Content Update 3.16.0 — Path of Exile: Scourge

The Scourge Challenge League

• Challenge leagues are a great opportunity for a fresh start in a new economy. All of your old characters and items are still present in the Standard and Hardcore leagues, but you’re encouraged to join the new leagues, complete challenges and demonstrate your mastery of Path of Exile!
• In the Scourge Challenge League, you’ll meet a mysterious figure who hands you a rusty-looking device called the Blood Crucible and urges you to implant it into your body. As you slay enemies, the Crucible fills with their blood. Once it reaches a certain threshold, you’re able to activate the device. This will instantly thrust you into a parallel reality, an alternate Wraeclast where some form of apocalyptic event is occurring. This Wraeclast is overrun by demons known as The Scourge. They’re powerful, dangerous and come in many forms. The more blood you have collected, the longer you can stay shifted into the parallel Wraeclast. But the longer you stay, the more damage you’ll take.
• You can put an item inside the Blood Crucible. While you are killing the Scourge, it absorbs corruption from the alternate Wraeclast and focuses it onto the item. After enough kills, your item is ready to transform. When it does, it becomes corrupted and gains a pair of Scourged Modifiers. One of these is a beneficial mod and one is a detrimental mod. These scourged mods are in addition to the regular explicit and implicit mods or enchantments on the item.
• Once you’re exploring the Atlas of Worlds, you may gain the ability to place maps in the Blood Crucible, alongside your equipment. When a Map absorbs enough corruption and transforms, it gains a beneficial and detrimental effect in the same way that a piece of equipment does, but can also gain a modifier that changes the behaviour of Scourge league in that map entirely.
• With 3.16.0, there are Standard, Hardcore and Solo Self-Found variations of the Scourge challenge league available. They have the same core mechanics and items. You can create private league versions of these leagues, with mods that make the game harder.
• The new challenge leagues include a set of 40 new challenges. When you complete 12 challenges, you will receive the Scourge Weapon. When you reach 24 challenges, you will receive the Scourge Wings. At 36 challenges completed you’ll receive Scourge Pet. These microtransactions are only obtainable in this league.
• From the 19th challenge onwards and for every third challenge after that, you will receive pieces of the Scourge Totem Pole decoration to display in your hideout. The Totem Pole permanently showcases how many of the Scourge challenges you completed during the league.

Major New Content and Features

• Added a new Intelligence Skill Gem – Energy Blade: Grants a buff which significantly lowers your maximum Energy Shield to transform your equipped weapons into Swords formed from that energy. Casting the spell again removes the buff. Requires a Non-Bow weapon.
• Added a new Dexterity/Intelligence Skill Gem – Temporal Rift: Reserves Mana to apply a buff and leave afterimages of your recent past. Cast the spell again to return to the oldest afterimage, teleporting you to that location as well as resetting your Life, Mana and Energy Shield to the values they had then.
• Added a new Dexterity/Intelligence Skill Gem – Tornado: Create a Tornado that repeatedly damages enemies around it. It will move forward for a duration, during which your projectiles can collide with it to deal damage as though it was an enemy. Then it will chase down enemies for a secondary duration, and reflect a portion of the damage it took from your projectiles to them in addition to its own damage.
• Added a new Dexterity Skill Gem – Poisonous Concoction: Throws an explosive bottle that deals unarmed attack damage in an area and has a chance to poison. Can consume charges from a Life Flask to add further damage. Requires an empty main hand, and no off-hand weapon.
• Added a new Intelligence Skill Gem – Soul Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, your Energy Shield will intercept some of the damage they would take. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.
• Added a new Strength/Intelligence Skill gem – Protective Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, they copy your block chance and recover life when they block. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.
• Added a new Intelligence Skill gem – Intuitive Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, their hits can trigger your supported spells. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.
• Added a new Dexterity/Strength Skill gem – Vampiric Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, your life leech gives recovery to them instead. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps or Mines.
• Added a new Strength Skill gem – Flame Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, they deal additional fire damage based on your life. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.
• Added a new Intelligence/Dexterity Skill gem – Destructive Link: Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them for a duration. While linked, they use your critical strike chance for main hand hits. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. This skill cannot be used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.
• Added 13 new Divination Cards, designed by our supporters.
• Added 7 new Unique Items.
• Added Expedition to the core game, with a few adjustments. Please read the Expedition Changes section for more information.
• As we move new leagues to the core game, we will replace outdated obsolete content. In this case, Expedition replaces Perandus. Please read the Perandus Removal section for more information.
• Introduced the Tainted Mythic Orb, a currency item that unpredictably either upgrades a corrupted item to unique rarity or destroys it. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Divine Teardrop, a currency item that unpredictably raises or lowers the tier of each modifier on a corrupted rare item. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Exalted Orb, a currency item that unpredictably adds or removes a modifier on a corrupted rare item. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Chaos Orb, a currency item that unpredictably either reforges a corrupted rare item with new random modifiers or removes all of its modifiers. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Chromatic Orb, a currency item that unpredictably reforges the colour of sockets on a corrupted item. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Jeweller’s Orb, a currency item that unpredictably adds or removes a socket on a corrupted item. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Orb of Fusing, a currency item that unpredictably adds or removes a link to the largest group of linked sockets on a corrupted item. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Blacksmith’s Whetstone, a currency item that randomises the quality of a corrupted weapon. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Armourer’s Scrap, a currency item that randomises the quality of a corrupted armour. This item can be obtained from Scourge encounters.
• Introduced the Tainted Blessing, a currency item that can be placed in the Divine Font to allow Enchantment of Corrupted Gloves, Boots, Helmets or Belts.
• Introduced the Sacred Orb, a currency item that randomises the numeric values of the base defences on an armour.

Minor New Content and Features

• Added two new Gem Socket Notches options: Small Notches and Large Pattern. You can change between these Socket Notches and the Default Sockets in the UI page of the Options Panel.
• Stackable items dropped from Chests and as rewards at the end of encounters (such as Delve, Ritual, Incursion, Delirium and Blight) will no longer drop multiple stacks of the same item. They instead collate it into a single combined stack of the item.
• Map Fragments for The Apex of Sacrifice, The Alluring Abyss, The Shaper’s Realm, Absence of Value and Meaning, and the Pale Court now have a Stack Size of 10. Scarabs also now have a Stack Size of 10.
• Incubators now display Item Level on their Item Tooltip and Icon. It is also now possible to stack Incubators of the same type and Item Level, with a Stack Size of 10.
• It is now possible to promote a party member to replace you as the leader of your party if you are the current leader.
• An Explosive or Poisonous Flask will now be visually attached to your Character’s Belt when socketing the Explosive Concoction or Poisonous Concoction Skills in your equipped items.
• Updated the visual buff effect for Bone Armour.
• Some Monsters in Act 2 have had their visual effects updated, and the existing animations of many Monsters have been improved. We’ll be reviewing the balance of Monsters in Act 2 in a future patch.
• Continued to incrementally improve the sound, art, effects and environments.

