PoE Jewels and Ailment Changes Balance Manifesto 3.20

Jewels and Ailment Mitigation Patch Notes

Problem:
Jewels have modifiers that provide various forms of ailment avoidance or protection. However, because their current values are moderately low, you often need to stack several Jewels in order to have adequate levels of protection. We feel that this is an excessive amount of investment for how necessary ailment mitigation is to a character's build. This issue has been exacerbated by some of these mods being gated behind corruption, making them more expensive and difficult to acquire.

Solution:
  • We're expanding the pool of mods available on magic and rare Jewels and are making their modifier values more generous so that players have better access to sources of ailment mitigation, with less investment.
  • Regular Jewels (i.e. Jewels that are not Abyss or Cluster Jewels) now have mods that provide Reduced Duration or Reduced Effect for a wider variety of ailments than before. Abyss Jewels now have mods that provide avoidance of various ailments.
  • We've also changed Monster-inflicted sources of Chill and Shock effect to be multiplicative, rather than additive. This is to allow sources of reduced effect of ailments to be able to stack, and provide immunity.
Specifics:
Added 5 new Suffix modifiers that can roll on Regular Jewels:
  • 30-35% reduced Ignite Duration on you.
  • 30-35% reduced Effect of Chill on you.
  • 30-35% reduced Effect of Shock on you.
  • 30-35% reduced Poison Duration on you.
  • 30-35% reduced Bleed Duration on you.

Chance to Avoid being Ignited, Chilled, Frozen, Shocked, Poisoned, Bleeding and Stunned Jewel Corruption modifiers can no longer roll. These have been replaced with the following Jewel Corruption modifiers:
  • 20-25% reduced Ignite Duration on you.
  • 20-25% reduced Effect of Chill on you.
  • 20-25% reduced Effect of Shock on you.
  • 20-25% reduced Poison Duration on you.
  • 20-25% reduced Bleed Duration on you.
  • 20-25% reduced Effect of Curses on you.

  • Chance to Avoid being Ignited Abyss Jewel modifiers now have values of 31-40% and 41-50% (previously 21-24% and 25-30%).
  • Chance to Avoid being Shocked Abyss Jewel modifiers now have values of 31-40% and 41-50% (previously 21-24% and 25-30%).
  • Chance to Avoid being Poisoned Abyss Jewel modifiers now have values of 31-40% and 41-50% (previously 21-24% and 25-30%).
  • Chance to Avoid being Bleeding Abyss Jewel modifiers now have values of 31-40% and 41-50% (previously 21-24% and 25-30%).
  • The Abyss Jewel modifiers that provide a chance to Avoid being Frozen and Chilled now only provide a chance to Avoid being Frozen, with values of 31-40% and 41-50% (previously 21-24% and 25-30%).
  • The Corrupted Abyss Jewel modifier that provides a 20-25% chance to Avoid being Frozen and Chilled now only provides a 20-25% chance to Avoid being Frozen.

  • Reduced Effect of Curses Jewel Suffix modifiers now have values of 25-30% (previously 10%).
  • The 15% Reduced Effect of Chill and Shock Jewel Suffix modifier can no longer roll.
  • The increased Stun and Block Recovery Jewel Suffix modifier now has values of 25-35% (previously 10-14%).

