POE 3.21: Is Bloodnotch Good? - Overpowered or Overrated?

Nearly a month after Path of Exile Curse of the Allflame League began, the in-game economy has undergone significant changes, with the value of some items and currencies that were highly sought after at the start of League declining over time.

The value of Gemcutter's Prism has fallen to almost half of what it was during the early days of the league. However, if you compare this with the situation in Mirage League, you will find that its value is now only around one-fifth of what it was then. Why has this change occurred? Is Gemcutter's Prism still worth farming in the current League?

Gemcutter's Prism in PoE Patch 3.23

Gemcutter's Prism can add 1% Quality to a Skill Gem until the gem reaches the maximum Quality of 20%.

This translates into higher damage, faster casting speed, or stronger utility, making it an essential part of character builds.

Its effect varies depending on the type of gem. For Attack or Spell Skill Gems, Quality typically increases damage, the chance to inflict ailments, or other important stats. For Aura Gems, Quality often increases the radius of the aura's effect.

In Patch 3.23, a major change was made to Gemcutter's Prism. Players could no longer use the vendor recipe of 1 Level 20 Skill Gem + 1 Gemcutter's Prism to obtain a Level 1 Skill Gem with 20% Quality. However, this recipe remained available for non-Awakened Support Gems.

Although this change appeared minor, it directly removed the traditional low-cost method of consistently obtaining 20% Quality on Skill Gems. As a result, the barrier to obtaining Gemcutter's Prisms and high-Quality Skill Gems increased significantly.

After this change, the value of Gemcutter's Prism in the league rose to around 5 to 6 Chaos Orbs.

Gemcutter's Prism in PoE Patch 3.29

However, why has the value of Gemcutter's Prism fallen so sharply in Path of Exile 3.29? GCP itself has not undergone any major changes, but it has been heavily affected by changes to Path of Exile socket system.

In PoE 3.29 Curse of the Allflame league, equipment sockets default to White Sockets. Furthermore, skill gems can be inserted into sockets of any color, and if a skill gem or support gem's color matches the socket color, it gains a +10% Quality.

This effectively reduced players' reliance on traditional Gem Quality optimization. Before PoE 3.29, GCP was one of the primary ways to raise a Gem to 20% Quality.

Now, however, part of the demand for Quality is being handled by the new Socket system, which has reduced demand for Gemcutter's Prism.

Does Gemcutter's Prism Still Have Value?

Although demand for Gemcutter's Prism has declined, it still retains considerable value, as reaching 20% Quality remains extremely important for top-tier builds.

Chasing stronger Level 21 Gems, 20% Quality Gems, or Gems with Vaal versions is a core endgame goal for many players.

Creating these Gems requires large quantities of 20% Quality Gems as materials, which means you may need a substantial number of Gemcutter's Prisms.

Therefore, as many players begin to upgrade their builds, the value of Gemcutter's Prism may rise again, presenting a good investment opportunity. You can buy PoE Gemcutter's Prism at PoE currency.com to position yourself in advance.

How to Farm Gemcutter's Prism?

Once the value of GCP is understood, finding efficient ways to obtain it becomes the key. There are several main methods.

Monster Drops

This is the most basic method, as Gemcutter's Prisms can drop randomly from slain monsters. Increasing monster pack size and modifiers that improve Currency drops can effectively increase the number of GCPs you obtain.

You can combine this with Strongbox farming strategies, particularly Artisan's Strongboxes, which have a chance to drop GCPs. Remember to check your loot filter so that Gemcutter's Prisms are not hidden.

Another method is farming The Union Divination Card in Cemetery Maps. Collecting 7 cards allows you to exchange them for 10 GCPs.

When farming T16 Cemetery Maps, it is recommended to remove all Essence-related passive points. Essence monster modifiers are stronger and deal more damage, so the additional risk does not justify the efficiency. However, you can keep and strengthen passives related to Strongboxes.

