Why Play Thorns Shaman?

Sacred Flow gets us an easy 80 to 120 spirit depending on if you drop Thawing Charm. This is pretty huge for late game and leveling. From very early on in the game you can stack Thornskin II & Thornskin I with Iron Ward and Scavenged Plating. Wisdom of the Maji is a massive dps increase for this build via Greater Rune of Tithing & Fenumus' Rune of Agony.

Most importantly Shaman has one of the best defensive layers in the game with Reactive Growth. Shaman is almost unkillable with enough gear investment. Armour break is very easily solved by weapon swapping Ferocious Roar and slotting Armour Break III into Iron Ward.

Join The Thorns Discord!!

Videos
An Introduction To Thorns
Thorns Warbringer Guide
POE NINJA

Streams

Leveling Stream #1

Strengths and Weaknesses

Thorns is cool. Take damage to deal damage! As you walk through the game enemies fall over by hitting themselves. What could be better?
Very fast and fun for leveling. You will have one of the easiest campaign clears once you get thorns online. If you use Greater Rune of Tithing itll be even better.
Shaman Sacred Flow lets us abuse spirit stacking very early on. This lets us use both Thornskin I & Thornskin II inside of Iron Ward and Scavenged Plating from act 2! This is huge for leveling.

Not SSF / League Start Friendly. Crown of the Pale King is REQUIRED for thorns. Cheap to get started but becomes expensive over time.
Gotta take damage to deal damage. Always risky in a game with so many one shots. This requires us to invest heavily into defenses.

Build Variants

Campaign

End Game

AFK Simu Deep End Game

Important Notes For Leveling

Greater Rune of Tithing will make your life so much easier. Get these into every slot you can and you will fly through leveling. If you can't afford these OR are playing this on league start make sure to upgrade your thorns Shield, Belt, and Body Armour at these levels: 1, 10, 19, 38, 48, 63, and 74.

Equipment

Campaign

End Game

AFK Simu Deep End Game

Set 1

Set 2

Equipment Priority

+10

Required Leveling Gear

Crown of the Pale King you can't play thorns without it. You will use this FOREVER. Get one with as many sockets as you can for Stag Idol.
Briarpatch 25% FLAT critical hit chance is insane. You will use this forever once you put it on so invest into this early.

Optional Leveling Gear

Greater Rune of Tithing are not required for leveling but they make the process so much faster. You dont have to worry about gear or scavenged plating with these in your armour. If you can afford to socket these into your leveling gear do it.
Meginord's Girdle - Get one with room for 2 charms. We need a belt with charms to maximize spirit from Sacred Flow.
Painter's Servant good gloves for leveling elemental thorns. If you are running Greater Rune of Tithing these gloves are amazing. You will use them until maps.
Blackbraid - Great chest for early leveling. Will replace around act 4 for a rare chest.

Thorns Rare Gear

You can find thorns damage rolls on the following item slots: Belt, Chest, and Shield. You will want to get items with thorns damage rolls at the following leveling brackets:

Level 1 - 1-4 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 10 - 5-10 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 19 - 11-23 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 38 - 24-53 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 48 - 40-92 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 63 - 64-145 Physical Thorns Damage
Level 74 - 101-220 Physical Thorns Damage

To make the leveling process as smooth as possible you will want to be upgrading your Belt, Chest, and Shield as often as possible. Each level bracket our thorns damage receives a MASSIVE spike. If you find your damage is lacking try upgrading your gear at these level brackets.

Important Stats For Leveling

Cap Elemental Resistances
Maximum Life
Block %
Strength
Thorns Damage
Thorns Damage %

Jewels

Prism of Belief for Scavenged Plating. Scavenged plating is where a majority of our thorns damage comes from.
Ruby Thorns Damage > Block Chance(Until 50% cap) > Global Physical Damage

Skill Gems

Campaign

End Game

AFK Simu Deep End Game

Support Gem Requirements:

Str 75

Dex 55

Int 20

Expand all

Rapid Assault

Rake

Thunderstorm

Scavenged Plating

Iron Ward

Spear Stab

Disengage

Thunderous Leap

Ferocious Roar

Gem Priority

+30

Rapid Assault is used for single target. Get hit by a boss, get stacks of Barbs II, then attack. This is your highest dps option for thorns in the game. Rake is used for clearing and mobility. Use this while you are running around. Mix in Iron Ward when it reaches full charge to clear the entire screen.

Rapid Assault and Rake make sure to keep them at the lowest level possible. Do not level up these skills. You do not need to level them so keep their mana cost as low as you can. Make sure to level up Iron Ward and Scavenged Plating as much as you can though. These two skills scale a lot with gem level.

Scavenged Plating is your most important skill when playing thorns if you aren't using Greater Rune of Tithing. Make sure you are breaking armour with Ferocious Roar to keep up stacks of Scavenged Plating.

If you are playing with Greater Rune of Tithing start with Iron Ward. Iron Ward is a massive amount of AoE damage for us and helps a lot with the early game clear. You will be using this skill the entire game to help with clear.