With the launch of Path of Exile 3.9, and its related content, there’s a lot set to change in the lands of Wraeclast. The new Challenge League in Path of Exile 3.9, MetaMorph League, both introduces new mechanics and lays the groundwork for other changes coming in Path of Exile 4.0 and beyond. Of course we’re a long way off from that, so for now we’re just getting a single element.
If you’re in need of a POE league starter build for 3.9, we already assembled a decent list. ISKMogul also has a whole stable of Path of Exile 3.9 guides, check those out below.
Grinding Gear Games is thoroughly retooling bosses Path of Exile 3.9 with MetaMorph, based around the simple idea of letting the players decide who they would like to fight. this is being accomplished through an entirely new boss cusomization system in 3.9 that allows the player to collect Catalysts, and then use them on target bosses to include certain affects.
The Basics
As with any new League, a brand new NPC has been added to the game that will be encountered in every instance — Tane Octavius is Metamorph’s addition — and providing new missions for the player to undertake. MetaMorph League will bring about a bunch of new mid-game and end-game choices for POE players in Path of Exile 3.9, and there’s sure to be an emerging strategy, which we will outline once it has been discovered and refined.
The core idea in MetaMorph is to collect Samples from each monster, likely a Rare mob or boss, in a Metamorph encounter. Be on the lookout for mobs with a green hue, these denote Metamorph mobs that drop a Sample when killed. Samples can then be taken to Tane, and turned into a Metamorph boss.
Catalysts and Samples Explained
Catalysts and Samples are the new crafting element being introduced in Path of Exile 3.9. Like the Oils from last patch, we’re going to see some variety in terms of the item effects and their sources. Judging by the name of the league, metamorphosis is the goal here. Each of the Catalysts you use has their own unique name and effect. So combining them together will have some very interesting impacts. For starters, Catalysts add quality to Jewelry items that enhances a predetermined set of modifiers.
Each Catalyst type will correspond to a unique type of affix on a Jewelry item. Think of them like a much more specific Fossil. Catalysts are unique, so you will only be able to enhance the effects of each piece of jewelry with one type of Catalyst each.
Here’s our full guide on Catalysts in Path of Exile Metamorph.
MetaMorph Bosses Galore
The core source of Samples, and thus Catalysts, is bosses. Every mutated boss has a Sample drop attached. Defeating them will allow Tane to extract a sample and store it in the repository for later use. The bosses you will encounter throughout the game will obviously scale with the level of the zone, so be careful. Collecting samples from mobs and end-game Map bosses allow you to create the ultimate challenge. It’s very possible to create unwinnable encounters for your build. Samples can also be collected from Map Bosses once the player has arrived in Path of Exile’s endgame. And once you defeat these created bosses, taking their Samples and combining them can create some truly insane outcomes.
Each encounter with a boss, be they a map variant or not, can be altered significantly by the Challenge League mechanics. Increased life, damage, and similar affixes are the new norm for MetaMorph League, with more dangerous modifiers coming later in the leveling process and Maps. Once you’ve extracted some Samples, you can combine them together to create a boss with the associated modifiers.
Bosses will morph between their variant forms. So the first boss you fight will likely have a transitioning form between Fire Fury, a Drowned Undead and a Crab. Each version of the attacks that these bosses use has been increased in power, so they’re a fair bit tougher than the normal versions of these ensmies
Watch out though, as the more powerful Samples can be very dangerous, but it’s very possible to gain extra rewards as well, so it might be worth the risk of death. There are at least five new MetaMorph Samples to be collected, each one having a different effect during crafting, as well as a different source. Brains, Eyes, Hearts, Livers and Lungs can all drop from Sample mobs.
Each monster type seems to have their own pool of base modifiers, as well as additional modifiers for bosses, Magic and Rare variants within that same type. For example, Kuduku has their own modifier pool and parts that are unique to the generic Samples from other Totems.
Sample Tips:
- Samples MUST be used in the zone they are encountered to create a MetaMorph boss. Unused Samples disappear when zoning.
- Unique Organs will persist. You can take these to Tane’s lab to fight entirely Unique bosses.
- Samples should normally only be collected until you have one of each organ, the Tane button in the bottom right will light up at this point.
- You can hold off on the above tips if you’re hunting Uniques, usually map bosses, as their Unique organs have extra mods
- Sample mobs will not spawn in sub-zones, for example, the Flooded Depths contains no MetaMorph mechanics
- Magic and Rare mobs can drop Samples with additional modifiers.
- Unique monsters have their own unique Samples and modifier pools
- Samples from Unique monsters have a hidden increased rarity of items dropped modifier
Here’s our full guide on Boss combinations and Samples in Path of Exile Metamorph.
