Path of Exile 2 has been fraught with controversy since its release, as many players think the developers are trying to entice players as a good sequel to POE 1, which is actually not the case. And negative reviews have increased since the release of Dawn of the Hunt in April.

The main thing is that the game is still in early access and has exceeded the time limit set by the developers when it was released, which has made some players who are eagerly waiting for the official version very dissatisfied. However, the game is likely to see a turnaround in August.

A few days ago, the developers of Path of Exile 2 announced on the official website that the POE 2 0.3.0 patch is expected to be officially released on August 29, and a new league will be released with it. Once the news was announced, the game became the center of discussion among players again.

One of the most common questions raised by players is whether the developers can implement the improvements and remakes promised in patch 0.3.0 as promised, and bring players an unprecedented high-quality gaming experience.

In view of this, here we will combine the interviews previously accepted by Jonathan Rogers, the game director of POE series, and some leaked information to rationally and thoroughly analyze whether this patch can make this sequel, which has been plagued by negative reviews, be recognized by the public.

New Class & Changes

Because Path of Exile 2 added a new class, Huntress, in patch 0.2.0, which is good at both melee and ranged combat, players have also speculated whether a new class will be added to the game in 0.3.0 released in August.

As for the new class Druid, which was previously voted by players, the developers have not yet clearly stated whether it will appear or not. Before the release of Dawn of the Hunt, it was publicly stated that this class was not ready to meet all players. So is it now?

Considering that only the sequel in early access is currently moving towards the trend of updating the league every three to four months, it is very likely that a new class and its new build style will be seen in a new league or new patch, because the original game content can no longer support players to explore a league.

However, the specific class option cannot be confirmed to be Druid, because compared to Path of Exile 1, the number of classes and build options that focus on physical damage capabilities in the sequel are more, such as Monk and Warrior, so it is not necessary that the class with the same game style will be brought into the game.

Fortunately, Rogers publicly stated in a previous interview that the situation in which all the original classes were significantly weakened in the previous 0.2.0 patch to highlight Huntress will no longer occur, because they are now more focused on the balance between each class and Ascendancy class.

For example, adding some Strength/Intelligence hybrid sections to the game makes the game rhythm and style of the game characters more flexible. This also means that the developers may be more inclined to or actively improve the effectiveness of this type of classes and build options in subsequent leagues.

And the news that the passive skill tree was reworked and the wheel part was the most shocking to players, because before this, the super-large passive skill tree and over 1,500 nodes in POE 2 were its prominent features, in order to allow all players to more easily find the paths they want to activate and upgrade in subsequent leagues, so as to create powerful builds faster.

Game Content Update

In addition to the addition of new classes, another thing that players are most looking forward to is the update or rework of the original game content that is full of holes, first of all, the size of the map.

Although you only need to kill the main enemy to pass the level in the regular campaign, in the endgame content, you can only complete the run and receive a lot of POE 2 Currency and loot if you find all the enemies on the entire map and kill them all.

However, in the current game, some maps are too large and have many dark-themed decorations blocking the exploration path, so not all players can run the entire map at once.

If the number of interactive checkpoints in the map is increased and the map range is reduced, Path of Exile 2 will gain a lot of player satisfaction. Not only that, the depth of the endgame will also be improved because more explorable content will be placed in it.

In addition to reducing players’ complaints about the lack of depth before the endgame, the main purpose of this behavior is to modify the difficulty of player level increase. According to Jonathan’s interview, the difficulty for players to level up from level 1 to level 90 will be reduced in this 0.3.0, but the difficulty of leveling after level 95 will be greatly increased.

Of course, there will be a new Act 4, which is also promised to players by the developers a long time ago. According to the leaked information, Act 4 will put players in Ngamakanui, which is part of Karui Archipelago.

On this island, players will continue to explore the main storyline by challenging different enemies and bosses. It is worth noting that these enemies are infected with Blood Fever disease, which is contagious and very dangerous, so you may need to pay more attention to it.

From the above updates and improvements that may be included in Path of Exile 2 0.3.0 patch, we can see that the developers are still very concerned about the problems and suggestions reported by players in Dawn of the Hunt, and they have also lived up to expectations and achieved some of them.

