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Nightfall Shield Interactions & Theorycraft for 0.5 | Path of Exile 2: Return of the Ancients

By DreamcoreWatch videoDuration: PT12M53S

Summary

  • Nightfall Unique Shield: A pinnacle boss drop from Breach bosses Esh and Tul, featuring high base stats and a unique skill set.
  • Base Stat Buffs: Armour and evasion base types from Act 3 through the endgame are receiving a ~41% buff to base defensive values in Patch 0.5.
  • Skill Mechanics: The shield provides a flip-skill: Soaring Midnight (shield throw) and Embrace the Fall (teleport slam).
  • Titan Ascendancy Synergies: Titan is a primary candidate for this shield due to Earthbreaker (Aftershock chance) and Hulking Form (AoE scaling).
  • Cooldown Management: The 4-second cooldown can be bypassed by destroying ice crystals with the slam or mitigated via Cooldown Recovery Rate (CDR) and the Chronomancer ascendancy.
  • Weapon Scaling: Optimal “stat sticks” include two-handed maces (via Giant’s Blood), unique sceptres like Sacred Flame, or triple-extra-gain wands.

Unique Shield: Nightfall and Base Type Changes

The Nightfall unique shield is expected to be a pinnacle drop from the new Breach bosses, Esh and Tul. Observations from recent teasers indicate several changes to game systems:

  • Tower Shield Tooltip: A new “Tower Shield” tooltip indicates these are pure strength-based shields. This classification likely clarifies their unique ability to inflict Daze after a successful shield bash using the Raise Shield skill.
  • Armour Buffs: The shield exhibits much higher armour than current versions. This reflects a global update to Act 3+ and endgame gear, providing roughly 41% more base armour on Fortress Tower Shield bases compared to Patch 0.4.
  • Stat Composition: Damage for the shield’s inherent skills scales partially based on the armour value of the shield and partially on skill level.

Nightfall Skills: Soaring Midnight and Embrace the Fall

Nightfall grants a skill that changes state while the shield is in flight:

  1. Soaring Midnight:
    • Throws the shield; has a four-second cooldown.
    • If the second skill is not used, the shield returns and the cooldown resets.
    • 50% of physical damage is converted to cold.
    • Features a high base critical strike chance (approximately 10%).
  2. Embrace the Fall:
    • Available only while the shield is in flight.
    • Teleports the player to the shield’s location and performs a slam attack.
    • Classified as a melee slam.
    • Destruction of an Ice Crystal with this slam resets the skill’s cooldown.
    • Appears to have no mana or resource cost based on current footage.

Titan Interaction and Ancestral Empowerment

Analysis of Titan gameplay footage shows specific interactions with the Ancestral Empowerment node:

  • Slam Recognition: Despite the “Slam” tag on both parts of the skill, only Embrace the Fall (the teleport slam) appears to count as a slam for the purposes of triggering Ancestral Empowerment.
  • Counter-Mechanics: This differs from skills like Devour Wyvern, which always counts as a slam regardless of distance. With Nightfall, the initial throw (Soaring Midnight) does not seem to advance the ancestral boost counter.

Scaling Aftershocks and Area of Effect

Titan remains a strong choice for Nightfall due to aftershock investment:

  • Earthbreaker Node: Grants 25% global aftershock chance for slams.
  • Aftershock Stacking:
    • Aftershock Support: 35% chance.
    • Behemoth Notable: 5% chance.
    • Archaic Rune of the Titan: 10% chance (requires a two-handed mace and Giant’s Blood).
    • Total: 75% chance for Embrace the Fall to trigger an aftershock.
  • AoE Scaling: The Hulking Form node, combined with small passive effect scaling around the Warrior tree, allows for massive area-of-effect increases for the teleport slam.

Weapon Options (Stat Sticks)

Since the shield provides the base damage, the main-hand weapon acts as a stat stick.

Two-Handed Maces (via Giant’s Blood)

  • Rimnor’s Hymn: Sets aftershock chance to 100% for all slam attacks, providing essentially double damage for Embrace the Fall without further investment.
  • Rare Maces: Potentially stronger than uniques. Desirable modifiers include:
    • Up to 139% increased elemental damage with attacks.
    • High accuracy rating.
    • +5 or +6 to all melee skill levels (expected nerf from +7).
    • “Damage as extra elemental” via Perfect Essences or Abyss crafting.

Wands and Sceptres

  • Triple-Gain Wands: Wands with multiple “Gain Physical Damage as Extra Elemental Damage” modifiers are viable if intelligence requirements are met.
  • Nebuloch: Useful for guaranteeing critical strikes if the build has consistent endurance charge generation.
  • Sacred Flame (Unique Sceptre): Provides up to 60% physical damage gained as extra fire. It causes enemies to resist elemental damage based on their lowest resistance, allowing cold-penetration builds to benefit from the fire damage.
  • Guiding Palm of the Eye: Another sceptre option for builds needing extra spirit.

Managing the Cooldown

The 4-second cooldown is a significant bottleneck. Strategies to bypass or reduce it include:

  • Ice Crystal Generation:
    • Cast on Crit + Frost Wall: Potentially triggers ice crystals on the shield throw to be shattered by the slam.
    • Midnight Zenith: A unique amulet showcased to spawn ice crystals on critical hits.
  • Cooldown Recovery Rate (CDR):
    • Atziri’s Impatience Support: Provides 100% increased CDR (reducing the cooldown to 2 seconds) but costs 25% of Life, Mana, and Energy Shield on use.
    • Temporalis: An endgame option for massive CDR.
  • Chronomancer Rework: The Patch 0.5 Chronomancer rework may provide new ways to bypass cooldowns or provide significant inherent CDR, making it a potential alternative to Titan.

Key References