Is Path Of Exile 2 Now Standalone? - My Personal Opinion
Last week was the long-awaited ExileCon 2023. While many of us were eager to hear all of the new details on Path of Exile 2 and the new Challenge League, GGG started the show off with a shocking announcement:
Path of Exile 2 would no longer be an expansion to Path of Exile 1, and would now be a standalone game. Both games will receive updates and staggered challenge leagues, so players can play one or both games going forwards.
This is a huge change, and the community has had very mixed reactions to it. Here, I want to talk a bit about why I think this is happening, what this means for POE going forwards, some concerns, and how I feel about it.
GGG didn’t spend a lot of time explaining the reasons behind the change. Only that it became clear to them that POE 2 needed to be a separate game as they continued development.
However, to me, the reasons seem very clear. Since the original announcement of POE 2, there’s been unease and discontent in the POE community. There was a feeling, partially due to developer statements, that POE 2 was going to have to slow the game down somewhat when it launched. That the insane screen-clearing speed of the modern Path of Exile was just too much to be the baseline of this new game, and that GGG would have to slow things down.
There was also the feeling that GGG would need to slow things down gradually in POE 1 as we got closer and closer to the launch of POE 2, in order to ease players into it.
Players who have been playing POE 1 for the last few years, or god forbid, visited the subreddit, will know the extreme outrage that happened when GGG did, in fact, try to slow the game down. Patches 3.15 and 3.19 were received extremely negatively by the community.
To the point, GGG had to effectively roll back many of the changes they had made, publicly go in front of the community to explain where things had gone wrong, and even permanently withdraw from engaging with the community on the subreddit, in order to protect themselves from the extreme, disproportionate toxicity.
It’s clear that part of why Path of Exile is so beloved is because of the extreme, absurd map-clearing speed you can achieve. And that large portions of the community will absolutely hate any attempts to curtail that.
But that isn’t the sort of game the devs want to make. And, if we’re being honest, perhaps isn’t the sort of game the general gaming public wants to play, either. After all, one of the major goals of POE 2 is to bring in new players who previously didn’t enjoy POE.
When looked at through that lens, the original plan to make POE 2 into an expansion for PoE is really the root cause of these problems. If GGG went with their original plan of having POE 2 effectively replace POE 1, they would run the risk of alienating their entire current player base of POE 1 players. But if they instead compromised on their vision for POE 2, they’d run the risk of having the game not be different enough to bring in new players, and stifle their ability to create an experience that was wildly different from PoE 1.
Having them be two separate games solves these problems. They can keep the fast gameplay of POE 1, while also providing a slower, different, and more combat-focused experience in POE 2. So, what does this mean going forwards?
It means we’re going to have two different flavors of Path of Exile. We’ll be getting twice as many challenge leagues per year as both POE 1 and POE 2 will be receiving their own, different, challenge leagues, and players will be able to play whichever seems more appealing to them or both.
This also means that they can have POE 2 diverge in some pretty wild ways from POE 1. They’ve already previewed that many currency items have been overhauled, and some have been removed, presumably with the goal of making currency more useful for actually crafting your own POE Items. Not to mention all the crazy new weapon-swap features, which will completely change how players create builds!
However, there are a number of major concerns that remain mostly unaddressed. The biggest one is what the impact of split development resources will have on POE 1. Will it still continue to get major development support? Will the challenge leagues end up being small and lackluster? Will POE 1 development end suddenly after a few years? I think that as far as challenge leagues go, I’m not really concerned.
There was a comment during ExileCon stating that for the last few years, the development team of POE 1 has been mostly just 8 people. If that’s true, it shows that they can still create some incredible leagues on a shoestring budget. And I’d expect support for POE 1 to continue indefinitely as long as there remains even a small, dedicated community.
The bigger concern, I think, is the issues in POE 1 that we’ve been hearing POE 2 would fix for years now. Melee builds, large swathes of useless underpowered skills, balance issues with ascendancies and archetypes…... Will they just end up remaining bad forever now? Will we ever see major balance changes again? Or, will POE 1 just keep chugging along, with players feeling more and more pigeonholed into specific archetypes and skills?
I think this is something GGG needs to directly address. It’s not just enough to know that they intend to continue updating and creating challenge leagues for POE 1. We need to hear that they’re committed to having it be its own game with its own distinct playstyle, and not just a glorified POE 1 classic server.