Compared with the original game, the developers pay much attention to this ill-fated sequel, so whether you are a loyal fan of this series of games or a player who has given up on this game before, you can look forward to the effects of patch 0.3.0 and the new league after entering the game!

With Path of Exile 3.26 Secrets of the Atlas expansion now in full swing, its sequel seems to have been forgotten by players. But recently, Jonathan Rogers, the game director of both games, said they would be dedicating more time and energy to POE 2 for the remainder of the year, delaying Early Access period until the end of the year.

In fact, as soon as this interview came out, all players who are keen on Path of Exile series of games are very interested in it. If you missed the live or want to know the details directly instead of watching a video that lasts more than half an hour, we’ll take a look at exactly what changes the developer revealed in this interview will be making to the controversial Path of Exile 2, and how they’ll affect players in this guide.

New Trading System

This is a very important change that Rogers took the initiative to introduce at the beginning. Although he did not reveal important details about the trading system, he promised that the emergence of this system will make in-game transactions more convenient, especially for players who are new to POE 2 or who focus on casual.

In the process, he symbolically listed some possible contents, such as vendor NPCs in the player’s hideout that can trade items or POE 2 currency and a more concise way to list in-game goods; as well as cracking down on cheating behaviors such as false prices and ghost sellers that have appeared before.

In fact, the improvement of the trading system in the player community and major social media is not completely exciting, because before the official release of POE 2’s early access in December last year, the developers used the reason of improving in-game micro-transactions when delaying the release time.

Although it is not perfect at the beginning, the situation that players feel uncomfortable with the hideout trading interface and interactive screens that are exactly the same as the original should not occur.

On top of that, the developer team plans to launch the system at the end of 2025, that is, before the end of early access, which may disappoint players again, because this change should have been put on the agenda earlier, instead of being delayed.

Many Game Content Reworks

In addition to the most important trading system update, the game director said that each Ascendancy class in POE 2 will be reworked in the future, so that players can create more distinctive and powerful builds around them, which may be a very large project.

In addition, Passive Tree may also face a rework, especially the smaller wheel part, so that players can find their own activation path on this huge tree with many branches and make it more influential.

Rogers also said frankly that the developers have realized that the current game content lacks Strength/Intelligence hybrid section, so this part of the build options may become the focus of subsequent developers.

From these statements, we can actually know that the developers really want to make the players’ combat rhythm and style in POE 2, a dark-style action role-playing game, faster and more flexible. So if you have enough POE 2 Currency, try to invest in those builds with strong mobility and clearing capabilities at this stage.

Classes and builds that focus on melee attacks like Monk and Warrior may be better suited for endgame or higher-tier maps, while farming large amounts of experience and loot may require classes with high intelligence and strength stats like Ranger, Huntress, or Sorceress.

More Endgame Content

The developers also revealed that more content will be added to POE 2’s mid-tier endgame content in the second half of the year to bridge the gap between encounters such as Doryani’s Trial and bosses such as Arbiter of Ash, Zested, and King in the Mists.

Although Rogers said in the interview that the game’s content is balanced to make players’ progress more smoothly, in fact, this is likely another scam. In this balancing, there is only a small chance that the developers will make the most challenging encounters easier, and in most cases, they will directly increase the difficulty of all encounters.

This will cause more players to experience very severe death penalties in the game, and then spend more time and energy to farm better gear or more crafting materials to improve their build capabilities, thereby achieving the retention of some player groups.

Of course, this is just some speculation based on what the developers have done before, and there is no guarantee that they will do these things that will greatly damage the trust of players. In addition, the tower changes in the previous Dawn of the Hunt were not mentioned in this interview, so we still have to wait for the final information to be released.

New Patches & Other Improvements

In addition to the above update information that can be announced, there is some hidden information in some leaks or communities. For example, POE 0.3.0 patch is likely to be released around Friday, August 8, which is exactly four months after the release of 0.2.0, which is very consistent with the developer’s regular rhythm of releasing the latest patch.

Most importantly, this event just avoided the release of a major update of the same type game Last Epoch at the end of August, and the release of the new Season 10 of Diablo 4 in September, which may give players who linger on these similar games more time to try to get into the new 0.3.0 patch, thereby increasing the number of concurrent online players.