Vendor Recipes

Selling 1 Gem with 20% Quality grants 1 GCP. This recipe remains worthwhile for Support Gems, but caution is advised with Skill Gems because a 20% Quality Skill Gem itself can be highly valuable.

Alternatively, you can sell multiple Gems with a combined Quality of 40% to receive 1 GCP. For example, you can sell four Gems with 10% Quality each.

For players looking to conserve Gemcutter's Prisms, you can use a Support Gem together with 1 Gemcutter's Prism in the vendor recipe. The gem's level will be reset to Level 1, while its Quality will be raised to 20%.

You can then level the gem again. Since Support Gems can level relatively quickly, especially in endgame content, this method can save a substantial number of Gemcutter's Prisms. Normally, raising a Gem to 20% Quality directly with GCP requires 20 Prisms, whereas this recipe requires only 1.

Gemcutter's Prism is still worth farming in the current League. You can combine a Stacked Deck farming strategy with Cemetery Maps to focus on this currency, which can provide solid returns. Any excess GCPs or finished Gems can be converted into worthwhile profits while still meeting your own needs.

Discussions about Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.5 have been heating up recently, with the most pressing question for players being: Will GGG add a new class to this patch?

Let's start with the conclusion: the probability of Patch 0.5.5 directly adding a class isn't as high as some might think. Rather than releasing a test class early, the official team is more likely to use Gamescom on August 25th at 11 AM as a major promotional event to showcase the direction of the official PoE 2 Patch 1.0 release.

However, don't despair! GGG has a history of skillfully building suspense at major events, and new classes, new gameplay, and demo content are all possible glimpses at Gamescom.

But considering the overall pacing, 0.5.5 seems more like a tweaking update paving the way for the official release; the real big content will likely be saved for 1.0.

New Content Predictions

For many PoE 2 players, Gamescom has become a crucial window into the future direction of PoE 2.

Looking back at previous events, the official team does have a habit of releasing playable demos of classes at exhibitions. The most typical example is Druid class; before its official release, a playable build was offered at this exhibition, allowing players to experience the class early.

However, the showcase build underwent numerous adjustments between the demo and the final release. Early showcases were more about demonstrating the direction of development than the final product.

Therefore, the appearance of playable content at Gamescom is expected. However, what GGG will ultimately choose to show remains to be seen.

Currently, new chapter content is unlikely to be a focus. This is because the story experience of PoE 2 is a major selling point of the full release, especially later chapters. Revealing too much too early could easily diminish the sense of exploration for players on their first playthrough.

New Class?

Necromancer

Speaking of new classes, one of the most discussed topics in the community is Necromancer.

After all, in the eyes of ARPG players, summoner builds always hold a special place. Many players also hope that PoE 2 will add this classic class. However, judging from the current official design of PoE 2 class system, the possibility of Necromancer being added is not very high.

This is because PoE 2 and PoE 1 have different understandings of class roles. In PoE 1, a character's final style largely depended on their Ascendancy class. For example, a Witch could go through different Ascendancy paths to Summoning, Elemental, or other routes, with the class itself bearing a significant role in theme creation.

But PoE 2 aims to reduce this limitation. The developers hope that players will create their own playstyles through skill selection, gear combinations, and talent paths, rather than being fixed in a certain gameplay framework simply by choosing a class.

This direction seems to offer more freedom, but it has also sparked considerable discussion among players.

Passive Tree Limitations

Many veteran players loved PoE 1, largely because of its extremely high degree of freedom. You could see many strange builds, such as a character who seemed destined to charge with a shield, but ended up being played as a Summoner or Spellcaster.

PoE 1's Passive Tree allowed players to traverse vast areas to find the attributes and nodes they needed, which was one of the game's greatest charms.

However, things changed in PoE 2. Because of the adjusted Passive Tree structure, a character's starting point has a more significant impact on gameplay direction. If a character wants to switch to a completely unique system, they need to invest more resources.

