Version 2.5.0

Version History
← 2.4.3c November 28, 2016	2.5.0 December 2, 2016

Patch notes

These are the official patch notes for version 2.5.0 released by Grinding Gear Games.

The Breach Challenge League

• Challenge leagues are a great opportunity for a fresh start in a new economy. All of your old characters and items are still present in the Standard and Hardcore leagues, but you're encouraged to join the new leagues, complete challenges and demonstrate your mastery of Path of Exile!
• With 2.5.0, there are Standard and Hardcore variations of the Breach challenge league available. They have the same core mechanics and items.
• Tears in the fabric of reality have formed throughout Wraeclast. Engage them to expose an alternate realm and reveal those who dwell there. Slay monsters inside the Breach to keep it open long enough to reap your bounty.
• Deep in the Breach, you may draw the ire of horrific new bosses: Breachlords. The more damage you inflict on them, the more treasure they'll part with during their escape.
• Among the riches found in the Breach, you may also encounter Splinters. Combine 100 Splinters of the same type together to create a Breachstone. When placed in the Map Device, a Breachstone allows travel into a Breachlord's Domain, the one place where they are truly vulnerable.
• Monsters from the Breach drop new unique items that are specific to their Domain. When slain in their Domain, Breachlords are able to drop Blessings that allow these new uniques to be upgraded.
• There are a total of 35 new unique items specific to the Breach league.
• The new challenge leagues include a set of 40 new challenges. When you complete 12 challenges, you will receive the Breach Footprints Effect. At 24, you will receive the Breach Portal EffectBreach Portal EffectPortalThis character's portals use the Breach effect.. When you complete your 36th challenge, you will receive the Demonic WingsDemonic WingsArmour AttachmentAdds the Demonic Wings back attachment to any equipped body armour.. These microtransactions are only obtainable in this league.
• From the 19th challenge onwards and for every third challenge after that, you will receive pieces of the Breach Totem Pole decoration to display in your hideout. The Totem Pole permanently showcases how many of the Breach challenges you completed during the league.

New Content

• Added 55 new unique items, 35 of which are exclusive to the Breach challenge league.
• Added a new Intelligence/Dexterity Support Gem - : While casting supported channelling skills, trigger another linked spell at regular intervals, with a small damage penalty. This support gem is available from the Sharp and Cruel quest reward in Cruel difficulty for the Witch, Templar, Shadow and Scion. It is available for all classes from Petarus and Vanja after completing The Eternal Nightmare in Normal difficulty. There's a new Channelling tag on relevant skill gems.
• Added a new Neutral Skill Gem - Vaal Breach: Creates a Breach at your location, making you vulnerable to its powerful inhabitants.
• Before her rescue, Navali is now guarded by The Faun.
• Very early areas in Act One have been cosmetically improved.
• Hellions have had their art replaced with a new model.

New Features

• Many of 2.5.0's features including the new renderer were deployed early with update 2.4.2. Thank you for your testing and feedback.
• The DirectX 9 renderer is still the default. You can change to the DirectX 11 renderer in the options. We will make the DirectX 11 renderer the default once we're sure there are no remaining problems.
• Melee action targeting has been greatly improved.
• The challenge and achievements panel now has progress bars for numeric challenges. Your overall challenge progress and challenge reward milestones are also shown.
• Weapons now display their range on their item descriptions.
• Improved early tutorials.
• Added support for the slash symbol in price fields.
• Various improvements to preloading have been made.
• Unique Maps can now drop if you have completed their equivalent base type on the Atlas.

Essence Changes

• Added the contents of the Essence League to the core game. You can now find monsters trapped in Essences throughout Wraeclast, but at a lower rate than when it was the current challenge league.
• The rate of finding multiple essences at once has been significantly increased in maps (especially higher maps).
• At level 47 areas and above, Whispering Essences can no longer appear.
• At level 67 areas and above, Muttering Essences can no longer appear.
• The values of mods from Wailing Essences of Woe and above have been reduced, resulting in a notably lower value of all mods from higher-tier Woe essences.
• Fixed a minor issue where the Muttering Essence of Woe amulet mod granted values that were 1% too low.
• The gloves mod from Essence of InsanityEssence of InsanityStack Size: 9
  Essence Tier: 8Upgrades a normal item to rare or reforges a rare item, guaranteeing one property
  
