Exiles, have you been plagued by the sluggishness and frequent deaths of summoned creatures in Path of Exile 3.29? If you want to say goodbye to this pain but still want to continue using the summoner build, then Raise Zombie of Slamming build might be your answer.

It revives the glory of the zombie build, with smooth and fluid controls, finally freeing our hands completely when farming.

Furthermore, using Necromancer ascendancy class, along with a moderate PoE currency budget, we can unleash tens of millions of damage with the help of Raise Zombie of Slamming, crushing bosses in the blink of an eye!

Damage Mechanics

Of course, because of Necromancer and zombie gameplay, the community usually calls this build Zombiemancer, and the core idea of ​​this build is to address the shortcomings of the original zombie mechanics summoned by Raise Zombie of Slamming one by one.

Because the base damage of zombies in PoE 3.29 isn't particularly impressive, we need to introduce Necromancer's Ascendancy passive: Unnatural Strength, which converts all physical damage into Chaos Damage.

A Severed in Sleep one-handed sword is also essential for this build. This allows us to maximize DPS through double critical strike chance, increased critical strike damage, and the significant base Chaos Damage provided by Envy aura.

Attack Speed

After addressing the zombies' damage cap, another issue we need to resolve is attack speed.

The base attack speed of the zombies summoned by Raise Zombie of Slamming is only 0.85, making our gameplay feel particularly sluggish.

Replica Maata's Teaching weapon doubles the attack speed, completely changing the zombies' clunky and slow performance in Path of Exile.

With the damage and attack speed adjustments mentioned earlier, we can now ensure that zombies in the game can both deal burst damage and keep up with the pace of combat, thus supporting a smooth and fluid gameplay experience.

Core Equipment

Helmet

It's worth mentioning that while the unique Bone Helmet: Ancient Skull provides a significant increase in summon critical hit rate and triggers Whisper buff, increasing their damage and attack speed by 50%, the cost is that summons lose 5% of their life per second.

To address this, we can obtain 5% Minion Life Regeneration through nodes in Passive Skill Tree and combine it with the existing resistance from the weapon Severed in Sleep to compensate for summon Chaos Resistance, thereby mitigating continuous damage and ensuring zombie survival.

Additionally, through Allflame Crafting in the current Path of Exile 3.29, Minions are Aggressive can be used as the base affix for the helmet, which is also the best choice, but PoE currency cost is too high.

An alternative is to use the +2 Summon Gem Level affix to upgrade the levels of Spectres and Zombies.

Even without Minions Are Aggressive, Whisper effect of Ancient Skull can indirectly increase the attack range of summons, having little impact on daily boss battles in the game.

Body Armor

Theoretically, the best choice for chest armor is Skin of the Loyal with affixes that increase gem level obtained through corruption, but this is also too expensive.

An alternative, The Covenant, can also provide us with additional base Chaos Damage, resulting in approximately a 65% damage increase.

Amulet

Ashes of the Stars amulet is crucial for our zombie summoning build.

Because Raise Zombie of Slamming's mechanic is to add one zombie for every 20% quality, this amulet increases its quality by another 30%.

The original 30% quality, plus the 30% from the amulet, allows us to stack a maximum of +3 zombies.

Combined with the level effect of Congregation Support, the maximum number of zombies increases by 2, allowing our summoned creatures to deal significant damage.

Defense Mechanics

For blocking and recovery, we can use Bone Offering and Amulet Anoint to give zombies a 75% attack and spell block rate, along with life recovery from blocking, greatly reducing the probability of zombies dying in PoE boss battles.

For our character, Necromancer, since dual-wielding weapons prevents her from wielding a shield, we can utilize Mistress of Sacrifice Ascendancy passive to extend Bone Offering's effect to herself.

Spell block relies on Elegant Hubris to randomly convert nodes in Passive Skill Tree into Spell Blocks.

Additionally, Leech Mastery provides substantial life recovery, further enhancing Necromancer's survivability.

Skill Links

For boss battles, this Raise Zombie of Slamming build can use Ruthless Support to enhance the slam damage of individual attacks, while deliberately avoiding Minion Damage support gem to prevent it from reducing the zombies' maximum life.

