In Path of Exile: Scourge (our October 3.16 expansion), we're making a number of changes to improve how characters mitigate ailments, use flasks, and build the defence of their characters. We're also addressing the extreme power of Auras and Curses in parties, while improving the strength of these mechanics for builds with a smaller investment. Finally we're changing Elemental Overload and Elemental Equilibrium and massively buffing elemental damage over time to be less dependent on them.
We're planning to share our balance changes across three news posts. Part 1 covers Ailment Mitigation and Flask Improvements, Part 2 covers Core Character Defences and Recovery and Part 3 covers Auras, Curses and Elemental Damage over Time. Today, we're talking about Ailment Mitigation and Flask improvements and will share parts 2 & 3 in subsequent days.
We've assembled this article as a set of identified problems and our intended Solutions. Below each Solution are the specifics of what we're currently intending to change. Please note that as we're still a couple of weeks out from release, anything here is subject to change based on our further testing and your feedback.
Ailment Mitigation
Problem:In 3.15, we changed how flasks prevent ailments and curses on you, but didn't provide enough reasonable alternatives for mitigating ailments.
Solution:Introduce a large number of options and improve existing options for characters to deal with Ailments. Characters should now be able to pick between reservation skills that mitigate ailments, remove effects reactively with life or mana flasks, gain immunity at a cost through Utility Flasks, or use improved modifiers on items and the passive skill tree to mitigate ailments and curses.
Specifics:Certain skills now mitigate Ailments:- Purity of Elements: Aura now grants "You and nearby Allies are Immune to all Elemental Ailments", and "You and nearby Allies gain +20-34% to all Elemental Resistances" (previously 12-27%). Now has a Reservation of 50% (previously 35%).
- Anomalous Purity of Elements no longer grants "You and nearby Allies have +0-2% chance to avoid Elemental Ailments. Instead, it now grants "0-10% increased Effect of Aura".
- The Eternal Labyrinth Enchantment for Purity of Elements Reservation has been changed to match the values of other 50% Reservation Auras.
- Steelskin: Buff now grants "You are Immune to Bleeding" during Effect.
- Tempest Shield: Is now a Reservation Effect, and grants Immunity to Shock, as mentioned below.
Utility Flasks now have modifiers that grant Immunity to an Ailment during Flask Effect but lessen the duration of the Flask. This takes the place of the modifiers that give a specific Ailment Immunity if used while the Ailment is active.
For example:- Immunity to Bleeding and Corrupted Blood during Flask Effect | 35-39% less Duration.
New tiers of the modifiers that give Immunity to an Ailment if used while the Ailment is active have been added to Life and Mana flasks, providing up to 17 seconds of Immunity at the highest tier.
Allied Consecrated Ground now grants 50% reduced Effect of Curses on You while standing on it.
A rebalance to Passive clusters that provide Ailment protection, as well as new passives across the passive tree.
- Between the Templar and Witch, Asylum now grants Chaos Resistance as well as protecting against Curses instead of increasing Consecrated Ground effect.
- Between the Witch and Shadow is a new cluster to protect against Poison, Bleeding and Stun.
- New sources of protection from Stun, Curses, Critical Strikes and Ailments as well as more specialised mechanics like Corrupted Blood, Maim, Hinder and Impale.
New Keystone Passive Skill added to the centre of the tree that causes intelligence to provide no inherent bonus to Energy Shield, but instead reduces elemental ailment duration on you.
Many Pantheon Powers have been updated to better mitigate Ailments. Some Pantheon modifiers have been updated to be more of a choice with others.- Soul of Brine King: Upgraded Soul of the Brine King Pantheon now grants "Cannot be Frozen", instead of "You cannot be Frozen if you've been Frozen Recently".
