News Tag: POE Items

The Lightning Conduit Elementalist stands as an underappreciated non-meta build within the POE 3.24 Necropolis League. It offers an ideal option for both casual players and seasoned veterans as a league starter. 

Pros & Cons

This build focuses on shock stacking, enabling efficient clearing of Tier 16 maps and tackling bosses with a solid set of defenses tailored for endgame content.

The likelihood of encountering setbacks with this build is minimal. Its resurgence occurred during the onset of the POE 3.23 league, where it underwent significant enhancement in quality. Opting for this build promises progress that consistently outpaces typical zone levels.

However, there is a caveat to consider. Entities possessing immunity to shock or resistance against elemental ailments pose significant challenges for this build. Fortunately, encountering such adversaries is largely confined to specific map and monster modifications. Consequently, one can opt to avoid engaging with these obstacles. This stands as the primary drawback of the Lightning Conduit Elementalist.

What Is Intended Use For This Build? 

The scope of its application is extensive, as it excels in most content barring essences beyond tier 12 and situations demanding significant movement speed. 

It efficiently dispatches packs of monsters while also swiftly eliminating resilient bosses.

Also Read: 5 New Tier 17 Maps In Path Of Exile 3.24 Necropolis League - Unique Boss Encounters & Exclusive Loot

Mechanics Of Skills

Additionally, there are a couple of crucial points to note.

In order for Lightning Conduit to operate effectively, we need to induce shock using a secondary skill or buff effect. Even for inexperienced players, adapting to this playstyle is feasible. When utilizing a lightning skill on Orb of Storms, it triggers a series of electrical arcs that strike the target, applying shock to enemies assuming you've acquired the Shaper of Storms ascendancy point.

Moreover, the target must be in close proximity to the circle. This aspect can prove troublesome with certain bosses like Hydra and others that frequently teleport. It's advisable to manually activate Steelskin based on your current situation. However, if managing multiple buttons becomes overwhelming, you can streamline the process by linking automation with the guard skill.

The Effectiveness Of Shock Nova

If there's a method to automate or activate Shock Nova without compromising its effectiveness, it could be revolutionary! 

This skill has the potential to augment the maximum shock effect by up to 20%. With every 5% increase in shock effect, we gain an additional 20% damage, resulting in a total of up to 100% more damage! 

Gear & Setup

Regarding gear setup, Singularity scepters are readily available and affordable in trade leagues, providing a significant damage boost to the build.

While Voice of the Storm isn't essential, it's a rare item, particularly on the first day of the league. However, it's not widely used by other builds. If unavailable, aim for any rare amulet with life, +1 lightning, and cast speed, as the difference is minimal.

Valako's Sign offers several beneficial uses in the endgame. Alternatively, Berek's Grip can be used if Valako's Sign isn't obtainable.

Inpulsa's Broken Heart greatly enhances clear speed for this build, albeit without adding extra damage. Its shock effect aids in smooth mapping. 

The Unnerve debuff, obtained from the Eater of Worlds Implicit on gloves, is another valuable damage source. The decision to forego the shock spread modifier is due to its redundancy with our mastery. 

If lightning exposure from gloves is obtained, Wave of Conviction can be removed from the gem setup. 

Thunderfist unique gloves can accommodate the Lightning Conduit setup, which proves more potent than the 6-link setup. 

Other crucial Eldritch Implicits include lightning exposure on gloves, cast speed, physical damage taken as elemental damage on the helmet, and action speed on boots.

The remaining POE Items and modifications are straightforward. If spell suppression is capped through gear, this entire section becomes unnecessary, saving seven passive points. 

A life flask with immunity to Bleed and Corrupted Blood is essential. Utility Mana flasks (Examiner's Silver Flask of the Ibex, Transgressor's Granite Flask of Abalone, Abecedarian's Quicksilver Flask of the Lynx) are optional, as flask sustainability depends on monster kills. For pinnacle bosses, using 4 life flasks is viable.

Explanation Of Configuration Values

Are you regenerating Energy Shield through leeching?

Indeed! We’re utilizing the Energy Leech support, which remains consistently active since we’re expending Energy Shield for our skills rather than mana. As for the 65% shock effect, it’s attributed to Lightning Mastery and our scaling of shock effect from various sources, which also enhances damage output.

However, when facing Guardian and pinnacle bosses, the efficacy of this regeneration can fluctuate between each hit due to their elevated elemental resistances.

About Leveling

When leveling this build, begin with Lightning Tendrils, an often underestimated skill due to its unique playstyle. This skill experiences substantial damage amplification with each increment of flat elemental damage added to it. This is primarily due to the scaling of Critical Strike multiplier and the effectiveness of added damage within the gem itself.

Ensure to adhere to the leveling gem setup outlined in the notes section. It is imperative not to commence with Lightning Conduit without acquiring Shaper of Storms! Once Lab 1 is completed and you’ve obtained this, transition to Lightning Conduit, also acquiring the Elemental Overload keystone.

For the secondary skill to apply shocks, I highly recommend employing Storm Brand with the same setup, as it necessitates a greater area of effect for Orb of Storms to reliably function.

