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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PoE 2 0.4.0 update is coming soon, bringing many new features that will undoubtedly impact character builds.
If you're still wondering which build will give you an edge over other players in Path of Exile patch 0.4.0, consider Poisonburst Pathfinder build. This build is easy to learn and use in the early stages, while possessing high development potential, and is sure to surprise you.
Below, I will provide a detailed introduction to this build, allowing you to quickly understand its key features.
Poisonburst Pathfinder Build
Poisonburst Pathfinder build centers on archery, utilizing poison damage to suppress enemies. This requires players using this build to pay close attention to the effects of poison-related skills and weapons.
Its core appeal lies in its simple and easy-to-understand controls. Clearing maps in combat or exploration requires only a single click, and the single-target damage rotation is very smooth. Therefore, regardless of prior experience, players can easily grasp the essentials.
When clearing maps, Poisonburst Arrow is your primary attack method. Upon hitting an enemy, the arrow releases a large amount of poison, damaging enemies within its area and efficiently clearing groups. If you're fast enough, you can deal considerable damage.
If you're a new player and your current gear and weapons aren't yet sufficient for the large-scale battles in PoE 2 patch 0.4.0, you can use Toxic Growth early in the game to gain more survivability. However, once your gear is upgraded, Poisonburst Arrow alone can deal damage comparable to current popular builds.
For bosses and high-difficulty enemies, you can easily defeat them with a series of combos. First, use Poisonburst Arrow to create a poison field, then use Vine Arrow for additional damage, and then continuously apply Toxic Growth to the boss.
Toxic Pustules generated by Toxic Growth will automatically explode, dealing massive burst damage. With good gear, Poisonburst Pathfinder build is enough to instantly kill bosses.
Buffs
In PoE 2 patch 0.4.0, several game content adjustments significantly boosted the build's power, more than offsetting the negative effects of the nerfs.
Arakaali's Lust
In Path of Exile 2 patch 0.4.0, Arakaali's Lust increases the damage dealt by Grants Supported Skills by 8% for each stack of poison gained, up to a maximum of 40%.
Compared to the previous 6% damage increase, with a maximum of 30%, the adjusted Arakaali's Lust will help characters deal significantly more damage.
Especially for builds like Poisonburst Pathfinder build that rely on poison for damage, Arakaali's Lust will become a popular choice.
Garukhan's Resolve
It helps increase the critical hit chance of Grants Supported Skills, up to a maximum of 50%. Furthermore, patch 0.4.0 removed the 20-meter movement requirement for players to use Grants Supported Skills.
While a 50% critical hit chance isn't high in the game, it's barely enough for bow-wielding characters. These characters generally don't have a high critical hit rate, so even a 50% chance can result in unexpected critical damage.
Undoubtedly, this change will make it more popular with players.
New Bow Cluster
Path of Exile 2 patch 0.4.0 also added a bow skill cluster, giving characters using this weapon a Surpassing chance to fire an extra arrow.
Hyrri's Ire
Hyrri's Ire's evasion rating has been nearly doubled, the freeze duration on enemies has been increased by 25%, and it inflicts an additional 25% Cold Damage, enhancing the defensive and offensive capabilities of evasion-centric builds.
Nerfs
However, Poisonburst Pathfinder build isn't all buffs in PoE 2 patch 0.4.0. Some in-game changes have also caused it to lose some of its advantages.
Ghost Dance
After the adjustments, players can now obtain a maximum of 3 Ghost Shrouds using Ghost Dance. Furthermore, the interval between obtaining it has been lengthened. However, overall, it remains a powerful defensive buff that enhances a player's survivability on the battlefield.
Rune Restrictions
In PoE 2 patch 0.4.0, the official support for runes has been limited for various builds. However, you can avoid making your build dependent on a single rune by using runes in different directions, such as Countess Seske's Rune of Archery to fire extra arrows, and Farrul's Rune of the Chase to increase movement speed.
While these changes are regrettable, the overall benefit of this update outweighs the drawbacks.
Skill Gems
The following are skill gems that players can try using.
Poisonburst Arrow
As the core of this build, Poisonburst Arrow is essential. Whether you choose to clear maps or fight bosses, it will provide excellent results.
Herald Of Blood
Blood Loss causes explosions when monsters are killed. Enemies killed by these explosions deal additional damage to nearby monsters, creating an infinite explosion effect that results in massive damage.