Also Read: Path Of Exile 1 And Path Of Exile 2 Are Two Different Games! - Differences Between POE 1 & POE 2
However, my biggest concern is the economic impacts of splitting the player base across two games. POE relies on having players to trade with, and the trade system requires players to be online currently in order to trade. If you’ve ever tried to play a regular challenge league after something like a Flashback league has started, you know it can be nearly impossible to do any trades. Everyone has switched over to playing the new Flashback league, and the league feels basically over, whether or not you personally want to keep playing.
Chris pitched the idea that POE 1 leagues may launch something like 4 weeks before a new POE 2 league, giving them about the lifespan of a Flashback event.
If you want to be a dedicated POE 1 player, you may find that you can only realistically play the game within these short 4 week windows. Similarly, playing POE 2 late in the league after the POE 1 league has already launched may have similar issues.
I think if GGG is going to go down this path, they need to seriously consider changing their stance on offline trading in POE. There needs to be some way of still getting the items you need, even when the majority of players have switched to playing the other game. Otherwise, both games will end up suffering.
I know GGG is dead-set against anything with instant buyout, but if they implemented something that let you buy offline items and then you received them some amount of time later (even days later, perhaps), it would really fix this issue and allow players to buy previously listed items even after that player has moved onto the other game’s challenge league. And maybe even give these players a reason to switch back, once they’re bored with the new league, to a pile of POE Currency they can use to dive back in!
Having said all of that, despite these concerns, I would say that I am feeling very positive about this decision. I think that had they continued down the path of having POE 2 be an expansion, it would have been disastrous. Either the game would have been too slow, or not different enough. Now, not only do we get to keep playing the game we know and love, but we get to play two different takes on Path of Exile.
I’ve said before that I find the idea of Ruthless extremely exciting. I’ve been playing POE since Closed Beta, and I will play and enjoy other ARPGs that are a fair bit slower than POE. As much as I love the insane clear speed you can reach in POE, I also feel like I’d enjoy a much slower experience, with a bigger emphasis on combat and moment-to-moment gameplay. And I feel that POE 2 is going to be exactly that. And I get to have both! And I get to have twice as many challenge leagues per year!
To me, this just means more Path of Exile, and I absolutely love it. I hope GGG can nail this and have two different versions of POE that appeal to both of these playstyles. I’m really excited to see what they have cooking for POE 2, and explore a game that’s going to be both new and familiar!
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In Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5 Return of the Ancients, players have already discovered a variety of powerful builds. However, the overly homogenous builds inevitably lead to aesthetic fatigue.
Just then, a group of unconventional builds combining creativity and strength are quietly emerging in the player community. These builds fully demonstrate players' imagination and creativity, providing new possibilities.
Below, I will introduce five unconventional builds, each with unique mechanics and outstanding performance.
Mirage Archer Snipe Build
The interesting thing about this Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5 build is that it subverts the traditional charging gameplay of bow weapons.
Core Mechanics
The core of Mirage Archer Snipe Build lies in skill Mirage Archer - a Spirit-consuming support skill that automatically summons a phantom using the current bow skill after the player uses Dodge Roll. This phantom is AI-controlled.
This skill can synergize with Snipe. Snipe attack normally requires the player to release it when charge bar reaches Perfect Timing Window to trigger its explosion damage. However, AI-controlled Phantom Archer can consistently hit within this window, ensuring a critical hit with every attack.
Furthermore, players need to use Gemling Legionnaire class and activate its Advanced Thaumaturgy node - this node grants additional effects to gem quality, extending Perfect Timing Window and increasing attack speed.
This allows Phantom Archer's damage output to far exceed manual control.
Defense and Equipment
This build's defensive capabilities are provided in several ways, such as socketing numerous Red Support Gems for immunity to critical hits; or directly stacking affixes that reduce damage or increase defense.
To further enhance the build's damage, in the current Patch 0.5, it's recommended to use Headhunter and Mageblood equipment to strengthen build.
Chaos Ignite Build
The core mechanic of this build lies in utilizing Blackflame or similar unique mechanics to convert Ignite damage from Infernalists into Chaos Damage. Then, by casting on Elemental Ailment, a Contagion mechanic is triggered, allowing Contagion to spread Chaos Damage.
Once successful, players can unleash massive area-of-effect damage, achieving a one-hit kill.
Defensively, players can rely on the high Armor and Block provided by Shields to mitigate damage, combined with other defensive equipment and healing items.
However, in PoE 2 Patch 0.5, this build is still experimental because there is controversy regarding whether Contagion can spread Chaos Ignite converted from Ignite.
