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Here's a Chieftain that uses Searing Bond and Scorching Ray. It's a simple build that takes advantage of the provided ascendancy keystones to deal fire damage over time as Chieftains often tend to do. We're using a staff that allows us to accommodate an additional six-link setup. So, there are two major damage sources both somewhat equal in damage output.
We're using Scorching Ray and Searing Bond totems. They're very similar spells. Both ot them deal Burning Damage. But one is cast via totems and the other you have to channel yourself. It's a good combination as you can benefit from both simultaneously. Use Scorching Ray to deal with most encounters.
It's overall not an exceptionally great build, but excellent for its price nonetheless. You don't need to spend lots of POE Currency. Especially, its defenses make it worth your consideration as it's quite durable. It has an extraordinarily high block chance combined with high armor and rapid life regeneration. You may not even need a life flask.
It's an extremely cheap build. There are multiple inexpensive unique items that you can wear until you're ready to afford much better rare counterparts. That makes it great for a starter build or even an SSF One. You can deal with most of the bosses in the game while saving for a better build.
Searing Bond is the totem spell. Placed totems have a fiery beam linking them in the character and damaging opponents standing between you or your totems.
Scorching Ray also deals Burning Damage in a straight line. You can channel it to deal ramping up damage against tough enemies.
For survivability the build employs a high life pool, endurance charges, armor, capped block chance for spells and attacks, and life regeneration. It's all tied together with Valako keystone. Tasalio makes gearing up cheaper and provides yet another defensive layer.
Clear speed is not as bad as it might seem. The Scorching Ray's burn lingers for a short time.
Single-target Damage is not very high, a few million DPS at most.
The price is as low as you can get. We've made it the unique selling point of the build.
You won't have to buy any listed unique items. But Skin of the Lord's body armor and Legacy of Fury boots seems like the best-in-slot items.
Recommended Uniques
Skin of the Lords may be the most expensive item here. Hrimnor's Resolve helmet has relatively good stats perfectly suited for this build. It increases damage and grants immunity to chill and freeze. The Searing Touch is one of the cheapest staves in the game. It has all the modifiers you need - extra gem levels, fire damage, and Burning Damage.
Skin of the Lords is an expensive option. It has to have the right sockets as you can't change them later. It's pretty much used only for the plus two to level of socketed gems and a bit of extra armor. It adds a lot of smoothness if you pick one with Call to Arms Keystone.
We recommend Legacy of Fury footwear. Scorched enemies have lower Elemental Resistance and explode on death. The movement speed and armor bonuses are great.
Xoph's Blood is not particularly great. But if you can't afford a good rare amulet, get this one instead. Its most impactful qualities are increased maximum life and the ability to cover enemies in ash.
If your other ring is elder influenced, we would recommend Mark of the Shaper. It massively increases spell and Elemental Damage. It summons Volatile Anomalies and increases maximum life, which is good.
Malevolence is extra damage over time multiplier is the best aura mod to seek on a Watcher's Eye. Determination doesn't have any good ones.
Gearing up is easy. If you've played Righteous Fire build before, you should be familiar with the basic principles of such build. You won't deal ignite or ailment damage. Seek Burning Damage, which is called fire damage over time, too. They're the same thing. Skill gem level is also important. But that's an expensive stat to aim for. For defenses, seek maximum life, resistances, armor, life regeneration and block chance.
There's not much to look for on a helmet, just the basic life and resistances. If you can afford something more extravagant, get Chaos Resistance and Mana Reservation Efficiency, too.
The most important qualities to seek in a rare staff are increases to gem levels and generic Burning Damage bonuses. It's relatively easy to get a staff that had increased the gem level of fire spells by 3 or even 5. "Regenerate 25 Mana per second while any enemy is in Righteous Fire or Scorching Ray" Crucible mod fixes all your Mana issues. But it may be unavailable after patch 3.21. So, we offered other alternative methods of dealing with those.
