POE 3.20 One Divine Challenge Series - Lightning Conduit Elementalist

Path of Exile 2’s latest patch, 0.3.0, is set to officially launch in about two weeks. Are you ready? As fans anxiously await, the developers released a mysterious teaser image that has completely ignited player excitement!

This image is our first teaser for the 0.3.0 update. I’m guessing there’ll be another teaser next week, and then we’ll get the full patch notes, or at least some information about the new league content. However, this image may just be a gimmick used to distract attention while we wait for the latest update.

Will The Rest Of The Acts Be Released Along With It?

Before we delve into this mysterious image, let's first take a look at the title of this revealing post by Natalia, a member of Path Of Exile 2 development team.

Recovered from a long buried library in the ruins of Oriath.

What does this mean? It suggests that someone in Oriath received these messages and is trying to understand the symbols. Another bigger hint is that we’re getting not just one Act in 0.3.0, but all the remaining Acts we’re supposed to get.

If you played PoE 1, you know that Act 5 is essentially your gateway to Oriath. Yes, not only does this Act feature this awesome level, but it also ties in with one of Path of Exile 2’s newest subclasses, Smith of Kitava.

Therefore, we reasonably speculate that the remaining Acts 4-6 will most likely appear together in the 0.3.0 patch. After all, the developers are unlikely to do the stupid thing of releasing Acts 4 and 5 and leaving out Act 6. No one wants to complete all the acts on Normal and Cruel difficulty and then run through the last act again. This is tantamount to standing against the players.

Furthermore, no one actually believes the developers will release the promised full 1.0 this year, and from what I’ve heard, almost no one believes what’s being discussed in the community. So, I think they may have already completed some Acts and are just currently working on polishing up the story.

So, even though we probably won’t see Act 6 in patch 0.3.0, Acts 4 and 5 are pretty much a certainty.

However, they could still tweak the difficulty and experience curves, giving us some PoE 2 currency and experience in Act 5, perhaps expanding the scale of Act 5, or adding some Trials of Ascendancy-style content. With this content, completing all five Acts would put us above level 60, meaning we could jump right into the map at level 61. That would be enough to start mapping and endgame content, which would be fantastic.

Trailer Image Breakdown

Now, let’s turn our attention to this mysterious image. It comes with a note that reads: "The symbols are of an unknown language. Deciphering it may be possible, but it will take time... time I no longer have..."

Have we seen these symbols in the game before? If you’re a longtime PoE player, you’ll be familiar with them.

Is Harbinger Mechanic Returning?

The teaser image is visually similar to Harbinger text, but uses different text and symbols, suggesting this is a fresh interpretation of the mechanic rather than a direct copy. Therefore, we suspect the Harbinger mechanic will probably return in Path of Exile 2 patch 0.3.0, albeit with a slightly different design.

Furthermore, this teaser image may be related to Twilight Order, an organization mentioned in the artbook and potentially connected to Abyss mechanic. The concept of Saviors is also introduced, potentially hinting at a new character or faction in the game.

Thus, we expect this update to deliver a new endgame experience centered around Twilight Order, including a dedicated Atlas Tree and a potential new Pinnacle boss.

Act 4 Storyline Hints

Of course, some players have differing opinions, suggesting that this new image appears to be at least related to Act 4, but could also go further. This is because the developer of the currently popular loot filter, NeverSink, has revealed that this is a secret teaser for Act 4. These characters appear to be the predecessors of Kalguur Runes, bearing strikingly similar shapes and forms.

Kalguur people are known to possess a notorious king figure, who is mentioned here. Furthermore, PoE 2 artbook seems to hint that Act 4 will take place in Karui Archipelago and the town of Kingsmarch.

Are Druid Classes Coming Soon?

Many in Path of Exile community have been studying this image, with some pointing to another possible clue: the first row of symbols bears a resemblance to the word Druid.

This isn't entirely far-fetched, as the "well" mentioned in the image could be related to Druid Well of Souls. Even more interestingly, the artbook hints at Act 5 being set in Oriath, where this message was allegedly discovered.

As one of PoE 2’s most anticipated classes, Druid is undoubtedly a key feature of the class system overhaul in patch 0.3.0. Even before the update was announced, Game Director Jonathan revealed that the team was very concerned about the class’s absence, but they weren’t about to disappoint players, and Druid’s release was already on their agenda. So, let’s speculate whether this class will appear in 0.3.0.