Herald Of Plague
Herald of Plague's special effect allows players to spread poison to nearby enemies when they kill poisoned enemies. This spread can also slow down enemy movement.
This infinitely spreading effect helps players clear maps quickly and defeat opponents.
Wind Dancer
This skill gem has always been popular with players. It grants players periodic evasion, increasing their survivability.
Poisonburst Pathfinder build is a standout in PoE 2 patch 0.4.0, boasting unparalleled simplicity, speed, and damage. The numerous buffs in this update make it a top-tier game build, easily handling map combat and exploration.
Whether you're aiming for the top of the leaderboards or simply looking for casual fun, the long-term potential and low learning curve of Poisonburst Pathfinder build make it a worthwhile investment.
Just one day later, you can dive into Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0 and enjoy all the content this update brings, even if you don't own the game - you can play for free for three days!
Undoubtedly, most PoE 2 players will want to experience the new Druid class first, but if you're the type of player who wants to quickly complete the campaign and start mapping, it's best to use a class you're familiar with.
Even if you've thoroughly researched Druid, you'll still need to get used to it once the game officially starts, which will inevitably slow down your progress.
Therefore, this guide will use Warrior, a basic class, as an example to show you how to quickly complete the campaign and then experience the endgame content of the new league.
Path Of Exile 2 Campaign Overview
This mechanism, as the foundation of the game's main story, aims to allow you to accumulate XP and currency while completing story quests, enabling you to enter the dangerous endgame phase with stronger abilities and solid resources.
According to the planned design, the official version of PoE 2 should have 6 acts, including hundreds of bosses and monster types. However, in the current early access stage, you can only play the first four acts and three interludes.
After completing all the acts in the campaign, you will reach Ziggurat Refuge and obtain the map device, after which you can start experiencing the endgame by collecting and using Waystones for mapping.
Why Choose Warrior?
As a melee tank class in Path of Exile 2, although Warrior isn't exactly beginner-friendly, its survival and damage output are both excellent, and its diverse gameplay and adaptability make it very useful during the campaign stage when your character is still developing.
How To Start Clearing The Campaign?
No matter what stage of the game you're in or what your goals are, as long as you're still fighting, crafting efficient builds should be your first step.
Therefore, if you're playing as a Warrior to complete the campaign, we recommend trying Poison Bleed Resonating Shield Build. It combines Shield Wall and Resonating Shield skills to ensure both single-target and AoE damage.
How To Use This Build?
Although this build's clearing speed isn't the fastest, the total damage output is still very considerable. Generally, when encountering rare elite monsters, simply using Shield Wall to block their attacks and then striking twice with Resonating Shield will easily resolve the battle.
More importantly, this build doesn't rely heavily on gear, which is very friendly during the resource-scarce campaign phase. You only need a good shield and sufficient defensive gear.
As for weapon selection, increasing extra and physical damage and upgrading attack power by one level is enough, because the class and build characteristics ensure you are very tanky and won't take much damage.
How To Start Leveling?
In fact, completing the campaign is your leveling process in Path of Exile 2; all campaign quests combined should give you enough XP.
In Act 1, for about three-quarters of the time, you'll need to constantly use Rolling Slam and Boneshatter to deal with normal enemies. If you encounter a boss, you'll also need to intersperse Infernal Cry between attacks.
In addition, combine this with the support gem Impact Shockwave, which generates aftershocks when heavily stunning enemies, dealing damage to enemies within a 1.5-meter radius, helping you clear mobs faster.
When you reach approximately level 15, the first thing you should do is obtain a pure strength-based shield, as only it has the highest armor value, which is very important in the following stages.
After that, your main skills will be Resonating Shield and Boneshatter. You will also need to unlock War Cry nodes in the passive skill tree to enhance Warcry effects, damage, and utility.
This setup will support you until level 20 or higher, after which you need to switch your main skill to Shield Wall, and then use Infernal Cry, Shield Charge, and Shockwave Totem in sequence as a combo.
At the same time, it's recommended to add the support gem Mana Leech, which converts 2% of physical attack damage into mana, ensuring your mana doesn't run out.
Although Warrior itself isn't a mana-dependent class, getting extra mana is still good, and not being dependent on mana also extends the duration of your mana bar from another perspective.
Which Ascendancy Class To Choose?
