What Seemed Impossible Became Reality: My Crypto Story ‪+447355702876‬

[Tonmoy Biswas 0]

Path of Exile 2’s Last of the Druids update is only days away from being fully revealed, and the community is buzzing with anticipation. Patch 0.3 brought massive shifts to the meta, unexpected power spikes, controversial imbalance, and some of the most lopsided ascendancy representation the franchise has ever seen. With patch 0.4 positioned as an endgame-focused update—while also introducing the long-awaited Druid class—players expect Grinding Gear Games (GGG) to address many of the long-standing issues that have plagued gameplay balance over the last several months.

Based on public data, league statistics, careful observation, and the patterns GGG has followed during early access, here are the three most likely nerfs and three strongest buff predictions heading into Last of the Druids. If the developers follow through, patch 0.4 could mark a turning point not only for individual skills and ascendancies, but for Path of Exile 2’s long-term design philosophy.

The Nerf Predictions

1. Deadeye Ascendancy – Tailwind and Projectile Power Finally Get Hit

The most obvious, overdue, and likely nerf of POE2 Currency is aimed squarely at the Ranger’s Deadeye ascendancy. Patch 0.3 pushed Deadeye into absurd levels of dominance, far beyond anything healthy for a multi-class ARPG ecosystem.

Even before the update launched, the community warned that Deadeye was overtuned. The writing was on the wall, and long before players reached endgame, the imbalance became undeniable:

42% of all level-80+ softcore trade characters were Deadeyes in Week 1.

Even one month into the league—when metas normally stabilize—Deadeye still held a 30% ascendancy share, dwarfing every other option.

In hardcore trade and SSF environments, Deadeye remained a top-two pick, only slightly behind the Lich.

This dominance occurred without Deadeye being a new, spotlight class—unlike the Huntress, whose 50% play rate in patch 0.2 was at least partly justified. Instead, Deadeye’s power came from a combination of:

Tailwind – One of the strongest generic buffs in the game

In a meta where damage scaling is trivial and movement speed is king, Tailwind’s ability to dramatically accelerate both offense and mobility makes it a top-tier power node with almost no downside.

Free additional projectiles

Extra projectiles disproportionately benefit bow and crossbow builds—already outperforming most melee setups—adding both raw DPS and smoother clearing.

The Row Mount synergy

Deadeye’s interaction with mounts further amplified speed and kiting advantages, giving it a functional toolkit other ascendancies simply couldn’t match.

GGG made minor pre-nerfs before patch 0.3 went live, but these changes failed to address the core issues. Patch 0.4 is GGG’s chance to correct this, and given the severity of Deadeye dominance, it would be shocking if Tailwind and projectile scaling don’t receive substantial tuning.

Deadeye will still be strong—but patch 0.4 will almost certainly bring the needed moderation players have been asking for since the third edict update.

2. Herald of Thunder – Lightning Damage’s Reign Likely Ends

If Deadeye is the #1 ascendancy in need of nerfs, Herald of Thunder is the #1 skill poised for a significant reduction in power. But the real problem goes deeper than the Herald itself—lightning damage as a whole is fundamentally overtuned for hit-based builds.

A fantastic community breakdown by Connor Converse (“OneManaLeft”) highlighted several reasons lightning stands uncontested:

Naturally huge damage roll range

Lightning’s extremely low minimum and high maximum damage becomes busted when paired with lucky damage, which is widely accessible through passive tree notables. Lucky damage effectively rolls damage twice and takes the higher result, giving lightning builds 30%–33%+ more average damage output.

Shock – the best elemental ailment

Even base shock adds 20% increased damage taken, and players can scale this far higher. No other elemental ailment comes close to this level of universal utility.

Access to increased max lightning damage nodes

These multiplicatively support lucky rolls and shock scaling, creating a runaway synergy loop.

Other elements can’t compete

Fire damage relies on ignite—currently underwhelming due to poor proliferation.

Cold damage relies on freeze, but bosses die too fast for freeze mechanics to matter.

All damage types can stun, making freeze even less necessary.

The result:

Lightning builds often deal almost double the effective damage of similar physical or fire setups.

Now enter Herald of Thunder. It capitalizes directly on lightning’s strengths, rewarding shock application and kill chains with more damage and superior clearing. In patch 0.3:

54% of level-80+ characters used Herald of Thunder in Week 1.

That makes it the most-used skill in the entire game.

Even if GGG doesn’t address the underlying lightning imbalance in patch 0.4, Herald of Thunder’s raw power, clear speed, and ease of use almost guarantee that it’s getting nerfed this patch.