You can obtain Lightning Penetration Support from the Siosa quest in Act 3 or from Lilly in Act 5. Subsequently, focus on scaling shock effect as much as possible from the passive tree. Adjust your attributes using these nodes or through amulets. Additionally, ensure to acquire either Grace or Determination after Act 3, as the difficulty spike in Act 4 can be considerable without these. Prioritize the auras that are most essential until you’ve effectively allocated all mana reservation within your passive tree.

The Toxic Rain Pathfinder build proved to be exceptionally swift and effective as my initial choice for the POE 3.23 Affliction League.

How Does This Build Work Well?

With a significant boost of 350% movement speed achieved through thorough upgrades, I found myself making rapid progress through the game’s challenges despite my modest gaming abilities. This build enabled me to swiftly evade any threats and engage enemies from a safe distance.

However, as this was my inaugural build for POE 3.23, I neglected to incorporate any charms into its design. Despite these oversights, the Toxic Rain Pathfinder build proved to be one of the most efficient and enjoyable builds I’ve experienced. As for its farming capabilities, they were notably effective. As POE 3.24 Necropolis League draws near, I believe Toxic Rain Pathfinder build serves as a commendable choice for starting the league.

The Details Of The Flask (Mageblood Effect)

As highlighted in my previous guide, I smoothly traversed through Labs and Heist, maintaining nearly full uptime of my utility flasks. It was akin to having Mageblood the moment I acquired the Instilling Orb for use when charges reach full.

But how do we sustain this uptime? Every minor notable from the passive tree and ascendancy points contributes to this endeavor.

In terms of gear, all that’s necessary is a 20% flask effect duration alongside the cluster jewel featuring Spiked Concoction. Acquiring these is as simple as repeatedly using alterations on any of these jewels or utilizing harvest rerolls of attack modifiers.

By the time you attain the ascendancy point - Master Alchemist, you should be capable of sustaining your utility flasks most of the time without needing to corrupt them for more than 20% quality.

Regarding flask selection, the primary focus for the build is speed. However, if prioritizing defense, opt for Ruby, Sapphire, and Topaz flasks.

As for modifiers, securing elemental resistances is crucial, especially considering the build’s vulnerability with unique gear. Aim for the 25% increased effect once you’ve ensured ample flask sustain.

For life flasks, all my league starters are equipped with immunity to bleeding and corrupted blood. The faster the recovery, the better! And with infinite flask sustain at our disposal, there’s no reason to hold back!

An Explanation Of Gearing And POB Configuration

The preferred weapon choice for this build is the short bow series.

Flat damage does not significantly enhance the effectiveness of this build. Instead, prioritize attributes like attack speed, gem levels, increased chaos damage, and damage over time multiplier mods when selecting your weapon. The same principles apply to the Quiver, although gem levels are not applicable in that slot.

While unique items are entirely optional, they are easily obtainable at a low cost. Personally, I favor Carcass Jack due to its ability to enhance Toxic Rain’s damage through the stacking of overlapping pods. A 35% increased area of effect is sufficient to achieve this stacking effect. Thus, I’ve set a minimum requirement of 4 overlapping pods in the configuration settings, as this serves as a significant damage multiplier for Toxic Rain. If someone suggests a different value without accounting for adequate area of effect, skill effect duration, and attack speed, it’s crucial to reassess their reasoning.

Managing the mana cost of skills is another important consideration. Access to non-channeling mods is limited until you acquire several veiled rings from the Syndicate or the Ritual. Therefore, ensure you have sufficient mana reservation efficiency from the passive tree to accommodate a level 10 Clarity alongside Grace and Determination. Since leeching isn’t viable with this build initially, consider using an Enduring Mana Flask or sacrificing Determination for a higher level Clarity gem until you’ve obtained enough mana through leveling. Additionally, reservation efficiency and reduced mana cost of skills can be obtained from rare crimson jewels.

As you progress your character to endgame, these issues can be resolved entirely. Now, let’s address the question of how to obtain 15 stacks of withered debuff.

With this build, acquiring 15 stacks of withered debuff is relatively straightforward, thanks to multiple available sources. Withering Step provides a quick method to accumulate 15 stacks, although its effect dissipates rapidly. However, the primary sources are from our ascendancy point, supplemented by 5 Ballista Totems with Withering Touch support. If you’re utilizing Toxic Rain or Withering Totems, additional sources are unnecessary.

Temporary buffs like Elusive from Withering Step, Onslaught from our silver flask, and Alchemist’s Genius from Spiked Concoction in our medium cluster jewel further enhance our capabilities.

About Leveling

Leveling this build is remarkably straightforward and effortless.

Caustic Arrow proves to be incredibly potent during the early acts. Once obtained, be sure to integrate Toxic Rain with Ballista Totem Support into your skill repertoire. During these initial stages, you can compensate for any lack of a bow with gem levels or damage over time mods by incorporating some additional flat damage.

As your single-target damage begins to diminish, consider transitioning Caustic Arrow to Toxic Rain as your primary skill while retaining Toxic Rain with Ballista Totem Support. If you manage to acquire Toxic Rain of Withering, it synergies exceptionally well with Ballista Totem Support.

For those not playing in hardcore mode, prioritize acquiring damage nodes initially. While Toxic Rain benefits significantly from skill effect duration, excessive investment in this attribute can hinder the build’s performance.

It’s crucial to strike a balance, ensuring there’s enough skill effect duration to overlap multiple pods simultaneously without excessively delaying your attacks.

