Corrupted Dungeon Ratting and Skipping Guide

Corrupted Dungeon ratting isn't a new strategy - it's been around since the early days of the mode. I still remember when Black Hands (RIP 24.11.2021), back then part of the dagger weapon tree, were a popular sight in Corrupted Dungeons. What a weapon.

Builds have changed, but the idea behind ratting remains simple: focus on PvE, open as many chests as efficiently as possible, and escape invasions rather than look for fights. This guide follows that approach, with three builds and a practical four-chest route for farming silver and fame on your way to Slayer.

Ratting means entering a Corrupted Dungeon for its mobs, bosses and chest loot rather than looking for a PvP fight. Skipping is how you avoid that fight when invaded: destroy three Demonic Shards to banish the opponent, then resume your clear. Leave the invasion shrine untouched - but remember that another player can still invade you. This is active farming, not AFK farming.

This guide uses Soulscythe, Bear Paws and Battle Bracers to combine fast PvE with an escape plan. The target is 5-6 minutes per clear, chaining five or six dungeons per food unless the loot justifies banking early.

Stalker and Slayer are full-loot difficulties. The black-zone markers here indicate lethal risk, not an overworld location. Practise unfamiliar mechanics in Hunter before risking a set.

Infamy is your Corrupted Dungeon progression rating; 100,000 unlocks Slayer. The run's boss-progress bar is a separate target: fill it by killing mobs to spawn the final boss and prevent new invasions. The point counter below tells you how much clearing remains.

Slayer is the destination. Use Hunter to learn the loop and Stalker to build Infamy, then move into Slayer for the highest gross rewards. Do not stay in the lower difficulties indefinitely out of habit: prepare a suitable set and a reliable skipping plan instead.

• Choose one of the three published builds and check its active abilities.
• Eat before the first dungeon and treat the food buff as one farming session.
• Collect both miniboss chests and the guarded treasure chest, then finish the final boss for four chests per run.
• Where the layout allows, reach 1,600 Slayer points or 400 Stalker points before killing the second miniboss; its kill fills the bar and closes the new-invasion window.
• Stop farming extra progress once the final boss spawns; finish any unopened treasure chest and head to the boss.
• Aim for five or six runs per food, allowing for travel and invasions.
• Leave early only for an unusually valuable bank, depleted consumables or a bad mental reset.

Choose Your Corrupted Dungeon Rat Build

• Soulscythe combines Druid Robe damage with disruption and Shoes of Tenacity.
• Bear Paws combines the same robe with weapon movement and Royal Sandals.
• Battle Bracers uses Assassin Jacket and Ambush for disengagement.

These are playstyle choices; the fastest option depends on your weapon specialisation and how well you handle each rotation.

Choose your Corrupted Dungeon loadout

Druid Robe and Blind Spot burst damage with a weapon knock-up for disengagement.

PvE clearing skills

Group normal mobs for Whirling Strikes and Tornado. Build Obsessive Burst during the pull, then pair Blind Spot with the robe damage window for extra damage on the pack or miniboss. Shoes of Tenacity are a PvE damage tool here, not just an escape option. Mage Cowl adds Firebreath; the published alternative is Cultist Cowl.

PvP escape and crystal breaking

Force Field and, on cloth robes, Frost Shield are your PvP choices for protection and distance while breaking Demonic Shards. They replace PvE damage skills on the same gear. Switch out of combat, before the opponent reaches you.

Switch the cloth helmet to Force Field and the Druid Robe to Frost Shield out of combat, then let the ability-change cooldown finish. These are PvP tools for the crystal route: knock a pursuer away with Force Field and use Frost Shield for protection while breaking a shard under pressure. Use weapon Tornado and Blind Spot to keep distance between shards. The weapon Tornado is separate from Tornado in a Bottle.

How to choose

• Soulscythe: choose it if you are comfortable grouping mobs for staff abilities and using weapon disruption to buy space.
• Bear Paws: choose it if you know axe rotations and can use Razor Cut accurately for both damage and movement.
• Battle Bracers: choose it if you prefer repeated movement skills and an Ambush reset when a pursuer closes in.

The cards show the published primary setup and its potion alternative. Open the full build for alternative headgear, boots and capes. Their T8 items are reference loadouts: match your purchased tier, enchantment and quality to the dungeon's base IP requirement and your replacement budget.