Problem:
  • Many unique Jewels are not exciting to find. There are a few reasons for this. In most cases they are simply underpowered, or apply to a too-narrow window of usage, or both. There are also many corruption-only Jewels that don't fulfill a good purpose.
  • Previously, we were hesitant to revisit unique Jewels and improve them beyond their initial designs because many of their themes are somewhat rigid in nature, meaning there is little room to improve them without completely remaking them.
  • An example of this is the Fireborn Crimson Jewel. It has no values that we could increase to make it more useful; it simply changes the damage type within a radius which has very limited opportunities for use. Any improvements we could make to this Jewel would have to fundamentally change its identity and would therefore essentially remove the Jewel in its current form from Path of Exile.
Solution:
  • We're making it so that every unique jewel that drops is very rare and highly desirable. This means that many existing unique Jewels have been removed from the drop pool. The intention is that now when you find a unique Jewel, it should almost always be a very positive experience.
  • To help make jewel drops special, we've designed a new set of unique Jewels that are powerful chase items. These can drop from the core pool.
  • With that said, there were some unique Jewels that were still useful for a subset of players because they had build-enabling modifiers or other very niche uses (like the Brute Force Solution or other attribute-transformation Jewels). Instead of getting rid of these, we've made them corruption-only unique Jewels. We feel this has benefits for both players who want them and players who don't, as generally players who don't want them won't come across them as core drops and players who do want them can still actively pursue them.
  • Some build-enabling unique Jewels can now be found from more deterministic sources throughout Path of Exile. One example is Combat Focus which can now be obtained through a vendor recipe.
  • Some other build-enabling Jewels that affect Golems can no longer drop but can be found from another more deterministic source. While we want you to discover this new source on your own during gameplay, we will say for clarity that these Jewels do not come from vendor recipes.
Specifics:
  • The availability of existing Unique Jewels has been reviewed, and many (including Replica versions) can no longer be obtained.
  • The following existing Unique Jewels are able to be found as item drops:
  • Inspired Learning, Intuitive Leap, Lioneye's Fall, Might of the Meek, Pure Talent, Unending Hunger and Unnatural Instinct.
  • The following Unique Jewels can only be obtained as Corruption outcomes:
  • Atziri's Reign, Brute Force Solution, Careful Planning, Chill of Corruption, Efficient Training, Energised Armour, Energy from Within, Fertile Mind, Fevered Mind, Fluid Motion, Fortress Covenant, Fragility, Healthy Mind, Hidden Potential, Inertia, Pacifism, Powerlessness, Quickening Covenant, Rain of Splinters, Reckless Defence, Seething Fury, Self-Flagellation, Soul's Wick, The Golden Rule and To Dust.
  • Replica Primordial Might and Replica Reckless Defence are the only Replica Jewels that are able to be obtained.
  • Primordial Might, Harmony and Eminence are no longer in the core drop pool, and are now found from another more deterministic source.
  • Added 6 new vendor recipes for Dead Reckoning, Endless Misery, Spirit Guards and the three Combat Focus Unique Jewels. Happy hunting!
  • Ancient Orbs and the Altar of Sacrifice in the Temple of Atzoatl can no longer be used on Unique Jewels, Flasks or Maps.
  • The Bestiary recipe that creates a Unique Jewel has been changed. It now creates a Rare Talisman.
We've also rebalanced some Unique Jewels and compensated for the loss of specific jewels in the form of new modifiers or skill changes.

Specifics:
  • Added Eternal Labyrinth Helmet Enchantments for Spark and Ethereal Knives that cause projectiles to fire in a circle. The Spark projectile speed Helmet Enchantments and the Ethereal Knives Pierce Helmet Enchantment have been removed.
  • Frost Blades now has 110% Effectiveness of Added Damage at gem level 1 (previously 100%), scaling up to 225% at gem level 20 (previously 175%). It no longer has 0-19% increased Projectile Speed. Quality on Frost Blades no longer provides 0-20% increased Damage.
  • Quality on Divergent Summon Skeletons now provides "+0-1 seconds to Cooldown" and "Summons 0-4 Skeleton Warriors" (previously "Minions' Attacks have 0-10% chance to Maim Enemies on Hit").
  • The Spirit Guards Unique Jewel now has "With at least 40 Dexterity in Radius, Animate Weapon can Animate up to 20 Ranged Weapons" (previously up to 12 Ranged Weapons). Existing versions of this unique can be updated using a Divine Orb.
  • The Pure Talent Unique Jewel now provides "Melee Skills have 25% increased Area of Effect" (previously 15%) when your Passive Skill Tree connects to the Marauder's starting location. Existing versions of this Unique can be updated using a Divine Orb.
  • Added 2 new Prefix modifiers that can roll on Jewels:
  • 2-3% increased Mana Reservation Efficiency of Skills.
  • 6-10% increased Flask Effect Duration.
Summary:
Our goal is that finding a unique Jewel is an exciting experience. The unique Jewels that drop naturally should be those that are very valuable with broad appeal to the average player, either to use in your own build or trade to someone else. We've worked towards this goal by removing uninteresting unique Jewels, adding more chase unique Jewels, and moving Jewels that do appeal to a smaller subset of players to other places so that they can be pursued by choice.

