Path of Exile 1 News

Path of Exile 3.28 Return of the Ancestors will run from 3 PM June 25th PDT to 3 PM July 16th PDT, lasting only three weeks. During this period, all regular Ascendancy classes will be replaced with 19 Phrecan Ascendancy classes. In addition, Ancestors Tattoos will return and can now be directly applied to your Ascendancy classes! Importantly, items and characters acquired during this limited-time event will be completely transferred to your original league after the event ends; all your efforts will be retained.

Based on this, today I'm bringing you a build suitable for the 3.28 event - ​​Cyclone of Tumult Paladin - to help you achieve better results during Return of the Ancestors and prepare for 3.29.

Why choose Cyclone of Tumult Paladin?

The reason for choosing Paladin lies in its Ascendancy passive skill - Elemental Valiance. This passive skill has a 25% chance to trigger Level 20 Summon Elemental Relic when you or a nearby ally kills an enemy or hits a rare/unique enemy.

Due to the extremely high attack frequency of Cyclone of Tumult, this effect can trigger almost continuously, effectively providing benefits from Hatred, Anger, and Wrath auras. This not only provides a significant damage boost but also greatly simplifies aura management.

Damage Conversion Mechanism & Trinity Support

The core damage logic of this build is to convert physical damage into elemental damage and maximize output using Trinity Support. Before farming in Return of the Ancestors, you need to unlock two key Masteries in Path of Exile skill tree that convert physical damage into fire damage and cold damage, respectively.

These two Masteries convert most physical damage into elemental damage, allowing you to fully utilize the benefits of Ascendancy during leveling.

Once you start farming, you'll need to craft a pair of gloves that convert 60% of your damage into lightning damage. The remaining 40% is converted into cold damage by unlocking Mastery on the right.

The core mechanic of Trinity Support is that when you deal fire, cold, or lightning damage, you accumulate resonance for the other two elements based on the element type that dealt the most damage. When all three elements have at least 25 resonance stacks, your abilities gain a massive elemental damage bonus and penetration.

Core gear - Perseverance

Perseverance is a unique Vanguard Belt that maximizes the damage of this build. Its effect is: take the lower of your Armor and Evasion Ratings, divide by 200, and for every unit gained, you gain a 1% attack damage bonus.

Simply put, the higher your Armor and Evasion Ratings, the higher your damage. This means defense equals damage - every point of armor and evasion you stack simultaneously increases your damage output. It looks powerful, but Perseverance is actually a very common belt in PoE and is easy to obtain early in the game.

Defense System

This build's defense is carefully designed, balancing survivability and damage output.

1. Block

The ultimate goal of Cyclone of Tumult Paladin build is to maximize attack block and spell block. However, maximizing block might be difficult in the early stages of the game.

2. Spell Suppression

Before block is fully developed, spell suppression is the primary means of spell defense. You need to unlock Entrench in the skill tree and select Lucky Suppress Spell Damage mastery.

3. Endurance Charges

Through Smashing Strikes in the upper left corner of Path of Exile skill tree, since Cyclone almost always crits, you can reliably gain Endurance Charges. Of course, all other Endurance Charge nodes in the skill tree are also worth unlocking to improve defense.

4. Armour and Evasion Rating Synergy

Due to Perseverance, Armour and Evasion Rating serve as both defense and damage. Players can choose skills like Cloth and Chain in the skill tree to further enhance armor and evasion.

5. Aura Configuration

For defensive auras, simultaneously activate Determination and Grace - these auras not only provide significant defense but also convert into damage through Perseverance.

6. Molten Shell

Molten Shell is triggered by Automation, lasting 3 seconds with a 4-second cooldown, offering approximately 35%-40% uptime and providing additional tankiness.

Other Gear Recommendations

Besides the essential Perseverance mentioned above, let's look at other gear choices during the early stages of Return of the Ancestors.

First, boots: Stampede is a perfect choice because it solves the movement speed reduction issue when using Cyclone of Tumult. However, these boots are currently quite expensive on the market. If you don't have enough Path of Exile currency, Replica Stampede would be a good alternative. For early game progression, the latter is perfectly adequate.