Some players have tested it and reported that even if Ignite damage type changes to Chaos, it is still considered a Fire DoT rather than a Chaos DoT, and therefore cannot be spread by Contagion.
However, there are also successful examples demonstrating that this mechanism can be achieved through specific Uniques (i.e., Blackflame Covenant).
Infinite Hammer of the Gods Build
This is the most disruptive of all builds.
The core skill of this build - Hammer of the Gods - usually requires Glory resources. However, players can use Gemling Legionnaire class's Ascendancy Notable Passive Skill - Advanced Thaumaturgy - to stack the quality of Hammer of the Gods to over 40%, obtaining a 100% Glory-free affix.
In this way, players can infinitely unleash the skill, wiping out all enemies.
However, stacking defensive capabilities for this build requires a significant investment of PoE 2 Currency in equipment; therefore, it is only suitable for experienced players with ample resources.
Glacial Bolt Build
In PoE 2 Patch 0.5 Return of the Ancients, builds centered around Glacial Bolt skill actually fall into two categories: one primarily utilizes Whirling Slash, and the other primarily utilizes Cast on Ailment Variant.
Whirling Slash
This build treats the ice crystals fired by Glacial Bolt crossbow skill as destructible objects, using Whirling Slash to spin them at high speed and directly shatter them, causing an explosion.
This playstyle demands extremely high attack speed from the player. If you want to try this build, you need to stack a large number of Uniques to increase your character's attack speed.
Cast on Elemental Ailment
The other build is more suitable for most players. This build primarily utilizes Cast on Elemental Ailment in conjunction with the ntangle skill's mechanic to automatically destroy ice crystals and cause explosion damage.
This build also requires a large amount of Currency. If you lack Currency, you can first use it to upgrade your Headhunter equipment.
Stormcaller Arrow Build
The core skill of Stormcaller Arrow Build is Stormcaller Arrow, which fires an arrow. After a short time, a bolt of lightning strikes the arrow, dealing lightning damage to enemies.
In PoE 2 Patch 0.5, players can use Gemling Legionnaire class and stack skill quality to gain additional arrows. Players also need to use Barrage skill to repeatedly fire arrows, further increasing the arrow count.
Once a sufficient number of arrows are available, a massive lightning attack can be unleashed on enemies at once.
Of course, players can further amplify the damage using Tornado Shot and Cast on Elemental Ailment.
Tornado Shot duplicates existing arrows on the battlefield, significantly increasing the arrow count; Cast on Elemental Ailment creates a Frost Wall. If lightning strikes a Frost Wall, enemies will suffer additional freezing damage.
These are five unconventional but powerful builds in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5 Return of the Ancients. If you're tired of the common mainstream builds and want to explore more of the game's possibilities, then give these builds a try.
The launch of Path of Exile 3.29 introduces fresh, engaging gameplay, specifically the league-exclusive Curse of the Allflame mechanic (which may eventually be integrated into the core game). Understanding this system is essential for earning rewards in the new league.
A key component of this system is the voyage, which determines the loot you receive at the end of an underwater expedition. While player reception has been mixed so far, it is certainly worth experiencing firsthand.
Below, we detail how Path of Exile 3.29 voyage mechanic works and, more importantly, how it helps you generate profits.
Curse of the Allflame league mechanic
The voyage is part of the new nautical gameplay introduced in this league. As established in Path of Exile lore, the world of Wraeclast features vast oceans; PoE 3.29 league builds on this by introducing Valerie, a pirate captain, and treasures hidden beneath the waves.
To assist Valerie, who has run into trouble, and recover the treasure, you must first collect charts through standard campaign progression or endgame mapping. Once you have gathered enough charts, you can connect them to form a voyage.
The rewards from each voyage vary, depending largely on the level of the charts used and the special lanterns encountered during the underwater dive.
The voyage process
To initiate a voyage, you need a sufficient number of charts and must ensure their special symbols align and connect seamlessly from start to finish.
Next, take your collection of charts to Valerie in Sovereign area. Follow the instructions to slot the charts in and form the voyage; this allows you to dive into The Fathomless Depths for further exploration.
Each chart has a unique shape, resembling an irregular puzzle piece. You must place a specific number of charts onto a designated grid and arrange them, much like a jigsaw puzzle, to form a complete image before the voyage can begin.
The voyage process also requires the consumption of PoE Allflame Lanterns. Placing a lantern illuminates new areas, guiding your path forward while providing potential bonuses, such as increased loot drops.
To acquire more lanterns, you need to locate specific items during your voyage and return them to Vesper for exchange.
