With Path of Exile 3.24 launching soon, here we’ll review everything we know so far about Necropolis League mechanics and rewards, as well as the implications of this League mechanic on what build and farming strategies you should be playing. If you want to get a head start when entering the league, be sure not to miss this guide. Let’s get started!

League Mechanics Explained

First, let's talk about everything we know so far about the league mechanics.

Lantern UI

Necropolis is a crafting league that has many similarities to Bestiary, Harvest and Delve.

Before entering each area, you’ll see a UI pop-up, Lantern of Arimor. This UI will show you some Spirits, their associated monster modifiers, and each monster pack that can be spawned locally in the area.

Using this UI, you can move spirits onto any monster you want and assign modifiers to parts of those monsters. Lantern UI also displays detailed information about monster packs in the area, including key information such as pack density. It allows you to assign modifiers to monsters to diminish or reduce effects, or maximize bonuses from high-tier or beneficial modifiers.

It is worth noting that this league mechanism affects all zones, including league zones such as Heist Contracts and sub-zones such as Abyssal Depths.

What I really want to emphasize about this mechanic is that it is mandatory. You cannot opt out of this mechanism. Every area you enter has Haunted Spirits, which make monsters stronger and more dangerous. But you do want to make sure your build can handle these difficult spikes.

Spirit

There are two types of Spirits you can find in Lantern: the more common Haunted Spirits and the rare Devoted Spirits.

Haunted Spirits come in various tiers. The higher the tier, the stronger the monster modifier, and provide better rewards for slain monsters haunted by those spirits. These better rewards come as increased chances for monsters to gain “Unresolved Anguish”.

This simply means that monsters will drop collectible corpses when slain, increasing the drop chance of Embers of The Allflame, and increasing the chance of getting Devoted Spirits for each haunted monster killed for future Lanterns.

It’s worth noting that all of this only applies to monsters that spawn locally in the area. Later, monsters spawned from the league mechanic will not be haunted, and in fact will not even appear on Lantern.

The second type is Devoted Spirits. Unlike Haunted Spirits, these Spirits grant modifiers with beneficial effects on the player. This can include Magic Find, increased XP, and monster spawning things like Lesser Shrines, Strongboxes, and Nameless Seers.

Your chance of gaining Devoted modifier increases based on the number and level of haunted spirits you killed in the previous area. This means that placing higher level, more difficult modifiers on a high density of monsters will result in more Devoted Spirits appearing in subsequent areas.

If you’re not interested in the crafting part of Necropolis, this could very well be a way to flesh out your map and get extra rewards. Not only are you likely to have highly profitable Devoted Spirits, but it’s worth noting that these modifiers may increase the monster’s item count and rarity. Whatever modifier you gain will allow you to expand your loot.

Ember Of The Allflame

Next up is Ember of The Allflame. These are consumable items that drop haunted monsters, and can be used with Lantern UI to replace monster packs with different special monster packs. Most of these special monsters have additional items to drop, including some very exciting ones that drop tattoos!

It’s worth noting that these special monster packs will inherit the density of the monsters they replace, so you may want to use them on the densest monster packs available to maximize the number on the map.

The important thing about Embers of The Allflame is that at least some of them can only be dropped from specific content or even specific monsters. It’s possible these items will be linked to specific maps or content types, but that’s unclear at the moment, and it’s something we’ll have to figure out once the league goes live.

The ultimate effect of Haunted Spirits is Unresolved Anguish. A certain percentage of haunted monsters will have this modifier, which makes them collectible corpses when killed.

These corpses have a crafting modifier and inherit the monster’s name, monster type, and monster level. In addition, the developers also stated that at least some monsters from Embers of The Allflame have exclusive crafts associated with them.

If this applies to all monsters, and popular crafts only come from specific monsters or maps, then much of the league’s strategy will revolve around trying to farm those specific crafts.

Exorcism Crafting

Finally, it’s time to talk about the crafting part of this crafting league, Exorcism Crafting.

The corpses you collect from slain, haunted monsters can be consumed in large quantities to create single items. Each corpse has a crafting modifier that affects the items created.

How it works is that you’ll travel to Necropolis Graveyard, bury any number of corpses, and then exorcise all of them, and the items you craft will gain all of their combined effects.

It is said that there are many graves, and if you are willing to invest more $1, you can craft an incredibly powerful item.

However, this design is far from deterministic. You can’t even choose the item base of the item you’re crafting, only broad categories like “Shield” or “Boots.”

In order to get the item base you want, you will need to use corpse modifiers that affect the item base. One of the new corpse modifiers is called “Modifier Tier Rate”. This is a new way to make items have higher level affixes.

While this modifier allows you to gain higher-level affixes, it doesn’t actually ensure that you actually gain that affix. This means you need to combine Modifier Tier Rate with other modifiers to increase your chances of rolling that type of affix.

