While the full release of Path of Exile 2 is still a way off, a new League patch is on the way during Early Access.

Yes, the developers previously promised that Path of Exile 2, like the original game, would release major updates approximately every four months. While patch 0.3.0 is a bit late, it’s finally confirmed for its August 29th release.

It’s less than a month until the patch goes live, but as usual, the developers are remaining tight-lipped. We’ll likely only see the details during the livestream a week before the new League release.

However, there’s still some news; they’re always good at keeping players excited. Through developer interviews and related posts, we’ve been able to uncover some of the new features in the upcoming 0.3.0 patch, from new Acts to boss battles and a brand new trading system. Let’s take a closer look!

0.3.0 League

Like the previous major update, POE 2 0.2.0, patch 0.3.0 introduces a brand new league. This means a completely reworked economy, featuring new characters, new Stash Tabs, and a dedicated league mechanic.

Once the new league launches, your current character will be transferred to Standard League, where you’ll start from scratch, just like in most action RPGs.

This rework also means a completely new economy. So, if you’re an early trader or flipper, with keen market observation and intuition, you have a good chance of earning a significant amount of POE 2 currency from trading items in your first few days and successfully conquering the market.

Skill Gems And Difficulty Adjustments

Additionally, in this 0.3.0 update, we’ll focus on improving inefficient skill gems and addressing difficulty scaling issues.

This update aims to increase the utility of weaker skill gems so they can better adapt to the endgame and hopefully improve the overall gaming experience.

Regarding difficulty adjustments, especially in the late game, the developers hinted that they may tweak monster health, damage, or other factors to improve the gameplay experience and reduce player frustration.

These changes have brought many nearly forgotten skill gems back to life in the endgame. I’d love to know which skill gems you’d like to see buffed and why.

New Campaign Act

From what we know so far, there’s a lot going on in this patch. While the official patch notes are expected a week before the game’s release, here’s what we’ve learned from developer interviews.

First and foremost, all signs point to a new Campaign Act, replacing Act 1 Cruel. This will take place on the island of Karui, a tribe mentioned in Path of Exile, with rich laws and potentially expanding the Karui mythology.

While unconfirmed, developers have hinted, particularly in Kamil’s recent interviews, that a new tribal-themed class will be added, and Druid is clearly one of them, perfectly fitting the game’s setting and musical style.

As with all Leagues, patch 0.3.0 will introduce a new core mechanic. This League will probably feature some tribal-themed content, such as combat trials, ancestral challenges, or themed boss mechanics tied to the Karui lore.

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Tribal-Style Boss Fights

As we mentioned earlier, the boss fights in patch 0.3.0 will be tribal-style, directly from official sources.

In a recent interview with POE 2 Music Director Kamil Orman-Janowski, he revealed the word “tribal.” This word alone hints at the style, tone, and atmosphere of the upcoming boss fights.

Imagine we could see new Leagues centered around ancestral spirits, primal encounters, and perhaps even new multi-stage encounters with responsive music and mechanics.

Kamil also confirmed that the upcoming patch will include more music, so expect new themes and ambient music, especially related to these new encounters.

Kamil’s enthusiasm for the 0.3.0 music and boss themes suggests this update will feature a lot of Karui vibes. The end-of-act boss fights are always so well done, and I can’t wait to see what they create to spice up our next League upgrade.

Item And Trading System Improvements

Finally, this update will also see a rework of Path of Exile 2’s item system. While the developers are being coy about the specifics, based on past League updates and developer goals, we can expect the following.

Patch 0.3.0 will probably add new unique items and crafting features, which are almost a staple of every major update. These could come in the form of League-specific rewards or new systems tailored to the tribal faction, or more specifically, Druid’s primal abilities.

Don’t forget, Path of Exile 2’s League mechanics are likely to see some improvements, all of which will be present in the 0.3.0 update.

There’s also news about a new trading system. While there’s no guarantee it’ll be implemented in patch 0.3.0, the developers have confirmed that improvements to the trading system are underway and are on their roadmap. By the end of the year, the trading interface is expected to be smoother, and even some Auction House functionality may be implemented.

Patch 0.2.0 brought a UI upgrade and new inventory tabs, so we expect 0.3.0 to continue this trend. They’re constantly working on polishing and fixing bugs, so get ready for a smoother experience in the new Leagues.

