Everything About Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur

As an avid Path of Exile player with countless hours under my belt, I’m thrilled to share my initial reactions and insights based on the new information unveiled in the Settlers of Kalguur expansion guide.

In the ominous and perilous land of Wraeclast, a fresh chapter is set to unfold. The latest expansion, named “Settlers of Kalguur,” is brought to you by Grinding Gear Games for the open-access action role-playing video game, Path of Exile. Prepare to delve into new territories and establish thriving communities. Here’s what you need to know about the latest developments in Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur.

Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur – Building a New Legacy

The League of Kalguur, known for its boldness and creativity, is set to revolutionize the way we play Path of Exile starting from the upcoming Version 3.25 expansion on July 26, 2024.

As someone who has been playing strategy games for decades, I can confidently say that this expansion pack is a real treat. Its intricate mix of real-time gameplay, comprehensive resource management, and ever-changing trading dynamics keeps me on my toes and fully engaged. Whether you’re a seasoned veteran or just starting out, there’s always something new to discover and master. The depth and complexity of the game are truly captivating, offering a fresh challenge that never gets old.

Get ready to experience an adventure of discovery, building, and commerce as you aid the Kalguurans in creating a new tradition in the gloomy realm of Wraeclast.

A Reunion with the Kalguurans

In the game “Settlers of Kalguur,” players will reconnect with previous Expedition League members: Dannig, Rog, Tujen, and Gwennen. These Kalguuran explorers are tasked with establishing a prosperous trade network between their native land and Wraeclast. Heading this initiative is Johan, the King’s Advisor, who is enlisting laborers, merchants, and outcasts to construct a new city called Kingsmarch.

The Birth of Kingsmarch

Your adventure kicks off in Lioneye’s Watch, where Johan shares his ambitious plan for developing Kingsmarch. Originating from simple roots – just a solitary tavern in an open field – the ultimate objective is to cultivate this small community into a thriving commercial center. As an outcast, your contribution is essential in securing the required resources and workforce to realize this dream.

Resource Gathering and Construction

Creating a city is an intricate process involving the acquisition of numerous vital resources. During your journey, you’ll encounter a variety of minerals crucial for building. Some of these include Crimson Iron, Orichalcum, Petrified Amber, Bismuth, and Verisium. Each mineral presents unique challenges, which may require overcoming formidable adversaries to obtain them safely.

Managing Your Workforce

In the game “Settlers of Kalguur,” successful resource management is crucial. The people of Kalguur have amassed a large labor force, and it’s your responsibility to wisely hire and oversee these workers. By utilizing in-game Gold, which can now be found throughout Wraeclast, you can bring on miners and other experts to support your building projects. Each worker possesses distinct abilities and wage expenses, leaving it to you to fine-tune your workforce for optimal productivity.

Building and Upgrading

In Kingsmarch, as you collect more resources and hire additional workers, you’ll get the chance to enhance different buildings. Begin with the Tavern, which is at the core of the town, to enhance recruitment possibilities and welcome significant NPCs. Subsequently, upgrade the Mining Station to maximize miner productivity. Later on, add a Smelter for refining ores, a Disenchanter for dismantling magical artifacts, and eventually, establish farms to support your expanding community.

Trading and Shipping

As a passionate gamer of Settlers of Kalguur, I can’t emphasize enough the significance of trade in this captivating game. By forging trading relationships between Kalguuran and Karui ports, I am able to exchange resources that fuel my expanding economy. Each port brings unique incentives to the table, making every transaction an exciting opportunity. However, managing risks associated with shipping is a crucial aspect of this dynamic trading environment. Perils lurk both on land and at sea, and it’s essential to mitigate these risks by hiring specialized workers who can ensure safe passage for my valuable cargo.

Real-Time Mechanics

In Path of Exile for the first time, Kalguur’s Settlers bring real-time mechanics to life. Activities like mining, construction, and trading carry on when you’re away, giving you continuous endeavors and incentives. This game-changing addition keeps the experience engaging and immersive.

Endgame and Kalguuran Technology

At the final stage, the Kalguurans’ technological advantages become relevant. You’ll encounter Isla, a recognizable character from the Heist League, who assists you in creating enhanced Map Devices. With these devices, you can line up maps for completion and employ Atlas Runners to tackle them, generating rewards steadily. Furthermore, Runesmithing services enable you to etch potent runes onto your weapons, expanding the possibilities of customization.