For example, a melee class wanting to play a summoner build isn't theoretically impossible, but it might require a significant investment of resources, including substantial PoE 2 Currency, and even special equipment. This results in some playstyles existing but not as natural as in PoE 1.

This is why Necromancer class is controversial. If the developers insist on letting skills determine gameplay, they might not design a separate summoner specialization class, but continue to adjust the system, allowing players to create summoner builds through combinations.

Templar and Duelist

While the possibility of Necromancer is low, player speculation about the new class hasn't stopped. Currently, the two most discussed directions are Templar and Duelist.

Templar has always been a class many veteran players have been hoping for. This class itself possesses very distinct elements of strength, faith, and holiness; if added to PoE 2, it could greatly expand melee and support gameplay.

Especially with the addition of more new weapon systems in the second generation, many players are eager to see how the developers will design paladin-style characters.

However, based on recent demonstrations, a Duelist-oriented approach is also highly probable. Previous footage showed two-handed swords and daggers, leading many to speculate that the developers might prioritize a new, more agile, melee-focused class.

Compared to a traditional summoner class, sword and dagger classes are more likely to showcase combat differences in gameplay demonstrations and are better suited to a large-scale event like Gamescom.

Transitional Update

The answer to whether a new class will be added in 0.5.5 is likely to be no.

Of course, GGG could still choose this approach, as a new class would help boost testing activity and attract more players to get beta access. However, from a development and marketing perspective, a single class is unlikely to sustain a major update on its own.

To make it impactful enough, it needs to be bundled with more content, which could disrupt the developers' current schedule for Patch 1.0.

In contrast, releasing a class, new gameplay, and a large amount of new content in Patch 1.0 would have a stronger impact. The official launch of PoE 2 is a significant milestone. A larger initial launch attracts more streaming platforms, content creators, and new players.

For a long-running ARPG, the initial buzz is crucial. Once a community and content ecosystem are established, the game's influence will continue to grow.

Therefore, it seems likely that Patch 0.5.5 will focus more on balance adjustments and system optimizations, while Gamescom will showcase the future direction of Patch 1.0.

If GGG really wants to create a surprise, they might announce a new class at Gamescom.

However, more than a new class, players are probably more concerned with whether Patch 0.5.5 can demonstrate the overall plan for the official PoE 2 release and what direction the game will take in the future.

In PoE Curse of the Allflame, Orb of Fusing is a crucial base currency, especially during the early game and gear-building phases. This item allows you to re-equip random Socket Links.

For builds that rely on 4-Link, 5-Link, and 6-Link skills, this is a key way to boost damage output.

This article will teach you how to obtain and use Orb of Fusing in Path of Exile 3.29.

How to Obtain?

Direct Drops

Orbs of Fusing can drop from killed monsters, chests, and destructible containers. Research suggests that Arcanist's Strongboxes have a higher drop rate. However, this remains a less reliable primary farming method.

Trading with Merchants

While Orbs of Fusing can drop directly in Path of Exile Curse of the Allflame, the most reliable way to obtain them is through a two-step merchant recipe cycle, converting common drops into a stable source of fusion orbs. Here's how:

Sell any item with a socket to a town merchant. They'll give you 7 Jeweller's Orbs. You can then use these Jeweller's Orbs to trade for Orbs of Fusing from the same merchant. The exchange rate is 4 Jeweller's Orbs for 1 Orb of Fusing.

If you have an item with six sockets, all connected, selling it to a merchant will get you 20 PoE Orbs of Fusing. However, six-socket items are very rare and require a strategy to obtain. Here's how to quickly acquire Six-socket items:

Choose Right Location

Six-socket items drop from monsters. The drop rate depends on the total amount of items dropped by the monster, not the item's rarity or attributes. Therefore, your monster-farming strategy should focus on dungeons that allow you to encounter as many monsters as possible.

