How To Make A Summon Raging Spirits Guardian Build In POE 3.23 Affliction League?
The SRS Guardian emerged as a popular choice for a league starter in the current league, prompting me to opt for it as my initial build in Path of Exile 3.23 Affliction League. Here’s a comprehensive guide for anyone interested in constructing this build. If you plan to embark on creating this build, make sure you have an ample supply of Path of Exile Currency.
Why Play SRS Guardian?
The biggest improvement to minion builds recently has been reworked to the Guardian Ascendancy, which gives players access to the Sentinel of Radiance. Additionally, a Triple Aura effect is sustained by Elemental Relics.
On top of that, the Affliction League saw the addition of some powerful specters which cast various auras and provide utility effects that greatly buff the damage output of any minion build.
Summon Raging Spirits
For Summon Raging Spirits, the main skill setup links SRS to Minion Damage, Elemental Damage with Attacks, Unleash, Elemental Focus, and Ruthless Support.
Alternative support gems for this setup include Multistrike for faster attacks or Melee Splash for better multi-target damage. This will be socketed in the body armor of the build.
Trigger Wand
In the weapon slot, this build sockets Desecrate, Flesh Offering, and Punishment in a Trigger Wand. This is done to sustain Flesh Offering when summoning Raging Spirits.
Punishment will also be triggered onto enemy mobs, increasing their damage taken when on low life.
Auras
The auras that this build reserves in its Mana pool are Tempest Shield, Determination and Skitterbots linked to Unbound Ailments.
These can be socketed in the gloves with a +2 to socketed AOE gem to improve the effectiveness of these auras.
Tempest Shield and Determination greatly improve the build’s survivability by providing armor, spell block, and shock immunity.
Skitterbots, linked to Unbound Ailments, increases the shock effect of the aura.
Mobility + Divine Blessing
For mobility, this build sockets a Shield Charge in an unset ring and Frost Blink in one of the sockets of the shield.
Shield Charge is the primary travel skill, while Frost Blink allows the character to traverse across small gaps and obstacles.
In the remaining sockets of the shield, the build uses a Haste aura linked to a Divine Blessing Support, sustained through Eldritch Battery.
Buffs + CWDT
In the helmet, the build has a Summon Carrion Golem linked to Feeding Frenzy and a level 14 Molten Shell linked to level 9 Cast When Damage Taken support.
The Carrion Golem provides flat physical damage to the Raging Spirits and sustains the Feeding Frenzy buff, providing more damage, increased movement speed, and increased attack speed.
Spectre Setup
Finally, in the boots, there will be a Raise Spectre and Animate Guardian linked to an Elemental Army support.
An Elemental Weakness curse gem will also be socketed in the remaining socket for the double curse setup.
Elemental Army support increases the survivability of these support minions and allows them to apply elemental exposure to enemies.
Note that to obtain a maximum of 4 specters in the build, the gem level of Raise Spectre will need to reach level 25, and Death Attunement must be allocated.
The first spectre needed is a Perfect Hulking Miscreation, providing 100% increased damage and 30% attack speed to the Raging Spirits, along with an additional 20% physical damage gained as lightning damage.
The second spectre is a Perfect Spirit of Fortune, providing the equivalent of a level 47 Wrath aura effect as well as the ability for lightning damage dealt by allies to be rolled twice.
The third spectre is a Perfect Judgemental Spirit, granting the equivalent of a level 3 Envy, level 29 Discipline, and level 32 Anger.
Finally, for the fourth Spectre, a Perfect Blasphemer is used, providing a level 40 Smite buff and creating moving curse ground that applies inable Temporal Chains and Vulnerability to enemies, ignoring the player’s maximum curse limit.
Animate Guardian Setup
For the Animate Guardian, Leer Cast grants 50% increased damage to nearby allies. Dying Breath grants another 18% increased damage to nearby allies and 18% increased curse effect on nearby enemies.
Legacy of Fury applies Scorch to nearby enemies, lowering their elemental resistances. Southbound and Belly of the Beast are defensive POE Items that significantly increase the life pool of the Animate Guardian and are used to prevent it from dying.
