Information on the upcoming Path of Exile league is here, announced via GGG's Twitch account. During an informative hour-long presentation, the team went over some new stuff about PoE2, updates to the Core game in 3.23, and the league mechanics for Affliction.
Affliction league patch note info in Path of Exile 3.23
Affliction league will feature a new creature called a Sacred Wisp. When you come across one of these guys out in the wild, they can transport you to the Viridian Wildwood. This forest is cursed, and the Wisps are in need of your help to heal it. Sacred Wisps will light your way through the woods, helping you to find other kinds of Wisps to collect. After the Sacred Wisps run out of power, you will be transported out of the Viridian Wildwood with the Wisps you've collected.
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Each Wisp type that follows you out of the forest will have different set effects. When they follow you out, they will inhabit a nearby creature or boss, boosting its power and potential rewards pool. More than one Wisp can inhabit a single monster at one time. Here are the three types of Wisps you can collect and what they do:
- Primal (blue): Item Rarity
- Wild (purple): Item Quantity
- Vivid (yellow): Currency Items
Affliction-unique skill trees in 3.23
In the Wildwood, there are several Azmeri who managed to survive in spite of the wood's curse. They will teach you what they know through unique skill trees to help you take down the King of the Mists and clear the forest of the Affliction. You'll need to choose between the three trees; they are available on top of the normal Ascendancy trees. The choices are: Wildwood Primalist, Warden of the Maji, and Warlock of the Mists.
- Wildwood Primalist focuses on Tinctures, a new type of flask that can be added to your flask bar. Each Tincture will have a different focus that will be better with different enemies types. Only one Tincture type can be active at a time.
- Warden of the Maji is utility-centric; it has abilities like a cry that opens chests and can pull more loot from corpses. The Warden can also grant you additional inventory space.
- Warlock of the Mists is all about eating the corpses of your enemies to gain resistances and bonuses against that enemy type. Special enemy types can be purchased as corpses through the Warlock's store.
Related: How to Trade in Path of Exile – Buying, Selling, & Bulk Trades
Other updates and changes coming in 3.23
Other than the league itself, there are some major changes coming to Path of Exile in 3.23. One of the old Leagues is becoming Core, one of the Core league mechanics is being removed, and there will be a big change to Gems.
Ultimatum League is being added to Core
One of the most asked for league mechanics will be in Core starting in 3.23: Ultimatum. In maps, you will have about an 8% chance to find the Trialmaster. By default, each Ultimatum will be 10 rounds with a chance that the 10th round will be against the Trialmaster's Arena. There have been a couple of other changes to make Ultimatum work better as Core content, including:
- Four tiers of difficulty instead of the original three.
- Monsters no longer drop loot.
- Catalysts can be found outside of Ultimatum encounters. A new Tainted Catalyst can be obtained from the Trialmaster to apply a random quality type and amount of quality to a Corrupted Ring, Amulet, or Belt, replacing other quality types.
- New Passives and notable Passives.
- A massive list of other changes; check out the Path of Exile patch notes for all the details.
Metamorph is being removed from Core
Metamorph was a league in 2019 that was added to Path of Exile as Core content in February of 2020. In order to make room for Ultimatum, it will be removed with update 3.23. This means a lot of old Metamorph stuff will be replaced with Ultimatum versions, like the stash tabs. Several items from Metamorph will be available in the Core item pool, including Astral Projector, Fury Valve, Mother's Embrace, and Warrior's Legacy.
Transfigured Gems
Transfigured Gems are going to be a combination of alternate quality gems, labyrinth helmet enchantments, and unique threshold jewels; all three of these original concepts were to attempt to allow you to modify the behaviors of skills. These Transfigured Gems will be "alternate versions of existing skill gems that have different functionality and balance than their regular versions," according to the patch notes for 3.23. Almost nothing has been spoiled about these Gems just yet, but hopefully that info is coming soon from GGG.
For more information about Path of Exile, check out Path of Exile Corrupted Gear, Explained on Pro Game Guides.