In addition, the developer is also collecting skill usage and frame data for each server in order to optimize the experience provided to players with the worst performance gaming devices, especially on those consoles that are about to be eliminated by the gaming market.

The above changes may be given priority to Softcore mode, while Hardcore mode tried by players who are keen to challenge more difficult game content is likely to be changed accordingly in the future because only 3%-4% of the player base is in it.

I need to remind you again that the changes and improvements to the game content provided in this guide are based on public interviews accepted by the current developers and some player community feedback, and cannot be regarded as the final result. But in general, I still hope that all players can have fun in POE 2, which has experienced a lot of trials and controversies!

Since Path of Exile 2 released its first league, Dawn of the Hunt, players have been complaining more and more about the lack of depth in the endgame content, and even the player community and social platforms are full of negative comments.

In view of this, the developers focused on improving the player experience in the endgame content in April and May, and are expected to launch a 0.2.1 patch this month to further improve the problems in the endgame. In this case, where the endgame content is becoming more and more important, it is becoming more and more important for players to farm more loot or specified materials in it.

For example, Expedition Logbooks are a key helper in the endgame content of POE 2 to help you unlock important encounters and obtain higher-level loot. So this guide will show you how to effectively farm Expedition Logbooks in the endgame content of POE 2 Dawn of the Hunt and how to use them so that you can get the best experience in the subsequent game progress.

Farming Method

Before farming Expedition Logbooks, make sure you have reached the endgame stage and can unlock Expedition encounters in Atlas. Maps containing this encounter will be displayed with a black and white spiral symbol on the map.

After you unlock the map containing this type of encounter with the corresponding Waystones, find an NPC that can give you explosives that can be used to dig around the area, and use the explosives it gives you to find loot and treasure chests hidden by the developers after the story or missions, including Expedition Logbooks.

However, you are not always lucky, and you may find more enemies with the help of explosives, and they all need you to defeat. After completing some battles, you can also find some Expedition Logbooks and other loot through the treasure chests left by these monsters.

Or if you think the above grinding is too cumbersome, you can also directly obtain the specified Expedition Logbooks through the in-game trading market and spend some POE 2 Currency. Although this is more expensive, it is convenient.

Some Tips

By the way, the generation rate of Expedition Logbooks in these treasure chests is actually not very high, but you can buy POE 2 currency to modify the affixes on the Waystones required to unlock the map to increase the quantity and quality of the drops contained in this map, so as to achieve the purpose of efficient farming.

Or you can increase your chances of encountering more profitable enemies by picking up more debris that can increase the loot drop rate or generate more rare monsters, thereby increasing the probability of Expedition Logbooks appearing.

Additionally, you can improve your Expedition Logbooks collection progress by modifying some of the options in your build. For example, Detailed Records Passive gives it a 50% drop rate bonus and guarantees it has three implicit modifiers.

Usage

Once you have gone through all the trouble to collect some Expedition Logbooks, you need to think about how to maximize their effectiveness.

If you don’t have a strong enough build to deal with a high-challenging encounter or the modifiers contained in it are not useful for you, you can trade them with other players in exchange for more POE 2 game currency.

If you can’t wait to earn more loot for your character through Expedition Logbooks, you can also take them to Dannig, a very important NPC in the game. It will take you to a special map area with an encounter larger than the normal battle scale.

Here, the combat strategy you need to use is actually no different from the normal one, but you need to rotate your skills a few more times. Of course, the loot you are rewarded with is also more and higher-level.

Alternatively, you can use it to unlock your encounter with Olroth, Origin of the Fall, but it’s worth noting that you can only unlock this encounter with Expedition Logbooks at level 80 and above.

Also, not every map that contains an Expedition encounter will contain this encounter, and you can tell if this boss will appear by whether a skull icon appears on the map.

After you successfully defeat Olroth, you will obtain a lot of loot, such as Olroth’s Resolve Ultimate Life Flask, which can greatly increase your health, and Heroic Tragedy Timeless Jewel, which can convert notable passive skills into other skills.

There is also a Book of Knowledge that gives you 2 passive skill points, which can be used to unlock passive skill nodes that can have a high buff to your build to increase the overall effectiveness.

