Path of Exile 2: 5 Biggest changes in patch 0.3, The Third Edict

Path of Exile 2's new League, The Third Edict (0.3), is much bigger in scope compared to Dawn of The Hunt. Despite no new classes or Ascendancies, it's making a boatload of positive changes - even leaving aside the individual buffs to make all the Skills interesting. From a new crafting currency that can foresee the effect of other crafting changes to a new and refurbished Abyssal League mechanic, there's a lot to unpick in 0.3.

However, in this list, we'll only go over 5 of the biggest changes you need to note with Path of Exile The Third Edict. While the total number of changes are mind-boggling, these 5 things will be milestone improvements that will make Path of Exile 2 much better off on its path to full release.

If you want a complete overview, here are the full patch notes for PoE2 0.3.0.

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5 Biggest changes that League 0.3 is making to Path of Exile 2

1) Sprinting

Sprinting in an ARPG, who woulda thunk? (Image via GGG)

Path of Exile 2 is getting Act 4 and a few new "Interlude Acts" as placeholders, but the real winner for your seasonal campaign runs is Sprinting. You can now hold the roll button to Sprint, giving you higher movement speed than the majority of Monsters.

You can chain a roll directly into Sprit to retreat from a Monster pack, or open out of a Sprint with a Skill. However, the biggest point of the sprint is to cut down dead travel time. In other words, the campaign will feel much more like a breeze (even though if it isn't effectively much shorter). In lieu of any real mount system, the Sprint is such a basic thing, but for my money, it's the biggest thing introduced in Path of Exile 2's 0.3 League.

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2) Mutiplie copies of the same Support Gem can be used simultaneously

Support Gems got a whole lot more impactful (Image via GGG)

Path of Exile 2 will walk back all the Skill nerfs incurred in 0.2, but the biggest thing for new builds in 0.3 League is a Support Gem rule change. Basically, you can use as many copies of the same Support Gem as you one.

Previously, this was a luxury limited to the Gemling Ascendancy (and even then only one duplicate per Gem). But now that you can use multiple Supports of the same type - you can enable all sorts of previously dead builds, such as speccing all Skills into doing Chaos build-up.

While classes are probably subject to future nerfs, this Support Gem change will go a long way to make build diversity way stronger in PoE2 0.3. The added cherry on top, though, is the new 40-odd Unique Support Gems, called Lineage Supports.

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3) Martial Arts

The Monk-ey has awakened (Image via GGG)

Path of Exile 2 The Third Edict does not introduce any new Ascendancies or classes. However, with the new Hollow Palm Technique Keystone node, the Monk migth as well feel like its own Ascendancy.

With this, your bare hands now do all Quarterstaff skills with unique (and very cool-looking, may I add) animations. They have raw damage scaling with Skill Gem level, plus attack speed scaling (based on Evasion) and crit chance scaling (based on Energy Shield).

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4) Deflection and Armor changes

Strength and Dex users all rejoice (Image via GGG)

Before this point, Energy Shields used to be the de-facto winner in terms of all Defensive stats in Path of Exile 2. It's not as egregeious as it was back in the 0.1 meta, but 0.3 has made the gap much narrower.

On top of Evasion, DEX classes will now get the opportunity to convert Evasion to Deflection, a new layer of protection. Deflection can proc on any attack or Ailment, and when Deflected, the damage instance is mitigated by 40% (at base). Unlike Evasion or Block, Deflection chance can go all the way up to 100% (subject to Monster Accuracy) - so it's a very reliable way to make your Ranger, Monk, and Huntress much tankier.

Meanwhile, Warriors are getting a knockoff Heatproofing mechanic on all Elements. The much denser Path of Exile 2 Skill Tree with The Third Edict now includes a number of Notables that let you convert your Armor to additional Elemental resistance, making Warriors much easier to bulk up against all threats. Smith of Kitava is no longer the only Warrior Ascendancy with flexible gearing.

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5) Asynchronous auto-trading

Your shop manager is here to take care of business (Image via GGG)

And finally, the biggest change - and something anticipated for decades since Path of Exile 1. No longer will you be at the mercy of a negligent shopkeeper, or need to dedicate an off-brand Dave The Diver trader minigame where you stand around and wait in base for customers to show up.

A new NPC, Ange, will act as your shop manager to enable a fully asynchronous auto-trade system in Path of Exile 2. The gist is that you can now convert your Premium Stash tab(s) to this shop, put items in there, and give the exact pricing. Ange will then take care of the trading for you. A player can come to your base to claim the item and pay out the prize - even when you're offline.

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