HUGE Last Minute Patch Note Changes for PoE 2 0.5 Return of the Ancients
Summary
- Ancestral Bond Changes: The Keystone no longer makes totems cost nothing. Totems now have a base mana cost, which introduces significant mana management challenges, especially for builds using Mind Over Matter (MoM) or Eldritch Battery.
- Spell Totem Clarification: Despite having the “Spell” tag, the act of summoning a Spell Totem is not considered a spell. Consequently, increased mana costs added to spells do not apply to the totem placement cost.
- Minion Damage Buff: Minions received a substantial late-game damage buff (25–35% more against non-unique enemies; 20–25% more against unique enemies) to compensate for a bug in version 0.3 that had incorrectly reduced their damage.
Ancestral Bond and Totem Mana Costs
The most impactful change involves the removal of the “no cost” modifier from the Ancestral Bond keystone. Totems now incur a base mana cost, which can range significantly depending on the archetype. This change has several negative implications for totem-focused builds:
- Mana Management: Because totems cannot leech mana and do not benefit from “mana on kill” effects, players must rely on base mana regeneration and mana flasks. This creates substantial mana pressure, particularly when players must frequently recast multiple totems.
- Mind Over Matter (MoM): Using MoM is now more difficult because the increased mana costs and totem recasting can quickly deplete the mana pool, leaving players without a defensive layer.
- Eldritch Battery: This keystone effectively doubles the mana cost, making it a significant downside for totem builds that previously relied on free totem placement.
- Scaling Issues: Nodes on the passive tree that increase mana costs—previously considered efficient or neutral—now function as significant drawbacks for totem builds.
Clarification on Mechanics: Although Spell Totems have the “Spell” tag, the game distinguishes between the summons and the spell socketed within the totem. Summoning the totem itself is not a spell, meaning that mana cost increases specifically targeting spells will not affect the totem’s placement cost. However, global mana cost increases will still apply.
Minion Damage Adjustments
Minions have received significant buffs to address a previous bug in patch 0.3 that resulted in lower-than-intended damage output. The update effectively restores this lost power, making minion-based builds highly competitive.
- Damage Multipliers: Minions now deal 25% to 35% more damage against non-unique enemies and 20% to 25% more damage against unique enemies.
- Effectiveness: These changes apply to virtually all minion types, significantly increasing their potential to clear content.
Other Notable Changes
- Blood Magic: For builds using the Blood Magic keystone and associated mechanics, life flasks will no longer recover life if the specific flask-damage interaction is active. Players instead gain a small amount of life flask recovery per mana spent.