Buy T4 Poison or T6 Poison for routine clears. The cards display T8 Poison because of the build editor's tier limitation, not because this farming loop needs it. T8 is too expensive for the default budget setup.

With Soulscythe, save Tornado for disruption when needed. With Bear Paws, keep Razor Cut available for movement. On Battle Bracers, Falcon Smash also helps create distance.

These skills help clear mobs, but you also need them to reach shards. Once an invasion starts, reserve the abilities that create distance. Equipment slots are locked inside; plan with the set you entered wearing.

The 5-6 Minute Corrupted Dungeon Run

Five to six minutes is the operating target, not a promise that every layout will cooperate. If normal runs take eight or ten minutes, improve the route or build before paying more for Slayer gear. Clear speed matters because it increases completions per food and shortens the period in which another player can invade.

1. Read before moving. Locate the miniboss branches, boss room and treasure room. Do not clear clockwise by habit.
2. Kill the first miniboss and open its chest. Take compact packs on the way; avoid isolated mobs and long dead ends.
3. Clear the guarded treasure room on the route. Its mobs contribute progress and unlock another chest. Prefer a route that connects this room with both miniboss branches without unnecessary backtracking.
4. Set up the second miniboss finish. Ideally reach at least 1,600 of 2,000 points in Slayer, or 400 of 500 in Stalker, before killing it. This includes the first miniboss and normal mobs already cleared.
5. Kill the second miniboss and open its chest. Its 400 Slayer points or 100 Stalker points complete the bar, summon the final boss and prevent new invasions. If the layout makes this ordering inefficient, finish only the missing progress afterwards.
6. Kill the final boss and open chest four. Chain while the session is healthy; bank when the inventory has become more valuable than another run.

Use the environment to clear packs and escape

• Explosive traps: lure 3-4 larger mobs from nearby packs into the blast area and trigger it once they are grouped. The explosion can kill or heavily weaken several mobs at once, saving a damage rotation. Step clear of the blast yourself.
• Lava traps: pull mobs through the damaging area while keeping yourself on safe ground. Use the hazard's damage alongside your rotation rather than standing in it to force a pull.
• During an invasion: put traps, lava and narrow passages between you and the pursuer. They can force a detour or punish a direct chase, buying time to reach a shard. Pair choke points with Tornado in a Bottle and use Force Field to create separation when the opponent closes in.

Use hazards already on a useful route. A long detour to find a trap defeats the purpose, and the environment can hurt you too.

Adjust the pull to your build

• Soulscythe and Bear Paws: start Obsessive Burst when you can keep casting into a useful pack or boss. Walking down an empty corridor during the damage window wastes the robe's value.
• Shoes of Tenacity also help Soulscythe clear: use Blind Spot during Obsessive Burst to combine its bonus damage with the robe's damage stacks. It is part of the PvE burst rotation, not only an escape skill. Once invaded, save the cooldown for disengagement instead.
• Battle Bracers: connect nearby targets with the weapon rotation. Keep Ambush available when invasion risk matters; it is your jacket's disengage option.
• All three: use headgear, cape damage and T4 Poison or T6 Poison on targets that would otherwise delay the run. Compare the time saved against the potion cost.

The dungeon ends when the final boss dies, not when every corridor is empty. Extra mobs after boss spawn usually reduce Silver per hour. Clear them only when they protect movement, unlock a worthwhile chest route or solve a specific sustain problem.

Food, Potions and Chaining

All three published builds use Avalonian Beef Stew. Match the food to the difficulty:

• Stalker: T8 Avalonian Beef Stew is the default budget choice.
• Slayer: prefer T8.1 Avalonian Beef Stew for the stronger buff. The flat T8 food in the build cards is a reference, not a restriction.

Eat before the first clear and treat the buff as one farming session. Aim for five or six dungeons at a 5-6 minute pace, but check the remaining timer before chaining - transitions and invasions reduce the number you can finish.

Start with enough food and potions for the planned chain. After each boss chest, make one quick decision:

• Chain: food is active, the loot is ordinary, the build is healthy and you still have the consumables needed for an invasion.
• Bank: one rare drop or the total inventory has crossed your personal risk threshold.
• Reset: food has expired, potions are depleted, concentration is slipping or the previous invasion exposed a problem with the build.