Here's a concise overview of how Desecrate interacts with the maximum limit on Raise Specter. I find this strategy particularly valuable in Path of Exile 3.23, especially with the addition of new Transfigure Gems like Detonate Dead of Chain Reaction.

As of now, it's uncertain if player corpse skills will undergo nerfs in POE 3.24. Nevertheless, even if adjustments are made, I anticipate that they will likely retain their effectiveness and remain favored options for starting builds in prominent leagues.

Understanding The Interaction Between Desecrate And Raise Spectre in Patch 3.17

Players familiar with corpse skills like Detonate Dead likely already understand how this operates.

In patch 3.17, GGG eliminated the need for Raise Spectre to transport Spectre Corpses into zones for Desecrate or Corpse Walk. Previously, players had to summon Raise Spectre minions with high life multipliers. When entering a new zone, these Spectre Corpses were added to the zone's corpse pool, allowing Desecrate to summon them. This setup allowed skills like Detonate Dead to inflict significantly more damage due to the higher life of these corpses compared to regular monsters in the zone.

In version 3.17, GGG altered the behavior of Desecrate and Corpse Walk. They introduced a memory function that stores the player's most recently summoned specters in a list of corpses, limited by the maximum Raise Spectre limit. Now, each time Desecrate or Corpse Walk summons a corpse, there's a 15% chance it will be replaced by a randomly selected corpse from this list. Consequently, once players raise specters with high life multipliers, they can safely remove the Raise Spectre gem. Desecrate and Corpse Walk will retain these spectre corpses in the list and transport them into new zones, mimicking the previous functionality when entering a zone with actual Raise Spectre minions.

This update relieves players from concerns about losing Raise Spectre minions or managing secondary spectre banks, providing an additional gem slot.

An Explanation Of Interaction

However, the key aspect here lies in the functionality: the Raise Spectre corpse list essentially mirrors the effect of bringing the entire list of actual Raise Spectre minions into the new zone, as seen in older patches.

Each Spectre Corpse saved on the list gets added to the existing corpse pool upon entering any new zone. You might wonder why this matters, given Desecrate and Corpse Walk's fixed chance to spawn corpses.

Yet, the crucial interaction isn't about the 15% chance that Desecrate mandates a corpse from that list. Rather, it's about the remaining 85% of the time.

When Desecrate or Corpse Walk spawns a corpse that isn't a forced Spectre Corpse from the list, it randomly selects one from all available corpses in the zone. Now, since the zone incorporates every Spectre Corpse from your Raise Spectre corpse list upon entry, these skills can potentially spawn a Spectre Corpse from the pool of available corpses, even without a forced Spectre Corpse roll.

Therefore, by raising your maximum Raise Spectre limit and summoning numerous high-life unique spectre minions, you're expanding the list of saved Spectre Corpses for Desecrate or Corpse Walk. Consequently, all these corpses accompany you into every new zone you enter. The greater the number of Spectre Corpses on the list, the higher the likelihood of spawning a Spectre Corpse whenever these skills roll the 85% chance to select a random corpse from the zone pool.

Usefulness Of Interaction 

The efficacy of this interaction hinges entirely on the number of corpses present in a given zone compared to the character’s maximum Raise Spectre limit corpse list.

In zones with few corpses, this interaction can significantly amplify damage. Conversely, in zones inundated with corpses, the damage increase will be relatively minimal.

Raising The Spectre Limit

Increasing your maximum Raise Spectre limit is a straightforward and typically affordable endeavor, primarily because the unique items that offer this attribute are quite common.

For instance, a Raise Spectre Gem at level 13 allows for a maximum of two spectres, while reaching level 25 expands this limit to three. Additionally, the Death Attunement notable passive skill situated at the top of the skill tree provides a bonus of +1 to the maximum number of Raise Spectres. If your character is distant from this area of the passive tree, you can use anointment for 1 Clear, 1 Crimson, and 1 Silver Oil to acquire this benefit.

The Queen’s Decree, a unique two-handed sword, bestows an extra maximum spectre. However, if you possess two Midnight Bargain unique wands, it’s advisable to dual-wield them to gain +1 maximum spectre from each wand.

Moreover, the Wraithlord unique helmet offers an increase of +2 maximum spectres and also enhances socketed minion gems by two levels, aiding in reaching the coveted level 25 Raise Spectre gem. Furthermore, you can secure an additional +1 maximum spectre by equipping body armor with the Delve Drop-only prefix modifier that grants this statistic.

Which Spectres?

It’s important to note that this process only needs to be done once. After you’ve raised your maximum Raise Spectre limit to your desired level, ensure to summon unique spectre minion types up to the maximum limit.

Most, if not all, of the necessary spectres can be found in campaign areas. Seek out spectres with life multipliers of 360% or higher. Even if their life multiplier exceeds 360%, they’ll operate similarly to a 360% life multiplier Spectre Corpse. This is because spectre life totals were standardized in patch 3.17 to match that of a Kitava’s Herald spectre, which boasts a 360 life multiplier.

Once this is completed, you can safely remove the Raise Spectre gem, remove the associated gear, and reallocate any nodes dedicated to increasing maximum spectres. This summarizes the essence of the interaction between the maximum spectre limit and summoning corpses with Desecrate or Corpse Walk. It’s a valuable technique for players utilizing these types of builds.

