POE 3.7.0 - Passive Tree Balance, Ascendancy Balance Update Guide

POE 3.7.0 will be released soon, and the Path of Exile official website has released the first wave of POE 3.7 updates. Let's take a look at Passive Tree Balance, Ascendancy Balance Update Guide in POE 3.7.

1. POE 3.7.0 - Passive Tree Balance Update Guide

We've added a lot of new passives to the passive tree in this patch. Rather than list out what each of the dozens of new passives contains, we've listed out the cluster notable names below. We've also changed virtually every weapon cluster to some degree. To examine these changes in detail, please keep an eye out in the community for passive tree tools once we give the passive tree data out.

Listed below are the new additions and removals:
- Added a new Keystone near the Witch: Wicked Ward.
- Added a new keystone behind Blood Magic: Mortal Conviction
- Overcharge and the preceding small passives have been moved from behind Conduit to next to it.
- Decay Ward and the preceding small passives have been moved from behind Necromantic Aegis to across from it.
- The Inspiration notable and preceeding small passives behind Mind over Matter have been removed.
- Removed "hybrid" weapon passives and notables such as Deadly Dilettante, which grant bonuses to multiple individual weapon types.
- Reduced the amount of increased Energy Shield granted by early Witch passives.
- Changed the Critical Strike Multiplier passives near the Scion to increased Accuracy Rating.
- Added the following new notables and associated small passive skills to the passive skill tree: Ribcage Crusher, Swift Venoms, Gladiator's Perseverance, Brinkmanship, Fleetfoot, Silent Steps, Freedom of Movement, Inexorable, Adamant, Dismembering, Steadfast, Unpredictable Offensive, Charging Offensive, Swift Skewering, Forceful Skewering, Magmatic Strikes, Dazzling Strikes, Disciple of the Slaughter, Disciple of the Unyielding, Longshot, Utmost Swiftness, Utmost Might, Utmost Intellect, Harvester of Foes, Feller of Foes, Pain Forger, Bludgeon Blitz, Blacksmith's Clout, Spinecruncher, Honed Edge, Bladedancer, Farsight, Claws of the Hawk, Backstabbing, Stabbing Thirst, Disintegration, Titanic Impacts, Kinetic Impacts, Aggressive Bastion, Command of the Elements, Discus Thrower, Ophidian Aim, Steelwood Stance, One with the River, Sanctum of Thought and Hunter's Gambit.

2. POE 3.7.0 - Ascendancy Balance Guide

Our main focus during this patch was to ensure that the primary melee ascendancies - those of the Marauder and Duelist -- had the appropriate tools to keep up in the current metagame.

Slayer

- Headsman: Now grants 10% more damage if you've killed recently (from 20%). No longer increases the area of effect by 20% if you've killed recently, instead of granting 20% more damage against unique enemies.
- Bane of Legends: No longer grants Onslaught for 20 seconds when you kill a rare or unique enemy, instead of granting 20% increased attack speed for 20 seconds when you kill a rare or unique enemy. Now also grants 20% increased movement speed for 20 seconds when you kill an enemy (of any rarity).
- The small passives leading to Headsman and Bane of Legends now grant 10% increased attack damage, rather than 14% increased damage with two-handed weapons.
- Overwhelm: Has been completely reworked. Now sets base critical strike chance for attacks with weapons to 8%, grants +10% to critical strike multiplier per nearby enemy up to a maximum of +100%, and causes nearby enemies to have -30% to their critical strike multiplier.
- The small passive leading to Overwhelm now grants 10% increased attack damage and 10% increased critical strike chance (previously granted 14% increased damage with two-handed weapons and 5% reduced enemy stun threshold).
- Endless Hunger: Now prevents you from being stunned while leeching.
- Brutal Fervour: No longer grants 100% increased total recovery per second from life leech. Now grants 15% increased attack speed while leeching, 6% reduced damage taken while leeching, and 50% increased attack damage while leeching (from 30%).
- The small passives leading to Endless Hunger and Brutal Fervour now grant 10% increased attack damage, rather than 14% increased damage with two-handed weapons.
- Impact: No longer grants melee splash to single-target melee attacks (because they aren't a thing anymore), or 20% increased area of effect. Now grants 50% increased global accuracy rating, +2 to melee weapon and unarmed attack range, and 5% increased area of effect per enemy killed recently, up to 50%.
- The small passive leading to Impact now grants 10% increased attack damage, rather than 14% increased damage with two-handed weapons.
- Added a new Slayer notable - Masterful Form: Grants 50% increased endurance charge duration, 50% increased frenzy charge duration and sets your maximum endurance charges equal to your maximum frenzy charges. Inb4 Pacifism Ahn's meme builds!
- The small passive leading to Masterful Form grants 10% increased attack damage, 10% increased endurance charge duration and 10% increased frenzy charge duration.