Expedition Changes

• Expedition has been added to the core game. You can find Expeditions from Act 6 onwards, and in Maps you’ll have approximately an 8% chance to encounter an Expedition site.
• Expedition Artifacts are no longer tradeable items, which has two key effects. The first is that they are automatically collected as you complete Expeditions, and the second is that all characters can now engage with the Kalguuran merchants without having to feel that their best plan is to trade the currency away to other players who may use it more efficiently than them. It’s a difficult decision working out whether to make specific items tradeable or not, but we feel that on balance, this new approach will solve several problems with the system. It’s also worth noting that the currency items that allow you to reroll the vendors’ inventories are still tradeable.
• Logbooks now have a maximum Area Level of 83.
• Logbooks now display their Area Level on their Item Icon.
• Accessing Expedition Vendor shops now has a character level requirement of 35.
• Replaced Perandus Scarabs with new Expedition Scarabs. This change affects existing Scarabs.
• Replaced the Decadent Incubator with a new Kalguuran Incubator, which can be added to an equippable item, dropping an Expedition Item after killing a certain amount of Monsters. This change affects existing Decadent Incubators.
• Existing Decadent Delirium Orbs will be replaced with Kalguuran Delirium Orbs, which add layers of Delirium with the Expedition Item reward type to Maps. This is the only source of Kalguuran Delirium Orbs, these are unobtainable as item drops or from any other source.
• Existing Metamorph Organs that previously gave Perandus rewards will instead provide Expedition Item rewards. Expedition rewards cannot be obtained from new Metamorph encounters.
• Rog’s crafting prices have been tweaked so that Common Artifacts aren’t in higher demand than Lesser and Greater Artifacts.
• Monsters spawned in Expedition encounters now have 35% less chance to spawn Beyond Portals on Death.
• Expedition Faction Currency Chests are now more common than other Chests in Expedition Logbooks.
• The “Runic Monsters are Duplicated” Remnant modifier is now rarer.
• Remnant modifiers found in Expedition sites that grant Runic Monsters and Chests a chance to drop an additional Map or Unique now grant 20% chance (previously 35%).
• Remnant modifiers found in Expedition sites that grant Runic Monsters and Chests a chance to drop an additional Gem, Weapon, Jewellery Item or Armour Item can now be found at all Levels of Expedition Sites (previously up to Level 67 Expedition sites).
• Added new Expedition Watchstone Modifiers, some of which can increase the amount of Expedition rewards dropped by Monsters.

Perandus Removal

• Perandus has been removed from the core game. Some sources of Perandus Item rewards from other League content have been replaced with Expedition Item rewards, as noted above.
• Perandus Coins can no longer drop, though you are still able to store any existing Coins in the Currency Stash Tab.
• The Perandus Manor Unique Chateau Map can no longer drop, and it is no longer possible to open this Map in a Map Device.
• “The Mayor” and “Squandered Prosperity” Divination Cards can no longer be obtained. Existing Divination Cards can still be turned in.
• The following Uniques have been added to the core drop pool: Seven-League Step, Umbilicus Immortalis, Trypanon, Varunastra, and Zerphi’s Last Breath.
• “The Cheater” Divination Card can now drop from Guff “Tiny” Grenn.
• The Ivory Temple Map Boss has been replaced.

Guild Improvements

• You can now Ctrl+Click items from your Inventory to store them in a Guild Stash. You can also now Shift+Click a stack of items in a Guild Stash to withdraw a partial stack of items.
• Currency, Map, Quad, Unique, Divination, Fragment, Essence, Delve, Delirium, Metamorph and Blight Stash Tabs can now be purchased for Guild Stashes. We’ve also added the ability to create Stash Tab Folders and set Affinities for Guild Stash Tabs.
• The Guild Stash History webpage has also seen improvements, now displaying the quantity of an item that has been added or removed, and which Stash Tab those items were stored in. You can also now set a custom date range to view changes within that time frame, and download the displayed history as a .CSV file.
• Introduced Guild Hideouts: Guild Hideouts feature a Map Device and Crafting Bench that can be used by all Guild Members. When in a party with fellow Guild Members, the party can all access the party leader’s Map Portals from the Guild Hideout.
• Guild Leaders can select which Hideout to use for their Guild Hideout from ones they have discovered throughout the game. Microtransaction Hideouts can also be purchased to be used for a Guild Hideout from donated Guild Points. Note: Microtransaction Hideouts purchased for Personal Hideouts do not grant the ability to use them as Guild Hideouts.
• Hideout Decorations for Guild Hideouts can be purchased using donated Guild Points.

Hideout Improvements

In addition to the Guild improvements noted above, we’ve also made improvements to Hideouts in Path of Exile: Scourge.

• If a Hideout closes with portals still open, it no longer prevents access to the Map. Instead, whenever a player joins a Hideout or Guild Hideout, any previously opened portals are reopened if the destination Map still exists.
• Map Portals to empty Map instances will not expire so long as the Map owner remains in either their Hideout or Guild Hideout.
• The Master Level and Favour systems have been removed entirely.
• You now have unlimited access to a range of Hideout Decorations through the Decorations Tab in both Personal and Guild Hideouts (excluding purchased Microtransaction Hideout Decorations).
• We’ve added a “Tag” search system for Hideout Decorations which can be used in addition to the existing search field to quickly locate specific Decorations.
• As a result of these changes, the Forsaken Masters Achievement is now completed after defeating each Master’s most dangerous foe: The Vaal Omnitect for Alva, Aul, the Crystal King for Niko, Farrul, First of the Plains for Einhar, The Syndicate Mastermind for Jun, and The Shaper and Elder for Zana.
• The Watchstone Modifier that granted increased Master Favour gained can no longer roll. Existing Watchstones with this Modifier will still exist, but will do nothing.
• Increased Master Favour has also been removed from the “A Gracious Master Prophecy” and the Atlas Passive in The Uncharted Realm, these still provide their other functions still.

Uber End-Game Content

• Added new Blight-ravaged Maps. These Maps can be obtained by completing high tier Blighted Maps, and can be Anointed up to 9 times (with a maximum of 3 Oils of the same type). Monsters within these Maps both move faster and have substantially more life than those found within Blighted Maps.
• Added new Unrelenting Timeless Emblems, which can drop from Domain of Timeless Conflict encounters. Unrelenting Timeless Emblems provide improved rewards, with Monsters gaining challenging modifiers each time they are revived.
• Many Legion Monsters have had the maximum distance they are able to use their long-ranged skills reduced, or can no longer use their long-ranged skills against other Legion Monsters.
• Added new Flawless Breachstones which are more challenging, and thus more rewarding, than other kinds of Breachstones.
• Rare Monsters in Breach Domains now drop an additional Reward Type, with Rare Monsters in Flawless Breach Domains dropping two additional Reward Types.
• Breach Domain Areas now have additional random Modifiers, with Areas opened from Flawless Breachstone having four additional random Modifiers.
• Breach Domain Areas no longer have the Modifier which grants increased Quantity of Items found in the Area.
• Loot accumulated from killing Monsters in Breach Domains now drops upon reaching the Boss Arena Portal, instead of dropping throughout the encounter.
• Added 10 additional waves to the Simulacrum, it now has a total of 30 waves. As you can expect, these extremely difficult extra waves are very rewarding and feature escalating chances for a Delirium boss to spawn.
• With each wave you play, the Simulacrum now has an increasing chance of dropping cluster jewels, and past wave 20, Delirium unique items.
• The drop rate of Delirium Orbs from Delirium encounters has also been increased.

