Smoke Mine

I started a new char recently who uses bear traps for essentially 1-hit KOs alongside dual totems and fire traps to constantly be attacking. I can say this is one of THE MOST entertaining gems to use especially when I discovered for myself the ability to lay a mine and instantly activate the previous one. The ability to hit and then retarget keeps this playstyle as one of the most exciting and fast paced. I love that the mana cost is low because the above mentioned other offensive skills drain most of it anyway.

Instead of simply treating this gem as a defensive escape tool you can really have fun with laying traps behind an incoming monster and then triggering smoke mine to be behind them so they'll walk right into it.

Something that's a little wasted (at least for me) is the fact that you can set 5 mines but you can't keep teleporting to an older one. They all get triggered (unless you're just dropping the mine when you activate it which sometimes fails due to desync). Thanks to the amount of fun I'm having as it is, there's only one thing that I'd change which has been mentioned by others: teleporting around objects doesn't work; you need direct line of sight. (Of course I'd also change the desync which can be a problem for fast movement but that's a different issue.)

Thanks for making this skill! Oh and don't nerf it!

After a lot of more testing, especially in maps, I'll probably kick this skill again (unfortunately!) from my main character. Maybe I'll give it to a character that I'll build around traps solely. Maybe with the use of one of those new uniques.

I won't use it for now, just like freeze mine (can be pretty nice too), since it requires me to get into trouble, probably getting hit while laying the mine and then, manually, detonate it.
Of course I could lay a few of them and wait for enemies to walk over, but at that point combat feels really slow and clunky.

However, I guess this skill can be great for a support-character.

"

charmolipi wrote:

i am sorry i do not share the same enthusiasm as previous posters . the skill is mediocre at best.

it does not add mobility ,since you need to place the mine in advance and detonate , a process which overall limits your gameplay .even lightning warp "that most people frown upon ",performs better as an escape/mobility than smoke mine , you only need to cast it once (without an extra keypress for detonate" and you can still perform actions in the meantime .

It does not add utility .It is a 6second blind at lvl 20 and has a really really really small aoe range (the mob needs to stand on top of the mine to get hit by the cloud practically due to desync".so you need 3slots .smoke mine + increased aoe + Increased duration. with the same 3 slots you can have a flametotem +blind + gmp .a combo which deals damage and blinds CONSTANTLY in a bigger area and tanks hits.

my grudge is mostly with the mine mechanic. the skill would be much much better as a spell. click and go where you clicked .

Who frowns upon Lightning Warp? That skill is amazing. However, Smoke Mine is a much faster and safer escape with the added bonus of blinding opponents standing in the smoke. The only drawback to it, as you mentioned, is that you can't just clock a spot and go there- like you can with Lightning Warp. If they change Smoke Mine to do this, Lightning Warp would be completely useless as a pure utility skill as Smoke Mine would be vastly superior. And see little use for Lightning Warp as a damage source other than potentially a initiation shock stack pared with ele prolif.

All you need to do is think ahead to effectively use Smoke Mine as an escape skill, I think it's nicely balanced in comparison with Lightning Warp. Not to mention that it feels awesome to use.

Cheers!

"

HandsomeBear wrote:

Who frowns upon Lightning Warp? That skill is amazing. However, Smoke Mine is a much faster and safer escape with the added bonus of blinding opponents standing in the smoke. The only drawback to it, as you mentioned, is that you can't just clock a spot and go there- like you can with Lightning Warp. If they change Smoke Mine to do this, Lightning Warp would be completely useless as a pure utility skill as Smoke Mine would be vastly superior. And see little use for Lightning Warp as a damage source other than potentially a initiation shock stack pared with ele prolif.

All you need to do is think ahead to effectively use Smoke Mine as an escape skill, I think it's nicely balanced in comparison with Lightning Warp. Not to mention that it feels awesome to use.

Cheers!

how is smoke mine superior escape mechanism than lightning warp or any other escape tool in the game?

shield charge- you click and goes where you clicked +deals dmg+ disrupts enemies cast(most of the time)

leapslam -you click and goes where you clicked +deals dmg + stun(most people built it with stun)

whirling blades - you click it goes where you clicked + avoids collision=pass through enemies blocking you ,saving your ass

lightining warp -you click it goes + deals aoe dmg +possible shock -delays

smoke mine - you need to put it in advance + cast animation to trigger it + the mine has 1hp and gets destroyed by arc or aoe attacks + unless you have line of sight you cannot trigger it etc etc etc.

as for the blind ,you can tank+deal dmg+blind with a flame totem+blind combo ,that you cast and forget since it can re-target enemies unless it dies (it will not die in the 4seconds that smoke mine lasts i assure you)


once the novelty of "look mom i am a ninja " goes away , the skill is a mediocre escape tool ,and an inconsistent blind tool .

I played a little with Smoke Mine and it seems to be great skill... but in turn-based combat game, not in fast-paced aRPG. Especially, with LoS requirement. Or maybe I'm doing it wrong, trying to kill mobs in mere few second, instead planning few minutes how to get to them.

But it puts new light on evaluation what GGG means using term "viable"... :)

Hi

I been playing ev/es ranger using reave,viper strike and shield charge. I got the quest reward choice of smoke mine and took it. Since then I have found its usage quite useful for instant escapes despite equally considering the LOS(Line Of Sight) to be a huge disadvantage in that it seems like player can be pretty far from it to detonate BUT THEN LOS TAKES EFFECT AND NOTHING HAPPENS! At least if LOS is to take effect make the detonation only work if LOS is in effect otherwise it makes it a bit more of a hassle then it should be. I know its a game but what is logic behind this LOS effect on this, could be really awesome,mine? Come to think of it do all mines have LOS?

Also I felt like this mine is attempting to fill a big niche left behind by phase run with the addition of movement speed. So when I first used it I was like ''Wicked 5 mines,wonder if it stacks...'' I don't think I was the only one that thought this initially and also the afterthought of ''it should stack...'' but this would be 100% that's a bit much, so perhaps maybe allow it: a)to stack but have it only do 3 mines
b)it stacks 5 times but each consecutive trap reduces the 20% movement so by the fifth one it gives 5-10% increase movement speed.

I also noted it does not work with increased duration:(

Stacking or removal of LOS would greatly make this gem more useful and interesting although the mention of ''jumping'' sounds interesting if not a quirk of how it is supposed to work, I am sure this is already being exploited.

Good luck Dev on continuing to refine the skills via POE player feedback:)

cheers

When I lay several Smoke Mines and detonate they all explode at once. Wasn't it supposed to be that you can detonate them one after another?

Hi

LOS(line of sight) on this item is very silly mechanic. What is the point of LOS on this gem? It is a remote mine the keyword being remote not I have to have LOS to activate it,ie: be right near it.
Rory please see this and explain why LOS is needed on this gem?Would it have been to awesome to have no LOS?

cheers

Any info about quality bonus from this support?

Hi RORY

Still waiting to know why this gem needed LOS? makes it damn near useless and it should not release all 5 mines at once, no strategy at all:(

cheers