In any case, as we said before, this teaser image is just an appetizer. As the 0.3.0 patch release date approaches, we’ll soon receive new clues. Let’s look forward to it!

Recently, an officially supported private competition event is in full swing. Have you joined Merciless Gauntlet? It's widely considered the hardest event in Path of Exile, boasting the most brutal monster stat bonuses. If you're not prepared, you'll likely end up running and dying.

While Merciless Gauntlet offers generous rewards, please note that it's a class competition, and only those who reach the top of each class can claim their individual rewards! However, the harder the challenge, the more fun it is.

Thus, nearly every challenger I've seen is using the top-tier Ascendancy set, rather than the standard set. They're all debating which build setup is best for advancing and farming POE currency, but there's one unique item that remains constant across all of these plans: Ephemeral Edge.

Is The Nerfed Ephemeral Edge Worth Using?

If you ask veteran Exiles what the strongest item in the game is, some will say Mageblood, others Best-in-Slot Simplex Amulet, but I'll definitely say Ephemeral Edge, even though it suffered a significant nerf in Path of Exile 3.26.

But that comparison isn't entirely fair. The key to Mageblood's strength lies in its Timeless mechanic, which is virtually unaffected by any balance changes. Its power is directly tied to flasks, which are unlikely to be nerfed, making it inherently overpowered. For many players who run a different build in each league, it's a sought-after unique item.

But Ephemeral Edge is different. Its power is built on the meta of the past few leagues, and many other factors contribute to its strength and potential. Even though it lost 25% of its stat bonus in Path of Exile 3.26, it's still incredibly strong.

Trickster Class

Now, things are getting a little crazy, because when we think of Ephemeral Edge, we usually think of Trickster. Don't get me wrong, while there are many excellent non-Trickster builds in this league that utilize this unique weapon, only Trickster class can maximize the potential of this sword through its efficient maximum energy shield scaling.

But in Merciless Gauntlet, there's no base class like Trickster; it's not an option you can choose. However, this doesn't mean that the Ephemeral Edge is unusable.

Reviewing The Changes And Adjustments To Ephemeral Edge

So, why is a unique item still one of the most important items in any ultimate build, even after the nerfs?

To understand this, we need to go back to the 3.18 update: Sentinel League. In this update, seven Uber Pinnacle bosses were added to the game. While not directly related to Ephemeral Edge, this addition was significant.

Then, in 3.19: Kalandra League, the developers made a key update to the item. Before this patch, Ephemeral Edge was not a particularly useful weapon, to say the least.

In the 3.19 patch notes, this item had a new attack modifier that increased maximum lightning damage by 20% of Energy Shield.

Initially, this change went unnoticed until people realized how ridiculous this was for Animate Guardian, which could directly grant a massive maximum Energy Shield, thus dealing insane maximum lightning damage.

After this issue was discovered, PoE 3.23 quickly patched it, and it would later scale solely with the player's Energy Shield.

Fast forward to PoE 3.24, everyone's favorite, Necropolis League. This patch added several important pieces to the puzzle, but none more so than T17 map. At this point, Uber Pinnacle boss had already appeared in several leagues in the game. But the addition of T17 map would once again alter the endgame and completely reshape the meta-game.

Not only did this completely change what players could farm and how they could farm it, but it also significantly increased the requirements for farming it. You needed a very strong, well-rounded build to reliably run T17, which meant a lot of checkboxes on both offense and defense.

But patch 3.24 added more than just T17 map. It also introduced Perandus Pact unique jewel, which was later repackaged as The Light of Meaning and is now a drop exclusive to The King of the Mists.

The maximum energy shield version of this jewel is a crucial component of most Ephemeral Edge builds, boosting their energy shield.

Next came the 3.25 Settlers of Kalguur League, arguably the most significant update impacting Ephemeral Edge builds. This patch introduced new, more powerful base types, allowing items to provide more basic defense without relying on auras.

This change catapulted Trickster into the top tier.

Escape Artist, combined with a well-crafted Necrotic Armor and Lich's Circlet, provides the foundation for a massive energy shield pool, providing both defensive and offensive capabilities through Ephemeral Edge.