It is crucial to remain within the area illuminated by your lanterns; straying outside subjects you to a drowning debuff, which kills your character after just five seconds.
Note that once you place the final lantern in a voyage, they begin to extinguish one by one in reverse order; you must return to the start in time while contending with potential enemies along the way.
Exploration rewards depend on the contents of chests and Message in a Bottle items found on the ocean floor. With a bit of luck, you can obtain various types of orbs to rapidly boost your PoE currency reserves.
How to maximize returns from voyages?
To generate income quickly through voyages, start by collecting charts from maps that are challenging enough to be worthwhile but easy enough for you to clear rapidly; avoid consuming too much time on this initial step, as the voyage itself is the primary source of loot.
Remember to exchange for more lanterns regularly to expand your exploration range within a single voyage and unlock more potential buffs. You can also enable the auto-placement feature to advance more quickly.
Effective Path of Exile voyage planning hinges on chart placement; beyond the shapes mentioned earlier, each chart carries specific modifiers.
Adjacent modifiers affect the tiles placed next to that specific chart, while voyage-wide modifiers affect every chart in the run.
Other modifiers can convert rewards, spawn extra monsters, or empower existing ones. You should arrange the charts by combining shapes and effects to maximize your returns.
Once the charts are assembled, special ocean currents surrounding the main board provide additional, powerful random buffs. There are three currents on each side of the board, and each current affects only the chart immediately adjacent to it.
Ultimately, the total yield of your voyage depends on the number of lanterns you have (determining exploration duration) and the combination of charts and currents (determining the richness of the exploration).
It is also worth noting that during a voyage, you can deposit your accumulated loot into a special new cache at any time; this instantly transports the items back to your ship, preventing you from losing them should an accident occur.
Optimal chart placement strategy
Provided the shapes fit together correctly, you should choose your charts based on your goals: focus on treasure map or transport ship charts if you want to earn more PoE currency, or prioritize charts that increase monster density if you want to level up quickly.
Regardless of where you place your core charts, ensure they are aligned with the best map boundaries to take full advantage of optimal ocean current effects.
The purpose of any chart placed adjacent to a core chart is to enhance that core chart; use this principle to evaluate and position your remaining charts.
Once you have laid out your charts according to these criteria, perform a final assessment based on all active modifiers: is the voyage's difficulty too high? If it is, or if you are unsure, remove any high-risk charts.
Excessive danger increases the likelihood of death, which could leave you with nothing to show for your efforts.
These are the core strategies for experiencing Path of Exile voyage mechanic and maximizing your returns. If you haven't devised your own exploration plan yet, feel free to follow this guide! Good luck out there on the deep sea!
Path of Exile 3.29's Scion may be the luckiest class, as she not only receives many powerful nodes from the updated Reliquarian Ascendancy but also gains access to the brand-new Luminary Ascendancy class.
Luminary Ascendancy is closely tied to Mercenary system. You can either use Mercenaries as powerful support units to increase your damage, or build around them as independent fighters. Mercenaries may seem similar to powerful minions, but there are significant differences between the two.
Mercenary Core Mechanics
The biggest advantage of Luminary lies in breaking the limitation that Mercenaries cannot be permanently hired. Normally, Mercenaries only exist temporarily, but Luminary allows you to permanently recruit them and freely customize their equipment.
You can have up to three Mercenaries at the same time. One of them can actively fight alongside you as an allied unit, while the other two remain on standby in towns or hideouts and can be swapped in whenever needed.
Mercenaries can still die during combat, so keeping them well-equipped is essential. If they fall in battle, you only need to pay a certain amount of Gold to revive them in the next area.
During the campaign, you can travel to The Grand Arena in Act 4 or The Hidden Underbelly in Act 8, where a powerful Mercenary will always be waiting to be recruited.
Keep in mind that Mercenary passive stats and skill levels automatically scale with the level of the current area. However, the maximum item level of their equipment is permanently locked to the level of the area where they were first discovered. This means you will still need to search for higher-level Mercenaries and replace them later in the game.
Luminary Ascendancy Nodes
For defense, Luminary has two important Ascendancy nodes. Loyal Bodyguard allows your Mercenary to absorb part of the damage when your Life is low. When you have more Life than your Mercenary, damage taken by your Mercenary will instead restore Life for you.
Another node, Bestowed Knighthood, grants your Mercenary the ability to Taunt enemies and increases their skill range, allowing them to draw enemy attention more effectively.