Atlas and Map Changes

• The Atlas now has only four regions: Haewark Hamlet, Valdo’s Rest, Glennach Cairns, and Lira Arthain. The number of obtainable Watchstones has been reduced to 16 (previously 32), and there are now 118 Maps on the Atlas (previously 164).
• The following Maps have been removed from the Atlas: Academy, Arachnid Tomb, Arena, Bazaar, Beach, Belfry, Bramble Valley, Burial Chambers, Cage, Castle Ruins, Channel, City Square, Cold River, Colonnade, Coral Ruins, Courthouse, Coves, Crater, Crystal Ore, Desert Spring, Excavation, Factory, Frozen Cabins, Geode, Graveyard, Iceberg, Infested Valley, Ivory Temple, Jungle Valley, Lava Chamber, Marshes, Mesa, Pen, Peninsula, Phantasmagoria, Pier, Precinct, Primordial Pool, Ramparts, Residence, Scriptorium, Shipyard, Shrine, Villa, and Volcano. The Perandus Manor Unique Chateau Map has also been removed.
• The Augmented Distant Memory Unique Courthouse Map is now a Unique Haunted Mansion Map, as Courthouse is not currently on the Atlas.
• The unlock requirements for Zana’s Map Device options have been reduced, relative to the decrease in number of Maps on the Atlas.
• Each bonus objective you complete now increases the chance for Maps to drop one tier higher by 1.5% (previously 1%).
• Each 4 awakening bonus objectives you complete increases the effect of Modifiers on Non-Unique Maps by 1% (previously each 6).
• Map tiers and locations have been shuffled. Most maps are now initially found at a different tier.
• Item Base Types specific to the Atlas have had their drop regions updated, with some being shuffled to other regions. Atlas Rings now drop in Tier 11 or higher Maps (previously Tier 6 or higher).
• The following Base Types can be found in Haewark Hamlet: Crystal Belt, Gripped Gloves, Marble Amulet, Opal Ring, and Two-Toned Boots (Evasion/Energy Shield).
• The following Base Types can be found in Valdo’s Rest: Artillery Quiver, Convoking Wand, Iolite Ring, Spiked Gloves, and Two-Toned Boots (Armour/Evasion).
• The following Base Types can be found in Glennach Cairns: Apothecary’s Gloves, Blue Pearl Amulet, Cerulean Ring, Two-Toned Boots (Armour/Energy Shield), Vanguard Belt, and Vermillion Ring.
• The following Base Types can be found in Lira Arthain: Bone Helmet, Fingerless Silk Gloves, Fugitive Boots, Seaglass Amulet, and Steel Ring.
• Additional targets for the following Prophecies have been added as their original targets can no longer be found on the Atlas: Battle Hardened, Burning Dread, Darktongue’s Shriek, and The Malevolent Witch.
• The option for Maven to release all Bosses at once is now a Modifier found on Maven Invitations, and will no longer occur unless you open an Invitation with this Modifier.
• Captured Boss progress in The Uncharted Realms is no longer lost in Permanent Leagues when the Atlas is shuffled.
• Some of the Map Bosses you are required to defeat to upgrade your Pantheon have changed as a result of these Atlas changes.
• Crafting Recipes that were previously unlocked in Maps that have been removed are now found within other Maps currently on the Atlas.
• Many Divination Cards have found new homes as a result of the Atlas Changes:
• The Fiend can now drop in Poorjoy’s Asylum.
• The Army of Blood can now drop in Poorjoy’s Asylum.
• The Bitter Blossom can now drop from Oshabi, Avatar of the Grove.
• Time-Lost Relic can now be found in Expedition Logbooks.
• The Jester can now drop from Ash Lessard.
• Vinia’s Token can now drop in the Palace Map.
• The Drunken Aristocrat can now drop in the Laboratory Map.
• The Chains that Bind can now drop in the Dungeon Map.
• The Thaumaturgist can now drop in the Alleyways Map.
• The Dapper Prodigy can now drop in the Palace Map.
• The Tyrant can now drop in the Primordial Blocks Map.
• The Jeweller’s Boon can now drop in the Mineral Pools Map.
• The Undaunted can now drop in the Conservatory Map.
• The Messenger can now drop in the Port Map.
• Baited Expectations can now drop in the Dry Sea Map.
• A Note in the Wind can now drop in the Dry Sea Map.
• The Academic can now drop in the Museum Map.
• Unchained can now drop in the Dungeon Map.
• The Unexpected Prize can now drop in the Palace Map.
• Cursed Words can now drop in the Cemetery Map.
• The Journalist can now drop in the Haunted Mansion Map.
• The Enthusiasts can now drop in the Museum Map.
• The Master can now drop in the Lair Map.
• More is Never Enough can now drop in the Vault Map.
• The Offspring can now drop in the Stagnation Map.
• The Mind’s Eyes can now drop in the Bone Crypt Map.
• The Golden Era can now drop in the Basilica Map.
• Brotherhood in Exile can now drop in the Chateau Map.

Atlas Passive Changes

Some Atlas Passives have been removed as a result of the number of Atlas Regions changing, while others have been moved to another Region.

Here are the Atlas Passives now found in each Atlas Region:

• Haewark Hamlet: Bumper Crop, Heart of the Grove, The Grove’s Call, Amplified, Controlled Corruption, Seance, Paid in Blood, Sacred Lands, Finest Samples, High Yield, Escaped Experiment, Intelligence Gathering, Test of Loyalty, and Bribery.
• Glennach Cairns: Scent of Blood, Torn Veil, Per Diemon, Underground Kingdom, Abyssal Army, Lightless Legion, Total Anarchy, Rogue Trader, Time Dilation, Resource Reallocation, Contested Development, Face to Face, Protracted Battle, and High Value Targets.
• Lira Arthain: Distinguished Demolitionist, Buried Knowledge, Ancient Writings, Secret Stash, Inside Job, Big Game, Great Migration, Natural Selection, Gatekeepers, Flash Breach, Within Their Grasp, Trespassers, and Exotic Goods.
• Valdo’s Rest: Persecutory Delusion, The Singular Eternity, Greater Forces, Ominous Arrival, Diplomatic Escort, Twice Tempted, Tamper-Proof, Guarded Hoards, Sulphite Infusion, Packed with Energy, Spores on the Wind, Immune Response, and Epidemiology.