Facing the Endgame Bosses

As a devoted fan, I’m excited about the expanding world of Kingsmarch and the fresh challenges it brings. In the endgame, three formidable bosses will put my strategic skills to the test. Each one presents distinct mechanics and enticing rewards. Sasan, the cunning Bandit Lord, is one such adversary. He has a knack for kidnapping my valuable workers, leaving me in a bind. Do I risk sending a rescue party, potentially losing resources or lives? Or do I pay the ransom in Gold to secure their safe return? The choice is mine, but each decision comes with its own consequences.

Quality of Life Improvements

Settlers of Kalguur also introduces significant quality of life features.

As a long-time fan of action RPG games, I’m thrilled about the latest update to Path of Exile 2. Gold, a fundamental currency in the game, now has a new function that resonates with me deeply. Previously, respecing Passive Points was a time-consuming and costly process. But now, I can use my hard-earned gold for this purpose, making character customization more flexible and efficient.

Besides that, here is a quick rundown of other quality of life features:

You no longer need to interact with Waypoints to unlock them. You can just walk by and they’ll activate automatically.
When using Keyboard & Mouse you’ll be able to pick up items from further away.
We’re adding Static Life bars to some bosses. Not all bosses will have them just yet, but we’ll be adding more over time.
You can now see which Divination Cards drop in each Map by hovering over them on your Atlas.
When you die, you can now resurrect without having to re-activate all your reservation effects like Auras and Heralds.
You can start Harvest encounters with just a single action.
The amount of Quality provided by currency items like Whetstones is now based on item level, rather than Item Rarity. Those currencies now apply 20% quality to very low level items, with that amount reducing as the item level increases.

Campaign Improvements in Settlers of Kalguur

As an excited fan, I can’t wait to share my experience with the latest addition to “The Settlers of Kalguur” game – the expansion brought by update 3.24. This new chapter brings a fresh wave of intrigue and mystery to the Campaign that I’ve been hooked on. Although not every detail is revealed here, I encourage fellow adventurers to keep their eyes peeled for new and unfamiliar elements as they progress through their journey. Here are just a few hints of what awaits us:

New Hidden Locations and Challenges:

Underground Bunker in the Refinery: Guarded by powerful robots, this mysterious bunker holds secrets waiting to be uncovered. What lies within its depths?
Mysterious Door: Unlocking this door could lead to untold riches. How will you find the key?
Underground Sewer Access Points: Discovered access points to underground sewers pose a daring challenge. Will you brave the depths to uncover what lies below?
Blighted Growths: New blighted growths have emerged in the Gardens and Sewers of Sarn, adding another layer of mystery and danger.
Vault of Riches: A vault filled with treasures awaits in the Reliquary. Will you be the one to claim its bounty?

Character Balance Improvements & Changes

Additionally, this growth brings about numerous adjustments and enhancements to character balancing. Please find the detailed modifications to the character classes and more elsewhere.

Rebalancing the Gladiator

The Gladiator character has gone through major improvements, with a stronger emphasis on its wounding and blocking functions. Some notable adjustments are:

New Passive Skills:
- War of Attrition: A new skill ideal for prolonged boss fights.
- Dual Wielding Bonuses: Holding different weapon types provides various bonuses. For instance, a dagger increases critical strike chance, while a mace enhances the area of effect.
Retaliation Skills:
- Eviscerate: Requires a shield and deals significant damage.
- Swordstorm: Designed for dual-wielding, perfect for boss battles.
- Divine Retribution: Activated by blocking, it calls down lightning bolts in an X-shape, dealing massive damage.

As a gladiator fan, I’m thrilled about these modifications! They give me more options and flexibility during combat, enabling me to customize my build according to various situations.