Another interesting use of Modifier Tier Rate is to use it on affix types you don’t want, to reduce the chance of getting that affix in your item. Using them in this way is like using a much weaker version of Fossil that prevents certain types of affixes from rolling on items.

Farming Tips

So what farming strategy is best for Necropolis? Since the endgame got a huge overhaul in POE 3.24, with the addition of tier 17 maps and a massive scarab rework. Compared to previous leagues, it feels difficult to make any reliable predictions this time around.

However, I do believe we can glean some important insights from all this.

For one, the rewards associated with crafting don’t match other league mechanics. Only monsters local to the map will be haunted, which means other league mechanics spawning in monsters not only won’t give you any corpses to craft, they’ll even just slow you down.

Embers, on the other hand, seem to be designed specifically for players who want to ignore crafting elements and focus solely on farming drops. Embers and their rewards will probably increase as the number of items increases. So if you decide to focus on corpse collecting, you’ll need to find ways to maximize the number of local monsters on the map.

As far as taking advantage of league mechanics, most will just slow you down. The only league mechanic that has the potential to increase the number of local monsters on a map is Shrine, but I’m not 100% sure it actually works. However, some of the new Scarabs will definitely come into play and can add additional haunted monsters to your map.

Embers farming has two parts: farming Embers themselves, or using embers to farm the monsters they spawn in the map. The details of Embers drops are currently unclear, so it’s difficult to assess whether players focused on farming Embers will do both, or just one or the other.

But the goal is to grow more Embers as you use them, and maybe even over-maintain to sell the excess Embers! Because you are replacing monster packs with Embers, you need to make sure to always replace high-density monster packs.

You may even want to consider running a map with a less efficient layout and more monster packs overall in order to maximize the value you get from your expensive Embers.

Which Build Type To Choose?

Finally, let’s talk about the factors you need to consider when creating Necropolis league builds.

What I really want to emphasize here is that this league will be more rigorous than the standard league. This league mechanic is mandatory. It makes monsters stronger, and you can’t opt out. On top of that, this patch introduces a lot of new and challenging endgame content. Therefore, I highly recommend you play with proven meta builds.

Because this is a crafting league focused on crafting powerful rare items, builds that use a lot of unique items will be at a disadvantage here. They won’t be able to take full advantage of the powerful crafting options Necropolis offers.

As for the specific type of build you should be playing, you have to take a bit of a gamble here. The fact that corpses don’t scale with the loot-increasing effect of increasing difficulty means that a clear speed build that clears the map as quickly as possible at the expense of high-end power is probably the right choice.

However, we still don’t know much about how the endgame will play out. If the best corpses come from side content like Heist or Delve, then clear speed may not be king. But a full build is probably a safe bet.

That’s all for this guide. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on Necropolis. Are you going to focus on corpses or embers? Any thoughts on all the new Scarabs we’re receiving? See you next time!

I’ve been playing Last Epoch consistently since its release and have spent hundreds of hours in the game. Therefore, I have also put together some tips and tricks to make our gaming experience better.

Even experienced players can make some mistakes, so check out this guide before you start to make your adventure a smoother one! Without any further delay, let’s get straight into the action.

1. Set Auto Cast

Auto cast is especially useful for builds that have skills on cooldown that you want to recast as soon as they become available. An example here is Void Knight’s Devouring Orb ability. If your character is strong enough, you can also use this feature to a semi-AFK farm in the arena.

To activate auto-cast, you must assign the ability button you want to auto-cast to one of the numeric keys on your keyboard.

For example, here I’ve assigned a secondary button to number pad three to keep my usual button mapping intact. Next, press and hold the ability button on the number pad. Then click Num Lock to disable it.

If you want to disable auto-cast, you can simply turn on Num Lock and press the ability button again.

2. Put Skill Points Into Multiple Mastery Trees

You can put points into multiple Mastery Trees so that you are not forced into Passive Tree of your own mastery. Therefore, you can actually unlock and use almost all active skills from other masteries as well.

The exceptions here are unique mastery skills, such as Storm Totem for Shaman or Werebear Form for Druid. These unique skills are locked to specific masteries, but everything else is fair game.

3. Right-Click On The Map Node To Teleport Immediately

If you want to teleport to another location, you usually need to hold down the left mouse button and click the “travel” icon at the bottom of the screen, which wastes not only $1 but also time.

Instead, you simply right-click on a node and your character will instantly teleport to the selected location. This works both in the world map and in Monolith.

4. Rune Of Removal & Rune Of Shattering

This tip is related to the crafting system in Last Epoch.