After reaching level 30 or higher during the campaign using the above techniques, you can start choosing your Ascendancy class. Here, we prioritize Warbringer to unlock an important exclusive ability, Warcaller's Bellow.
This skill allows Warcry to cause enemy corpses to explode, dealing physical damage equivalent to 25% of their maximum health, and ignores Warcry cooldown, making it easier to use the combos we recommended earlier.
After this, you can continue progressing using the skills and gear techniques from the previous level stages. Of course, it would be even better if you could add armor and resistance values to your gear.
However, if you want to try the other Warrior Ascendancy class, Titan, you'll need to acquire Enraged Warcry after reaching Act 4 and unlocking Tier 4 support gems to unlock the effect that bypasses Warcry cooldown.
The above information should be sufficient to help you complete all campaign content. It's worth noting that some of these approaches are also applicable to playing Druid class, as most skills in Path of Exile are universal.
The new league is about to begin, and we hope our guide will help you have a better gaming experience! Have fun!
Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0, Fate of The Vaal league, not only added new classes but also made some adjustments to existing builds.
Since the league hasn't truly started yet, and further patches are expected to adjust class balance after the league begins, we can only predict their initial league rankings based on the official patch information and the performance of all Ascendancies in Patch 0.3.0.
Tier S
Deadeye Ranger
Deadeye Ranger has long been a top-tier class, and this change is considered an adjustment rather than a nerf.
The removal of Deadeye Ranger's Wind Ward slightly reduces its survivability, but the increased Critical Weakness generated by Bullseye from 5 stacks to 10 stacks improves its DPS.
Furthermore, it gains the new Mirage Archer passive skill, which summons clones that use your abilities. If its clone numbers are strong, Deadeye Ranger could even reach S+ tier. Even if its clone numbers aren't strong, its current power is enough to secure its S tier status.
Pathfinder Ranger
Pathfinder Ranger has received a significant boost. The patch adds immunity to severe stuns when using Running Assault and a substantial increase in movement speed, making it a very fast class for farming PoE 2 currency.
Trail Wisdom provides additional passive skill points and offers extra options for damage, global defenses, or Cost Efficiency reduction. Cost Efficiencyis a valuable attribute that's hard to obtain in other classes. Combined with the speed-oriented meta-environment of PoE 2, Pathfinder is expected to perform very well in this league.
Tier A
Invoker Monk
The key boost to Invoker Monk is in Soulspring Eternal node, which now provides 50% spirit reservation efficiency. This made it a viable option for any build that relied on Spirit and used multiple custom criticals. Invoker Monk is inherently very flexible and can be paired with a variety of abilities, giving it the potential to even reach Tier S.
Lich Witch
While Lich Witch received no changes in the patch notes, it can be considered a solid Tier A, very close to Tier S.
Lich Witch has consistently been one of the tankiest classes in the game, primarily due to its survivability through leech and stacking large amounts of Energy Shield.
While Lich Witch isn't the strongest mage ascendancy, it remains consistently reliable, though it lacks the high damage or farming efficiency of Tier S Ascendancies.
Witchhunter Mercenary
Witchhunter Mercenary received a significant buff. This is mainly because Ceremonial Ablution now directly provides Sword Ward to mitigate physical and chaos damage. This change is significant, allowing Witchhunter to achieve extremely high tankiness with very low investment, making he one of the most tanky classes. However, it still retains damage bonuses and is not a pure tank class.
Titan Warrior
Titan Warrior has always been a reliable melee choice, although this adjustment removed Surprising Strength node. However, it added "deals 25% more damage to heavy stunned enemies" to Crushing Impacts node. While total damage may decrease slightly, the 2 talent points saved are a net gain.
Mountain Splitter allows Titan to trigger an additional aftershock every third time they cast a Slam ability that doesn't trigger Fissures, which seems promising. While their strength has increased, they are still expected to perform slightly worse than Witchhunter.
Blood Mage Witch
Blood Mage Witch has long been one of the best caster classes, but she was nerfed in patch 0.4.
This is primarily due to the nerf to Tul's Catalyst, which weakens overall regeneration. Since Blood Mage's defenses are entirely built on extremely high regeneration, this change has a significant impact.
Blood Mage will now find it more difficult to run maps with reduced regeneration affixes. While she may still be one of the strongest spellcasters if you invest enough PoE 2 currency, she won't be as comfortable as she was in patch 0.3.0, and fewer players may use her.