The above is the current method for effectively farming Expedition Logbooks and maximizing their use in the current POE 2 Dawn of the Hunt league. Hopefully, you can use them to get a better gaming experience in the increasingly important endgame content with the introduction of this guide, and look forward to some updates brought by the 0.2.1 patch. I wish you a happy game!

It’s been more than a month since the official release of Path of Exile 3.26, and like other leagues, the meta systems of the game, such as classes, skill trees, and equipment, have undergone earth-shaking changes during this period.

Every veteran exile knows that almost no class build can stand for a long time. Even at the beginning of the league, a certain build is so powerful that it overshadows the other options, but doesn’t rush to choose it, because the developers will nerf it soon.

Why Is Berserker Build No Longer Popular?

Take Berserker as an example. This was definitely the brightest star when Secrets of the Atlas expansion was first released, but just one month later, it fell to the fifth place in the best class ranking.

The key factor behind this enormous shift is Berserker’s Volcanic Fissure of Snaking setup, which is not only one of the strongest builds at the start of a league, but also one of the easiest to operate.

However, it also has some loopholes, especially in terms of defense. If you want to maintain the viability of Berserker, you will have to invest more POE currency in the defensive ability of the equipment, which is obviously unrealistic in the late game.

But this is only part of the reason for the sharp decline of Berserker in 3.26, and the other part is related to the emergence of a new meta build, Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice Occultist, which is a brand new build that synergies perfectly with various new mechanics.

About Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice

Now, let’s take a closer look at this skill: Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice is Transfigured version of Forbidden Rite.

The damage scaling method of this skill is slightly different from most skills. A portion of its damage scales with your maximum Energy Shield, but at the cost of dealing Chaos Damage to itself based on a higher percentage of your maximum Energy Shield when used.

This means that you can increase damage by increasing your total Energy Shield, rather than increasing the damage output of a spell by increasing gem level as usual.

Think of the recent mainstream builds in Path of Exile and you’ll see why FRoSS has such a prominent advantage over many options, such as the very strong Ephemeral Edge Trickster.

Trickster has many unique mechanics, including amazing recovery through Energy Shield Drain and the ability of One Step Ahead to ignore action speed modifiers.

However, note how similar the typical setup of Trickster is to Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice: stacking Energy Shield while increasing defense and attack damage. This is a direct advantage of the spell over most spells that rely on more traditional gem level increases.

But this alone is not enough, as self-casting has long been problematic. Patch 3.25 introduced new base skill types and nerfed Defensive Auras to compensate for this change, but that didn’t do much more. That, combined with the loss of many damage properties, hits upper passive tree builds hard.

Where builds that rely on Determination or Grace, or even a combination of the two, really struggle is in defense. In any high-difficulty content in Path of Exile’s endgame, you can’t reasonably stand and cast spells, and in most cases, it will just lead to your death very quickly.

Occultist Ascendancy Passive Changes

This is where the first significant change to POE in 3.26 comes in.

Occultist is by far the most frequently used class in Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice, and for good reason.

Occultist is very good at dealing chaos damage, and its key passive, Vile Bastion, gives its maximum energy shield a chance to increase, thereby blocking spell damage.

So by selecting this node, this build not only has spell block, but also gets a 75%-78% energy shield boost. That means they can get two energy shield boosts at once. If you also factor in Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice, that means they can get three defense and damage buffs at once.

Whispers Of Infinity & Chaos Inoculation

Next let’s look at Whispers of Infinity, a brand new Unique Amulet added in POE 3.26 that has very powerful synergy with FRoSS.

Remember what we mentioned before? Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice spell doesn’t require gem levels, it requires maximum energy shield. And what’s special about this Unique Amulet is the huge flat energy shield.

What’s more, this skill costs energy shield instead of mana or life, which means you can use Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice with Chaos Inoculation and the chaos damage self-strikes will no longer do you any damage.

With this combo, you can completely circumvent the disadvantages of this skill.

Other Ascendancy Choices

You’ll find that almost all builds centered around Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice use Whispers of Infinity and Chaos Inoculation. While this is the most important piece of the puzzle for this build, it’s not the only one, as there are other supporting factors at play.

We’ve already discussed the changes to Occultist Ascendancy passive, and it’s also worth mentioning Elementalist, as a significant number of players with FRoSS will choose Elementalist Ascendancy over Occultist.