When clearing maps and monsters, Ruthless Support can be replaced with Annihilation Support, allowing the zombies' damage and area-of-effect skills to chain together, resulting in incredibly smooth gameplay.

To further enhance the output and survivability of this summoned team, you can equip Animated Guardian with Kingmaker, providing +50% critical strike damage to all nearby allies.

Overall, this Necromancer and Raise Zombie of Slamming build is a mid-budget option, using Replica Maata's Teaching as its core equipment, with high flexibility in adjusting the remaining components.

While Raise Zombie of Slamming might not be the strongest option in PoE 3.29, as a summoner build, you don't need to do much preparation before boss fights, and the overall gameplay is very comfortable and easy.

If you enjoy playing summoner builds, believe in the potential of Raise Zombie of Slamming and Necromancer!

Breach Fortresses is a great farming strategy for currency in Path of Exile Patch 3.29, and its biggest advantage is its simplicity.

It doesn't require a particularly complex process; most of the time you just need to clear mobs and collect loot. If you want to farm a lot of currency while watching TV, this mechanic is perfect for you.

This guide details how to run this Path of Exile Patch 3.29 Breach Fortresses farming strategy.

Advantages

Unstable Breaches were heavily nerfed in POE Patch 3.29, but Breach Fortresses were largely unaffected. They remain in excellent condition, and Scarab's cost for running this farm is very low. Therefore, in the current Curse of the Allflame League, Breach Fortresses remain the best way to farm Path of Exile Currency.

Each map's fortresses spawn many Wombgifts and Hiveblood, allowing you to kill wave after wave of monsters and obtain a wealth of random loot.

Combining this strategy with Tier 16.5 maps, especially 8-Mod maps, PoE maps with more currency mods, or even 8-Mod Tier 16.5 and Delirium Orbs, will further enhance the rewards.

High pack size and quantity allow you to kill more monsters and obtain substantial amounts of raw currency, raw divines, and other high-value currency. In addition, Genesis Tree remains very powerful and is another important source of income for this strategy.

Different types of Wombgifts can be further converted; Foulborn unique items are very valuable, and even some basic PoE crafting bases, with the right item base and suitable fracture, can sell for 5, 10, or even 15 divines. This is also a very interesting playstyle, serving as an alternative to the basic Path of Exile tower defense mechanic like Blight. And currently, the returns from Breach Fortress are far higher than Blight's .

Workflow

Upon entering the map, the classic workflow is to first use Boss Rush to exclude Boss Altars from the flow. You can then hire a mercenary, as this strategy utilizes the extra damage from mercenaries.

Mercenaries are especially effective in the last phase of Breach Fortress because they can continuously deal damage from a fixed location, essentially gaining extra free damage. Upon entering PoE map, prioritize finding Quant Altars; if you encounter Duplication Altars, you can use them directly. After completing these preparations, enter Breach Fortress.

Scarab

The only Scarab required for this PoE farming strategy is Breach Scarab of the Marshall, which transforms Breach Hives into Hive Fortresses and is the core of the entire playstyle.

The remaining Scarabs can be adjusted based on your budget and character strength. Monstrous Lineage is the most direct option, increasing Magic Pack Size and allowing more monsters to spawn in Breach Fortress, thus improving the rewards of the final Loot Explosion.

If your character is strong enough, you can also add Scarabs of Wisps to increase the number of wisps for numerous monsters. While the enemies you encounter will be more dangerous, Breach Fortress itself has enhancements from Aith, so the overall difficulty is usually still manageable.

If you don't want to increase the combat difficulty, you can use 8 Mod Map Farming instead. Combining it with Cartography Scarabs of Escalation and Cartography Scarabs of Corruption will reliably yield more 8 mod maps, increasing the value of Breach Fortress's output.

Maps

There are no strict restrictions on the maps used for Breach Fortress Farming. 8 Mod Maps are the ideal choice, and you can also challenge yourself with 8 Mod Delirious Maps. If your character's strength is insufficient, you can also use 6 Mod Maps, but the overall rewards will be lower.

The more map mods you have, the higher Quantity and Pack Size, resulting in more Blood and Gifts. Therefore, high-difficulty maps are usually a better choice. Tier 16.5 maps, in particular, often offer higher pack sizes, and more monsters mean a higher final loot.

