PoE Open a Breach & Breach Mechanics

In Path of Exile, Breaches appear randomly throughout your exploration of zones in the game. Here's how Breaches work:

  1. Encountering a Breach: As you explore a zone, you'll occasionally come across a purple swirling portal with a hand-like structure in the center. This signifies a Breach.

  2. Entering the Breach: Simply walk through the hand-like structure in the portal to activate the Breach.

    In 3.24, we changed them to no longer require clicking to open, just run near them and they’ll open automatically.
    PoE open Breach Hands automatically

  3. Breach Mechanics: Upon entering, the Breach expands outwards in a circle, spawning monsters specific to that Breach type. The faster you kill these monsters, the faster the Breach expands, revealing more area and potentially more monsters.

  4. Breach Duration: A Breach has a limited lifespan. Killing monsters extends this duration, while neglecting them allows it to shrink and eventually close completely.

  5. Clasped Hands and Breachstones: As you clear the Breach area, look out for smaller blue and red hand structures called Clasped Hands. These contain loot and sometimes Splinters of specific Breach types. You can combine these Splinters in your inventory to create Breachstones.

  6. Breachstones: Breachstones are consumable items that, when used in the Map Device, open a dedicated Breach encounter filled with monsters and a Breach boss specific to the Breachstone type.

Here are some additional things to keep in mind about Breaches:

  • There are different types of Breaches, each with unique rewards and challenges.
  • It's generally more efficient to focus on killing as many monsters as possible within the Breach timeframe to maximize your rewards.

Breach scarab

Scarabs are a type of map fragment. They do not open portals to new areas, but are instead used to augment existing areas with various effects.

NameDescriptionLimit
Breach Scarab
  • Area contains 2 additional Breaches
Limit: 4
Breach Scarab of the Dreamer
  • Breaches in Area will always belong to Chayula
Limit: 1
Breach Scarab of Lordship
  • Breaches in Area each contain a Breachlord
Limit: 1
Breach Scarab of Splintering
  • Breach Monsters in Area drop 50% more Breach Splinters
  • Clasped Hands in Area drop 50% more Breach Splinters
Limit: 2
Breach Scarab of Snares
  • Breaches in Area have 5 to 10 additional Clasped Hands
  • Clasped Hands in Area are guarded by a rare Breach Monster
Limit: 1

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PoE Breach Mechanics

Breach mechanics in Path of Exile revolve around encountering and interacting with temporary dimensional portals called Breaches. Here's a breakdown of their core aspects:

Encountering a Breach:

  • Breaches appear randomly while exploring zones in the campaign or maps.
  • They manifest as a swirling purple portal with a hand-like structure in the center.

Activating and Expanding the Breach:

  • Simply walk through the hand-like structure to activate the Breach.
  • Once activated, the Breach expands outwards in a circle, spawning monsters specific to the Breach type.

Core Mechanic: Timed Monster Clearing:

  • The key mechanic is to clear the Breach monsters as quickly as possible.
  • Faster clearing speeds make the Breach circle expand, revealing more area and spawning more monsters.
  • Conversely, neglecting to kill monsters shrinks the Breach, eventually causing it to close entirely.

Maximizing Rewards:

  • The duration of the Breach is limited, so efficient clearing is crucial for maximizing rewards.
  • Look out for smaller blue and red hand structures called Clasped Hands within the Breach.
  • These Clasped Hands contain loot and sometimes Splinters of the specific Breach type.

Breachstones and Targeted Breaches:

  • By collecting 100 Splinters of the same Breach type, you can combine them to create a Breachstone.
  • Breachstones are consumable items used in the Map Device to open a dedicated Breach encounter.
  • This encounter features a larger area filled with monsters specific to the Breachstone type.
  • It culminates in a boss fight against the Breachlord associated with that Breachstone.

Additional Points:

  • There are various Breach types, each with unique enemy types, rewards, and potentially challenging mechanics.
  • Understanding Breach-specific challenges can help you optimize your strategy during encounters.

By understanding these mechanics and prioritizing efficient monster clearing, you can maximize your rewards from Breaches in Path of Exile.

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