Will 3.22 Be Path Of Exile’s Last Major Atlas Update Before Path Of Exile 2? - The Overwhelming Possibilities Of POE 3.22
It is confirmed Path of Exile 3.22 is not the surprise life beta of Path of Exile 2. It could be the release, though, right? No. They want time to market. They want time to sell supporter packs for Path of Exile 2. It’s not coming with POE 3.22. Definitely not.
What Is POE 3.22?
With that out of the way, I’m confident in what Path of Exile’s 22nd version is going to be the final Atlas update before Path of Exile 2’s huge launch within the next year.
Here’s my take on what’s coming with POE 3.22 and the ultimate upgrade to our beloved Atlas before POE changes forever.
The cycle was broken with POE 3.21 Crucible League when there wasn’t a substantial Atlas update. Since Conquerors of the Atlas in 3.9, every four expansions, there has been an enormous shift to the Atlas. 3.9 throughout the old Elder Shaper chase in the Atlas and introduce Sirus, the Conquerors and Watchstones. 3.13 brought in the Maven, multi-boss gauntlets in The Maven’s Crucible, and region-specific Atlas Passive Skill Trees. 3.17 gave us four new Pinnacle Bosses, Eldritch Currency, crafting and influence, and a united Atlas Passive Skill Tree Finally, 3.21 gave us nothing, nothing really big for the atlas just Atlas Gateways.
So, 3.22, the patch that will be hyped up at ExileCon and has already been juiced up a bit by GGG themselves, is going to bring us our last big POE 1 expansion to endgame.
Atlas Jewels
When the Atlas was introduced all the way back in 2.4 Atlas of Worlds, no one predicted it would eventually have its own massive passive skill tree. But now, it does.
The all-in-one version of the tree condensed down from one for each prior Atlas region was introduced all the way back in POE 3.17 Siege of the Atlas, the last major Atlas expansion. That patch also introduced keystones to the Atlas’s version of the passive skill tree.
Now, in POE 3.22, what could they add next? With the original POE passive skill tree, the next notable feature added to the tree after keystones or jewels, I posit that’s the big ticket Atlas customization feature that will hit with 3.22. This means you need to prepare a lot of POE Currency.
We’ve already had a pseudo jewel system for the Atlas in the past in the form of rollable Watchstones. That’s an era I definitely don’t want to return to, though some people might look back on it fondly.
Essentially, we used to have 32 Watchstones we could sock it into our Atlas and they could either be magic or unique. The mod pool was massive, and it was hard to find the best set of mods for your Atlas. With the vastly improved all-in-one Atlas Passive Skill Tree, I could see watchstone adjacent jewels, making an appearance as an optional dynamic mechanic to enhance your Atlas fervor.
However, I don’t think the mod pool needs to be that different compared to the former pool of Watchstone modifiers in the case of unique Atlas jewels, though. I think GGG has an opportunity to help enhance bossing in Path of Exile and create a new class of chase items.
But what if a few of these Atlas jewels almost guaranteed certain drops from Atlas Pinnacle Bosses with a huge hindrance? For example, what if you could guarantee the Eater of Worlds to have a 25% chance to drop Ashes of the Stars but in turn you could not get hit and had to kill it in under 45 seconds? What if you could force the Searing Exarch to drop a Forbidden Flame at a 50% chance but you needed to complete every meteor phase without getting hit or leaving the area?
These achievements, like special case flights, were hinted at heavily with the Forbidden Sanctum and the no-hit challenge with Lycia. Those who could go through the entire Sanctum without being hit and kill Lycia were guaranteed one of the rarest and respectable POE Items in the game, the Original Sin.
GGG was obviously experimenting here. But I think it would be a compelling addition to the endgame of POE, helping incentivize bossing and specific methods to overcome endgame bosses, especially in Solo Self-Found. Of course, some builds will be able to cheese this. But I think it’s a risk GGG is willing to take.
After adding jewels, a gamble GGG will add Cluster Jewels and Masteries in a future update perhaps with the first Atlas expansion during the 4.0 or Path of Exile to era.
New Atlas Memories
In addition to jewels on the passive skill tree, we’re likely to receive a few more Atlas Memories. Right now, we have them for Alva, Einhar, Kirac, and Niko.