Weapon + Gloves + Boots
For the gear on the character, this build uses a +1 Trigger Wand with fractured Minion Attack Speed and some Minion Damage.
On the gloves, the build has a +2 to socketed AOE gems to improve the effectiveness of the socketed auras. Otherwise, it just has some life, resistances, a bit of suppression, and Minion Damage.
For the boots, a total of 35% movement speed and 23% life regeneration rate can be achieved by stacking both Explicit and Implicit Eldritch Modifiers.
The rest of the modifiers cover more life and resistances.
Body Armor
The body armor used in the build is the Doppelgänger Guise, which mitigates a significant amount of physical and chaos damage taken.
It also allows the player to regenerate a large amount of health when hit because minions do not benefit from the character going insane. In this case, the build can remain sane 100% of the time to take advantage of these defensive modifiers.
Doppelgänger Guise + Divine Flesh Combo
To further improve the build’s survivability, a Glorious Vanity jewel (Sacrificed in the Name of Xibaqua) will be socketed next to Pain Attunement to allocate Divine Flesh. This increases the maximum chaos resistance to 80% and converts 50% of elemental damage taken into chaos damage instead.
By equipping the Doppelgänger Guise while running Divine Flesh, this build can effectively apply the less chaos damage taken modifier to 50% of the elemental damage taken as well.
Shield
In the shield, the build has a fractured 2% to all maximum resistances to further increase the elemental and chaos max hits. This will also be another source of global minion gem level, helping the build achieve the level 25 Raise Spectre skill gem.
Helmet
The helmet for this build is a fractured Energy Shield item base that also grants another +1to all minion skills. It provides a bit of physical damage taken as lightning, minion life, and resistances.
More importantly, this helmet provides a significant amount of flat Energy Shield that can be used to scale both evasion rating and flat minion damage.
Charms
Using these 2 charms, the build can get an additional 2,192 flat evasion rating and 41 flat physical damage for minions. This is the equivalent of a level 16 Grace without the gem or Mana reservation and a level 20 Carrion Golem buff.
With the third charm, this build can gain permanent Onslaught for all minions as well as another 14% elemental resistance.
Rings & Amulet
For the rings and amulet, it is important to fulfill the high Dexterity and Intelligence requirements within these item slots.
If the dexterity requirements are too high, a lower-level Haste skill gem could be used. If the Intelligence requirements are too high, the Convoking Wand can be downgraded to a Convening Wand instead.
On the amulet, this build will also need a +1 to all skill gems to reach the level 25 Raise Spectre and Death Attunement, anointed for access to the fourth Spectre.
Jewels & Clusters
Aside from 1 singular medium jewel, this build has 4 Ghastly Eye Jewels, each with life and Minion Attack Speed.
Some alternative modifiers this build could benefit greatly from are increased minion damage if the character has used a minion skill recently, minion blind on hit, minion accuracy, or elemental resistances.
For the cluster jewel, this build uses Renewal and Bless Rebirth to increase damage output and prevent Raging Spirits from dying too quickly when tanking enemy attacks.
Finally, a Quickening Covenant is socketed in the cluster jewel, which grants a significant boost to Minion Attack Speed without any of the downsides, as the unique jewel is socketed within a cluster jewel.
Ascendancy Passives
For the Ascendancy passives, this build first runs Radiant Crusade, allowing the player to summon the Sentinel of Radiance.
The Sentinel of Radiance has high based attack damage, fairly strong damage over time aura, and the ability to redirect 20% of damage taken from the player.
The second passive that this build runs is Unwavering Crusade, allowing the build to summon and sustain 3 different Elemental Relics that each cast an Anger, Wrath, or Hatred aura. Even with only a 25% chance to summon these relics when hitting a boss or killing enemies, Summon Raging Spirits can usually sustain these relics pretty well due to the frequency of their attacks.
The third passive players will usually want to grab for this build will be Time of Need. This will help with sustainability during Uber lab, as well as throughout the campaign.
Players can also choose to allocate Radiant Faith as their third passive instead if they desire a higher health pool from the flat energy shield and armor provided early on.
