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• A Series Of Possible Changes To Skill Usage In Path Of Exile 2

  As we all know, Path of Exile 2 Early Access will be released on November 15th, and as the time approaches, all exiles are gearing up to have an excellent performance in this new sequel.

  In this guide, we will talk about the various changes we know so far to skill usage and animation rigs in Path of Exile 2, and how they differ from the same mechanics in POE 1, to help old and new players prepare before entering the game. If you are interested, don’t miss this guide and let’s jump right in!

  Melee Rework

  One of the biggest reasons GGG took on the task of making a sequel to Path of Exile was that they wanted to make a new action role-playing game that solved many of the problems that the original Path of Exile had been plaguing players, and the most important of them was visceral action combat, especially melee combat.

  Path of Exile 2 will put more emphasis on the feeling of moment to moment combat, using the new rig system to assist animations so that character movement can seamlessly transition from one skill use to another.

  Retargeting Skills

  In POE 2, you can re-target skills during animations, allowing your character to turn around during the casting or attack time before using skills with longer animations, which will give your character more room to adjust. This means that you can still track more moving targets in combat and strike with skills with longer play times.

  Skill Cancellation

  Of course, you can also manually cancel the use of abilities. For example, if you need to avoid the immediate danger or you no longer need to use the skill, you can force a skill to cancel through Dodge Roll.

  Compared with Path of Exile 1, canceling skills may be more important in POE 2. Because the casting time of skills is usually longer than we are used to in POE 1. For example, Arc spell has a casting time of 0.9 seconds in POE 2, while the casting time in POE 1 is 0.7 seconds.

  Additionally, there are several more powerful skills that have very significant cast time changes. For example, Comet has a base cast time of 1 second, with an additional 1 second total cast time as a modifier from the gem itself, which may scale with the gem level.

  Therefore, being able to cancel skills with such long cast times is crucial to maintaining the freedom and fluidity of moment to moment combat.

  Mana Cost Changes

  However, what happens to the mana cost in Path of Exile 1 if you cancel a skill animation before it starts or are forced to cancel a skill animation, such as by being stunned? In fact, you will lose the resource cost of the skill because it is pre-consumed.

  But the resource cost of using skills has also changed significantly from POE 1 to POE 2. The cost of using a skill will no longer be pre-consumed when the skill is first activated, but will be consumed over the entire duration of the skill animation.

  This means that manually canceling a skill before it starts or forcing it to be canceled by being stunned is much less expensive, which can save you a lot of POE 2 Currency. And the option to re-target and cancel a skill without losing resources should go a long way toward providing the foundation for more fluid combat for players.

  Movement

  But these aren’t the only aspects of ability usage changes that Path of Exile 2 brings to the series. Many skills now either have built-in movement capabilities by default or can be used while moving, and skills that can be used while moving often impose a movement penalty on the character for the duration of the spell, slowing down movement speed.

  But at the same time, for those skills that require you to stand still, they may also have built-in movement capabilities. This goes back to Comet spell from before. This skill had a movement component that would only activate if the spell was aimed close to the character. It would lift the character up and re-target slightly backwards without turning around, providing some defensive utility to help keep distance while casting.

  There are also some skills that act similarly to movement skills in POE 1, such as the new Hand of Chayula skill, which will dash to the target if the target is now far away from you.

  Animation Rigs

  Finally, for the changes in general ability usage, there are some cosmetic changes more related to the new Rigging System in POE 2.

  Some of you who played POE 1 may be familiar with the casting or attacking animations for specific classes and specific weapon types, and how these animations tend to start looking a little ridiculous when you start stacking a lot of attack and casting speeds or a lot of action speeds.

  This is because each animation doesn’t change, it just speeds up to such an extent. You can imagine that an animation that looks good when it plays in one second will start to look weird once it plays 10 times in a second. But in POE 2, skill use animations are planned to be different based on the animation speed. When certain speed thresholds are met, some parts of the animation will change to faster or slower animation variants, allowing players to enjoy a better visual experience.

  These are some differences and new changes that we have learned so far about how players in Path of Exile 2 use skills compared to previous games. Overall, the developers want to bring players a feast for gameplay and visuals. So, let’s wait and see!

