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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.

With about a week remaining in Path of Exile 3.28 Return of the Ancestors (RoTA) event, have you seized the opportunities it offers to boost your earnings and enhance your final league experience?

If you've been playing since the event began, you likely understand the core mechanics by now; however, there are still some key strategies you should master to maximize your currency gains.

What are RoTA rewards?

At its core, this event combines the auto-battler gameplay of Trial of the Ancestors with the limited-time Ascendancies from Legacy of Phrecia event, rewarding you for defeating enemy NPCs that constantly respawn.

Rewards include various types of currency, unique items, Divination Cards, and exclusive tattoos. You can sell any of these for more PoE currency, especially the tattoos, which provide powerful benefits during RoTA event itself.

How to get more valuable currency drops?

You don't lose XP upon death in Trial of the Ancestors, so you can gradually climb the rankings to unlock tougher battles and earn rarer currency rewards.

To achieve this, use your first character for initial progression, farming Tier 16 maps to accumulate enough currency to fully fund a specialized RoTA build for your second character.

You can then transition your second character into a build optimized specifically for Trial of the Ancestors. In essence, that first character exists solely to facilitate your RoTA journey.

To pull this off, you should aim to create a character with zero damage output. Since achieving this right from the start is difficult, you can make the switch once you decide to stop running standard maps.

While returns are modest in the early stages, the true endgame offers both significant challenges and lucrative rewards. Consequently, this playstyle is best approached either as a casual diversion or a full commitment to the very end.

Optimal team composition

The complexity of Trial of the Ancestors varies greatly depending on the opponents you face. In the early stages of the tournament, your primary focus should be on the special currency known as Favor.

Favor is used to recruit Ancestor NPCs, and the team members you bring along directly influence how much Favor you earn. Currently, Utula is the NPC who offers the most Favor.

You can verify this by checking the tattoo options and NPC's tribe affiliation, which helps you decide whether to utilize a specific Ancestor early or late in the tournament.

Furthermore, as the tournament progresses, you should aim to eliminate troublesome NPCs before reaching the final rounds, where the difficulty spikes, to avoid unnecessary complications.

Regarding team composition, flankers are paramount; they can bypass frontal combat to strike the enemy backline and capture totems directly.

Therefore, you should assign fast-moving characters to this role, ideally those with special abilities, such as Kunekune, which can charge forward.

Slower units are suitable for offensive roles; tanks should be placed on the front lines to tie up and harass the enemy team; guardians should stay close to you at all times; and defenders should remain in the rear to protect your totems.

It is worth noting that ranged control units are excellent Ancestor NPCs; if your defensive NPCs fail, these units can use their unique skills to push back enemy NPCs approaching your totems.

After each round, remember to check for new Ancestors to recruit or items to trade. You can often sell NPCs or items back to various tribal chieftains to increase your favor.

Additionally, once an item is equipped on an NPC, its value drops by roughly half, regardless of the reason. Consequently, you should prioritize trading NPCs as early as possible.

How should you intervene in the battle?

Although ToTA is an auto-battler, simply setting up your team isn't enough; you still need to intervene at critical moments to prevent errors.

For instance, you can adjust your NPCs' positioning based on the real-time flow of battle to more effectively pin down enemy NPCs on a specific flank.

Be aware that if you are attacked while channeling a totem, you will be stunned. Therefore, on higher difficulties, your goal shouldn't be to channel the totems yourself, but rather to draw enemy aggro, usually achieved by briefly touching an enemy totem and then running away.

In practice, if you do intervene in combat, your primary task is to control and distract the enemy, leaving the destruction of totems to your NPC teammates. However, if the opportunity arises, you can also join them in channeling the totems.

Summary

To generate substantial income from Return of the Ancestors event, you must commit to seeing it through to the end right from the start; a half-hearted, casual-meets-hardcore approach will probably leave you in a frustratingly awkward position.

The tournament continues until every member of your team has suffered at least one defeat. Upon finally defeating your last opponent, you will receive a final reward. The higher your ranking, the greater the currency income.

Additionally, you will receive a bonus reward from Hinekora, allowing you to choose between a unique item, a signature item from a defeated NPC, or a tattoo. Whichever you pick, selling it yields a handsome profit.

In short, we hope this Return of the Ancestors currency farming guide ensures that you reap rewarding surprises in the later stages, rather than just facing early-game frustrations. Now, waste no time, get out there and push forward!

Path of Exile Patch 3.29 Curse of the Allflame will be streamed on July 16th and officially released on July 24th, bringing the highly anticipated skill Ice Crash of Cadence back into the spotlight.