Finally, the fourth passive will be Bastion of Hope, which gives a consistent 25% chance to block both attack and spell damage as long as the player has either casted a spell or attacked recently.
Passive Skill Tree
The passive skill tree for SRS Guardians follows a pretty typical outline for most minion builds, aside from the pathing it takes towards Whispers of Doom and Eldritch Battery.
For offensive masteries, it is important to allocate these passives to improve the build's damage output. For defensive masteries, this is the list of passives that you'll want to allocate.
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On July 16th, the official team will be livestreaming to explain more information about Path of Exile 3.29, but they've already stated that Mirage League-related mechanics will not appear on the map. Is this really good news?
While the final information regarding Mirage League mechanic in PoE 3.29 won't be fully confirmed until the 16th, if it is completely removed, it means the mechanic will neither generate naturally on the map nor appear in Black Barya region, and Shrine Belt series items associated with it will become invalid.
Furthermore, full Mirage maps with the affix Empowered Mirage covering the entire map will no longer be usable in Standard leagues, and new leagues will no longer be able to acquire them.
The only unaddressed aspect is whether Mirage-related PoE currencies (such as Volatile Valor Orb, Refracting Fog, etc.) will be retained in the core gameplay of PoE 3.29. This was not mentioned at all in the announcement, leaving considerable uncertainty.
How has Mirage mechanic performed previously?
Many players and analysts believe that Mirage mechanics are the most playable since Affliction league, and may even surpass the appeal of Necropolis league - the latter, while entertaining, offered a somewhat poor experience in-game.
The core breakthrough of Mirage mechanic lies in solving a long-standing problem plaguing Path of Exile: the low reward of in-game mechanics.
Looking back at leagues before PoE 3.29, features like Keepers of the Flame and Breach in Kalandra offered extremely low rewards for in-game interaction, leading players to almost never engage with them.
The same applied to Necropolis league; once the ideal Necropolis setup was achieved, players stopped paying attention to the map's mechanics.
In contrast, Mirage is the first league mechanic in nearly three years that allows players to actively and frequently interact within the map and reap reasonable rewards.
It would have been truly regrettable for players to completely remove it in Patch 3.29, rather than adjust or weaken it.
Impact on Farming Diversity
Previously, the random affixes Mirage introduced to each map (such as 100% more currency) were a significant source of surprise in endgame farming.
However, once Patch 3.29 decides to remove any form of this random dynamic, map spawns will revert to a completely predictable, static pattern.
Simultaneously, the third map affix system created by Mirage may be completely removed in Patch 3.29, forcing players to choose only traditional eight-affix maps or regular maps, significantly reducing the diversity of endgame farming paths.
It is estimated that more than half of the current farming strategies relying on Mirage will lose their support, undoubtedly the most significant overhaul of the endgame content ecosystem by this patch.
Impact on the Economy
One of Mirage's most prominent contributions is extending the economic lifecycle of several existing league mechanisms.
Take Beyond as an example. Normally, its exclusive PoE currency depreciates rapidly as the game progresses. However, Mirage, by introducing Volatile Valor Orb - which only drops in Marauder area when combined with Beyond monsters - has kept Beyond's economy consistently strong throughout the game.
Furthermore, currencies like Dexterous Catalyst and Refracting Fog provide richer dimensions for endgame progression. They not only make extreme gear upgrades possible but also spawn many new builds that rely on these numerical breakthroughs.
PoE 3.29 hasn't clarified whether these currencies will be retained. If they disappear, gameplay elements like Beyond will quickly depreciate in the new patch, losing their previous value.
This could potentially create a chain reaction, indirectly weakening the long-term playability of existing content in the game.
Mirage May Create Mandatory Issues
If Mirage mechanic were to be fully integrated into the core game, it could indeed create a mandatory pressure on players to invest in Atlas Skill Tree to specialize in it. This might be one of the reasons the development team chose not to include it in the core of Patch 3.29.
However, the new patch didn't attempt any compromises, such as giving it a fixed random trigger probability like Affliction League, or retaining the mechanic by linking it to Scarab, allowing players to actively choose whether to invest in it based on their strategy.