Potion	Role	When to choose it
T4 Minor Poison Potion or T6 Poison Potion	Budget PvE	Use on minibosses or the final boss. Start with T4; choose T6 if the extra damage is worth its price. Skip T8 for routine farming.
T6 Tornado in a Bottle or T8 Major Tornado in a Bottle	PvP escape	Cover a narrow passage or doorway the pursuer must cross, leaving no easy route around the effect. Use the separation to break a crystal or reach the next one. Choose the tier that fits your replacement budget.
T8 Invisibility Potion	Optional escape swap	Break contact and change direction. This is an additional guide option, not a potion currently listed in the three builds.

Tornado in a Bottle knocks players away; it does not increase your PvE movement speed. If you plan to change from Poison to an escape potion, equip it before contact and allow the equip cooldown to finish. Do not assume a freshly swapped potion is immediately ready.

Stalker or Slayer?

The route is the same in both lethal tiers. Slayer multiplies every mob's progress value and the boss requirement by four, so the mental counter does not change.

Hunter to Stalker to Slayer

1. Practise in Hunter. Start with roughly 5-10 runs to learn boss attacks, the four-chest route and shard movement. This is a practice recommendation, not an unlock requirement; experienced players can move on sooner.
2. Build Infamy in Stalker. Repeat complete runs, including the final boss, until your personal rating reaches 100,000. Work towards consistent 5-6 minute clears and practise skipping invasions.
3. Farm Slayer once ready. Move up when it is unlocked and your gear, clear pace and escape plan are ready. Slayer is the reward target, not a difficulty to avoid indefinitely. Keep the set replaceable; step back to Stalker if losses make the higher tier unprofitable.

How many Stalker runs to unlock Slayer?

Use the change in your personal Infamy rating over completed runs, not the boss-spawn counter. Include the final boss reward and any Infamy losses in that average:

Runs remaining = round up ((100,000 - current Infamy) / average net Infamy per run)

For example, 2,000 net Infamy per run means 50 runs from zero, or 45 if you already have 10,000. At 2,500 net per run, it would take 40 from zero. These are planning examples, not fixed dungeon rewards. If your average already includes the final boss, do not add its reward again. Check your rating before and after a few complete runs to get your own estimate.

Gear for comfortable clears, not just entry

• Stalker: start around T7-equivalent gear, such as flat T7 or T6.1, rather than buying only enough to pass the 900 base IP entry check. Use a weapon you have trained where possible; the extra damage helps maintain the clear pace.
• Slayer: aim for roughly 1,400-1,500 displayed IP before entering. Flat T8 Excellent with trained weapon and armour specialisation is a useful benchmark, not a guarantee that every item or set reaches that range. Check your actual IP rather than judging by tier alone.

You do not need every equipment line maxed before starting: missing specialisation can grow through the PvE loop. However, specialisation does not replace the dungeon's base IP entry requirement.

Both tiers apply an IP soft cap: Stalker retains 20% of IP above 1,000; Slayer retains 50% above 1,300. For example, a 1,500 IP item becomes 1,400 inside Slayer. Check your effective IP after entering and do not pay heavily for small gains above the cap, especially in Stalker.

The Four-Chest Route and Boss Points

The four-chest route is two miniboss chests + one mob-guarded treasure chest + one final boss chest. Read the map before moving and connect the miniboss branches and treasure room with as little backtracking as possible. Ideally collect enough normal-mob progress on the way for the second miniboss kill to summon the final boss immediately.

Each opened chest is another loot roll. Completing the four-chest route repeatedly gives you more chances to find a valuable item over a farming session than collecting only the final boss chest. It does not improve the odds of any individual chest or guarantee a jackpot. The goal is more chest openings per hour, keeping the 5-6 minute pace rather than chasing every stray mob.

Let the second miniboss finish the bar

Leave the second miniboss alive while collecting the missing normal-mob progress along its approach:

• Slayer: reach 1,600/2,000, then kill the second miniboss for 400 to finish at 2,000/2,000.
• Stalker: reach 400/500, then kill the second miniboss for 100 to finish at 500/500.