Outro

In short, update 0.3.0 is coming on August 29th, and you can expect new campaign content, clan-themed boss battles, new classes, system upgrades, and, of course, a brand new League to explore.

So, what does all this mean for you? Whether you’re a casual or hardcore player, the more mature 0.3.0 Leagues seem like the perfect time to join the game. New acts mean a better leveling experience, more quest options, and a new story to delve into; changes to skill gems mean more builds to try; and the trading system upgrades may finally fix one of the game’s biggest pain points.

That’s all we know about the changes coming to POE 2 0.3.0. We’ll also share the full patch notes once the patch is officially released, so stay tuned!

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!

Have you found your best build yet? If not, don’t worry, we are here to provide you with the answer!

Here, we will share the 8 best Area of Effect (AoE) builds in Path of Exile 3.26 and briefly describe their key mechanisms and core equipment. You can choose the best build according to your play style and play style, shuttle through the battlefield full of explosions and loot, and completely control the map.

1. Lightning Arrow Deadeye Build

First, let’s introduce the first build, Lightning Arrow Deadeye. This is a high-speed bow setup designed to achieve excellent map clearing capabilities through efficient projectile-based AOE.

It focuses on scaling flat elemental damage through Lightning Arrow and Artillery Ballista, and gets better results by clearing enemy groups with penetrating and returning projectiles.

Key offensive attributes of this build include added elemental damage, attack speed, projectile modifiers, frenzy charges, and even critical strike scaling.

Early on, you’ll want to take advantage of Precise Technique to boost damage, then switch to a Critical Focus setup once you get a powerful Spine Bow.

Then defensively, this build will stack evasion, 100% spell suppression, and Elemental Ailment Avoidance through Ancestral Vision, while also being bolstered by Grace, Blind, Life Leech, and Life on Hit Recovery. Projectile speed plays a key role in clearing speed, allowing off-screen kills and boosting damage through Bow Mastery.

More importantly, we can minimize mana consumption by using Eldritch mods, unique rings, and Inspiration Support.

While this build has super high mapping speed and is extremely efficient at clearing maps, it has limited potential in boss fights and is less survivable for hardcore players.

Therefore, it’s best suited for new players who focus on clearing speed and don’t have a higher PoE currency budget. Still, this build offers flexible gear selection, allowing you to gradually upgrade to high-end bows and jewelry as you progress through the game.

2. Explosive Arrow Ballista Elementalist Build

Then there’s Explosive Arrow Ballista, a hybrid of ranged traps and minions that excels at map clearing and has a powerful mid-air explosion. It primarily casts stationary turrets through Ballista skill, firing Explosive Arrows for massive AOE damage.

Offensively, this build can stack fire damage, projectile damage, and even critical hits. Defensively, it focuses on evasion, life, and damage reduction through flasks and jewels.

This build is perfect for players who are looking for a unique turret playstyle with extremely high clearing speed and good survivability. Strategic placement of Ballista and Traps will reward players for careful map navigation and situational awareness, giving it an added tactical layer beyond simple skill attacks.

3. Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder Build

Next up is Poisonous Concoction Pathfinder Build, which focuses on sustained poison damage through Concoction skill and has extremely strong tanking capabilities.

Concoction skill fires a projectile that applies a deadly poison over time, and it makes full use of Pathfinder Ascendancy to give it a longer skill cast time, which allows it to apply damage and survivability buffs over time.

Offensively, it is able to stack multiple chaos damage, poison buffs, and get critical hits supported by strong projectile speed and multi-flask effects.

Defensively, this build relies on evasion, energy shields, and increased life regeneration. Early upgrades will use similar poison-based attacks, and then transition to high DPS poison buffs in the mid-game.

This build is low-cost, easy to equip, and provides a solid clearing speed and considerable boss damage. It’s ideal for players who want a smooth mapping and strong persistence experience with poison mechanics while enjoying the utility and survivability of flasks.

Plus, it has a host of easy-to-learn unique skills and low-priced equipment, making it particularly attractive for players looking for an efficient and economical league start.

4. Poison SRS Necromancer Build

Next on the list is Poison SRS Necromancer build, which centers around summoning Spirits to deal continuous poison damage. Necromancer Ascendancy will maximize the damage and survivability of minions, increasing poison effects and clearing speed.

Offensively, this build combines the minions’ attacks with powerful poison damage buffs, making full use of critical strikes and chaos damage nodes. Defensively, the advantage of this build is that minions can act as the front line, while players can use energy shields and life regeneration to stay alive.