Rare body armor. There, we encourage gathering maximum life and resistances of all kinds. Life regeneration, armor, and increased effect of auras can also be impactful. Rare boots do not offer a lot of useful modifiers. Besides, maximum life and Elemental Resistances get the movement speed prefix. Gloves should provide the basic maximum life and resistances. Try to get a lot of Chaos Resistance here, too. It's necessary to have at least positive resistance to this type of damage.
Another piece of equipment where you can find a lot of maximum life and resistances is a belt. We would also recommend getting a copy with strength chaos resistance or various flask modifiers. Stygian Vise is the best base.
An amulet may be the most expensive item on the list as its potential is nearly limitless. Aim for modifiers that would increase the level of all fire skill gems, maximum life, and fire DOT multiplier. You can also craft a mod that reduces Mana cost of skills.
Recommended Anoitments
Rings are great sources of resistances. Try to get as much resistance as here as you can afford. Extra maximum life is mandatory. As was the case with amulet, you can craft the modifier that lowers the mana cost of skills. Flammability on hit is good to have. But it makes ring much more expensive and is not really needed.
Recommended Affixes
On each of the rare jewels, get a bonus to maximum life prefix and Burning Damage suffix. Other modifiers are less important.
Recommended Affixes
Having one or two large Jewels would significantly improve your damage. But keep in mind that the good ones are very pricey. Look for no more than eight passives and up to three of the listed notables.
Recommended Affixes
Fire damage over time medium cluster Jewels are usually great. But avoid notables that affect ignite or ailment damage, only Burning Damage is of use.
Magic Flasks
Regular magic utility flasks are what we've settled on use a Granite Flask for extra armor, Quicksilver Flask for movement speed, Sulphur Flask for Consecrated ground and damage and a Basalt or Silver Flask for armor or even better mobility. Their suffixes should increase your armor, movement speed, and reduce the effect of curses by 50 percent. Combined with Consecrated ground, you'll be hex proof. Also, get a Mana or Life Flask with Bleed Removal.
Scorching Ray, a channeling fire spell that you can deal Burning Damage with. The longer you scorch an enemy, the more damage it will receive and it will also inflict exposure. The burning lingers for a bit. We've picked a Divergent version to rotate faster. It increases clear speed. Link it with Burning Damage, Eefficacy, Elemental Focus, Empower, and Controlled Destruction support gems.
Searing Bond, much like Scorching Ray deals Burning Damage. It is cast via totems that form damaging bonds between each other and the character. Link it with Swift Affliction, Efficacy, Multiple Totems, Elemental Focus and Life Tap if you struggle with Mana, if not Burning Damage support.
Arcanist Brand is a brand that sticks to the enemies and triggers all linked to its spells each second. Link it with Flammability. This curse lowers the enemy's fire resistance and Purifying Flame. It deals a bit of physical and fire damage while creating Consecrated ground. It's used to apply combustion we recommend a Divergent version for more overall damage. Link it with Combustion Support so that igniting hits apply Combustion, a debuff that lowers fire resistance.
Link Skills also have an increased chance to ignite. Herald of Ash is used here for increased Burning Damage, spell fire damage, and to enhance clear speed. Determination adds and increases armor rating to reduce physical damage taken. Malevolence increases skill effect duration and grants more damage over time. Link them with Enlightened Support so that Link Skills reserve less Mana. Vitality can be used here instead if you don't need it.
Immortal Call consumes your endurance charges, which is essential due to Valako's Keystone and grants you a buff that reduces physical and elemental hit damage taken. Its duration is increased per endurance charge consumed. Flame Dash allows you to dash, leaving a trail of Burning ground behind.
Infernal Cry covers nearby enemies in ash to make them take increased fire damage. You could use it in crowded areas, too as such opponents will explode on death. Link them up with Arcane Surge support. Arcane Surge buff is used for an increased cast speed in mono regeneration rate. Keep this gem at a low level.
