Extremely misleading description on Faithguard

I am trying to build around the Maximum ES conversion of Faithguard. While it said "Increases and reductions to maximum energy shield instead apply to ward", flat +- to max ES is not considered as "Increase/Reduction" is an extremely ambiguous description for the players to understand.
I am not the only player falling into the trap of this and it is just a poor design for either the Item or the mechanic.


https://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/3152871

I don't see anything that says converted. You can get a higher maximum ward. It's not giving you ward instead of ES.

Increases and Reductions to Maximum Energy Shield instead apply to Ward

There's nothing ambiguous about it.

How do you understand an armour modifier of "+120 to Maximum Engergy shield"?

To me, the sign "+" is an increase, the term "Maximum Energy shield" is matching
the same term of max ES in Faithguard "Increases and reductions to maximum energy shield instead apply to ward".

So before getting the Faithguard helmet, I believe I will get +120 to ward when equipped the helmet.


In result? It did not. The +120 max ES still applied to my ES.

Let me know if you still think is it not confusing/misleading. Maybe my original post is not clear, I have amended based on your comments.

The words "increase(d)" and "Reduce(d)" are both very specific, additive terms in PoE. Long-time PoE players know this very well, and know that flat additions as well as "more" multipliers do not count as "increases".

A person would need an unhealthy lack of empathy to not understand that this can be confusing for new players. Luckily, the answers are usually just one wiki page away.

there is no description here:"Maximum Energy shield instead applies to ward", dude wtf. Say more even about more/less, haha

"

Phrazz wrote:

The words "increase(d)" and "Reduce(d)" are both very specific, additive terms in PoE. Long-time PoE players know this very well, and know that flat additions as well as "more" multipliers do not count as "increases".

A person would need an unhealthy lack of empathy to not understand that this can be confusing for new players. Luckily, the answers are usually just one wiki page away.

Thank you for understanding.
I think if I would have to check the wiki to get clarification of a simple English term of increase, there is something fundamentally wrong. It just take a small adjustment on the description like, "Increases and reductions of % to maximum energy shield instead apply to ward" would fix it and make it clear.

While if it is in the first place designed to convert max ES to ward, both % and flat should be included. The philosophy in the design of Faithguard is just too bad with this partial function in ES to ward conversion. It makes the most sense that all modifier on Max ES should apply to ward.

"

Offfit wrote:

there is no description here:"Maximum Energy shield instead applies to ward", dude wtf. Say more even about more/less, haha

Sorry, I dont understand what you are trying to express. Because the helmet did mention "Increases and reductions to maximum energy shield instead apply to ward". May I am missing something. Or you are saying +- is not increase but more/less?

"

hangron6 wrote:

While if it is in the first place designed to convert max ES to ward, both % and flat should be included. The philosophy in the design of Faithguard is just too bad with this partial function in ES to ward conversion. It makes the most sense that all modifier on Max ES should apply to ward.

If they wanted to convert max ES to ward, then instead of making modifiers apply to Ward they could just directly convert the stat, like what Iron Reflexes does with Evasion Rating.

The item's concept is more about giving you other ways to scale up your ward. Normally you'd only be able to scale Ward with the rolls on the items granting Ward themselves, and maybe the +% global defences modifier from Skin of the Lords or a Grasping Mail.

"

hangron6 wrote:

I think if I would have to check the wiki to get clarification of a simple English term of increase, there is something fundamentally wrong. It just take a small adjustment on the description like, "Increases and reductions of % to maximum energy shield instead apply to ward" would fix it and make it clear.

While "increase" is a simple word, it's also used here as a technical term. Using a simple word means that its effect is easily understood, but being a technical term means that you can't expect that anything matching the simple definition to apply when the game refers to the term.

If treating it as a simple word, your adjusted description would also be inaccurate because More and Less modifiers don't apply either. While this doesn't seem like it would impact this interaction, because I don't see any More or Less modifiers to ES on the wiki, it could impact it in the future--and would impact other things in the game which use the same terminology.

For example, Increases and Reductions to Spell Damage can be made to apply to Attacks in a few ways. Some attacks naturally have it (Power Siphon, Kinetic Blast, Kinetic Bolt), but any attack can get this when equipping Crown of Eyes. There are also More modifiers to Spell Damage (Righteous Fire, Inner Conviction), but they do not affect Attacks even with Crown of Eyes equipped.

GGG in most cases is extremely specific in their wording. "Increases and Reductions to Maximum Energy Shield instead apply to Ward," specifically states "Increases and Reductions." No other source of Maximum Energy Shield will be modified. Learning to read things exactly as they are is a developed skill in PoE that stymies most of us from time to time. The only way to learn is to study the game mechanics. Very little is self-evident to a casual/new player, but almost everything does exactly what it says. The only thing coming to mind is the word "nearby" various significantly each time it is used.