In Path of Exile 3.24, there's an issue with Ralakesh's Impatience boots. Today, I'll discuss why these boots are formidable, why they might be overly potent, and potential solutions.

Overview

Path of Exile 3.23 saw a complete overhaul of Ralakesh's Impatience Riveted Boots. Initially, they provided power, endurance, and frenzy charges when stationary, but moving negated these benefits, leading to intriguing interactions.

GGG deemed them too powerful and enhanced them further. Now, these boots grant maximum charges even when empty. They've become a staple for builds reliant on charges, offering unparalleled versatility with added speed and resistance.

What Makes Ralakesh's Impatience Boots Strong?

So, what makes these boots formidable?

By counting as having the maximum number of charges, you eliminate the need to ramp up charges during fights. In boss encounters, you automatically possess your frenzy charges, ensuring your initial attack is delivered at maximum speed. Additionally, your endurance charges are consistently active, providing reliable physical damage reduction and resistance.

With ten endurance charges, you can count on having a 40 all-resistance boost. Previously, endurance charge resistance held little significance, but now, having all charges consistently active offers substantial benefits. Maven belts, like Arn's Anguish, Olesya's Delight, and Graven's Secret, introduce intriguing interactions. For instance, Arn's Anguish grants a maximum endurance charge but replaces endurance charges with brutal charges, tripling your damage output.

Moreover, these boots provide power and frenzy charges continuously. Unfortunately, their generic potency allows them to fit into almost any build reliant on charges. They're also quite common, with prices ranging from 10 to 20 Chaos by the league's end.

In an effort to mitigate some of their powerful interactions, the developers may have inadvertently made them excessively versatile. Such POE Items tend to promote cookie-cutter builds in the endgame, which could be detrimental to the game's diversity.

How Do We Fix Them?

So, what's the solution?

I've heard 2 common suggestions, but I find them rather uninteresting. The first is simply making them tier zero. However, I believe we already have a sufficient number of powerful chase items in the game, and making these boots incredibly rare won't address the issue.

Another proposed solution is to nerf them by reducing maximum charges, but I also find this unappealing. My suggestion for these boots is to provide one type of charge and remove the other two lines.

Consider something akin to Doryani's Machinarium boots, where there are multiple versions available. In this scenario, there would be a power charge version, a frenzy charge version, and an endurance charge version. They could be renamed to Ralakesh's Endurance, Ralakesh's Frenzy, and Ralakesh's Power.

This approach would retain the boots' interesting aspect of granting charges that players wouldn't otherwise have access to, while preventing the generic power of having all charges simultaneously.

For example, if the Maven boots prevent you from generating frenzy charges for the Olesya's Delight belt, you could opt for the version with only frenzy charges. This allows for specific interactions without the overwhelming power of having both endurance and frenzy charges.

Additionally, it enables interactions like Inner Conviction to function, along with many other intriguing charge-related interactions. I believe introducing niche power is much more engaging in Path of Exile, encouraging prolonged gameplay and fostering creativity in building new characters.

GGG, if you intend to nerf this item in POE 3.24, please do so in a manner that maintains interest. Simply gutting them and relegating them to obscurity isn't the solution.

Path of Exile shares similarities with the Diablo series, boasting seven base classes and numerous Ascendancy classes, each offering distinct gameplay styles. Moreover, a wide array of builds is available to enhance and specialize these classes further.

Whether you aspire to be a formidable caster, a skilled warrior, or delve into the intricacies of necromancy, there exists a build to cater to every preference. Unlike Diablo, Path of Exile offers a unique approach to character development, providing greater flexibility in class selection.

Below, we showcase some of the timeless and revered Path of Exile 3.23 builds in 2024, serving as potent foundations for players seeking a powerful playstyle or a solid base for crafting their own custom and experimental builds.

Every build outlined below is straightforward to assemble, yielding a character capable of dealing substantial damage in battles. Additionally, we've organized them based on their potency, providing clarity on which one reigns as the most effective choice in Path of Exile 3.23.

#7. Oro’s Flicker Strike Raider

This build centers around the utilization of the Oro’s Sacrifice weapon and the Flicker Strike skill. The strategy involves delivering substantial fire damage through weapon strikes, followed by swift teleportation using Flicker Strike and repeating the process.

Effectively, this build enables robust tank characters to swiftly maneuver across the battlefield, decimating hordes of enemies with an exceptionally potent skill typically associated with slower movement. Flicker Strike unleashes the full potential of Oro’s Sacrifice, resulting in a formidable synergy between the two.

What makes this build remarkable is its adaptability to any Strength-based character, making it accessible to players who opt for a Maunder and progress towards wielding formidable two-handed weapons.

#6. Tectonic Slam Chieftain

Ranked at number 6 on our list, the Tectonic Slam Chieftain build is highly regarded in Path of Exile 3.23, boasting exceptional physical prowess and extensive area-of-effect (AoE) damage capabilities against enemies.

Begin by selecting a standard Strength class like the Marauder and concentrate on leveling skills such as Tectonic Slam and Endurance Charges, keeping a tank-oriented build in mind. However, these 2 primary skills will serve as your main focus. While the build excels at dispatching groups of enemies, its reliance on AoE damage can pose challenges when facing bosses.