Sometimes you remove dropped items from an existing configuration that are of no use to you. The item will have some unwanted stats or not be the type of item you are looking for. But you may need to add it in the future. This is where these two runes come in: Rune of Removal and Rune of Shattering!

By the way, affixes are the stats on the lower part of the item. For example, high-level skill affixes are not that common drops and are very important for endgame builds. So you might want to extract them from items.

Most players will use Rune of Shattering to destroy items and obtain shards, which is the easiest way. But the problem is that this process does not guarantee that you will get all the shards.

As the rune’s description states: Shattering creates a random number of shards. This means you may not get the affix shards you really want.

To avoid losing potential shards, you can use Rune of Removal on the item. This rune removes one random affix at a time. So you may actually need up to four attempts to get the affix shards you want. You’re better off using Rune of Removal when you really want a specific affix or there are fewer than four affixes on the item.

Of course, the best thing about this process are the two affixes items that give you a 50% chance of getting the shards you crave.

5. Avoid Skipping Monolith Nodes With XP Rewards

Do you often skip nodes in Monolith because they only bring you a measly amount of XP? Note, however, that the effects of Tomes of Experience increase as you get higher in level.

At around level 75, my character gets about 1% level XP from each tome, so I get 3% from all three tomes. This is not cause for concern.

But when I run node, my Warlock is level 94 on Empowered Monolith, has 140 corruptions, and I’m getting about 7% more XP from all three Tomes. That’s a huge amount of XP for this level!

Also, have you ever really looked at XP and favor rewards you gain in a faction? Each Tome will give you about 500 favor, which means you can get 1500 favor for each Quest Echo.

Anyway, plus everything you get from running the map. This may not seem like much, but it will quickly earn you a lot of favor! Also, you can use Tomes of Experience to quickly level up your skills after respec.

6. Don’t Miss Arena Nodes

Besides, Arena nodes are also an excellent source of XP for you to level up for the endgame.

I’ve done some testing and on average Arena gives a better XP percentage than the usual Monolith Echoes. Monster density is also a big factor here. You don’t have to hunt around for mobs.

Of course, some arena maps are better than others, but on average, all maps are very good for your XP gain. So if you need to level up quickly to meet the requirements for certain items, be sure to clear the arena to get to your goal faster.

7. Training Dummy At Champion’s Gate

During Early Access, you can test your damage on dummies in End of Time Zone. But after patch 1.0, the dummy here no longer exists.

So if you’re like me, you’re probably confused as to where this dummy went. You can actually find dummies in Champion’s Gate settlement. The gate is in exactly the same location as the entrance to the arena.

8. No Need To Manually Find The Entrance To Dungeon

We used to have to manually find the entrance to each dungeon, so finding the dungeon you’re looking for can take some time and effort. But there is actually an easier way.

You can right-click on a Dungeon or Arena Key to open the map and focus on the entrance to that specific area. This tip can make your life easier.

9. Avoid Arena Nodes In Monolith

You can avoid arena nodes in Monolith. There are two ways to check if a node is an arena. First, you can left-click on a node to see the name of the map. If it were, it would say Arena. Alternatively, you can hover over a node to see if it offers normal or less stability.

10. Press The “T” Key To Re-summon The Portal

This assumes you’ve cleared Echo objective and summoned the portal, but maybe you saw a chest or shrine and want to continue exploring the map. But you might worry that backtracking to that portal will waste a lot of time.

This is where the “T” button comes into play. Once the portal is open, you can press the “T” key to re-summon it at your location at any time, saving yourself a lot of trouble.

These are my top 10 tips to make your life easier in Last Epoch. What do you think of these tips? Do you know of any other exciting tips? Please share it! See you next time!

Welcome to this new build guide of Last Epoch 1.0. Today, I’m excited to introduce a new Mage Spellblade known as the king of Shatter Strike. This build can successfully progress from Level 1 to Level 92, aiming for 300 corruption. It now boasts the capability to face tank bosses and Shades of Orobyss with ease. So let's just dive in!

Skills & Specializations

Enchant Weapon: Upon activation, your character becomes stronger, attacks faster, and experiences a significant increase in damage output. To optimize its use, start by acquiring Frostbrand and Overloaded. Frostbrand enhances Mana management by providing a free attack with Enchant Weapon.

Next, prioritize longer duration, melee elemental damage, attack speed, and cleanse ailments. Obtain Frozen Sparks for additional damage boost and allocate the remaining points into Efficacy.

Flame Rush: Flame Rush provides damage reduction, enhancing survivability, while also granting frenzy for increased attack speed and ward generation. Its versatility allows conversion to cold damage, ensuring synergy with other skills. When utilizing Flame Rush, prioritize damage reduction first, followed by acquiring frenzy, speed, and range. Consider converting it to a cold skill for added utility, despite its primary role not being damage-focused.