This build is perfect for players who want to become minion masters and is also suitable for low difficulty games and Solo Self-Found (SSF) with its strong poison mechanics and excellent map efficiency.

Its main advantage is the ability to quickly clear the enemy team without direct engagement, providing a safer way to play, especially for players who are not familiar with poison or minion mechanics.

5. Ice Shot Of Penetration Miner Deadeye Build

Next up is Ice Shot of Penetration Miner Deadeye, which focuses on fast clearing and bursting cold damage around Ice Shot combined with Miners. Deadeye Ascendancy can greatly increase projectile damage and accuracy.

Offensively, it combines a lot of cold damage scaling, new projectiles, and critical strikes with Mines deployment to achieve safe ranged play. Defensively, this build has good survivability with a lot of evasion, dodge, and life leech.

This build is ideal for players who like safe ranged tactical play and pursue fast clearing. The dual gameplay of direct shooting and mines allows you to maintain a flexible engagement distance, allowing it to adapt to various map layouts and boss mechanisms.

6. Bleed Gladiator Build

Then, we have to mention the build that focuses on melee bleed damage and has strong survivability, Bleed Gladiator.

Gladiator Ascendancy can enhance bleed effects, life recovery and armor, and can use fast attacks and bleed stacking to tear through enemies at super fast speeds.

On the offensive side, it focuses on physical damage, attack speed and bleed bonuses, while using buffs such as Fortify to improve defense. On the defensive side, it focuses on high life, armor and block chance, as well as bleed immune gear.

This build is best suited for players who like melee combat, which can provide good boss damage and strong map survivability, especially for players who like powerful defense and bleed mechanisms. It is definitely worth a try.

And it can also work perfectly with many unique weapons to increase the probability and effect of bleeding, making it flexible to adapt to various game styles, including solo or team games.

7. Volcanic Fissure Of Snaking Berserker Build

Next, move on to Volcanic Fissure of Snaking Berserker, a melee slam build with ranged attack capabilities and extremely fast clearing speed.

This build focuses on scaling damage with multiple Volcanic Fissures per cast, Autoexertion & Warcries to enhance attack speed and damage burst. Finally, it further amplifies the duration of the burst damage with Prismatic Tincture.

Note that your cursor control is key. You need to place it outside of the boss to maximize Volcanic Fissure AOE damage.

For Berserker Ascendancy, you should focus on Warbringer, then Rite of Ruin, and Aspect of Carnage. These provide strong synergy with Warcries, high damage, and movement speed.

On the defensive side, it mainly counteracts the life decay of Berserker through Endurance charges, Fortify/Debilitate, Spell Suppression, Life Leech, and Glorious Vanity.

Overall, this build has a lightning-fast map clearing speed and strong coverage, which is not only durable but also easy to use. More importantly, the mechanics of this build will reward precise positioning and timing, making it more attractive to players who like active play styles, while also providing room for trying different Warcries and Flask setups.

8. Vortex Of Projection Archmage Hierophant Build

Finally, we come to Vortex of Projection Archmage Hierophant, which can use Vortex skill to cause continuous freezing damage. And Hierophant Ascendancy can provide strong mana and energy shield, allowing it to cast spells continuously.

On the offensive side, it can improve summon damage, skill damage, and critical strike. On the defensive side, it benefits from the high energy shield, mana regeneration, and Ascendancy buffs.

This build focuses on skill damage and survivability in the early game, and then transitions to high energy shields, excellent clearing speed and good boss damage.

Overall, it is more suitable for players who want to have a strong Archmage, continuous AOE and strong defense. And because of the continuous continuous damage bonus effect, it performs well in boss battles and can even clear a large number of enemies effortlessly. This makes it one of the favorite builds for casters who focus on survivability.

Here are the 8 most popular AoE builds in PoE 3.26 at present. These builds can maximize the efficiency of players clearing monster groups on the map, allowing you to easily kill enemies and bosses!

We all know that Kingsmarch has entered the core game in Path Of Exile 3.26, and we can assist in the maintenance of Kingsmarch by providing workers with gold and resources for trade, even though town building is long gone.

But it doesn't matter, because the biggest role of Kingsmarch is its passive farming, and if you know how to set it up correctly, you have the opportunity to earn a lot of POE Divine Orbs, Scarabs, Tattoos and other currencies, so it is definitely a good way to increase your wealth.