At the very least, I expect we’ll get a set of memories for Jun, the only other official faster we currently work with. You could have an absolutely wild set. Imagine a memory of Fallen Masters wherein the map’s mobs are replaced with members of the Immortal Syndicate or a mod-like area contains 10 Syndicate strongholds. Bailed items would rain from the sky.
Alongside her, I’d love for a new type of memory to arrive with what I think will be the focus of the final endgame expansion, Zana memories. Each could deal with a specific endgame boss on a map related to Zana: the Elder, the Shaper and each of the Conquerors.
The mods could be something like this area contains the Shaper, or this area is conquered by Sirus. Each could be slightly reimagined boss fights on various maps on the Atlas. Instead of speaking with Zana to enter these memories, they’d be usable maps that drop fragments leading to an ultimate pinnacle encounter.
New POE Pinnacle Bosses
There’s a good chance we’ll get at least one new Pinnacle Boss in this expansion, whether it’s an Atlas update or not.
If it’s an Atlas update, a bittersweet final Path of Exile 1 boss would be the now jaded person who started this entire endgame mapping journey with us back in Forsaken Masters, Zana, Master Cartographer.
After the canon death of Sirus, Awakener of Worlds, Zana abandoned the cast in 3.17 Siege of the Atlas. She was replaced by Kirac. But where did she go? All we know is she chose Exile, and she always questioned our sanity.
Remember, she is the one who had the power to trap the uber-powerful Conquerors of the Atlas inside the Atlas. What if she tries to do the same to us? I would love if a dark Khazana returns to try and stop us from grinding the Atlas. He would be yet another lair added to the endgame.
After we’ve killed the Searing Exarch and Eater of Worlds, we’re still trying to gain power and set on the fact that we could turn into another Sirus or Veritania.
Combined with her boss fight could be a new type of endgame content similar to the maven’s Gauntlet, this time though it could be a wave type coliseum of maps and map monsters. Waves and waves of Atlas-based creatures turned against us by Zana as we try to escape the Atlas, and Zana tries to trap us within the Atlas.
I think that would be absolutely rad. It would be a ton of work, especially with Zana’s Memories. But it would be awesome. If we don’t get Zana, there are two other feasible options: yet another Eldritch being or a villain to help usher in Path of Exile 2’s own story.
Group 1 follows the present storyline that adds to the pool of other worldly entities we already know quite well: the Elder, the Maven, the Infinite Hunger, the Black Star, the Eater of Worlds, and the Searing Exarch.
There are a couple of new boss fights they could add. Number one, the Tangle, or another one of its champions. Number two, the Cleansing Fire, or yet another servant of it. Number three, the Maven progenitor who we’ve been warned about by another boss fight competitor. Number four, the Envoy. He’s powerful enough to subdue the Maven and stop us from harming her. How tough would he be in an actual battle.
Finally, it might be something entirely different, a thing we haven’t been warned about explicitly.
If GGG is looking to further tie into Path of Exile 2’s story, perhaps it could be another Scourge lord breaking into the Atlas itself or a part of reyklast, setting up the whole seed of corruption arc of POE 2 or it could be Shaper 2.0.
Another Atlas researcher turned Madman, who is totally showcased front and center on the ExileCon 2023 website.
GGG’s Goal With The Endgame
Regardless of what this Atlas expansion adds, we know the developer’s goal is to craft a shared endgame between campaign 1 and campaign 2 of Path of Exile.
Even though the narrative matters very little to a substantial swath of the Path of Exile player base, the developers will probably try to make it tie together as seamlessly as possible. This could be accomplished through customized dialogue for the epilogue quest NPCs based on the campaign your character arrives from.
There’s also a slim chance they’ll just hand wave the combined POE 1 and POE 2 campaign player base. But I’m not a fan of that. There’s also another chance that this isn’t what they’re trying to do anymore. And they’ll let us know very soon at ExileCon 2023.
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Path of Exile 3.29 Curse of the Allflame series has 40 challenges, but you only need to complete 36 to unlock all the core cosmetic rewards.
Similar to previous series, PoE 3.29 Challenges cover multiple aspects. For players who want to collect this season's limited content, planning challenge order is more important than blindly completing all the tasks.
This PoE 3.29 Curse of the Allflame Challenge Guide will organize your strategy to help you obtain all cosmetic rewards faster.
Cosmetic Rewards
After completing 36 Challenges, you can unlock all the major PoE 3.29 Cosmetic rewards, including a special slime-style Back Attachment, a unique Portal Effect, an Eel Pet, and an Oceanic Weapon Effect.
