Patch 0.3.1 has been live for a few weeks now. As a beta update for patch 0.4.0, the main selling point of 0.3.1 was to test potential game changes before the next major update and, based on player feedback, to try to fix some bugs before the start of the new league.

Honestly, I think patch 0.3.1 was quite successful, but there are still many areas in the endgame that need to be fixed before the release of 0.4.0, which is what we will discuss here.

Patch 0.4.0 Release Date Speculation

The release date for Path of Exile 2 patch 0.4.0 has not yet been officially announced, but based on the developers' previously stated four-month league cycle, we can expect it to be released in late December 2025, with the possibility of it being pushed back to January 2026.

Since Patch 0.3.0, The Third Edict, was released on August 29, 2025, and given the developers' usual Friday release schedule, 0.4.0 will probably go live on January 2, 2026.

In any case, based on the updates in Patch 0.3.1 and player feedback, we'll discuss the much-needed changes to the endgame in the next League.

Delirium Mechanics

For this first section, we'll of course be discussing the changes to the endgame mechanics, especially the current Delirium, which absolutely destroys your FPS and turns the game into a complete mess.

For us, at least, the biggest positive change in Patch 0.3.1 was the removal of Delirium's incessant humming music. Honestly, I wish it had carried over to PoE 3.27.

Unfortunately, the visuals in Path of Exile 2's Delirium are just as terrible. The constant fog caused by Delirium Mirror turns the world into a gray haze and cuts our FPS in half or a third. However, the goal is to kill enemies in the fog, and there's a reward counter that determines the number of Distilled Emotions you'll receive after the fog clears.

These Emotions are currency for character enhancement and can also be used for crafting and upgrades. By killing monsters, especially those unique to Delirium encounters, you can increase the amount of Distilled Emotions dropped at the end of the encounter, and potentially even higher-level Simulacrum Splinters.

What's more, in PoE 2, Distilled Emotions, in addition to providing Delirium, also provide a significant bonus to the spawn rate of rare monsters in the map. This is effectively double dipping, meaning that if you don't use Distilled Emotions on every map, you're missing out on a very powerful loot multiplier. So, there's almost no reason not to use Emotions.

The problem is Delirium Mirror has always been criticized for its high difficulty, as it makes monsters more powerful while adding new, powerful monsters, and the challenge increases the further away from Mirror you are. Because of the extremely high difficulty and the fog's tendency to cause enemies to deal more damage and take less, players find these encounters frustrating and overly painful.

This would all be fine if Delirium Mirror itself provided some valuable PoE 2 currency, but since it only provides Distilled Emotions, why not just farm Simulacrum instead? It's not only easier to obtain, but also more cost-effective.

Simply put, in PoE 2, Delirium Mirror only provides Emotions and Simulacrum Splinters, but there have always been better ways to obtain both, making Delirium Mirror's existence essentially pointless.

Delirium Mirror is the only mechanic still wearing these special handcuffs. So, in Patch 0.4.0, either the Delirium Mirror reward needs to be buffed, or Emotions reward needs to be nerfed, or both.

Map Rolling Mechanics

On the other hand, Path of Exile 2's map rolling mechanics can be quite frustrating. The high-risk modifiers, the wide variance in map outcomes, and the poor layout of many maps make play throughs too long or too difficult, making them unpleasant.

Currently, map rolls in the game are polarized. Some map rolls with high-risk modifiers, such as a large number of monsters dealing increased damage, shock effects on hit, or a very high freeze chance, can make a map impossible to play, depending on the player's build.

Some map rolls may contain beneficial modifiers that are friendly to new players, but these offer little to no tangible benefit. Some of these junk items and minimal currency drops make the risk and effort seem meaningless.

Because of the wide variation in modifiers and the varying number of beneficial and harmful modifier effects, the differences between maps can be significant, often leading players to waste significant amounts of money and time trying to find a manageable map.

Furthermore, poor map layouts are a significant contributing factor to players' perceived endgame experience being so poor. Many maps not only feature narrow, winding paths and numerous obstacles, making navigation cumbersome but also increasing the chances of being cornered by monsters.