Gladiator

- The small passives no longer grant 5% increased attack speed with one-handed weapons, and instead now grant 4% increased attack speed (regardless of weapon type).
- Added a new Gladiator notable - Arena Challenger: Grants 2% more attack and movement speed per challenger charge, 25% chance to gain a challenger charge when you hit a rare or unique enemy while in blood stance, grants a challenger charge when you kill an enemy while in sand stance, and sets your maximum challenger charge count to 10.
- The small passive leading to Arena Challenger grants 4% increased attack speed and 4% increased movement speed.

Champion

- Inspirational: Now causes banners you create to gain 40% of the stages of your placed banner (from 20%). You and allies affected by your placed banners now regenerate 0.1% of maximum life per second for each stage (from 0.5%).
- First to Strike, Last to Fall: Now causes you to recover 25% of maximum life when you gain Adrenaline.
- Unstoppable Hero: Now grants 30% increased attack damage (rather than melee damage) while you have fortify.
- Master of Metal: Now causes you and nearby allies to deal 6 to 12 added physical damage for each impale on the enemy (from 4 to 8).
- The small passives leading to First to Strike, Last to Fall, Unstoppable Hero, and Fortitude now each grant 10% increased attack damage (previously 14% increased melee damage). They no longer grant increased ailment damage.

Juggernaut
- Unyielding: Now grants 8% increased damage per endurance charge (from 5%) and 6% increased area of effect per endurance charge (from 5%).

Berserker

- Cloaked in Savagery has been removed.
- Pain Reaver has moved and is now a standalone notable. It now grants 2% of attack damage leeched as life (from 1%), 2% of attack damage leeched as mana (from 1%), 25% increased attack speed if you've been hit recently, and 50% increased maximum total recovery per second from life leech if you've taken a savage hit recently. It no longer grants 2% of attack damage leeched as life and mana if you've killed recently.
- War Bringer: No longer causes you to gain 5 rage when you use a warcry. Instead now grants you and nearby allies 10% increased attack speed and 30% increased damage if you've used a warcry recently.
- Crave the Slaughter: Now grants 1 rage on hit with attack, no more that once every 0.3 seconds (rather than on kill or a chance on hitting a rare or unique enemy). Now also grants 1% chance to deal double damage per 4 rage.
- Rite of Ruin: Now causes effects granted for having rage to be tripled (rather than doubled). Also causes you to lose 0.1% of maximum life per second per rage while you are not losing rage.
- Added a new Berserker notable - Flawless Savagery: Grants 80% increased critical strike chance for attacks, adds 20 to 30 physical damage to attacks if you've dealt a critical strike recently, and grants +30% to critical strike multiplier.
- Added a new Berserker notable - Blitz: Grants 2% more attack speed per blitz charge, 10% reduced critical strike chance per blitz charge, causes you to gain a blitz charge on critical strike, and sets your maximum blitz charge count to 20. Requires Flawless Savagery.
- The small passives leading to Flawless Savagery and Blitz each grant 12% increased attack physical damage and 15% increased critical strike chance.