Among the rewards, Portal Effect and Oceanic Weapon Effect are the most valuable, as they significantly alter the visual effects of your PoE character entering the map and attacking.
Early Game Challenges
Most early PoE 3.29 challenges are relatively simple, such as Beginner's Basics, Act Adversaries, Possessive Pantheons, and Deep Dive. These tasks primarily require you to complete campaign process and experience Curse of the Allflame League mechanic.
League Mechanic can be accessed through Sovereign near waypoint. You'll need to use Dead Man's Sulphur for crafting and complete the relevant Voyage content. These tasks are essentially part of the normal Path of Exile progression and don't require additional time investment.
In Ingrained Increases and Legendary Leagues challenges, you need to repeatedly complete different League Mechanics. The most recommended method is using scarabs. Strongbox, Shrine, and Essence are all very easy to complete; you simply need to use the corresponding Scarab to enter the map.
If you need to complete more League Encounter challenges, it's recommended to choose those that are easily triggered repeatedly, such as using Scarabs to add Strongbox, Shrine, and Abyss mechanics to the map.
For Harvest-related challenges, you can combine them with Atlas Tree nodes to increase the Harvest spawn rate and Lifeforce rewards, while also obtaining a large amount of Path of Exile Currency.
Atlas Accomplishment requires you to complete all Non-Unique Maps and obtain a Bonus Objective. This challenge usually completes naturally as you farm PoE Atlases.
Utilizing Trade Sites
The best way to improve challenge efficiency is to make good use of trade sites. For example, Peddler's Produce requires you to complete multiple vendor recipes. A relatively simple method is to directly consult the official PoE wiki, exchange for basic gear with 20% quality through trade sites, and then sell it to a vendor.
For example, reaching 20% Quality on a regular Armor will grant you Armourer's Scrap, 20% Quality on a regular Weapon will grant you Blacksmith's Whetstone, and 20% Quality on a Flask will grant you Glassblower's Bauble. These recipes don't require crafting; you can simply exchange materials on trade site to complete them.
Chromatic Crafting requires you to equip 15 different colored sockets. Many players try to craft them themselves, but it's unnecessary. The easiest way is to obtain 6-socket gear from trade site, find multiple different colored socket combinations, equip them, and challenge will be completed automatically.
Remarkable Realms requires completing 15 unique maps. Most unique maps can be obtained directly from trade site. I don't recommend Hall of Grandmasters because PvP characters there are very difficult to deal with, and some NPCs even have defenses close to those of real player gear. Choose low-priced, low-difficulty PoE Unique Maps.
Corrupted Crystals Challenge requires completing multiple Corrupted-related objectives. The fastest way is to acquire numerous Level 20 Gems through trade site. Use Vaal Orb to corrupt, then equip these gems. This will allow you to quickly meet Corrupted Gems requirement, which is more efficient than upgrading Gems yourself.
Boss and Encounter Challenges
Taxing Tasks require completing multiple special Paths of Exile Encounters. I recommend Abyssal Depths, Blighted Maps, Breach Marshal, and Expedition Logbooks.
Expedition Logbook is very simple; just enter PoE map and activate 10 Remnants. You don't need to actually complete the entire logbook. Blighted Maps are also suitable for quick completion because they require no high investment; ordinary maps suffice.
Bountiful Bloodlines require defeating multiple special bosses. You can choose Trialmaster, King in the Mists, and Feral. Other bosses such as Katarina, Lysia, and Delve Boss are more costly to challenge and are not recommended as targets.
Mercenary Challenge
Mercenary content in Curse of the Allflame is also a key focus of challenge. For example, tasks like Savage Sellswords, Claim items with Infamous Modifiers, and Complete maps with Mercenary Scarabs can all be solved using Mercenary Scarabs.
When encountering a mercenary, hold down Alt to view equipment affixes and look for items with Infamous or Infamous Modifiers. If you want to increase the number of rare monsters in Path of Exile, you can also use Adversary Scarabs.
High-Tier Map Challenges
Trustworthy Teachers require you to complete POE Tier 16 maps with at least 80% item quantity. A relatively stable method is to improve Map Modifier Effect and Quantity nodes in Atlas.
It's recommended to use Sulphite Scarabs for Niko missions or Bestiary Scarabs for Einhar missions. These can be completed quickly on Strand maps because of their short routes and high monster-clearing efficiency.