The combination of larger maps and slower movement speed modifiers means that even completing a single map can take a long time, which many players find tedious and uninspiring.

More importantly, the high-risk, low-reward nature of many maps, coupled with harsh death penalties, makes the game feel punishing rather than rewarding success. Some players feel that the current endgame map system is less rewarding and engaging than Path of Exile 1.

Atlas Passive Skill Tree

The next issue is the skill tree, which is currently quite confusing. This is because the new map system in patch 0.3.0 adds one to three additional items to each map. Unfortunately, these additional items can be anything: Essence, Breach, or other strongboxes.

This new randomized item system overrides the effects of many passive nodes, which in turn increases the chances of spawning the same item type. Furthermore, because of exploits and overwrite mechanics, numerous Atlas passive nodes, such as Essence, Strongboxes, and Rogue Exiles, appear to be bugged and not functioning as intended, rendering many nodes useless.

Furthermore, the cost of certain bosses required for Atlas progression and the single-portal nature of Atlas progression make Atlas Points prohibitively expensive for average players, leading to frustration.

To unlock new Atlas Points, players must defeat bosses like King in the Mists, which costs approximately six PoE 2 Divine Orbs per attempt.

Since these bosses only have a single portal, if the player dies, they lose the portal fee, Atlas progression, and the opportunity to unlock that specific point. This makes the process particularly challenging for average players who may not have the gear or skills to guarantee victory on their first try.

Thus, the 0.4.0 patch's changes to the passive tree are urgently needed. These are fundamental changes that will directly impact players' ability to earn loot, currency, and waystones, making the endgame more interesting and meaningful.

Regardless, as of update 0.3.1, Path of Exile 2's endgame setup in patch 0.4.0 still needs a major overhaul, but this also proves we're getting closer to the full game's release.

If you want to gain an advantage in patch 0.4.0, you need to prepare now. Not only will you need to learn new build strategies and explore Atlas settings, but having enough currency is essential for everything. However, there's a shortcut: you can buy cheap PoE 2 Currency on POECurrency.com platform for a better gaming experience! Good luck!

Exiles, today we're taking a look at the build that won Build of the Week on PoE 2 Forums this week: Grape Soda Power Washer by Toastji!

Actually, Grape Soda here is the purple chaos damage converted by Blackflame Covenant Passive after Acolyte of Chayula Monk uses Incinerate skill! This intriguing concept is perhaps one of the key reasons why this build was named Best of the Week. Here, we'll take a closer look at how this Powerwasher Acolyte of Chayula endgame build works.

How Does It Works?

First and foremost, Power Washer Acolyte of Chayula build relies heavily on collecting fuel to incinerate enemies, clearing everything in your path. Meanwhile, the purple flame beams stacked with Volatility boost your damage to the max.

Incinerate is quite simply a flamethrower. To use it, you first need to accumulate fuel, which is collected by spending mana.

We can spend mana on Living Bomb, which not only causes enemies to explode upon taking enough damage or dying, but more importantly, it also drops Fire Remnants, which empower Incinerate with Burning Ground buff, effectively killing two birds with one stone.

Furthermore, to maximize mana consumption and generate more Remnants, we can actually use two Living Bombs, one of which is automatically triggered by Casting on Elemental Ailment. Since Ignite is also a Damaging Elemental Ailment, using Incinerate allows us to continuously cast Living Bombs and generate Remnants.

And, as mentioned earlier, Blackflame Covenant Keystone converts 100% of the fire damage dealt by fire spells into chaos damage, turning its visual effect purple and causing it to scale based on the chaos damage modifier instead of the fire damage.

While the visual effect isn't essential, it's certainly a nice touch. More importantly, this conversion also means that any Ignite dealt by these spells will now deal Chaos damage and benefit from the increased Chaos damage modifier and spread.

Skill Tree Setup

This Grape Soda Acolyte of Chayula Monk build centers around the reworked Incinerate skill, paired with the new keystone passive, Blackflame Covenant, to convert fire spells into Chaos damage and apply Chaos damage over time.