Stormweaver Sorceress
Stormweaver Sorceress is a class that utilizes infusion as its core gameplay. With the continuous enhancement of the infusion mechanic, its status has risen.
Specific changes such as Refraction Infusion, Multiplying Squalls, and Storms Recollection have provided useful bonuses. Previously, many spellcaster players chose Blood Mage, so in patch 0.4.0, Stormweaver will also be a good choice.
Infernalist Witch
Infernalist Witch remains largely unchanged and is still a core summoner build choice, pairing well with Lich. Its Demon Form is also valuable for spellcaster builds that want to maintain this form.
Ritualist Huntress
Ritualist Huntress was not changed in the patch, so its status remains the same. It's S-tier on a high budget. In the late game with top-tier gear, it's very versatile and powerful, serving as a spellcaster or ranged class, but on a low budget, its damage is only A-tier.
Tier B
Amazon Huntress
Amazon Huntress has the potential to achieve extremely high survivability by stacking evasion rating and deflection, but achieving this requires a significantly higher investment than Witchhunter or Lich. On a lower budget, Amazon only ranks B, with its Deadeye being much stronger, making Amazon less attractive.
Smith of Kitava Warrior
Smith of Kitava Warrior received some buffs, such as increased Armor from Smith's Masterwork, as well as increased thorns damage, increased spirit, and complete ignoring of critical strike damage.
However, because Smith of Kitava is a pure defensive ascendancy, it severely lacks damage and speed bonuses. In the current speed-driven PoE 2 meta environment, pure tank classes are at a disadvantage. Furthermore, in terms of tankiness, Lich and Witchhunter are expected to perform better.
Tactician Mercenary
Tactician Mercenary itself remains good, but mainly due to the buffs received by Witchhunter, players are more inclined to choose Witchhunter over the other class, therefore its ranking has been downgraded to A.
Tier C
Acolyte Of Chayula Monk
While receiving some buffs, the impact is not significant. It might only find a place in chaos or poison builds, but the class as a whole needs major changes or a rework to become popular.
Warbringer Warrior
Warbringer Warrior was previously unpopular due to its somewhat clunky and slow gameplay. PoE 2 meta-environment highly values speed, making it less favored. With Titan buff, even fewer players will choose it.
Chronomancer Sorceress
Chronomancer Sorceress has always lacked a place in the meta-environment. While it has the potential to create niche builds through extreme slowdowns, its inherent slowness and the need to manage numerous skills and cooldowns simultaneously make its gameplay complex.
Tier F
Gemling Legionnaire Mercenary
The changes to Gemling Legionnaire Mercenary are minor. It's placed in Tier F because it's been surpassed by other classes, making it uncompetitive in the current meta, and it may only have a few unique playstyles remaining.
Druid
Full information on the three Druid classes hasn't been released yet, and their performance in-game remains to be seen, but the developers are unlikely to make them too weak.
- Oracle Druid: Some nodes look strong, but with a large number of additional skills, the gameplay might be complex, potentially placing it in Tier A or Tier B.
- Shaman Druid: it looks more stable than Oracle, so it is possible at the top of Tier A or even close to Tier S.
These are just predictions at the start of the league, and subsequent official adjustments will likely change this ranking.
Before the full release of PoE 3.27 Keepers of the Flame content, many players anticipated significant balance changes due to comments made by the game director in a previous patch Q&A session. However, the official patch notes were disappointing in terms of balance adjustments.
Unexpectedly, the biggest impact of PoE 3.27's meta gameplay wasn't on balance changes, but rather on the addition of hundreds of Foulborn unique items. Now that the official focus is primarily on POE 2, there shouldn't be any new Foulborn unique items in this league. So, will Foulborn unique items be integrated into the core gameplay?
What Are Foulborn Unique Items?
Foulborn unique items are not new unique items, and they are unique items that already existed in the game, whose one or more affixes have been replaced by Foulborn affix.
Because Foulborn affixes are generally stronger than regular affixes, these Foulborn Unique items become unique and powerful enough in many situations to form an entire build idea around them.
The Red Drea (Foulborn)
Foulborn unique items were used in many builds in Patch 3.27. The Red Drea (Foulborn) was the most frequently used Foulborn unique item in both softcore and hardcore trade leagues in patch 3.27. In softcore, 8% of level 95-100 characters used it, while in hardcore, this figure rose to 11%.