Due to Tectonic Slam and Endurance Charges being tailored towards engaging multiple foes, it's essential to always have a contingency plan in place to leverage this setup effectively.

#5. Mage Skeleton Necromancer

The Necromancer is a mystical character whose abilities revolve around controlling and resurrecting the deceased to serve their bidding. These eerie spellcasters have the capability to summon skeletons and fallen foes to engage in combat on their behalf, while they remain in the background casting enhancements to support their minions and curses to impede their adversaries.

To construct this build, begin with the Witch class and concentrate on mastering summoning abilities, particularly focusing on the Skeleton Mage skill. Achieving proficiency in Mana management is crucial for success, although it's important to acknowledge the vulnerability that arises when your minions perish.

It's important to note that this build entails significant casting time, so compensate by summoning minions before engaging in melee combat, or by doing so from a safe distance and with ample preparation. Then, observe as your minions obliterate your enemies with ruthless efficiency.

#4. Elemental Hit Slayer

Named for its reliance on elemental magic, the Elemental Hit Slayer build specializes in harnessing the power of elemental forces to vanquish adversaries. While you have the option to concentrate on a specific element, relying solely on one can become problematic when faced with foes resistant to that particular element.

To ensure versatility, we suggest starting with the Witch class and dedicating your efforts to leveling Fire, Lightning, and Cold skills, thus obtaining a diverse array of abilities. Fortunately, you can develop proficiency in all 3 elements by focusing on the same magic attributes. However, the Elemental Hit skill serves as the cornerstone of this build, allowing you to unleash devastating elemental attacks on enemies.

This skill combines all 3 elemental types to deliver potent elemental damage randomly, ensuring that even if an enemy resists one element, they are likely to succumb to another.

Alternatively, the Elemental Hit skill can be specialized in a single element, such as Fire, by utilizing POE Items like the Unique Jewel. Players who relish the classic Wizard archetype will find this build particularly appealing.

#3. Impervious Herald Of Agony Juggernaut

If you prefer the playstyle of Crusader or Paladin-like characters, then the Impervious Herald of Agony Juggernaut is the ideal build for you in Path of Exile 3.23. To assemble this build, start by crafting a traditional tank character, such as the Marauder or Duelist, and then obtain the Herald of Agony skill gem.

A crucial component of the build, this already resilient Juggernaut class will see its mana bolstered by the gem, allowing it to poison enemies and summon an Agony Crawler to swiftly dispatch them.

With this build, you can fashion a Templar-like warrior capable of consistently applying status effects on hordes of enemies while delivering the final blow when they're weakened. Ensure to maintain your mana buffed, as the gem alone may not always suffice.

#2. Lacerate Gladiator

A traditional Dexterity-based setup, the Lacerate Gladiator primarily relies on the Lacerate skill to augment the chances of inflicting bleed damage. Additionally, utilizing Blood and Sand will complement Lacerate, further amplifying your damage potential.

While opting for a Dexterity class like the Ranger is the optimal path for this build, don't hesitate to explore other classes if you believe additional survivability would be advantageous during intense encounters.

Although the build can be adapted for the Marauder, we suggest selecting the Duelist class, as it strikes a harmonious balance between resilience and agility, allowing you to harness the strengths of both styles effectively.

#1. Detonate Dead Necromancer

The Necromancer class stands as the undisputed champion in Path of Exile 3.23, and among the two Necromancer builds listed, the Detonate Dead Necromancer unquestionably steals the spotlight.

True to its Necro roots, this build revolves around summoning minions to wreak havoc from afar. However, it takes a unique twist by transforming these minions into explosive bombs to obliterate your adversaries.

To embark on this explosive journey, begin by crafting your quintessential summoner Necromancer build. Then, pivot towards mastering the Volatile Dead and Detonate Dead skills. This ingenious combination converts your minions into volatile orbs, triggering explosive reactions from nearby corpses, resulting in devastating damage to any nearby foes.

While you have the option to utilize each skill independently, the true power lies in employing both simultaneously to effortlessly decimate hordes of enemies across the map. This build offers an exhilarating Path of Exile 3.23 experience, showcasing unparalleled dominance.

Today, our focus is on the Blade Blast Saboteur by Primaeva, which employs an innovative transfigured iteration of Blade Blast to release captivating and lethal circles of destruction.

If you are interested in this build, you can use your POE Currency and follow his guide to build one. I believe you will be particularly surprised!

How Does This Build Work?

Blade Blast collaborates seamlessly with other gems, generating blades on the ground when casting Bladefall or Ethereal Knives, which can then be triggered by Blade Blast.

In this league, a transformed version of the gem, Blade Blast of Unloading, has been introduced, designed to synergize with Blade Vortex. Blade Vortex accumulates spinning blade stacks around the character, and Blade Blast of Unloading can be employed to detonate these blades sequentially, with subsequent detonations gaining 100% more area of effect.

Recognizing the gem's potential, Primaeva fully embraces its effectiveness, particularly when timed with movement skills to allow the blasts to follow the character, enabling continuous movement while dealing damage in all directions. The challenge lies in maintaining the blades smoothly without the need to stand still and repeatedly cast Blade Vortex.