• These Features Will Definitely Be Your Reasons To Play Path Of Exile 2 Next Month! - 5 New Features

  As the release date of the early access version of the new game Path of Exile 2, which has been polished for a long time, is getting closer, players are increasingly looking forward to this game that differs completely from the original. However, some players have been in a wait-and-see state, because the information leaked so far about this new game is too little and the release time has been delayed, which has made them lose a lot of confidence.

  This is completely understandable, but this guide has now combined most of the current game information trailers and some players’ actual play reviews to list some new features of Path of Exile 2 that are worth playing. If you are one player who is waiting, you might as well read some reasons provided by this guide before making a conclusion.

  Note that this guide is speculated based on the currently known game information and is for reference only. Everything is subject to the official release version.

  1. The Game As A Whole Takes Place In A New Story

  The first thing to introduce is also a question that many players are concerned about, whether the story line in Path of Exile 2 is related to the original? According to the trailer released so far, we can learn that the storyline of POE 2 takes place 20 years after the events of the original game. So the game world you enter has the god of corruption Kitava defeated and the land of Oriath saved.

  Then you will continue your exploration in these procedural dungeons with modifiers. You will feel a darker scene here, and the enemies and Tilesets will become more terrifying, as if a new god or essence is rising.

  Of course, this is the first half of the game story, and the second half will depend on your behavior in the first half, so you may see a very different Acts 6-10, and even each player may have a unique ending.

  2. The Environment Of The Game World Has Also Changed

  Of course, as a brand new game, the environment in which you can fight in Path of Exile 2 has also changed, otherwise this sequel is likely to become boring. At this stage, the scene of Act 1 leaked is very similar to the scene in Diablo series of games, and most importantly, there is Dark Souls, which may surprise players who play these two games at the same time.

  Not only that, the caves and unique swamps shrouded in dim light make the cities and coasts that are very ordinary in the original game more appealing to explore, and will also make players more immersed in the battle. Most importantly, it's easier to find those shiny POE 2 Currency at the end of your battle.

  3. New Weapon Types Added

  Although the weapons that can be used by each class have not been fully announced at this stage, it is certain that Spears have been added to POE 2 as a new weapon type, which has been requested by players in the player community for many years after the original game was first released.

  In addition, Crossbows will also be added to this new game, which allows players to have a new game style that mixes melee and ranged combat. These two new weapon types are enough to add a lot of dramatic builds and playable value to this game, which will also make Path of Exile 2 stand out from the new games that will be released next month.

  Not only that, Traps and Flails will also provide you with a lot of unique skill experiences and more build possibilities.

  4. The Combat Screen Has Been Greatly Improved

  In the process of continuous improvement, POE 2 has achieved a lot of combat improvements. For example, the arrows that players have been complaining about will stick to the surface after hitting the enemy, and the first-level enemies will recoil after being hit. These have been improved.

  In addition, with the change of the combat environment, the visual effects in combat have also been greatly improved - the picture has become more beautiful and allows smoother movement while using skills. These improved visual effects will help immerse players in the cruel world.

  5. New Classes Are Introduced

  In addition to the original 6 classes in POE, 6 new classes will be introduced in the new game - Monk, Druid, Huntress, Mercenary, Sorceress, and Warrior. Except for Scion, the original classes will retain the same Stats and progress as the original, and will all get Ascendancies.

  Each Class has 3 Ascendancies to choose from, which will give your Class more damage skills or survival skills in the game, which will greatly increase the diversity of your exploration in the game. You can even consider changing your game style to pure offense or pure defense, which is all achievable.

  These are the five reasons why Path of Exile 2 should be your first choice next month. Although this game has made many players wait with enthusiasm at the beginning, and then experienced multiple delays, and finally let players gradually lose interest. But believe me, the early version next month will definitely make you shine and feel that the previous wait is worth it. I wish you a happy game!

• What Changes Will The Curse Mechanic Bring In Path Of Exile 2?

  With Path of Exile 2 Early Access set to launch on November 15, many exiles are beginning to look at how this new sequel will differ from POE 1 and how they will affect the gameplay.

  Here, we will talk about the changes to Curses mechanic in POE 2 to help you prepare before entering the game. Whether you are a new player interested in the upcoming POE 2, or an old player who has been familiar with every league since POE 1, this guide will make you gain something. Let’s get started!