Kill all three bandits in Act 2 and be rewarded with two additional skill points. You can pick nearly any major God except Brine King. It's bad. But we've gone for Solaris for better bossing. You can face tank a lot of bosses with it so that you won't have to stop channeling the Scorching Ray.
Minor Gods also offer a lot of useful virtues. Soul of Ryslatha is good for flask charges and more life recovery from such flasks. Tukohama is interesting too as you often stand still long enough to activate its bonus.
The passive skill tree is where you can acquire nodes for increased maximum life and fire damage. These are the most important ones. In addition to that, get some spell block chance, Mana Reservation Efficiency, and Mana Regeneration.
The keystones we've chosen are Unwavering Stance so that you can't get stunned, Iron Wool for extra spell damage and Glancing Blows to cap block chance.
For masteries, get Life Mastery for 50 life or 15 increased life if you have no life mods on body armor fire masteries for more effective; fire exposure and life regeneration; and Mana Mastery for reservation efficiency.
Speaking of builds, there are also a lot of guides about Dibalo 4 builds recently. If you also want to make good builds to strengthen your characters in Diablo 4, then you need to prepare a lot of Diablo 4 Gold in advance. In this way, you will feel very relaxed.
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Now it's time to talk about the brand new league introduced in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0! That's right, the developers say they're launching the first league of Early Access period - Rise of the Abyssal - to ensure players' experience something completely different in each zone each time they return, providing a more diverse experience.
This new league not only features a new economy but also new quests and bosses unique to this league. So, let's take a deeper look at what Path of Exile 2's first official league has to offer!
In this new chapter, as you delve deeper into Wraeclast, you'll discover numerous fissures above ground, connected to larger pits. The monsters that inhabit these areas are being affected and even harmed, their souls being devoured to bolster the defenses of Abyssal races hiding underground.
As you defeat monsters, fissures close, and Abyssal monsters emerge, enraged that you've killed their prey.
Once all of these fissures are sealed, the pit activates, and more Abyssal monsters emerge to devour your soul. Then, larger, more dangerous monsters reveal themselves.
If you kill a magic pack, a magic Abyssal appears. If you kill a rare pack, a rare monster appears in the pit, which absorbs some or all of the monster's attributes. This means that the monsters that appear are generally more difficult to defeat. Of course, PoE 2 currency and equipment they drop are also more valuable, as each modifier grants better rewards.
If you manage to kill them all, the pit closes. Each time a pit closes, a potential Abyssal Trove appears as a reward. This chest rises from the pit, granting you some epic loot.
Note that each area typically contains numerous pits and fissures, and the number of Abyssal Troves increases as the game progresses, making the experience even more exciting!
Not only that, when monster mods are absorbed, they have a chance to be infused with the dark necromancy spell, transforming into Abyssal Modifiers, amplifying both the danger and the rewards.
Abyssal pits also interact with other monsters and mechanics. If you defeat a Rogue Exile near a pit, it will transform into a Lichborn with multiple Abyssal Modifiers. If you're lucky enough to encounter and kill a Lichborn Exile, it may even drop a unique Jewel.
If a pit appears near a boss, killing it will summon a gigantic giga-larvae creature. Monsters trapped in Essences near an Abyssal pit are also affected. They will also receive an additional new Essence item, making them an excellent crafting material.
So, your mission in Rise of the Abyssal League is simple: kill surface monsters, defeat emerging Abyssal monsters, find and overcome pit encounters, and reap the rewards.
However, there's more to this League. After completing Abyssal Pits, you can find Ancient Bone Fragments, preserved from the remains of fallen Lichborn. This is one of the many rewards for completing pit encounters.
You can use this fragment on a rare item, imbuing it with magic, adding a special hidden Abyssal modifier to your item.
But how do you find it? In Act 2 of the campaign, you'll encounter a new area. This area has been overrun by Abyssal creatures. After clearing this area, you'll find Well of Souls, a hollow containing a massive vortex of souls. Throw your Abyssal-infused items into it; it's the only way to activate them!
