Path Of Exile 3.23 Affliction League Mechanic Explained! - Ascendancies, Empowered Monsters And More

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!

Nerf Predictions

First, let's talk about nerfs.

Lightning Spear

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.

Tangletongue

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.

Deadeye

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.

You May Like: What Improvements Does Path Of Exile 2 Need To Have In Patch 0.3.0? - Builds, Endgame And More

Buff Predictions

Next, let's talk about the buff predictions for patch 0.3.0.

Build Attribute Requirements

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.

Armor

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.

Acolyte Of Chayula Ascendancy

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.

What Is Kulemak?

First, let's briefly review the key events that led to our current situation: The Winter of the World.

Review The Winter Of The World Event

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.

Order Of The Djinn Artifacts

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.

Horns Of Kulemak

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.

Personal Thoughts And Speculations

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.

Ziggurat Map Boss

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.

Mysterious Teaser Image

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.

Sculpted Suffering Warpick Flavor Text

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!

Exiles, I'm sure you've noticed that Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.3.0, the game's next major update, called The Third Edict, has been confirmed to launch on August 29th, with the full developer livestream set to begin on August 20th. That's right, compared to previous major updates which only started live streaming a week before release, this time it will be a little earlier. So, are you expecting the changes to live up to your expectations?

Here, we'll analyze the newly released trailer and share my thoughts and speculations. Let me preface this with a disclaimer: the following content may contain spoilers. So, buckle up and let's get started!

Trailer Breakdown

Honestly, this trailer is as brief and thought-provoking as ever. It simply shows the interior of a massive cylindrical tower covered in runes, where individuals appear to be performing some kind of ritual, accompanied by a mysterious voiceover:

This weapon is our only chance to save humanity. We must invoke The Third Edict.

Sin

So, not much is revealed here, with only one character mentioned: the hooded figure. We already know this from the campaign, and he joins the player character on a mission to stop Oriana and the beast.

To complete this quest, the last known progress in the campaign is the end of Act 3, which leads to the search for a weapon that can subdue the beast or somehow counter it.

Third Trials Of Ascendancy

We already know from the ending of Act 3, Path of Exile 2 artbook, and the themes in Supporter Packs that Act 4 is set in the Karui Archipelago and will run through Karui, including the introduction of the third Trials of Ascendancy, the Trials of the Ancestors.

Meanwhile, we've also received information about Trials of the Ancestors league in some of the content for PoE 3.22.

Hinekora, Mother of Death, includes lines that reference Trials in Path of Exile and the order in which they appear, including Maraketh Trials, now known as Trials of the Sekhemas, and Trials of Chaos. Further down, it reads, "We will be the third, and you must prove yourself."

In the original game, Trials of the Ancestors were an auto-battle mechanic, but we're not sure how it will be implemented in PoE 2.

I suspect they'll be able to implement a boss-style gauntlet mechanic where you fight Chieftain after Chieftain, potentially serving as a new source of PoE 2 currency and loot farming, but we'll have to wait and see.

Mysterious Weapon From Act 4

In this trailer, we see Sin preparing what looks like a weapon. Fortunately, we already know exactly what this weapon looks like from previously released images of a corrupted Karui tribe wielding a weapon from an old Act 4 trailer.

Thus, we suspect this is likely a boss in Act 4, possibly even the final boss. It seems likely this is how we'll obtain the weapon. We'll likely have to spend the entirety of Act 4 tracking it down, and it'll likely drop from killing the corrupted Karui tribe chieftain.

Will Act 5 Content Also Appear In 0.3.0?

The release of Act 4 in Patch 0.3.0 is now almost certain.

However, there's more to this trailer. First, we see Sin preparing and equipping a weapon in the trailer, as if he's about to use it.

But I think it's unlikely that this weapon will appear in Act 4. From the PoE 2 artbook and subsequent Supporter Packs, we know that Act 5 takes place in Oriath, where we'll likely encounter the mysterious Lumerius. We don't know much about this character, but he features prominently in many of Path of Exile 2's major promotional artwork.

The artbook also gives us limited information about an organization called the Twilight Order, possibly led by Lumerius. Lumerius appears to be related to Oriana. So, it's likely that Oriana and the beast are heading to Oriath.

Now, this is why I think we'll be getting more than just Act 4 in The Third Edict update.

But it's unlikely that this beast will appear in the Karui Archipelago again, as we seem to be hunting it down, as evidenced by the corruption that has spread to Karui tribe.

It's likely here that Oriana joins the monsters aboard the ship bound for Oriath, which is likely the source of the original footage of the ship in PoE 1. I believe Oriath will be the site of the final battle, where Sin will be armed with weapons and wielding them against the monsters.

All of this suggests the update will also include Act 5.

About The Third Edict

So, what exactly is The Third Edict? Typically, the word edict refers to a legal decree, often associated with a monarchy, but can be issued by any official body.

If Lumerius appears in a lot of PoE 2 art, I expect him to be the primary antagonist of this campaign. And I wonder if he'll commune with the beasts, transforming into a completely different form. Perhaps we'll finally fight him in human form in Act 5 and again in a different, more sinister form in Act 6.

If so, could the edict refer to Lumerius and the rule of law he governs under Twilight Order? Perhaps all we'll do in Act 6 is expel him and his cult from their rule over the region and usher in a new order.

Act 6 And Endgame Speculation

I imagine this is how we'll enter Act 6: we attack the beast with our weapons, triggering a cataclysm that ultimately leads us to Hell. Here, we'll likely face Lumerius one last time.

We know Act 6 will be shorter than the other Acts, but potentially more intense. So I'm expecting one thrilling boss fight after another, perhaps in the style of Monster Hunter, or perhaps a bit like the original game's Belly of the Beast, but even more epic.

We know that PoE 2's endgame revolves around us joining the Doryani and attempting to cleanse Wraeclast of the corruption currently plaguing it, but we don't know the full extent of the events between the end of Act 3 and the endgame scenario.

I imagine we'll finish our battle in Hell and reappear in a wasteland within Wraeclast, where the cleansing begins.

Well, that's all we can say about the 0.3.0 trailer. Based on the leaked information so far, we suspect that The Third Edict update will probably introduce Act 4 and its subsequent content, creating a complete campaign for Path of Exile 2. What are your thoughts? What clues do you think the edict mentioned here could be? Let's look forward to the upcoming developer livestreams!

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!