Prioritize seasonal mechanics that significantly increase the number of monsters on the map. Legion, Breach, Abyss, and Delve are excellent choices for dungeons with a large hourly drop rate.

In addition, you need to improve your map clearing speed. The faster you clear the map, the more items you'll see over time. Therefore, builds with high map clearing speed and good mobility will naturally farm more six-socket items.

Farming Loop

Pick Up

During PoE 3.29 gameplay, pick up all six-socket items highlighted by the filter. However, you don't need to stop to identify them. Their rarity ((white, magic, rare, unique) is unrelated to the recipe.

Discarding

To maintain speed, you'll need a dedicated stash tab. After completing each map, quickly hold down Ctrl key and click on all six-socket items in your inventory to place them into this tab; sorting is not required.

Trading with Jewellers

Once the discard tab is full, go to any merchant. Hold down Ctrl key and click on the six-socket items in your inventory to place them in the merchant's sale window. Collect Jeweller's Orbs.

Converting to Orbs of Fusing

Go to a vendor, such as Lilly Roth (she's the most convenient choice), find Orbs of Fusing in her trade window, and trade as many as possible using Jeweller's Orbs.

Divination Cards

Some Divination Cards can be directly exchanged for Orbs of Fusing, providing players with a more targeted acquisition method.

Lucky Connections

These are the cards players should pay the most attention to in PoE 3.29; collecting 7 cards can exchange for 20 Orbs of Fusing. These cards have a chance to drop in specific areas, such as The Docks, Wharf Map, Pier Map, and Shipyard Map.

Other Cards

Other divination cards can be exchanged for Orbs of Fusing, such as The Gambler, but the exchange method is more indirect, and the reward is random currency.

Beastcrafting

The recipe for Craicic Sand Spitter beast can be used to craft Orbs of Fusing. You need 1 × Craicic Sand Spitter and 3 × any Rare Beast.

How to Use?

Manual Fusing

In PoE 3.29, using Orbs of Fusing resets the connections between item slots. The number and color of the slots remain unchanged.

If your item has quality (from Armorsmith Shards or Blacksmith Sharpening Stones), the quality will be consumed to increase the chance of getting better connections.

Generally, 20% quality items have a higher chance of getting 6-connections, however, the chance of manually getting a 6-connection on a 20% quality item is still about one in a thousand. This means that on average, you need one thousand Orbs of Fusing.

So it's entirely based on luck; you might get incredibly lucky, or you might lose much more.

Using a Crafting Table

If you want to avoid the risk of bad luck, you can use a crafting table (unlocked through Syndicate member, Vorici). A crafting table allows you to guarantee a specific number of connections at a fixed price.

• 5 Linked Sockets: Costs 150 Orbs of Fusing
• 6 Linked Sockets: Costs 1,500 Orbs of Fusing

This is a risk-averse option. It guarantees success at a known cost, avoiding the risk of spending thousands of fusion orbs and failing.

This concludes the article on how to obtain and use Orbs of Fusing in Path of Exile 3.29. Orbs of Fusing are a currency that players frequently use; if your currency reserves are low, get some now. If you have enough, you can save it to exchange for other currencies or for crafting equipment later in the game.

It has been three months since the launch of Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0. Given that no further Early Access patches are expected before the full 1.0 release, anticipation for Patch 0.5.5 and Version 1.0 is undoubtedly growing.

Interestingly, there is a gap of about two months between Gamescom and ExileCon 2026, two confirmed events where PoE team will be present or hosting, suggesting that each will probably feature distinct updates regarding PoE 2.

With Gamescom 2026 fast approaching, we are combining known information to speculate on what new details regarding Path of Exile 2 might be revealed at these two events.

Patch 0.5.5 to make its debut at Gamescom 2026

The event runs from August 26 to August 30. A fresh showcase of PoE 2 is scheduled for Opening Night Live, which takes place just before the main event kicks off.

