With the launch of Synthesis League, Grinding Gear Games added yet another layer of mechanics to the already staggeringly complex system of gameplay loops in the Path of Exile landscape. Synthesis League, and the associated 3.6 patch, can be filed under the banner of the more complex expansions for the ARPG. This means that there’s plenty of new mechanics to digest, but also a lot of work for GGG to balance it all.
The addition of the Memory Nexus and the journey through Cavas’ memories has added a very interesting addition to the leveling process and great strategic layer for both crafting and general gameplay. Incidentally, if you need guides on the basic mechanics of Synthesis League, or on crafting and the meta-game in this new expansion, we have guides for all that and more. If you want a POE 3.6 starter build, that’s here too. The changes to the Atlas in 3.6 were pretty extensive, so we’ve got a guide on that as well.
As is the norm with many patches to ongoing games of this type, there are both gameplay adjustments and bug fixes. Most of the changes in this minor patch are bug fixes, as can be expected with such an update. There are even a few interesting fixes in here for some really weird bugs.
Now it’s time for some good old speculation and theorycrafting. For one thing, map drops probably are getting nerfed overall, as it’s now possible for regular Synthesized monsters to drop Maps. This isn’t typically the way GGG has done league content, so it will be interesting to see how the price for maps changes in the coming weeks. The devs have also made the exploitation of Memory Amplifiers harder as moving placed memories will destroy the amplifier. The ability to stack a lot of modifiers on memories has also been nerfed.
Some noteworthy gameplay changes include:
- Memories placed in the Memory Nexus can now only be affected by up to five Memory Modifiers. Rebalanced Memory Modifiers as a result of the new maximum. Any existing Memories that had more than 5 Memory Modifiers applied to them have been reduced to meet the new maximum.
- All Synthesised Monsters can now drop Maps, rather than just the Rare Synthesised Monsters.
- Moving a Memory which is placed on a Memory Amplifier will destroy the Memory Amplifier.
- Breaches and Abysses can now spawn in non-Decaying Level 68+ Memories.
- Rebalanced rewards from Distant Memories and the chances of each type of Distant Memory appearing.
- You can now return to your hideout by using /hideout while in the Memory Nexus.
- Synthesis Boss encounters now drop a Fractured item with three implicits, with a chance to drop multiple. The Cortex Boss encounter now drops three Fractured items with three implicits, with a chance to drop more.
- Fractured Items now drop from all Memory Nexus areas, rather than just Decaying areas.
- You can now see a list of Undiscovered Veiled modifier crafting recipes on the Crafting Bench panel.
- Prophecies can no longer trigger when entering Zana mission areas.
Notable bug fixes include:
- Fixed a bug where Pack Size modifiers were not applying correctly to areas in the Memory Nexus.
- Fixed a bug where Boss Encounter areas did not have the displayed modifiers applied to them.
- Fixed a bug where Zana mission objectives (such as “Slay the Beyond boss”) could spawn inside of a Fragmented Memory.
Check out the full 3.6.3 patch notes for all the details.
In other news, Grinding Gear Games has been doing a great job with Path of Exile 3.6 and Synthesis League. The game just launched on the PS4, and the developer headed to reddit to do an AMA on that very topic, answering fan questions. They also recently released the 3.6.2 patch to the game, which rebalanced Synthesis League mob spawns and mechanics, and made managing Memories much easier. The company has also announced new MTXs that the fans will love, and some changes to ongoing community spotlight video series’.
Path of Exile is out now on PS4, Xbox One and PC, and is entirely free-to-play.