This unique interaction allows for simultaneous adjustment of Ignite power and Chaos mechanics, creating a powerful and flexible build that, when combined with spells like Fireball, can create a trendsetting purple Monk build.

Additionally, this skill works in conjunction with the new Elemental Infusions mechanic, allowing Incinerate to ignite the ground and deal increased Ignition damage to enemies passing through it.

To enhance the effectiveness of our AoE attacks, we can also use Cast on Elemental Ailment Gem to apply Living Bomb to the target during mapping.

Additionally, Volatility mechanic of Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy in PoE 2 grants you additional Volatility stacks, detonating every 4 seconds, damaging the player and dealing 1% Chaos damage over time, significantly increasing mapping efficiency.

To maintain mana consumption for long-lasting Incinerate spells, target enemies affected by Elemental Ailments, as killing them has a chance to spawn a Mana Remnant, instantly replenishing mana, even exceeding your current mana cap.

However, keep in mind that during Incinerate, movement is limited, which is where Ghost Dance comes in handy. This skill allows you to instantly consume energy upon being attacked, restoring energy shield based on your evasion value.

Finally, Despair and Ball Lightning synergize perfectly. While Ball Lightning's own damage output is low and not a powerful primary damage skill, it can be used to trigger Effigy of Cruelty, which curses enemies upon impact. Despair reduces Chaos Resistance of all targets in the area, allowing us to easily clear all enemies.

Jewels

For Jewels, you should focus on investing in Ailment Magnitude, Ignite Magnitude, Chaos Damage, and Critical Hit, as these directly impact the damage output of most of your skills. Notably, Ignite damage from Incinerate scales with critical hits, which is why it's so effective.

Alternatively, if you have enough PoE 2 currency, you can also equip a Heart of the Well Diamond with Ailment Magnitude stat.

Gear Selection

Weapon Set

In PoE 2 patch 0.3.0, weapon switching has no delay or time penalty, meaning we have even more gear options. To take advantage of weapon switching, this build uses two gear sets to stack powerful debuffs.

• Weapon Set 1: Non-Unique Wand and Focus
• Weapon Set 2: Wicked Quill Withered Wand and Effigy of Cruelty Antler Focus

Whichever weapon set you choose, remember to focus on stats that increase damage, particularly spell damage, spell skill level, and chaos damage.

Armor

For armor, you'll want to equip items with higher Evasion, Energy Shield, and Deflection stats. Since this build doesn't require unique armor pieces, you can easily craft or swap in items with your preferred stats.

Runes

For your runes, be sure to equip Fenumus' Rune of Agony on your wand and Greater Body Rune on your shield to help you gain more chaos damage and life leech, thereby improving your survivability.

Also, equip Greater Iron Rune on your helmet and armor to increase your weapon's physical damage by 20% and armor, evasion, and energy shield by 20%.

You can also place Farrul's Rune of Grace into an empty rune slot on your weapon or armor, reducing the movement speed penalty for using Incinerate by 6%.

Belts

If budget is of no concern, Headhunter Heavy Belt is definitely our best bet. This allows you to gain temporary strength after killing rare monsters, lasting 60 seconds, allowing your character to become temporarily stronger while clearing the map.

Charms

For Charms, prioritize defensive options to maintain Incinerate casting. Ideally, choose a charm with a defense chance modifier when activated to further enhance survivability while channeling skills.

In short, Grape Soda Power Washer build in Path of Exile 2 combines the power of Chaos-themed Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy with the fire spell Incinerate, providing high-speed casting and potentially massive Chaos damage. This build, with its combination of damage and visuals, truly deserves its spot as the best build of the week!

If you're considering this build, I must warn you that while Incinerate Acolyte of Chayula has impressive damage output, it also comes at a considerable cost. However, you can also visit the cheap PoE 2 currency for sale page on POECURRENCY.com, which will allow you to complete the build at a much lower cost!