Before you throw them in, though, you can choose how to craft them, with three different modifiers to choose from. These modifiers can be core modifiers or special modifiers not normally found on items.
After selecting your desired modifier, drop it into Well of Souls. It will absorb the soul's power, which ominous creatures will then retrieve for you.
During the campaign, you can use this to more easily add existing useful modifiers, but in the endgame, you can add a whole new range of powerful modifiers to your items.
We previously discussed how closing the pits grants you Abyssal Troves, but sometimes, closing the pits will reveal an underground cavern leading to the Depths.
After entering the pits, you'll find an Abyssal city teeming with undead hordes. While underground, every rare Abyssal enemy will have an Abyssal Modifier, and at the end of the dungeon, you'll even find a rare enemy with the even more powerful Lichborn Modifier.
Once you can defeat this powerful rare enemy, you'll be rewarded with some pretty impressive rewards. Because besides the Abyssal Modifiers on monsters making the entire zone's loot drops more valuable, it also has its own unique drops.
In the endgame, you'll still find Abyssal Depths, but you'll also begin to discover a different kind of crypt. In these areas, you'll find an Ancient Spire, the key device used by Abyssal Factions' Commander to push Wraeclast into the Lightless Void. Your objective is simple: kill this Commander and destroy the spire.
The final item this Abyssal Commander can drop is a Lich's Finger. So what's the point? In fact, the next time you return to Well of Souls, the items you drop return even more powerful, so your character will almost feel compelled to do so.
Regardless, in Rise of the Abyssals League, you have the opportunity to uncover the secrets of the Abyssal creatures lurking underground and diversify your loot by challenging these unique foes. So don't hesitate, be prepared, and face the rise of this ancient evil!
Exiles, the long-awaited Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict update has finally been revealed! Are these updates and changes what you expected?
This Patch 0.3.0 is still a very heavyweight update. I'm afraid you will feel tired just reading all the patch notes! Just kidding! But if you really don't have the time to delve into all the details, this guide might help you catch up quickly.
Here, let's talk about some of the highlights of The Third Edict and how they impact our gameplay! Let's get started.
We'll begin by reviewing Act 4, which picks up where Act 3 left off.
Doryani must search for an ancient weapon that can be used to fight corruption - a symbol of the Third Edict. The weapon was damaged long ago, but he believes the fragments can be found in Karui Archipelago, home to Karui tribes.
You'll then need to travel to Kingsmarch, rent a boat, open the map, and sail to any destination you like.
Yes, Act 4 is non-linear, meaning you can explore the islands in any order. No matter where you choose to go, you'll fight dangerous beasts, find rich treasure, and battle incredible bosses.
Act 4 offers eight islands to explore, each with unique flora and fauna and many other fascinating encounters.
Until now, players had to replay the entire campaign to reach the endgame, so what else could we do between the end of Act 4 and the endgame?
The developers have added three new Mini-Acts, which you can think of as interludes leading up to the endgame.
These Interludes consist of three temporary side stories that will remain in the game until Act 5 is released, bringing you to level 65 and then unlocking the endgame. Who knows what you'll find there?
Each Interlude contains six to seven areas and typically four boss fights. Including Act 4, the campaign will have 35 new areas and 24 new boss fights.
It's important to note that these Interludes are temporary. With the addition of Acts 5-6, the Interludes will disappear; after all, they're side stories.
While the campaign has been overhauled with each major update, it's inevitable that returning to it can become tedious. Thankfully, the developers have taken this into consideration, launching the first league during POE 2's Early Access period - Rise of the Abyssal - to ensure a fresh experience when returning between expansions.
This brand-new league not only features a new economy but also offers new content unique to that league. The core mechanic of Rise of the Abyssal League is Abyssal.
Here, players will encounter a race called Abyssal, masters of forbidden magic and necromancy. Once thought extinct, they now lurk underground.
They create massive fissures across the continent, devouring the creatures that inhabit them. Therefore, the townspeople need your help to investigate the monsters' source and stop their attacks. The best way to drive out Abyssal is to destroy their food source and defeat the monsters inhabiting the fissures before they are devoured by Abyssal.