Flame Ward: Flame Ward serves as one of your defensive abilities, functioning in its standard form. Begin by prioritizing the Astonish node, allowing automatic triggering when stunned. This makes it basically an automatic skill.

Ensuring Flame ward triggers automatically upon impact, signaled by an audible ding. Proceed to invest in Barrier and Prismatic Buffer for damage reduction. Conclude by allocating the remaining points into Dilation for extended duration.

Firebrand: Firebrand serves as the foundational skill for this build, essentially spammed in rotation with Shatter Strike. The sequence involves alternating between Firebrand and Shatter Strike while maneuvering. Enchant Weapon is reserved for moments requiring additional damage output.

To optimize Firebrand, prioritize acquiring the Illuminating Fire node for enhanced Shatter Strike potency. This ensures either a guaranteed crit or close to a guaranteed speed crit, significantly boosting damage. Invest in nodes that grant extra stacks per hit, reducing the number of required Firebrand attacks. Focus on maximizing attack speed. Any remaining points can be allocated towards bolstering survivability.

Shatter Strike: Begin by prioritizing the acquisition of area, Cold Penetration and critical multiplier nodes. These enhancements ensure nearly guaranteed critical strikes when paired with Firebrand, significantly amplifying damage output. Next, focus on obtaining damage and multiplicative damage nodes to facilitate swift clears, particularly noticeable against high health enemies.

Proceed to secure global cold damage and freeze rate multiplier, alongside additional multiplicative damage nodes, further augmenting damage potential. Finally, configure Shatter Strike to auto-cast with each use, resulting in double clicks and seamless execution. These skill optimizations are key components of the build's effectiveness.

Passive Trees

Let's dive into the passive tree. In the base Mage tree, we start with 33 points. We allocate 6 into Scholar and 8 into Arcanist. While prioritizing increased attack speed, you can adjust points to prioritize Mana and life if needed. To enhance our ward generation, we invest in Reactive Ward, Warden, and Silver Rune, crucial for sustaining survivability with 8 to 10,000 ward generation.

Sorcerer remains untouched. However, if Mana becomes an issue, consider investing in Mana Shell and Wisdom for support. Transitioning to Runemaster, we invest 8 points into Sphere of Protection, significantly boosting life and damage reduction, pivotal in fortifying our defenses.

Turning to Spellblade, we distribute 6 points into Elemental, focusing on amplifying damage with Frozen Steel and Infused Weapons, while also bolstering survivability through Arcane Shielding. You want to take as much attack speed and ward as possible. Integrating Mana Reaver aids in maintaining Mana sustain.

As Dual Wielding is the chosen approach, we focus on maximizing our potential with Prismic Blade and Blade Weaver. Blade Weaver synergizes seamlessly with Enchant Weapon and Firebrand, culminating in devastating Shatter Strike hits, evident in the staggering damage output. To round it off, we allocate the remaining 10 points into Mental Fortitude, augmenting intelligence and the ward for additional resilience.

Gear Setup

One notable aspect of this build is its low life configuration, a first since the Last Epoch 1.0. To achieve this, we incorporate Exsanguinous, Last Steps of the Living, and Eternal Gauntlets for health. It's worth noting that the Eternal Gauntlets gloves are exclusive to Exiled Mages.

We also incorporate the Shard of the Shattered Lance into our setup. This unique item provides a 20% multiplicative damage boost along with a 20% increase in movement speed. Its exceptional cold-related stats make it a highly desirable choice, and its availability makes it easily obtainable.

The build's current performance is optimized with low life mechanics. Since this setup isn't mandatory, you can decide which items you need based on your $1 reserves. The other gear choices are as follows:

Helmet: Arcane Visage Amulet: Oracle amulet Weapon: Crystal Sword Rings: Gold Ring & Opal Ring Belt: Spidersilk Sash Relics: Warding Scroll Idols & Blessings

Now, let's discuss blessings. We prioritize survivability by focusing on void resistance, Mana, crit avoidance, armor, and physical resistance. While these blessings provide a solid foundation, adjustments can be made based on the affixes present on your gear. However, this is the current setup that I really recommend:

Grand Echo of Solarum Grand Light of the Moon Grand Resolve of Grael Grand Survival of Might Grand Body of Obsidian

As for idols, we choose 1 Grand Glass Idol, 3 Ornate Glass Idols, 2 Stout Lagonian Idols and 2 Small Lagonian Idols. Our selection now includes idols providing Mana, cold damage, Elemental melee cold damage, as well as life and Mana. While this setup may seem basic, its aesthetic appeal is undeniable.

The Jester’s Festival, an annual ESO celebration of the unpredictable and amusing, invites participants to engage in a variety of quests involving pranks and jokes across Tamriel. 

This guide will explore the latest updates for 2024, along with insights on event participation and strategies to optimize your experience.