For these players, the new Golems can be fully utilized, as both Flame Golem and Chaos Golem provide a lot of universal damage and continuous damage multipliers. In addition, Stone Golem now provides more defense, so you can get a lot of energy shield from Stone Golems, which means Elementalist can also use FRoSS while improving offense and defense.

How To Improve Defense?

Finally, a key factor in favor of this build actually comes back to the defense part. Because self-casting builds usually need to be stationary to cast, this has been a problem in past leagues.

But the developers have tried to address this in POE 3.26, by increasing the cast speed of Arcane Surge and adding a higher cast speed multiplier to Transfigured version of Righteous Fire.

But unfortunately, Forbidden Rite builds cannot use RF because RF stops after life is exhausted, and they use Chaos Inoculation, so their maximum life is always set to 1.

However, the cast speed issue has been solved by another new unique item, Coiling Whisper Amethyst Ring, which provides a relatively easy way to get stacks, providing up to 225% cast speed increase at maximum stacks.

Not only does this have an amazing damage bonus, but it is also very powerful in terms of defense, because the faster the cast speed, the faster you move and naturally take fewer hits. This is very beneficial when we are talking about those dangerous T17 map modifiers.

That’s pretty much it. Forbidden Rite of Soul Sacrifice Occultist is the strongest new build in the league by combining multiple enhancement mechanisms. However, judging by the current trend, it is very likely that it has been targeted by the developers, so try it now before it is significantly weakened!

It has been more than a month since the release of Path of Exile 3.26, and we have indeed received some good new features and quality of life changes. But perhaps the expectations were too high, and the disappointment was even higher, or perhaps a series of poor server and connection problems at the beginning of the release made players too disappointed to try again, which made this long-awaited expansion update suffer a complete Waterloo.

However, I believe that most players have not completely given up on this classic dark RPG, but they are more interested in the future POE 3.27.

Possible Release Time Of 3.27 Patch

Although the release date of Path of Exile 3.27 has not yet been announced, based on the developer’s commitment to a four-month interval between updates and the fact that 3.26 was released on June 13, 3.27 is likely to be released in October this year.

In addition, almost every veteran exile knows that the developers have a habit of releasing the full game on Friday and revealing all the details of the current league through a live broadcast on the Thursday of the week before the release. This is the rule for patch 3.26, which was released on June 13.

Therefore, considering this routine, it is reasonable to guess that POE 3.27 is very likely to be released on Friday the 17th in mid-October, and the developer's live broadcast will be launched on October 9th.

League Cycle Plan

Now, we all know that the developers have almost always worked around dates rather than content in the past, but this is also an important factor in their success, because players always know that they can rely on the studio to release another update in 3 or 4 months. Even if this patch update is not to your liking, you can always come back and try the new patch in a few months.

They have always adhered to this consistent release cycle in the past, and although this plan was slightly interrupted by the release of POE 2 Early Access, the developers have no intention of giving up. Because past experience has taught everyone that this stable cycle update plan is feasible.

Take patch 3.20 Forbidden Sanctum, a popular league. Interestingly, the initial leaks for that league didn’t announce any unique endgame relics, but those relics did end up completely overhauling Sanctum runs and providing powerful rewards, including No-Hit Run relics and Original Sin.

Same with Lycia’s Invocations, a POE currency item that can be used to add keystones to relics.

These were added a week or two after the start of POE 3.20 league, as the developers had to meet a strict deadline to release the patch, and those parts weren’t ready for the initial release.

Also, there was 3.22 Trial of the Ancestors, another very popular league update. The initial update also didn’t include any Journey Tattoos, nor Keystone Tattoos, but they did end up becoming a favorite mechanic for players in that league. Again, those were added a few weeks after the start of the league, as they weren’t ready for the initial league at first.

Therefore, waiting for the new league content to be stable before adding confirmed new content can not only guarantee the player’s gaming experience, but also add some new surprises.

This league update mode allows developers to always take into account the gaming experience of all players to the greatest extent, not only providing stable content updates, but also adding new content in a timely manner, which is also an important reason for the longevity of the original.

Will The Balance Updates Of POE 3.27 And 2 Conflict?

Now that we have roughly determined the release time of patch 3.27, there is another thing to worry about.

