[PoE 2] A New Broken Jewel in Path of Exile 2 - Patch 0.5 - // Return of the Ancients
Summary
- Introduction of Voices: A returning unique jewel from Path of Exile 1, appearing in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5 with significant power.
- Socket Mechanics: The jewel consumes one jewel slot to provide two, three, or four additional slots.
- Lack of Downsides: Unlike its predecessor, the current version lacks passive point requirements, making it seemingly mandatory for all end-game builds.
- Economic Impact: Farming Delirium and Simulacrum content is expected to be highly profitable due to the high demand for this jewel.
- Balance Concerns: The jewel may discourage build diversity if it remains a “best-in-slot” item without trade-offs.
The Power of the Voices Jewel
The Voices unique jewel is being introduced in Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5. Its effect is simple but incredibly powerful: it consumes one jewel slot on the passive tree to grant multiple additional slots. There are three known variations of the jewel:
- Adds two jewel slots.
- Adds three jewel slots.
- Adds four jewel slots (extremely rare).
When equipped, these additional slots appear in the UI next to the character portrait in the center of the screen. This allows for a massive increase in power by enabling the use of more jewels than a standard build could otherwise support.
Comparison to Path of Exile 1
In Path of Exile 1, Voices is a Large Cluster Jewel. It has a significant downside: to access the jewel sockets it provides, players must spend passive skill points on “Nothing” nodes. The number of wasted points depends on the quality of the roll.
In Path of Exile 2, the jewel currently appears to have no such downside. It fits into a regular jewel socket and provides the extra slots immediately. Even the lowest variation (granting two slots) results in a net gain of one extra socket with no sacrifice of passive points. This makes the jewel feel mandatory for any build looking to maximize its potential.
Acquisition and Economic Predictions
Based on Path of Exile 1 mechanics, Voices will likely drop from Simulacrum content or a boss specifically related to the Delirium mechanic.
Because this jewel will be a “must-have” for almost every build, farming the associated Delirium boss in Patch 0.5 will likely be one of the most profitable activities in the game. The demand for even the lowest-tier Voices will be high, while the four-socket version will serve as a premier “chase item” for the wealthiest players.
Impact on Build Diversity and The Adorned
There is a concern that Voices will negatively impact build diversity. If every build requires the same unique jewel to be optimal, customization suffers. While many players associate extra jewel sockets with The Adorned (a jewel that boosts the power of magic jewels), Voices is broken for all builds, regardless of whether they utilize magic jewel scaling.
Currently, the jewel is limited to one per character, which prevents completely over-the-top stacking, but its inclusion still feels like a requirement rather than a choice.
Proposed Balancing Changes
To ensure the jewel doesn’t become a mandatory item that stifles variety, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) should consider adding downsides similar to the original version. Suggested balances include:
- Passive Point Sacrifice: Requiring players to allocate a certain number of passive points to “unlock” the extra sockets.
- Tiered Penalties:
- The two-socket version could require sacrificing three skill tree points.
- The three-socket version could require sacrificing two skill tree points.
- The four-socket version could have no penalty, maintaining its status as an ultra-rare, high-value drop.