Modified Maps and Excruciating Echoes Challenges are typically completed as the game progresses. You should choose maps like Mesa with simple boss routes to quickly defeat the boss and complete the challenge.
Excruciating Echoes requires Memory content and a high PoE Item Quantity. You can choose Memory of Trauma because the boss drop rewards are valuable, reducing cost pressure.
The last few challenges usually belong to PoE Endgame phase, requiring extensive farming of T16 maps and demanding a certain level of character strength, map yield, and skill. For Level 100 Challenges, you can use Beyond Atlas Tree, Red Altars, and multiple Scarabs to increase map density and improve experience output per map.
For Nightmare Maps Challenges, it's recommended to choose maps with simple boss mechanics and clear routes, such as Fortress. Compared to other complex maps, Fortress makes it easier to find the boss and reduces the probability of failure because of map mechanics or travel time.
If your build lacks survivability when tackling challenging Path of Exile maps, choose map affixes that better suit your playstyle and pair them with special Scarabs to reduce the pressure from map modifiers, increasing the stability of completing challenges.
If your goal is simply to obtain all cosmetics, I don't recommend forcing yourself to complete all tasks. You can choose to skip Horrific Halls, Apex Assailants, and Intrigued Interlopers. These challenges either require extremely high PoE build strength or are significantly more costly.
Horrific Halls, in particular, requires completing 100% of Delirious Nightmare Map and achieving 150% Item Quantity, which is very demanding for most builds.
Not all 40 challenges in PoE 3.29 Curse of the Allflame are worth completing. If your goal is to unlock all cosmetic rewards, completing 36 is sufficient. With proper planning, even average players can reliably obtain all seasonal cosmetic rewards.
In Path of Exile 2, Rarity Bot playstyle is a very unique economy-focused approach designed specifically for multiplayer mapping. Instead of dealing damage by yourself, you stack Item Rarity and execute mechanics to help your party obtain higher-value loot drops.
There are not many players who choose this playstyle because your main role is supporting the team, almost like a robot following other players around. In addition, this setup was weakened in PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0. Although it remains effective, the gameplay is now very different compared to the previous League.
The Core of Rarity Bot Playstyle
The Fate of the Vaal League
In PoE 2 Patch 0.4.0, there were actually quite a few players choosing Rarity Bot playstyle. Its core item was Gravebind Rope Cuffs, which counted all enemies killed near you as your own kills, allowing you to benefit from additional loot bonuses.
You could also equip items such as Palm of the Dreamer Shrine Sceptre, Fixation of Yix Stellar Amulet, Alchemist's Boon, or various aura skills to provide damage bonuses and recovery effects for your teammates.
You did not need to cast spells or actively fight. You could freely chat, pick up loot, and even help your teammates collect PoE 2 currency. Your main responsibility was simply staying close to the team and maintaining the required range, making it a very relaxed playstyle overall.
Runes of Aldur League
However, this playstyle received a major nerf in Runes of Aldur League. Gravebind Rope Cuffs gained a devastating negative modifier in Patch 0.5.0: your other Item Rarity bonuses no longer apply. This means that when using these gloves, you can only gain around 20% increased rarity.
As a result, Rarity Bot setup from The Fate of the Vaal League no longer works effectively in PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0. Fortunately, the player community discovered an alternative solution.
Legacy of Deathblow
In Patch 0.5.0, you need to replace the gloves with Horror's Flight Engraved Bracers and socket a Legacy of Deathblow Rune into them.
Legacy of Deathblow Rune grants the culling strike ability, allowing all of your skills to execute enemies:
Normal monsters are executed at 35% health, Magic monsters are executed at 20% health, Rare monsters are executed at 10% health, Unique monsters are executed at 5% health.
Culling Strike Threshold can be further increased through equipment. For example, certain Myris Uxor Covert Hood items can provide 100% increased execution threshold. By combining multiple item modifiers, you can significantly improve your execution efficiency.
However, Legacy of Deathblow Rune costs around 200 Divine Orbs. For new players who want to try this playstyle, the entry requirement is extremely high, which may be one of the main reasons why the number of Rarity Bot players has dropped significantly.
If you want to give this build a try, you can buy PoE 2 Divine Orbs at PoEcurrency.com. Rarity Bot playstyle yields excellent returns, so you'll be able to recoup your investment quickly.