New Expedition Atlas Passives have been added:

• Distinguished Demolitionist: 35% increased Explosive Radius in Areas. 20% increased number of Explosives in Areas.
• Buried Knowledge: 50% increased Quantity of Expedition Logbooks dropped by Runic Monsters in Areas. Areas contain 25% increased number of Runic Monster Markers.
• Ancient Writings: Remnants in Areas have 40% chance to have an additional Suffix Modifier. Expeditions in Areas have +2 Remnants.
• Small Expedition Passives: Areas have +3% chance to contain an Expedition Encounter.

Changes to existing Atlas Passives:

• The previous Rich Veins and Sulphite Sentinels Atlas Passives have been combined, now called Guarded Hoards. This provides: Voltaxic Sulphite Veins and Chests in Areas have 10% chance to contain double Sulphite. Sulphite Veins and Chests in Areas are guarded by Sulphite-hoarding Monsters.
• Epidemiology no longer provides “Blighted Maps found in Areas are Anointed”. It now has “Blight Chests in Areas have 100% more chance to contain Blighted Maps” (unchanged), and “Lanes of Blight Encounters in Areas have 35% chance for an additional Reward Chest” (previously found on Mass Mycelium).
• Flash Breach no longer grants “Breaches in Areas spawn 10 additional Rare Monsters”. It now grants “Breaches in Areas have 30% increased Monster density” and “Breaches in Areas have 30% increased Area of Effect”.
• Time Dilation now grants “Incursions in Areas have 33% chance for all Monsters to be at least Magic”, instead of “Incursion Monsters in Areas are at least Magic”.
• The following Atlas Passives in The Uncharted Realm have been changed:
• Close Allies: Gain 1 additional Atlas Mission from each Master each day. Areas have +7% chance to grant an Atlas Mission on Completion (previously +10% chance to grant an Atlas Mission on Completion).
• Master of the Atlas: No longer has “Zana Missions in Areas grant 100% increased Favour” as the Favour system has been removed entirely.
• Atlas Mission Chance: Previously called “Master Favour”. Now grants “+3% chance to grant an Atlas Mission on Completion”, instead of “Missions in Areas grant 30% increased Favour”.

Delve Changes

Problem:
The current state of Delve leaves players having to spend a huge amount of time playing through relatively easy content in order to reach content that is more challenging and rewarding. Delve doesn’t sufficiently reward this time investment.

Solution:
Make Delve difficulty and rewards scale much more quickly with Depth. Grant high level players immediate access to harder Delve content. Make a number of changes to the rewards, difficulty and monster mechanics of Delve content to make it more challenging and rewarding.

Labyrinth Changes

Problem:
Finding all six Trials of Ascendancy often took a very large number of maps. Assuming players were playing alone, it averaged to around 150 maps to find them all, but could be much more if players were unlucky. By this point, players were often over-levelled for the content and were starting to encounter difficult-enough endgame content where the extra Ascendancy skills were sorely needed. This problem would be further exacerbated by the reduction in Atlas size taking place in the Scourge expansion.

We recently added a means to open random Trials of Ascendancy in the Map Device by consuming an Offering to the Goddess. While this made finding all the trials easier, it often felt lossy as it required you to sacrifice something of value. You could have used that to run an Eternal Labyrinth for more enchantment opportunities and Labyrinth reward chests.

Solution:
In Path of Exile: Scourge, you’ll no longer need to complete all of the Trials of Ascendancy found in maps in order to access the Eternal Labyrinth. You’ll simply need to travel to the Labyrinth, paying one Offering to the Goddess.

In Path of Exile: Scourge, we’re making a number of changes to improve how characters mitigate ailments, use flasks, and build defences. 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.

Assembled below are topics with identified problems and our intended solutions. Below each solution is a spoiler tag with the specifics of what we’re changing, including patch notes. Please note that as we’re still just over a week 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.

Core Character Defences and Recovery

We are doing a major balance pass to improve defences and recovery for all characters. The goal here is to put more power into the core defences (Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield) to make them the best way to mitigate the kind of damage they are best at preventing, while taking some of that power away from the one-off mechanics that provide a significant defence for too low a cost. While some individual mechanics have been nerfed, this is overall a massive buff to defenses across the board.

Previously, there were some very tanky characters, but they were gated behind specific niche mechanics and uniques that were not accessible to everyone. What we’re doing here is moving a lot of that power to everyone else, so that core defenses are far more powerful than they were before.

We’re also making sure that every type of character has plenty of ways to mitigate a much more diverse set of damage types. For example, Evasion mitigates Attacks well, so we’re introducing Spell Suppression to help Evasion builds protect themselves against Spells.

Overarching Problem:
Dodge and Blind provide more mitigation for fewer passive points and item slots than any other defence type. Attack Dodge does this in a form that is almost identical to Evasion but is far more efficient.

Overarching Goal:
Remove Dodge entirely and review certain powerful mechanics like Blind (and Fortify for non-melee characters). Improve almost every other scalable defence type significantly to make them more powerful. This includes Armour, Evasion, Energy Shield Recovery and Spell Block.

Problem:
Armour as a core stat doesn’t provide sufficient defence with low to medium investment. Armour characters instead rely on a number of other mechanics to provide them with the defence against Physical Damage that Armour is meant to provide.

Solution:
Improve the Armour formula so that Armour is more powerful, providing better mitigation across the board, and increase the strength of modifiers on items that add base local Armour.

Support characters – Auras and other Reservation Effects

Problem:
The Reduced Reservation stat provides very little benefit at low values, but becomes very powerful when heavily invested in. This allows players to run every Aura in the game. It also forces Reduced Reservation to be balanced around extreme levels of investment, limiting how useful it can be to characters that do not run enormous numbers of Reservation Skills. Finally, characters that heavily invested in Reduced Reservation in order to run more skills on Mana were also able to reserve Life extremely effectively as well with no further investment, rendering this the only sensible way to play most heavily reservation-focused builds.

Solution:
Replace “Reservation Reduction” with “Reservation Efficiency”. When stacked, Reservation Efficiency does not allow for infinite Auras. This can be given out much more liberally as a result, letting characters run additional Reservation Effects with only a couple of sources of Reservation Efficiency. The average character benefits, but the top end of extreme reservation has been made significantly weaker.

Support Characters – Curses

Problem:
Characters specialised in maximising the number and power of Curses provide far too much damage and defence to party members, making a party with a Curse-specialised character so much more effective than one without.

Solution:
Make Curse Cluster Jewels a Small Cluster Jewel, with many of the Notables reworked to benefit specific Curses significantly, greatly improving a regular character wanting to maximise their Curse of choice. Make significant changes to Doedre’s Skin as it applies many Curses at almost no cost.

