PoE 3.28: Major Buffs & Nerfs in New League Patch Notes

PoE 3.28 Mirage: The Buffs and Nerfs That Matter

Path of Exile's 3.28 league, Mirage, launched on March 6, 2026, and its patch notes reshuffled a long list of skills and ascendancies. This breakdown cuts the official notes down to the changes that actually move a build: the headline buffs, the real nerfs, and the ascendancy notable adjustments, each with the verified numbers from the 3.28.0 patch notes.

Key Takeaways

• Absolution is the headline buff: minion duration rises from 10 to 15 seconds, and its Sentinels deal 40% more damage with Empowered Lightning Blast.
• Penance Brand was buffed, not nerfed: it gains 10% more damage at every gem level and loses its old "less damage with Ailments" penalty.
• Viper Strike of the Mamba loses 30% Attack Speed and deals 20% less damage per weapon while dual wielding.
• Earthshatter drops from 393% to 329% Effectiveness of Added Damage at gem level 20.
• Energy Shield builds took two hits: Intelligence now grants maximum ES per 10 points instead of per 5, and Energy Blade quality no longer adds ES.
• Chieftain's Hinekora, Death's Fury and Guardian's Sentinel of Radiance both got stronger, while Elementalist's Liege of the Primordial lost its Golem buff bonus.

Minion and brand skills carried the buffs this league, while Energy Shield builds absorbed most of the nerfs. Here is each side with the exact numbers.

Skill Gems That Got Buffed

The 3.28 buff list is built around minion and brand skills, and several of them revive builds that sat on the bench last league.

1. Absolution: base debuff duration goes from 1 to 3 seconds and minion duration from 10 to 15 seconds. The Sentinels of Absolution gain 44% more area of effect on Empowered Lightning Blast, which itself deals 40% more damage. Together those changes make Absolution a far steadier minion skill.
2. Penance Brand: now deals 10% more damage at all gem levels, its Effectiveness of Added Damage rises from 470-570% to 520-630%, and it no longer suffers the 30% less damage with Ailments penalty. Quality also improved, granting up to 30% more damage against the Branded enemy instead of 15%.
3. Static Strike: zap range increases from 2 to 2.5 metres and duration from 3 to 4 seconds, while the beam damage penalty eases from 40% less to 30% less. That is a real damage gain, not a token bump.
4. Dominating Blow: its Sentinel-summon chance now triggers on Rare monsters, not just Uniques, with debuff duration up to 3 seconds and Sentinel duration extended to 30 seconds.

Players who want to roll one of these newly buffed skills can level a fresh Mirage build straight into mapping while the league economy is still young, before the price of buffed gems climbs.

📌 Common mistake: A lot of early 3.28 community posts filed Penance Brand under nerfs because its quality stat changed. Read the full line: the quality change went up, from 15% to 30% more damage versus the Branded enemy. Penance Brand is a buff this league.

Skill Gems and Items That Got Nerfed

The nerf side of 3.28 hits a few popular damage and defence picks. None of these skills are dead, but each loses enough to change how it is built.

1. Viper Strike of the Mamba: while dual wielding, it now has 30% less Attack Speed, and each weapon hits separately for 20% less damage. The dual-wield setup that defined the build last league takes the brunt of this.
2. Earthshatter: Effectiveness of Added Damage drops across the board, landing at 158-329% from 171-393%, so the level-20 figure falls from 393% to 329%. The slam still works, it just hits less hard.
3. Bloodnotch: this Crimson Jewel now recovers 20-30% of damage taken from Stunning Hits as Life, down from 40-60%. Builds that leaned on Bloodnotch for stun-based recovery lose roughly half of that healing.
4. Energy Shield defence: Intelligence now grants 1% increased maximum Energy Shield per 10 points instead of per 5, a straight halving. Energy Blade adds to the squeeze: its quality now grants up to 10% increased Attack Speed instead of more maximum Energy Shield.

Energy Shield stackers feel that last pair of changes the most, since both the Intelligence scaling and the Energy Blade quality bonus fed their defensive layer.

Ascendancy Notable Changes

Three ascendancy notables saw changes worth planning around in 3.28 Mirage. Two of them are buffs, and one quietly removes a defensive prop.

• Chieftain — Hinekora, Death's Fury: the chance for enemies you or your Totems kill to explode rises from 5% to 10%, with each explosion dealing 250% of the monster's maximum Life. That doubles the clear-speed payoff of the notable.
• Guardian — Sentinel of Radiance: the Sentinel is now permanent rather than a temporary summon, and it moves about 36% faster, so it keeps up with a mapping character instead of lagging behind.
• Elementalist — Liege of the Primordial: this notable no longer grants 50% increased effect of buffs from your Golems. Golem-reliant Elementalist builds lose a defensive and offensive boost that used to be free.

If those changes have you weighing a re-roll, it helps to compare current 3.28 build options before committing a league-start character.

3.28 Buffs and Nerfs at a Glance

Here is the short version of every change covered above, with the direction and the practical effect on a build:

Taken together, 3.28 rewards minion and brand skills while pushing Energy Shield builds toward a sturdier defensive plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the PoE 3.28 league called?

The 3.28 league is Mirage, and it launched on March 6, 2026. It is a Path of Exile 1 league, separate from Path of Exile 2. The name often gets miswritten as the "mirror league", but Mirror refers to the Mirror of Kalandra currency item, which is unrelated to the league itself.

Was Penance Brand buffed or nerfed in 3.28?

Penance Brand was buffed. It deals 10% more damage at every gem level, its Effectiveness of Added Damage rose from 470-570% to 520-630%, and it lost the old penalty that reduced its damage with Ailments. Its quality bonus also improved to up to 30% more damage against the Branded enemy. The skill is a stronger pick in 3.28 Mirage than it was last league.

What changed for Energy Shield builds in 3.28?

Energy Shield builds took two hits. Intelligence now grants 1% increased maximum Energy Shield per 10 points instead of per 5, halving that source of defence. Energy Blade also changed: its quality now grants increased Attack Speed rather than more maximum Energy Shield. ES stackers that relied on both will need more maximum ES from gear and the passive tree.

Is Absolution worth playing in 3.28 Mirage?

Absolution is one of the strongest buffs in the 3.28 patch notes. Its base debuff duration tripled to 3 seconds, minion duration rose from 10 to 15 seconds, and its Sentinels of Absolution deal 40% more damage with Empowered Lightning Blast alongside 44% more area of effect. Those changes make it a reliable minion league-starter.

What happened to Viper Strike of the Mamba?

Viper Strike of the Mamba was nerfed for dual-wield setups. While dual wielding, it now has 30% less Attack Speed, and each weapon hits separately for 20% less damage. The build still functions, but the dual-wield configuration that carried it last league loses a noticeable amount of damage and speed.

Which ascendancies changed in 3.28?

Three ascendancy notables stand out. Chieftain's Hinekora, Death's Fury doubled its kill-explode chance from 5% to 10%. Guardian's Sentinel of Radiance became permanent and moves about 36% faster. Elementalist's Liege of the Primordial lost its 50% increased effect of buffs from Golems, which weakens Golem-based Elementalist builds.

Maintained by WowCarry's Path of Exile team. Last reviewed 2026-05-21 against the 3.28.0 Mirage patch notes.