For offense, Unique Arms is the core node. It allows Mercenaries to equip all Unique item slots except the chest armor slot, and they gain a massive damage increase based on the number of Unique items they have equipped. You can equip your Mercenary with multiple damage-focused Uniques, turning them into a walking damage amplifier.
Luminary Ascendancy Builds
Luminary mainly has two different playstyles: using Mercenaries to enhance your own build or making Mercenary the primary DPS source.
Using Mercenaries as Support
If you want your Mercenary to act as a support partner, equipping them with the right Unique and Rare items can provide incredible benefits.
For example, in a Lightning damage build, equipping Perquil's Toe on your Mercenary can directly provide 30% more damage while only taking up one Unique slot, making it extremely efficient.
Mask of the Tribunal provides up to 80% Critical Strike Damage and 40% Cast Speed for nearby allies by stacking Mercenary's attributes, and it can be further improved with Corrupted modifiers.
If you need physical defense, Kaom's Binding allows your Mercenary to effectively reduce the physical damage you take from enemies.
Besides Unique items, Rare equipment on Mercenaries should not be overlooked. You can use modifiers, or anointments to boost Mercenary. You can also equip gloves or rings with Curse on Hit modifiers, allowing Mercenary to apply additional curses to enemies.
At the same time, stacking Aura Effect modifiers on weapons, shields, helmets, and other equipment slots can significantly increase the strength of the Auras activated by your Mercenary.
Some Mercenaries naturally come with two Aura skills, which are the foundation of Luminary support playstyle. It is worth noting that these Auras can reach around level 26 to 28 on a level 83 Mercenary, far exceeding the level of Auras a player can normally activate themselves. This makes these Mercenaries extremely powerful.
Mercenaries as Damage Dealers
Another completely different playstyle is to personally support your Mercenary and make them the main damage dealer. In this case, you can use Flame Link skill, which grants the linked target additional Fire flat damage based on your maximum Life. This means stacking Life not only improves your survivability but also directly increases your Mercenary's damage.
Ascendancy node Oath of Lealty allows Link skills to have unlimited duration, reduces their cost by 50%, and prevents you from dying when your Mercenary dies, greatly improving overall reliability.
Mercenary Selection
If you want your Mercenary to deal damage directly, you must have a deep understanding of their skill pool. Every Mercenary has a fixed set of Primary Skills that cannot be changed. Mercenaries with movement skills often perform poorly because their AI frequently uses jumps or movement abilities, wasting a large amount of time that could have been spent attacking.
Secondary Skills are the key factor that determines their damage ceiling. If a Mercenary has multiple Secondary Skills, especially including weaker versions, AI will randomly choose between them, greatly reducing efficiency. Therefore, it is better to look for Mercenaries that only have the ideal skills.
As for Utility Skills, movement abilities should also be avoided. It is better to choose skills that provide passive bonuses.
It is important to remember that not every Mercenary is harmless. Some of them can be extremely dangerous in combat, especially for Hardcore players. If you encounter a rare Mercenary, it is best to check their skills first before deciding whether to challenge them, otherwise you may suffer an unexpected defeat.
Mercenary Warrant
In PoE 3.29, Mercenary Warrant items can be used to make a specific Mercenary appear on your map.
Even if you are unlucky and fail to encounter your desired Mercenary, you can directly trade for Mercenary Warrants from other players and use them with your map. After defeating Mercenary, you can immediately recruit them. This ensures that you can obtain Mercenary you want.
During trading, you can check Mercenary's skill combination through the interface. More importantly, you can inspect their Support Gem links. The choice of Support Gems directly determines Mercenary's actual performance.
Since high-quality dual-Aura Mercenaries are extremely rare, they often hold significant value in PoE currency. Therefore, even if you do not plan to use one yourself, it is still worth watching for popular combinations that may provide strong trading opportunities.
Gear Crafting
During the early campaign, you can use the crafting bench to create basic flat damage modifiers or percentage-based elemental attack damage modifiers for Mercenaries. These modifiers mainly appear on amulets, rings, weapons, and gloves. Belts provide additional damage, while the remaining armor slots only need Life and resistances to ensure Mercenary survives.
Later in the game, if you want to pursue the strongest setup, you can build around modifiers such as Aura Effect or armor stacking to create endgame equipment. However, keep in mind that Unique item slots are limited, so you must make careful choices.
Luminary Ascendancy and permanent Mercenary system will bring many exciting possibilities to Path of Exile. Among them, dual-Aura Mercenaries are especially worth watching. They may become some of the most valuable Mercenaries and could become one of the most sought-after trading options in Curse of the Allflame League.
