Path Of Exile Items

Path of Exile 3.27, Keepers of the Flame League, will be released on October 31st. The new patch brings many changes, including new endgame content and adjustments and reworks to various classes.

So, what build should you use for the new league? A comfortable leveling build can shorten your early leveling time. If you want to switch to a different build, your leveling build's farming ability will also affect your ability to switch builds. Below, we recommend some starting league builds based on PoE 3.27 patch.

1. Cyclone Gladiator

Cyclone Gladiator is a classic build that can handle maps of all difficulty levels, but it depends on PoE currency you invest.

It gets a recommendation because Cyclone skill has received a 20% buff at all levels. If you already use this build, you'll find it performs even better in 3.27. Its core mechanic uses Dancing Dervish Reaver Sword. It triggers Rampage, allowing the sword to automatically clear monsters.

Pros And Cons

Cyclone Gladiator build can defeat all Ubers when well-equipped, though it's not designed for hard bosses. Its high tankiness allows you to fight virtually unhindered from the start to T7 maps.

However, it's not unkillable and can still die in T17 maps or if you're unfamiliar with the final boss mechanics. If you're willing to invest enough PoE Divine Orbs in this build, you can even use it to handle all endgame content.

• Hundreds of Divine Orbs: It can handle everything in the game, including Uber bosses, T17 maps, Scarab of Risk, and Delirium maps. While it may occasionally die, it's still very powerful overall.
• Around 20 Divine Orbs: The most cost-effective level. It can clear Simulacrum Wave 15 and most Tier 17 maps, but it struggles on really juiced maps with very difficult affixes.
• A few Chaos Orbs: Most gear is worth only one Chaos Orb or less, but it's enough for the campaign.

2. Siege Ballista Hierophant

Siege Ballista Hierophant has been a very strong build for the past few seasons. Not only has it survived patch nerfs, but its Siege Ballista variant, Siege Ballista of Trarthus, even received a 35% damage buff. Siege Ballista Hierophant is perfect for the new League's Breach playstyle.

Siege Ballista is a Totem build, or one-button build. Its operation is simple: simply place a totem, and it automatically attacks, making it easy for even new players to figure out how to use it.

Its early game requirements are low, and all you need is a Divine Orb to get all the gear you need (by trade). Its survivability is quite good, and once you meet the required gear and skills, it boasts high dodge, spell suppression, and life regeneration, so it is not a glass cannon.

League Start Progression:

• Early Game: Use Holy Flame Totem.
• After Chapter 3: Switch to Explosive Arrow.
• Mid-Level 70s: Finally, transition to the core build Siege Ballista.

3. Reap And Exsanguinate Hierophant

Reap & Exsanguinate Hierophant is a tried-and-true build in multiple leagues, but it's relatively not very popular compared to other builds. But Reap and Exsanguinate have been continuously buffed, and the new Bloodline Ascendancy added in patch 3.27 provides stronger talent nodes, eliminating the need for a useless fourth talent point.

You can directly equip Reap at level 28, but this requires you to take Recovery Mastery (which provides 50 health regeneration per second) on the talent board to maintain the skill consumption. Or, you can use standard Templar levelings like Rolling Magma and Armageddon Brand, and then re-level later.

The two core skills of this build, Reap (Single Target) and Exsanguinate (Clear Skill), are both physical damage. Therefore, the core idea of Passive Tree is to find nodes for Life, Physical Damage Over Time, and Spell Suppression. Focus on health and damage early on, then head to the right path point to reach the Spell Suppression Cap and gain Elusive effect (via the Lethe Shade cluster).

4. Kinetic Wander Elementalist

Kinetic Wander Elementalist benefits from a host of new wand abilities (such as Wind Blast, Kinetic Rain, Wall of Force, Kinetic Fusillade) and the new wand base types Blasting Wand and Kinetic Wand.

Combined with Assassin class rework, Kinetic Wander Elementalist build has the potential to be very powerful, becoming a meta build for new leagues, but it's probably not suitable for pure new players.

It has advantages in the early game, such as smooth leveling, fast farming, good survivability, and low PoE currency required for item crafting. However, its drawbacks, such as lack of defense and damage, only become apparent in the endgame.

Also Read: Path Of Exile 3.27 Keepers of The Flame Predictions: 5 Expected Unique Items And Trarthus Gem Changes

5. Earthshatter Zerker

Earthshatter was not nerfed in PoE 3.27, and its overlapping spikes mechanic can deal significant damage.

Pros

• Easily handles early maps (Tier 5 and below) even with minimal gear.
• Large AOE range and fast clearing.
• With increased investment, damage and tankiness can be increased to extremely high levels.

Cons

• During Acts 4-6, you may feel vulnerable if gear (especially resistances and weapons) isn't updated regularly.
• It relies heavily on a high-damage Two-Handed Axe, which requires constant upgrades.
• While it's not a high-frequency build, you need to adapt to the rhythm of alternating attacks and Warcry.
• Not recommended for new Hardcore players, as the early stages require a precise balance of defense and damage.