Elemental Damage over Time

Problem:
The Elemental Damage over Time effects of Cold Damage over Time, Burning and Ignite are too dependent on Elemental Overload and Elemental Equilibrium. Ignites are too dependent on Ignite Damage Multipliers on skills, making skills without Ignite Multipliers too weak to use Ignite with.

Solution:
Greatly improve the base strength of Ignite, Burning and Cold Damage over Time, while making Elemental Overload and Elemental Equilibrium less powerful or require more investment with Damage over Time skills. Rebalance skills that could apply Ignite effects around the new base damage of Ignite and remove the Ignite Damage multipliers.

Patch notes for balance changes that did not fall under these topics can be found below.

Passive Tree

The Passive Tree has changed so significantly that there is no way to concisely describe the full breadth of changes. Here is a selection of problems with the previous version of the passive tree and the solutions used to address them.

Problem
Clusters often have the exact same stats as other clusters, and some have niche stats that are wasted on many builds.

Solution
Make clusters more unique compared to each other as well as having a more clear identity. Remove niche or unneeded stats entirely, or shift them to Masteries. Improve many notables that have had secondary stats removed. Rework some clusters to perform another more useful function.

Problem
Damage over Time builds have fewer damage clusters available compared to hit builds, and those clusters often spread power between Damage over Time Multipliers and Increased Damage, devaluing other sources of Increased Damage for their build.

Solution
Improve existing Damage over Time clusters with a focus on Damage over Time Multiplier or other Damage over Time stats. Rework some clusters to be better for Damage over Time builds. Add new clusters for some forms of Damage over Time.

Problem
Life builds rely heavily on the life cluster near the Scion start area to maximise investment in life. Characters on the right side of the passive tree are at a disadvantage because of the long path to access the wheel.

Solution
Lower the total amount of Life granted by the Scion’s Life cluster. Add life to other life clusters on the tree that aren’t in starting areas or connected to the paths to the Scion area of the tree. 9% increased Life has been removed from the Scion’s Life cluster, and improved Life clusters have gained 2-4% increased Life, meaning a character that took three outer Life clusters and the Scion life cluster together would have the same or more life, and a character taking four or more outer life clusters that wouldn’t have taken the Scion life cluster has gained at least 10% additional increased life.

Problem
Many defensive mechanics have few ways to invest in them on the passive tree, outside of Life.

Solution
Add new clusters for Spell Block, Spell Suppression, Life Regeneration, Life Leech, Life on Hit, Life on Kill, Life Recoup, Energy Shield Recharge, Ailment Mitigation for every Ailment type, Curse Mitigation, Stun Mitigation, Life and Mana Flasks. The majority of clusters removed from the tree are offensive, while the majority of clusters added to the tree are defensive.

Problem
There is an uneven spread of Keystones across the tree. Certain areas have higher density than others. Some Keystones are out of place for the area of the tree they currently are.

Solution
Spread out Keystones throughout the tree, moving some to more appropriate locations.

Problem
Each passive Cluster can only have one mastery, but some existing clusters have multiple themes, like Trap and Mine clusters.

Solution
Split some clusters into two separate clusters. Some Clusters have been aligned with a specific Mastery, with an adjustment to stats to further solidify this theme. This may be based on the existing stat proportions or to help with a lack of that type of Mastery in that section of the tree, to allow access to specific useful Mastery effects.

Problem
The tree is very compact, making it hard to easily view and leaving little space for rearranging clusters.

Solution
Spread out the entirety of the passive tree, and increase the radius of small, medium, large and very-large jewels. This is done to give a relatively equivalent but not identical effect of radius jewels on the tree. This will have impacted all Radius jewels in different ways.

Problem
The Ranger’s class start is very front-loaded with life and other beneficial stats, and has more costly pathing when leaving the passive tree than many other class starts.

Solution
Remove most of the maximum life from the Ranger’s starting Evasion passives. Redistribute this between other passives in the Ranger start area, so that the total amount of increased maximum life is slightly higher than before. Rework some sections of the Ranger class start, including new notables and effects.

Problem
Certain percentage Modifiers from the first few starting passives of classes have little to no impact on characters at very early levels.

Solution
Change class starting nodes so most provide at least one flat modifier. For example, the Ranger now gets accuracy rating and projectile damage on one starting passive, and flat life and evasion rating on the other.

Problem
With the removal of dodge, some characters lost a way to mitigate monster abilities that always hit.

Solution
Reviewed monsters with abilities that alway hit. Removed always hit from all fodder monsters and some Boss abilities where appropriate.

Problem:
There are a few special benefits from some Cluster Jewel Notables that would be well-suited as Masteries.

Solution:
Move these stats to Masteries on the Passive Skill Tree, while providing compensation to the Notables that lost these stats.

Due to the sweeping changes made to the passive tree, existing Anointments that apply to a Notable that has been removed will now apply a different Notable. We’ve also taken this opportunity to review the Oil combinations required for Notables.

Ascendancy Changes

Problem:
Gladiator and Trickster have both had a notable from the Ascendancy moved onto the passive tree. Many Ascendancies have had the power of their notables affected by the changes to Defences.

Solution:
Grant new Ascendancy notables to the Gladiator and Trickster, and some existing notables have been reworked. Rebalance and rework affected Notables on the Chieftain, Inquisitor, Saboteur, and Raider. Change the Ascendant to have the Notables of the above classes match the effects found on their equivalent Ascendancies.

Chieftain

• Tasalio, Cleansing Water: Now grants “20% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Fire Damage” (previously 15%), and “20% increased Life Recovery Rate if you’ve taken Fire Damage from an Enemy Hit Recently” (previously 50%).

Gladiator
Passives with Block have been fully reworked:

• Painforged: Now has +10% chance to Block Attack Damage, Cannot be Stunned by Hits you Block, and Counterattacks deal Double Damage
• Added a new notable, which replaces Versatile Combatant, that has +10% to maximum Block Chance, +10 to Armour and Evasion Rating per 1% Block Chance.
• Violent Retaliation: Now has Ignore Enemy Monster Physical Damage Reduction if you’ve blocked in the past 20 seconds, and Attack Damage is Lucky if you’ve Blocked in the past 20 seconds.

Inquisitor

• Pious Path: Now grants “50% increased Effect of Consecrated Ground you create”.

Raider

• Quartz Infusion: No longer grants 15% chance to Dodge Attack Hits, or 15% chance to Dodge Spell Hits. Instead, it now grants +40% chance to Suppress Spell Damage.
• Avatar of the Veil: No longer grants “Nearby Enemies have 20% less Accuracy Rating while you have Phasing”.
• Avatar of the Chase: No longer grants 35% more chance to Evade Melee Attacks during Onslaught or 35% more chance to Evade Projectile Attacks during Onslaught. Instead, it now grants 10% more chance to Evade Attacks during Onslaught.

