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

Patch 3.28: Key Updates and Impacts

The newly unveiled mirror league for Path of Exile, alongside the latest patch notes, brings significant changes to end-game content, as well as affecting various builds and classes. These updates present a mix of buffs and nerfs, each with implications for how players will approach their gameplay strategies. This section highlights the major buffs and nerfs in the patch, starting with the positive changes and moving onto the more challenging adjustments.

Major Buffs

Absolution: This skill receives a boost with a 40% increase in damage and extended duration from 10 to 15 seconds. Such enhancements make the skill highly viable for resurrecting old builds, as it now promises a more solid and dependable performance.
Minor Buffs: Skills like Static Strike, Dominating Blow, and Vaal Blade Vortex received slight increments, enhancing their playability. Even though their improvements aren't as pronounced as Absolution, they provide players with several solid options in the current meta.

Significant Nerfs

Viper Strike of the Mamba: The attack speed for dual-wielding has been reduced by 30%, with each weapon dealing 20% less damage. This combination of nerfs makes this build considerably less viable.
Penance Brand: Activation is now slower at 1 second instead of 0.75, and damage output has been reduced from 30% to 20% more damage, affecting its popularity.
Earth Shatter: With a reduction in damage effectiveness from 393% to 329% at gem level 20, this skill remains playable but less dominant among melee builds.
Energy Blade and Energy Shield: The quality of Energy Blade now provides 10% attack speed instead of boosting maximum energy shield. Additionally, the energy gain from intelligence is halved, notably impacting energy shield stackers who rely on energy for damage calculations.
Blood Notch: The change from 60% to 30% recovery of damage taken from stunning hits means those using Cast When Stunned builds will find content significantly more challenging.

Ascendancy and Class Adjustments

Chieftain: Changes to the Higara Death Fury notable focus more on consistency but reduce fire damage output, impacting the performance of Cast When Stunned builds.

Elementalist: The Liege of the Primordial notable no longer offers a 50% increase in buffs from golems, affecting defenses for this build.

Guardian: This class now has a more permanent minion with increased movement speed and new shrine buff effects. However, its popularity may see little change despite these enhancements.

These updates reflect a diverse range of adjustments, offering new avenues for builds while challenging players to adjust to some reduced capabilities. While certain builds become significantly stronger, others might require strategic innovation to navigate the changed landscape. Here's a table to summarize the major buffed and nerfed skills:

Skill/Class	Buffed or Nerfed	Impact
Absolution	Buffed	40% more damage, enhanced quality of life.
Viper Strike	Nerfed	Reduced attack speed and significant damage penalty.
Penance Brand	Nerfed	Increased activation time, lowered damage output.
Earth Shatter	Nerfed	Reduced damage effectiveness at higher gem levels.
Energy Blade	Nerfed	Less energy shield from intelligence, affecting damage.
Chieftain	Nerfed	Less fire damage, impacting Cast When Stunned builds.
Guardian	Buffed	Increased movement speed and new minion capabilities.

These changes will undoubtedly influence play styles and could lead to interesting shifts in popular builds and strategies as players adjust.

Class Impact and Popularity Shifts

The recent changes bring an interesting dynamic to class selections, with some classes benefiting more than others. Although the Guardian class has received some positive adjustments, the Necromancer is likely to remain the default choice for minion-focused builds due to its consistent utility. In contrast, the Chieftain has faced several nerfs, notably impacting its viability across multiple gameplay strategies. Despite this, Righteous Fire builds still hold potential within the Chieftain’s repertoire.

Chieftain: The biggest loser due to multiple nerfs.
Necromancer: Likely still the best choice for minion builds.
Guardian: Enhanced but mainly benefits early-game strategies.
Righteous Fire: Remains a solid option for Chieftain.
Deadeye, Slayer, and Necromancer: Expected to rise in popularity due to minimal changes.
The landscape of ascendancy classes will likely still offer diverse options despite certain build archetypes gaining more traction. This diversity ensures that even if some classes become more favored, variety remains present.

Additional Updates and Future Focus

Beyond class and skill modifications, other areas, particularly endgame farming, have also seen enhancements. Changes to gems and other mechanics suggest a promising direction for future gameplay, though further details were not covered in this update.

Overall, while certain strategies may become more or less viable following these adjustments, the path forward remains rich with possibilities for players to explore. Future updates will provide more insights into these improvements and how they shape the broader experience within the game.