"Something moves in the mists. Something... sinister. Thorn, rot, plague, and claw- the Affliction spreads. It hungers for more. Tread lightly in the Wildwood, which shifts and bites. Accept our help; the ancient power of the Azmeri. Beware the spirits that yearn for freedom. And the heart of evil but waits in the dark. Ready yourself. I will be waiting."
Dear exiles, hot news! The new expansion 3.23 Affliction will launch on December 8 (PST) for PC and Mac and on December 13 for consoles. Today, I will share details about the coming league Affliction with you.
As you delve into the Affliction League, you'll come across Sacred Wisps that entice you to explore the dense corridors leading to the Viridian Wildwood. A vile Affliction has covered this forest with a foreboding darkness. To end the Affliction, you must unravel the enigmatic secrets lurking within the forest.
As you draw near the encroaching darkness, your guiding Wisps illuminate the afflicted veil that enshrouds the forest. Exercise caution, as the power of your Wisps is finite, and once depleted, you shall be transported back to Wraeclast. Beware, for the darkness teems with cursed creatures that lurk, seeking to kill you.
You may encounter various forms of imprisoned Wisps within the shadows during your exploration. By collecting these ethereal trails, you can follow their guidance and unveil myriad secrets, including new characters, sacred shrines, formidable boss battles, and thrilling encounters. Plentiful rewards await those bold enough to embark on this perilous journey.
Upon your return from the Wildwood, the Wisps you have rescued from the grip of Affliction scatter into the surroundings, taking up residence within randomly selected creatures. This symbiotic fusion amplifies both their strength and the potential rewards they yield. Each Wisp variant bestows distinct effects, and on occasion, multiple types may inhabit a single entity, intensifying the battle's difficulty while heightening the spoils to be gained.
Primal Wisps imbue inhabited creatures with an increased chance of yielding rare items, while Vivid Wisps enhance the number of items dropped. Vivid Wisps, on the other hand, prompt afflicted monsters to release currency items upon defeat. Should a creature come under the influence of all three Wisp varieties, it will unleash a deluge of highly rare items alongside a substantial influx of currency.
As you venture through the Wildwood, you may encounter the remaining Azmeri Wanderers who have persevered within the cursed forest.
Select which of the Azmeri Wanderers you will undertake quests for to access one of three new Ascendancy classes, which can be obtained alongside your standard Ascendancy class. Completing quests for the Azmeri will unlock up to eight points for these distinctive classes.
The Warden of Eaves can teach you to become a Warden of the Maji, a powerful class that takes advantage of wilderness knowledge. Wardens of the Maji can coat their weapons with Tinctures, granting them special bonuses. For instance, the Ironwood Tincture always stuns enemies at full life, and the Oakbranch Tincture is a great finisher for bosses.
A Warden of the Maji has many other wilderness abilities, such as Barkskin, which causes Bark to grow all over your body, increasing armour. As you take damage, the Bark temporarily falls off, increasing your evasion.
The Breaker of Oaths can teach you to become a class specialising in the darker arts of the Azmeri, which is called "Warlock of the Mists". You can select a powerful "Blood Hunt" ability, which lets you consume corpses to gain more damage and protection against monsters that share the corpse as a creature type. The Breaker of Oaths can sell you extra corpses of exotic types, and these can be used as powerful spectres. The Warlock of the Mists also gets access to many other abilities, including a trio of new curse skills.
The Primal Huntress can teach you to become a Wildwood Primalist. Unlike the other new ascendancy classes, the Primal Huntress allows you to customize your tree using Charms that have randomly generated skills from the regular ascendancy classes. Charms are attribute-aligned magic items that can have up to two random modifiers on them.
Wildwood Primalists get access to other powerful abilities, such as a small extra backpack or the ability to use warcries to cause corpses to drop extra items.
The Affliction expansion has many different types of rewards. Monsters you fight throughout Wraeclast can be affected by the Wisps you have brought back from the Viridian Wildwood, significantly increasing the quality and quantity of items they drop. As you progress through the league, you'll gain access to a Wildwood Ascendancy Class and the Charms, Corpses, or Tinctures it utilizes. The Mists hide many additional secret rewards you will discover as you explore. Path of Exile: Affliction also includes over 15 new unique items.
Alternate Quality Gems, Labyrinth Helmet Enchantments, and Unique Threshold Jewels have been combined into a new system called Transfigured Gems - alternative versions of existing skill gems with different functionality and balance. There are over a hundred of these, such as Frost Bomb of Instability, Detonate Dead of Scavenging, Raise Zombie of Falling, Firestorm of Meteors, and many more.
The Divine Font at the end of the Eternal Labyrinth has been changed to a gem crafting device that can create Transfigured Gems, add quality or experience to gems, sacrifice a gem for one or more Treasure Keys, exchange Support Gems for Exceptional Support Gems like Empower or Enlighten, and more.
I hope you will have fun on your new path!