What’s New For This Year?

Similar to other annual events held in tents, the 100% XP buff that used to require consuming pie every 2 hours is now passive. This eliminates the need to constantly refresh for bonus XP.

During this year’s event quests, you can earn joke outfit style pages, specifically the Jester Seeker suit.

Additionally, the Impressario will offer all three fragments for the Molag Bal Illusion Imp Pet and the Planemeld’s Master Markings. This event marks your last chance of the quarter to acquire these fragments. While we anticipate their return for the New Life Festival, it hasn’t been officially confirmed yet.

Overview Of The Event

To start, obtain the event starter either from the Crown Store for free or by visiting any of the Jester Festival tents situated in Daggerfall (in Glenumbra), Vulkhel Guard (in Auridon), or Ebonheart (in Stonefalls).

At each festival tent, you’ll receive a quest from the Jester Royals, engaging you in pranks and mischief. Jester Queen Ayrenn tasks you with completing “Springtime Flare,” where you sprinkle flowers on stuffy academics in designated locations.

Jester King Emeric assigns “Royal Rivalry,” allowing your pyrotechnic skills to shine as you gather ingredients for fireworks and set them off within the city.

For “A Noble Guest” from Jester King Jorunn, you must rescue the poor king’s lost betrothed. Borrow apples and lure the princess back to her love in the Argonian District of Ebonheart.

Additionally, near any Jester’s tent, you’ll find two extra quests. “Getting the Band Together,” given by Samuel Gourone, has you recruiting a ragtag band of dry for a concert. Visit three locations to collect wine and recruit them. In Mephala’s Nest Delve, recruit either a Scamp or a Wing Twilight, while in An’Old Delve, choose between an Ogrim or a Harvester. The danger that appears on your stage upon completion depends on your choice.

The second bonus quest, “A Foe Most Porcine,” involves fighting King Boar in Stormhaven. During the fight, "the King’s Spoils” quest offers additional rewards of Mudcrab Cider based on the number of apples collected. Before entering the arena, don’t forget to pick up the quest from Rozette the Rapscallion.

Lastly, visit Soars in Laughter near any festival tent for “Prankster’s Carnival.” Use her prank kit to play fun tricks on her friends in the spirit of the season.

Strategies To Optimize Your Experience

However, we have some helpful tips and tricks to enhance your efficiency during the event.

Firstly, to maximize loot, consider completing the entire series of quests daily on all characters. However, be mindful as it may lead to burnout, especially if you have multiple characters. Take it easy on yourself and pace accordingly.

Regarding the “A Noble Guest” quest, if you aim to achieve the Princess Rescuer accolade, guide Princess the Pig back to Jester King Jorunn at the Jester Camp south of Ebonheart without getting caught by her owner.

If you have incurred a bounty from stealing apples, ensure you clear it first to make the pig thieving process a bit easier. Opting for the simplest route, head to the stairs on the east side of Ebonheart. Skirt along the inner walls behind the Ebony Flask to reach the gate, or alternatively, maneuver behind the two southern houses.

Another option from the eastern stairs is to cut behind the Fighters Guild Pavilion, then head southwest to the plaza, avoiding both the Ebony Flask and the Town Hall to reach the gate. If spotted by the butcher, completing the achievement becomes impossible. To retry, abandon the quest, clear your bounty, and start anew, or wait until the following day.

If you're still encountering difficulties, ensure your riding speed is maximized and utilize skills such as the Nightblade's Shadow Cloak or a potion of invisibility to evade detection. Additionally, consider equipping different gear sets like Adept Rider and Jailbreaker to enhance your overall speed.

For the "Royal Rivalry" quest, note that harpies and the Leyawiin Tower are less likely to drop dust compared to bandits. Hence, focus your efforts on eliminating bandits while searching for dust. These shards, sacks, and bone piles are not shared, even in grouped situations. Thus, if you pick up a Dragonfire Crystal, another player must wait for it to respawn to loot it.

To embark on the "A Foe most Porcine" quest, obtain it by reading the flyers titled "A Foe most Porcine" found on posts near the Jester Festival tents in Auridon, Glenumbra, Stonefalls, or at the Hammerdeath Arena. If struggling to defeat the king, consider teaming up with friends to prevent him from consuming apples, which regenerate his health and enrage him.

Regarding the "The King's Spoils" quest, it can be completed simultaneously with "A Foe most Porcine" by collecting apples while battling the king. The more apples gathered, the greater the reward of sparkling Mudcrab Apple Cider, with up to four bottles available. Although not particularly extraordinary, it serves as a pleasant refreshment if lacking other food or drink buffs.

As mentioned, group efforts significantly ease these tasks, so monitor zone chat or the group finder tool for potential assistance. Don't forget to check your guild, as fellow members may also be seeking aid.