Its most common Foulborn variant replaces its Endurance Charge chance affix with Fire Resistance or All Elemental Resistances talent allocated nodes based on Jewel range, providing an increase in maximum life. This provides a much-needed boost to life-based builds, allowing them to compete with the energy shield configuration.
The Red Drea (Foulborn) is used by approximately 40% of Chieftains, 17% of Juggernauts, and 20% of Gladiators, with Elementalists also making significant use of it.
The effectiveness of a Jewel is closely related to its position in the jewel socket on the Passive Skill Tree. The classes with 3 jewel sockets have particularly strong effects.
The sockets outside Marauder's starting point have the greatest potential. By using Tattoos to replace Strength path talent points with "+6% Fire Resistance" nodes, and combining them with The Red Drea (Foulborn), each small node provides an additional 4% maximum life increase. This allows for a total of approximately 55% additional maximum life increase using this unique item.
Templar slots outside the starting point offer slightly less potential, providing approximately a 30% increase to maximum life. Ranger slots south of the starting point offer around a 20% increase to maximum life.
This allows life builds in this area to either become more durable due to the significant increase in life or save talent points invested in damage, thus better tackling endgame content.
Hand Of Thought And Motion (Foulborn)
Foulborn unique items even impacted the PoE 3.27 meta. Hand of Thought and Motion (Foulborn) boasts a powerful affix that increases accuracy rating by 5% for every 25 points of Intelligence.
It fundamentally solves the scaling accuracy problem inherent in past accuracy-stacking builds. Previously, these builds heavily relied on Precursor's Emblem Rings, but the improvements they provided were limited and had limitations.
Now, Hand of Thought and Motion (Foulborn) allows you to scale accuracy simply by stacking Intelligence. This is incredibly powerful because Intelligence stacking has been strong in recent leagues, and it also provides a significant amount of energy shield.
Combined with Shaper's Touch Crusader Gloves' boost to energy shield and accuracy, Stormrider Boots' base Lightning damage, and Juggernaut's Undeniable Ascendancy node's massive attack speed, you can create an extremely powerful build, potentially the strongest build of the league. But if Foulborn items don't carry over to the next league, this strongest build will only be available in Patch 3.27.
Doedre's Scorn (Foulborn)
Foulborn affix of Doedre's Scorn indicates that the socketed gem is supported by a level 30 Impending Doom. This provides approximately 6000 to 9000 flat Chaos damage. Players can equip it at level 39.
A normal level 4 Impending Doom Support Gem only provides 175 to 263 flat Chaos damage at level 38. This means that at the corresponding level, Doedre's Scorn (Foulborn) version can deal approximately 34 times the damage.
It allows players to quickly complete campaigns and even one-shot campaign bosses. Its ingenious design lies in the fact that in the endgame, it is surpassed by the highly sought-after Forbidden Shako Helmet.
However, the latter is extremely rare or it requires a vast amount of valuable PoE Currency. So Doedre's Scorn (Foulborn) will give players the freedom of choice if it could be in core game. You can choose to use it from start to finish or simply as a fast leveling tool.
Other Noteworthy Foulborn Unique Items
Berek's Respite (Foulborn)
Berek's Respite provides a new way to obtain the explode affix for various builds, especially when combined with Elementalist's Ailments transformation, creating interesting explosion chains.
Esh's Mirror (Foulborn)
Provides a relatively easy way to obtain damage reflect immunity, used by approximately 2% of characters above level 95, primarily in Detonate Dead builds.
Kaom's Spirit (Foulborn)
Kaom's Spirit (Foulborn) is very useful for mana stacking builds, and even more so when you use two. It provides immunity to curses, a large number of attributes, mana regeneration, and a flat mana of up to 200.
Will Foulborn Unique Items Be In The Core Game?
Foulborn Unique items will probably be added to the core game in some form. This is because Breach rework is almost certainly going to be included in core content and won't just appear in this league, and this mechanic requires unique rewards.
The hundreds of newly added Foulborn Uniques items have enormous potential, much like Replica Uniques. Many of them may remain dormant across multiple leagues, but should specific balance changes occur elsewhere, one or two of them could become key to a meta, enabling new builds.
Even if some of Foulborn items clearly require balance tweaks, they provide players with more options and more playable toys, which is a good thing in Path of Exile.