- Soul of Arakaali: No longer grants 10% chance to Avoid Lightning Damage from Hits. It now grants 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage over Time (previously 5%). Upgraded Soul of Arakaali Pantheon no longer grants 30% reduced Effect of Shock on You, or 30% reduced Shock Duration on You. Instead, it now grants "Debuffs on You Expire 20% faster". Upgraded Soul of Arakaali Pantheon now grants +40% Chaos Resistance against Damage over Time (previously 25%).
- Soul of Abberath: No longer grants 5% reduced Fire Damage taken while moving, or "Unaffected by Burning Ground". It now grants 60% less Duration of Ignite on You. Upgraded Soul of Abberath Pantheon no longer grants 50% reduced Ignite Duration on You, it now grants "Unaffected by Burning Ground", as well as 10% increased Movement Speed while on Burning Ground.
- Soul of Shakari: Soul of Shakari and the upgraded Soul of Shakari Pantheon powers have been swapped. Soul of Shakari Pantheon now grants 50% less Duration of Poisons on You, and "You cannot be Poisoned while there are at least 3 Poisons on You" (previously 5 Poisons). Upgraded Soul of Shakari Pantheon now grants 5% reduced Chaos Damage Taken, and 25% reduced Chaos Damage over Time taken while on Caustic Ground.
- Soul of Ralakesh: No longer grants 25% chance to avoid Bleeding. Instead, it now grants "Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage".
- Soul of Yugul: No longer grants 50% chance to Reflect Enemy Chills and Freezes. Instead, it now grants 50% chance to Reflect Hexes, and "You and your Minions take 50% reduced Reflected Damage" (previously 25%). Upgraded Soul of Yugul now grants 30% reduced Effect of Curses on You (previously 20%).
- Soul of Garukhan No longer grants +5% chance to Evade Attack Hits if you've taken a Savage Hit Recently. Instead, it now grants 60% reduced Effect of Shock on You.
- Soul of Tukohama: Now grants "While stationary, gain 3% additional Physical Damage Reduction every second, up to a maximum of 9%" (previously 2%, up to a maximum of 8%). Upgraded Soul of Tukohama no longer grants "While stationary, gain 0.5% of Life Regeneration per second every second, up to a maximum of 2%". Instead, it now grants "Regenerate 2% of Life per second while stationary".
Crafting modifiers have been updated:- The Veiled modifier on Body Armour that granted 25-30% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments and being Stunned now grants 30-35% chance. The crafting bench version of this modifier has been updated accordingly.
- The "Chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments" crafting bench option now grants 21-25% chance (previously 16-18%).
- The "Reduced Effect of Chill and Shock on You" crafting bench option now grants 30-40% chance (previously 21-25%).
Added the following new crafting bench modifiers:- Shields - Take no Extra damage from Bleed while Moving
- Belt - +36/43% Chaos Resistance to Damage over Time
- Boots - 50/60% chance to Avoid Bleeding
- Rings - 50/60% reduced Ignite Duration on you
- Rings - 50/60% reduced Effect of Chill on you
- Rings - 50/60% reduced Effect of Shock on you
- Rings - 20/25% reduced Effect of Curses on you
- Helmet - 15/20% reduced Effect of Freeze on You
- "Avoidance" crafting bench options are now called "Ailment, Stun and Curse Mitigation".
Updated crafting bench modifier unlock locations:- Rank 2 "Attributes" crafting bench options are now unlocked in the Western Forest in Act 6, these were previously unlocked in The Ascent in Act 4.
- Rank 3 "Attributes" crafting bench options are now unlocked in Maps, these were previously unlocked in the Western Forest in Act 6.
- Rank 1 "Ailment, Stun and Curse Mitigation" crafting bench options are now unlocked in The Ascent in Act 4, these were previously unlocked in Maps.
- The new Belt crafting bench option is unlocked with other reduced Damage over Time crafting options. This unlock was in the Incursion Temple but is now found in a Map. The remaining new crafting options are unlocked alongside other Ailment, Stun and Curse Mitigation crafting options in The Ascent in Act 4. The modifier level of existing modifiers in the Rank 1 Ailment, Stun and Curse Mitigation category have been lowered (so the item level requirement of the item is appropriate if you use this craft during the campaign).