Problem:
Many of the unique Jewels that are currently granted through quest rewards are not very desirable. Additionally, because they're offered to all players who make their way through the campaign, they're extremely common, which inhibits them from having value or being meaningful items to find. We have also come to feel that it's thematically incorrect to offer unique items as quest rewards, as it undermines their feeling of uniqueness and prestige.

Solution:
Unique Jewels will no longer be offered as quest rewards. Most of the Jewels that were previously offered have been removed entirely, though some important ones have had their effects preserved in the form of new unique items or by being added to the pool of rollable Jewel modifiers.

Specifics:
  • Unique Jewels are no longer offered as a quest reward for completing "The King's Feast" in Act 5. Instead, you are now offered a choice of Rare Weapons.
  • Unique Jewels are no longer offered as a quest reward for completing "The Wings of Vastiri" in Act 8. Instead, you are now offered a choice of a Rare Crimson, Cobalt, or Viridian Jewel.
  • Unique Jewels are no longer offered as a quest reward for completing "Through Sacred Ground" in Act 3. The Book of Regrets is now the only reward offered for this quest.
  • Because these rewards are not static like the unique Jewels were, they may have a better chance of being useful to the receiver or something that may be valuable to trade to others. At the very least, they should be less predictable.

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Balance Manifesto 3.20

In our 3.20 expansion, we’re making a number of balance changes that we’ll present over several balance manifestos that each cover an individual topic. In today’s manifesto, we’re discussing changes to Jewels, most notably increasing their potential for ailment mitigation.


Problem:
Jewels have modifiers that provide various forms of ailment avoidance or protection. However, because their current values are moderately low, you often need to stack several Jewels in order to have adequate levels of protection. We feel that this is an excessive amount of investment for how necessary ailment mitigation is to a character’s build. This issue has been exacerbated by some of these mods being gated behind corruption, making them more expensive and difficult to acquire.

Solution:
We’re expanding the pool of mods available on magic and rare Jewels and are making their modifier values more generous so that players have better access to sources of ailment mitigation, with less investment.

Regular Jewels (i.e. Jewels that are not Abyss or Cluster Jewels) now have mods that provide Reduced Duration or Reduced Effect for a wider variety of ailments than before. Abyss Jewels now have mods that provide avoidance of various ailments.

Summary:
This means that Jewels should be a more reliable and less expensive source of ailment mitigation through their higher mod values and better variety of mods.


Problem:
Many unique Jewels are not exciting to find. There are a few reasons for this. In most cases they are simply underpowered, or apply to a too-narrow window of usage, or both. There are also many corruption-only Jewels that don’t fulfill a good purpose.

Previously, we were hesitant to revisit unique Jewels and improve them beyond their initial designs because many of their themes are somewhat rigid in nature, meaning there is little room to improve them without completely remaking them.

An example of this is the Fireborn Crimson Jewel. It has no values that we could increase to make it more useful; it simply changes the damage type within a radius which has very limited opportunities for use. Any improvements we could make to this Jewel would have to fundamentally change its identity and would therefore essentially remove the Jewel in its current form from Path of Exile.

Solution:
We’re making it so that every unique jewel that drops is very rare and highly desirable. This means that many existing unique Jewels have been removed from the drop pool. The intention is that now when you find a unique Jewel, it should almost always be a very positive experience.

To help make jewel drops special, we’ve designed a new set of unique Jewels that are powerful chase items. These can drop from the core pool. You can learn more about these Jewels in our upcoming announcement livestream for the 3.20 expansion.

With that said, there were some unique Jewels that were still useful for a subset of players because they had build-enabling modifiers or other very niche uses (like the Brute Force Solution or other attribute-transformation Jewels). Instead of getting rid of these, we’ve made them corruption-only unique Jewels. We feel this has benefits for both players who want them and players who don’t, as generally players who don’t want them won’t come across them as core drops and players who do want them can still actively pursue them.

Some build-enabling unique Jewels can now be found from more deterministic sources throughout Path of Exile. One example is Combat Focus which can now be obtained through a vendor recipe.