  Weapon: Triggers Level 20 Spectral Spirits when Equipped
  Gloves: Socketed Gems have 16% more Attack and Cast Speed
  Boots: 70% increased Mana Regeneration Rate while Shocked
  Body Armour: You gain Onslaught for 6 seconds when Hit
  Helmet: Socketed Gems gain 50% of Physical Damage as extra Lightning Damage
  Shield: 25% chance to gain a Power Charge when you Block
  Quiver: Projectiles Pierce 2 additional Targets
  Amulet: 10% chance to Recover 10% of Mana when you use a Skill
  Ring: You and your Minions take 40% reduced Reflected Damage
  Belt: 10% increased Movement Speed during any Flask EffectRight click this item then left click a normal or rare item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. now grant "Socketed gems have 16% More Attack and Cast Speed" (down from 20%). Existing items will not be changed.
• The weapon mod from Essence of HorrorEssence of HorrorStack Size: 9
  Essence Tier: 8Upgrades a normal item to rare or reforges a rare item, guaranteeing one property
  
  Weapon: 16% chance to gain a Power, Frenzy or Endurance Charge on Kill
  Gloves: Socketed Gems have +3.5% Critical Strike Chance
  Boots: 5% reduced Elemental Damage Taken while stationary
  Body Armour: 15% of Physical Damage from Hits taken as Cold Damage
  Helmet: Socketed Gems deal 30% more Elemental Damage
  Shield: Chill Nearby Enemies when you Block
  Quiver: 4 to 7 Cold Damage per Frenzy Charge
  Amulet: 15% increased Effect of Fortify on you
  Ring: 4 to 7 Cold Damage per Frenzy Charge
  Belt: 5% additional Physical Damage Reduction during any Flask EffectRight click this item then left click a normal or rare item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. now grants a 16% chance to gain a power, frenzy or endurance charge on kill (up from 10%). Old versions of this mod can be updated using a Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack..
• The weapon mod from Essence of DeliriumEssence of DeliriumStack Size: 9
  Essence Tier: 8Upgrades a normal item to rare or reforges a rare item, guaranteeing one property
  
  Weapon: Your Hits inflict Decay, dealing 700 Chaos Damage per second for 8 seconds
  Gloves: Socketed Gems deal 30% more Damage over Time
  Boots: Cannot be Poisoned
  Body Armour: 25% reduced Chaos Damage taken over time
  Helmet: +2 to Level of Socketed Aura Gems
  Shield: +15% Chance to Block Spell Damage while on Low Life
  Quiver: 25% increased Effect of your Marks
  Amulet: +10% to Damage over Time Multiplier
  Ring: Hexes you inflict have +5 to maximum Doom
  Belt: +50% to Chaos Resistance during any Flask EffectRight click this item then left click a normal or rare item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. now deals 750 chaos damage per second for 10 seconds (down from 1,000).

Map Mod Changes

• A large variety of new map mods have been added to the map pool.
• The "Grounded", "Molten" and "Incombustible" map mods that granted specific elemental resistance will no longer appear on maps. They've been succeeded by a new global elemental and chaos resistance map mod with lower values.
• The "of Stasis" mod that previously prevented player life and mana regeneration will now also prevent energy shield regeneration. Existing versions of the mod will continue to prevent only life and mana regeneration.
• The "of Smothering" map mod now only affects recovery rate of Life and Energy Shield, no longer affecting mana recovery. This includes existing versions of the mod.
• The "Splitting" mod previously added multiple projectiles at yellow and red tier maps. They now only add two projectiles at all tiers. Existing mods will not update unless a Divine orb is used on the map.
• "of Hemomancy", the mod that gave all characters Blood Magic, will no longer appear on maps.
• "of Exposure" will now reduce maximum resistances by a lower amount. In mid-tier maps, it'll reduce maximum elemental resistances by -5% to -8% now. In higher-tier maps, it'll reduce maximum elemental resistances by -9% to -12%. Existing mods will not update unless a Divine orb is used on the map.
• The "of Frenzy", "of Endurance" and "of Power" mods will no longer appear, as they could cause performance issues in areas with many monsters.