In Path of Exile 2, Evasion is a defensive stat that grants a chance to completely avoid physical attacks, making it crucial for characters who rely on this mechanic for survival. This is especially true for builds like Hollow Palm Monk and Lightning Arrow Deadeye, which typically maximize their defensive capabilities by stacking Evasion and Energy Shield.

Therefore, players using high-evasion builds can maximize their chances of dodging incoming attacks by crafting Pure Evasion Body Armor. Especially for new players, using Evasion Body Armor wisely can provide a more direct defense against one-shot attacks than stacking Energy Shield and Life.

So, how do you craft the best Evasion Body Armor in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0 to effectively boost your build's overall defense? This guide will provide the answers!

Step-By-Step Guide

What do we need to start crafting this armor?

Slipstrike Vest Base

First, we need Slipstrike Vest Base Body Armor. Note that it must be Slipstrike Vest, as this is the base with the highest evasion rating; it should be at least level 79, preferably 80, as this is the most common level available.

Next, we need a chest with the prefix Tier 1 Flat Evasion Rating or Tier 1 % Increased Evasion Rating. Please note that the prefix cannot be hybrid.

For the suffix, we need at least 30% resistance or a deflection rating of around 20%.

Once you have these bases, you need a Greater Essence of Ruin. This essence grants chaos resistance to our body armor, which upgrades it to a rare item.

Infusing Chaos Essence

But what if you already have armor with both evasion and chaos resistance? In this case, you can choose one of Fire, Cold, and Lightning Resistance Essences. It really doesn't matter which one you choose - it's entirely up to you.

Next, we'll crush Chaos Essences. This is because by the end, you can roll anything from Tier 5 to Tier 1. These are the only mandatory requirements, and this makes the crafting cost of this Evasion Body Armor lower overall compared to other materials.

So, we've infused four Chaos Essences into each piece of armor.

Adding Prefixes And Suffixes

So, what's next? We'll add Desecrated Suffixes. To do this, we need Omen of Dextral Necromancy and Preserved Rib. You can select Omen of Dextral Necromancy and then hit each piece of armor with Preserved Rib to ensure it gets the suffix.

However, you don't have to reveal this mod right away. In fact, we even recommend not doing so, as you'll most likely want to use Omen of Abyssal Echoes later to achieve this. However, not every piece of armor is worth it.

Now that our body armor has a complete set of suffixes, we need to add our prefixes. So, what do we do with our prefixes?

If you already have flat evasion, we'll look for the highest% increased Evasion Rating and a hybrid evasion.

You can slam both hybrids, as you have a chance to hit all three mods. However, if you lose, you'll have to repeat the previous steps. However, the crafting cost is really low, so it's worth a try.

Also Read: Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.1 Update | All Maps Have Bosses, Orb Of Alchemy Rework & Major Atlas Changes

Omen Of Homogenising Exaltation

Next, we take Omen of Homogenising Exaltation, which grants us the evasion modifier. We can combine it with Greater Exalted Orb to add the desired higher-level modifiers, which share tags with the existing modifiers on your item.

A quick explanation for why we used Greater Exalted Orb instead of Perfect Exalted Orb is that the difference between the two Exalted Orbs is only one tier, which isn't worth it. Don't waste your PoE 2 currency; it's better to start over.

Now, let's bash through all of them. If you don't hit anything good, I recommend recombining them or throwing them away, then getting new bases and repeating the process again.

Desecrated Modifiers

So far, we've managed to achieve a 2400 evasion rating, which is pretty good. But we still need to further optimize this body armor with Desecrated Modifiers in Well of Souls.

Desecrated Modifier system allows you to improve items without risking them being ruined, giving you a lot of autonomy in your crafting. We can take this armor to Well of Souls in Mastodon Badlands to reveal three modifier options.

Note that the three modifier options you receive are random, but are designed to provide useful upgrades for your character. Finally, choose the modifier that best suits your build and select Confirm to add it to your armor.

Cost

Finally, for budget, this Pure Evasion Body Armor costs approximately 5 PoE 2 Divine Orbs, as we only used Omen of Homogenizing Exaltation + Greater Exalted Orb, and Omen of Abyssal Echoes. Aside from the base, the rest is completely affordable, requiring only around 20-30 Exalted Orbs, depending on when you acquire them.