Because you need to equip Legacy of Deathblow Rune, your passive tree must allocate many Culling Strike Threshold nodes. This heavily restricts your passive choices, making it difficult to invest in curse and aura improvements. As a result, both your team buff potential and personal survivability are reduced.
New Equipment and Passive Choices
Although Rarity Bot playstyle faces many challenges in Runes of Aldur League, there are still several ways to increase Item Rarity:
- Rite of Passage Golden Charm: Increases Item Rarity found by 15%.
- Magnum Opus node: For every empty flask slot, Charm effects are increased by 100%. This can greatly enhance the effect of Rite of Passage.
- Wondertrap Silk Slippers: Provides a large amount of Item Rarity while in Low Life status.
- Mageblood Utility Belt: Greatly helps Rarity Bots maintain resistances while reaching higher Item Rarity limits.
Gameplay Feel and Damage Contribution
The current League's Rarity Bot setup feels much more active. Since triggering executions requires you to actively use skills, you are no longer just a passive follower. You must continuously cast abilities. This creates a double-edged effect because it changes both the gameplay style and the overall experience.
From a damage contribution perspective, previous Rarity Bots dealt almost no damage themselves. However, with the execution mechanic in the current League, you can instantly kill enemies once they reach the execution threshold, meaning you are now contributing real damage instead of simply acting as an AFK support character.
Strategies Suitable for Rarity Bot
Patch 0.5 completely redesigned Endgame system. For normal players, most strategies still provide decent returns, but the situation is completely different for Rarity Bots. Almost none of the redesigned content benefits this playstyle.
- Grand Expedition: Most rewards come from explosives obtained through Versium Remnants, while Divine Orb drops are relatively limited. Rarity Bots have very little impact on this content.
- Breach: Most rewards come from Breach completion rewards, which are not affected by Rarity Bots.
- Delirium: Item Rarity and party size have no significant impact on the number of Simulacrum Splinter drops.
Currently, the only clearly effective option is Abyss content. It provides a large number of monsters that can be executed, and Item Rarity can influence the drop rate of Omen of Lights. Temple content is still usable, but it has been heavily weakened, further limiting the performance of Rarity Bot builds.
Overall, Rarity Bot support playstyle performs quite poorly in Runes of Aldur League. It requires significant investment and has limited applications. However, this playstyle still has a dedicated player base, and many players hope it can receive further improvements in PoE 2 Patch 1.0.
PoE 2 Patch 0.5 introduced Concussive Runes, bringing new possibilities to melee gameplay. This Concussive Ancestral Cry Titan build is a powerful build specifically designed around this mechanic.
It chains together Heavy Stun, Ancestral Cry, Armor Explosion, and Herald effect, turning a single normal attack into the starting point of a series of explosions.
The biggest feature of this build is its incredibly smooth pacing.
The character doesn't need to stop and wait for skill rotations; by constantly approaching enemies with high-speed movement, the first hit inflicts Heavy Stun, after which Concussive Runes and various explosions automatically take over the battlefield. Clearing maps is essentially a matter of charging straight in, with monsters falling one after another behind you.
Core Mechanics
In PoE 2, this build revolves around a simple loop: Attack enemy - Cause Heavy Stun - Trigger Concussive Runes Shockwaves - Destroy armor and trigger explosions - Herald effect continues to spread damage.
Return of the Ancients's Concussive Runes unleashes Shockwaves on Heavy Stun enemies, and this build has numerous Stun buffs. Through the area-of-effect buffs of Hulking Form, Sine Aequo Grand Manchettes, and Overwhelming Presence, most monsters will enter a Heavy Stun state after the first attack.
This is crucial because much of the build's damage only applies to Heavy Stun enemies.
Effects like Crushing Impacts and Smash provide additional damage after enemies are controlled. Against bosses, these damage spikes activate simultaneously as Stun gauge begins to build, resulting in a very rapid decrease in health.
Concussive Runes themselves also contribute to clearing mobs. Their impact range can grow, and with Runes' shield and area-of-effect buffs, a single heavy attack can cover a large area in front.
Armor Explosion provides an additional layer of damage. Equipped with Wolf Charm, the character continuously damages enemy armor, triggering an explosion upon armor breakage.
Combined with Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice, multiple explosion effects can be chained together. In actual gameplay, it's common for a single enemy to be stunned, wiping out surrounding enemies as well.
Ancestral Cry
Another unique feature of this build is the triggering method for Ancestral Cry.