General Balance Changes

• Increased the range of all melee weapons. This is also a significant buff to the radius of CycloneCycloneAttack, AoE, Movement, Channelling, Physical, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 2 Mana
  Attack Speed: 300% of base
  Attack Damage: (44-54)% of base
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: (44-54)%Requires Level 28Channel this skill to move towards a targeted location while spinning, building up stages while constantly attacking enemies in an area around you. While channelling this skill, you cannot be knocked back.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal0.5% increased Area of Effect1% chance to Knock Enemies Back on hit0.25% more Movement Speed1% Chance to Avoid Interruption from Stuns While Using this SkillDeals (44-54)% of Base Attack Damage
  30% less Movement Speed
  First Hit deals 50% less Damage
  Gains 1 Stage every (0.33-0.17) seconds while Channelling
  +1 to radius per Stage
  Lose 1 Stage every 0.33 seconds while not Channelling
  (5-28) to (8-42) Added Attack Physical Damage
  Maximum (3-6) Stages
  8% increased Area of Effect per 1 additional Melee Strike RangePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..
• In addition to the existing Master "quality of life" improvements made in 2.4.2, the experience progression of non-Zana Masters has been adjusted. It is now 30% easier to reach level 8 from 7, 20% easier to reach level 7 from 6 and 10% easier to reach level 6 from 5.
• The Sextant Mods for additional currency items from Nemesis monsters is now only available on red maps.
• Many monsters in end-game maps have been rebalanced, fixing cases where they did too little damage.
• Reduced the damage of the bosses in the and chaos Warbands leaders in general.
• Increased the damage of the bosses in the and lightning Warbands leaders in general.
• Reduced monster pack density in the Twilight Strand slightly.
• Increased most totem damage, totem additional physical damage reduction and totem attack and cast speed skills in the passive tree by 20-25%. This doesn't apply to the Totemic Mastery notable passive.
• Doubled all sources of totem elemental resistance in the passive skill tree.
• Bleeding effects from non-puncture sources are now affected by the same (additive and multiplicative) duration modifiers as bleeding effects from puncture sources.
• Poison from non-Viper Strike sources is now affected by multiplicative skill effect duration modifiers. Additive skill effect duration modifiers were already being applied.

Unique Item Balance Changes

• Cospri's MaliceCospri's Malice
  Jewelled FoilOne Handed Sword
  Quality: +20%
  Elemental Damage: (80-100) to (160-200)
  Critical Strike Chance: 5.50%
  Attacks per Second: (1.73-1.82)
  Weapon Range: 14Requires Level 68, 212 Dex, 257 Int+25% to Global Critical Strike MultiplierTrigger a Socketed Cold Spell on Melee Critical Strike
  No Physical Damage
  Adds (80-100) to (160-200) Cold Damage
  Adds (40-60) to (90-110) Cold Damage to Spells
  (8-14)% increased Attack Speed
  +257 Intelligence Requirement
  60% increased Critical Strike Chance against Chilled EnemiesBreathe deep, my child.
  Let the frigid air engulf your soul.
  Embrace the eternal cold,
  And it will embrace you back. and MjölnerMjölner
  GavelOne Handed Mace
  Quality: +20%
  Physical Damage: (108-129.6) to (202-242.4)
  Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
  Attacks per Second: 1.15
  Weapon Range: 11Requires Level 60, 412 Str, 300 Int15% reduced Enemy Stun ThresholdTrigger a Socketed Lightning Spell on Hit, with a 0.15 second Cooldown
  Socketed Lightning Spells have no Cost if Triggered
  +300 Intelligence Requirement
  +200 Strength Requirement
  (80-120)% increased Physical Damage
  Skills Chain +1 times
  (30-40)% increased Lightning Damage with Attack SkillsLook the storm in the eye and you will have its respect. now have 250ms cooldowns on triggering socketed skills (up from 100ms).
• Reduced block and spell block values on Rumi's ConcoctionRumi's Concoction
  Granite FlaskLasts 4.00 Seconds
  Consumes 30 of 60 Charges on use
  +1500 to ArmourRequires Level 68+(8-12)% Chance to Block Attack Damage during Flask effect
  +(4-6)% Chance to Block Spell Damage during Flask effect"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world.
  Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."
  -Rumi of the VaalRight click to drink. Can only hold charges while in belt. Refills as you kill monsters. by around 33%. A Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. can be used to reroll the stats within this new range.
• FacebreakerFacebreaker
  Strapped MittsQuality: +20%
  Evasion: 36
  Energy Shield: 7Requires Level 16+30% to Global Critical Strike Multiplier
  10% reduced Enemy Stun Threshold
  (600-800)% more Physical Damage with Unarmed Attacks
  Extra goreFly like a Storm Crow, crush like a Rhoa's critical strike multiplier has been reduced to 45%. A Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. can be used to reroll the stats within this new range.
• Grand SpectrumGrand Spectrum
  Viridian JewelLimited to: 315% increased Elemental Damage per Grand SpectrumFists that strike like a falling tree.Place into an allocated Jewel Socket on the Passive Skill Tree. Right click to remove from the Socket.'s increased elemental damage has been reduced to 4%. A Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. can be used to reroll the stats within this new range.
• The AylardexThe Aylardex
  Agate AmuletRequires Level 32+(16-24) to Strength and Intelligence+(30-50) to maximum Life
  +(50-70) to maximum Mana
  +1 to Maximum Power Charges
  10% increased Mana Regeneration Rate per Power Charge
  (80-100)% increased Power Charge Duration
  1% of Damage is taken from Mana before Life per Power Charge
  40% reduced Critical Strike Chance per Power ChargeShackled fires dance about;
  Might within from force without. now has an additional property: "80-100% increased Power Charge Duration". This change does not apply to old versions of this item. Using a Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. on this item doesn't cause the new stat to appear.
• Nuro's HarpNuro's Harp
  Harbinger BowBow
  Quality: +20%
  Elemental Damage: (120-140) to (180-210)
  Critical Strike Chance: (6.50%-7.50%)
  Attacks per Second: (1.32-1.38)
  Weapon Range: 120Requires Level 68, 212 Dex(30-50)% increased Critical Strike ChanceNo Physical Damage
  Adds (120-140) to (180-210) Cold Damage
  (10-15)% increased Attack Speed
  (10-30)% increased Light Radius
  15% chance to create Chilled Ground when you Freeze an Enemy
  Create Consecrated Ground when you Shatter an Enemy
  40% increased Effect of Chilled GroundNight's frost becomes morning's dew
  Darkness cleansed, pure and new. now has an additional property: "40% increased effect of Chilled Ground". This change does not apply to old versions of this item. Using a Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. on this item doesn't cause the new stat to appear.
• Soul StrikeSoul Strike
  Spike-Point Arrow QuiverRequires Level 64(20-30)% increased Global Critical Strike Chance+30 to Dexterity
  Adds (13-18) to (26-32) Chaos Damage to Attacks
  (8-12)% increased Attack Speed
  +(100-120) to maximum Energy Shield
  80% faster start of Energy Shield Recharge
  40% reduced Energy Shield Recharge RateIn this chaotic world
  The rewards of the Soul
  Outlast the rewards of the Flesh.'s faster start of energy shield recharge has been reduced to 80%. A Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. can be used to reroll the stats within this new range.
• Energy From WithinEnergy From Within
  Cobalt JewelRadius: Large(3-6)% increased maximum Energy Shield
  Increases and Reductions to Life in Radius are Transformed to apply to Energy ShieldThe Azmeri ascetics learnt the power
  of going without the body's ordinary cravings.Place into an allocated Jewel Socket on the Passive Skill Tree. Right click to remove from the Socket.'s additional energy shield has been reduced to 3-6%. A Divine OrbDivine OrbStack Size: 10Randomises the numeric values of the random modifiers on an itemRight click this item then left click a magic, rare or unique item to apply it.
  Shift click to unstack. can be used to reroll the stats within this new range.