  How Does Curses Mechanic Work?

  Curses are the ability to apply debuffs. These debuffs are usually composed of basic modifiers, such as Chaos-type Curse effects, which reduce the target’s Chaos Resistance, making it more vulnerable to that type of damage, or increase the damage taken under certain conditions or against a specific type of attack.

  By default, a character is limited to a maximum of one curse, which means that they can only apply one Curse to each target. If you attempt to apply another Curse to an already Cursed target, the system will automatically remove the oldest Curse to make way for the new one. However, if you want to apply multiple Curse effects at once, you are not helpless, as Curse limit can be increased through Passive Skill Tree or modifiers on equipment.

  Curse Skill Changes

  Now, in Path of Exile 2, there are two very big functional changes to Curse skills besides the changes to Curse skills themselves.

  Marks Will No Longer Be A Curse Skill

  Let’s start with Marks. Mark skills are a type of Curse skill in Path of Exile 1, and they can essentially be thought of as single-target Curses with powerful effects.

  But Mark skills also have their own unique mechanics in POE 1. For example, Mark skills are limited to one application per target, and you cannot have multiple Marks on the same target at the same time, even if Curse limit is increased to more than its default limit of 1. If you try to move that Mark to another target, Mark on the previous target will be automatically removed.

  On top of that, Mark skills also have no duration, or rather, infinite duration, compared to standard Curse, which has a fixed duration by default.

  However, the first major functional change is that Mark will no longer be a Curse skill in POE 2. This now means that using a Mark skill will no longer count towards a character’s Curse limit. So you won’t even have to invest any POE 2 Currency to increase your Curse limit, and your character will be able to use both Curse skills and Mark skills at the same time.

  But it seems that Mark skills themselves are also being changed for Path of Exile 2. In terms of their unique mechanics, they will now have a duration, and judging by Sniper’s Mark skill leaked so far, they may have more temporary effects that can cause a Mark to end early and provide a reward.

  In this case, the next critical hit may have a higher critical damage bonus and provide Frenzy Charges to the character before Mark effect expires.

  Curse Skills Have Activation Delays

  Now, the second major functional change to Curse mechanic in POE 2 comes in the specific way that Curse skills activate on targets in the game. Curse abilities have an activation delay for a short time after casting before they actually take effect.

  Some of you may remember Doomsday Keystone that existed for a while in Path of Exile 1. Doomsday was a Keystone Passive ability that modified Hex spells. When a Hex spell is cast, instead of applying a curse that increases Doom over time, the spell creates a Hexed Area that lasts for 1 second. Enemies in Hexed Area are cursed, and after 1 second Hexed Area disappears, applying maximum Doom to enemies standing in it.

  Although Doom mechanic has gone with this Keystone, we don’t know if the activation delay will still be 1 second in POE 2. But it’s essentially a very similar concept, with the main difference being that in POE 2, outside of Curse ability description, the target is not cursed until the activation delay is over.

  One of the only other things that mentions an activation delay is Whispers of Doom, which will be a Keystone for Path of Exile 2. This keystone increases the character’s maximum curse limit by 1, but doubles the activation delay for curses, so curses you cast on yourself take longer to actually take effect.

  How To Improve The Activation Delay?

  But how to avoid the drawbacks of this keystone by bypassing the activation delay?

  Blasphemy Support is another returning mechanic. In PoE 2, it will be a persistent buff, and each Socketed Curse will retain Spirit to apply these curses as Aura around your character, which has great synergy with Whispers of Doom.

  Another skill that has amazing synergy with Whispers of Doom is a Hand of Chayula, a utility attack skill that applies a Socketed Curse and Marks it upon hitting a target, with increased effect.

  Curse Debuff Changes

  Now in terms of the effects that Curses actually apply in PoE 2, so far we only know of a few that have changed, and Despair and Temporal Chains seem to have the same effects as in PoE 1, although we haven’t seen specific numbers yet.

  Meanwhile, for Vulnerability, it is still a way to increase physical damage, but it will now be more target-specific, as it will do so by reducing armor rather than causing the target to take more physical damage.