Some other build-enabling Jewels that affect Golems can no longer drop but can be found from another more deterministic source. While we want you to discover this new source on your own during gameplay, we will say for clarity that these Jewels do not come from vendor recipes.

Summary:
Our goal is that finding a unique Jewel is an exciting experience. The unique Jewels that drop naturally should be those that are very valuable with broad appeal to the average player, either to use in your own build or trade to someone else. We’ve worked towards this goal by removing uninteresting unique Jewels, adding more chase unique Jewels, and moving Jewels that do appeal to a smaller subset of players to other places so that they can be pursued by choice.


Problem:
Many of the unique Jewels that are currently granted through quest rewards are not very desirable. Additionally, because they’re offered to all players who make their way through the campaign, they’re extremely common, which inhibits them from having value or being meaningful items to find. We have also come to feel that it’s thematically incorrect to offer unique items as quest rewards, as it undermines their feeling of uniqueness and prestige.

Solution:
Unique Jewels will no longer be offered as quest rewards. Most of the Jewels that were previously offered have been removed entirely, though some important ones have had their effects preserved in the form of new unique items or by being added to the pool of rollable Jewel modifiers.

These quest rewards now offer a random Rare Jewel. Because the rewards are not static like the unique Jewels were, they may have a better chance of being useful to the receiver or something that may be valuable to trade to others. At the very least, they should be less predictable.

Summary:
Players should no longer be burdened with predictable unique Jewel quest rewards but will not entirely miss out on some of the valuable aspects they did have.


Conclusion:
Jewels should be more exciting than before and provide a better source of ailment mitigation than they were in 3.19. Jewels with effects that are useful only to a subset of players should still be attainable while moving them out of the way of players who aren’t interested in them. You can find out more information in the patch notes for the 3.20 expansion and in our announcement livestream.


Can you give us some examples of the numbers on the ailment mitigation modifiers on Jewels?

Regular Jewels can roll up to 35% Reduced Duration or Reduced Effect. Abyss Jewels can roll up to 50% Ailment Avoidance.

Will the new Jewel modifiers or existing Jewel modifiers have modifier tiers?

No, regular Jewel modifiers do not have tiers. Abyss Jewel modifiers already had tiers, we've just buffed the modifier values on them that benefit ailment mitigation.

Are you removing any corrupted implicit modifiers on Jewels?

No

Is the corrupted mod pool getting a weighting change?

No

Which unique jewels are being removed?

We aren't ready to share the full list of unique Jewels being removed as we are still discussing some of them. A few examples of unique Jewels that are definitely being removed are Malicious Intent, Brittle Barrier and Unstable Payload. Two examples of jewels that aren't being removed are Lioneye's Fall and Inspired Learning. We'll share the full list of removed Jewels in the patch notes.

Isn't diluting the mod pool a nerf?

If you're looking for a very specific outcome on your Jewel and have no use for ailment mitigation modifiers, it may be marginally more difficult to roll your Jewels. However, the average outcome for Jewels should be better.

Which of the removed unique Jewels from quest rewards are going into the global drop pool?

Some specific stats from some of these Jewels are being added to the regular Jewel mod pool, such as mana reservation efficiency.

Are the Divination Cards that grant unique Jewels changing?

The drop rates for Divination Cards that grant unique Jewels that are now rarer will be adjusted to align with the unique Jewel's rarity.

Are unique Jewels that are already rare, like Unnatural Instinct, going to be even rarer?

We haven't changed the rarity of Jewels like this.

Will Jewels that are being removed still have Replica versions from Heist?

No, if the base Jewel has been removed, its Replica version will also be removed.

What's happening to these Jewels?

  • Conqueror's Efficiency: its mana reservation stat has been moved to the regular Jewel mod pool.
  • Survival Secrets: its stats may show up in a different form like a unique item but we can't confirm this yet.
  • Poacher's Aim: this has been removed entirely.
  • Golem Jewels: These are more deterministically available and aren't relying on random drops anymore. The intention is that they should be relatively accessible.
  • To Dust: this will be available as a corruption-only Jewel.


Are Primordial Jewels changing?

We have no plans to change Primordial Jewels.

Are other forms of ailment mitigation being nerfed to offset the buff to Jewels?

No

 

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