This playstyle has an additional advantage: some map ground effects don't fully take effect within Breach Fortresses, but the map's inherent Quantity, Pack Size, and other attributes still apply.

Therefore, some seemingly cumbersome map mods don't have as significant an impact on the core combat areas of Fortresses in PoE as one might imagine.

Atlas Passive Tree

Path of Exile Atlas Passive Tree should be built around the benefits of Breach Fortresses. You don't need to aim for 100% Breach Chance, as the map itself provides a base spawn probability. Combined with Blocker Nodes, you can usually achieve a relatively stable Breach Chance.

You should prioritize Hives, Fortresses, Hive Blood, Womb Gifts, and Nodes that increase monster numbers. Protracted Siege is also worth investing in; it increases waves of Hiveborn Monsters, allowing Fortress battles to last longer, while also providing more monsters and loot.

If using Templar Astrolabes, consider Speaker of Dead to reduce the number of Tormented Spirits surrounding Path of Exile bosses. Finally, if you plan to repeatedly farm the same map, choosing a familiar map with efficient traversal is crucial; stable routes and shorter completion times directly impact overall farming efficiency.

Genesis Tree

Another important source of income from Breach Fortress is Genesis Tree. Farming Breach Fortress yields a large amount of Womb Gifts; different types of Womb Gifts are used for different PoE crafting purposes.

In Path of Exile, Ancient Wombgifts are more valuable, while Mysterious Wombgifts are primarily used to further convert into Ancient Wombgifts through Genesis Tree.

Provisioning Wombgifts typically have a higher yield, but the direct value of a single gift is relatively limited. A common use is to craft equipment with Provisioning Gifts and to find marketable Crafting Bases through mechanisms like Fracture.

Unique Tree offers a higher yield cap. You can adjust relevant nodes to increase the drop rate of unique items in specific slots, such as belts, jewels, and shields.

These slots have the potential to yield high-value Foulborn unique items. The specific slots chosen should be adjusted based on Curse of the Allflame League economy and your personal farm goals.

If you prefer to directly obtain PoE Currency, you can choose Currency branch of Genesis Tree. Fertilising Genesis Trees grants a Lucky effect to Currency Rolls, increasing the chances of obtaining rarer Currency results.

Prodigal Offspring focuses on increasing additional output. Both improve overall returns from the perspectives of currency quality and quantity, respectively. You can choose different RNG directions based on market conditions and your personal risk tolerance.

It's important to note that because the final result is affected by RNG, currency rarity, and league economy, it's difficult to definitively say that any one configuration yields the highest return.

Path of Exile Patch 3.29 Breach Fortress combines simple controls, a stable number of monsters, and a large number of loot. As long as your character can reliably handle the enemies in the fortress, you can repeat this process continuously. This playstyle is particularly enjoyable for players who prefer low-skill, high-efficiency farming.

Players, Path of Exile 3.29.3 was updated on August 12th. This patch not only brings new gameplay depth but also contains crucial adjustments that will affect the course of the league.

For every Exile who has ventured into the endgame, the impact of Patch 3.29.3 is far more complex than the literal meaning of the announcement.

Essence of Desolation Source Completely Closed

The most notable negative change in Patch 3.29.3 is undoubtedly the complete closure of Essence of Desolation source.

This type of Essence existed in PoE 3.28, but after 3.29, players could only obtain it through a specific method. However, some players still hoarded them and used them to craft top-tier gear.

Therefore, with the release of these patch notes, the only remaining source of Essence of Desolation has been removed. However, existing finished Essences in the league and the mirror items they create are all retained and usable.

Therefore, the only way to obtain this type of Essence in PoE after this point is to acquire a mirror copy from an existing holder, which means you will need to prepare a lot of PoE currency.

However, the most criticized aspect of Essence of Desolation change is that it doesn't address a balance issue - this Essence didn't disrupt the overall crafting ecosystem or cause imbalance, yet it was treated as a bug and fixed, resulting in powerful resources being locked in the hands of a few early players.

This means new players have no chance to catch up with older players, directly undermining the sense of fairness in the catch-up process.