  In short, the above is what we currently know about the changes in Curse mechanism in POE 2 and how we can deal with it. Of course, nothing is certain until the game is released. So let us look forward to the arrival of Path of Exile 2!

• How To Build A Low Life Damage King In Path Of Exile 3.25? - Cold Tornado Of Elemental Turbulence Occultist Build

  Exiles, the league cycle of POE 3.25 is halfway through. Have you found the endgame build that suits you best? If you haven’t, take a look at our build guide today, which may bring new inspiration to your build creation.

  Here, we will bring a Cold variant with Tornado of Elemental Turbulence as the core. This is a Low Life build, accompanied by extremely high clear speed and damage output, which can satisfy the player’s desire to win quickly in the boring endgame run. Without further ado, let’s get started!

  Tornado Of Elemental Turbulence

  Tornado of Elemental Turbulence is a Prismatic skill, so by using Combat Focus Unique Jewel, we can focus on a single element. In this case, you can use Combat Focus Cobalt Jewel and Combat Focus Viridian Jewel, so that your Prismatic skill cannot choose Fire and Lightning. This means that every time you cast Tornado, it will only be Cold Tornado.

  Ascendancy Choices

  For Ascendancy Class, you can choose Occultist, this is because the class gives you offensive and defensive bonuses to cold damage.

  Frigid Wake can freeze nearby enemies once every 4 seconds, while providing more damage and some Quality of Life. You may be skeptical about this Ascendancy and not even consider it at first, because most people think it only has a 50% chance to freeze, and it only happens once every 4 seconds. But if you use it often, you will find that this is actually a misunderstanding.

  Freezes actually happen frequently and are very useful for bosses. Combined with Hypothermia Support, you can reliably freeze bosses, which is great as a defensive layer. And with it, you have more flexibility in choosing Pantheon, because you no longer have to choose Soul of the Brine King to avoid freezes.

  The core concept of this build is stacking Power Charges and using Inner Conviction Keystone. Therefore, Forbidden Power from Occultist is very powerful because it provides more damage and AOE for each Power Charge on top of +1 Maximum Power Charges. And Unholy Authority Ascendancy passive allows you to easily reach the 3 curse limit, and your curses can affect enemies with curse immunity.

  Therefore, in my opinion, Occultist is the best Ascendancy for this build.

  We chose to design this build as Low Life because Occultist is very suitable for Energy Shield build. It is also easier to deal higher damage because we can retain more than 90% of health and stack multiple Offensive Auras.

  But as we all know, the standard Low Life build is not very popular now because it is difficult to get Spell Suppression with equipment. Therefore, this build is quite fragile.

  As a Low Life build, Prism Guardian and Shavronne’s Wrappings are obvious equipment choices. Prism Guardian allows our Auras to reserve life instead of mana, and the reservation efficiency is increased by 30%. Shavronne’s Wrappings is a must-have to prevent yourself from being instantly killed by chaos damage. If you have more POE Currency, you can also go for Crown of the Inward Eye, which is the best slot because it provides a lot of Energy Shield and Damage.

  Defense

  We don’t usually invest too much in the defense of a build, as long as it does what it is supposed to do, it is completely sufficient.

  Besides freezing, this build also has about 40% attack block and 60% spell block with Rumi’s Concoction turned on. However, the main form of defense is first not to get hit, and secondly to get high damage to kill enemies quickly. Offense is the best defense.

  Degen can be dangerous because we have no Energy Shield regeneration, and it even prevents our ES from charging. But Lethe Shade is good because it will reduce Damage over Time you receive by 50% and increase the duration of your Ailments by 100% if you start receiving Damage over Time in the past second.

  If you don’t have extra passive points, you can use Soul of Arakaali and Soul of Ralakesh, which are great for solving this problem.

  This build is extremely vulnerable to physical damage, and Energy Shield Mastery, “10% less Physical Damage Taken while on Full Energy Shield” helps a little, but that’s it.

  Build Gameplay

  The playstyle of this Tornado Occultist build is simple. All you need to do is cast Tornado every few seconds, and they will chase the enemy for a while. Auto-targeting is also good, so you can cast this skill no matter where you are standing or where the enemy is.

