u/WaifuMasterRace

I didn't think going from 3->4 Cutthroats in the deck, or that the 2pp -> 1pp change was that significant, but here we are.

So, for those that have an idea, why did it end up being this strong?

I want to play Lightning Spear in 0.5.5, but I'm seeing it played on quite a few different ascendancies and want to know why you'd choose one ascendancy over another.

The main ones I can kinda guess why they're played on are Amazon, Deadeye, Martial Artist, and Gemling, but I can also see Spirit Walker, Ritualist, and Blood Mage builds on poe.ninja.

Personally I don't mind having a scuffed campaign and early maps if it "scales" better later on. I'm really not one to push for speed, I play dumb Quinn-esque builds all the time, so I'd appreciate if we don't just tunneling onto "X is the best because its the fastest".

Still, I'd like to have some sort of idea on what ascendancy are there to pick from. I played it on Amazon before, had a pretty good time, didn't bother with Frenzy generation at all and to be honest it still felt great. I just really like how the skill looks.

Anyway, that leaves me wondering about the different types of Lightning Spear ascendancies out there and why they're played. Otherwise I might just end up on Huntress again as it's the designated spears class.

Erika + Cesar is full of shit, and Erika + Mars is just as bad. Plus, they get two Quickbladers for free as well, one of which spawns in on an evolve turn.

Combined with how wide they already go early game, the deck feels a little ridiculous this fest.

Is it just me or has the Singtel Mobile data on Circle Line been getting worse and worse?

There are posts about how it's been bad even 1-2 years ago, but lately I feel like it's been getting even worse than before.

Used to be able to read manga around the Botanical Gardens - Caldecott - Marymount area, but now I'm lucky if a text only webpage loads in that stretch.

And this lack of connectivity has spread to other stations too, Bishan - Lorong Chuan - Serangoon has also been getting worse somehow, and though it's less common, Farrer Road has also seen issues.

First time playing Warrior, and I’m probably going strength stacking.

Not fully decided yet, but likely either:

• Facebreakers
• Brutus’ Lead Sprinkler

I want to play Smith of Kitava, but most of what I’m seeing says Titan is just better, so I’m trying to understand whether that’s actually true for this kind of build or if people are just following the popular guide/streamer version.

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Smith of Kitava vs Titan

What actually makes Titan better for strength stacking?

Is it just:

• more damage
• better scaling

or does Smith have anything specific that lets it stand apart?

I don’t really mind if Smith has lower damage but is tankier, because that's at least a niche. But if Smith ends up not actually tankier in endgame while also doing less damage and needing more investment, then that'd be bad.

If that’s the case, then on SC trade, is there any real reason to play Smith?

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Armour applies to chaos

One of the biggest reasons I’m interested in Smith is the node that gives armour applies to chaos damage taken from hits.

From what I can tell, getting this effect outside Smith means using chest/helm mods, but on a stat stacker those suffix slots seem extremely contested.

So I’m wondering:

• is this actually a big Smith advantage?
• does it free up those gear slots enough to matter?
• or does endgame gear/budget eventually solve this anyway, making the Smith node less important?

This is the main thing I'm positive about when looking at Smith, other than the 20% increased strength too.

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Mapping skill choice

Looking at poe.ninja and video guides, people seem to mostly be using things like:

• Leap Slam
• Molten Blast (probably Mathil effect here?)

Ideally, I’d like to play Boneshatter for clear in endgame since that felt really smooth in campaign, like that Bear slap → slam kind of gameplay, where it is technically a two-button combo, but still feels good and well designed instead of being annoying.

But I don’t see it that much in endgame setups. Is this a flavour of the month kind of thing, or do people just gravitate towards one-button clear? I suppose it doesn't matter that much since any choice would probably be capable of popping packs once geared enough, but I’m wondering if there’s a reason people moved away from it.

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Rolling Slam + Boneshatter problem

Somewhere around Act 4, Rolling Slam started killing enemies on the first hit, which meant Boneshatter had nothing left to hit.

I thought about lowering Rolling Slam’s damage and taking away damage supports, but I remembered that Rolling Slam also seems to be used for single target DPS, especially to repeatedly trigger Forge Hammer fissures.

I suppose this might be why Rolling Slam + Boneshatter doesn’t seem more common later?

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Other mapping options

I also don’t see many people using things like:

• Sunder
• Stampede

Are these just worse for clear compared to Leap Slam / Molten Blast?

Or are they viable, but Leap Slam is popular because it is the flavour of the month?

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Armour Break / Scavenged Plating while mapping

Last thing: how are people solving armour break for Scavenged Plating while mapping?

I saw the setup where:

• heavystun breaks 50% armour
• then you get 100% increased armour break on tree

but that seems like a massive skill point investment, especially on a strength stacker.

Is that the standard, or are there other ways to keep the stacks up for both mapping and bossing?

TL;DR: Energy Shield recharge got heavily nerfed. Recharge Rate was mostly removed from the passive tree, while the Recharge Rate still available on gear has been cut to roughly half or worse. Faster start of Recharge was also reduced across the tree and removed from several gear slots, so ES builds will recharge both less quickly and less reliably.

Maximum ES was only lightly targeted by comparison: Vile Robe, the highest base ES body armour, was reduced from 184 to 171 base Energy Shield, Patient Barrier was reduced from 60% to 50% increased Maximum Energy Shield, and endgame ES bases received no general buff. There are minor compensations through slightly better flat ES runes, some mid-level item base buffs, and the new Nephrite Catalyst, which improves Energy Shield modifiers on Jewels, but these do not make up for the recharge losses.