Furthermore, while a specific release date for Patch 0.5.5 has not yet been announced, the exclusive demo featuring new content at Gamescom 2026 is clearly 0.5.5 build. Attendees can experience the demo firsthand by visiting Path of Exile booth.

Patch 0.5.5 is expected to bring significant changes, primarily focusing on balance adjustments, gameplay modifications, and the introduction of a mini-league.

Although the exact amount of 0.5.5 content to be showcased at Gamescom 2026 remains unknown, this event presents a prime opportunity to draw players back to the game.

Interestingly, the past month has seen leaks and community speculation regarding features that might appear in the final release.

These details cover everything from new weapons and classes to improvements in core systems, most notably the highly anticipated death recap feature. This function represents an evolution in how PoE 2 communicates the cause of death to players.

If Early Access lays the groundwork for the 1.0 launch, then Gamescom 2026 is the perfect stage to showcase the final results, particularly system optimizations that don't necessarily count as spoilers.

Will Gamescom 2026 reveal PoE 2 1.0 content?

Generally speaking, Path of Exile 2's focus at Gamescom 2026 will likely be on showcasing the content of Patch 0.5.5, but that doesn't mean the development team won't reveal anything related to the 1.0 release.

Assuming PoE 2 1.0 launches in late 2026, relying solely on ExileCon 2026, held in early November, for the official announcement and hype-building would be cutting it too close. Gamescom, however, offers a prime promotional opportunity in terms of both timing and scale.

By comparison, ExileCon is a closed event exclusive to PoE players, serving more as an internal celebration; Gamescom is a global spectacle. Public promotion there carries more weight and attracts a broader audience, potentially even reaching players who aren't yet familiar with PoE 2.

Therefore, alongside the content included in Patch 0.5.5, Path of Exile 2 might use Gamescom to showcase finished, public-ready elements of the 1.0 version, or even allow attendees to play them alongside 0.5.5 mini-league.

This content could well include one or two new classes or Ascendancies, or a public preview of a new Act. We might even see the release of the first teaser for PoE 2 1.0, possibly including the final launch date, after Gamescom 2026 concludes.

ExileCon 2026 may reveal more about future plans

If the speculations above hold true, does that mean ExileCon 2026 has nothing left to say about Path of Exile 2? Certainly not.

At the very least, PoE 2 will undoubtedly remain the promotional focus of the franchise throughout the second half of the year. If Gamescom 2026 offers a glimpse of the 1.0 version, Path of Exile 2 development team will almost certainly build on that momentum at ExileCon.

They are likely to present a detailed timeline for the post-1.0 period, showcase all remaining new classes and Ascendancies, and perhaps even reveal details about the first official league.

Beyond the new content within Path of Exile 2 itself, the launch of version 1.0 signifies that development is fully on track, inevitably leading to stronger connections with the original Path of Exile.

To promote Path of Exile 2 1.0 launch, the original game might even host exclusive crossover events, allowing you to earn resources in both games simultaneously.

How can you prepare?

Given travel and scheduling constraints, you might not be able to attend Gamescom or ExileCon 2026 in person. However, official livestreams will be available, so you can tune in live or catch the replays later.

Beyond these two events, the four months following Gamescom 2026 will likely see a gradual rollout of information regarding Patch 0.5.5 and version 1.0 through livestreams, interviews, and other channels.

Therefore, if you want to stay up to date with the latest Path of Exile 2 news, keep an eye on the community, forums, and updates across various platforms.

Additionally, even though Patch 0.5.5 hasn't launched yet, it's best not to step away from the game just because there isn't new content right now.

For one thing, ExileCon Qualifier is still underway, there's no reason to miss out. For another, minor fixes might be released to pave the way for Patch 0.5.5 launch.

In short, while things might seem quiet on Path of Exile 2 front right now, a massive wave of new content and promotional hype is just around the corner. Get ready for it!