General Event Reminders

In addition to that, here are a few general event reminders:

Ensure to check your tickets each day before proceeding with any activities. You can only hold a maximum of 12 tickets, and exceeding this limit will result in loss. While you'll receive a warning when attempting to turn in a quest with exceeded ticket count, it can still be bothersome to have to spend the tickets and return.

Furthermore, before making any purchases from the Impressario, it's advisable to test the drop rate of event items. Since tickets hold value, it's wise to reserve them for items that aren't easily obtained through drops.

Keep in mind that some individuals may have extra tickets they're willing to share. It's recommended to explore all available options before making purchases. Lastly, items acquired from the Impressario are bound, whereas those obtained from coffer drops are tradable and can be sold on Guild Traders. If you intend to trade festival loot for $1 or share it with friends, remember that items purchased from the Impressario cannot be traded.

Ever since the announcement of Elden Ring getting a DLC, there’s been rampant speculation online regarding the DLC’s exact release date. However, now it’s time for everyone to cease making blind guesses. FromSoftware has at last unveiled the inaugural gameplay trailer for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, and it’s absolutely mind-blowing.

In a span of over 3 minutes, viewers are treated to a plethora of new environments, bosses, enemies, weapons, and more. Yet, perhaps the most exciting aspect is the imminent availability. The expansion is set to launch on June 21st for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC.

Accompanying the trailer are numerous previews and interviews featuring director Hidetaka Miyazaki. What can players anticipate, and what elements make Shadow of the Erdtree so captivating? Explore 10 compelling reasons here.

1. The Greatest Expansion Of FromSoftware So Far? 

FromSoftware’s biggest expansion to date is Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. 

Take into account Bloodborne: The Old Hunters, which offers between 10 to 25 hours of playtime, and Dark Souls 3: The Ringed City, which added roughly 11 to 20 hours of gameplay, according to HowLongToBeat. 

Years of fun and replay value have been offered by both expansions, and Shadow of the Erdtree appears to be much larger in scope.

2. The Land Of Shadow

While the Lands Between served as the backdrop for the original game, Shadow of the Erdtree unfolds in a fresh realm known as the Land of Shadow. 

It’s not merely a new territory tacked onto the existing world map. It’s an entirely new world. Within this realm, players will uncover its hidden mysteries and seamlessly traverse between its diverse locales.

As showcased in the trailer, these locations span from lava-filled caverns and ruins adorned with hanging pots to expansive grasslands, all beneath the looming presence of the enigmatic Erdtree casting a foreboding shadow. 

Speaking with Eurogamer, Miyazaki affirmed that the new map adheres to the structural framework of the base game. However, in terms of scale or sheer surface area, it dwarfs even Limgrave from the original game. 

Considering Limgrave’s inclusion of three sub-regions and a Legacy Dungeon, this expansion’s scope is undeniably substantial.

3. More Elaborate Level Design

It’s not just about size, though. With the expansion, FromSoftware is also redefining field design. 

In contrast to the standard game, where the line between outdoor regions and dungeons is rather apparent, Miyazaki said the team aimed to delve deeper and create a denser, richer level design that blends both kinds of layouts together a little more smoothly. In order to provide a more varied gaming experience, the team has also experimented with something a little more in between the standard open spaces to ride around in agony and dungeons to explore.

To put it briefly, new regions that are distinct from the original game are to be expected. If you want to take on the challenge more easily, be sure to accumulate enough $1 to level up your character!

4. Eight Novel Types Of Weaponry & Armor

New weaponry and armor are standard features in any expansion developed by FromSoftware, and Shadow of the Erdtree is certainly no different.

The trailer exhibits a Gladiator-inspired ensemble complete with a striking fur cape, alongside a sleek red dress tailored for those with a keen eye for fashion. However, the allure lies primarily in the assortment of weapons. Although the exact count remains undisclosed, Miyazaki has verified the introduction of eight novel weapon classifications.

These encompass a hefty Japanese sword, a versatile dueling shield described by Miyazaki to Famitsu as blending offense and defense, and throwing daggers engineered for hurling in combat. Additionally, glimpses are offered of innovative selections, such as a fully automatic crossbow equipped with incendiary bolts and a fresh Twinblade paired with a shield.

“I believe even veterans who have extensively utilized existing weapon types in the main storyline will find these additions invigorating and gratifying,” Miyazaki remarks.

5. Ten Brand-New Bosses & Fresh Enemies

The adversaries depicted in the trailer, including the leech-like creature, appear vexing enough, but it’s the bosses that are anticipated to present the greatest challenges.

