"We need to not be afraid of doing those kind of radical changes, if after careful consideration, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a good change."
Path of Exile 3.29 Curse of the Allflame brings a host of new additions and changes to the game, including systems that were made during its inception.
Path of Exile 3.29 Brings Balance Changes And Revisions to Foundational Systems
Restricted By Socket Colors No Longer
Grinding Gear Games is no stranger to huge changes, and Path of Exile 3.29 might have brought one of the biggest changes in franchise history. Socket Colors will now serve as flat quality bonus upgrades and will no longer restrict slotting Skill and Support Gems of a different color. This means that players can now get or craft better gear without fear of not being able to slot in their Skill and Support Gems that are not of the right color.
While it may be seen as controversial to change something that serves as the backbone of an entire build, this change is a net positive to every player, as it allows for a smoother progression experience in both the campaign and the endgame.
"We need to not be afraid of doing those kind of radical changes, if after careful consideration, we’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a good change," Christopher "Octavian" Laferriere states, when asked about how the team approaches radical change for systems that have been around for more than a decade.
"Is this change good?" This is the question that Octavian and the teams at Grinding Gear Games focus on answering instead, as they iterate on both of their games.
He even doubled down on his point that there shouldn’t be a system that is considered untouchable, no matter how long it’s been ingrained into its core. "There shouldn’t be things that are sacred, because the more you do that, the more your game crystallizes and eventually grows stale and can’t keep up anymore."
"That’s not a fate that I want for Path of Exile, either 1 or 2."
Spellcasting Balance For Better Scaling
Patch 3.29 also balances spellcasting in various ways, specifically to address Spellcasting scaling issues that were too similar to each other. Certain elements were given more distinct identities, where lightning spells have faster cast speeds but will now cost more mana per use, and Shadow Physical spells now have a higher base critical damage and chance, at the cost of dealing less base damage.
Additionally, specific Ascendancies, namely Assassin, Occultist, and Inquisitor, now have an added Passive Skill in their skill tree to help them scale better towards the endgame. The biggest addition to Spellcasting is the inclusion of new Exceptional Skills called Pacts, which are new self-cast buffs that massively strengthen the player’s Skills but will have detrimental effects to serve as a trade-off.
Path of Exile 3.29 Curse of the Allflame League Introduces New Mechanics, Crafting System, and Endgame Reworks
Almost An Actual Boat League
Curse of the Allflame brings players to the seas of Wraeclast, where they will be exploring the sea floor to find hidden treasures, for those brave enough to claim them. Players will be accompanied by the Corsair captain, Valerie, who agrees to split the loot with you in exchange for your help to find lost treasures and Charts that are guarded by dangerous monsters.
After successfully finding a Chart, players will board Valerie’s ship, The Sovereign, where she will introduce you to the ship’s living engine, Vesper. Using said Chart, will allow Vesper to transport you to that marked area, where players will now navigate the sea floor using the Allflame-powered Bathysphere in search of treasure and strange luminous corals that can be broken down into Dead Man’s Sulphur.
This special substance is the reason why Valerie is asking for your help, as this is the fuel to keep Vesper’s light aflame while allowing both of you to loot the sea floor’s hidden riches. However, exploring the underwater depths isn’t something that players can freely do, as they must use Vesper’s limited Allflame Lanterns to both light the way and provide them sanctuary from drowning in the deep and its dangerous sea creatures.
These Lanterns, however, are not infinite, as they will begin to flicker and fade once the last Lantern has been placed. Players will now have to make their way back to the Bathysphere, where they can deposit their loot, including the Dead Man’s Sulphur, and make their way back on board The Sovereign.
A Dead Man’s Sulphur is Another Man’s Treasure
During the player’s quest to find the Sulphur and other treasures, Valerie will keep a record of those exploits, storing them in her journal as Charted Areas. After enough of these areas have been successfully recorded, players can now plan a Voyage, by connecting the records they’ve charted into one seafloor excursion.
Each area that is charted reveals a special modifier that is applied to either the areas adjacent to it or all of the other selected areas when included in the Voyage. Moreover, certain Charts can take you to unique areas that include special loot like lost Kalguuran shipments and even Abyssal pits that house the Lightless monsters within.
Additionally, planning a Voyage also means that you’re not just placing areas with each other, as the edges of the entire Chart also add exclusive modifiers that affect the areas that are assigned to them. This means that careful planning is needed to maximize the rewards of the Voyage, as you can stack all of these beneficial effects to result in a lucrative underwater mission.