Coincidentally, Trickster not only boasts powerful scaling but also possesses a powerful Arsenal tool for Path of Exile's endgame, allowing you to ignore T17 action speed bonus and gain incredible resiliency through the overachievement of Energy Shield.

Of course, the base type changes affect more than just Trickster. In fact, in POE 3.26, we've seen Elementalist gain several well-performing Ephemeral Edge builds, including Ignite Eviscerate. This build was already performing well in patch 3.25, but thanks to Elementalist rework, it's now even more powerful.

Now, with Secrets of the Atlas expansion, the developers are also introducing T16 maps influenced by memories, known as T16.5 maps. These maps can be quite exciting, and unlike T17 maps, they can also include your favorite map layouts. However, they still carry T17 modifiers, making them quite difficult to map, so you need a well-rounded build, and Ephemeral Edge is often your best choice.

Why Is Ephemeral Edge Build The Best Choice For Completing Gauntlet?

In the current Merciless Gauntlet competition, you need a powerful character with a good balance between offense and defense. There are only a handful of builds that currently offer a reasonable balance in terms of energy shield, and Ephemeral Edge is one of them.

The average maximum energy shield for an Ephemeral Edge build is around 15,000 to 20,000. While many builds have much higher maximum shields, we're only looking at the average, which is roughly 3 to 4 times the effective hit value of the average life build.

A maximum energy shield of 15,000 to 20,000 means that, with the current nerf modifiers, Ephemeral Edge can deliver 2,250 to 3,000 maximum lightning damage. This is equivalent to a decent two-handed weapon, if not better.

Remember that being able to scale both damage and defense is a good thing, but it's not always a strong one, as evidenced by the current scaling of Righteous Fire. But what's different about Ephemeral Edge is that, even after the nerf, it still provides far more damage than Energy Shield you can get in the current league.

In short, given the current game balance, Ephemeral Edge build is practically tailor made for the current Gauntlet event.

And I don't think this is a Trickster issue. Even without Trickster, the other Ascendancy classes would have taken over. They might not be as good as Trickster, but they'd still be viable and a second-best option. And that's exactly what I expect to see in Gauntlet, they'll all do pretty much the same thing.

Merciless Gauntlet is a Path of Exile private league event, popular among players for its exceptional difficulty, challenge, and generous rewards. Therefore, you can also think of it as a short-term challenge designed for experienced players.

This event runs from July 31, 2025, to August 10, 2025, for just ten days. Players can compete and earn points by leveling up characters and defeating bosses, aiming to climb the leaderboards.

Considering that the original Path of Exile game hasn’t been updated in the past year, Merciless Gauntlet event is a long-awaited return, so almost every veteran player is excited about it. More importantly, this is the first Gauntlet ever to not feature a base Ascendancy build; you can only choose PoE Ascendancy build, which completely changes the existing build landscape.

About Merciless Gauntlet

As the event progresses, many interesting builds are emerging, but before we dive in, let’s quickly review Merciless Gauntlet event and discuss how it differs from the base league.

If you’re unfamiliar with Gauntlet event, think of it as Path of Exile on Hard Mode. It’s a Hardcore Solo Self-Found event, so you can’t trade, and if you die, you lose your character.

There are modifiers that increase the strength of monsters based on the area’s level, making the campaign more difficult. However, defeating these enemies also rewards more PoE currency and points. Therefore, you can upgrade your gear during the slightly more difficult Atlas Mapping phase to prepare for the final, more challenging boss fight.

In addition to the relevant monster modifiers, boss mechanics have also undergone specific changes. For example, Brutus in Act 1 can cast Hydra Cannon in the arena, and the Depraved Trinity boss in Act 9 now has Maven’s Brain Blast, which fires energy beams into the arena.

Gauntlet is now a points-based competition, meaning that completing various tasks, whether it’s killing Uber Sirus or completing Maven’s Invitation, will earn you points.

More importantly, Gauntlet is also a class competition. Therefore, the highest-scoring player in each class will receive a prize. There will also be an overall and runner-up prize. This class competition promotes class build diversity, and we’ll see many new builds developed specifically for this event.

Best Class Builds

So, let’s take a look at some of the top three class builds in Merciless Gauntlet so far.