Now, the developer promises that the update cycle of POE 1 and 2 leagues is 3-4 months. Since POE 2 has now confirmed that the 0.3.0 patch will be released on August 29, if nothing unexpected happens, the original will be ignored for a period of time. Then can the balance adjustment of the 3.27 update really be guaranteed?

As we all know, balance is one of the most important changes in any given update. Even if there is no real content addition, a major balance update can make the game feel fresh. For a long time in POE 1, we got meaningful balance updates in each league, which was always one of the most exciting parts of the league.

So, if there is no way to coordinate the two games and balance them for a long time, then there is no exciting innovation. I hope I am wrong, but this is exactly the concern I want to express.

POE 3.27 Potential Changes

Finally, let’s talk about potential changes in 3.27 leagues, perhaps the failure of 3.26 can let the developers find some new inspiration.

Personally, I think that patch 3.27 may focus on improving the endgame content and introducing new Pinnacle Boss, which may be related to the search for Zana through the Threads mechanism in POE 3.26. These bosses are also a key source of challenging battles and generous POE currency rewards.

At the same time, Atlas mechanism that affects the endgame process may be further streamlined, making it easier for players to navigate and get what they want.

In addition, Rogue Exiles, as unique monsters that appear randomly in various situations in the 3.26 expansion, are known for using various player skills, adding an element of surprise to the game. These encounters bring valuable loot and experience, but are also full of challenges. Therefore, in order to take care of the player’s gaming experience, their Aggro range and visibility may be adjusted to make them easier to find and interact with.

There is also the old-fashioned problem of loot drops. It is likely that the drop rate of some crafting materials will be adjusted and become more common, such as Perfect Jeweler’s Orbs, Advanced Uncut Gems, and Spirit Gems.

Finally, there are Gladiator Ascendency and item quality adjustments that are talked about in every update. They may still appear again in POE 3.27. Especially for physical weapons and armor, some effects may be significantly improved. And they may also introduce new and reworked Scarabs to provide more available slots in map devices.

Of course, the above speculation is still based on player community discussions and past trends. You will also need to pay attention to the specific details announced by the developer when the release date approaches.

Overall, I am still optimistic about the release of POE 3.27. After all, the delays and frequent problems of 3.26 have caused dissatisfaction among a large number of players. If the subsequent updates remain the same, then the developers may really want to give up this RPG masterpiece that was once as popular as ever!

If you're a longtime Path of Exile player, you'll know that Settlers of Kalguur League saw a major overhaul of the defense mechanics, including reworks to melee and Endurance Charges.

The impact of these changes has been a double-edged sword, with many character builds having their physical damage sources nerfed or removed entirely, while others have received significant damage reductions.

In comparison, the changes to the defense meta in Path of Exile Secrets Of The Atlas expansion have been relatively mild, with even the initial changes to the core mechanics being relatively unnoticeable.

But that doesn’t mean we can just stick with the defense setups from past leagues. Some powerful unique items, the mercenary mechanic, and the new Runegraft changes have all made a vast difference to Ascendancy build defense setup.

Passive Tree Setup Changes

So, let’s start with the passive tree changes. As I mentioned earlier, the 3.25 changes did severely nerf the defensive power of these talents.

They now have a significant reduction in total defense from Determination and Grace, and generally cannot afford the stat cost of equipping new high-end armor and evasion base types. They also lose the scaling of armor and evasion from Defiance Banner. This, combined with the loss of Physical Damage taken as modifiers, means that these builds are stuck with the most dangerous damage type for most builds when they first enter the map, which is physical attacks.

However, take a look at the distribution of Ascendancy in Softcore Trade League a month after the release of POE 3.26. You’ll find that three of the top four Ascendancy builds are top and right side builds, namely Trickster, Occultist, and Elementalist.

As we all know, builds are usually classified according to the side of the passive tree they originate from, with top and right side being associated with certain archetypes. Builds starting from the top of the tree are usually associated with spells, continuous damage, and minion builds, while right side builds are usually known for melee, spells, continuous damage, crits, traps, and mines builds.

Trickster

Let’s start with Trickster, which once again became the most used Ascendancy in PoE 3.26. Despite having been nerfed significantly in the last league, the class has been nerfed in multiple areas in 3.26.