Updated certain Rare item modifiers, and added some new ones.Shields:- Chance to Avoid all Elemental Status Ailments can now roll as a Suffix on all Shields (previously just Dexterity Shields).
- The tier 1 Chance to Avoid all Elemental Status Ailments modifier can now grant up to 35% chance (previously 23%). Lower tier modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
Influenced Items- The chance to Avoid Ignite/Freeze/Shock modifiers on Crusader Boots and Quivers now scales up to 60% chance (previously 45%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed. Elevated modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
- The chance to Avoid Poison and Bleed modifiers on Hunter Boots now scales up to 50% chance (previously 35%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed. Elevated modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
- The chance to Avoid all Elemental Status Ailments modifier on Shaper Boots now scales up to 35% chance (previously 25%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed. Elevated modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
- The chance to Avoid Stun modifiers on Elder and Redeemer Boots, Gloves and Quivers now scales up to 35% chance (previously 30%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed. Elevated modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
- The reduced Ignite/Freeze duration and reduced Shock Effect modifiers on Crusader Helmets now scales up to 60% reduced (previously 45%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed. Elevated modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
- The reduced Curse Effect modifier on Crusader and Shaper Rings now scales up to 40% reduced (previously 35%), and lower tier modifiers have been removed.
- The "Moving while Bleeding doesn't cause you to take extra Damage" modifier can no longer roll on Hunter Shields.
Improved Avoidance values on Essences:- The Chance to Avoid Shock/Freeze/Ignite modifier on Belts, Helmets and Boots from Essences of Torment/Suffering/Anguish now scales up to 60% chance (previously 44%). Lower tier modifiers have been adjusted accordingly.
Improved Avoidance Suffix modifiers on Abyss Jewels:- Suffix modifiers that grant a chance to Avoid Ignite/Chill/Freeze/Shock/Poison/Bleed/Stun now scale up to 30% chance (previously 20%).
Added two new modifiers to Regular Jewels:- 15% reduced Effect of Chill and Shock on You
- 10% reduced Effect of Curses on You
Timeless Jewels- The Brutal Restraint Notable Passive Skill addition that grants a chance to Avoid Stuns now grants a 20% chance (previously 10%).
- The Elegant Hubris Notable Passive Skill transformation that grants a chance to Avoid being Chilled and chance to Avoid being Shocked now grants 80% chance (previously 50%).
Cluster Jewels:- The Elegant Form Cluster Jewel Notable Passive Skill now grants 20% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments (previously 15%).
Jewel Corruptions:- Adding an Implicit modifier with 20-25% chance to Avoid Ignite/Chill/Freeze/Shock/Poison/Bleed/Stun is now a possible outcome when Corrupting all Jewels.
Synthesis Implicits:- Synthesis Implicit modifiers on Jewels that grant a chance to Avoid Ignite/Chill/Freeze/Shock/Poison/Bleed/Stun now grant 8-10% chance (previously 3-5%).
Harvest Implicits:- Modifiers that granted a chance to Avoid Ailments or reduced Ailment Effect now have values of 15% (previously 10%).
Ring Corruptions:- Obtaining an Implicit Cannot be Poisoned/Ignited/Inflicted with Bleed modifier is now possible earlier in the game when Corrupting a Ring, and now has a higher outcome chance.
Some Uniques have been updated:- The Tear of Purity Amulet no longer grants 5% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments. Instead, it now grants +5% to all Elemental Resistances (as Purity of Elements now gives Elemental Ailment Immunity, the modifier had very little use). This affects existing versions of this item.
- The Conqueror's Longevity Jewel now grants 10% chance to Avoid Elemental Ailments (previously 3%). Existing versions of this item can be updated to the new values with a Divine Orb.