Deactivating fissures will activate nearby Abyssal pits, triggering more Abyssal battles. However, once you defeat Abyssals, the pits will be sealed, and you can enjoy your bountiful loot.
Fissures and pits will only become more dense as you progress, and they have a chance to gain buffs from the monsters they absorb, affecting their encounters and subsequent loot.
Remember, be extremely cautious if an Abyssal Pit appears near a boss, as it may trigger the appearance of a massive monster that you'll be almost powerless against. Run away!
Many players have complained that replaying the campaign with each character is tedious, making the entire game tedious. To address this, the developers have introduced a new feature: Sprint.
In POE 2 0.3.0, holding down Dodge-Roll button will cause your character to enter a Sprint state after completing a roll. This feature applies to all characters, and there's no limit to the duration of Sprint. However, if you're hit by an enemy while Sprinting, you'll be knocked to the ground.
The primary purpose of Sprint function is to increase the efficiency of traversing areas outside of combat, making it particularly useful for quickly mapping and farming PoE 2 currency. Since you're less vulnerable to damage while rolling, and your Sprint speed is faster than any other monster in the game, you can retreat from combat and increase your farming efficiency.
Next, let's take a look at Support Gems in PoE 2, one of the game's most important new systems.
It's no secret that Support Gems are one of the most important elements of a complete build, enabling numerous interesting mechanics and rich gameplay.
However, it's important to admit that PoE 2's Support Gem system has always been somewhat imperfect. One major issue was that each character could only possess one Support Gem of each type. However, this design significantly hindered players from effectively using a variety of skills.
Therefore, in Patch 0.3.0, the developers have removed the one-of-a-kind limit per character. Now, we can use any number of gems, significantly expanding the number of possible skill combinations and increasing skill diversity.
While this is already a great way to level up the campaign, the developers haven't stopped there. They've added a brand new Support Gem system to spice things up: Lineage Support.
Think of these as unique items specific to Support, but with far greater power. And just like unique items, many Lineage Support Gems can be obtained from specific bosses, some of which are crucial to determining your build's power.
All told, approximately 40 Lineage Support Gems will be added throughout the endgame, so there's a lot of power to discover!
With the release of Act 4 and Mini-Acts, we're adding 25 new endgame maps featuring all the new monsters and bosses, significantly increasing the game's variety and giving you the opportunity to experience new boss battles multiple times!
With new content to explore, you'll be able to invest in Atlas trees faster, experience Pinnacle content, feel less intimidated when challenging Pinnacle bosses, reach higher levels more easily, and all while finding many new PoE 2 orbs and endgame items.
Finally, we'd like to mention the feature many exiles have been eagerly awaiting for years: Asynchronous Trade.
While the in-game trading mechanism meets basic player needs, some issues have emerged over time. For example, it often requires players to stay in hideouts for extended periods of time instead of going out to fight monsters, or it prevents players from receiving replies who are temporarily away or too lazy to contact.
To finally address these issues, the developers have added a new system that allows players to trade items with other players without the seller being present. They can continue to fight monsters, leave at will, or even go offline.
While this is a simple quality-of-life feature, it actually shows that the developers are truly listening to player feedback and continuously making improvements.
Regardless, the numerous updates brought by Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict are constantly addressing previous bugs and optimizing the gaming experience. Perhaps now is the time to get back into the game! What do you think?
Exiles, are you already antsy as the full patch notes inch closer? Instead of waiting, take a guess at what changes will be coming to the balance update in Patch 0.3.0!
With almost every league update, in-game balance is a key focus, as they can completely overturn our understanding of specific mechanics and builds. So, what are the developers targeting for nerfs or buffs in Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict? Let's take a look!
First, let's talk about nerfs.
Nerfs are naturally at the top of this list. How could we expect anything else? After all, this skill is ridiculously powerful.