From Escape Artist’s defensive scaling being nerfed, to Polymath’s damage bonus taking a big hit, to specific nerfs like Lightning Strike being nerfed significantly, and Ephemeral Edge losing 25% damage scaling.

Combined, these changes have had a huge impact on the scaling of Ephemeral Edge attack builds. Now, these builds mainly improve defense and offense by constantly stacking energy shields.

But frankly, these nerfs are not enough. Lightning Strike has been replaced by a Transfigured version of Smite of Divine Judgement.

While Ephemeral Edge’s damage scaling has been cut, this specific build benefits from one of the most dysfunctional mercenary interactions in this league, which means that Trickster builds can focus on stacking energy shields more than ever before.

As a result, even after Escape Artist nerf, we still often see Trickster players with 25,000 or more energy shield.

Occultist

However, the impact goes far beyond this. After two major changes, Occultist finally ushered in a breakthrough ascension in this expansion.

A month after the release of POE 3.26, Occultist’s popularity is second only to Trickster.

Now, Occultist Ascendancy itself has been adjusted to Vile Bastion in this patch, which allows the maximum energy shield to be increased to resist spell damage. This is a significant buff to energy shield and allows you to increase two defenses at the same time.

But on its own, it may not be enough to compete with Trickster’s Escape Artist.

Fortunately, the new Runegraft mechanism in POE 3.26 can increase global defense, but the attribute will be reduced. This is another key addition to increase energy shield.

More importantly is the arrival of Whispers of Infinity, a new unique Amulet that is exclusively dropped by the new Pinnacle Atlas Boss.

This Amulet not only provides super high Energy Shield, but also makes skills consume Energy Shield instead of Mana or Life, which greatly benefits Occultist and Trickster builds, allowing them to increase defense by stacking Energy Shield while also increasing attack power by increasing the effective hit pool.

Elementalist

So, what about Elementalist? In fact, this Ascendancy class may have the most changes of all Ascendancy in the league.

The most interesting thing about this Ascendancy is that the universal property adjustments it brings with Golems can benefit a large number of builds, such as Ignite Eviscerate to Herald stacking Blade Vortex to Storm Call, and so on, which also contain many different defense settings.

Also Read: What New Challenges Does Path Of Exile 3.26 Bound By Destiny Modifier Bring?

Berserker And Chieftain

Now, among the many top builds, Berserker and Chieftain each have their strengths, but have evolved in very different ways. After becoming the most built class in the first week, Berserker’s popularity has plummeted in the league, while Chieftain’s popularity has soared. So, what’s going on?

In fact, at the beginning of the league, Berserker actually had an extremely strong start with Volcanic Fissure of Snaking and Earthshatter. Both of these builds were very strong from the start. However, while Berserker’s offense is enough to match other classes, the nerf to Defy Pain does make its defense less powerful.

As a result, you will also find a significant decrease in Trickster and Occultist builds now. This makes sense, as the popular builds of these classes require good equipment to play the maximum effect. But this is often a paradox, especially in the early stages of the league when almost all players are short of POE currency.

Then, as the league progressed, players began to abandon Berserker in favor of more solid Occultist and Trickster builds. At the same time, Chieftain’s popularity also increased significantly, as stun setups with Bloodnotch + Immutable force made its build play more possible.

Other Ascendancy Classes

What about the less popular Ascendancy classes? Hierophant and Archmage, for example, are still able to build very strong defenses with strong mana stacking and life regeneration.

Then there is Champion, which I expected to be one of the most popular Ascendancy classes before the league started. However, what we didn’t know before was that the developers drastically nerfed the drop rate of Celestial Brace in POE 3.26 to only 1% or less. This change hindered the availability and accessibility of one of the most important items in all planned Champion builds.

As a result, it may not be as strong as those mainstream Occultist and Trickster builds. And it also has a high initial budget threshold, a badly rolled Celestial Brace is about the equivalent of 25 Divine Orbs, which is really hard to afford in the early stages of the league.

Outro

Now, in general, with the exception of Trickster, the mainstream build defense settings have all undergone considerable changes in POE 3.26 League, mainly because of the addition of those new unique items.

At the same time, we saw a major breakthrough in those passive tree upper builds, which allowed them to survive and even thrive in some of the high-difficulty content of Path of Exile. So try them out while they are not nerfed in 3.27!