SS13 League Start Guide

Start with version impact

SS13 Afterlight pushes Terra Skills together with Selena's traits. At the same time, several older channeling-related routes were weakened. Before starting, check whether the build you plan to play is affected by the update, especially if you want to reuse an old build. Do not wait until K7-K8 to find out that the damage rhythm no longer works.

The new season also has clear reward gates: legendary Compasses start in Deep Space, rare Compasses start at Moment 8, priceless gear starts at Moment 8-1, and several limited legendaries are tied to Deep Space, Moment 8, or highest difficulty. You do not need to memorize every rule, but you do need to use them to decide what you are doing now: pushing difficulty, repairing the build, or stopping to farm resources.

During progression, run the highest difficulty you can clear reliably. If deaths, clear time, or boss pressure become too high, step back to the difficulty with better reward per time. In many cases the real profit gap is not a few strategy points. It is efficiency, Pactspirit level, and whether you can keep the loop stable.

Season payoff stages

Stage	Main goal	Practical judgement
Campaign to K6	Prioritize damage first, with some movement speed if convenient	Do not plan farming strategy yet; fix talents and use whichever gear gives damage
K7 to around K8	Keep stacking damage, then add survival depending on pets and build setup	The main job is beating the Lord of the Void; if damage stalls, farm tickets first
K8-1	Start adding survival, rare Compasses, Afterlight sources, and build pieces	K8-1 can be a resource stop; do not default to farming K8-2 for a long time
U8	Balance damage, survival, movement speed, attack/cast speed, and clear feel	Stop chasing only damage; pick one farming strategy and avoid constant switching
Deep Space	Damage, survival, immunity, and efficiency all need to be ready	Deep Space needs efficiency and Drop Pactspirit support, or it may be worse than U8

Be careful with K8-2. The difficulty jump between K8-2 and U8 is not large enough to justify sitting there forever, and its drops are not much better than K8-1. If you can already build resources in K8-1, the more practical route is to finish the build and prepare to beat the Lord of the Void into U8.

After U8, most players who can enter the difficulty already understand their build. At that point, stop asking only how to add more damage. Add movement speed, attack/cast speed, immunities, recovery, and map feel. The real profit gap usually comes from clear speed and Pactspirit level, not from constantly swapping a few strategy points.

If you start as Selena, read SS13 Terra Skills. If you return with an old build, read the SS13 Afterlight Overview first and check whether Afterlight gameplay, Terra Skills, or channeling changes affect your route.

Start now or wait for the new season?

If you are new to the game, there is no need to wait for the season to start. You can make any character now, learn the campaign flow, review damage and survival basics, look at hero traits, and pick a build that looks good as your season starter.

Late in the old season, do not overfarm low-difficulty resources that may become irrelevant under new gates. It is better to inspect the Trade House, read help pages, and learn which core uniques your build needs and which early affixes actually matter.

On launch day, do not judge only by XP. Check:

1. Whether campaign and early Netherrealm talent choices feel smooth.
2. Whether the build needs a swap or key defense before K8.
3. Whether you should avoid Afterlight gameplay before K7 because it may slow leveling, with little exciting loot at that stage.
4. Which drops are better sold as early capital after quick price checks.

When community XP routes settle, this page can become more specific about which routes are worth running for leveling or resources. At season start, getting progression smooth is more important than chasing an unverified "best route."

Choosing a starter

A starter should do four things:

1. Work without expensive limited legendaries.
2. Cover base damage, resistance, recovery, and clear speed on low resources.
3. Avoid a mechanical wall before K8.
4. Transition into the high-difficulty farming route you want.

Selena and Terra Skills are the season push, but not every player should start there blindly. The season hero requires a paid unlock, and new mechanics need players to test and develop them. Experimenting has a cost. Selena needs Terra Charge, core Terra coverage, output while moving, and the Activation Medium: Terra / Crimson Shade / Crimson Tide chain. If you do not want to learn a new system during league start, a stable old build can still be the better difficulty pusher.

Pactspirits, paid pets, and Drop Pactspirits can raise the ceiling and make early progression smoother, but they should not be the baseline requirement for "can this build start." Judge the starter by whether it works at low investment first, then look at how pets and expensive gear raise the ceiling.

Early resource priority

For the first few days, read upgrades in this order:

1. Choose the skill setup first: active skills should ideally cover main damage, empowerment, curse, recovery, and movement. For passive skills, start with one damage aura, then add survival or speed by build need.
2. Set the talent direction: decide the main talent line first. Core talents should mostly serve damage or the main skill mechanic. Respec is free before level 90, so small adjustments are fine, but do not keep rebuilding the whole route.
3. Do not overcraft early gear: keep useful rare bases while leveling. Around K3-K4 and K6-K7, you can craft gear once each. Stop when it lets you keep progressing, because a better item may drop soon.
4. Watch core Trade House pieces: if a core unique for your build is cheap, buy it early. Early gear can rise quickly, and unused resources should become Flame Elementium for key upgrades.
5. Treat farming strategy as pet-dependent: specific farming mechanics are strongly tied to matching Drop Pactspirits. If you lack pet investment, start with generic tickets, gear, and material routes while balancing difficulty and efficiency.

Afterlight gameplay is the season mechanic, so its drops are usually not worthless, and you should not completely ignore it without pets. But if you have a specific Drop Pactspirit, then optimizing the build and strategy around that mechanic becomes more reasonable. Early on, do not let the mechanic itself slow campaign, K7-K8, or U8 progression.

How to touch Nether King's Divinity early

Nether King's Broken Divinity has 2 sockets. Complete Nether King's Divinity has 3 sockets. Early on, treat Broken Divinity as a learning item: understand Judgment, Contamination, and Banishment before chasing perfect combinations.

Before spending heavily, check:

• Whether the Divinity effect serves your main skill.
• Whether the socket colors can hold the talent points you want.
• Whether complete Divinity's socket lock protects a real key affix.
• Whether adjacent slate projection lands on valuable positions.

If those answers are unclear, keep Divinity as extra growth and do not let it delay basic gear and difficulty progression.

When targeted farming starts

Use these signals:

• Stable K8: start checking rare Compasses and Afterlight limited sources.
• Stable K8-1: priceless gear becomes a serious target, and you can stop to speed-farm resources for build completion.
• Clearable K8-2: do not default to long-term K8-2 farming; first judge whether you can prepare directly for U8.
• Stable U8: compare reward per time instead of only whether the run is clearable.
• Deep Space access: legendary Compasses, Timeless Abyss, and several limited legendaries enter the main pool, but only if efficiency and Drop Pactspirit support can carry the route.
• Highest-difficulty bosses: judge drops such as Jarred Multitude, Phantom, and Styx Tide.

For route details, read SS13 Farming Drops.