Although Path of Exile 3.27 Keepers of the Flame didn’t bring major changes to skills compared to 3.26, that doesn’t mean the meta gameplay of PoE 3.27 remained unchanged. PoE 3.27 introduced some new mechanics and made changes to some older ones, and these changes impacted the meta.
Let Poecurrency.com guide you through the effects of these changes and explain how they make certain playstyles better or worse.
Key Changes
Breach Rework
Breach mechanic received a major overhaul in patch 3.27. It’s no longer simply about killing monsters within a circle; new encounters and mechanics have been added, along with new Breach realms and bosses.
The development team emphasized that they will retain the classic, simple gameplay of killing monsters within an expanding circle, but will give it a visual overhaul.
Bloodline Ascendancy Classes System
Bloodline Classes is a multiclassing-like system using Ascendancies. Players can choose a secondary Ascendancy class and share a total of 8 Ascendancy points with their primary Ascendancy class. This new system will undoubtedly have a significant impact on the game’s meta.
Losers
Azurite Mapping
The notable node “Mining Byproducts” on Atlas Tree has been modified. Previously, there was a 10% chance to obtain additional Azurite when clicking on Sulphite veins on the map. Now, the new effect will no longer provide Azurite, but provides double the chance of obtaining Sulphite.
Azurite is primarily used to upgrade gameplay in Delve and to directly exchange for Resonators from Delve NPC Niko. One-socket resonators are a key material for crafting high-end defensive gear in the current version, typically used in conjunction with Dense Fossils.
The reduced supply of Resonators is expected to increase their value (currently, a Prime Chaotic Resonator is worth approximately 80 PoE Chaos Orbs). Conversely, the increased supply of Fossils due to more players mining them may cause their value to fall.
Previously, players not playing Delve could acquire Azurites through passive talents to exchange for Resonators; now, they must participate in Delve gameplay or trade with other players.
Blink Arrow And Mirror Arrow (BAMA) Nerfed
Transfigured Versions of Blink Arrow and Mirror Arrow have received a damage nerf, and their summon duration has been significantly reduced. The base duration of Clones created by all Transfigured Versions has been drastically reduced from 20 seconds to 5 seconds.
To compensate for this nerf, all Minions’ attacks no longer require Accuracy Rating and are now guaranteed to hit. However, this cannot make up for the significant weakening of the core mechanics. Overall, these skills will be less effective in 3.27, and builds using these skills will need to find alternatives.
Trickster Ascendancy Class Nerfed Again
In addition, several key nodes in Trickster Ascendancy have been nerfed. While Heartstopper received a slight buff, this node was already unreliable, and few players would use it. This build previously performed well in leveling and farming, but in 3.27, its leveling speed will be significantly slower.
Soul Drinker
The 20% Attack and Cast Speed bonus provided by this node has been removed. While its core defensive mechanics of Energy Shield and Leech effects are retained, its offensive capabilities have been weakened.
Spellbreaker
The significant Spell Suppression chance provided by this node has been removed. Players now need to obtain Spell Suppression chance entirely from gear and the passive tree, placing higher demands on gear affixes.
One Step Ahead
The nerf to One Step Ahead is the most severe. It originally provided 108% minimum action speed, meaning players were virtually immune to slowing effects like Freeze, Chill, and Temporal Chains, and had a permanent speed boost.
The new effect sets the minimum action speed to 90%, but slightly strengthens the reduction in monster action speed. This means this attribute only takes effect when slowed; it no longer provides speed boosts under normal circumstances, significantly impacting farming speed.
If you still want to play this build, it requires even higher gear affixes. You can try crafting your own gear or buy PoE currency and trade it with other players.
Winners
Hardcore Trade League
In Path of Exile 3.27, players who die in Hardcore League will no longer have their characters migrated to the permanent Standard League; instead, they will be migrated to the corresponding temporary Standard League.
Previously, RMT players would trade valuable league specific items from HC Trade League and then kill their characters to bring them to the permanent Standard League for resale to earn POE currency. This led to a massive influx of these items within HC League, causing their prices to skyrocket and harming the gaming experience for regular hardcore players.
With this change, league specific items will no longer be able to be brought to the permanent Standard League before the league ends, fundamentally preventing this behavior and protecting the economic environment of HC Trade League. This is also expected to attract more players to try hardcore solo play and hardcore trading.
Boneshatter Returns
Boneshatter’s base ability has been buffed, with the more damage bonus per stack of Trauma increased from 2-4% to 3-6%.
This buff significantly enhances Boneshatter’s base damage and scaling capabilities, but the other melee ability, Earthshatter, remains untouched and is likely still a stronger melee option in the current version.
Bossing Buffed Up
Unlocking different Bloodline Classes requires defeating specific bosses, such as:
- Aul Bloodline: Defeat Aul, the Crystal King
- Lycia Bloodline: Defeat Lycia, Herald of the Scourge
- Catarina Bloodline: Defeat Catarina, Master of Undeath
This will create a very high demand for challenging these bosses in the early stages of the league. Therefore, Boss Carries or Boss Running Services will be more profitable than before (approximately 20-50 POE Chaos Orbs per run), which is good news for players who enjoy challenging bosses.
The above is a general overview of the favorable and unfavorable changes in PoE 3.27. Poecurrency.com suggests that you create separate builds for mob farming and boss farming, which may result in a better experience in The Keepers league.
