Link Skill Rework Suggestions

Link skills have been awkward and very underpowered for a long time now. They are in a very bad spot in Standard leagues because their buffs are mediocre and it'd be a waste of a skill slot to use them on most non-aurabot builds. They are outright dead in HC leagues because you risk instant death whenever you use them, especially on minions. Their targeting is also very clunky, which further increases this chance of death. They're great conceptually, but their execution is very poor. Instead of providing marginal buffs, Links should make your target feel overpowered. If you are risking death to play as a support in a game where the best support is usually another DPS, you should expect a larger return on your investment. It is very fun to amp your friend's or minion's damage to chainsaw levels of destruction... it isn't fun to waste mana, time, and a skill slot to make your friend attack just a little bit harder.

I suggest, rather than outright killing the caster, link skills should cap the caster's maximum resistances at 15% for 3 seconds when their target dies. This is still a significant yet manageable risk, such that link skills might finally become viable in HC and might remain appealing at the higher levels of play, where dying once could undo hours of progress. I've also toyed around with the idea of capping the caster's maximum Life and ES at 5%, for the same duration.

Regarding the current state of link skill QoL and clunkiness, I recommend altering the casting mechanics of links by allowing them to be directed at the most recent target, by default, instead of the cursor's location. Links could then be refocused by casting directly onto a player's portrait or a minion's buff icon. Additionally, though I recognize the potential for game-breaking interactions if the range of link skills is too large, "line of sight" is inconsistent with PoE's current game design logic; it works perfectly well for Aura Skills, which might as well be passive, but link skills are activated frequently. For this reason, I recommend the range of Link Skills be changed to "in your presence," or 8 meters.

Taking all of these changes into account, the general summary for Link Skills would change from:
"Links are active skills that create a bond between your character and a specific party member, providing a benefit to them while they stay in range. If the target dies while linked, you will also die. Link skills cannot be triggered or used by Totems, Traps, or Mines."
To:
"Links are active skills that create a bond between your character and a specific party member, providing a benefit to them while they remain in your presence. If the target dies while linked, your maximum resistances will be lowered for 3 seconds. Link skills cannot be triggered or used by Totems, Traps, or Mines."

I also really like a lot of the suggestions posted here (https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3361906) by Kusibu, April of last year.

link skills should be reworked to behave like a sacrifice

for instance flame link

actual


how i think they should work



the cost does not have to be always life reservation, It could be mana or ES reservation even resistances say:

Protective Link

Cost: reduced resistances, reduced block chance and reduced regeneration

Targets an allied player to apply a buff which links you to them. While linked, they obtain block, life recovery and resistances. This skill cannot be triggered, or used by Totems, Traps, or Mines.

Linked target gains a % of your regeneration
modifiers that increase block chance and max block chance also apply to Linked target's at a % of its value
modifiers that increase resistances and max resistances also apply to Linked target's at a % of its value
Link breaks if target leaves range or line of sight for 4 seconds
Maximum 1 Link from any source per target

Oh I'm definitely a fan of that. Someone on Reddit (to which I also posted this) mentioned that my ways could be easily countered with a logout macro, but this couldn't. One thing I would add though is that it draws from the existing reservations, but potentially that decreases the auras' effectiveness by 20%-1%, depending on level? Might be overcomplicating things though, just an idea.

And please buff link skills when used on minions