The announcements released did not mention any alternatives to Mirage. If they weren't mentioned in the livestream on the 16th either, doesn't the official decision seem too absolute?
Overall Impact and Future Outlook
In summary, Mirage not only creates a new endgame farming path for players and introduces a brand-new PoE currency system, but also provides random surprises within the map.
This comprehensive benefit is quite rare in the entire Path of Exile historical league.
However, as of now, the official team has neither given any hints about whether it will return in the future, nor provided any supplementary explanations regarding the retention or removal of related currencies. The overall situation seems quite serious. For players, retaining some elements of Mirage through random triggering is certainly better than completely removing it from the game.
The final full changes for PoE 3.29 will be revealed in this Thursday's live stream, where we can see if the development team has prepared any alternative designs.
If they neither retain any core elements of Mirage mechanics nor provide a transitional solution, then this will be one of the most significant changes to Patch 3.29 endgame experience.
Among all ARPGs centered around gear progression, Path of Exile 2's crafting system undoubtedly stands at the top. Especially after Patch 0.5, as the game content expanded and gear acquisition, economic cycles, and endgame gameplay deepened, the importance of the crafting system became even more apparent.
It's complex and profound, offering players a great deal of freedom, thus becoming the ultimate gameplay experience for many.
Ironically, while this system brings high returns and long-term pursuit, it has also gradually become the most exhausting aspect for players. With the increased demand for endgame gear in Patch 0.5, post-game crafting no longer feels like creating gear, but like a high-cost gamble.
When players finally craft a perfect piece of gear, they often feel not the sense of accomplishment from "mastering the skill," but the relief of "finally not having to keep failing." This is perhaps the biggest contradiction of PoE 2 crafting system.
The Problems of High Profits
Why is the crafting system so profitable? The answer is simple: because it's scarce.
In an economic system, an activity with an extremely high profit margin often means that it has a high barrier to entry. Path of Exile 2's crafting system perfectly exemplifies this.
First, it demands a vast amount of knowledge from players.
For an average player to craft a high-end gear, they need to understand affix levels, base material selection, prefix and suffix mechanisms, probability calculations, locking mechanics, interactions between different currencies, and various hidden rules.
Within patch cycles like Patch 0.5, as players explore new gear combinations and crafting paths, the importance of this knowledge increases further. However, the problem is that much of this crucial information remains on third-party websites, in databases, and within player communities, rather than within the game itself.
The crafting system isn't about players learning the game through the game, but players leaving the game to learn how to play the game.
Second, it requires players to possess substantial resources.
Crafting is not a one-shot process. Because of randomness, even so-called "deterministic crafting" often requires repeated attempts.
A high-end gear might require dozens or even hundreds of attempts, and a single failure could mean the loss of hundreds of PoE 2 Divine Orbs or even more currency.
This leads to an awkward situation:
The players who most need to craft and upgrade their gear are often the least able to afford crafting failures.
Ordinary players need to craft to improve their characters, but crafting resources are only consistently available to those who already have powerful characters. Ultimately, crafting has gradually transformed from a progression path into a final stage of gameplay.
Why does Crafting Feel More Like Gambling than a Game?
The biggest problem with crafting in Path of Exile 2 isn't randomness, but the experience resulting from the combination of randomness and cost.
Randomness itself isn't terrible; many excellent games have random mechanics. Loot boxes, drops, and upgrades can all provide excitement. But these systems usually share a common feature: the cost of failure is low, or players can continuously receive feedback.
Crafting in Path of Exile 2 is the opposite.
Especially after Patch 0.5, as players' demand for higher-quality gear increased, the contradiction between crafting investment and the risk of failure became even more pronounced.
Players might spend dozens of hours preparing materials, only to have them all wiped out in seconds by a single random failure. This doesn't generate the thrill of success; it feels more like gambling.
This is why some players feel that crafting lacks a sense of accomplishment.
A truly satisfying crafting system should reward players' understanding, planning, and decision-making, not just good luck.