Introducing the Warden

The Warden, instead of being a Raider, introduces new methods for dealing damage with elements and strengthening defenses. Drawing motivation from the Affliction league’s earlier version, this character emphasizes:

Elemental Attacks:
- Shock, Freeze, and Scorch Enhancements: These elemental effects are more potent, offering diverse gameplay mechanics.
- Elemental Damage Skill: Allows for periodic bursts of high elemental damage.
Barkskin: A defensive skill that mitigates physical damage and boosts evasion after taking hits, making it a solid choice for survivability.
Tinctures:
- Alternative to Flasks: Offering powerful buffs while active, Tinctures introduce a strategic layer to combat.
- Prismatic Tincture: Increases elemental damage but adds a mana-draining debuff called Manaburn.
- Poisonberry and Rosethorn Tinctures: Cater to poison and critical strike builds respectively.

The Warden class in Path of Exile stands out with its distinct and adaptable traits, opening up fresh perspectives for interacting with the game’s intricate battle mechanics.

Core Mechanics Overhaul

The new update introduces significant modifications to the fundamental game mechanics, making it easier to access strong abilities and promoting a more evenly matched game environment.

Melee Skills

Removal of Melee Totem Skill Gems: Encourages direct engagement and rewards players for personal combat.
Damage Buffs: Most melee skills now deal approximately 75% more damage at level 20. For example, Heavy Strike’s attack damage increased from 313% to 552%, and Sweep’s from 281% to 664%.
Defensive Options: Introduction of new base types with higher defensive values in endgame content. Additionally, life modifiers on equipment have been buffed, with Body Armours providing up to 189 additional maximum life.

Quality and Endurance Charges

Quality Changes: Now applied multiplicatively, offering a 20% increase in physical damage for weapons and a 20% increase in local defenses for armors.
Endurance Charges: No longer grant elemental resistances but provide additional elemental damage reduction, making them more synergistic with resistances.

Passive Tree and Skill Gem Changes

Revised Block and Life Leech Passives: Easier access to block cap and improved life leech passives.
Flesh & Stone Rework: Now offers damage mitigation in Sand Stance and increased physical damage in Blood Stance, favoring melee or close-range gameplay.
Ward and Rage Enhancements: Ward items have faster restoration, and rage now offers multiplicative attack damage, with more ways to invest in the mechanic.

Offensive and Utility Adjustments

Mana Management: New clusters in the passive tree make mana management easier for attackers.
Weapon Buffs: Higher critical strike chances for wands, daggers, sceptres, claws, and staves, with increased attack speed for wands.
Impale and Warcry Buffs: Improved impale passives and more significant, universal warcry buffs.
Banners and Rage Rework: Banners now require placement for activation but offer powerful effects. Rage mechanics are more accessible and powerful as a baseline.

Endgame Content Improvements & Changes in Update 3.25

Let’s move on to our extensive walkthrough for Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur. Today, we’ll discuss the enhancements and modifications in the endgame content that were introduced with Version 3.25.

Scarabs and Map Device Slot

Scarabs have been given a makeover with new features for greater diversity and tactical complexity. The finer points can be found in the update notes, but here’s a sneak peek at some of the exciting enhancements:

Titan Scarab of Legend
Divination Scarab of Pilfering
Cartography Scarab of Escalation

An additional Map Device Slot is now available, which you unlock after finishing 10-Way Maven Encounters for the first time. With this new slot, along with the one you gain from completing your initial Tier 17 Map, there are now six slots in total. This expansion enables more intricate Scarab setups, increasing both challenge and rewards.

New Special Encounters: The Nameless Seer

An exciting new addition to this update is the emergence of unique encounters during the endgame. One of these encounters is the enigmatic Nameless Seer, who makes an appearance in Tier 16 and 17 maps. This non-playable character bestows players with a variety of exclusive items, giving them the freedom to pick one for no cost. In Tier 16 maps, the Seer introduces a fresh feature called “Map Scrying.” With this ability, players can trade Divination Card drops between maps on their Atlas. Nevertheless, no single map can be swapped more than once at a time, and previous changes can be reversed using a Scouring Orb.

