Content Update 3.27.0 — Path of Exile: Keepers of the Flame

Been staring at the assassin rework for awhile. Some good and some bad, and ultimately I don't think it changes the equation in the Shadow class.

Assassination Style is just objectively worse than Ambush and Assassinate, which is replaces.

Unstable Infusion gets a teeny tiny buff to charge generation, which is pointless. You were either fine with a 10% rate or you went with a guaranteed generator. Bumping it to 15% does nothing.

Deathmarked is bad. It brings QoL from the mark on hit, but we *lose* 1.5% base crit and 30% crit multi that would have come from Deadly Infusion in exchange for 10 extra Assassin's Mark levels, which only gets you 9% crit multi.

Mystical Infusion is just Sandstorm Visage. I guess it opens up the helm slot, so maybe something interesting could come from that.

The defensive changes from Mistwalker and the new Shadowed Blood are great, but they're not going to be enough to steer players away from Trickster, even post-nerf. Lab runners, though?

The poison ascendancy changes are good, and potentially allow for interesting builds, though it looks like it lost the 40% chance to poison, so we might have to put investment elsewhere getting that back depending on the build. That's where I think there's some potential.

"

Flaggro#2460 wrote:

Mystical Infusion is just Sandstorm Visage. I guess it opens up the helm slot, so maybe something interesting could come from that.

You missed one important thing here. Sandstorm Visage has the downside "Cannot deal Critical Strikes with Attacks".

Mystical Infusion can be used for CoC or other builds that do both attacks and spells, while SSV can't.

Way to suck the life out of a new league.

"

Esubane#6099 wrote:

"

Senju_Hyoketsu#6098 wrote:

"

napartymateusz#2922 wrote:

Bottom line is balance is important, especially early, builds achieving tens of milions of damage (and solid defences) for 50 chaos orbs are not balanced, and are unhealthy for the game on trade - both for economy and the players who will see them outperforming everything and getting nerfed after the damage is already done.

Especially when those builds can go super meta after, cause you build around elementalist.

Can't put it better than that.

If only more people complained about balance, or the lack thereof; and kept GGG accountable, they would be pressured to do actual real meaningful balance passes and the game would be in a better state overall.

It's just demoralizing having builds crushing the game on 50c at league start, while others are struggling in yellow/red maps. Saying you can stay in your hideout, craft and not play the game, is both irrelevant and a bit disingenuous.

But idk what's worse, the previously mentioned or having people telling others to stay in their hideout and trade...

Ever heard the concept "League Starter"?
It's a build that "demolishes" the game with no investment. You can do red maps on a 4-link with it. It is carried so hard by passive skill tree, ascendancy choice and skill gem choice alone.

Except it doesn't really "demolish" the game. Falls off mid-reds once you have to corrupt them and hit 8-modders. Once you start adding scarabs to your maps. Once you develop an actual farm strategy.

That's when you think about a new character that NEEDS currency to even function, but scales way further up. Your starter usually tops out at about 10-20 div invested and it's not really worth dumping any more currency into it.

It's how it's always been.

If you think 20m dps in that price range is "every leaguestarter" (and not being a glass cannon) we don't have anything to talk about.
Please enlighten me and send me a pob, even one, so i can agree with you.
*there is a hope, cause ggg usually does this, for a shadow nerf of drop rates of core uniques, which will make them cost couple div+ in the beggining of the league.

"

Simple2012#6247 wrote:

In all honesty, this cannot be called a balance patch. It's an unbalance patch.

We will se a super big majority of the players playing elementalist kinetic rain for the whole league unless there are some urgent nerfs for it. The build diversity in 3.27 will probably be the worst it has been out of all previous leagues.

I really wonder... how would you balance the game? What do you think needs a nerf beside ES?

"

Heywoody#3694 wrote:

"

Syncretism and other Atlas Passive Skills granting either Shrine Buff Effect or Shrine Duration now only grant these benefits to Shrines activated from within Maps.

According to poe dot ninja, only 313 players - 0.3% of all players- in Mercenaries used Blunderbore. Blunderbore has never been rebalanced - nerfed or buffed- since it was added in 2020.

Did they really just nerf this chest because of 300 players out of 100 thousand?!

Were they trying to nerf something else? This chest was so much fun and never OP, and out of nowhere they nerf it. It wasn't even optimal to use when farming Alva. All you needed for effective Alva farming in 3.26 was The Gull, and that didn't get nerfed at all in 3.27.

There are ascendancy that give shrine buffs

"

Senju_Hyoketsu#6098 wrote:

"

napartymateusz#2922 wrote:

Bottom line is balance is important, especially early, builds achieving tens of milions of damage (and solid defences) for 50 chaos orbs are not balanced, and are unhealthy for the game on trade - both for economy and the players who will see them outperforming everything and getting nerfed after the damage is already done.

Especially when those builds can go super meta after, cause you build around elementalist.

Can't put it better than that.

If only more people complained about balance, or the lack thereof; and kept GGG accountable, they would be pressured to do actual real meaningful balance passes and the game would be in a better state overall.

It's just demoralizing having builds crushing the game on 50c at league start, while others are struggling in yellow/red maps. Saying you can stay in your hideout, craft and not play the game, is both irrelevant and a bit disingenuous.

But idk what's worse, the previously mentioned or having people telling others to stay in their hideout and trade...

You are right - the balance should be overall very good. BUT ... imo no build should struggle in yellow / red maps without juicing... but GGG had never a good balance team and they wont get them anytime... its not jonathans vision.

Balancing that giant game is a big task. BUT i agree... something like Manastackers / ES Shield are very strong in comparission with dex...

ITS STILL not a good thing to say after patchnotes "cry cry this will be very strong, please instant nerf it !" :3

Oooooh 15% buff to gold dropped at all levels, and some league mechanics also drop more. Very nice, can't wait to start sending Kalguur crop shipments for divs early-league, these buffs will definitely make that even easier.

"

Nohmah#7332 wrote:

Way to suck the life out of a new league.

Maybe they hired my ex ex ex girlfriend for the development of the new patch.

Huge gold changes Pog