  You can also use Power Charge On Critical Support to generate Power Charges, so we have Maximum Power Charges most of the time, which greatly improves our critical chance.

  Of course, as POE league continues to develop, and with the release of new patches, this build still has some room for improvement, and there are still some things that need to be upgraded. For example, you can also get +1 Power Charge on the helmet and Double Corruptions on Body Armor.

  The above is the complete guide for Low Life Cold Tornado Occultist build in POE 3.25 that we shared today. What do you think of this build? Do you have any better suggestions for optimizing this build? I hope this build can bring you a smooth endgame journey. Wish you good luck!

• A Feature In Path Of Exile 2 Makes Diablo 4 Lose This Battle Completely! - Couch Co-Op

  As the early access version of Path of Exile 2 is getting closer, many players are looking forward to the battle between this new MMO game and the old game Diablo 4, because they have many similarities in gameplay and mechanism.

  But on May 30, when Grinding Gear Games, the developer of POE 2, announced that the game supports you to play Couch Co-Op, making the game more social, Diablo 4 has already lost, and lost very thoroughly. So today, let’s take a detailed look at this new feature of POE 2, and what other features POE 2 has over Diablo 4 that make it lose so thoroughly in this battle. If you are also the most excited spectator in this battle, then let’s take a look together!

  About Couch Co-Op

  First, let’s take a look at the couch co-op option, which is a feature that allows you to operate multiple characters under one POE 2 account on multiple controllers. You can use this feature to explore the dangerous Wraeclast with family or friends without registering a new account.

  In the redesigned controller scheme, you can use dual joysticks to control the character, which will be much simpler than using mouse and keyboard control. Path of Exile 2 Game Director Jonathan Rogers has publicly said in some media interviews that this type of Action RPGs is best enjoyed when exploring with friends.

  And according to him, the couch co-op option actually started as an experiment. First, they introduced a new HUD to accommodate two people, and then added other optimizations, which ultimately made it easier to manage inventory, such as some items and POE 2 Currency, when using the same screen. In the end, they brought this well-thought-out feature to all players, striving to make it a more fun experience for them to play with friends and family.

  In addition, it is very gratifying that this Couch Co-Op feature will be available in various versions of Path of Exile 2, rather than a onetime additional feature. In contrast, Diablo 4 has never added such a feature in such a long game development process. Even with multiple characters, some items can only be cultivated or refined once, and they will not appear again if missed.

  And when you and your allies are in the process of cooperative exploration, because you are not using the same equipment, there will even be delays between you, which are very unfavorable for some limited-time exploration activities such as Helltide. Therefore, the introduction of this feature has made POE 2 win the love of many players, including D4 players.

  POE 2 Becomes A Cross-Platform Game

  In addition to the couch co-op option, POE 2 also supports cross-platform play on multiple gaming platforms including PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC, and you can even enjoy the same game progress on these platforms as long as you use the same account.

  This is a very rare feature in MMORPGs, allowing players to explore the same progress on different devices using the same character, eliminating the regret of creating a new character and missing out on valuable experience points and POE 2 Currency.

  But if you are a Diablo 4 player and want to explore different platforms, the first thing you need to do is create a new character and start exploring from the beginning. This means that you need to go through some unbearable trials and some very difficult bosses again.

  Most importantly, characters between different platforms are not allowed to be traded, and you can’t get any benefits from this new character or new platform. This is another major reason POE 2 is so attractive to original Diablo 4 players.

  Couch Co-Op Has Become A General Trend

  As time goes by, more and more games only support players to play online multiplayer games, but the very important social function in the game will gradually fade, so that players may become more and more accustomed to exploring alone. This is completely unfavorable for the diverse development of games, because fixed single-player gameplay cannot provide more exploration possibilities for the game.

  But it does not mean that there are no games that allow you to experience the couch co-op function at this stage. For example, games such as It Takes Two, Cuphead and Stardew Valley combine this function as an advantage with their gameplay to form a unique game type.

  However, since most ARPGs have more complicated gameplay and game mechanisms, the couch co-op function cannot be truly realized in the game. But given the influence of the current network environment, players may prefer to cooperate with friends face to face, break through the enemy’s blockade together, and finally win. This will also be simpler and more comfortable than communicating with friends in front of the computer, which fully achieves the purpose of the most important social function of this game.