These are the complete steps and cost breakdown for crafting this Evasion Body Armor. Overall, Evasion Body Armor is crucial in PoE 2 because it grants a chance to completely dodge incoming attacks, which is very effective for defending against multiple smaller attacks and reducing critical hit chance. If you're struggling with incoming physical damage, prioritizing crafting this unique armor is an excellent strategy.

If your budget is limited or you don't have the time to craft this armor, there's actually a great solution: visit Cheap PoE 2 Currency Items for sale page on POECURRENCY.com, where you can buy everything you need with lightning-fast delivery!

As development on the second game stabilizes, Path of Exile 1 league updates have returned to their normal frequency. Previously announced to begin on October 31st, 3.27 league recently released a trailer and detailed a range of new features.

Named Keepers of the Flame, this league will feature both gameplay changes and new content, focusing on gameplay and other details that impact your gaming experience. We'll explain these changes below.

What Changes Will The Heist Mechanic Undergo?

As you know, Path of Exile 1 will continue to improve and enhance the well-received mechanics and gameplay of the previous leagues as it updates, ensuring they continue to serve you well. This is one of the main reasons the game's scale continues to grow.

The heist mechanic, introduced in 3.12 league, has undoubtedly become a core component of the game, featuring complex entry and completion mechanisms, and, of course, rich rewards.

Unfortunately, with the introduction of new mechanics, more and more players believe that the rewards are far less valuable than the effort required to complete the early Heist missions, ultimately leading to a decline in both participation and appreciation for the mechanic.

To address this, starting with 3.27 league, rogues available in heist missions will automatically start at the highest level, allowing you to farm loot directly in heist locations, eliminating the need to slowly level up rogues by completing contracts from scratch.

Of course, streamlining the system will lower the barrier to entry and difficulty of obtaining rare heist rewards. This may result in a reduction in the amount of PoE currency dropped and a lower drop rate for rare gear or gems to achieve balance.

But honestly, the impact of this balancing act is negligible compared to the redundant upfront work, as you can simply complete Heist missions more frequently to earn loot when you have the time.

At the same time, the improved efficiency of the heist system will also increase the circulation of currency in the game's trading market, making some rare items more accessible and making the trading system more meaningful.

It's worth noting that while the mercenary mechanic from 3.26 leaguewas very popular, it will not be carried over to the base game for now due to a slight imbalance in power and potential incompatibility with Path of Exile after the launch of 3.27 league.

However, the developers have stated that they are generally satisfied with the design of the mercenary mechanic in 3.26 league, so do not rule out the possibility of its return in a future League after a redesign.

Atlas Passive Tree Optimizations

As the primary way to enhance your character and builds in the game, Atlas Passive Tree has been undergoing continuous updates and adjustments.

You can earn a total of 132 passive points to invest in your Atlas Passive Tree, but it's inevitable that you'll need to reset part of your Atlas tree layout.

In League 3.26, which has yet to conclude, resetting your Atlas tree is only possible by consuming Orbs of Unmaking. While earning this currency isn't difficult, the flexibility you have in resetting it is very limited.

Keepers of the Flame League will implement changes to address this issue. In 3.27, you'll be able to directly refund all passive points you've invested using gold, and this mechanic will be applied to the rest of Path of Exile's regular passive tree.

This change will give you more choice and freedom when customizing your character's passive skill clusters, eliminating the need to worry about cumbersome resets that distract from building your passive skill system.

A More Balanced Class And Combat Experience

Maintaining a balanced experience across classes is a constant challenge in any ARPG with multiple classes. It's inherently impossible to make all classes play and power levels identical, requiring constant adjustments based on league content.

Thankfully, unlike PoE 2, PoE 1's class system has stabilized, making adjustments relatively easy and drastic. However, the likelihood of new classes being added is practically zero - at least not in 3.27 league.

