Dear GGG Development Team,
In Season 0.4 "Vaal League", Curse COC Blood Mage dominates Temple farming. This is due to core design mismatches, not just numbers. Below are key issues and suggestions:
In Season 0.4 "Vaal League", there is a severe imbalance in the Temple of Atzoatl gameplay: the Curse COC Blood Mage build dominates almost all high-efficiency temple farming, while other builds struggle to compete. This imbalance is not solely due to numerical advantages; instead, it is rooted in three critical issues. We hope you will pay attention to these core problems and make targeted optimizations:
Core Issues Leading to Blood Mage's MonopolyKey Issues
1. Curse COC Blood Mage Deals High Damage and Ignores Terrain: Curse skills (e.g., Enfeeble, Despair) inherently possess terrain-ignoring, large-area AOE characteristics. When combined with the COC (Cast on Crit) mechanism, they convert high-frequency curse applications into high-damage spell bursts. Equipped with the "Ritual Curse" support gem, the skill range can cover over 6 screens, allowing the build to deal massive damage to all enemies in the room without being hindered by any obstacles.
2. Abnormally Low Enemy Aggro in Temple Rooms: The aggro range and active pursuit willingness of enemies in temple rooms are significantly lower than those in regular maps. Most enemies often "afk" in corners and do not actively engage players. As a result, players have to spend a great deal of time searching every corner to clear all remaining enemies—a time-consuming process that seriously impacts farming efficiency.
3. Other Classes' Damage Dealers Are Either Weak or Terrain-Restricted: For most other builds, their damage output methods face obvious shortcomings in temple terrain. Linear projectile skills (e.g., Lightning Arrow, Ice Spear) are easily blocked by stairs, pillars, and equipment; melee skills require constant movement to reach enemies in segmented areas, leading to low damage efficiency. These limitations make it almost impossible for other classes to compete with Curse COC Blood Mage in temple farming.
Targeted Optimization SuggestionsSuggestions
4. Low Enemy Aggro in Temple: Temple enemies often afk; Curse COC's AOE clears them without aggro, saving massive search time.
1. Curse Skills Ignore Terrain: Temple terrain (stairs, pillars) blocks most skills, but curse skills (with Ritual Curse) cover large areas unobstructed.
1. Adjust Curse Skills to Mitigate Terrain-Ignoring Advantage: Introduce appropriate terrain constraints for curse skills, such as reducing damage or range when passing through obstacles. This will weaken the build's excessive advantage in terrain-segmented rooms and align its performance with other skill types.
2. Normalize Enemy Aggro in Temples: Increase the aggro range and active pursuit behavior of temple enemies to match the standard of regular maps. This eliminates the need for players to search for idle enemies everywhere and ensures fair farming conditions for all builds.
3. Optimize Other Classes' Adaptability to Temple Terrain: For linear projectile skills, add a certain degree of obstacle penetration; for melee skills, introduce area damage bonuses or short-range displacement effects when facing multiple enemies. This helps other classes overcome terrain restrictions and improve their damage efficiency in temples.
The current monopoly of Curse COC Blood Mage has seriously damaged the diversity of temple gameplay, making most other builds unviable in this core seasonal content. Addressing the above three issues will effectively rebalance the gameplay meta, restore fair competition among different builds, and enhance the overall gaming experience for all players. We sincerely hope you will investigate these problems and implement corresponding optimizations.Blood Mage's dominance hurts gameplay diversity. Fixing these issues will rebalance the temple meta. Thank you.
4. Normalize Temple Enemy Aggro: Match temple enemy aggro to regular maps.
1. Restrict Curse Skills on Terrain: Add terrain limits (reduced range/damage) to curse skills.
Best regards,
A Path of Exile 2 Player
