Why am I not able to get a Trarthan gem while in campaign?

Looking at a Chain Hook of Trarthus gem while in act 8, and I can't select it for the Merc reward.

Anyone know why?

the trarthan gems show up in their bags, but only after the campaign. You don't get to take it off their actual skills.

I agree though, this was a poorly thought out decision. The skill gems aren't so powerful that they needed to be gated like that. In fact, they should have been far more common so people could explore the new skill gems.

Like....nearly every single other skill gem that has ever been introduced to the game. I can't remember a single time they were gated behind finishing the campaign.



We should have been able to have another option upon finding an infamous merc: change a skill gem into a random trarthan skill.


It's these kinds of "small" errors in design and judgment that make me play PoE less and less in these more recent patches. The developers appear to be hindering their own design and fun for no reason...and no one calls them out on it in the office. How were mercs released so broken in the first place that it required 4 patches of nerfs to stop them from one-shotting every single build? How are we unable to have ANY control over their skills except a full rng encounter? Why does exiling mercs get rid of an entire CLASS of merc, and not just that type? Why do we only have 3 merc slots? Why are lvl 84 mercs found in t17 maps offering trasmutes as their rewards and carrying gear that wouldn't have made it out of the campaign? Etc. Etc.

Just so many bad ideas that should have never left the brainstorming table. And yet every single one gets through and compounds. It's been the same with most of the past leagues. Tons of really obvious....bad design flaws that any regular PoE player could have pointed out, and did point out almost immediately.