Miyazaki has confirmed the presence of over 10 new bosses, comprising a horned beast adorned with human body parts that unleash devastating lightning strikes, a porcupine-esque creature boasting a formidable bite, a peculiar skeleton mounted on horseback wielding a boomerang-like weapon, and a towering inferno fueled by burning bodies. Additionally, players can confront Mesmer the Impaler, a formidable adversary utilizing fiery assaults and occupying a pivotal role.

Furthermore, Miyazaki hints at a challenge comparable to that posed by Millennia in the base game, though the identity remains unconfirmed. As always, anticipation builds as we await further revelations, albeit at the cost of numerous defeats.

Lastly, the expansion introduces an array of new spells and abilities, with some showcasing truly remarkable capabilities.

6. Fresh Spells & Skills

Certainly, the expansion also introduces an array of fresh skills and weaponry, some of which are truly astounding. Among these are:

Dual curved swords, enabling agile maneuvers to evade attacks and strike adversaries A spell capable of summoning numerous butterflies, subsequently detonating them in an area around the player A flurry of kicks delivering multiple hits to opponents The integration of the new Twinblade and shield, offering a formidable offensive combination.  Moreover, players can utilize the horned beast’s head, possibly unleashing breath-based assaults, and harness the porcupine’s quills in combat.

However, what has been revealed merely scratches the surface, leaving us eagerly anticipating what other marvels await.

7. New Regular & Legacy Dungeons

During an interview with Eurogamer, Miyazaki affirmed the existence of numerous dungeons, including multiple Legacy Dungeons.

Several of these dungeons are showcased in the trailer, notably a grand, fortress-like structure reminiscent of Stormveil, albeit with the summit appearing dilapidated. Additionally, the arena belonging to Mesmer piques interest as it potentially occupies a distinct dungeon setting.

In summary, the full breadth of available dungeons is yet to be revealed. However, indications suggest a diverse selection awaits, catering to enthusiasts of the original game.

8. Novel Plots & Characters

Exploring the Land of Shadow introduces players to fresh faces, some harboring “ulterior motives.”

The addition of these characters implies the potential for new side quests, the possibility of embarking on uncharted quest chains, or the chance to engage with additional vendors. Notably, the official website teases the introduction of fresh plotlines, promising to “enhance players’ RPG freedom.”

These narrative threads might lead to diverse outcomes, dependent on the paths players opt to pursue.

9. Results Of The Expansion Are Unaffected By The Main Story

Nevertheless, it’s certain that the decisions made in the expansion won’t alter the outcome of the main storyline.

Moreover, Miyazaki clarified to Famitsu that the “progression of events in the main story will remain unaffected by the DLC’s content,” indicating that no new conclusions for the base game should be anticipated if players opt to embark on the Shadow of the Erdtree adventure first.

Players should anticipate a self-contained narrative within the realm of Shadow of the Erdtree, with resolutions confined to its confines. However, it wouldn’t be unexpected if this tale unveils a couple of earth-shattering revelations along the way.

10. Price & Exclusive Editions

Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree is priced at $39.99, in contrast to The Ringed City at $14.99 and The Old Hunters at $19.99. 

While various factors come into play when comparing the prices of DLCs from previous years with the current one, it’s notable that this expansion is only $20 less than the base price of Elden Ring.

Additionally, there are multiple editions available:

The Premium Bundle, comprising the expansion along with a digital art book and soundtrack The Deluxe Edition, bundling the base game with the expansion and digital extras The Collector’s Edition, boasting a physical artbook, an 18-inch statue of Messmer, and a voucher to download the expansion (unfortunately, this edition is exclusively available through the Bandai Namco Store in select countries). 

Moreover, players have the option to acquire a limited quantity of physical replicas of Messmer’s helm.

Today, we will discuss a frequently asked question about World of WarCraft series of games, namely investment tips. There are often many players who say that not only are they unable to make a profit from their investments, but they end up losing gold, and the same is true for Season of Discovery.

So, here, we’ll demystify WOW Classic SOD investing and provide practical advice to help you understand Azeroth’s ever-changing market landscape while maximizing profits.

Season of Discovery differs from Classic Vanilla, and misinformation can easily lead to gold loss. With this guide, you’ll learn why investing isn’t always the best option, and how to protect the value of your gold if you choose not to invest. Let’s get started quickly!

Why Shouldn’t You Invest?

Let’s start with when you shouldn’t invest in an item.

As mentioned earlier, Season of Discovery differs from Classic Vanilla. So, even though it looks like a tremendous opportunity to earn $1, a lot of what looks like a lucrative opportunity may actually become worthless because of these changes.

Big Difference From Vanilla

The first reason not to invest is the enormous difference in Season of Discovery, which means you shouldn’t invest in something just because the vanilla is cheaper.