On the other hand, combat experience is closely tied to systems like skill gems and support gems, and PoE frequently adds and updates these to fine-tune the overall combat experience.

We expect to reveal more about this update after 3.27 league livestream on October 23rd, as it will likely be related to the new gameplay features of the new league.

Will The Main Story Be Updated?

While storytelling isn't a hallmark of Path of Exile series, the game did generate significant buzz within the community around the release of 3.26 league, building on Secrets of the Atlas plot.

Based on the content released so far, Keepers of the Flame League doesn't appear to be planning to replicate this approach, but the possibility of updating the main story in a new expansion cannot be ruled out.

However, even if 3.27 releases a new story chapter, its primary purpose will likely be to set the stage for more significant plot twists later on, rather than bringing any major news, otherwise the development team would have already revealed it.

Changes To The Trading System

As one of the ways you acquire items and gear in PoE, the usability of the trading system significantly impacts the gameplay experience. A high-quality marketplace allows players to efficiently circulate currency and unused items, driving game development.

To this end, 3.27 league will feature adjustments to the trading system, including changes to the tabs and the loot drop rate adjustments we mentioned when introducing the heist mechanic.

The above is our overall prediction based on 3.27 league trailer and other information revealed by the development team. We expect a full reveal of the league's content after the livestream. So be sure to tune in! You'll have a chance to win Twitch Drops!

Although updates to Path of Exile 1 were delayed for nearly a year late last year due to the development of Path of Exile 2, 3.26 League launched in June of this year, returning the original game's league update schedule to normal.

With this in mind, Path of Exile development team recently announced that League 3.27 will launch on October 31st, culminating in the conclusion of Mercenaries of Trarthus League and the release of 3.27 livestream.

Building on 3.26's foundation, the new league is expected to further enhance Path of Exile 1's trading system, rebalance the meta, and bring additional improvements and changes to Atlas Tree and endgame content.

Below, we'll cover the known schedule and potential new changes for Path of Exile 3.27, focusing on these key areas.

Path Of Exile 3.27 Schedule

In addition to the confirmed release date for League 3.27, the development team is expected to hold a livestream on October 23rd PDT to announce more details about the new league. The official name of 3.27 will probably be announced even sooner.

It's important to note that the currently ongoing 3.26 expansion will not end immediately before 3.27, but will instead conclude on October 27th PDT. If you need to finish up work for that league, you'll need to plan ahead.

Will 3.27 Retain The Mechanics Of 3.26 League?

If you're a die-hard Path of Exile 1 fan, you know that nearly every league has its own unique mechanic, some of which are so popular that they're carried over to the new leagues. In League 3.26, that mechanic is undoubtedly the mercenaries system.

Unfortunately, while mercenaries are fun to play against and use as allies, their overall strength makes their integration into the core game unlikely.

Although the role of the mercenary system was previously reduced in 3.26.0c, it's likely to be nerfed or redesigned if it continues to be used in new leagues.

But honestly, even if you're a fan of the mercenary mechanic, there's no need to be disheartened, as 3.27 expansion will undoubtedly introduce new league gameplay, allowing you to earn more PoE currency in the new leagues.

Of course, the mechanics from older leagues that have been retained should still be available in 3.27, but adjustments are possible.

What Changes Might 3.27 Introduce?

Before getting into the new content, it's important to note that Merchant Tabs and offline buyouts have been implemented in PoE 2. However, if you convert a Premium Tab to a Merchant Tab, you won't be able to access them in PoE 1.

This makes it imperative that the same tab system be implemented in Path of Exile 1, as otherwise it would create further issues with the trading system.

However, it's impossible to say for sure whether this update will be implemented in League 3.27. To avoid trading difficulties in the new leagues, it's best to refrain from switching tabs in PoE 2 for now.

More QoL Changes About Trading

In expansion 3.26, the game improved the efficiency and experience of PoE currency farming by introducing QoL changes such as map level adjustments and quick-apply currency buttons. Similar changes are expected to continue in 3.27.