However, after entering POE 3.26, some aspects of Kingsmarch have changed, so we want to share with you some of the best settings I know so far and help you optimize your farming and earn more Divines more easily!

Kingsmarch Changes

Now, let’s quickly discuss what has changed in Kingsmarch from POE 3.25 to 3.26.

In terms of efficiency, I think most mechanics are less efficient now because the inherent levels of the mechanics have changed. Farming lost its adjacent bonus, and workers can only go up to level 5 instead of level 10, which means we need to spend more time working and spend more gold to complete tasks.

Overall, in terms of balance, I don’t think all mechanics are worth trying, because some mechanics will consume a lot of resources for no reason.

Recruitment

Next, we will focus on Recruitment mechanic in PoE 3.26. You can talk to Raulf in the town, who is responsible for hiring and managing workers who perform various tasks in the town.

If you plan to invest in the long term, you should always choose the 20,000 gold option because you have a higher chance of getting a level 5 worker. Even if you are just starting out, I strongly recommend the 20,000 gold option. Unless you just started the map and don’t have more gold, this option can help you recruit the best workers possible.

When you are just starting out and don’t have much gold, you should prioritize recruiting level 5 farmers as soon as possible. Peasants provide crops, which can be considered passive currency, since you will be shipping them out later. So, try to get all your peasants to the highest level possible.

Obviously, you will also need to recruit a lot of other level 5 workers at the same time as you recruit peasants. But in terms of priority, I think it is also very important to recruit level 5 shipping workers for some large-scale transports later, as they will reduce the risk of shipping goods.

Although you don’t need more level 5 workers at the beginning, it is best to reserve some in advance because you may lose them when you transport later.

Other workers are equally important, such as Smelter, Miner and Disenchanter, which are indispensable helpers in your process of collecting resources and completing transactions. Unless you have some plans to test the income you can earn, I strongly recommend that you only keep peasants working all the time and let miners and all other workers rest.

Don’t worry, you can recruit them at any time and have them ready to work, but if they are not working, you don’t need to pay them any wages. So, if you need to, feel free to recruit all workers below level 5.

Farming Plot Allocation

For our current farming setup, we prefer a 2-2-1-1 layout, which is two corn plots, two wheat plots, one flex plot, and one Blue Zanthimum plot.

We want to prioritize corn and wheat because they are the easiest crops to grow and are the high-quality crops needed to complete 17 million hauls. When you haul 17 million crops, the best haul rewards level off, and rare drops like Mirror Shards and Divine Orbs are easier to get.

Then, you need to put all the high-quality workers in the first four plots. It doesn’t really matter for the first four plots because we no longer have adjacent rewards. The use of flex plots depends on your demand for corn and wheat, and you can use them to balance production and inventory.

For example, if you are running out of corn, you can plant corn in the flex plot so that you have enough corn to catch up with wheat production. But you can also swap in other crops, like Blue Zanthimum for crafting recipes and trading Divine Orbs, or Pumpkin and Orgourd to fill quotas.

However, it is not recommended to spend more time filling quotas, because I don’t think it is worth it. So, in my opinion, you only need to focus on your three main crops: corn, wheat, and Blue Zanthimum.

In terms of value, these will be the most profitable mechanisms for you to farm to earn currency in Kingsmarch. So make sure to prioritize farming them.

Shipping Strategies

For shipping options, there are actually many options, but we try to reach the 17 million shipping volume cap to maximize profits.

We can send the ship to Riben Fell, which is one of the key locations where players can ship supplies in exchange for precious rewards. However, it doesn’t really matter which port the ship is sent to, because we are shipping crops first. The most important thing here is that you make sure that there is no risk in sending the ship out, which means you need to use a level 5 shipping worker.

The return of the ship takes about 46 minutes, and the expected return from this cargo trade is 7-10 Divine Orbs, plus 1-3 Mirror Shards. (This is almost the same level of return as the 50 million shipment, but with much less Divines.)

The next shipment is 10k Blue Zanthimum to Kalguur Port, which can bring you a lot of Divines. To reduce the risk of shipping, you need to prepare at least one level 4 shipping worker and two level 5 workers. The expected result is 60-70 Divines per trip.

All in all, this is a very interesting league mechanic, and if you are actively playing POE 3.26 and preparing for the endgame, then definitely don’t ignore Kingsmarch, which is probably one of the best ways for casual players to get Mirror Shards and Divines. Good luck with the delivery!

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!