  So, in short, POE 2’s introduction of couch co-op into the game may mark the beginning of these large-scale games slowly incorporating future gaming trends. I hope you can have fun playing this new game that has undergone major changes, and we look forward to it together!

• Which Melee Skills Received Big Buffs In Path Of Exile 3.25? - Best Melee Skills List

  As a melee fan, the most exciting changes in Path of Exile 3.25 are the melee skills that are received by major buffs. While many skills received buffs, we’re only going to highlight the ones with the most potential here, showcasing the skills that received the biggest buffs and the best Ascendancies and specific unique skills that may benefit certain builds. Without further ado, let’s jump right in!

  1. Pestilent Strike

  Overall, the skill that received the most buffs was Pestilent Strike, which saw its damage effect nearly tripled. But for a variety of reasons, it’s not very popular, and even now, there are probably more promising options. However, with such a big buff, there may be some pioneers who build around it.

  2. Double Strike

  Although Double Strike only received a small buff of 0.03, this can lead to a lot of nice builds around it. This skill was previously used mostly by Champions and Slayers, and made for super tanky builds based around Power Charge Stacking and Paradoxica.

  3. Lacerate Of Haemorrhage

  Another skill that has been widely loved is Lacerate of Haemorrhage, which loses its flat damage bonus, but the 226% bonus effect easily makes up for that.

  It’s also worth noting that it was a solid early game choice before, and now with all the bleed buffs added, the skill should be more usable in some meta builds, builds like Lacerate Gladiator or Lacerate Gladiator with Olesya’s Delight and Usurper’s Penance are sure to shine.

  4. Viper Strike Of The Mamba

  Perforate, regular Lacerate, and Frenzy of Onslaught have also been buffed, but most of them will be overshadowed by better options, which brings us to another big winner of POE 3.25, Viper Strike of the Mamba, which has a 238% increase in effect, which will really increase your damage.

  This is also a skill that is barely affected by the removal of Totems, as it never cared about the attack speed bonus from Ancestral Protector, plus now with builds like Viper Strike Of The Mamba Trickster and Pathfinder, it will only get stronger. Combine it with Olesya’s Delight Cloth Belt and Charge Stacking, and this build can also benefit greatly from early Covenant, making it easier and faster to get 6-links.

  5. Sweep

  Another great option is Sweep, which has received a 383% damage effect buff, which feels pretty good. Not only that, but if you have enough POE Currency to get a nice two-handed weapon, Sweep can almost reach almost full screen AOE and give you a pretty comfortable gameplay experience.

  On top of that, you can also use a variety of Ascendancies, such as Slayer, Juggernaut, Berserker, and even Champion. In my opinion, Berserker Build has very strong synergy with all Rage variations and should be a good fit for this skill.

  6. Glacial Hammer & Glacial Hammer Of Shattering

  Next up is another niche skill that already has some fans, Glacial Hammer and Glacial Hammer of Shattering. This build has a splendid set of defensive abilities and can easily freeze everything around it without a lot of problems, and after the buff, it will have one of the highest damage effects of all melee skills, reaching 622%!

  Combining it with Heatshiver and Frostbreath will make it even more popular, and even be able to replace newer skills like Warden Ascendancy, which has a lot of cool elemental buffs.

  7. Reave

  Reave is probably the most popular Strength Stack Berserk and Juggernaut skill. Although Original Sin is already powerful enough, Reave’s effect is more than doubled in comparison, which is quite surprising. Therefore, this may add more popularity to Strength Stacker Builds based on Reave, but it will also be more demanding on your POE Currency budget.

  8. Flicker Strike

  Flicker Strike has been a very popular skill in many leagues, and it has also been buffed in POE 3.25, gaining an additional 192% effect while keeping the fixed damage bonus. Since using a totem with Flicker is always difficult, especially when mapping skills, it benefits greatly from the buff it has received.

  For its Ascendancy Option, Slayer with Rakiata’s Dance is always very popular, and Ephemeral Edge is always a priority for Trickster builds. Finally, Warden can be an interesting choice compared to Raider with Paradoxica and Shako.

