Balance Changes in Path of Exile: Betrayal

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Bex_GGG wrote:

Stat Sticks
The use of "stat sticks" has been a feature of Path of Exile for a very long time.

A stat stick is an off-hand weapon that is not valid to use with a skill you are using when dual wielding. You get all the benefits of the stats on the weapon, while not having any limitations it might have affecting the use of the skill. You can use a weapon that has the attack speed and/or damage you want for the skill, while the off-hand weapon provides excellent stats without its speed or base damage limiting you.

This use started off as an interesting gameplay element to use as part of a build, but over many releases, as more powerful modifiers on unique and rare weapons have been added, the power of stat sticks cannot be ignored when planning builds and is stifling other choices including genuine dual-wielding.

In 3.5.0 we are removing the ability to use stat sticks, through the following changes:

• You will no longer be able to use skills that require a specific weapon equipped if you are dual-wielding and one of your equipped weapons is unsuitable for that skill.
• Skills that could be used with two weapons, but were main-hand-only when used, now use both weapons when dual wielding.

We found that with this change it was important to make skillbinds specific to your weapon set. You can now have an entirely different set of skills bound to your main set of weapons and your second set of weapons.

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Thomasmgp wrote:

people acting like stat sticks been in the game since launch. I mean the game was playable before them and it will be playable now.

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Uh... So this completely destroys any value 1c uniques had(they are already dead, stop beating them, I am begging you) and is a heavy nerf to melee attack builds, but this change in no way actually does anything to address the major abusers of stat sticks? Unless there are apocalyptic nerfs to Glacial Cascade and Blade Vortex(any physical damage spell/trap/mine/totem really), it will make me think that absolutely no one at GGG has actually played this game over the past 2 years; or just absolutely want melee to be removed from the game, either one makes sense.

I wonder if my proposal to limit shaper/elder mods to 2 was even discussed at any stage of planning this change. This is clearly not aimed at spells/traps/etc. and is entirely focused on melee attack builds but it's just bizarre when you compare the strength of melee vs spells/totems/mines... It hasn't even been close either. Just... Why?

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This use started off as an interesting gameplay element to use as part of a build...more powerful modifiers on unique and rare weapons...is stifling other choices including genuine dual-wielding.

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You will no longer be able to use skills that require a specific weapon equipped if you are dual-wielding and one of your equipped weapons is unsuitable for that skill.