To address this, Arcanist Brand comes into play. Once placed, this brand periodically triggers the linked spell, in this case, Blade Vortex, automatically generating blades that can be detonated at will. Primaeva recommends acquiring the Saboteur’s Perfect Crime skill, providing 2 Triggerbots, which duplicate triggered spells, effectively doubling the number of blades per brand activation for Blade Vortex.

The "secret sauce," as Primaeva terms it, involves the use of the Brand Recall skill. When activated, it recalls and triggers all brands simultaneously. With 5 active brands, it will trigger 5 times, further doubled by the Triggerbots, resulting in 10 stacks of Blade Vortex.

The final step involves binding Brand Recall to the left click, occasionally casting Arcanist Brand as its duration depletes. Primaeva assures gamepad players that a solution for binding actions to the left click will be available in the next league.

Offence

So we have beautiful circles, but how do we make them murderous? The trick is more circles! 

Power charges are a fantastic idea for this build because they are an efficient way to invest in critical strikes. Primaeva is using Ralakesh’s Impatience, which essentially takes the bonuses we’d get from having maximum charges, and provides them permanently. 

Then it’s a matter of stacking more maximum charges from sources like:

• +2 To Maxmium Power Chargers (Malachai's Loop)
• +1 To Maxmium Power Chargers (Chimeric Visage)
• +1 To Maxmium Power Chargers (Void Battery)

There’s also plenty of ways to get extra damage per power charge. POE Items like Void Battery and Malachai’s Loop are perfect for this. We can even use charms (Occultist's Corvine Charm Of The Necromancer), from the current POE 3.23 Affliction League, to gain more stacked bonuses. 

Our amulet, Badge of the Brotherhood is also a must-have. It sets our max Frenzy Charges equal to our max Power Charges, with all the advantages that brings. 

In all, we can reach 9 maximum power charges and thus get 9 charges worth of all these bonuses:

• 50% Increased Critical Strike Chance
• 40% Increased Spell Damage
• 4% More Damage
• 3% More Spell Damage
• 4% Attack And Cast Speed

The attack and cast speed is very useful for our Shield Charge and Arcanist Brand, helping the build to feel more responsive. 

Defence

Ideally, this character should be strong enough to kill most things before they hit you, but Primaeva admits it is something of a glass cannon. 

There are several approaches we can take to alleviate this. You’ll remember we’re using Malachai’s Loop for the power charge nonsense. This item does have a major downside. Usually, we would shock ourselves every time we reach maximum power charges. 

Fortunately, there is a belt-shaped solution. If we equip Graven’s Secret, every time we would gain a power charge, we instead gain something called an absorption charge. This means we never trigger the self-shock from Malachai’s Loop. 

As an added bonus, absorption charges recoup a percentage of elemental damage we take as energy shield. Since we’re using so many uniques, we do have to be careful to optimise the rest of our item slots for defence.

A good band-aid fix for our defence is Utula’s Hunger. This body armour provides a huge chunk of life so long as the rest of our gear doesn’t have any. 

Fortunately, the other necessary uniques we’re using don’t have any life mods. Primaeva has clearly demonstrated how powerful transfigured gems can be with a little creativity. 

Not only that, but he’s also outlined several versions of the build for different budgets and preferences. One such version focuses on Impale, while another focuses on cold damage, so you can freeze your foes with that massive AoE. Thanks to Primaeva for his contribution.

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. 

Here, I will talk about one of the new ascendancy options that you can choose in POE 3.23 Affliction League - Warden of the Maji. 

This new ascendancy has a lot of interesting stuff going on. There are Tinctures, which apply powerful effects to your weapons and boost up your flasks. You can try using your POE Currency to buy some to experience the effect of Tinctures.

There’s a new reservation skill, Barkskin, which looks quite good. But this guide is all about one of the notables of this ascendancy, which is Oath of the Maji.

Body Armour Modifier

The Oath of the Maji grants some powerful effects, but forces a bit of a trade-off. There are 4 separate modifiers here. Let’s talk about the first one - ‘Defenses from Equipped Body Armour are doubled if it has no Socketed Gems’. 

Defenses are armour, evasion, energy shield, and ward. But there are no Ward body armours. Importantly, this modifier will double the defenses granted by your body armour when it’s active. And that double bonus will then be modified by any relevant increases or more multipliers that you have. 

You can think of it as functioning in the same way as the Juggernaut’s Unbreakable ascendancy notable, only it works for all defenses. So, it’s much stronger than a 100% increase to these defenses, as that would then be additive with your other increases. 

So, how can you take advantage of this? There’s the obvious Kaom’s Heart Glorious Plate unique body armour, which simply has no gem sockets to begin with. 

Oath of the Maji will give Kaom’s Heart a bit of a boost, which is nice. But the armour total on this body armour isn’t all that high to begin with, so it’s not a huge benefit. 

However, the abyss exclusive unique body armour, Shroud of the Lightless, is very strong with Oath of the Maji. Shroud of the Lightless can drop in a variant that has two Abyssal sockets and another one that has three Abyssal sockets. 

These Abyssal sockets can be socketed with Abyss Jewels. Since they are jewels, not gems, they won’t count as having socketed gems in your body armour. You’ll need to avoid placing gems in the remaining normal sockets on this body armour. 

But in return, you have the defenses of the Shroud of the Lightless doubled, which is a very considerable amount of evasion and energy shield. I expect this body armour will be quite popular in this league. 