In fact, early in Patch 0.2.0, the developers began nerfing some over-tuned skills, but Lightning Spear, already a standout at the time, received a buff. While already quite useful, this buff made it even more powerful, firmly cementing its place at the top.
Furthermore, Huntress class was new, and Amazon Ascendancy was a perfect fit for it, so a large portion of players naturally gravitated towards this Ascendancy build. This led to a significant imbalance in Ascendancy class system during Dawn of the Hunt League, with the top two classes, Amazon and Deadeye, comprising nearly 50% of all characters in the league!
Now, because of Lightning Spear's current popularity, I predict a high probability of nerfs to this skill, particularly its attack speed and damage multipliers.
Now, let's take a look at the second predicted nerf for PoE 2 Patch 0.3.0: Tangletongue. Honestly, I have absolutely no idea how this Spear made it into Dawn of the Hunt at its current power, considering its power and rarity make it arguably the most powerful unique item in the game.
Simply put, Tangletongue has incredibly high base critical chance thanks to the weapon's massive flat bonus critical chance roll, which can reach up to 20%. This means it can achieve a base critical chance of up to 25% without corruption.
That's not all, as it also has another modifier, Forking Critical Hits, which allows the weapon to roll critical chance twice for each attack and then compare the results.
If only one roll succeeds, the attack is a critical hit, dealing the normal critical damage bonus. However, if both rolls succeed, then the critical damage bonus is doubled - incredible!
Critical damage is already the most powerful damage bonus in PoE 2, and this item takes it to the extreme.
However, I think if it does get nerfed, it shouldn't lose Forking Critical Hits mechanic, which is what makes it so special. Instead, it's the flat bonus critical chance modifier that should be nerfed, which makes more sense.
Also, another possible nerf in the 0.3.0 update is Deadeye. That's right, not Amazon we mentioned earlier.
While Amazon might take some hits, its popularity has surged since the new Ascendancy class in 0.2.0, surpassing other options.
By comparison, Deadeye has been at the top of Ascendancy charts since PoE 2 Early Access release. And it has excellent skill nodes, especially when the power of the skill is locked in by a charge, allowing you to easily take down bosses in seconds!
Thus, I expect a nerf to Deadeye in this update, but compared to the nerf to Lightning Spear, it's likely to be quite mild, and it is even possible that other factors will cause Deadeye's strength to be significantly weakened.
However, once you've accumulated enough POE 2 currency in the early stages of The Third Edict League, I fully expect Deadeye to remain your go-to build.
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Next, let's talk about the buff predictions for patch 0.3.0.
First and foremost, I believe that attribute requirements are one of the biggest factors inhibiting build diversity in Path of Exile 2 right now.
There are other factors, of course, including the fact that the requirements for high-level skill gems and gear are so high, which means that the setups you can use in any given build are severely limited. This is because of a variety of issues. However, the strict attribute requirements leave your build with no room for growth.
Because the passive tree provides such low stats relative to its cost, you need to add a lot of affixes specifically designed to boost stats to your gear to meet these costs. This often prevents you from easily upgrading other stats to use auxiliary skills that are inconsistent with your primary stats.
For example, using Intelligence Curse skill on a Strength-based character is difficult enough because simply reaching the required stats at the minimum level requires all the effort, not to mention upgrading the skill gems.
Therefore, I think the easiest way to address this issue is to lower the attribute requirements by a fixed percentage, allowing players to tailor their builds to specific items or skills, providing greater freedom in building their builds.
Another potential area of improvement would be Armor.
In the 0.2.0 patch, we expected the developers to buff character armor and health, but neither of these received any changes.
Therefore, I suspect they might consider reducing Energy Shield to a reasonable level and then increasing Health by increasing Defense of Life-based builds. However, this would require significant changes to the passive tree, and if they're not willing to address the issue of excessively high monster damage, then Armor calculation formula itself would need to be adjusted.