These pre-kill totals include the first miniboss. The normal mobs needed across the route still total 1,200 in Slayer or 300 in Stalker. The benefit is ordering: the second miniboss kill both unlocks its chest and spawns the final boss, so you can head straight to the finish without another progress-farming leg exposed to new invasions.

Do not turn this into a long detour. If a layout makes the order awkward, use the shortest four-chest route and top up only what remains. Boss spawn does not remove an invader already inside.

Count only the missing points

In Slayer, two minibosses give 800 of 2,000 points. The remaining 1,200 points come from normal mobs. In Stalker, the same route gives 200 of 500 and leaves 300.

Count normal mobs throughout the run, including those killed between minibosses:

low + 3 x medium + 5 x high >= 60

Five high mobs, ten medium mobs and five low mobs total 60 counter units. Combined with the first miniboss, that reaches the 1,600 Slayer or 400 Stalker setup for the second miniboss finish. That is one 20-mob example, not a predicted spawn mix. Normal mobs killed on the miniboss and treasure-room route already count: do not kill another 20 afterwards. Use the live progress bar to finish only what is missing.

Prioritise compact packs that die inside the existing rotation. Imps are excellent progress for their health, and Mages are strong medium targets. Isolated Thieves and Predators are usually poor detours. Pack density, cooldown timing and travel distance matter more than a perfect spreadsheet order.

Reaching the point requirement and spawning the final boss prevents a new invasion from starting. It does not remove an invader already inside. This route closes the matchmaking window; it is not an escape from an invasion that has already begun.

How to Skip an Invader

Ignoring the invasion shrine only stops you from volunteering to invade another player. You can still be selected as the defender until the final boss spawns.

When the invasion warning appears, stop the PvE route and destroy three of the five Demonic Shards:

Switch to defensive skills before contact

For this route, Force Field and Frost Shield are PvP skills for breaking crystals under pressure, not the PvE clearing rotation. Force Field buys distance from the pursuer; Frost Shield provides protection and slows attackers while you finish a Demonic Shard. Use that breathing room to break the crystal and move to the next one, not to trade damage with the player.

All three builds use cloth headgear: switch its PvE damage skill to Force Field for knockback. On Soulscythe and Bear Paws, also change Druid Robe from Obsessive Burst to Frost Shield for protection and a slow on attackers. Battle Bracers keeps Assassin Jacket on Ambush - it cannot use the cloth robe skill.

Change abilities out of combat, while you still have distance, and allow the ability-change cooldown to finish. Do not stand next to the enemy trying to switch. These are swaps on the gear you entered with; equipment slots remain locked. After the banish, restore your PvE skills before the next pull.

1. Disengage cleanly. Do not drag a dangerous pack into the shard route.
2. Choose three shards on the minimap. Prefer an outside circuit that avoids crossing the centre.
3. Rotate immediately. Break one shard and leave; do not wait nearby to discover the enemy's route.
4. Spend defensives on time and distance. Your objective is the third shard, not a favourable damage trade.

Use the tools on the selected build

• Soulscythe: Tornado disrupts pursuit; Blind Spot is the selected boots tool. Turn the space they create into movement towards another shard. Your Druid Robe does not provide Ambush.
• Bear Paws: keep Razor Cut for a gap when needed, and use Adrenaline Boost and Defenseless Rush around the escape route. Avoid staying in range to trade damage during Defenseless Rush.
• Battle Bracers: use weapon movement and Ambush to change the pursuer's route, then continue towards a shard. Energetic Sprint is selected on the Cleric Sandals; there is no Soldier Boots Wanderlust in this setup.

Tornado in a Bottle buys separation from the player; an Invisibility Potion helps break contact. Plan around the potion actually equipped and its cooldown.

Where to Throw Tornado in a Bottle

Pick a narrow passage or doorway the pursuer must cross and aim to cover its walkable width. They should have to enter the potion's area to follow you, rather than simply walk around it. Use the knockback to buy time at a crystal or continue towards the next shard. A throw beside the enemy in a wide-open room is much easier to bypass.

Breaking one or two shards and then turning for a poor fight loses both ways. If the matchup and position are not clearly favourable, commit to the three-shard banish immediately.

T6 and T8 Mob Data

Here, Infamy means the progress added to the boss bar. The full tables are reference material, so they stay collapsed during normal route reading.