In Patch 0.5, normally Glory needs to be accumulated to unleash Ancestral Cry. Here, Animus Exchange is used to quickly acquire Glory.
Animus Exchange itself consumes Mana, so when paired with Lifetap, it becomes a life cost. Combined with Second Wind III, this allows for continuous skill activation. Since Zerphi's Infamy also consumes life, this combination quickly replenishes Glory.
In PoE 2, casting Animus Exchange twice consecutively will activate Ancestral Cry. It's recommended to use instant health potions to avoid health stress affecting gameplay.
Weapon Set 2 is crucial here. It needs to have a skill effect duration bonus and also requires a hammer that provides +5 melee skill level.
Note that Ancestral Cry must be configured in two weapon slots simultaneously. Switching to Weapon Set 2 when casting grants the skill level and duration bonuses from that set; then switching back to Weapon Set 1 raises the skill level to 38.
After casting, using skills like Earthshatter set to Weapon Set 1 and switching back will restore the damage boost from Weapon Set 1.
If your Animus Exchange is only level 20, two casts might not fully fill Glory slot. In this case, you can replace Second Wind III with Uhtred's Constellation to allow the skill to be cast three times consecutively.
This build requires moderate investment to reach its full potential. Core upgrades include a high-level hammer, skill level bonuses, key unique items, and optimized Concussive Runes. While the build can function on a lower budget, additional PoE 2 Currency greatly improves damage, clear speed, and consistency.
Skill Combinations
This build's main damage output revolves around Ancestral Cry.
Ancestral Cry is paired with Voran's Siege, Zerphi's Infamy, Rakiata's Flow, and Concussive Runes.
Since a large portion of the damage in this build in Return of the Ancients comes from elemental bonus damage, Rakiata's Flow effectively supplements the overall output.
Earthshatter primarily serves to switch weapon sets. After casting Ancestral Cry, use Earthshatter to switch back to Weapon Set 1, regaining damage and passive effects.
Of course, it can also be used as a single-target PoE 2 skill, but in actual combat, the enhanced Ancestral Cry is sufficient to handle most targets.
The two Heralds are Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice. Herald of Thunder provides Lightning damage and status effects, while Herald of Ice helps supplement control.
Since Cold damage itself doesn't easily cause a stun, Concussive Runes are included here, allowing armor penetration and bonus damage to help trigger control chains.
Wind Dancer is used as a defensive skill, incorporating Concussive Runes. When enemies attack the character, Runes are triggered, and the character recovers status through Armour Explosion, Life Leech III, and other methods.
Passive Skill Tree
In Patch 0.5, the passive skill choices for this build primarily revolve around Stun, area-of-effect, and Elemental Armament.
Heavy Stun-related nodes are core, as a significant amount of additional damage is applied simultaneously when the boss enters Stun. Area-of-effect effects increase the coverage of Concussive Runes and Herald Explosion, while Elemental Armament further enhances Herald of Thunder and Herald of Ice.
If your PoE 2 gear allows, you can choose a hammer with Stun accumulation affix for more consistent first-hit control. However, this build does not rely on attack speed; skill level and base damage are always higher priority attributes.
The greatest appeal of this Concussive Ancestral Cry Titan set lies in its combination of the impactful melee combat of PoE 2 Return of the Ancients with explosive map clearing. After a powerful punch lands, the enemy's armor, health, and formation all crumble together.
Just yesterday, marking the critical one-week milestone since the official launch of Path of Exile 3.29, the studio released Patch 3.29.1, the first major update for Curse of the Allflame league.
To be honest, the arrival of 3.29.1 was expected to be a pivotal turning point for the current expansion, delivering the comprehensive adjustments players had long awaited regarding rewards, combat density, and the overall gameplay experience.
In reality, however, while the patch introduced useful quality-of-life (QoL) features and targeted enhancements for specific systems, it left a significant portion of the player base deeply dissatisfied. By seemingly overlooking core feedback and failing to resolve issues stemming from newly introduced mechanics, the update ultimately proved underwhelming and even disappointing.
Notable QoL Optimizations and Mercenary Improvements
Fair is fair: Patch 3.29.1 was not without its highlights. Ducat, a brand-new currency type first introduced in patch 3.29, has been well-received by many players. This update also introduces a new Ducat: UKatoa's Ducat.
