Give Mageblood a build variance increasing trade-off!

For me, Mageblood is a 95% perfect unique.

I like how it enables builds through its flexibility that otherwise would not be possible.
At the same time, I quite dislike how it homogenise builds at the top end.
It's just that good. A 4-flask Mageblood is the BiS belt for the large majority of builds.

Because of that, I would like a small change to Mageblood that should increase build variance and at the same time give 2- and 3-flask Magebloods a proper use case.

Old Mageblood
----------------------------------------------
+(25-35) to Strength

+(30-50) to Dexterity
+(15-25)% to Fire Resistance
+(15-25)% to Cold Resistance
Magic Utility Flasks cannot be Used
Leftmost (2-4) Magic Utility Flasks constantly apply their Flask Effects to you
Magic Utility Flask Effects cannot be removed
----------------------------------------------

New Mageblood
----------------------------------------------
+(25-35) to Strength

+(30-50) to Dexterity
+(15-25)% to Fire Resistance
+(15-25)% to Cold Resistance
Leftmost (2-4 / number of flasks) Magic Utility Flasks cannot be Used
Leftmost (number of flasks) Magic Utility Flasks constantly apply their Flask Effects to you
Leftmost (number of flasks) Magic Utility Flask Effects applied to you have ((number of flasks)*(5.0-7.5))% less Effect
Magic Utility Flask Effects cannot be removed
----------------------------------------------

The (number of flasks) is the same for all modifiers.
This gives a trade-off between quality of life and power.
It also gives less than 4 flask Magebloods a good use case.
Allowing other magic utility flasks to be used again, allows for more variance within QoL vs. temp power trade-off.
The less effect modifier can also be adjusted in small increments by GGG, until they find the correct spot, where Mageblood still is a deserved T0 unique chase item, but doesn't invalidate all other belt options.

Absolutely not. Hard pass.

I’d actually argue the opposite, Mageblood could really benefit from a buff to make it an even more appealing item and currency sink.

Imagine if it could roll anywhere from zero to five flasks, with a wide range of possible values for increased flask effect, somewhere between -40% and +80%. That kind of volatility would make using Divine Orbs on it feel like a real gamble, but the payoff would be well worth it.

This change would make Mageblood an even stronger t0 unique and currency sink. If you have a big one, throwing a double corrupt on it would become way more exciting. At the same time, it would increase the FOMO around the item, which is always a good thing.

"even more appealing"? Are you joking? Look at poeninja builds, it's already on 4 out of 5 builds. And it dirty cheap for such item. It should be either nerfed or reduce drop rate by 10x to increase it price.

Orrr, they buff the other T0's to match MB power. xD

"

felix0808#2550 wrote:

"even more appealing"? Are you joking? Look at poeninja builds, it's already on 4 out of 5 builds. And it dirty cheap for such item. It should be either nerfed or reduce drop rate by 10x to increase it price.

I’m being completely honest here, adding some form of roll variability to Mageblood would actually help balance the item, especially given how powerful it is. Low rolls would be weaker than the current Mageblood, while high or max rolls would be stronger and much more valuable, making those versions rarer and harder to find.

Also, your claim that Mageblood is used in “4 out of 5 builds” is simply wrong. According to PoE Ninja, it’s actually around 41%. That’s a huge difference, and it really matters if we’re going to argue about nerfs or price adjustments. Getting your numbers right is the first step to a credible argument.

Since it doesn’t seem like you own one, the “too cheap” argument feels like an exaggeration, or just a way to express FOMO without admitting it.

Even without any changes, Mageblood is in a solid spot for what it costs. With roughly 60% of players unable to get their hands on one despite its relatively low price, and that price only dropping as the league progresses, it clearly holds good value for what it offers.

Like another user suggested, instead of changing something that works well, the better approach would be to make other t0 items stronger and more appealing. But I have to admit, the idea of introducing a range of possible rolls, where you could get a much stronger Mageblood but also risk ending up with a pretty unusable one is still quite appealing. It would definitely send FOMO levels through the roof.

@void makes a very good point. Its one that GGG is shown to agree with.

But I think its a mistake. Adding MORE variability in like 99% of cases only really accomplishes one thing: makes everything below a certain, much smaller, threshold completely worthless. Even MORE than a 2-flask mageblood already is, which is the opposite of what is desired in this thread.

Consider things like Darkness Enthroned, or bad Timeless jewels, bad flesh/flame, Adorned, etc. The variance in these cause the entire value of 90% or more of those that drop to be ENTIRELY dependent on its rarity as opposed to any kind of utility. That's just....not what I ever want to see happen to ultra rare items. I even think its bad that GGG seems to choose that way at all....

Let the item be absurdly rare....but when it drops, let it be GOOD when it drops. This is one of the worst things about bossing in the endgame or wild itemization in general.


Imagine the player that FINALLY gathers enough cards to get a mageblood, or finds a mageblood drop after leagues and hundreds of hours of play.........only to identify it and have it be utterly useless trash thanks to variance. That might be the single most upsetting thing that can happen to a player, ever. Short of maybe dying 10% away from level 100 in Hardcore.



Basically....keep it OUT of the crafting, bring the power back to the actual DROP. This should especially be true of uniques across the board.

0 reason to nerf MB, and you don't even play trade league or have MB on any of your characters, so why are you asking for a nerf if you don't use it or have 1

[Removed by Support]

"

VoidWhisperer42#5989 wrote:

Also, your claim that Mageblood is used in “4 out of 5 builds” is simply wrong. According to PoE Ninja, it’s actually around 41%. That’s a huge difference, and it really matters if we’re going to argue about nerfs or price adjustments. Getting your numbers right is the first step to a credible argument.

You need to adjust your level range in POE ninja, since you are so concerned with getting the numbers right.

The % of players using it goes up in the 90's, up to 65% of players using mageblood at level 99.

The 96-99 range is more representitive of a player's desired end-game state, making the % of players using it 60-65%.

"

cowmoo275#3095 wrote:

@void makes a very good point. Its one that GGG is shown to agree with.

But I think its a mistake. Adding MORE variability in like 99% of cases only really accomplishes one thing: makes everything below a certain, much smaller, threshold completely worthless. Even MORE than a 2-flask mageblood already is, which is the opposite of what is desired in this thread.

Consider things like Darkness Enthroned, or bad Timeless jewels, bad flesh/flame, Adorned, etc. The variance in these cause the entire value of 90% or more of those that drop to be ENTIRELY dependent on its rarity as opposed to any kind of utility. That's just....not what I ever want to see happen to ultra rare items. I even think its bad that GGG seems to choose that way at all....

Let the item be absurdly rare....but when it drops, let it be GOOD when it drops. This is one of the worst things about bossing in the endgame or wild itemization in general.


Imagine the player that FINALLY gathers enough cards to get a mageblood, or finds a mageblood drop after leagues and hundreds of hours of play.........only to identify it and have it be utterly useless trash thanks to variance. That might be the single most upsetting thing that can happen to a player, ever. Short of maybe dying 10% away from level 100 in Hardcore.



Basically....keep it OUT of the crafting, bring the power back to the actual DROP. This should especially be true of uniques across the board.

based.