League Updates and New Content

Several leagues have received significant updates to enhance their gameplay and rewards:

Blight League:
- Atlas Passive Skill Changes: Improved passives for better rewards.
- Double-Anointed Amulets: Can now drop in Blight-Ravaged Maps.
- New Oil: Exclusively dropping from Blighted and Blight-Ravaged Maps, used to anoint secret notables on amulets.
Ritual League:
- New and Reworked Base Types: Fresh items to discover.
- New Unique Items: Exclusive drops from rituals.
- Spectre Corpses: New options for raising as spectres.
- King in the Mists Fragment: Grants access to a boss fight from the Affliction League, dropping familiar unique items and a modular jewel from the Necropolis league.
Affliction League:
- Wildwood Encounter: Now found in Tier 16 and 17 maps, offering a mysterious forest filled with magical Wisps that empower monsters, increasing danger and rewards.
Sentinel League:
- Random Sentinels: Found near map starts, follow players and buff nearby monsters, enhancing difficulty and rewards.
Kalandra League:
- Reflective Mist: Offers a jewelry item with enhanced or inverted modifier values, or a Reflecting Mist item to apply the effect to existing jewelry at a chosen time.

Simulacrum and Beast Updates

Simulacrum: Removed the first fifteen waves, making encounters more engaging and rebalancing rewards to improve the chances of finding unique jewels.
Beasts: Added beasts from Einhar’s Memory of Harvest Beasts, including the Black Morrigan, to the core pool.

New Chisel Types and Map Changes

Chisel Types: Introduced new chisels that increase map bonuses such as item quantity, rarity, pack size, and chances for currency items, Divination Cards, and Scarabs. Quality application rates vary by map tier, with higher quality for lower-tier maps.
Tier 17 Maps: Now more versatile with additional currency types for rerolling, including Chisels and Vaal Orbs. The difficulty of these maps has been adjusted to better fit progression, with reduced monster life and damage.

Valdo’s Puzzle Boxes

As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I’ve seen it all – from frustratingly low drop rates to overpowered loot systems that devalue the sense of achievement. However, I’m pleased to report that the recent update to Valdo’s Puzzle Boxes strikes a great balance.

Much-Need Console Improvements

In addition to enhancing the fundamental mechanics of Path of Exile, the developers at Settlers of Kalguur have made significant upgrades specifically for console users.

As a dedicated gamer on the latest console generation, I’m thrilled to share that the Path of Exile team has been putting in countless hours to optimize our gaming experience for PS5 and Xbox Series consoles. With their unwavering commitment, players like me can now savor an array of upgrades specifically tailored to leverage the state-of-the-art hardware capabilities. Here’s a sneak peek into what these enhancements mean for us:

Enhanced Performance and Visual Fidelity

Reduced Loading Times and Pop-In:

Loading Times: Thanks to the improved hardware, loading times have been significantly reduced. Players can now jump into the action more swiftly, without lengthy waits between scenes.
Reduced Pop-In: The issue of texture pop-in has been addressed, ensuring a more seamless visual experience. Scenes now load more smoothly, with fewer interruptions in texture rendering.

Texture Management:

Consistent Textures: In heavily populated scenes, textures will no longer start unloading. This ensures that the visual quality remains high even during the most intense battles.

Improved Visual Fidelity:

High-Resolution Textures: Path of Exile now utilizes the highest available resolution textures, making every detail of the game world sharper and more defined.
Water Effects: The water effects have been upgraded to offer more realistic and visually stunning representations of in-game water bodies.

Advanced Upscaling and Anti-Aliasing:

New Upscaling Algorithm: A new upscaling algorithm enhances the crispness of dynamic resolution, ensuring that the game looks great even when the resolution changes during gameplay.
Anti-Aliasing Pass: An additional anti-aliasing pass has been implemented, reducing jagged edges and providing a smoother visual experience.

Support for Variable Refresh Rate (VRR):

VRR Support: Players with VRR-compatible TVs and monitors can enjoy a smoother gaming experience with reduced screen tearing and stutter. This feature is available on PS5 and all modern Xbox consoles.

Customizable Visual Settings

Players can customize their graphics settings now to suit their individual preferences. The game’s options let you select which aspect to prioritize:

Resolution: Prioritize the highest possible resolution for sharp, clear visuals.
Image Quality: Enhance overall image quality, including texture detail and visual effects.
Target Frame Rate: Aim for the smoothest gameplay experience by focusing on achieving a higher frame rate.

Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur Drops on July 26th

After going over all the details in our extensive guide for Path of Exile: Settlers of Kalguur, it’s time for you to experience the expansion firsthand and discover its hidden gems!

2024-07-23 00:47