If the first Druid or Templar Strength-Intelligence hybrid class does indeed arrive in POE 2's 0.2.0 patch, then that class build would likely utilize a mix of Armor and Energy Shield items. This would provide a great opportunity to effectively address Armor issue, especially considering so many players will probably try out this new class, if it ever becomes available.
Finally, I think there's one more potential buff for The Third Edict update: Monk class's Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy. This Ascendancy is in desperate need of help.
In Dawn of the Hunt, it was the least-used Ascendancy class, at just 0.7%. So, what's wrong with this Ascendancy?
The crux of the matter lies with Darkness branch at the very bottom of the class's skill tree. This branch accounts for three of the class's nine skills and significantly influences your build preferences.
Darkness branch often locks out your Spirit skills, replacing them with a severely underdeveloped Darkness mechanic. This mechanic works a bit like the Primal Aegis + Guard skill in PoE 1, but it's incredibly weak, and once Darkness is blocked, you have to wait 10 seconds to unblock it.
This means you're making an enormous sacrifice to gain a Darkness buff, but the resulting benefit is so weak that the reward isn't worth it. What you end up with is a mediocre mechanic replacing Spirit, which isn't a very good trade-off.
So, I expect to see significant improvements to Acolyte of Chayula Ascendancy in this update, especially its Darkness mechanic.
These are my guesses for some of the buffs and nerfs I might see in POE 2 patch 0.3.0, which could rebalance existing game mechanics and open up new build possibilities! Of course, these are just predictions; who knows! The full patch is coming soon, so stay tuned!
Recently, we received a new trailer for Path of Exile 2: The Third Edict. As usual, it's brief, but it still reveals a wealth of information.
The title of the trailer seems to say it all: Kulemak Teaser #2.
If you're a longtime Path of Exile fan, you can immediately tell from the black, gray, and green color scheme of this trailer that it's closely related to Abyss mechanics. We're certain that Abyss will appear in some form in Path of Exile 2.
Meanwhile, the voiceover, "In the light, we burn! In the dark... We thrive," seems to confirm the existence of Lightless creatures, also known as Abyssal, deep within Wraeclast.
So, what does Kulemak in the title have to do with this? Who is he?
To be honest, at this point, we know very little about what or who Kulemak is. We only have fragmentary information about this entity. Therefore, here, we will attempt to speculate on the possible background of The Third Edict based on what we know so far.
First, let's briefly review the key events that led to our current situation: The Winter of the World.
A volcanic eruption filled the skies of Wraeclast with fire and ash, completely covering the continent and shrouding it in darkness. This led to a cold, dark winter that lasted for a thousand years.
At some point during this millennium, likely even earlier, Lightless emerged from the underground and slaughtered the inhabitants of Wraeclast. This primarily occurred in Vastiri Plains region, but it could also occur in other areas.
Most of the original civilization was buried in ash, but a primitive woman named Ahkeli survived and escaped. She later allied with Maraketh people and formed a group called Order of the Djinn. Their goal is to find and acquire powerful artifacts to seal them away from danger.
Now, sometime after the Lightless emerged, slaughtered the inhabitants, and unleashed chaos, Three Sisters appeared. We've long believed them to be Sekhema Solerai, Sekhema Lundara, and an unnamed figure. They essentially united the many different races and groups that inhabited the vast universe and beyond.
Because Lightless were an actual threat, all of these different groups came together and formed a temporary alliance because they had a common enemy. If they hadn't formed an alliance, Lightless would likely have prevailed and conquered Wraeclast.
At some point later, the Three Sisters united, united the scattered Maraketh tribe, and used Essence of Gold and Silver to purify the sky, ending winter and driving Lightless back underground.
Now, extensive background information from Heist and elsewhere in PoE indicates that the Three Sisters were Solerai, Lundara, and Viridi.
During this time and for a long time afterward, Order of the Djinn remained mysterious to most civilizations, operating in the shadows. However, they remained united in their goal: to protect artifacts, ensuring their safety and preventing them from falling into the wrong hands.