What I think this means: The broader direction seems to be that the tree is losing secondary ES stats like Recharge Rate and faster start of Recharge, bringing ES more in line with Armour and Evasion. Other defences already needed gear investment into secondary defensive modifiers like Deflect or Armour applying to Elemental Damage, while ES could obtain much of its equivalent recovery scaling from the tree. With that being stripped back, ES now has similar affix pressure because Recharge Rate and faster start of Recharge become much more important to get on gear. The hit to top-end maximum ES is probably a balancing choice as well, since ES gets the new Nephrite Catalyst for Jewels and a small amount of Ward as compensation.

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Passive Tree:

• The Reformed Barrier cluster has been removed. (Your Energy Shield Recharge starts when your Minions are Reformed.)
• The Warding Fetish cluster has moved locations, and no longer connects to a Jewel Socket. (30% increased Damage per Curse on you, 30% reduced effect of Curses on you, 60% increased Energy Shield from Equipped Focus)
• The Arcane Mixtures Notable Passive Skill now grants 10% increased Cast Speed if you have used a Mana Flask recently, instead of 25% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Bastion of the Forest Notable Passive Skill now grants 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 15%).
• The Chakra of Breathing Notable Passive Skill now grants 20% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge instead of 1% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate per 4 Dexterity.
• The Convalescence Notable Passive Skill now grants 20% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 40%), and 10% reduced Energy Shield Recharge Rate (previously 15%).
• The Core of the Guardian Notable Passive Skill now grants 30% increased Block chance and 20% reduced maximum Energy Shield (previously 100% increased Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield from Equipped Shield).
• The Covering Ward Notable Passive Skill now grants Gain 25 Energy Shield when you block (previously 20), and 12% increased Block Chance. It no longer grants 25% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Dependable Ward Notable Passive Skill now grants +8% to Chaos Resistance, and 12% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 25%).
• The Devoted Protector Notable Passive Skill now grants 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 15%).
• The Energising Archon Notable Passive Skill now grants 30% increased Archon Duration instead of 40% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate while affected by an Archon Buff.
• The Energising Deflection Notable Passive Skill now grants 12% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge, instead of 30% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Essence Infusion Notable Passive Skill now grants 12% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge, and +12 to Intelligence (previously +10). It no longer grants 40% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Immortal Infamy Notable Passive Skill now grants 6% increased Life Recovery Rate instead of 10% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Mystic Stance Notable Passive Skill now grants 12% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 30%).
• The Patient Barrier Notable Passive Skill now grants 50% increased Maximum Energy Shield (previously 60%).
• The Quick Response Notable Passive Skill now grants 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge (previously 20%), and 20% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge when not on Full Life (previously 30%).
• The Rapid Recharge Notable Passive Skill now grants 12% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge and 12% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate (both previously 25%).
• The Refocus Notable Passive Skill now grants 20% increased Mana Regeneration Rate while stationary instead of 30% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.
• The Shimmering Notable Passive Skill now grants 10% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge, and 20% increased Evasion if you have been hit recently. It no longer grants 20% increased Energy Shield Recovery Rate if you haven't been Hit Recently.
• Small Passive Skills that grant faster start of Energy Shield Recharge now have values of 6% (previously 15%).
• Small Passive Skills that granted Energy Shield Recharge Rate have been removed from the Passive Skill Tree and replaced by faster start of Energy Shield Recharge at a lower value.

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Item Changes:

• The amount of Energy Shield granted by items is now roughly 8% more at level 65, and unchanged at level 80+.
• The Vile Robe Armour Base Type now has 171 Base Energy Shield (previously 184). (The Vile Robe was the highest base ES body armour, for those who don't know.)
• Essence of Hysteria now grants 20-23% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate when applied to Foci (previously 41-45%).
• Body Runes now grant +30/40/50 Maximum Energy Shield when socketed in Staves and Wands (previously +25/30/35).
• Atmohua's Soul Core of Retreat no longer grants 30% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge when socketed in a Body Armour or Focus. Instead, it now grants Gain additional Ailment Threshold equal to 15% of maximum Energy Shield, and Gain additional Stun Threshold equal to 15% of maximum Energy Shield. This change applies to existing items.
• Suffix modifiers granting faster start of Energy Shield Recharge can no longer roll on Foci, Intelligence Body Armours, or Jewels.
• Increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate Suffix modifiers can now roll on Intelligence Body Armours.
• The Implicit modifier on the Arcane Raiment and Sacramental Robe Body Armours is now 15-25% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate, instead of 40-50% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge. This change does not affect existing items.
• The "Fevered" Prefix modifier can no longer roll on Time-Lost Sapphire and Sapphire Jewels. ((10—20)% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate/Small Passive Skills in Radius also grant (2—3)% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate.)
• The "of Diffusion", "of Dispersal", and "of Enlivening" Suffix modifiers can no longer roll on Body Armours and Foci. (T4-6 mods for increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate, the T1-3 have their values adjusted to be lower, and are shown below)
• The "of Buffering" Suffix modifier now grants 12-15% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate (previously 36-40%). You can divine existing items to make them worse.
• The "of Ardour" Suffix modifier now grants 16-19% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate (previously 41-45%). You can divine existing items to make them worse.
• The "of Suffusion" Suffix modifier now grants 20-23% increased Energy Shield Recharge Rate (previously 46-50%). You can divine existing items to make them worse.

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Not listed in Patch Notes but relevant:

• Nephrite Catalyst (Adds Quality that enhances Armour, Evasion and Energy Shield modifiers on a jewel Replaces other quality types)

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Let me know if I missed out any.