Skill Balance Changes

• Blade Vortex has been refactored. Instead of separate hits for each active blade, the blades now increase the frequency at which all enemies in the radius take damage, and the amount of damage they take. The skill now has a base hit frequency of 600ms and has 10% increased hit rate per active blade. Its damage has been reduced by 30% at all levels and it deals 30% more damage per active blade.
• Reduced the maximum number of s to 20, but we have also increased damage as the gem levels up to compensate. It's intended to be a similar damage output but with less casting needed and less effective area of effect.
• Ancestral Warchief now does 10% less damage at all levels. Fixed behaviour with the center of the slam being significantly further away than the totem's melee range. The skill now has +10 melee range at all levels, and the slam will always be centered at melee range away from the totem.
• now deals 10% more damage at gem level 20, tapered down to no change at gem level 1.
• Raise Spectre now grants +30% elemental resistances to its minions.
• Decoy Totem can no longer evade and has a 4 second cooldown at all levels.
• Blade Flurry's "More attack speed" modifier has been reduced from 65% more to 60% more attack speed at all levels. Blade Flurry's targeting range has been reduced by 16.6%, and the damage radius of slashes has been reduced by 14.2%.
• Blight's damage has been increased by 5% damage at level 1 of the gem, up to 35% more damage at level 20 of the gem.
• Totems and all other minions now have 40% elemental resistance and 20% chaos resistance. This also includes minions that didn't have resistances previously, like wolves.
• Summon Flame Golem, Summon Ice Golem, and Summon Lightning Golem now have 70% resistance to their respective element. Summon Chaos Golems now have 60% resistance to Chaos.
• Summon Flame Golem's damage has been increased by 140%.
• Summon Ice Golem's damage has been increased by 75%.
• Summon Lightning Golem's damage has been increased by 75%.
• Summon Stone Golem's damage has been increased by 100%. Its chance to taunt on slam has been lowered. Its melee attack range has been increased.
• Summon Chaos Golem's damage has been increased by 65%.
• Melee Skeletons from the Summon Skeletons skill now deal 25% more damage. Summon Skeletons and Vaal Summon Skeletons skills now have a cast time of 0.8 seconds, down from 1 second.
• Some triggered skills can now find targets that are farther away than they could before.
• Reduced the damage penalty on to match . At gem level 1, it has changed from -50% to -35%. At gem level 20, it has changed from -31% to -26%.
• The gem now has a multiplicative minion and totem elemental damage stat on it, scaling from 10% at level 1 to 19% more elemental damage at gem level 20.

