Breach

Open the Breach, survive the hive, and follow the chain down to Xesht.

Start: Unstable Breaches and Vruun0 of 4 lessons read

The way down to Xesht

Nine stops, in order. Each one opens the next.

0 of 9 done in game.

  1. Stop 1

    Unstable Breach

    A purple hand in a normal map. Fill its meter to stabilise it.

    Stabilise an Unstable Breach: fill its meter to 100%.

    Taught in Unstable Breaches and Vruun

  2. Stop 2

    Monastery of the Keepers

    Ailith's hub, south of your Atlas start. Home of the Genesis Tree.

    Reach the Monastery of the Keepers and meet Ailith.

    Taught in The Monastery and the Genesis Tree

  3. Stop 3

    Quest Breachstone

    After five more Breaches, Ailith gives you the first one. After that, Splinters make them.

    Finish the five Breaches Ailith asks for and get her quest Breachstone.

    Taught in The Monastery and the Genesis Tree

  4. Stop 4

    Breach Stronghold

    A cluster of Breach maps that a Breachstone reveals on the Atlas.

    Use a Breachstone to reveal a Breach Stronghold.

    Taught in Hives, Fortresses and Ailith

  5. Stop 5

    Breach Hive

    Burn the walls, then keep Ailith alive while she destroys the Hive.

    Finish a Breach Hive with Ailith alive.

    Taught in Hives, Fortresses and Ailith

  6. Stop 6

    Hive Fortress

    A longer defence, then escape while the core collapses.

    Finish a Hive Fortress and escape the collapse.

    Taught in Hives, Fortresses and Ailith

  7. Stop 7

    Hive Colony

    Fight It That Was Tul and It That Was Esh together. They drop the Breachlord Sac.

    Beat It That Was Tul and It That Was Esh, and take the Breachlord Sac.

    Taught in Tul, Esh and Xesht

  8. Stop 8

    The Dreamer

    Offer the Sac to the Dreamer, beside the Genesis Tree.

    Give the Breachlord Sac to the Dreamer.

    Taught in Tul, Esh and Xesht

  9. Stop 9

    Xesht, We That Are One

    The pinnacle, at the end of the Twisted Domain.

    Kill Xesht, We That Are One.

    Taught in Tul, Esh and Xesht

Vruun, Marshal of Xesht

An extra boss in Unstable Breaches. Once every stabilised Rare is dead, he sometimes appears. He is not Xesht; they are two different bosses.

He drops Lineage support gems. With the Atlas passive Flesh Flower he also drops his Head, which grows the Grasping Orchid at the Genesis Tree.

Two different Fortresses

The Hive Fortress is a Breach map where you defend Ailith. It has nothing to do with the Fortress at the centre of your Atlas, the road to the Arbiter of Divinity.

Go to the Fortress storyline

Lessons

  1. Unstable Breaches and VruunOpen a Breach, fill its meter, and what comes out when it stabilises.Up next
  2. The Monastery and the Genesis TreeAilith's hub, Hiveblood and Wombgifts, and how Splinters become a Breachstone.Open
  3. Hives, Fortresses and AilithStrongholds, burning walls, keeping Ailith alive, and the Hive Fortress escape.Open
  4. Tul, Esh and XeshtThe Hive Colony, the Breachlord Sac, the Dreamer and the pinnacle fight.Open
  5. Hive defencePass it to light up the test node on the map.After the lessons

The Genesis Tree

Breach's crafting, in the Monastery. Two things go in, one item comes out.

  • Hiveblood is the fuel. It isn't an item. It's stored at the Tree as you kill Breach monsters.
  • A Wombgift is the seed. Breach monsters drop them. Each kind goes to its own womb and births rings, amulets, belts, currency or a Breachstone.
  • Catalysts only come from here. Since patch 0.5.0, monsters no longer drop them.
Try the Genesis Tree on the map
Read “The Monastery and the Genesis Tree” as text

Meet Ailith

Ailith, First of the Keepers, runs the Breach storyline. The wiki says she appears after your first Unstable Breach and invites you to her hub, the Monastery of the Keepers, which then shows on your Atlas. Her quest is called Keepers of the Flame.

The Monastery holds Ailith, the Genesis Tree and a stash. A room next to the Tree holds the Dreamer, who matters in lesson 4.

Birth an item at the Genesis Tree

The Genesis Tree takes two things: Hiveblood and a Wombgift. It births a ring, an amulet, a belt or currency, and some ring, amulet and belt bases only come from here. Hiveblood isn't an item; it's stored at the Tree as you kill Breach monsters.

Catalysts only come from the Genesis Tree since patch 0.5.0. Monsters no longer drop them.

Match the Wombgift to its womb

The wiki lists one womb per Wombgift: Lavish for currency and Catalysts, Signet for rings, Ornate for amulets, Banded for belts, and Revelatory for a Breachstone. Each womb has its own passives and its own points. The wiki says the points come from quest steps and respecs are free.

You can try the Tree without spending anything: open the Genesis Tree node on the Breach map and click through it.

Turn Splinters into a Breachstone

A full stack of Breach Splinters becomes a Revelatory Wombgift. The wiki puts the stack at 300. Birth it at the Tree and you get a Breachstone. A Breachstone reveals a cluster of Breach maps on your Atlas, called a Breach Stronghold.

If it goes wrong: Old guides say a Breachstone opens a boss. That stopped in patch 0.5.0. Splinters no longer open Xesht either.

Get your first Breachstone from Ailith

You don't have to farm the first one. After your first trip to the Genesis Tree, Ailith sends you to finish five more Breaches. Then her quest Breachstone opens the way on to the Hives and the Hive Colony.

Two guides agree on the five Breaches. The quest Breachstone is named in GGG's own patch notes.

Choose which womb to grow first

Points are per womb, so where you start matters less than you'd think. The wiki notes that low-level Wombgifts cost far less Hiveblood, and that a Wombgift's level doesn't affect unlocking the womb's passives. These are three ways to start. The advice is ours.

  • Currency womb: Lavish Wombgifts birth currency and Catalysts. Pick it when: You want something to sell. Catalysts only come from here. The cost: Nothing for your own gear.
  • A gear womb: Signet, Ornate or Banded Wombgifts birth rings, amulets or belts. Pick it when: Your build is missing a ring, amulet or belt. The cost: Results vary; it can take many births.
  • Save Splinters: Stack Splinters into Revelatory Wombgifts for more Breachstones. Pick it when: You're pushing toward Strongholds and Hives. The cost: Slower start on loot.