Trickster

• Patient Reaper: Now grants 50% increased Recovery Rate of Life, Mana and Energy Shield if you’ve Killed an Enemy affected by your Damage Over Time Recently (previously 70%).
• Escape Artist: No longer requires Ghost Dance (which has been replaced with a new Notable). No longer grants “5% increased Attack and Cast Speed per Ghost Shroud” or “Cannot be Stunned while you have Ghost Shrouds”.
• Added a new notable, which replaces Ghost Dance, that provides “Every 10 seconds, take no Damage over Time for 5 seconds.”

Saboteur

• Born in the Shadows: Now grants 15% reduced Damage taken from Blinded Enemies (previously 10%).

Ascendant

• Trickster Passive Point: now has 50% increased Recovery Rate of Life, Mana and Energy Shield if you’ve Killed an Enemy affected by your Damage Over Time Recently (previously 70%). No longer has “Cannot be Stunned if you haven’t been Hit Recently”, it now has 10% reduced Damage taken from Damage over Time.
• Raider Passive Point: No longer has 10% chance to Dodge Attack Hits, it now has 20% chance to Suppress Spell Damage.
• Gladiator Passive Point: Now has +5% to maximum Block (previously 3%), 10% chance to Block Attacks (previously 15%), and now has 20% more Physical Damage over Time (previously 25%). It no longer has “15% chance to Block Spells”. It now has Ignore Enemy Monster Physical Damage Reduction if you’ve blocked in the past 20 seconds

Awakened Supports

Problem:
Many Awakened gems aren’t significant improvements over their non-awakened versions. Some get an interesting bonus effect at level 5 and others have something interesting at all levels, while other awakened gems have very little increase in power over their non-Awakened versions.

Solution:
Change Awakened gems that only gave higher values of their normal scaling stats to have either an extra effect or a large boost in the values of their existing effects at gem level 5. Adjust values and scaling for awakened gems to ensure that a level 1 awakened gem is a clear upgrade to a level 20 non-awakened gem.

Melee Range

Problem:
Melee Range is given at very small values on many Strike Gems, and characters lack diverse ways to invest in Melee Range on the passive tree and gear.

Solution:
Remove Melee Range from some Strike Skill Gems, and add new sources of Melee Range to the passive tree.

Shield Skills

Problem:
Shield Skills deal too much damage for how little investment is required and have had their damage unintentionally increased by the buffs to base armour defences in this expansion. Shield Charge also generates Fortification too easily without investment.

Solution:
Lower the flat added damage bonus on Shield based skills, and rebalance the added damage to slightly lower the damage of the skill in general. Shield Charge in particular has much lower base damage, but now gets more added damage based on the defences of your shield. Overall this is only a slight damage loss for players using a high defences shield.

Forbidden Rite and Totems

Problem:
Using Totems to cast Forbidden Rite gets around the threat of self-damage on Forbidden Rite, making it much more efficient than the skill in other ways while still benefiting from high life-based damage.

Solution:
Change the way Totems mitigate damage so that they have much less total health, but take significantly less damage from enemy hits and damage over time, more than compensating for the health loss in normal situations. Adjust some sources of Totem Life and Totem Chaos Resistance. Rebalance Dark Pact to partially offset the changes to Totem Life when used on Totems while buffing the skill for casting yourself. Also rebalanced the unique Torchoak’s Step to account for the life reduction on Totems.

3.15 Skills

Problem:
Some skills released in 3.15 are not as powerful as intended.

Solution:
Improve Voltaxic Burst, Explosive Concoction, Absolution and Ambush.

Cast on Trigger Mana Multipliers

Problem:
Cast On Melee Kill, Cast On Critical Strike and Cast while Channelling have separate Cost and Reservation Multipliers for Attacks and Spells, but this can’t be communicated.

Solution:
Change these Supports to have the same Cost and Reservation Multiplier for both Attacks and Spells, adjusting the cost to not shift the combined mana cost significantly.

Spectral Throw Mana Cost

Problem:
Spectral Throw has a higher mana cost compared with other starting skills, resulting in it being difficult to use in the early game without constantly running out of mana.

Solution:
Lower the Mana cost of Spectral Throw.

Ward Strength

Problem:
Base Ward on items is too weak relative to the improved core defences.

Solution:
Increase base Ward on Expedition base types and adjust unique Expedition items that scale from ward.

Breach Unique Balance

Problem:
Some Breach Unique items are not as desirable as others.

Solution:
Change some Breach Uniques, giving more of a reason to engage with a wider variety of Breach encounters.

Critical Tag

Problem:
Skills that interact with Critical Strikes were not tagged in any way, which is required for a new Critical Mastery effect that applies to all Critical Support Gems.

Solution:
Added a new “Critical” Gem Tag. This applies to skills which positively affect your Critical Strikes, or provides effects on Critical Strikes.

Atziri Unique Drops

Problem:
Both the Apex of Sacrifice and The Alluring Abyss Atziri encounters are not rewarding enough, and Atziri’s Disfavour no longer fits the power level of a unique from The Alluring Abyss.

Solution:
Make Pledge of Hands drop from Atziri, Queen of the Vaal in The Alluring Abyss. Move Atziri’s Disfavour to a drop from Atziri, Queen of the Vaal in the Apex of Sacrifice.

Clever Construction

Problem:
Traps and Mines are very vulnerable to some monster abilities without the Clever Construction passive notable giving them damage immunity when first placed.

Solution:
Give all Traps and Mines the damage immunity from the Clever Construction Notable Passive as a built-in effect, for a shorter time. Give a Trap and Mine Mastery option that gives your Traps or Mines full damage immunity.

Vaal Immortal Call

Problem:
Vaal Immortal Call can be kept active permanently by using legacy items in Permanent Leagues.

Solution:
Increase the cooldown time of Vaal Immortal Call significantly.

Unwavering Focus

Problem:
The Unwavering Focus Cluster Jewel notable can be stacked to reduce the cost of Channelled Skills to 0, including non-mana costs. This isn’t usually worth the opportunity cost, but has problematic interactions in some setups.

Solution:
Replace the Cost Reduction on Unwavering Focus with another effect.

Unique Map Boss Ailment Threshold

Problem:
Some Unique Map Bosses have too high of an Ailment Threshold compared to other Bosses on an Atlas with all Watchstones active.

Solution:
Bring the Ailment Threshold of Bosses with very high Ailment Thresholds in-line with others.

Delve/Prophecy/Incursion Crafts

Problem:
Socket Crafting unlocks and Meta Crafting Modifier Unlocks are found in specific content that a player might not engage with.

Solution:
Many crafting modifiers that were obtained from Delve, Prophecy and Incursion are now obtained in maps, including Meta Crafting Modifiers being found in unique maps.

Unveiling Crafting Modifiers

Problem:
Obtaining all Crafting Modifiers granted by Unveiling can be very time consuming, especially for modifiers with multiple tiers.