Trickster Ascendancy Changes

• Weave the Arcane now also reduces damage taken by 8% if you have spent a total of 200 mana recently.

Raider Ascendancy Changes

• Avatar of the Veil's elemental damage has been increased to 40%.
• Avatar of the Chase's increase to Onslaught effect has been increased to 100%.
• Way of the Poacher now has a 20% chance to gain a frenzy charge on kill or on hitting a rare or unique enemy.
• Rapid Assault now has a 100% chance to gain Onslaught on kill.
• Quartz Infusion now has a 100% chance to gain Phasing on kill.
• The minor Ascendancy skills leading up to Avatar of the Chase now grant 20% increased Onslaught duration, instead of 5% attack speed.

Flask Charge Generation on Critical Strike

• A character can now only receive one flask charge per Critical Strike every 200ms. This is shared across all flasks.
• The HarvestThe Harvest
  Jasper ChopperTwo Handed Axe
  Quality: +20%
  Physical Damage: (139.2-150.8) to (218.4-236.6)
  Critical Strike Chance: 5.00%
  Attacks per Second: 1.15
  Weapon Range: 13Requires Level 37, 100 Str, 29 Dex(120-140)% increased Physical Damage
  1.2% of Damage Leeched as Life on Critical Strike
  3% increased Global Critical Strike Chance per Level
  Gain a Flask Charge when you deal a Critical StrikeLet it grow and gather inside them,
  Let it flow through their veins.
  Don't waste a drop. and Master Surgeon now follow this rule. Instead of giving a charge to each of your flasks, they will only grant it to one.
• The Master Surgeon Node now has 100% chance to trigger (up from 15%) to help compensate for this change.

Zana League Mods Available During 2.5.0

• Level 2: Onslaught
• Level 3: Bloodlines
• Level 4: Beyond
• Level 5: Warbands
• Level 6: Ambush
• Level 7: Perandus
• Level 8: Nemesis

One-time Passive Skill Reset

• Due to balance changes, every existing character has been granted an optional full passive skill reset.
• This process will also reset your allocated Ascendancy points.
• To perform this operation, click the "Reset all Passives" button on the passive skill screen. Note that you must use this before allocating or refunding any other points otherwise the option will go away.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where "Culling Strike Against Burning Enemies" only applied to ignited enemies, rather than enemies burning for other reasons (such as ).
• Fixed a bug where you wouldn't be able to see someone casting Blight or if you entered their proximity after they had started casting it.
• Fixed a bug where Temporal Chains didn't affect Blight.
• Fixed a bug where alt-tabbing in fullscreen mode would change to windowed mode.
• Fixed a bug where Navali could grant Prophecies to players who had not rescued her yet.
• Fixed various problems with the Twinned Kaom boss fight.
• PvP spectators can no longer use flasks or perform triggered actions.
• Blade Flurry now uses the average of both main and off-hand attack speeds if using two valid weapons.
• Fixed a bug where Blade Vortex ending could end other buffs.
• Monsters that use Herald skills can no longer turn them off.
• Fixed a bug where would not switch targets correctly if they were far away or if they changed to same team/party.
• Bonespire from the boss once again deals damage over time.
• Fixed a bug where status ailments that were auras couldn't be removed from players. This prevented removal of ailments that had proliferation.
• Fixed an issue with and where the ray could be visually separated from the totem after being knocked back.
• Fixed a bug where 's targeting could get stuck on item highlights.
• Fixed a bug where manually selected chat channel numbers were not being remembered.
• Fixed a bug where Summon Stone Golems would attack enemies much further from their target location than other golems.
• The 40 quality recipe now ignores six-socket items.
• Fixed two instance crashes.

The following hotfix was deployed after the 2.5.0 patch:

• Fixed a bug where the projectiles from Vaal Spectral Throw failed to work.
• Fixed a bug where monsters summoned by the did not appear to perform actions.
• Fixed a client crash with Blade Vortex.
• Fixed a crash with Russian text.