Also, this build can be used with Slayer, Juggernaut, or Chieftain classes, depending on whether you prefer more damage or defense.

The above builds aren't necessarily optimal for the endgame, but most of them can easily clear Tier 17 maps if you're willing to invest heavily in Divine Orbs.

A month ago, a teaser trailer for Path of Exile 3.27 was released, announcing its October release date. As expected, 3.27 is scheduled to release on October 31st., and Secrets of the Atlas League will conclude on October 27th, leaving players with approximately three weeks to continue polishing their builds.

So, should you relax and enjoy the game during this time, or make a few extra bucks? What happens to your character after the league ends? How should you prepare for the new league?

How To Prepare For The New League?

PoE 3.26 lasted for almost five months, which naturally brought in a number of new players. Some of these players may not be fully aware of what the league transition represents.

Simply put, it's similar to the season transition in Diablo. When 3.26 transitions to 3.27, all characters, items, PoE currency, experience, and progress in the current challenge league will be transferred to the permanent standard league. When you create a character in a new league, it won't be able to use any gear or currency from the previous league. This means any hard work you put into 3.26 won't carry over to the new league.

If you want to prepare for 3.27, you can pay attention to the official announcements about the new league content and skill adjustments, note your desired build and the best upgrade build, and find a suitable loot filter to save you time searching through junk during gameplay. This will help you prepare early.

Your first build shouldn't be the strongest in the meta, but rather the one you most want to play. Once you successfully reach the endgame with your desired build and accumulate some PoE currency and gear, you can switch to a Meta build, which will allow you to upgrade faster.

Is 3.26 Still Worth Playing?

Secrets of the Atlas League has fewer content updates than other leagues, leading players to call it the worst season.

Judging by Steam online users and views on various streaming platforms, PoE 3.26 has fewer players than previous seasons. This may be due to the period of inactivity leading up to PoE2's release, which caused some players (including veterans who never switch leagues) to skip or join later.

However, despite the decrease in total players, player retention is very high. Even amidst severe server issues (especially on European servers), a large number of players continue to play. So, if you continue playing now, you don't have to worry about finding someone to trade with. You can sell all your PoE currency before the league ends, and you might even make a small profit.

Tier 16.5 Maps

Tier 16.5 maps are one of the best features of 3.26, primarily due to the map layout options. Tier 17 maps have closed corridor layouts, which often restrict player movement, hinder ranged and AOE builds, and make certain activities (such as Breach and Legion) a poor experience.

Tier 16.5 maps allow players to choose their favorite old map layouts, which greatly improves the gameplay experience. Furthermore, better layouts allow for more interesting builds that rely on area-of-effect effects, rather than just targeting specific Tier 17 meta builds.

While Tier 17 maps may offer higher returns per map, Tier 16.5 maps, thanks to their efficient layouts, narrow the payoff per unit time, so even if you don't challenge Tier 17 maps, you won't lose much. Furthermore, farming efficiency on Tier 16.5 maps isn't much lower than Tier 17. Even after the mid-game fix for the bug that guaranteed Tier 17 modifiers with eight affixes, Tier 16.5 maps still offer good returns. Tier 16.5 maps are expected to be carried over to 3.27.

Mercenaries League

Mercenaries are a new mechanic added in 3.26. Mercenaries can serve as powerful support. You can equip them with special equipment to grant you auras or taunt enemies. You can even have them serve as your primary damage dealer, with you supporting them.

When choosing equipment, you need to balance making your mercenaries powerful enough to enhance your own abilities with ensuring their survival. The mercenary system makes many previously unpopular Path of Exile items valuable.

However, mercenaries significantly increase the power of all builds, making 3.26 easier. If this mechanic isn't added to the core game, players in 3.27 might struggle to adapt. If it is, the disruption to game balance caused by mercenaries could be devastating.

Doryani's Prototype is a classic example of a design error. If you put this item, which grants negative lightning resistance, on a nearly indestructible mercenary, it overpowers the lightning build, disrupting the balance. Therefore, 3.27 may only retain a few mercenaries or their corresponding gems, while most mercenary-related content may be removed.

Beyond the content of 3.26, there has been no official preview or announcement regarding 3.27's content. However, it is expected to include new bosses and PoE currency. Another long-awaited feature that will probably launch in 3.27 is Path of Exile 2's current asynchronous trading system. It performed almost flawlessly in 0.3.0, and this feature promises significant improvements to the trading system, making it well worth the wait.

Currently, Path of Exile 3.26's player base isn't at its peak, and with 3.27 still about three weeks away, finding players willing to trade with you might be challenging before the new trading system launches.

However, IGGM will offer trading services from the start of the season until the end, allowing you to buy reliable PoE currency and items to complete your build.