Marauder - Ancestral Commander

Currently, the most popular class is Marauder, thanks to Ancestral Commander.

Ancestral Commander now boasts extremely powerful defensive abilities, such as an additional 3 maximum Endurance Charges or a Defiance of Destiny buff, making it an excellent performer in the rigors of Gauntlet.

Furthermore, this Ascendancy also has a notable feature: it significantly increases the cooldown recovery rate of Warcries, making it a great alternative to Berserker’s Warbringer node and making Ancestral Commander an excellent choice for slam builds.

Slam builds are incredibly powerful in PoE 3.26. This not only gives Intimidating Cry a longer Double Damage Exerted Attack duration, but also means your Warcries will fire more frequently, leading to more consistent Earthshatter explosions.

Ancestral Commander has a total of nine maximum Endurance Charges: three from basic skills, three from the passive skill tree, and three from Ascendancy node. Combined with the substantial armor and maximum elemental resistance bonuses, this build is quite durable, especially for mapping and farming.

Shadow - Servant of Arakaali

Right now, the second-most-played class in Gauntlet is surprisingly Shadow, with Servant of Arakaali becoming a popular choice because of several excellent poison builds.

Currently, Shadow is led by Poison Summon Raging Spirits (SRS) build. This particular build utilizes Servant of Arakaali’s notable Skincrawlers and combines it with crafted Abyss Jewels to give minions a 100% chance to poison.

Also, a free level 15 Envy combined with Added Chaos Damage Support provides base damage for applied poisons.

Now, you’ll notice that this build’s defense is significantly weaker than Ancestral Commander, but it’s worth noting that some of this defense isn’t fully realized yet. This is because Aspect of the Spider not only increases the damage taken by enemies, but also reduces their damage dealt by 15%.

This build also puts a lot of effort into blocking, nearly reaching the upper limit of spell and attack block, but due to the skill path being on the left side of the passive tree, spell suppression is lacking.

Duelist - Paladin

The final class on this list is Duelist with Paladin. Paladin is an interesting Ascendancy class. There are some Banner Slammer and Slam setups, but you’ll notice that most of these lack primary damage skills. This is because they use support builds primarily to help their mercenaries deal the majority of their damage.

This unique setup makes Paladin build a perfect match for the new mercenaries added to this Gauntlet event, and there are many ways to enhance them. This includes Infinite Power Warcries and Taunts, Increased Flask Effect and Flasks you used to apply to Linked Targets modifiers, and an enhanced Aura Effect when you have Linked Targets.

Now, Purity of Elements not only provides elemental ailment immunity for you and your mercenaries, but also provides a significant amount of additional resistances, giving you and your mercenaries greater flexibility in your gear.

But the most important part of this type of build is, of course, the mercenaries themselves. Finding the right mercenaries in Gauntlet, with the right skills and support links, is no small feat.

However, much of the damage dealt by the mercenaries comes from Paladin’s support abilities. First and foremost is Flame Link, which provides flat fire damage and bonus flat fire damage based on your maximum life. And this build has a significant increase in maximum life.

But perhaps even more important is Pyroclast Mine of Sabotage, a setting from March of the Legion. Once you’ve laid the mine, it delivers absolutely amazing flat damage, making it perfect for boss fights.

On top of that, Paladin also provides a host of powerful defensive buffs to both himself and his mercenaries, all at 100% duration, including massive life regeneration from Enduring Cry and maximum resistance scaling from Ancestral Cry.

That’s it! We’ll likely see some really great builds perform well in boss fights over the next few days, but for now, these builds are worth using and have the potential to help you secure a spot on the final leaderboard!

While the full release of Path of Exile 2 is still a way off, a new League patch is on the way during Early Access.

Yes, the developers previously promised that Path of Exile 2, like the original game, would release major updates approximately every four months. While patch 0.3.0 is a bit late, it’s finally confirmed for its August 29th release.

It’s less than a month until the patch goes live, but as usual, the developers are remaining tight-lipped. We’ll likely only see the details during the livestream a week before the new League release.

However, there’s still some news; they’re always good at keeping players excited. Through developer interviews and related posts, we’ve been able to uncover some of the new features in the upcoming 0.3.0 patch, from new Acts to boss battles and a brand new trading system. Let’s take a closer look!