If one player and another use the exact same methods, the only difference being one is lucky and the other unlucky, then the system is closer to a game of probability than a creation system.
Should the Crafting System Lower its Barrier to Entry?
Of course, the issue isn't simply demanding that the developers make it easy for all players to craft top-tier gear. One of the greatest charms of PoE series is its extremely high skill ceiling.
If all PoE 2 players could easily obtain their best gear, the economic system would collapse, and the goal of achievement would disappear.
Therefore, the focus of the debate isn't: should ordinary players own top-tier gear?
The real question is: should ordinary players can participate in crafting?
These are two completely different questions.
The current problem is that the production ecosystem in Patch 0.5 environment still has a significant gap:
- It's either simple, low-cost, low-value productions;
- or ultimate productions with huge investments and aimed at top-tier players.
There's a lack of a reasonable progression path in between. Therefore, many PoE 2 players find themselves with few options besides acquiring gear. While the crafting system exists, it remains far removed from the average player's progression.
What the Crafting System Needs?
Path of Exile 2's crafting system wasn't a failed design.
On the contrary, it offered a depth that many other ARPGs couldn't provide. It allowed players to research, calculate, plan, and create long-term goals.
Patch 0.5 didn't change the core appeal of the crafting system, but it further exposed a problem: as the system's depth increases, the barrier to entry needs to be considered accordingly.
Top-tier crafting should belong to a minority of players, but basic crafting, experimental crafting, and progression crafting shouldn't be exclusive to wealthy players.
A good crafting system shouldn't make players feel relieved to have escaped unscathed, but give them satisfaction from their own judgment and creation.
What Path of Exile 2 truly needs to find isn't enabling everyone to craft god-tier gear, but striking a balance between depth and replayability.
In Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0, running a farm that continuously produces currency has become almost mandatory for everyone who reaches the endgame stage. However, for characters who hadn't yet entered the late-game endgame activities, the preparation for running a farm was quite tedious.
However, within the 0.5 endgame content, you do not actually need a farm to obtain currency. You can progress through the quest line at your own pace, and you will still accumulate a substantial amount of currency, laying a solid foundation for the later endgame phases.
Atlas Unlock Path
When you first enter the endgame and open Atlas tree, you will notice that most areas are locked. In the initial stage, seven nodes on the tree are blocked, allowing you to allocate points only within a small section at the bottom.
Your primary objective is to unlock the first restricted region by heading to Fortress, where every map completed within that area rewards an Atlas passive point. To get there, you need to reach either Western Gateway or Eastern Gateway; completing either one of these passages will unlock three blocked nodes and grant you access to the central zone.
Enigma Chambers
Once the passage is unlocked, you can proceed to Enigma Chambers, which exist on both the west and east sides and require Waystones of Tier 10 or higher. Completing the chamber challenges yields fragments that can be used to challenge Arbiter of Ash.
Defeating Arbiter of Ash will unlock Origin Tower area in the upper centre of the tree and further open up Patriarch Halls and Matriarch Halls, both of which require Tier 15 or higher Waystones. After you defeat Arbiter of Divinity, the final zone at the very top of the tree becomes available.
Atlas Passive Allocation Path
Bottom Section
When you start from the bottom section of the tree, your priority should be to allocate points toward the left side, picking up Pack Size and Magic Monster nodes along the way to gain more experience and more drops.
On that leftward route, there is a node called Eons of Contamination, which allows you to find Irradiated Precursor Tablets. These tablets help you acquire more Waystones and additional Tablets, making them crucial for sustaining your mapping efforts.
From there, you can choose to move toward the middle of the tree and continue allocating points into Specialized Seeker, Archaeological Interest, and Valuable Paths to maintain your Waystone supply.
The Journey Ahead node offers a three-choice bonus among monster pack size, effect, or rarity. Monster Effectiveness option is recommended, since it boosts both experience gain and item quantity, though it also raises monster difficulty—so you should gauge your own capability accordingly.
Upper Section
After moving into the upper part of the tree, your targets are the following three nodes:
- Reverse Transcription: allows you to upgrade Tablets so that they have three affixes.