Solution:
Change Veiled Crafting Modifiers to unlock all tiers from a single Unveil.

The Sacred Blossom

Problem:
The Sacred Blossom boss fight doesn’t have a sufficiently valuable unique reward. The Forbidden Shako unique that is intended to be this reward is outclassed by Replica Forbidden Shako from Heist.

Solution:

• Stop Replica Forbidden Shako dropping. Change Forbidden Shako to match the values of Replica Forbidden Shako.
• The Forbidden Shako Unique Helmet now grants one Level 1-10 Support Gem that Supports Socketed Items, and one Level 25-35 Support Gem that Supports Socketed Items (previously two Level 15-25 Support Gems). Existing items can be updated with a Divine Orb.
• The Replica Forbidden Shako Unique Helmet can no longer be obtained.

Added Damage on Quivers

Problem:
The Added Damage to Attacks modifiers on Quivers provide very small damage bonuses, while Quivers are intended to be a powerful source of damage for Bows.

Solution:
Add more tiers of Added Damage on Quivers and greatly increase their power.

Quivers on Unarmed Characters

Problem:
Quivers are intended both mechanically and thematically to only provide benefits while using a Bow.

Solution:
Disable Quivers while no Bow is equipped to prevent benefiting from them while Unarmed.

Skill Gem Weapon Restrictions

Problem:
Some Skill Gem descriptions don’t state what weapons they require.

Solution:
Correctly show all weapon restrictions on Skill Gems.

Trap Enchantments granting Cast Speed

Problem:
Some Trap Enchantments gave Cast Speed, which no longer inherently applies to Trap skills.

Solution:
Change these Enchantments to give Trap Throwing Speed.

Golem Life Regen

Problem:
Without investing in Minion passives that gave minions Life Regeneration, a character using Golems for their buff effect will often have their golems die to slow damage attrition.

Solution:
Give all Golems Life Regeneration, and then further increase the inherent life regeneration of Stone Golems.

Harvest Craft Changes

Problem:
The Harvest crafts that upgrade a Normal or Magic item to a Rare item with a modifier of a certain type are close in function to their matching craft that reforge a Rare item, while being unable to be used on a single item repeatedly.

Solution:
Combine the two harvest crafts into a single craft that reforges a Normal, Magic or Rare item as a Rare item with new Modifiers.

Synthesis Map Mods

Problem:
Modifiers on Unique Synthesis Maps don’t provide as much increased Pack Size, Item Quantity and Rarity when compared with other Map Areas.

Solution:
Update the values on these modifiers to match their Map counterparts.

Triggered Marks

Problem:
Items that trigger Marks on hitting a Rare or Unique can trigger repeatedly in some situations, costing mana each time.

Solution:
Change Mark trigger modifiers to only trigger if you don’t have a Marked target.

Two Tornado Skills

Problem:
The Saqawal’s Flock Unique Helmet has a skill called Tornado, which is now the name of a new Skill Gem.

Solution:
The Tornado skill granted by the Saqawal’s Flock Unique Helmet has been renamed to Twister.

Syndicate Operative Spectres

Problem:
Certain projectile abilities used by Incursion Architects, Syndicate Operatives and bosses based on Lunaris have a bug that causes them to hit a target multiple times simultaneously when firing additional projectiles. This is particularly powerful with Syndicate Operative Spectres that have been supported to fire multiple projectiles.

Solution:
Fix the skill, which will prevent players taking large bursts of damage in maps with additional projectiles. This will also bring Syndicate Operative Spectres more in-line with other Spectres.

Negative Resistances

Problem:
It’s possible to obtain high amounts of negative resistance with the Scourge item system.

Solution:
Impose a cap for the amount of negative resistance a character can have.

Minion Scaling

Problem:
Outside of the passive skill tree, there are few scaling options for Minions in the early game.

Solution:
Improve the values of some modifiers granted through Essence of Fear, keeping the top end values from Deafening Essence of Fear. Add more ways to invest in minion damage and accuracy from Essence of Fear.

Zana League Mods Available During 3.16.0

Zana’s map device options are now unlocked as you complete bonus objectives on your Atlas. These are the League Mods available during 3.16.0.

• Fortune Favours the Brave (costs 3 Chaos Orbs): One of these options will be applied at random, including those you have not yet unlocked.
• Breach (costs 2 Chaos Orbs): Area contains an additional Breach.
• Essence (costs 3 Chaos Orbs): Area contains 3 additional Essences.
• Bloodlines (costs 3 Chaos Orbs): Magic Monster Packs each have a Bloodline mod. Area contains 3 additional Magic Monster Packs.
• Ambush (costs 4 Chaos Orbs): Area contains 4 additional Strongboxes.
• Beyond (costs 5 Chaos Orbs): Slaying enemies close together has a chance to attract monsters from Beyond.
• Legion (costs 6 Chaos Orbs): Area contains an additional Legion Encounter.
• Blight (costs 8 Chaos Orbs): Area contains a Blight Encounter.

User Interface Improvements

• Increased how far you can zoom in/out on the Passive Skill Tree.
• Added a search field to the Expedition Locker to allow the filtering of stored Logbooks.
• Pressing Ctrl + Click on Zana, Master Cartographer in your Hideout now brings up the Purchase Items interface, instead of the Atlas.
• The Skill Bar has been tweaked to fit Skill Icons a bit more nicely.
• The Skill Bar User Interface will now display if a Skill has dealt a Critical Strike when you have the Elemental Overload Keystone allocated.
• Added a slot for the Sacred Orb to the Currency Stash Tab. The slot for Perandus Coins is now hidden until you add one of these coins.
• Added slots for Breach Blessings, Flawless Breachstones, and Unrelenting Timeless Emblems to the Fragment Stash Tab.
• Added designated slots for Delirious Maps to the Delirium Stash Tab.
• Slots for Alchemical Resonators in the Delve Stash Tab are now hidden until you store one of these.

Quest Rewards

• Poisonous Concoction is now offered to the Ranger for completing The Siren’s Cadence, and can be purchased from Nessa by the Duelist, Shadow and Scion.
• Energy Blade can be purchased from Clarissa by the Templar, Shadow, Witch and Scion after completing Lost in Love.
• Summon Carrion Golem is no longer offered to the Scion for completing Breaking the Seal.
• Hydrosphere and Sigil of Power are no longer offered to the Shadow for completing Breaking the Seal.
• Temporal Rift is now offered to the Shadow for completing Breaking the Seal, and can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Ranger, Witch and Scion.
• Tornado is now offered to the Ranger and Shadow for completing Breaking the Seal, and can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Scion.
• Soul Link is now offered to the Scion for completing Breaking the Seal, and can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Templar, Shadow and Witch.
• Flame Link is now offered to the Scion for completing Breaking the Seal, and can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Marauder, Duelist and Templar.
• Intuitive Link is now offered to the Scion for completing Breaking the Seal, and can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Duelist, Ranger and Shadow.
• Protective Link can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Marauder, Templar and Scion after completing Breaking the Seal.
• Vampiric Link can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Duelist, Ranger and Scion after completing Breaking the Seal.
• Destructive Link can be purchased from Petarus and Vanja by the Shadow, Witch and Scion after completing Breaking the Seal.