Building on these improvements, the game may release further trading optimizations to help you earn more income through efficient trading, such as:

• Making consumable items like fragments, essences, and fossils easier to sell at scale, reducing profit margins while increasing trading volume and boosting game vitality.
• If you're one of the first players to unlock Atlas, you'll be able to earn currency through trading without leaving the map, widening the gap between you and lower-level players.
• Reducing trading profit margins while ensuring that niche items still have high value will maintain a balanced trading market.

Additionally, the map device Rucksack, the quick currency use feature for interactable items, and the improved controller targeting introduced in expansion 3.26 are expected to remain available in 3.27.

How To Prepare For The New League?

Since the new gameplay and league system for League 3.27 have yet to be announced, the best you can do now is develop and familiarize yourself with a strategy that works with your regular farming plan to quickly acquire sufficient resources once the new league begins.

With this in mind, we offer the following specific recommendations:

• Enter the endgame as soon as possible and farm for currency.
• Gain early crafting fuel and currency by exploring Essence and chest nodes.
• Focus on farming mechanic paths like Harbinger or Expedition to quickly capture nodes.
• Update your loot filters promptly.
• Adjust your elemental resistance caps and spell suppression caps promptly.
• Plan your initial 15-20 Atlas passive points and adjust them accordingly once League 3.27 launches.
• Focus on unlocking bench crafts that grant elemental damage to spells and use essences for early weapon upgrades.
• Gain +1 skill level with skill gem modifiers through drops, Fossils, or advanced crafting.
• Try out more available builds to gain a combat advantage faster once the new league begins.

Over the next two weeks or so, the development team will continue to announce more details about the new content and changes coming to Path of Exile 3.27 through various channels, so stay tuned!

When entering a new league, you may experience increased damage in combat due to the difficulty adjusting to the new mechanics. Therefore, it's best to buy PoE 2 currency on POECURRENCY.com in advance.

This will allow you to immediately add more defensive affixes to your new league gear roll, giving you greater survivability and allowing you to steadily progress in 3.27.

Recently, an officially supported private competition event is in full swing. Have you joined Merciless Gauntlet? It's widely considered the hardest event in Path of Exile, boasting the most brutal monster stat bonuses. If you're not prepared, you'll likely end up running and dying.

While Merciless Gauntlet offers generous rewards, please note that it's a class competition, and only those who reach the top of each class can claim their individual rewards! However, the harder the challenge, the more fun it is.

Thus, nearly every challenger I've seen is using the top-tier Ascendancy set, rather than the standard set. They're all debating which build setup is best for advancing and farming POE currency, but there's one unique item that remains constant across all of these plans: Ephemeral Edge.

Is The Nerfed Ephemeral Edge Worth Using?

If you ask veteran Exiles what the strongest item in the game is, some will say Mageblood, others Best-in-Slot Simplex Amulet, but I'll definitely say Ephemeral Edge, even though it suffered a significant nerf in Path of Exile 3.26.

But that comparison isn't entirely fair. The key to Mageblood's strength lies in its Timeless mechanic, which is virtually unaffected by any balance changes. Its power is directly tied to flasks, which are unlikely to be nerfed, making it inherently overpowered. For many players who run a different build in each league, it's a sought-after unique item.

But Ephemeral Edge is different. Its power is built on the meta of the past few leagues, and many other factors contribute to its strength and potential. Even though it lost 25% of its stat bonus in Path of Exile 3.26, it's still incredibly strong.

Trickster Class

Now, things are getting a little crazy, because when we think of Ephemeral Edge, we usually think of Trickster. Don't get me wrong, while there are many excellent non-Trickster builds in this league that utilize this unique weapon, only Trickster class can maximize the potential of this sword through its efficient maximum energy shield scaling.

But in Merciless Gauntlet, there's no base class like Trickster; it's not an option you can choose. However, this doesn't mean that the Ephemeral Edge is unusable.

Reviewing The Changes And Adjustments To Ephemeral Edge

So, why is a unique item still one of the most important items in any ultimate build, even after the nerfs?