Next are the rings and amulets. Both need to have affixes that reduce total mana cost to compensate for the mana consumption of Cyclone of Tumult.

Gloves are a crucial piece of equipment that needs to be crafted. You need a pair of gloves with Veiled affix to convert physical damage into lightning damage.

Choose weapons that deal both cold and lightning damage. Modifiers should prioritize critical strike chance and attack speed. If you're missing an affix, you can obtain it through Bench Crafting.

That concludes this Cyclone of Tumult Paladin build suitable for early game progression in POE 3.28 Return of the Ancestors. This gear is relatively easy for most players to acquire. We wish you a pleasant experience clearing everything in Return of the Ancestors with Cyclone of Tumult.

For Path of Exile players, long-awaited good news has finally arrived. The official POE team has confirmed that Path of Exile 3.29 Expansion launch on July 24 at 1 PM PDT. Before the official announcement, many players were skeptical about whether it would launch on time.

Over the past year, the update schedule for PoE 1 has been significantly affected by PoE 2. Because of the significant development resources invested in PoE 2 project, the update cycles for several PoE 1 Leagues were lengthened, and PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0 was delayed by about a month. The official PoE team's lack of response regarding the delays caused considerable concern among players.

Therefore, a common speculation emerged in the community: since PoE 2 was delayed, PoE 3.29 would likely also be affected. However, based on the currently released information, this concern has not materialized. According to the official announcement, the release date has actually been set for quite some time, so you can wait with peace of mind and don't need to worry about delays.

Livestreams and Special Events

With 3.29 release date finally confirmed, you can finally look forward to the upcoming livestreams, special events, and new content. For POE 1 players who have endured a long wait, this is undoubtedly one of the most exciting news recently.

Before the official launch of Path of Exile 3.29, an official livestream event will be held, scheduled for 8 days prior to launch. This arrangement returns to the usual practice, unlike Path of Exile 2 0.5.0, where the livestream event was held a full 22 days in advance. This time, it restores the usual pace of POE, where you'll only get the latest information and exciting previews closer to 3.29 Expansion.

POE will also be hosting a special event. In previous years, special events have mostly targeted highly active players, especially those who can quickly reach level 90 or higher and complete most of the progress within a short period after the league starts.

Special events often provide a completely different gaming experience. Compared to regular leagues, the biggest characteristic of special events is their more aggressive rules. POE officials typically compress a large amount of game content into a shorter event period. For example, all players may need to start from scratch, and sometimes additional difficulty bonuses are added.

Currently, the specific gameplay mode, whether exclusive rewards will be offered, and the event duration are still pending further announcement. However, for players who have already completed most of Mirage League, this special event will undoubtedly be one of the most anticipated events before POE 3.29 Expansion.

Mirage

Path of Exile Mirage will end on July 20th at 3 PM Pacific Time. You still have a few weeks to complete the remaining challenges, earn rewards, and Path Of Exile 1 Currency. Mirage League is considered a highlight of POE 1, introducing a brand-new map system while many classic elements returned in alternative forms, providing a lot of fun.

POE officials have an even grander vision for 3.29 Expansion than Mirage League and hope the extra development time will help them realize it.

Future Updates

With 3.29 Expansion confirmed for release on July 24th, some players are starting to look further ahead and discuss the future timeline for POE.

The community believes that the official release of PoE 2 1.0 will probably be before Christmas to capitalize on market hype. However, if 3.29 Expansion follows the typical 4-5 month League release schedule, then PoE 13.30 will probably be released between November and December, conflicting with the release date of PoE 2 1.0.

Many players believe that PoE developers are unlikely to release two major updates simultaneously, PoE 2 1.0 and PoE 1 3.30, as this would directly divide the player base. For many players who play both games, choosing between two major updates would be difficult, and PoE developers clearly don't want the two projects competing for player online time.

Therefore, two main speculations have emerged in the community. The first, relatively optimistic view suggests that 3.29 Expansion might only last about three months, allowing 3.30 to potentially launch at the end of October, providing sufficient time for the official release of POE 2 at the end of the year. While the timeline is tight, this at least ensures POE 1 maintains its normal update schedule.