PvP Changes

Note: These changes do not affect Path of Exile: Royale

• It is no longer possible to create PvP-Only characters in Path of Exile.
• Glacial Hammer no longer has a 15% damage penalty against players.
• Molten Strike no longer has a 20% damage penalty against players.
• Archmage Support no longer has a 20% damage penalty against players to skills it supports.

Trade Website Improvements

• Added support for the new Socket Notches. You can select which type of socket to display in the Trade website Settings page.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where Magic and Rare Monsters in Area Level 85+ areas had half the Life they were supposed to.
• Fixed a bug where a small number of Crafting Recipes usually unlocked by clicking on interactables in areas were instead always unlocked.
• Fixed a bug where the Intelligence Gathering Atlas Passive Skill would grant Intelligence for a random Immortal Syndicate Safehouse to all players in the area. It now only grants Intelligence to the Map owner.
• Fixed a bug where Flasks with Instilling Orb modifiers such as “Used when Charges reach full” would cancel Expedition Explosive placement.
• Fixed a bug where Sunder could deal no damage to a target if you lost line of sight to them.
• Fixed a bug with Sweep, Bladestorm and Rage Vortex where targets were being hit at the end of the animations for these Skills, instead of when the visual effects of the Skills passed over them.
• Fixed a bug where the target limit on Bladestorm and Rage Vortex would not reset between repeats when using Multistrike.
• Fixed a bug where some animations could desync in Predictive Networking Mode.
• Fixed a bug where some Map areas could fail to spawn four Ritual Altars.
• Fixed a bug where summoned Reapers would teleport when the level of the Summon Reaper Skill Gem changes.
• Fixed a bug where Awakened Cast on Critical Strike Support did not specify only Supported Spells gain increased Cooldown Recovery Rate.
• Fixed a bug where Mirage Archer could visually persist after its duration had expired.
• Fixed a bug where 101% reduced Projectile Speed or higher would cause projectiles to move incredibly fast. Reduced Projectile Speed now has a maximum of 99%.
• Fixed a bug where Corrupting Fever could snapshot the amount of damage dealt per second with the Corrupting Blood debuff.
• Fixed a bug where “Supported by Faster Casting” Glove modifiers did not have the Gem modifier tag.
• Fixed a bug Critical Strike Affliction Support still had the Chaos Gem tag.
• Fixed a bug where Tormented Spirits could not spawn around some Bosses.
• Fixed a bug where Betrayal Fortress Ballistas were able to attack through walls.
• Fixed a bug where Skills with a percentage reservation cost could still be reserved with extremely high costs.
• Fixed a bug where the Void Ancestral Warchief would die when players walked out of range of it, instead of becoming inactive.
• Fixed a bug where an inaccessible room could spawn in The Chamber of Sins Level 1.
• Fixed a bug where the Illusionist Weapon Effect microtransaction was missing part of its effect.
• Fixed a bug where the Scavenger Weapon microtransaction could not be applied to Rune Daggers.
• Fixed a bug where the area of effect of Earthquake when using the Demonic Earthquake Skill Effect microtransaction was incorrect.
• Fixed a bug where Warcry Skill Effect microtransactions could not be applied to Battlemage’s Cry.
• Fixed a bug where the projectiles fired and burning ground left from killing the Wild Hellion Alpha dealt no damage.
• Fixed a bug where Delirium Demons could appear from orbs summoned by the Maven when she witnessed a Boss fight in a Map.
• Fixed a bug where Mana gained on Hit from having a Gemini Claw equipped was not displayed in the Character Panel.
• Fixed a bug where the description on the Summon Harbinger of Focus, granted by The Unshattered Will Unique Shield, did not specify the buff granted while channelling makes you avoid all Elemental Ailments.
• Fixed a bug where the effect of Shock on you was not visually displayed correctly when using a Life Flask with the Numbing Elixir Cluster Jewel Passive allocated.
• Fixed a bug where increased Area of Effect per Repeat from Quality on Anomalous Multistrike Support did not visually represent the Area of Effect correctly.
• Fixed a bug where the Aspect of the Avian, Cat, Crab, and Spider Skills would become unreserved when changing areas with the Chainbreaker Timeless Jewel Passive allocated.
• Fixed a bug where Impending Doom Support Gem did not have the “Trigger” tag.
• Fixed a bug where Hexes socketed in the Mark of Submission Unique Ring could gain doom.
• Fixed a bug where some Incubators could fail to drop an item upon reaching their kill requirement threshold.
• Fixed a bug where a Maven-created clone of The Shaper could still deal damage to you with their beam skill if it hit you as you were teleported out of the Arena.
• Fixed a bug where the Mysterious Treasure Hideout Decoration would not fade into bones when a player was near.
• Fixed a bug where Holy Relic Minions from the Summon Holy Relic would have to be re-summoned after logging out.
• Fixed a bug where Curse Effect would increase the effect of Vulnerability applied by the Coward’s Chain Unique Belt.
• Fixed a bug where the damage area of Izaro’s Reave did not match the visual area of the attack.
• Fixed a bug where the Overkill damage from an enemy cursed with Punishment dying could be dealt to the player if the source of the enemies death was not the player.
• Fixed a bug where Toxic Rain inconsistently targeted enemies when used by a Trap or Mine, unlike other Rain style skills.
• Fixed a bug where Vaal Lightning Strike could be used on targeted enemies on the other side of a wall from the player.
• Fixed a bug where the Cruelty buff could sometimes display the incorrect effect of Cruelty on you on the Buff icon.
• Fixed a bug where Swift Assembly Support did not describe that Supported Skills throw Traps randomly around targeted location.
• Fixed a bug where Elixir of the Unbroken Circle did not recover life above 50% when Petrified Blood was active.
• Fixed a bug where Kitava’s Thirst did not describe that Mana used to Trigger a Skill could provide a chance to Trigger Socketed Spells.
• Fixed a bug where the Watcher’s Eye modifier that grants increased Physical Damage while using Pride stated it granted increased Attack Physical Damage.
• Fixed a bug where stealing the Nemesis Grasping Vines modifier and then hitting an enemy would apply Vines to the player.
• Fixed a bug where the Thirst for Blood Skill from Jack, The Axe could snapshot its reservation cost.
• Fixed a bug where the Elemental Hit could visually fire the same element in a row when using Predictive Networking Mode.
• Fixed a few wonky Microtransaction interactions.
• Fixed two client crashes.
• Fixed two instance crashes.

That’s it for this huge patch.

Source: Path of Exile forums