Ukatoa's Ducat allows players to convert the implicit modifier on a non-unique amulet into any other Eldritch implicit modifier. This offers an exciting and highly valuable option for players dedicated to build theorycrafting and Allflame crafting.
Beyond the new Ducat enhancement, Patch 3.29.1 included various minor fixes and refinements designed to smooth out the day-to-day gameplay experience.
Most notably, the developers implemented substantial improvements to Mercenary system; Mercenaries below level 83 received significant boosts to both damage output and overall survivability. For Luminary players who previously struggled with Mercenary support, this means a much smoother progression through the early and mid-game stages.
Furthermore, to reduce the tedious grind involved in min-maxing builds, the developers added a base utility skill slot for mercenaries in Patch 3.29.1 and increased the spawn rate of Infamous Mercenaries in Tier 16 maps by 50%. For players tackling endgame content, acquiring a top-tier mercenary companion is now significantly easier than before.
The core issue remains: the disappointing drop rate of Abyss mechanic
Despite the welcome quality-of-life improvements mentioned above, the player base's overall reception of Patch 3.29.1 remains overwhelmingly negative due to how Abyss mechanic was handled.
As is well known, Abyss mechanic was originally introduced from Path of Exile 2 and was once a fan-favorite feature; however, the version implemented in PoE 1 suffers from a severe lack of rewards.
Prior to the release of Patch 3.29.1, the developers explicitly acknowledged that Abyss content was underperforming in terms of combat density, gameplay experience, and rewards, promising major adjustments within a few days.
Unfortunately, the actual adjustments fell far short of expectations. They attempted to address the reward issue merely by tweaking Abyssal chests: reducing the frequency and quantity of low-tier item drops, improving the quality and quantity of rewards from specific chests, and buffing Greater Abyssal Chests to yield small amounts of Chaos Orbs and Scarabs.
While the experience of opening chests has improved slightly, this stopgap measure completely ignores the most critical problem: Abyss monsters themselves drop almost nothing.
Abyss monsters in PoE 3.29 appear to be affected by an extreme negative loot multiplier. Even in a heavily enhanced T16.5 map (with over 200% item quantity bonus, nearly 200% item rarity bonus, high pack size, and additional currency drop multiplier), the drops on the ground are minimal after activating Abyss Scarab of Crystals and spawning hundreds of magic monsters.
When a high-investment map spawns hordes of monsters yet fails to yield even a basic crafting currency item like an Orb of Alteration, it indicates that the issue isn't merely about low drop rates or poor quality; rather, there is a fundamental flaw in the drop mechanics, one that simple adjustments to chest rewards cannot fix.
A Regression in Loot Drop Patterns
This phenomenon has reignited strong community dissatisfaction regarding the balance between rewards from specific locations or chests versus rewards from killing monsters.
In fact, back in PoE 3.28, many players had already expressed strong discontent with the status quo where the vast majority of valuable loot was locked inside static chests rather than dropping dynamically from slain monsters. If everyone is simply farming POE currency through treasure hunting, what is the point of putting in the effort to level up characters, optimize builds, and conquer endgame bosses?
Fortunately, the developers recognized this flaw at the time and took proactive measures in Patch 3.28 to restore the base drop rates of orbs from ordinary monsters.
However, they have failed to carry this approach over to Curse of the Allflame league; while Patch 3.29.1 buffs Abyssal chests, it keeps the monster drop multiplier at zero, a worrying regression.
This forces players back into a rigid spot-based farming style: slaughtering waves of monsters yields no substantial rewards, while all valuable loot is strictly gated behind the moment one clicks a chest at the end of an encounter. This disconnect undermines the core satisfaction of boss-like challenges, as defeating large numbers of dangerous enemies ought to be the primary means of obtaining rewards.
Conclusion
Ultimately, while Path of Exile Patch 3.29.1 introduces some quality-of-life improvements and enhancements to the mercenary mechanics, it fails to deliver a satisfactory experience regarding Abyss gameplay loop.
Clearly, the developers have ignored the core issue of Abyss monster drop rates, opting instead to fall back on a reliance on chest rewards in an attempt to mask the problem, thereby rendering a potentially compelling mechanic fundamentally flawed and unrewarding, much to the disappointment of players who enjoyed the original, fluid gameplay experience of Abyss.
Unless the developers open up channels of communication and directly address the issue of base monster drop rates, Abyss content will remain a missed opportunity, leaving players with little incentive to engage with a feature that was intended to be a highlight of the expansion.