- Forest Mastery: increases the chance to discover Lineage Supports in forest areas.
- Hidden Scars: provides a chance for Fracturing Orbs to drop; without this node, they will not drop at all.
Other nodes can be chosen to further increase monster packs or currency drops.
Endgame Mechanic Priorities
After completing the bottom portion of the main Atlas tree, your next priority is to unlock one endgame mechanic. For league-starting characters or more casual players, the relative value of different mechanics varies considerably.
Abyss and Breach are the two most recommended mechanics. They integrate seamlessly with your world map exploration, adding high-reward content to the maps you are already running; both offer excellent profitability and are relatively forgiving in terms of difficulty.
Delirium, on the other hand, is extremely challenging, while Ritual mechanic has its best Omens locked behind maps of level 79 and above, offering little benefit to early-stage players.
Temple mechanic forces you to leave your current map and spend a significant amount of time inside the temple itself, which slows down your overall world map progression.
Once you choose a mechanic, it is best to fully fill out its passive tree first. Then, while you are farming maps, use the corresponding tablets so that every map includes that mechanic's content and benefits from the entire tree's bonuses.
Masters of the Atlas
Masters of the Atlas system is a special enhancement within the endgame Atlas framework. You have three masters to choose from, each offering twelve node options where you can allocate the points you earn to reinforce your preferred mapping style.
The most recommended master is Jado, currently the most well-rounded and versatile choice. You gain one passive point for each objective you complete. His key nodes include:
- Partial Translations: enhances tablet effects.
- Long Days: grants a chance to gain random extra content, which helps you obtain tablets for other mechanics.
- Unforeseen Treats: provides a chance to reveal nearby anomalous maps, aiding in the hunt for high-value Lineage Supports Gems.
- Keen Appraisal: gives you 50% more chance to find rare items, occasionally yielding drops of considerable worth.
Jado's quest line requires you to kill death bosses within anomalous maps; these bosses have a chance to drop Lineage Support Gems. With a bit of luck, a single gem can already give you enough PoE2 currency to significantly upgrade your character.
Once you have Jado's tree and your chosen mechanic tree fully completed, you will usually be strong enough to challenge Arbiter of Ash. Defeating Arbiter unlocks a large section of the northern Atlas tree, granting access to many powerful nodes.
Leaving Fortress
If you decide to leave the Fortress and explore the outside world, your primary goal should be to complete a Corrupted Nexus, which will start Doryani's quest line.
While exploring the world map, it is advisable to push forward in a straight line from your starting point outward, rather than circling around Fortress. Moving in a straight line will expose you to more content, thereby unlocking a greater number of high-value encounters.
The above guidance is intended only for casual players. If you prefer not to manage a highly profitable but repetitive farm, following this approach will still ensure that each play session yields meaningful rewards.
PoE Patch 3.29 will go live on July 24th at 1 PM (Pacific Time). In Curse of the Allflame, many players make a common mistake upon entering the map phase: investing too early in their favorite League mechanics.
Upon opening Atlas tree, many players immediately allocate gameplay nodes, hoping to start farming rewards as quickly as possible, given the rich rewards these mechanics offer. However, for League Start, prioritizing a single mechanic isn't the optimal choice.
The more important goal in the early stages of Patch 3.29 is to progress through Atlases as quickly as possible, acquiring more talent points to improve map loot drops and cycle efficiency, laying a solid foundation for later reward farming.
Unwavering Vision is the Top Choice
At the beginning of Curse of the Allflame, I recommend players prioritize Unwavering Vision Atlas node rather than investing in other gameplay mechanics.
This node is often overlooked by some PoE players, but its value is extremely high for speeding up progression.
The extra 20 Atlas talent points allow you to refine your map system more quickly.
Especially in the first few days of Patch 3.29, when the market isn't fully stable and the benefits of various scarabs, currency, and mechanics aren't at their optimal levels, the most important resource isn't mechanic drops, but your map progress.
Completing your Atlas faster means you can access higher-tier maps sooner and start consistently gaining experience, gear, and currency earlier than others.
