Affliction Meta Report Week 3
Welcome to the Path of Exile Affliction Meta Report Week 3 Maxroll news wrap-up. We're covering a mirror bow, the continued effects of Magic Find on the economy, and just how different builds are looking in SSF and HC.
Mirror BV Bow
Recently our very own Crouching_Tuna crafted himself a perfect mirror bow for his Blade Vortex build. Crafting a Mirror item is no easy task and the cost is multiple Mirrors of Kalandra worth of Beasts and other currency items.
But the end result is an incredible item which is as close to perfection as you can achieve in Path of Exile. For Week 3 of the Affliction Meta report we're exploring a little bit of the process Tuna used.
The first step is to use Vivid Vultures to reroll Synthesized implicit modifiers. You need a good understanding of the weights here as you want to start with a base that has the most difficult modifiers to hit. Make the item Magic, then Imprint it with a Craicic Chimeral. That way if you remove one of the desired implicit modifiers you can go back. Then, apply the Vivid Vulture and check the item. If you remove a desired mod, use the Imprint to revert the item and repeat until the implicit modifiers are perfect.
Crafting the Item
From there, you need to craft the Explicit modifiers. Normally, this is done in two steps, "Prefixes" and "Suffixes." In this case rolling Deafening Essence of Woe to roll the 144% increased Spell Damage until you isolate the spell damage with Tier 1 Global Critical Strike Multiplier.
Then add +1 to Level of socketed Gems (which can be done via blocking modifiers with Cannot Roll Attacks) and Critical Strike Multiplier while a Rare or Unique Enemy is Nearby via Aisling. Then the hard part, using Tempering Orbs to add the Can have 1 Additional Crafted Modifier enchantment. This took Tuna around 600 Divines worth of Tempering Orbs.
From there he added his crafts before finishing the item by overriding the enchantment with a harvest enchantment. Be sure to follow Tuna for more information on how to make an item like this!
Affliction SSF
In solo self-found gear is a lot more scarce. You need to rely on things you can farm for yourself, as opposed to buying everything you need from other players. Similarly, there's no real point in amassing divines because you won't have anything to trade them to. If you're looking for a build which functions well on a budget, it pays to browse the SSF ladder.
SSF Week 1
Trade Week 3
SSF Week 3
Comparing SSF and trade, you see a lot of familiar skills. But there are a few important (and interesting) differences! Tornado Shot makes up for 14% of the SC Trade meta, but only 6% of the SSF Meta. Unless you plan to use Magic Find to farm a Headhunter, or other extremely rare Unique items it's better to have a well-rounded build in SSF. This also explains the lower number of Hexblast miners. A dedicated bosser isn't as relevant if you need a build that does it all.
Summon Raging Spirit Guardian is the perfect example of an all-rounder, with low gearing requirements which excels in SSF. This is why it's dominant in the meta with a consistent 13% participation, 7% above SC Trade. The presence of Scourge Arrow of Menace and Penance Brand of Dissipation show how accessible Transfigured gems are. If you're willing to dedicate some time to running lab you can farm a Transfigured gem and build around it.
Featured SSF Build
In Solo Self-Found there's a developing build to watch, Explosive Trap of Shrapnel Trickster. This version of Explosive Trap with a supercharged explosion radius. With the better screen coverage, you solve the normal awkwardness which Explosive Trap runs into while mapping.
Trickster offers well-rounded defenses focused on Spell Suppression, Evasion, and Energy Shield. Players are leveraging these to solve the squishiness often associated with Trapper builds. Unlike many Softcore Trappers, this setup isn't intended to nuke Uber bosses. Instead, the goal is a well-rounded character that can map, boss, or do content like Heist or Delve to farm whatever you need at the time.
Affliction HC
When playing Hardcore Path of Exile, you only have one shot for success. Softcore players have been getting a taste of that this league with the Valdo's maps but for HC Exiles, that's just the daily grind. As a result, HC builds tend to have more defenses and a greater emphasis on single target damage. If you dislike dying, this is a great place to take inspiration from with your builds. A huge part of Hardcore is to control the content you encounter and avoid the map mods or boss fights which have a chance to get your character killed.
HC Week 1
Trade Week 3
HC Week 3
Tanky well-rounded builds like Boneshatter and Detonate Dead dominate the hardcore Meta. There are bow builds and magic find characters slowly trickling into the meta, but unlike on SC they're not glass cannons. Even in tier 7 maps, wisp empowered rare monsters are no joke and can easily cause you to re-level. We're also seeing Righteous Fire creep back into the HC Affliction meta as of week 3.
Cyclone is popular in the SC meta due to both Shockwave Support and Cast On Critical Strike Support builds. But in HC, these builds don't see as much play and usually pop up in the late part of the league.
Author's Note: I've played several tanky CoC builds before. Scaling damage is easy, scaling defenses is hard. Especially when fighting Uber bosses, you need exceptional gear and powerful items to scale the build to minimize the risk of losing your character.
Featured HC Build
One build worth paying attention to in Hardcore Affliction is Fire Trap and Frostblink Ignite proliferation Elementalist. Charms make it easy for this build to cap Spell Suppression trivializing the defensive puzzle on Elementalist. You get area of effect from Heart of Destruction, making it easier to proliferate ignite effects for monstrous clear.
Most builds are paying close attention to their Physical defenses, using items like Lightning Coil and Taste of Hate. Shifting Physical damage taken to Elemental leverages the Aegis from Bastion of Elements to mitigate dangerous spikes of incoming damage.
Currency News
Clever Exiles figured out a way to use the private league modifier; 'Additional Monster Projectiles' to scale their Abyss loot to whole new levels! GGG has very strict rules about private leagues, they can be harder than normal Path of Exile, but not more rewarding. So after realizing this interaction, the modifier was temporarily disabled and a quick fix applied.
You can still add up to 4 Additional Monster Projectiles to your private leagues if you want an additional challenge. But this cannot be used to obtain extra Rare monsters from your Abyss farming.
Video
Hungry for More?
That's the Meta Report for Affliction League Week 3 including a look at SSF & HC. Transfigured gems are bringing a lot of cool new builds to PoE and what we showcased today barely scratches the surface. Be sure to check out our Affliction Farming guide to learn how to properly leverage the league mechanic, and stay tuned for more information on our Magic Find Strategy.
Head over to our Discord and select the Path of Exile role in #roles to stay up to date with our content development. Stay sane, Exile!
Written by: Tenkiei
Reviewed by: Dredscythe