0.3.0 League

Like the previous major update, POE 2 0.2.0, patch 0.3.0 introduces a brand new league. This means a completely reworked economy, featuring new characters, new Stash Tabs, and a dedicated league mechanic.

Once the new league launches, your current character will be transferred to Standard League, where you’ll start from scratch, just like in most action RPGs.

This rework also means a completely new economy. So, if you’re an early trader or flipper, with keen market observation and intuition, you have a good chance of earning a significant amount of POE 2 currency from trading items in your first few days and successfully conquering the market.

Skill Gems And Difficulty Adjustments

Additionally, in this 0.3.0 update, we’ll focus on improving inefficient skill gems and addressing difficulty scaling issues.

This update aims to increase the utility of weaker skill gems so they can better adapt to the endgame and hopefully improve the overall gaming experience.

Regarding difficulty adjustments, especially in the late game, the developers hinted that they may tweak monster health, damage, or other factors to improve the gameplay experience and reduce player frustration.

These changes have brought many nearly forgotten skill gems back to life in the endgame. I’d love to know which skill gems you’d like to see buffed and why.

New Campaign Act

From what we know so far, there’s a lot going on in this patch. While the official patch notes are expected a week before the game’s release, here’s what we’ve learned from developer interviews.

First and foremost, all signs point to a new Campaign Act, replacing Act 1 Cruel. This will take place on the island of Karui, a tribe mentioned in Path of Exile, with rich laws and potentially expanding the Karui mythology.

While unconfirmed, developers have hinted, particularly in Kamil’s recent interviews, that a new tribal-themed class will be added, and Druid is clearly one of them, perfectly fitting the game’s setting and musical style.

As with all Leagues, patch 0.3.0 will introduce a new core mechanic. This League will probably feature some tribal-themed content, such as combat trials, ancestral challenges, or themed boss mechanics tied to the Karui lore.

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Tribal-Style Boss Fights

As we mentioned earlier, the boss fights in patch 0.3.0 will be tribal-style, directly from official sources.

In a recent interview with POE 2 Music Director Kamil Orman-Janowski, he revealed the word “tribal.” This word alone hints at the style, tone, and atmosphere of the upcoming boss fights.

Imagine we could see new Leagues centered around ancestral spirits, primal encounters, and perhaps even new multi-stage encounters with responsive music and mechanics.

Kamil also confirmed that the upcoming patch will include more music, so expect new themes and ambient music, especially related to these new encounters.

Kamil’s enthusiasm for the 0.3.0 music and boss themes suggests this update will feature a lot of Karui vibes. The end-of-act boss fights are always so well done, and I can’t wait to see what they create to spice up our next League upgrade.

Item And Trading System Improvements

Finally, this update will also see a rework of Path of Exile 2’s item system. While the developers are being coy about the specifics, based on past League updates and developer goals, we can expect the following.

Patch 0.3.0 will probably add new unique items and crafting features, which are almost a staple of every major update. These could come in the form of League-specific rewards or new systems tailored to the tribal faction, or more specifically, Druid’s primal abilities.

Don’t forget, Path of Exile 2’s League mechanics are likely to see some improvements, all of which will be present in the 0.3.0 update.

There’s also news about a new trading system. While there’s no guarantee it’ll be implemented in patch 0.3.0, the developers have confirmed that improvements to the trading system are underway and are on their roadmap. By the end of the year, the trading interface is expected to be smoother, and even some Auction House functionality may be implemented.

Patch 0.2.0 brought a UI upgrade and new inventory tabs, so we expect 0.3.0 to continue this trend. They’re constantly working on polishing and fixing bugs, so get ready for a smoother experience in the new Leagues.

Outro

In short, update 0.3.0 is coming on August 29th, and you can expect new campaign content, clan-themed boss battles, new classes, system upgrades, and, of course, a brand new League to explore.

So, what does all this mean for you? Whether you’re a casual or hardcore player, the more mature 0.3.0 Leagues seem like the perfect time to join the game. New acts mean a better leveling experience, more quest options, and a new story to delve into; changes to skill gems mean more builds to try; and the trading system upgrades may finally fix one of the game’s biggest pain points.

That’s all we know about the changes coming to POE 2 0.3.0. We’ll also share the full patch notes once the patch is officially released, so stay tuned!