The second view is more pessimistic. Some players worry that 3.29 will be significantly extended, like some past POE 1 Leagues, lasting around six months. This means 3.30 might not launch until the end of January or even the beginning of February 2027.

If this is the case, POE team will need to arrange a limited-time event league between the end of October and November as transitional content for players waiting for the official League update. For long-time POE 1 supporters, the biggest concern isn't the league's size, but experiencing another content gap of six months or more.

The launch of Path of Exile 3.29 Expansion signifies the imminent arrival of a golden age for ARPGs. Over a decade ago, high-quality ARPGs were scarce, and players were eager for them. The situation is completely different now. From Path of Exile to Diablo IV, and various emerging ARPGs, major leagues, expansions, or updates are released almost every few months.

For players who enjoy loot hunting, build systems, and character development, now is definitely the best time to jump into Path of Exile and fully enjoy the game.

In Path of Exile's economic system, Divination Cards serve as a unique item collection mechanism, embodying a clear goal-oriented approach and resource circulation function for the player community.

Through fragmented drops, specific rewards are broken down into accumulative and tradable progress units. This provides ordinary players with a stable path to acquiring high-level equipment, while also creating arbitrage opportunities based on probability and efficiency for advanced players and merchants.

The exorbitant market price of Damnation cards is not entirely determined by the actual value of the items they can be exchanged for. Instead, it is influenced by a combination of factors, including supply and demand, information asymmetry, group expectations, and capital hoarding, forming a typical bubble economy phenomenon and making it a prime case study for observing changes in market sentiment and liquidity within the game.

By analyzing the basic attributes, value composition, causes of price bubbles, and behavioral logic of relevant market participants related to Damnation cards, this study helps to reveal the generation mechanism of irrational exuberance in Path of Exile's economic system.

In this process, the interplay of different roles collectively shapes the flow and pricing structure of Currency, reflecting the highly social and strategic nature of value formation in the virtual economy.

Basic Attributes and Value Anchor of Damnation Card

Damnation is a divination deck consisting of sixteen cards. This number is among the highest of all divination cards in Path of Exile. After collecting all sixteen Damnation cards, players can exchange them for a Relic called Original Scripture.

The sole purpose of this Relic is to allow players to attempt to complete Sanctum mechanic without taking damage. If a player successfully completes this challenging task, they will receive a ring called Original Sin.

Original Sin is the final anchor in the card's value chain. During Path of Exile 3.28, Original Sins on trading platforms were priced as either Mirror of Kalandra (e.g., five or six cards) or, more commonly, as Path of Exile Divine Orbs, with prices mostly concentrated slightly below 5000 Divine Orbs.

This extremely high end-item value constituted the theoretical upper limit of Damnation card price. If the market price of Original Sins is evenly distributed across sixteen cards, the value anchor for each Damnation card is approximately 281 to 312 Divine Orbs.

However, it should be noted that this calculation does not consider the additional demand driven by the in-game double-or-nothing crafting mechanic, actual market prices often deviate from this theoretical range.

The Formation Mechanism of the Price Bubble

During Path of Exile 3.28, the market price of Damnation cards surged to 950 to 960 Divine Orbs per card, significantly higher than its theoretically distributed price based on the value of Original Sin Ring.

This price divergence is not caused by a single factor, but combined effects of League's economic environment, external demand, and specific in-game crafting mechanics.

First, League's economic environment laid the foundation for inflation. Mirage League released a large amount of Currency into the market, leading to a significant increase in the in-game Currency supply.

In this context, items that cannot be directly produced through League mechanics, such as Original Sin, naturally saw their relative prices rise. The devaluation pressure of Currency passively inflated the nominal prices of scarce items.

Second, the surge in external demand directly pulled up prices. For example, an influential streamer in Magic Find Builds began experimenting with and showcasing builds centered on Original Sin.

This behavior had a dual impact: on the one hand, many players were influenced by this, creating a demand to imitate Build, thus increasing the demand for Original Sin and its related prerequisite items.