Don't Waste Your Talents
After obtaining the extra 20 talent points from Unwavering Vision, don't rush to switch to other mechanics. The most recommended approach at this stage is to continue investing in map-related nodes.
Your goal is clear: increase the number of PoE map drops, increase map generation probability, and improve map sustainability.
Directions like Shaping the Mountains and Shaping the Skies, which increase map production and progression speed, are very suitable for use at the beginning of Patch 3.29.
Many players like to invest in any node that offers benefits, but in reality, the number of maps available in the early game is what truly affects your growth rate.
The more maps you have, the faster you progress through Atlas; the faster you progress through Atlas, the sooner you reach T16. And once you reach higher-tier maps, the benefits you gain will be on a completely different level.
Don't Chase Early-Game Gains
Many PoE players believe that to make money, you must first unlock a certain Patch 3.29 League mechanic. However, in reality, what's truly valuable in the early stages of Curse of the Allflame is map progress.
Because everyone is exploring in the early game, market demand hasn't fully formed. Spending a lot of talents to enhance a mechanic might give you some extra rewards, but it will also sacrifice map progression speed.
If the goal of League Start is stability and efficiency, then in the early stages you can choose some content that will not significantly affect the pace of clearing maps, such as simple mechanics like chests and shrines.
Once your Atlas is fully developed, then choose a specialization based on your playstyle; the benefits will usually be higher.
Scarabs
Some players' biggest concern is that Unwavering Vision doesn't drop scarabs, which might lead to a significant loss of POE Currency.
There's really no need to worry excessively. In the first day or two after Patch 3.29, scarabs aren't as valuable as you might imagine.
This is because most PoE players haven't yet entered higher-tier maps, and market demand, popular farming strategies, and trading prices haven't stabilized.
The real increase in scarab value will come after many players complete their initial exploration and start consistently farming higher-tier maps.
Therefore, at the beginning of Patch 3.29, sacrificing map progression for a few scarab rewards isn't a worthwhile choice. Completing Atlas faster brings long-term benefits that far outweighing the loss of some early mechanic rewards.
Don't Rush to Switch to a Second Atlas Tree
Many PoE players consider switching immediately after unlocking their second or third Atlas Tree. However, there's no need to spread resources so early.
- The first Atlas Tree's purpose is obvious: to help you complete your atlas, increase map drops, and enter higher-tier maps as quickly as possible. If you haven't fully developed your first Atlas Tree and prematurely invest in other playstyles, it will only slow down your progress.
- The second and third Atlas trees only truly shine when your Atlas is nearly complete, you have enough talent points to fully develop another playstyle.
The Real Competition at the Start of League
Many PoE players may encounter problems at the beginning of Curse of the Allflame, such as insufficient maps, low currency, and lagging gear. This is often not because of incorrect map farming methods, but failing to establish a map rotation.
While lower-tier maps can advance character levels, their experience, drop rates, and currency gains cannot compare to higher-tier maps. Therefore, the proper goal at the beginning of Patch 3.29 is not to immediately earn your first fortune, but to reach Tier 16 as quickly as possible.
Once you enter higher-tier maps, you'll have more options. You can farm mechanics rewards, farm POE currency, engage in market trading, or adjust your strategy based on the popular playstyles in Patch 3.29.
Don't Get Bogged Down in Completing Low-Tier Maps
Another common misconception is that when Patch 3.29 goes live, many PoE players prioritize completing all maps at their current level. For example, when progressing to T3 or T4, they might stop to clear all lower-tier maps. This isn't wrong, but it's inefficient.
If your goal is to reach higher-tier maps as quickly as possible, prioritizing map level progression is more important.
Don't waste time in low-yield areas just to complete a percentage of lower-tier maps. Reaching T16 earlier will yield significantly more experience, gear, and currency.
Many players' low progression efficiency isn't because of slow map clearing speed, but pursuing the wrong goals at the wrong stage.
In the early stages of PoE Patch 3.29 Curse of the Allflame, don't rush to research the highest-yield strategies; first, establish your map system. Once your maps are well-developed, your economy will naturally follow.