- The Ghastly Theatre Shield now grants "Bleeding cannot be Inflicted on You" (previously 30-50% chance to avoid Bleeding). Existing versions of this item can be updated with a Divine Orb.
- The Kikazaru Ring now grants 60% reduced Effect of Curses on You (previously 40%). Existing versions of this item can be updated to the new values with a Divine Orb.
Flasks
Problem:Many Flask modifiers grant buffs during Flask Effect, which isn't well-suited to a Life or Mana Flask's short and reactive nature.
Solution:Added new modifiers to Life and Mana Flasks that are impactful but brief, and have a Duration rather than applying during Flask Effect.
Specifics:Removed many Flask Effect modifiers from Life and Mana flasks, and added the following modifiers for Life and Mana Flasks:
- Hinder nearby Enemies with 40% reduced Movement Speed for 4 seconds if used while not on Full Mana (Mana Flasks Only)
- Hinder nearby Enemies with 40% reduced Movement Speed for 4 seconds if used while not on Full Life (Life Flasks Only)
- Grants Immunity to Hinder for 17 seconds if used while Hindered | Grants Immunity to Maim for 17 seconds if used while Maimed
- Recover an additional 40% of Life Recovery over 10 seconds if used while not on Full Life (Life Flasks Only)
Problem:Utility Flasks are usually used proactively, but the Ailment protection modifiers introduced in 3.15.0 work by reacting to an Ailment on you.
Solution:Replace the Ailment Removal Modifier on Utility flasks with one that grants Ailment Immunity but lessens flask duration. Note that base durations on Utility flasks have been increased to compensate (see below).
Specifics:Added new modifiers to Utility Flasks for mitigating Ailments as well as adding more tiers to existing modifiers that are now only found on Life and Mana Flasks, as noted above. We have also added these Ailment Immunity Modifiers for Utility Flasks as Beastcrafting options.
- Immunity to Bleeding and Corrupted Blood during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration at the highest tier
- Immunity to Poison during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration at the highest tier
- Immunity to Shock during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration at the highest tier
- Immunity to Ignite during Flask effect | Removes Burning on use | 35% less Duration at the highest tier
- Immunity to Freeze and Chill during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration at the highest tier
Problem:Utility Flasks are sustainable with enough character damage and clear speed, but there aren't easy ways to sustain Utility Flasks for less-powerful characters.
Solution:Add new modifiers and improve existing modifiers on Flasks that affect their duration or charge gain. Add some new Passive Skills to help sustain Flasks. Extend the base duration of Utility Flasks to reduce how often they need to be used.
Specifics:New modifier that helps extend flask uptime:
- 66% increased Charge Recovery | 25% reduced Effect
Extending Utility Flask Duration:
- Quicksilver, Diamond, Granite, Jade, Quartz and Silver Flasks now last 6 seconds (previously 4).
- Ruby, Sapphire, Topaz, Aquamarine, Sulphur, Basalt, Stibnite and Corundum Flasks now last 8 seconds (previously 5).
- Gold and Iron Flasks now last 5 seconds (previously 3).
- Bismuth Flask now lasts 8.5 seconds (previously 5.5).
- Amethyst Flask now lasts 6.5 seconds (previously 4.5).
Unique Flasks are being reviewed as a result of these changes:
- Dying Sun now has 40-60% less Duration (previously 40-60% reduced duration).
- Coruscating Elixir now has 25% increased Duration (previously 100%).
- Bottled Faith now has 15-30% reduced Duration (previously 20-40% increased).
Adding and improving Flask investment in the Dexterity area of the Passive Skill Tree.
Problem:Even after lowering the power of many Unique flasks in 3.15.0, Unique Flasks still outclass most Magic Utility Flasks. In addition, the item level of flasks did not matter after a certain point.
Solution:Add multiple tiers to most Flask modifiers. At higher levels, Flasks now have much more powerful effects available. Flask modifiers that increase Armour or Evasion are now weaker at their first tier as the changes to Armour and Evasion below make them more powerful. These changes allow us to restore some of the power that was removed from Flasks in 3.15 without affecting the early-mid game so much.