This skill is essentially still an extension of ice-based melee skills, but compared to the traditional Ice Crash, its attack rhythm and feel lean towards a continuous, cyclical output rather than a single burst strike.

Looking back at the current timeline, before Path of Exile's official release on July 24th, this type of skill is closer to a verifiable but undefined state, requiring further confirmation of its stability and adaptation in the actual patch environment.

Understanding the Skill Mechanics

While Ice Crash of Cadence shares the same mechanical foundation as the original Ice Crash, its defining difference lies in how you time your strikes.

Simply put, it can be divided into three points:

First, it still primarily uses melee-range Ice Crash as its output method, relying on area coverage and hit timing rather than single-point bursts.

Secondly, compared to the traditional Ice Crash, this branch emphasizes a more rhythmic, continuous attack pattern, resulting in a smoother skill rotation and deviating from the typical one-hit-kill playstyle.

Finally, its actual performance is significantly affected by weapon attack speed and skill rhythm; different weapons directly alter the overall feel.

Therefore, this skill is more like a rhythm-based melee ice skill than a traditional burst-type ultimate.

League Start

In PoE Patch 3.29 environment, Ice Crash of Cadence is not suitable as the primary skill for early game progression.

A more reasonable approach is:

Use basic melee skills or standard ice skills to advance the story during League Start phase, such as the common Frost Blades or Cyclone transition skills, for stable enemy clearing and chapter progression.

Only consider switching to Ice Crash of Cadence after your gear and skill support are fully developed in the mid-game.

Typically, you won't find the opportunity to swap to this skill during the early story chapters; instead, it tends to open up once you reach normal maps or the lower tiers of red maps.

The core criterion isn't level, but whether attack speed and range support a complete rotation.

Building Core Ideas

There's no single, fixed template for PoE builds in Ice Crash of Cadence, but it can be broken down into three core modules:

1. First is the skill itself, providing a basic damage rotation and area-of-effect clearing capability.
2. Second is Cold Damage Scaling, including frost penetration, frost damage amplification, and area-of-effect expansion, used to improve stability and clearing efficiency.
3. Third is the weapon system, which determines the skill rhythm and overall feel, and is the part that has the biggest impact on the experience.

These three modules don't have an absolute priority; they work together to form a complete rotation.

Class Selection

Currently, the most common choice in PoE community is Slayer.

The reason isn't skill binding, but that Slayer possesses good sustained melee damage, survivability, and map-clearing stability, perfectly matching the rhythmic output mode of Ice Crash of Cadence.

Other classes can theoretically be used, but they usually tend to be playable but not as smooth.

Therefore, if you're trying this skill with Patch 3.29, it's recommended to start with Slayer.

Weapon Selection

Weapon selection is the most crucial and unpredictable variable for this skill.

Common PoE builds currently include:

Two-handed weapons with high physical base stats, used to increase the intensity and area damage of a single Ice Crash;

And certain special weapon systems (such as weapon combinations focused on rhythm or trigger mechanics), used to optimize attack smoothness.

The differences between different weapons are not just numerical, but also variations in attack rhythm, which directly affect the skill rotation experience.

Therefore, when choosing a weapon, it's not recommended to simply look at the stats, but to prioritize attack speed and skill feel compatibility.

Gear Progression

In Curse of the Allflame, upgrading your gear depends heavily on the spending Path of Exile 1 Currency, particularly when moving through the mid-game phase. Ice Crash of Cadence has a relatively typical progression curve, exhibiting a phased improvement structure.

• In League Start, it mainly relies on basic weapon and skill level support, with limited but stable map clearing ability.
• The mid-game phase begins with system building, gradually improving map-clearing efficiency through ice-based damage buffs and area-of-effect expansion.
• Endgame, on the other hand, relies on complete equipment synergy, including the overall coordination of weapons, jewelry, and the defense system, to demonstrate its full strength.

It's not a skill that linearly increases in power with better equipment; rather, it exhibits a clear progression through stages.

Its Role in Patch 3.29

In Curse of the Allflame environment, Ice Crash of Cadence remains usable but undefined.

It hasn't entered the mainstream meta, nor has it been excluded from effective builds; it's more like a skill branch that can be tried but requires personal testing to determine its feel and strength.

If subsequent patch don't make structural adjustments to melee or ice-based mechanics, this skill will probably maintain its current role: playable, but not a standard answer.

The core value of Ice Crash of Cadence in Patch 3.29 lies not in its power ceiling, but in providing a rhythmic melee experience different from traditional Ice Crash.

It's suitable for players who enjoy ice-based melee combat and are willing to adjust their own feel and rhythm, but it's not the optimal solution for a stable and mindless early game.