There’s also the Replica Shroud of the Lightless, which has 6 Abyssal sockets. But this one has significantly fewer defenses.

Boots Modifier

Next up, let’s talk about the Boots Modifier on the Oath of the Maji - ‘30% increased Movement Speed if you have Equipped Boots with no Socketed Gems’. 

This modifier is going to be really nice in the campaign if you can pick up the Oath of the Maji early and avoid placing gems in your boots. Having 30% increase movement speed through campaign progression will feel amazing. I definitely recommend trying to go for that on league launch. 

However, how can you make use of this later on? The obvious option that came straight to mind for me was Kaom’s Roots. 

Kaom’s Roots have always struggled due to two main problems. One is the lack of movement speed, which can be partially negated by a Corrupted Implicit Modifier. The other is having no gem sockets. Then, when Eldrich Implicits came along in patch 3.17, this was another blow to Kaom’s Roots.

However, in the Affliction League, you’re going to be able to get 30% increased movement speed while using Kaom’s Roots if you’re specting to Oath of the Maji, which is going to feel really nice, especially considering how impactful the other modifiers on Kaom’s Roots already feel to play with. 

There’s also a Bubonic Trail, another Abyss exclusive unique item. Again, this drops in two variants, one with 1 Abyssal socket and the other with 2. You’re going to want the one with 2. 

Again, you’ll be able to socket Abyss Jewels in these sockets and still gain the bonus movement speed from Oath of the Maji as long as you don’t use the remaining normal gem slots. You’re going to be pretty fast if you’re using a magic Abyss Jewel, too. 

Abyssal Socket Crafting

Do keep in mind that you can craft an Abyssal socket onto gear using a Hollow Fossil. This is going to be useful if you want to take advantage of Oath of the Maji, but you absolutely must have a particular modifier for your build, for example, a really important Eldrich Implicit. 

Helmet & Gloves Modifiers

In my opinion, the Body Armour and the Boots Modifiers on the Oath of the Maji are probably the stronger ones, but the gloves and helmet modifiers definitely have their uses, too. 

The helmet modifier grants 50% to all Elemental Resistances if your helmet has no socketed gems, and it’s going to be useful for builds using a two-Abyssal socket Lightpoacher in particular. There’s also the Hale Negator as well. 

For the glove modifier, I think if your build is already using Tombfist or Command of the Pit, you’re going to get a lot of use out of this modifier. 

And for builds like the ones using Lightpoacher as the main damage source, they’ll be able to make a lot of use out of all of the POE Items talked about in this guide and gain a massive amount of upside from specking into Oath of the Maji. 

Conclusion

Overall, I think this is a really nice ascendancy notable. 

I’m a big fan of powerful modifiers like these ones, which force a trade-off. I think they’re great, and I’d like to see more of these types of modifiers in the game.

Here, we will talk about the final content of this November POE 3.22 event series, Shifting Stones. This event will be held on November 17th.

Intro

In the Shifting Stones event, you will encounter one of the following league mechanics randomly, which are Tormented Spirits, Blight, Legion, Delirium, and Beyond.

The difference here is that they will be enchanted by the following keystones:

• Speaker of the Dead 
• Cassia’s Pride 
• Timeless Conflict 
• Unending Nightmare 
• Endless Tide 

Tormented Spirits & Speaker Of The Dead

Let’s start by focusing on Tormented Spirits and the Speaker Of The Dead.

Due to the keystone passive ability, it now exclusively enters the player instead of monsters. This change will significantly accelerate the leveling speed compared to the usual pace. 

Keep in mind to avoid prematurely eliminating the spirit so that they have the opportunity to enter your character.

Blight & Cassia’s Pride

Next up is Blight and Cassia’s Pride Keystone.

Blights are tower defense-like encounters that can spawn from Fungal Growth in any map area.

In this context, it’s crucial to note that the tower’s damage output will be amplified by 300% whereas both you and your accompanying minions will experience a 75% reduction in damage.

Legion & Timeless Conflict

The Timeless Conflict Keystone extends the time available to defeat monsters in the Legion, surpassing the usual 10 to 15 seconds limit.

Instead, freeing monsters and chests from Stasis will contribute to the advancement of a Schism indicated by a progress bar. 

Once the bar is fully filled, the Schism activates, initiating the Legion encounter. After defeating them, you may pick up a large number of POE Items.

The degree of progress towards the Schism is influenced by releasing monsters and chests with better rewards or encountering more formidable foes.

Delirium & Unending Nightmare

Next, we have the Delirium and the Unending Nightmare Keystones.

When a Delirium Mirror is triggered on a map, it releases a gray mist that extends across the entire area. Within this mist, new adversaries and dangers can emerge and existing enemies may acquire the delirium modifier, enhancing their strength or introducing new attacks.

With the Unending Nightmare Keystone active, the delirium fog generated by the Delirium Mirror persists indefinitely on your maps, resisting any attempts to end it.

However, as a trade-off, you forfeit the receipt of Simulacrum Splinters and Delirium Orbs.

Beyond & Endless Tide

Final modification involves pairing Beyond with the Endless Tide Keystone.

In this modification, when you defeat a monster, there’s a possibility of a small Crimson Orb materializing on the ground. If four of these orbs cluster closely, they create portals summoning ordinary demons.