Chieftain

- Tawhoa, Forest's Strength: Has been completely reworked. Now grants 35% chance to gain an endurance charge when you use a fire skill, 5% increased physical damage per endurance charge, and 5% increased fire damage per endurance charge.
- Ramako, Sun's Light: Has been completely reworked. Now grants 25% chance to Ignite, 15% more burning damage, and causes damage to penetrate 15% fire resistance. No longer has a prerequisite.
- Ngamahu, Flame's Advance: Has moved. Now grants 100% of physical damage as extra fire damage every 10 seconds for 4 seconds (from 70% of physical damage).
- Hinekora, Death's Fury: Has moved. No longer causes 1% of damage dealt by your totems to be leeched to you as life. Now grants 20% chance to cover rare or unique enemies in ash for 10 seconds on hit (from 10% chance). Now requires Ngamahu, Flame's Advance or Ramako, Sun's Light (previously required Ngamahu, Flame's Advance).
- Tukohama, War's Herald: Has been completely reworked. Now causes 1% of damage dealt by your totems to be leeched to you as life, grants 50% increased effect of buffs granted by your active ancestor totems, gives your ancestor totems 100% increased activation range, and grants 25% increased area of effect while you have a totem. No longer requires Arohongui, Moon's Presence.
- Arohongui, Moon's Presence: Now makes your totems immune to fire damage.
- Added a new Chieftain notable - Valako, Storm's Embrace: Grants 0.5% of maximum life regenerated per second per endurance charge, 3% more damage for each endurance charge lost recently, up to 15%, and +1 to maximum endurance charges. Requires Tawhoa, Forest's Strength.
- Added a new Chieftain notable - Tasalio, Cleansing Water: Grants +100% to fire resistance, 2% of maximum life regenerated per second, 10% of physical damage from hits taken as fire damage, 50% increased life recovery rate if you've taken fire damage from an enemy hit recently, and causes you to be unaffected by ignite.

Occultist
- Wicked Ward has been removed.
- Vile Bastion: No longer requires any Ascendancy notables. It now grants 1% energy shield regeneration per second for each enemy you or your minions have killed recently, up to 10% (from a maximum of 30%). No longer grants +150 to maximum energy shield.
- Each of the small passives on the Occultist Ascendancy tree now grant 6% increased energy shield (from 8%).

Elementalist
- Beacon of Ruin: No longer causes elemental ailments from your skills to spread to other nearby enemies. Shocks from your hits now always increase damage taken by 15% (from 20%).

Guardian
- Each of the small passives on the Guardian Ascendancy tree now grant 5% increased energy shield (from 6%).

Trickster
- Ghost Dance: Now causes you to gain a Ghost Shroud every 2 seconds (from 1).
- Escape Artist: Now grants 10% chance to dodge hits from Spell Damage while you have Energy Shield (from 20%), and 6% increased Attack and Cast Speed per Ghost Shroud (from 12%).
- Each of the small passives on the Trickster Ascendancy tree now grant 5% increased energy shield (from 8%) and 14% increased evasion rating (from 8%).

Deadeye
- Fast and Deadly: Now grants 50% more Accuracy Rating (previously doubled Accuracy Rating).

Ascendant
- Ascendant's Berserker now grants rage on hit, with a maximum rate of one rage every 0.3 seconds acquired this way. It also grants 15% more damage (from 10%).
- Ascendant's Chieftain now has 20% chance to apply Covered in Ash (from 10%) and 40% increased Fire damage.
- Ascendant's Champion now has 20% chance to impale with attacks.
- Ascendant's Gladiator no longer grants chance to cause bleeding, and instead has 15% chance to Block (does not require another source of block) and 10% chance to Blind on hit with attacks (does not require that the enemy be bleeding). It also deals 25% more damage with bleeding (from 15%).

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Next: POE 3.7.0 - Item Balance Update Guide