Path of Exile 2's 0.3.0 League: 7 Things That Might Get Nerfed
Path of Exile 2's patch 0.2.0 brought some of the biggest nerfs players have ever seen. The sweeping balance changes left players with just a handful of viable League starters and endgame builds, which by default became the meta in Dawn of the Hunt.
Game Director Jonathan Rogers hinted that 0.3.0's focus will be on improving underpowered Skill Gems and passives - but with the sheer strength of certain items, skills, and ascendancies right now, some nerfs seem almost inevitable.
Here's a look at seven things that might be chopping block for the upcoming 0.3.0 update.
1) Beacon of Azis Solar Amulet
The Beacon of Azis is one of the most sought-after uniques in the current meta because of its ability to make all critical hits ignore enemy elemental resistances. This is a huge damage multiplier for any crit-based build, especially those focusing on a single elemental damage type.
It also provides a substantial Spirit bonus, enabling more uptime for persistent skills. A likely nerf would be to make the resistance-ignoring effect partial instead of absolute, or to gate it behind more restrictive conditions.
2) Tangletongue Forked Spear
At first glance, Tangletongue's stats seem average - until you read its unique "Forks Critical Hits" mechanic. This allows crits to roll damage twice, and if both rolls crit, the total damage triples.
When paired with the Huntress' Amazon Ascendancy, which can ensure near-100% crit chance, the weapon becomes absurdly strong. Expect GGG to either adjust how the fork interacts with crit rolls or reduce the double-crit multiplier to curb its burst damage potential.
3) Lightning Spear
Introduced in patch 0.2.0, Lightning Spear quickly became the poster child for league-start dominance. Its chain-lightning effect can wipe out enemies far off-screen with minimal investment, making the map clear and effortless.
With nearly half of all Dawn of the Hunt builds incorporating Lightning Spear, it's a prime candidate for tuning down. Potential nerfs could include reducing the number of chains, lowering base damage, or adding diminishing returns for chaining kills.
4) Amazon Ascendancy Passives
The Amazon's crit-scaling mechanics, particularly the Critical Strike passive that converts surplus Accuracy into base crit chance, have synergized too well with the few remaining high-damage skills post-0.2.0 nerfs.
If Lightning Spear or similar skills are dialed back, Amazon's dominance might lessen naturally - but GGG could still tweak the conversion ratio or introduce diminishing returns to prevent another one-skill meta from forming.
5) Chaos-Based Skills
Skills like Contagion and Essence Drain have been overperforming in the current landscape, capable of deleting entire packs - and even some rares - with just a cast or two. Lich Ascendancy passives push them even further into overpowered territory.
Nerfs could come in the form of reduced chain range, less damage on spread, or indirect hits via supporting items and passives. With many other skills due for buffs in 0.3.0, Chaos skills might naturally fall in line, but they're still on the radar.
6) Energy Shield
Witch and Sorceress players have been leaning heavily on Energy Shield (ES) thanks to powerful passives that slash recharge delays to under a second. With Convalescence ensuring uninterrupted recharge and Chaos Inoculation removing HP damage entirely, ES builds are currently the gold standard for defense.
Rather than direct numerical nerfs, GGG might spread these powerful nodes further apart on the passive tree to force investment and reduce synergy stacking.
7) Lich Ascendancy Passives
The Lich ascendancy supercharges Chaos builds with passive nodes like Dominion Over Flesh and Rupture the Soul, the latter giving cursed enemies a 33% chance to explode on death. Add Whispers of Doom for a third curse and Crystalline Phylactery for double curse effect, and you've got a powerhouse capable of melting packs instantly.
To tone this down, GGG could reduce explosion chance, scale back curse effect bonuses, or make high-curse setups more Path of Exile 2 Currency intensive.
Final Thoughts
Patch 0.3.0 is being marketed as a buff-heavy update, but history tells us that major rebalancing patches rarely come without some degree of pruning at the top. Whether these seven examples get hit directly or indirectly, players should brace for a shakeup to the Dawn of the Hunt meta.
If you've been relying on these skills, items, or ascendancies, it might be wise to buy POE2 Currency and some resources.
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