Many corrupted mobs deal most of their damage through abilities, so the raw basic-attack value is misleading. HP, Fame and progress are useful route data; damage taken depends on abilities, item power, resistances and whether the mechanic is avoided.

What to Copy From Example Runs

The videos are optional route examples, not prerequisites for following this guide.

• Copy: reading the map before moving, routing through objectives, using mobility between packs and chaining without unnecessary banking.
• Measure: whether the build repeatedly lands near 5-6 minutes, not its single fastest clear.
• Ignore: old Infamy-based loot scaling, test-server gear and isolated jackpot chests.

Banking and Measuring Profit

Measure the complete food session. Chaining reduces travel and banking time, but also keeps earlier loot exposed to later invasions.

Bank early when one unusually valuable drop changes the risk of the remaining chain. Otherwise, finish the food session and bank once. There is no universal Silver number: the correct threshold depends on the replacement cost of the set and how much of the session's profit is already in the inventory.

Track at least 20 comparable runs:

• Banked loot and direct Silver.
• Complete session time, including entry and banking.
• Food, potions, repairs and map costs.
• Every set lost in Stalker or Slayer.
• Average and median clear time, not only the best run.

Net Silver per hour = (banked loot + direct Silver - consumables - repairs - lost sets) / total hours

Slayer has the higher gross ceiling. Stalker can still produce better net results while Slayer sets are too expensive, runs exceed the target or invasions regularly end in losses. Drop a tier when the ledger says to, not after one emotional death.

Higher Infamy still unlocks Slayer and records progression, but it no longer turns a weak chest into a rich one. Optimise completions, chain uptime and survival instead.

Before Your First Dungeon

Do these in order before committing to a chain:

1. Equip the complete set. Check 900 base IP for Stalker, or 1,100 base IP plus 100,000 Infamy for Slayer. Decide how much loot will make you bank early.
2. Select your PvE skills. Check the selected build tab, then locate Force Field and, for Druid Robe builds, Frost Shield in the ability menu so you can switch without searching during an invasion.
3. Pack the session's consumables. Bring T8 Avalonian Beef Stew for Stalker or preferably T8.1 Avalonian Beef Stew for Slayer, T4 Poison or T6 Poison, and your chosen escape potion. Equip the starting potion and let its cooldown finish.
4. Eat just before the first clear. Aim for five or six dungeons at 5-6 minutes each; check the remaining food timer after every run.
5. Enter, leave the shrine alone and read the map. Collect the first miniboss chest and the guarded treasure chest. Ideally reach 1,600 Slayer points or 400 Stalker points before killing the second miniboss, so it fills the bar and prevents new invasions. Open its chest, then kill the final boss for chest four.

Corrupted Dungeon Ratting FAQ

Aim for a repeatable 5-6 minute clear. One exceptional speed run is less useful than an average you can sustain across an entire food session. If most clears take much longer, improve the route or build before increasing set cost.

Aim for five or six dungeons per food. Check the remaining buff timer before chaining because transitions and invasions reduce the number you can finish. Bank earlier when an unusually valuable drop makes the next run a poor risk.

Practise roughly 5-10 runs in Hunter if needed, then farm Stalker until you reach 100,000 personal Infamy. Slayer also requires 1,100 base IP. Aim for roughly 1,400-1,500 displayed IP before entering and prefer T8.1 Avalonian Beef Stew. Estimate the remaining runs from your measured net Infamy gain, not the boss-progress bar.

Use T4 or T6 Poison for clearing, not expensive T8 Poison. For skipping, bring T6/T8 Tornado in a Bottle to knock enemy players away, ideally throwing it into a choke point on the pursuer's route, or T8 Invisibility to break contact. The T8 Poison shown in the build cards is an editor tier limitation, not the recommended farming purchase.

Ideally reach 1,600 of 2,000 points in Slayer, or 400 of 500 in Stalker, before killing the second miniboss. These totals include the first miniboss. The second kill adds 400 or 100 respectively, fills the bar and summons the final boss, preventing new invasions. Use this order when it fits the layout without excessive backtracking; it does not remove an active invader.

No. Boss spawn prevents a new invasion from beginning but does not remove an invader already inside. During an active invasion, destroy three of the five Demonic Shards or take the fight.

No. The PvE loop can feel low-interaction once learned, but invasions, traps and lethal deaths require attention while the character is active.