However, one of their members, Janus Perandus, betrayed the order at Catarina's behest, resulting in the deaths of all members except Jun and Janus.
Catarina then obtained Horns of Kulemak, which she had Janus steal from Order's Forbidden Vault.
With this artifact, Catarina formed Immortal Syndicate, a new world order designed to be immune to the weaknesses of normal civilization.
In fact, we learn quite a bit about Horns of Kulemak from various conversations in the game, particularly with Jun.
Horns of Kulemak are artifacts capable of freely transferring life energy. The power Catarina longed for wasn't just magical, but also political. Immortality would undoubtedly provide her with a powerful bargaining chip, which is why Order of the Djinn kept Horns of Kulemak hidden for so long.
We know that Horns of Kulemak are the ultimate tool of life and death, capable of absorbing the life force of any living being. However, we don't know its origin. Perhaps it's the remains of a powerful, long-dead animal, or perhaps it's a creation of the gods. Whatever its origin, I believe it's this artifact that grants Syndicate its miraculous ability to resurrect from the dead.
Currently, the only other reference to Kulemak we can find is Cane of Kulemak used by Catarina. The staff's introductory text, "Stolen power," still refers to the stolen power of Horns of Kulemak.
Now, at this point, we have to fill in some blanks.
How exactly did Order of the Djinn acquire Horns of Kulemak? Well, I speculate that this occurred at some point during The Winter of the World, which would imply that Kulemak is somehow connected to Lightless.
Kulemak itself could be a Lightless creature. However, I think it's more likely that Kulemak is a completely different creature, one that Lightless worship. Perhaps Kulemak is the one who gave them their power.
Now, one thing that supports this theory is the tier 17 Ziggurat Map, where you'll face Uber Catarina boss. During that boss fight, Catarina summoned three well-known Abyssal bosses: Kurgal, the Blackblooded, Ulaman, Sovereign of the Well, and Amanamu, Liege of the Lightless.
Interestingly, Catarina actually summoned these creatures, perhaps possessing Horns of Kulemak allows her to command them to do whatever she wishes. This could hint at Horns of Kulemak, and Kulemak themselves, being beings worshipped and followed by Lightless.
In fact, we've received some information supporting this theory, such as the first teaser image we received, which contained a deciphered image of various symbols.
The word "well" appears here. Further down, the words "noble," "highborn," and "king" are crossed out. Another possible word would be "Sovereign." Coincidentally, one of Abyssal bosses is Ulaman, Sovereign of the Well, which would fit in nicely with these two words.
Furthermore, the "winter" here likely refers to the practice of The Winter of the World, when the Lightless first appeared on the surface. The words "beginning" and "birth" could allude to Kulemak's role, as we know Horns of Kulemak possess the power to both grant and take life.
And, perhaps more importantly, the text inscribed on Sculpted Suffering Warpick reads: "The Abyssals were created, not born, and every moment in the light was agony." So, who created Abyssal?
I suspect it was Kulemak, which might suggest that Kulemak himself isn't Lightless, but rather some kind of deity or being of true power.
I believe we'll see Kulemak in patch 0.3.0, integrated into PoE 2 as part of Abyss mechanics. We might even get a chance to fight Kulemak, perhaps becoming the pinnacle boss for Abyss League mechanic and a new source of PoE 2 currency and loot.
Finally, I want to reiterate the flavor text on Sculpted Suffering Warpick. It seems to imply that Lightless were created in the Light, or at least were exposed to the Light during their creation.
But I'm not sure what this actually means, other than reinforcing the idea that Kulemak is not Lightless, and is not bound by light or dark. Perhaps Lightless were simply a failed creation, or perhaps they needed exposure to the Light to become one with the Dark.
Regardless, I expect Abyss to be added to PoE 2 in update 0.3.0, but I'm not sure if we'll see the same winding Abyss chase mechanic from the original game return, as I'm not sure it would integrate well into PoE 2 given its terrible backtracking and movement speed. But we'll have to wait and see; the full reveal is coming soon!