3. Crafting Scarcity – The End of Universal Accessibility

This prediction will not make players happy—but it’s extremely likely.

Patch 0.4 is removing Abyss from appearing in every map, and with that comes the first major limitation on Desecrated Crafting access. Bones will become rarer, and in trade league, more expensive.

Additional crafting components are also likely targets:

Omen of Homogenizing Exultation

Perfect Essence of Battle

Top-tier essences in general

The reason?

In patch 0.3, crafting allowed players to skip entire tiers of gear progression. Instead of moving from basic rares → mid-tier → endgame, players jumped straight to near-BiS items using fully optimized crafting loops. This compressed progression hurts the long-term game experience and trivializes a key reward structure.

By making crafting components scarcer—but not weaker—GGG can restore mid-tier gear relevance and bring back a more gradual sense of character growth.

The Buff Predictions

1. Strength/Intelligence Passive Tree Overhaul – Druid’s Arrival Forces a Redesign

The new Druid is Path of Exile 2’s first hybrid Strength/Intelligence class, and its introduction means the passive tree’s left side is finally getting the attention it desperately needs.

Currently, the Str/Int region is:

outdated

full of placeholder nodes

lacking identity

missing synergy clusters (like armor/energy shield hybrids)

almost entirely ignored by most builds

Several nodes—such as claw-shaped wheels granting only generic attack damage—are clearly temporary placeholders awaiting Druid-themed replacements. Patch 0.4 will likely bring:

Shapeshifting and beast-form passives

These may include Bear Form clusters replacing the current filler options.

Revamped Armor + Energy Shield hybrid defenses

This part of the tree has been irrelevant for a year and is overdue for modernization.

Nature-themed magic clusters

These could open new build paths not only for Druid but for Stormweaver and Blood Mage players as well.

Expect the entire left region of the tree to be significantly reworked, making Str/Int hybrid builds far more viable than they’ve been since early access began.

2. New Alternate Ascendancies – V Blood Mage & Gemling Legionnaire Incoming

Patch 0.3 introduced the wildly popular Abyssal Lich alternate ascendancy, unlocked by diving into the Well of Souls. Its success virtually guarantees that GGG will continue developing alternate, lore-based ascendancies.

The patch 0.4 teaser, Fate of the V, focuses on Queen Atziri, the final ruler of the Vaal civilization—a culture infamous for:

ritual sacrifice

obsession with blood magic

devotion to virtue gems

experiments on their own bodies

the pursuit of immortality

This lore fits perfectly with two alternate ascendancies:

1. V-Blood Mage (Witch)

Tied directly to Vaal sacrificial magic and blood rituals.

2. V-Gemling Legionnaire (Warrior/Templar hybrid)

A gem-implanted super-soldier echoing the body modification culture of late Vaal history.

Given the success of the Abyssal Lich, it is highly likely that at least one—if not both—of these alternate ascendancies becomes available through the patch mechanic.

3. Endgame Unique Items – A Much-Needed boost

Patch 0.4 is confirmed to be endgame-focused, addressing Atlas progression, map juicing, and pinnacle boss encounters. But one area sorely in need of improvement is endgame unique itemization.

Currently, unique items struggle because:

Crafted rares are too powerful.

Gem level modifiers—especially on weapons—overshadow most unique options.

Perfect Essence of Battle introduced accessible +gem crafting on semi-optimized items.

As a result, the only viable uniques are niche and borderline broken, like Last Lament, the crossbow used by Lich builds.

Patch 0.4 likely brings:

New chase uniques designed for pinnacle farming

These would fill the gap between “niche gimmick” and “crafting is always better.”

More powerful boss-exclusive uniques

Encouraging repeatable endgame grinding.

Unique items that support new archetypes (e.g., Druid forms)

While it’s unlikely GGG will nerf crafted gear directly in patch 0.4, expanding the roster of meaningful endgame uniques is almost certain.

Conclusion – Patch 0.4 Is Shaping Up to Be a Defining Update

With Last of the Druids, Path of Exile 2 stands at an important crossroads. Patch 0.3 revealed major power imbalances—Deadeye dominance, Herald of Thunder’s reign, lightning damage scaling, and dangerously accessible endgame crafting. Patch 0.4 provides GGG the opportunity to restore equilibrium while introducing a new class cheap POE 2 Currency, revisiting neglected passive tree regions, expanding alternate ascendancies, and revitalizing the endgame chase.

If these predictions hold true, the update will not only correct past issues but set the tone for PoE2’s long-term progression, balance philosophy, and build diversity.

The full reveal is only days away. Stay tuned—the winners, losers, and meta shapers of patch 0.4 will become clear very soon.