For example, after adding Windfury to Alliance, two-handed and main-hand weapons should no longer be enchanted with the stones. So now that Warrior uses two-handed weapons, Elemental Shaman may opt for one-handed weapons to benefit from double spell power enchants and oil applications.

These meta-changes, as well as potential future changes, have significant market implications. For example, there will be significantly less demand for Elemental Earth than in the past, and stone enchants will also be used significantly less, especially between Alliances.

Fast Update Speed

The second reason for not investing is that developers update Season of Discovery quickly and don’t always provide comprehensive information.

For example, the upcoming Temple of Atal’Hakkar raid may introduce a lot of specific materials that players have been collecting. If you invest a lot of WOW Classic SOD Gold in these materials, their prices will skyrocket as new raid content is released.

However, if instead the developers remove the materials you invested in from the core game, you’ll lose a lot of gold. This also turns your investment in Season of Discovery into a gamble.

So, in most cases, it’s best not to invest unless you’re at least 90% confident that it will deliver strong returns.

Gold Value Drops

The third reason not to invest is that the value of gold depreciates over time and small profits often become insignificant.

In my opinion, if you expect a profit of only 20% on an investment, it’s best to avoid it. Because the value of gold usually drops significantly within three to four weeks of a new phase, sometimes by more than half.

Other WoW Games Influenced

The fourth reason not to invest is that updates to other World of WarCraft series games may seriously affect Season of Discovery and cause the value of WOW SOD Gold to drop significantly.

For example, I personally could not have predicted that the value of WOTLK Classic would temporarily decline with the release of Season of Discovery. While some may consider WOW Cataclysm Classic to be less popular, something similar may happen in Season of Discovery.

Therefore, investing in anything runs the risk of losing more gold as the value of gold drops when another WOW Classic receives an update.

Avoid Investing In The Same Item All

The fifth reason is to avoid investing in something if everyone else is doing the same thing. For example, if a large portion of the player base starts investing in an item, farmers will notice the price spike and start grinding the materials, so the surplus of that item will flood everyone’s banks.

When new content is launched, everyone rushes to sell their inventory, causing prices to plummet and potentially causing investors to lose large amounts of gold.

Seasonal Expansion

The ultimate reason not to invest is that, as its name suggests, Season of Discovery is a seasonal expansion, and this seasonal nature makes a significant difference compared to Vanilla, especially in terms of XP rates and upgrades.

Each phase of Season of Discovery lasts for 3 months. Most players achieve their goals with the main characters within two months, and the remaining time can be used to level up the alt.

Since this alt is primarily active in that specific phase, and does not require exclusive items or consumable upgrades. This also makes many of the items or consumables used to craft it serve different purposes than Classic Vanilla.

When Should You Invest?

If you want to invest, then we need to take a deeper look at what to invest in first. We already know that we should focus on items that aren’t as widely known, and keep an eye out for updates in Season of Discovery and other World of WarCraft games. Consider meta class changes and ensure potential investments provide reasonable profits.

Now we discuss which items can be considered good investments.

Items That Do Not Exist In Later Phases

For the first reason, I think an excellent investment is bound to be limited by resources, or at least shouldn’t exist in late phase dungeons and raids.

Let me give you an example. In Phase 1, I was focused on one specific investment, Dark Iron Ordinance. I chose this item because it was introduced in Season of Discovery and has no other potential location in the later phases. Luckily, the developers didn’t add it in the next patch and I ended up making a decent profit from it.

Specific Items With Low Drop Rates

Regarding the second reason for investment, I think specific items should be particularly useful given the update and should have a lower drop rate or be difficult to farm. This ensures that if its price suddenly spikes because of high demand, farmers cannot quickly bring down its price, such as for Golden Pearl.

This is the best material in the endgame and is extremely rare, but it’s currently extremely cheap on some servers, making it barely worth farming for you. However, despite these factors, there are still concerns that other game updates may reduce its value.

Items At Extremely Low Prices

As for the last reason, if an item is very cheap and close to its vendor price, it may be worth the investment when you get the item at a cheap price. Even if things don’t go as expected, you can still sell it for the same price and the only consequence you will face is a decrease in the value of the gold.

How To Avoid Gold Losing Value?

Finally, let’s delve into how you can avoid losing value in your gold, and I think the best way to do that is to hold gold.

If you don’t have a lot of gold during the first four weeks of the new phase, there’s a good chance that the value of gold will increase during this period, and you may need it to craft new crafts.

However, if you find yourself with excess gold and aren’t sure what to do with it, you have a few options. You can invest it in your alt or consider transferring it to other games.

In short, as long as you understand the nuances of Season of Discovery investing, you will not miss any profitable opportunities. Whether you’re an experienced trader or new to Azeroth economy, this guide is your essential companion for thriving in World of WarCraft. Let’s embark on the journey to become an investment master in Season of Discovery!