Upon the demise of these newly spawned regular demons, there’s a chance they leave an organic bloody fountain at their origin. If three of these fountains emerge in close proximity, they give rise to a unique and exceptionally challenging boss difficult to both defeat and evade.

However, with the Endless Tide Keystone Beyond bosses are prevented from appearing. Moreover, it reduces the total merging radius for Beyond portals by 50%, diminishing the number of additional Beyond monsters that would typically spawn from portal merging.

Each of the aforementioned modifications impacts all players undergoing random alterations every 15 minutes from the commencement of the event.

Once you grasp their mechanics, the content becomes exceptionally engaging and easily accessible. However, keep in mind that this event still maintains the 5x experience reduction upon death mechanism.

5 Recommend Builds For This Event

Additionally, some of the included mods in this event might pose a challenge for you, so we suggest considering five builds down here that meet the criteria of being tanky, powerful, and easy to play.

If you don’t have these builds yet, prepare enough POE Currency to make them:

• Cold Damage Over Time (D.o.T) Trickster 
• Righteous Fire 
• Boneshatter Slayer 
• Summon Raging Spirit (S.R.S) Poison 
• Detonate Dead Ignite 

Remember, for every character reaching level 50, you’ll receive a reward box and unlock numerous other rewards as you hit higher level milestones. Get ready for a laid-back weekend and join us at this event.

Here is a guide to help you better understand the Blight mechanic in Path of Exile.

Blight

Blight is one of the mechanics from previous leagues that have been permanently added into the gameplay. This is a “Tower Defense” type mechanic, where we have to defend the core against incoming monsters.

To have guaranteed access to the Blight mechanics on maps, we can use maps with special enchantment, compasses, and scarabs.

To activate Blight, find NPC Sister Cassia on the map. After the interaction, roots with portals at their ends appear from the core that we must defend. Monsters come out of these portals and we have to defeat them.

After the start, there are few things we need to focus on:

On the bar with circles, we can see some of them have symbols of towers that we can build. This means that monsters from the portal with a symbol are resistant to damage or effects of a given tower.

Additionally, under the circles, there are numbers specifying the number of prize chests we will receive after completing the challenge.

Sometimes, there are icons above the circles (the circle on the left), informing you that a boss will come out of this teleport.

Towers Types

After pressing the construction button, we can build 6 different types of towers. Each of them, after being upgraded to level 4, can evolve into towers with special skills.

The towers we can build are as follows:

After completing the challenge, we receive prize chests and additional rewards dropped from the core.

In the chests, we can find items, such as equipment, POE Currency, divination cards, and rewards from other mechanics, like Harbringer or Legion.

Oils & Amulet Anointment

The main rewards for Blights are oils, extractors, Blighted Maps, and amulets and rings with anointment enchants.

We can use oils to upgrade amulets and rings, using the “Anoint” option.

In the case of amulets, Anoint allows you to add a Notable Passive Skill to the amulet.

To do this, we check what oils the selected skill requires by hovering over it with the “Alt” button pressed.

Knowing what oils our skill requires, we can enchant the amulet at NPC Cassia or in the Blight tab.

List Of Notable Passive Only From Anointment

Above is a list of notable passive skills that can only be used with oils.

Ring Anointment & Lists Of Enchants

The situation is similar with rings, but by anointing a ring, we add skills that strengthen the towers we use in Blight.

Anoint for rings requires only two oils. The enchant lists we can use are as follows:

Oil Extractor & How To Use Them

If we have “Blackspawn” on the Atlas Tree, we will be able to receive Oil Extractor after completing Blight on the maps.

They are used to recover one of the oils that were used to anointed amulets and rings.

After the oil was recovered, the amulet/ring was destroyed. So, don’t do it on your Ashes of the Star.

Anointed Rings And Amulets & How To Check Oils In Them

Rings and amulets with anoint can be easily obtained with “Distilled Fungus” Atlas Passive Skill.

We can find some after finishing Blight on maps.

To see what oils were used for anointment modification, we can use Awakened POE Trade.

There are also filters that mark amulets and rings from which we can recover valuable oils.

Oil Upgrade

It is also worth mentioning that each oil (except gold) can be upgraded to a higher level.

To do this, we need to sell 3 identical oils for a more valuable one.

If you have purchased the Blight tab, you can upgrade the oils directly onto the tab.

Blighted Maps & List Of Anointments For Map

Another reward we can get from Blight is special Blighted Maps.

They are maps that contain a more challenging Blight encounter. You can enchant them like a normal map and can anoint them up to 3 times.

Each oil adds a special bonus to the map.

The list of bonuses provided by individual oils is as follows:

When you start Blighted Map, first you need to focus which resists portals will have. You can see resist icon above portals, too.

In Blight Maps, you can find the Ravaged Blight Maps, more challenging with monsters on level 85.

Blight-Ravaged Maps

You can add anoint up to 9 times (maximum three with the same oils).

Tainted Oils

In Blighted Maps, we can also find special oils for corrupted and mirrored POE Items.

The first one is Tainted Oil. It allows you to add anoint to corrupted ring or amulet. We can find it in corrupted Blight Maps.

Reflective Oil

The second one is Reflective Oil. It allows us to add anoint to mirrored items.