On the other hand, players with strong in-game, economic power could push the prices of specific items to higher levels in the short term through concentrated purchasing. Third, and most crucially, is the existence of the in-game crafting mechanic, 'double or nothing'. This mechanic allows players in Horticrafting Station to consume 1500 yellow life points and sacrifice up to half a stack of divination cards for a crafting operation with a probability of obtaining zero to double the number of the same card.

Extensive testing shows that the average expected return of this crafting mechanic is break even, meaning it does not generate a positive expected value in the long run.

However, this mechanic provides an incentive for certain types of players, thereby altering the demand structure for Damnation cards and causing their price to deviate from their single attribute as raw materials for Original Sin.

Rational Behavior of Market Participants and Price Support

The formation and maintenance of Damnation card price bubble are not because of irrationality among market participants, but to rational choices made by different groups under specific constraints, based on maximizing their own interests.

The first type of participant is 'double or nothing' type of player at the end of League. For these players, their League goals have been largely achieved, their existing characters have no further room for improvement, and remaining Currency has lost its marginal utility. In this scenario, investing all available funds in purchasing the most expensive divination card, such as Damnation, and gambling with a double-or-nothing strategy becomes a rational choice.

Although the probability of failure is high, the potential double reward for success could unlock previously unattainable items, such as high-level weapons, thus reactivating their interest in League content.

For these players, paying more than the theoretical value for Damnation cards is reasonable because Currency has no other practical use in their hands.

The second type of participant is the arbitrageur, adept at market dynamics. These players can anticipate the behavior patterns of double-or-nothing players towards the end of League, and the resulting cyclical price increases for specific divination cards.

They will purchase large quantities of cards like Damnation in advance and sell them to gamblers when the price is driven to its peak. This group profits by supporting double-or-nothing participants. Their behavior essentially involves crashing the latter's potential gains in advance.

Therefore, the price bubble of Damnation cards is essentially the result of the combined behavior of two types of rational participants: the former driven by utility considerations, and the latter by profit considerations, jointly pushing up its market price.

Typically, this market dynamic primarily affects the traditional top-tier divination card, House of Mirrors. However, during Path of Exile 3.28, because of the higher natural demand for Original Sin, Damnation cards replaced the former as the core carrier of this bubble effect.

Price Fluctuations and Market Feedback

The existence of the aforementioned bubble mechanism led to dramatic price volatility in Damnation cards. When the price reached a level sufficient to attract many arbitrageurs to sell, or when the demand from double-or-nothing participants was temporarily satisfied, the price became unsustainable.

It is worth noting that there is a certain discrepancy between rarity of Damnation cards and their market price. Based on gold consumption data provided by in-game NPC Faustus, Damnation cards may not be among the rarest types.

However, significance tests conducted by other players based on statistical data suggest that its actual rarity may place it among the rarest divination cards in the game. Its efficiency as a farming target remains attractive when its price is high.

Chain Effects on In-Game Economy

The rise in the price of Damnation cards has had a significant ripple effect on related upstream and downstream item markets. The demand and price of Sanctuary, the map that drops in the new Nightmare Maps system, have ballooned. Even this previously difficult-to-obtain map was quickly absorbed by the market.

Furthermore, related items that increase the drop rate of divination cards, such as Maven Chisels and Scarab, have also seen increased market demand and prices.

For players wishing to participate in divination card farming, relevant drop strategies have also been adjusted accordingly. Damnation cards primarily drop in Sanctuary and Crimson Township maps.

Considering map farming efficiency and difficulty, players can choose to use Atlas to transfer Crimson Township divination cards to maps like City Square or Bog, balancing the chances of acquiring Damnation cards with other valuable divination cards.

The price bubble of Damnation cards in Path of Exile is a typical market phenomenon catalyzed by League's economic environment, end-product demand, the streamer effect, and the game's unique crafting mechanics. Its price formation and fluctuations reflect the rational choices made by different player groups at specific game stages based on maximizing their own utility and profits.

This phenomenon not only caused dramatic fluctuations in the price of Damnation cards themselves but also profoundly affected the market for their drop maps and related auxiliary items.

As League progresses and the market self-regulates, such bubbles will eventually deflate, but the process itself constitutes a representative sample for observing the dynamics of the virtual economy within the game.

