Character Balance in Path of Exile: Lake of Kalandra

Yes.

Some changes were expected (Melding), some surprised me (Divine Blessing), no mention of Nightblade kinda strange, some changes were expected but not on this level of obliteration (Skellies). Overall the usual reroll and screech.

I kind of like some changes for early leveling but usually those skills are used for like 5 levels (I start with Summon Phantasm a lot in A1).

Herald of Purity seems nice.

LS nd Helix seem untouched, personally don't like both skills though.

Most of this is just meeh, SRS might be interesting??

Waiting for Patch Notes for more detail I guess.

I don't get them pushing / wanting players to invest in more defense though and then nerfing getting that defense / defense options for sake of diversity. I think removing the mana reservation node actually hurts diversity since some niche options are probably just not viable with less auras.

EDIT: Also still wanting to see what endgame changes are coming since GGG said they would add something every league.

Am I the only one thinking trade league might actually be good this league with all of these crying doomsday-preachers playing other games? :) #Hype

On a serious note; looking forward to see what content changes and league mechanic they have in store next Thursday. Announcement stream is always great dopamine and hype (provided you hide the twitch chat ;D ).

Hope we are getting new skills this patch cause so far this looks like a boring set of changes. That or an amazing league mechanic.

I'll be skipping this league until everything is worked out. I'm not going to start off frustrated like I did with this league with the OP monsters.

Thanks GGG for the league, finally I can do useful things and not play the game

I am excited to see what changes did GGG do for melee but after all the nerfs its getting even worser, especially after the spell suppression nerf on items because it was the only way for classes like marauder or templer to get ss cap. 2 h builds are even fucked, no shield block, no mana reservation Mastery anymore to use more auras, def. Banner nerf.

What about Gladiator ascendancy?

[Removed by Support]

Read all the posts up to this point, everything has been said.

I don't think HC, SSF, or Standard will appreciate the changes, for obvious reasons.
Casuals will also be disproportionately effected. Severely so.

There are so many skills that could have been brought up to the meta standard, but we landed on these changes. If the Problem and Solution are going to be typed out in so much detail, maybe a Rationale would help players understand how each change will alter the game for the better.

Whether a buff or the nerf-bat is good for a specific change, taking such wide swings means a heavier adjustment for players and showcases how poor the devs are at testing in the first place, not good for the game. An ability shouldn't ever need to be nerfed by half.

I would have really liked the opportunity to use my Sentinel items in Standard, incorporating them into my RF character.
I understand that Fire Trap's DOT wasn't accounted for with the previous buff, but it clearly needed buffing in the first place, so knocking it all the way back down to pre-3.17 levels seems like overkill, maybe a little bit at a time would be a better solution, or just buff other abilities to pull them in-line with Meta output. I was shocked to see this being targeted so heavy-handedly when Seismic Trap avoided any direct damage nerfs (at least in the manifesto).

I don't think it is fair to assume that everybody who uses Defiance Banner is using Determination and Grace. That is a subset of players and while DB is a little strong for a 10% reserve, it is not equally strong for all players who are using it. This is one of my biggest gripes about the devs. You are criminally negligent when it comes to collateral nerfing. One ability is too strong because of these 8 reasons, the fix: nerf everything linked and related to said ability.
Such changes can see dead abilities and builds further nerfed. If I recall correctly a while back Glacial Hammer had 2 people playing it in league and still caught a glancing nerf from something else being targeted. God Bless Them.

I am still salty about you annihilating my aura toon when you changed how reservation worked entirely. But I understood.
These 3 Reservation changes you have listed, I do not understand currently.
Yes many people use the 15% res efficiency to fit an extra def aura in, the current state of the game is very demanding for not getting one-shot. You could be looking at the game in regards to what percentage of players use this gem, ability, talent, item, jewel, etc. But is it worth destroying auras just to lower a percentage? Should casual players be left without that assistance or the various aura builds eat such crippling nerfs? I vote Ney!

Also I do not play Melee but you have been doing them dirty for an age, seems like a fairly easy fix, what is up with that? Did melee kill your parents when you were small?

Minion changes seemed drastic, is the balance for leveling, casuals, geared players kept in line with what you are aiming for?

Spell Suppression availability being more reserved for Right Tree Bros could work out, but with all the other defense nerfs, might be piling on for Left Tree Bros.

Did that one Russian YouTuber rustle jimmies so hard that he got Cast on Death buried? That is a hoot.

Is that the best way to go about balancing flasks? I don't have complaints if Mageblood reaches 95% of players, but if we are okay making something Uber Meta then leave my auras alone.

Ward is a relatively niche defensive mechanic? That is one way of putting it..

Standing still is for plebs, who is going to use Arctic Armor?
We will likely continue to explore more efficient defensive options for characters that spend a lot of time standing still in future content updates. How is that remotely plausible for efficient map clearing or most boss mechanics? This sentence made me physically ill, "Everyone is now dumber" for having read it.

No nerf for Ashes of the Stars? Surprising.
No nerf for Aegis Aurora? Also surprising.
Crystallised Omniscience not nerfed harder? SurprisedPikachu.jpg

They are saving all the good changes for Patch Notes, this is a prank.

[Removed by Support] Sorry to throw so much shade, but if you could walk back the 3 reservation changes, which would negatively impact nearly everyone, I would like to continue playing your game.

I'll add that my AWs can't clear uber content easily even with a 600+ EX build. In fact I can't survive uber Sirus. But what I gather from this is that you're nerfing crit in all forms and making it so we now have to fit this on other pieces of armor (making rolls likely insanely annoying to get) and sacrificing defensive layers to do so. I guess you want every minion build to just run aurora?

Seems we go again in the direction of Path of Nerf, mobs still are the same, drops still are the same, Ashes of Stars will go up to the moon...
Was going well with the last 2 exps, now Nerfedition again... oh well

And no to mention the defences, are a mess and you need to stack too many shite to be able to do uber content or 1-shot everything with a 500ex build