New Cursed Ducats

Cursed Ducats are one of the most important positive additions in Patch 3.29.3, designed to enhance the rewards and challenges of Voyages and Charts gameplay.

Basic Rules

Cursed Ducats are similar to Voidstones in the game. There are six types, but you can only socket a maximum of three into your Voyage Planner at a time.

Each Cursed Ducat provides the same type of positive bonus:

• Monster Drop Item Quantity +20%
• Item Rarity +20%
• Toughness +50%

So, stacking three Cursed Ducats will provide you with +60% Monster Drop Item Quantity, +60% Item Rarity, and +150% Toughness.

Players should note that Toughness doesn't simply increase Life; it's an effective Life increase achieved through Damage Reduction during Path of Exile.

For example, 1 million Life + 600% Toughness and 7 million Life but 0 Toughness, while requiring the same total damage to kill, interact differently with Damage over Time cap and Leech mechanic.

Each Cursed Ducat Has a Unique Negative Effect

Besides the positive bonuses, each Cursed Ducat has a unique negative affix, so players should choose the three least affected affixes based on their build:

• Ducat of Tsoatha's Gift: Increases monster damage by 50%
• Ducat of the Undead Sea: Increases monster elemental resistance by 10%
• Ducat of the Eucarid Isle: Increases monster critical strike chance by 500% and critical strike damage by 50%
• Ducat of the Fallen Stars: Monsters deal 100% additional elemental damage as physical damage
• Ducat of the Grasping Deep: Monsters gain +2 projectiles and an increased area-of-effect by 40%
• Ducat of the Foul Kin: Increases monster attack, casting, and movement speed by 50%

The negative effects of Ducat of the Eucarid Isle and Ducat of the Foul Kin are considered the most threatening to most characters, while the negative effects of the other Cursed Ducats are relatively easier to handle.

How to unlock?

Most PoE players should have already defeated Velka, the Tide Witch in the game. Simply return to The Sovereign and talk to Valerie to obtain your first Ducat of Tsoatha's Gift.

After socketing it, certain monsters or objects in Voyages and Charts may drop the remaining five Cursed Ducats.

Interface and Operation Optimizations

To facilitate players' evaluation of affix value in Voyage Planner, Path of Exile 3.29.3 now allows you to hold down Alt (on keyboard) or Left Trigger (on controller) to view all 12 Border Modifiers at once, eliminating the need to check each one individually, greatly improving filtering efficiency.

Furthermore, previously only single-attribute affixes were available on Small Cluster Jewels, the update allows for in-game swapping using Genteel's Ducat, increasing flexibility in attribute adjustments.

Regarding Enemy Mercenary

To reduce the chances of players being accidentally killed by Mercenary, Patch 3.29.3 has reduced the damage of several high-damage abilities targeting enemy Mercenary. However, this only applies when Mercenary is an enemy; the damage remains unchanged when Mercenary is an ally.

Affected abilities include Fireball of Impact, Flameblast, Frostbolt, Ice Nova, Ice Nova of Projection, Rolling Magma, and Fireball - all will no longer be as powerful as before.

Other Bug Fixes

Other noteworthy bug fixes in PoE 3.29.3 include the ability to interact with Essence Monsters from a greater distance to break their seals.

However, considering the removal of Essence of Desolation source mentioned earlier, this improvement may not be used very frequently in the game.

Abyssal Crystals (from Abyss Scarab of Crystals) will now shatter when the final Pit of Abyss closes, but this is merely a visual improvement for players.

This update also includes two minor fixes for Mercenary: Wither on Hit support now takes effect for the correct 2 seconds instead of the incorrect 33 milliseconds; and third permanent Mercenary can now be hired even when you already have two permanent Mercenary and one temporary Mercenary (previously this was bugged).

Furthermore, there are numerous bug fixes primarily addressing skill effects, client stability, and UI display, so Patch 3.29.3 should make the overall gameplay experience smoother and more reliable.

For this update, it's recommended that casual players focus on mastering Cursed Ducats combinations and choosing which negative effects to avoid based on their own defensive mechanics.

Adapting to and learning to utilize the changes in PoE 3.29.3 will give you a significant advantage over other players!