  9. Cyclone Of Tumult

  Another skill that is a fan favorite and finally getting a buff is Cyclone of Tumult. This is a very fluid and fun skill that can be used as a purely physical or Physical Shockwave version with Abyssus and Warstaff, or as a Chaos-based Strength Stacker build. The most popular Ascendancy for this skill is Slayer or Berserker.

  10. Molten Strike & Molten Strike Of The Zenith

  Molten Strike received a pretty nice buff in both the normal version and Molten Strike of the Zenith, increasing the effectiveness of both by about 1.8 times. This skill is already very popular for different types of builds, such as Rakiata’s Dance Champion or Pillar of the Caged God Juggernaut, and can lead to more interesting combinations, such as Poison Molten Strike Pathfinder with Nimis.

  11. Ice Crash & Ice Crash Of Cadence

  Ice Crash also received a very significant buff, increasing the effectiveness to 611%, making it one of the highest-effective skills in the entire series. It will definitely bring more popularity to this skill, as it is very convenient and fun. Therefore, both Hollow Palm Warden and Mace Berserker builds should get a boost.

  12. Frost Blades

  Frost Blades has long been a fan favorite starting skill in the league, and now it will be even more popular because the damage effectiveness of the skill has been increased by 184%. It also stacks well with the new Warden Ascendancy, and another option is Trickster or even Berserker to further increase the damage. Don’t forget to bring your Heatshiver, The Taming, and Yoke of Suffering to join the blasting party!

  13. Smite

  Armor Stacker will now be built differently because of the changes to Auras. On the bright side, Smite is getting a buff to gain 215% additional effectiveness, and it doesn’t lose inherent damage, so it will continue to be a sound choice for all Armor Stacking Champions and Ascendants with Doryani and Dreamfeather.

  14. Splitting Steel

  Splitting Steel was also a very popular skill in Necropolis League, so the buff to it isn’t that big, and it also loses its inherent damage bonus. But if it’s paired with a strong Ascendancy, such as the lightning damage version of Trickster with Ephemeral Edge or Champion with Paradoxica, it can also help further boost an already strong build.

  15. Lightning Strike

  Lightning Strike also got a buff in POE 3.25, but it’s the least changed with only 74% extra effect, and it also loses the fixed damage increase. Considering there are no totems, the overall damage should be close to pre-change levels, still playable, but with a little buff. If you still want to try it, Armor Stacking Champions or Ascendants should be your best choices.

  16. Boneshatter

  Boneshatter has long been one of POE fans’ favorite melee skills, and now it’s been buffed! 88% extra damage effect without losing fixed damage, that sounds great. So always get your Juggernaut or Slayer ready and go smash some bones!

  17. Rage Vortex

  The last skill on the list is Rage Vortex. In reality, it wasn’t popular in POE 3.25, but some people played it, so it can be considered a niche skill. With all the changes to Rage, it’s hard to predict how good it will be, however, considering it only gained 8% of its effect, the buff doesn’t seem to be huge. The main advantage of this skill will always be Berserk, so if Rage Vortex is your first choice, don’t hesitate to pick it.

  Which Melee Skills Are Most Likely To Become Meta?

  Finally, we talk about the skills that were popular in POE 3.25 and benefited the most from the patch. I think these skills are most likely to become Meta or close to Meta.

  • Lacerate: Its buff effect is huge, and Aggravated Bleeds bonus and Gladiator together will push it quite far.
  • Flicker Strike: This skill has always been popular, and its buff is enough to become mainstream.
  • Frost Blades: It has a good clearing effect, single target stability, few melee plays, and has interesting interactions with different settings such as Nimis, so it will be strong and popular.
  • Molten Strike: The biggest problem with this skill is the range, but the damage is great and Nimis can help boost it even higher.
  • Splitting Steel: Again a great clearing effect, and the skill feels like a ranged skill instead of a true melee, a good middle ground for those who want to keep some distance.
  • Reave: Will continue to be a good stacking skill. The biggest problem with Strength Stacking skills is the cost, but Reave still stands as one of the strongest choices.

  All in all, the above is a list of melee skills that have received the most buffs in POE 3.25. Which one do you think is the best? What do you think of these buffs and changes? Hopefully, this guide can help you find the best melee skills to complete a strong build. Good luck!