As is well known, Divine Orb, one of the universal currencies in Path of Exile 1, is crucial for players aiming to maximize their gear stats. It resets the original variable values of your gear if they are too low. However, this only applies to gear within the same level and affix range.

Moreover, its most cost-effective feature is its ability to be used on magical, rare, or legendary gear. If the reset isn't satisfactory, a second reset is necessary, making Divine Orb a consumable item in a sense.

There are generally three ways to obtain it in-game: random drops from defeated monsters; opening chests; or selling a six-linked item to any merchant.

Here, I will detail how I managed to earn 45 Divine Orb per hour. After mastering this strategy, all you need to do is run around the map.

Required Items

Scarab

Scarab is the core consumable of this strategy, used to significantly enhance the map and increase farming efficiency.

You can obtain Scarabs by defeating monsters, opening chests, or completing Jun's Syndicate quest. First, place an Atlas map in Golden Cartographer's Oven in your personal hideout, then place Scarab inside.

Using Scarab in the map will increase the drop rate of Maven's Chisels. It can selectively add a specific buff to the map, such as increasing the drop rate of Divine Orb. If you want to obtain it yourself from the shop, it costs 50 Chaos Orb, equivalent to 0.185 PoE Divine Orb.

Note that most Scarabs have a limited usage limit in a single map, which will be clearly indicated on Cartographer's Oven. Therefore, you will also need an Astrolabe.

Templar Astrolabes

Templar Astrolabes are a high-level Atlas currency introduced in Patch 3.28, with a strict drop mechanism. First, you need to complete the relevant questline and socket Originator Voidstone into Atlas of Worlds. Afterward, you can obtain them randomly by defeating map bosses within Atlas of Worlds.

It can activate a small section of the map, increasing its difficulty but also meaning richer rewards, ultimately leading you to a highly rewarding Memory Vault. More importantly, it grants an additional powerful buff to the remaining areas in that region. This means you can carry more Scarabs, increasing Divine Orb drop rate.

HeadHunter

HeadHunter provides a 50-72 bonus to health. Its most unique feature is that when you kill a rare or unique monster, you permanently gain that monster's affix. Equipping it also increases damage against rare monsters by 20-30%, and after killing a rare monster, you'll receive the monster's buff, which lasts for 60 seconds.

HeadHunter also has a skill that marks rare and unique enemies within a 120-meter radius on the minimap,making it easier to find rare monsters and saving time searching for Divine Orb farms.

All the items mentioned above will cost approximately 8.1 Divine Orbs, but that's negligible compared to the rewards we'll get later.

Mirage

In the current version, Mirage is the core gameplay of this League.

Find the altar on the map and activate it. Activating it will mirror a small area of the current map, creating a separate instance called Mirage Area.

In this area, you need to destroy Temporal Chains. Defeating the monsters around the chains will grant you additional rewards: more currency, such as Divine Orbs; cards, maps, and even temporary buffs.

If the map has purple essence or expensive Chisels detected by the filter, you can also throw Mirage into it. This way,sometimes monsters have a chance to drop two very expensive Chisels, increasing your chances of getting Divine Orbs.

Filter

In addition to these in-game items, you can also choose to use filters. Filters are a set of custom rules that can help you filter out low-level items, highlight high-level and rare items, and even have unique sound effects.

You can create your own filters or use those shared by experienced players in the community. Currently,the most popular are NeverSink and SimpleFilter filters.

Because high-level Deafening essences may randomly spawn on the map, timely detection with filters allows you to obtain them faster. Remember, you're not the only player on the map. Detecting high-level essences faster means farming Divine Orbs faster.

Furthermore, you'll need to equip weapons capable of defeating the 16-tier starting boss. The natural inhabitants of this area are imprisoned by essences, meaning all naturally spawned rare monsters are imprisoned. Defeating these monsters will yield a large amount of essence and rewards, including Divine Orbs.

The essence of this strategy lies in its speed and efficiency. Filters allow you to quickly determine if a map will drop Divine Orbs. If not, kill the monster to obtain the essence and quickly move on to the next map.

In general, you can complete a map in about five minutes, so farming around 40 Divine Orbs per hour is quite possible, as long as you follow my strategy.