Specifics:Here are examples of the highest tier modifiers available:
- 60-65% Reduced Effect of Chill on you during Flask effect | 60-65% Reduced Duration of Freezes on you during Flask effect (Level 80)
- 60-65% Reduced Effect of Shock on you during Flask effect (Level 82)
- 60-65% Reduced Effect of Curses on you during Flask effect (Level 84)
- Immunity to Bleeding and Corrupted Blood during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration (Level 76)
- Immunity to Poison during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration (Level 76)
- Immunity to Shock during Flask Effect | 35% less (Level 74)
- Immunity to Ignite during Flask effect | Removes Burning on use | 35% less Duration (Level 74)
- Immunity to Freeze and Chill during Flask Effect | 35% less Duration (Level 72)
- 12-14% increased Movement Speed during Flask effect (Level 85)
- 56-60% increased Armour during Flask effect (Level 84)
- 56-60% increased Evasion during Flask effect (Level 84)
- 37-40% additional Elemental Resistances during Flask effect (Level 81)
- 0.8% of Attack Damage Leeched as Life during Flask effect (Level 80)
- 0.8% of Spell Damage Leeched as Energy Shield during Flask effect (Level 80)
- 50-55% increased Critical Strike Chance during Flask effect (Level 82)
- 31-34% chance to Freeze, Shock and Ignite during Flask effect (Level 72)
- 40-45% Chance to avoid being Stunned during Flask Effect (Level 80)
- 15-17% increased Attack Speed during Flask effect (Level 82)
- 15-17% increased Cast Speed during Flask effect (Level 82)
- 51-55% chance to Avoid being Chilled during Flask Effect | 51-55% chance to Avoid being Frozen during Flask Effect (Level 80)
- 51-55% chance to Avoid being Shocked during Flask Effect (Level 82)
- 51-55% chance to Avoid being Ignited during Flask Effect (Level 82)
- 75-80% increased Block and Stun Recovery during Flask Effect (Level 73)
- +32-35 to Maximum Charges (Level 82)
- Gain 7 Charges when you are Hit by an Enemy (Level 80)
- 26-28% reduced Charges used (Level 82)
- 46-50% increased Charge Recovery (Level 83)
- 31-35% chance to gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical Strike (Level 80)
- 30-33% reduced Duration | 25% increased effect (Level 80)
- 36-40% increased Duration (Level 84)
- 61-66% increased Charge Recovery | 25% Reduced Effect (Level 84)
- Instant Recovery when on Low Life | 11-14% reduced Amount Recovered (Level 81)
- 50% of Recovery applied Instantly | 36-39% reduced Amount Recovered | 135% increased Recovery rate (Level 79)
- 65-70% increased Amount Recovered | 33% reduced Recovery rate (Level 81)
- 125-130% increased Recovery when on Low Life (Level 82)
- 56-60% increased Life Recovered | Removes 10% of Life Recovered from Mana when used (Level 81)
- 56-60% increased Mana Recovered | Removes 15% of Mana Recovered from Life when used (Level 81)
- Instant Recovery | 66% reduced Amount Recovered (Level 7)
- 45-50% increased Amount Recovered | 25% increased Charges used (Level 82)
- Grants Immunity to Ignite for +15-17 seconds if used while Ignited (Level 78)
- Grants Immunity to Shock for +15-17 seconds if used while Shocked (Level 78)
- Grants Immunity to Poison for +15-17 seconds if used while Poisoned (Level 82)
- Grants Immunity to Bleeding for +15-17 seconds if used while Bleeding (Level 80)
- Grants Immunity to Chill for +15-17 seconds if used while Chilled | Grants Immunity to Freeze for +15-17 seconds if used while Frozen (Level 76)
- Remove a curse on use (Level 8)
- Hinder nearby Enemies with 35-40% reduced Movement Speed for 4 seconds if used while not on Full Mana (Level 82)
- Hinder nearby Enemies with 35-40% reduced Movement Speed for 4 seconds if used while not on Full Life (Level 82)
- Grants Immunity to Maim for +15-17 seconds if used while Maimed | Grants Immunity to Hinder for +15-17 seconds if used while Hindered (Level 82)
- Grants 75-80% of Life Recovery to Minions (Level 82)
- 26-29% reduced Mana Cost of Skills during Flask Effect (Level 80)
- 35-40% of recovery applied as an extra recovery effect over 10 seconds (Level 81)
Problem:Enkindling effects on Flasks aren't impactful enough, and aren't bringing Flasks back to the kind of power that non-permanent uptime should grant.