There is less than a day left until the launch of Path of Exile 3.29! Have you decided whether to stick with a familiar setup or hunt down a top-tier build using various guides? Regardless, we highly recommend trying out Essence Drain Build combined with Contagion!
This isn't exactly a brand-new playstyle; if you've played through multiple PoE leagues, you've likely heard of this build before. We're bringing it up again because buffs to specific skills and gear have improved Essence Drain Build's performance.
Potential performance in 3.29
Based on the known update details for Path of Exile 3.29, Essence Drain Build should offer a great experience during both the league start and the endgame, though the endgame version may require some adjustments to your gear or skills.
Overall, the core damage mechanic involves casting Contagion followed by Essence Drain. If you encounter monsters that aren't instantly killed, you can finish them off with Bane; during the league start phase, you can also incorporate Blight as a supplementary skill.
Blight is particularly helpful against single targets, though you generally won't need to use it frequently once you reach the endgame. Additionally, Wither effect is excellent and can even trigger automatically if you use a specific staff setup.
More importantly, since 3.29 league includes buffs for several skills relevant to this build, such as Blight, Essence Drain Build will benefit from a larger AoE and even improved visual effects.
Class and skill combinations
As you know, your choice of class or Ascendancy in PoE doesn't strictly limit your skill gem combinations. However, if you want to craft a specific build, choosing the right class allows it to perform at its best.
For Essence Drain Build in 3.29, Occultist looks like a solid choice. It offers interesting scaling options, and the base class, Witch, provides a wide range of gameplay possibilities.
However, Occultist relies heavily on Power Charge mechanic. Since many PoE builds utilize this same mechanic, completing the full gear setup for Essence Drain Build might require a larger investment.
That said, if you don't mind this point and have the budget, choosing PoE currency for sale on POECURRENCY.com can easily solve this issue. Simply by stockpiling more currency, acquiring or upgrading your gear becomes an easy task.
More importantly, 3.29 league introduces Unhallowed Rite for Occultist, a new Notable passive skill tailored for channeling skills. Based on its known effects, it pairs exceptionally well with Blight.
In 3.29 league, Blight receives a buff: the base radius of its effect increases by 0.2 meters at all levels, and the base chaos damage rises to 469 per second when the gem reaches level 20.
Additionally, incorporating Spellslinger during the early-game progression, combined with Eldritch Battery, Vile Bastion, and Mind over Matter, significantly boosts the build's sustainability, ensuring a much smoother leveling experience.
As you transition into the endgame, adding Forbidden Power grants a massive boost to AoE. When combined with the radius and chaos damage enhancements (at level 20) for Contagion, the build's overall coverage becomes truly impressive.
In fact, Essence Drain Build prior to 3.29 league faced a major issue: they required a massive investment of resources and skill slots just to function effectively. For instance, you needed to slot in numerous chaos skills just to achieve decent single-target damage output.
However, the radius and damage buffs brought to Bane, another key skill, by Curse of the Allflame league effectively resolve this problem. Furthermore, the duration of Bane debuff now increases by 100% for every curse applied during combat, up from the previous 50%.
What gear do you need?
For Contagion + Essence Drain Build, most of the required gear drops relatively easily, even in SSF mode; you simply need to invest currency later on to improve quality or reroll for better modifiers.
Of course, if you're aiming for peak performance, a few specific rare items are essential, such as various Relics, Badge of the Brotherhood amulet, or Anathema ring, though most other components are standard gear, like Cane of Unravelling staff.
Even more interesting is that this important, yet easily obtainable, piece of gear received a buff in 3.29 league, specifically one that ties its benefits closely to Power Charges.
Cane of Unravelling now grants +1 to your maximum Power Charges; additionally, for every Power Charge you possess, you gain a 5% increase in cast speed and 5 points of mana regeneration per second.
The only issue with this build is that the base setup doesn't generate Frenzy Charges; however, once you reach the endgame and incorporate the rare items mentioned earlier, you can align your maximum Frenzy Charges with your maximum Power Charges.
Furthermore, you need to stack resistances as high as possible, ideally hitting the cap. It doesn't matter whether these resistances come from your rings, belt, or amulet; that depends entirely on your personal setup.
Clearly, the strength of Essence Drain Build in 3.29 league lies in a series of incremental improvements that combine to deliver a superior overall performance. If you don't want to miss out on these exciting changes, why not give this build a try for your league starter?