To understand this, we need to go back to the 3.18 update: Sentinel League. In this update, seven Uber Pinnacle bosses were added to the game. While not directly related to Ephemeral Edge, this addition was significant.

Then, in 3.19: Kalandra League, the developers made a key update to the item. Before this patch, Ephemeral Edge was not a particularly useful weapon, to say the least.

In the 3.19 patch notes, this item had a new attack modifier that increased maximum lightning damage by 20% of Energy Shield.

Initially, this change went unnoticed until people realized how ridiculous this was for Animate Guardian, which could directly grant a massive maximum Energy Shield, thus dealing insane maximum lightning damage.

After this issue was discovered, PoE 3.23 quickly patched it, and it would later scale solely with the player's Energy Shield.

Fast forward to PoE 3.24, everyone's favorite, Necropolis League. This patch added several important pieces to the puzzle, but none more so than T17 map. At this point, Uber Pinnacle boss had already appeared in several leagues in the game. But the addition of T17 map would once again alter the endgame and completely reshape the meta-game.

Not only did this completely change what players could farm and how they could farm it, but it also significantly increased the requirements for farming it. You needed a very strong, well-rounded build to reliably run T17, which meant a lot of checkboxes on both offense and defense.

But patch 3.24 added more than just T17 map. It also introduced Perandus Pact unique jewel, which was later repackaged as The Light of Meaning and is now a drop exclusive to The King of the Mists.

The maximum energy shield version of this jewel is a crucial component of most Ephemeral Edge builds, boosting their energy shield.

Next came the 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur League, arguably the most significant update impacting Ephemeral Edge builds. This patch introduced new, more powerful base types, allowing items to provide more basic defense without relying on auras.

This change catapulted Trickster into the top tier.

Escape Artist, combined with a well-crafted Necrotic Armor and Lich's Circlet, provides the foundation for a massive energy shield pool, providing both defensive and offensive capabilities through Ephemeral Edge.

Coincidentally, Trickster not only boasts powerful scaling but also possesses a powerful Arsenal tool for Path of Exile's endgame, allowing you to ignore T17 action speed bonus and gain incredible resiliency through the overachievement of Energy Shield.

Of course, the base type changes affect more than just Trickster. In fact, in POE 3.26, we've seen Elementalist gain several well-performing Ephemeral Edge builds, including Ignite Eviscerate. This build was already performing well in patch 3.25, but thanks to Elementalist rework, it's now even more powerful.

Now, with Secrets of the Atlas expansion, the developers are also introducing T16 maps influenced by memories, known as T16.5 maps. These maps can be quite exciting, and unlike T17 maps, they can also include your favorite map layouts. However, they still carry T17 modifiers, making them quite difficult to map, so you need a well-rounded build, and Ephemeral Edge is often your best choice.

Why Is Ephemeral Edge Build The Best Choice For Completing Gauntlet?

In the current Merciless Gauntlet competition, you need a powerful character with a good balance between offense and defense. There are only a handful of builds that currently offer a reasonable balance in terms of energy shield, and Ephemeral Edge is one of them.

The average maximum energy shield for an Ephemeral Edge build is around 15,000 to 20,000. While many builds have much higher maximum shields, we're only looking at the average, which is roughly 3 to 4 times the effective hit value of the average life build.

A maximum energy shield of 15,000 to 20,000 means that, with the current nerf modifiers, Ephemeral Edge can deliver 2,250 to 3,000 maximum lightning damage. This is equivalent to a decent two-handed weapon, if not better.

Remember that being able to scale both damage and defense is a good thing, but it's not always a strong one, as evidenced by the current scaling of Righteous Fire. But what's different about Ephemeral Edge is that, even after the nerf, it still provides far more damage than Energy Shield you can get in the current league.

In short, given the current game balance, Ephemeral Edge build is practically tailor made for the current Gauntlet event.

And I don't think this is a Trickster issue. Even without Trickster, the other Ascendancy classes would have taken over. They might not be as good as Trickster, but they'd still be viable and a second-best option. And that's exactly what I expect to see in Gauntlet, they'll all do pretty much the same thing.