Solution:Buff some Enkindling Orb effects, most notably the increased Flask Effect modifier.
Specifics:- 80-100% increased Duration (previously 70-90%).
- +40-60 to Maximum Charges (previously +30-40).
- 25-35% reduced Charges used (previously 20-30%).
- 60-80% increased Charge Recovery (previously 50-60%).
- 50-70% increased Effect (previously 40-50%).
(Existing modifiers will be unaffected.)
Problem:Belts are the item slot intended to enhance Flasks, but only have a limited list of modifiers that actually affect Flasks in their modifier pool.
Solution:Add more tiers to Flask modifiers on Belts, and move the Flask Effect modifier out of the Influence modifier pool into the base modifier pool for Belts.
Specifics:Added more tiers to Belt modifiers that affect Flasks, resulting in buffs to most modifiers, most notably Life and Mana recovery modifiers. Here are some examples of values of some high tier modifiers:
- 40% increased Flask Life Recovery rate
- 40% increased Flask Mana Recovery rate
- 40% increased Flask Charges gained
- 33% increased Flask Effect Duration
- Flasks applied to you have 12% increased Effect
Problem:Instant-recovery Life Flasks are by far the most reliable tool for survivability, as the total Life recovery from a Flask is reasonable but spread over a long period of time.
Solution:Keep the total Life Recovery from all Life Flasks the same, but halve the amount of time for this to occur, which doubles their healing per second. This is a huge improvement to how effective non-instant Life Flasks are at keeping you alive in tough situations.
Specifics:- The Blood of the Karui Unique Flask is being reviewed as a result of these changes, and now has 35-50% reduced Recovery Rate (previously 5-20% increased).
Problem:There are no accessible tools for a player to change their charge gain method if gaining charges on kill isn't well-suited to their slower playstyle.
Solution:Rework the "Survival" Jewels available from the "Through Sacred Ground" quest to let you gain charges another way, while reducing the charges gained from kills. These designs are still in progress.
Problem:Rangers don't have a form of Life Recovery that they excel at, while almost every other core character has a signature special Recovery method.
Solution:Add new and improve existing passive skills specialising in the recovery of charges for life and mana Flasks as well as life recovery from Flasks in the Ranger section of the Passive Skill Tree.
Specifics:- Added Life Regeneration if you've used a Life Flask in the past 10 seconds and Mana Gained on Hit with Attacks if you've used a Mana Flask in the past 10 seconds to the Ranger starting area.
- Added new Passive Skills in the Ranger section of the Passive Skill Tree that increase generation of Life and Mana Flasks, including gaining a Life Flask Charge on Hitting Enemies, with a short cooldown. Added new sources of life and mana flasks gaining charges every 3 seconds and Life Flasks gaining Charges when you Suppress Spell Damage.
That concludes Part 1 of our 3.16 expansion balance changes. Tomorrow, we'll share Part 2, which covers our plans for Core Character Defences and Recovery. Please keep in mind as we're so far away from launch, elements of what we've written here may change after further play testing, feedback and iteration. There's plenty more to discover in our upcoming reveal of Path of Exile: Scourge and its patch notes. See you tomorrow!
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