Creating the Intangible, Tangible With Allflame Crafting
Dead Man’s Sulphur isn’t just fuel for Vesper’s flame, as it is also used for the league’s new Allflame Crafting. Players can utilize this new crafting system on top of the existing systems, where they can augment their chances of having perfect modifiers by creating multiple simulated outcomes of the same item in one slam.
The process is simple: take your item to Vesper’s soul, alongside the currency you’d normally use to slam, and a fee of Dead Man’s Sulphur that increases depending on the potency of the craft. The result is multiple ghastly versions of the same crafted item, where players can then choose one to keep as their own. The system allows for multiple currencies to be used, such as influenced Exalted Orbs, Resonators, and many more.
Outside of the already existing crafting steps and systems, special currencies called Ducats can be found during your freediving excursions to special Charts. These can then be used in more ways than one, like splitting an item into four different copies retaining a single modifier, or changing the attribute modifier of an item to grant a different attribute instead.
Mercenaries of Trarthus Make a Return
Mercenaries of Trarthus, or aptly known as the Mercenary League during its time, make their return in 3.29, where they are aiming to gather coin from those foolish enough to challenge them. Appearing in Act 3 and beyond, these Mercenaries will be equipped with various gear and skills that they have equipped. As part of the Trarthan Code, players can wager a varying amount of gold in a duel for an item in the Mercenary’s possession.
Losing the duel will forfeit the levied gold that the player wagered, and the mercenary will leave the area. In contrast, however, winning the duel rewards the player with the item of their choice, as well as the Mercenary joining them for a fixed number of areas as a supportive ally during their exploits.
While in endgame map areas, if players don’t find any of their items appealing to wager on, they can opt to wager on the Mercenary’s Warrant instead. This item allows the player to call that specific mercenary to another map, equipped with a brand new set of gear. These Warrants can also be traded to other players, meaning you can trade for specific Mercenaries that you might want or need.
Command and Gear Your Own Mercenary With The Luminary Ascendancy
One of the biggest additions in the next patch is the inclusion of the third Scion Ascendancy, Luminary. She specializes in being able to recruit Mercenaries permanently, as well as being able to gear them from head to toe.
Some of her notable Passive Skills allow her to equip different Unique gear to her recruited Mercenary, with the capstone node giving various bonuses to how much Unique gear they equip, less cost on Link Skills, and even stronger Aura Skills.
This distinct playstyle allows her to either become a supportive character that serves as an engine for more offensive-type Mercenaries, or a pure offensive character that uses her Mercenaries as a way to add additional Auras for her.
New Endgame Reworks: Abyss, Legion, Talisman
3.29 reworks multiple endgame league mechanics for Abyss, Legion, and Talisman, adding convenience and better scaling to all of its notable facets.
Abyss now functions similarly to Path of Exile 2’s implementation, where the pits will now be opened immediately, and players will just need to kill the enemies that come out of these fissures. This reduces the amount of backtracking needed to earn rewards from succeeding in the league mechanic.
Speaking of rewards, Abyssal Jewels will now be exclusive rewards for Abyss, making it a league mechanic that will be more appealing to participate in for these coveted upgrades. Moreover, a new Pinnacle encounter has been added, and unlocking it is a special puzzle in itself.
Legion has also been reworked, specifically for its rewards and how the encounter works. Incubators will be removed in favor of a new currency that allows you to "enshroud" Unique items into upgraded Vestigial Uniques. Additionally, Legion encounters will start as soon as all the important monsters have been killed, instead of the usual system where players have to search every nook and cranny for every monster.
Talismans have also been reworked to remain much more relevant in the endgame. Instead of being immediately corrupted and having implicit modifiers, these are now enchanted items that can be used to strengthen the player’s gear in favor of Anointments.
Atlas Rework: Atlas Anomalies
Lastly, the Atlas will now have repeatable encounters for certain league mechanics dubbed as "Atlas Anomalies." These areas are self-contained encounters that don't require an item to enter and can be exited from and returned to at anytime the encounter is exhausted. Areas like Cadiro Perandus' abode, The Nameless Seer's hideout, and even random Heist and Sacred Grove maps can be encountered when visiting them.
Path of Exile 3.29 launches on July 24, 2026 at 1 PM PDT for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
