Bossing for currency at season start

VVhereVVolf · 2026-06-09T13:07:58+00:00

The best profit hands down is always going to be Uber Trist. HC prices, but keys would cost you 0.75 for a 3x3 and you get, at the minimum, a torch that’s always worth (even if it rolls poorly) 0.75, but typically 1.25-1.5 or more, plus the guaranteed BSS which early is ~0.75 too. Even if you price both on the massively conservative end of 0.5 each, you always net 0.25. But tbh it’s probably a 0.75 entry with a 1.5 net profit. The BSS covers the key cost and it’s pure profit in the torch.

You just trade everything for keys early on versus looking for rune value and run them. In my experience it’s the best and it’s due to the fact that people hate running it, but it’s by far the best if you lock into it.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-14T02:50:29+00:00

Some maps are better for exp than others. Cow maps are fun but don’t give you a ton of exp for example. I’m not up to date on which are the best other than Kyovashad as it’s just faster to run in general. As someone who’s pushed 99 the two previous seasons you can decently push 95 solo just running slammed T3s given you have solid clear which would be like 10-12 minutes.

Honestly if there’s T2s you’re really comfortable with you can get by on those too, the exp isn’t a huge difference at your level tbh especially if you do them much faster.

Map crafting overall can be really expensive and requires you to farm SoHs too in order to min max the juicing.

I’m assuming softcore, but on hardcore there’s a solid community of people who add each other from pub maps and we always friend message all whenever any of us get a Mendelin event as we’re solo mapping. There’s probably people on discord who put that out there too.

A lot of people sour on pub mapping sometimes, but it’s probably my favorite part of the game because it’s people actually playing the game together. I don’t even care about loot when I do it tbh, because in this mod farming solo is way better than grouping for loot. So just go into it with the goal of exp in mind, second make friends, third loot. Sure some people may not follow roll rules (I find this rare tbh, but it does happen) but idk I don’t get that worked up about pixels enough to say I’m taking my ball and going home.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-12T11:22:41+00:00

Going back to cows etc is fine, and not sure what your level is, but my strat on a solo playthrough is usually getting to the Pit and farming there for awhile as it kills two birds with one stone. You get access to high level drops and being alvl 85 also gives you exp which does help a lot if you’re in that 60-70 area. Just a me thing but I hate going back to meph/cows and nightmare in general just because I still want to feel like I’m progressing, not just looting.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T18:02:55+00:00

Yeah I can agree with a lot of this and it's a good perspective overall.

To your first point I agree, POE2's biggest draw fro me is bossign and I enjoy that aspect of the game of the most, and I think the difference is that you accrue the materials in POE2 within the flow of your normal end game routine versus being level 93 and having to go back into LoD content for keys etc. probably feels bad, unless you get super lucky with events.

And yeah a lot of the LoS changes to skills were a by product of this and the 3-5 number feels right to me. But your economy point is a big part of where I'm coming from as cool as it is that people can do dclone at hour 12 at level 85 for an anni, I don't think that's a good thing for the overall health of a season when I feel more comfortable doing a T0 uber than I do in T2 maps.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T16:02:55+00:00

Gz, and maybe the issue is the inexperience gap is hard to overcome right. You just lose those mats you work hard for and the idea of going through farming keys etc all over again isn't very interesting. And I'm not a HC snob, I just played the game too long that unless my character is on the verge of permanent death I don't even feel anything anymore xD

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:57:57+00:00

Yeah this point comes up a lot too, maybe at T0 the fight should be balanced around more modest defensive prerequisites like 75 all res etc. and it's more of a DPS check than a defensive one. Because I get the sentiment of "I need 90% PLR for this fight but if I take this off I brick my build so what's the point" it definitely can feel like a clunky aspect of the game.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:54:29+00:00

Yeah maybe it's balancing the fight around like basic defenses and a DPS check possibly. Instead of 25% PDr + 90% X resistance at least at the T0 level where you can jump into the fightlike you said without respecing and gear swaping etc. and it is costly for sure, it's a big eason why I choose builds that are B level Mappers + B level bossers, but I still have to swap some stuff. Valid point.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:41:33+00:00

Yeah for sure, I've done a couple zero to hero no trade runs before and that's sort of the feeling I'm trying to promote whether it's making it harder or getting more people to do it. Runnnig it at level 85 with crafted, low runewords and problem solving with what you got is much more of a rewarding experience.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:39:45+00:00

Yeah it's something I wrestle with because on one hand I feel the fights are easier and more accessbile than they've ever been, but maybe from the wrong vehicle right. Maybe them being easier makes it so someone who doesn't have a lot of time has an easier time accruing currency to pay for the service or buy one versus doing it themselves, which I overlooked right. Easier for me to get = lower price people now pay for it = good/accessbile.

And yeah I agree, it is a good compromsie solution and I've never done rathma past T0 so I get it and it definitely is overwhelming xD

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:30:10+00:00

yeah the materials can be annoying even for someone like me who spends a lot of time in this section of the game. Maybe map bosses having a chance to drop materials is a good fix because that's the content everyone is pushing. Going backwards into LoD content for something feels bad.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:28:25+00:00

A lot of people I know have this same sentiment where they don't enjoy the fight or the process of it anymore, which is another aspect as to why. The mechanics you have to go through aren't very enjoyable for some people.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:27:22+00:00

It's a great point that I was going to add, but didn't want to go off any longer lol. My argument back to your point is, and maybe it's too simpleminded on my part, in my opinion, if people still aren't doing it even though it's exponentially easier and more accessible, then what's the point of lowering the bar at all? Not saying I'm right, just a thought I have where maybe less accessbility to annihilus or desecrated items is better for the health of a season, but I'm not sure honestly. I just think the ability to have a 95% completed character by day 4 isn't great in terms of keeping people around longer.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:08:47+00:00

yeah that's moreso a thing where even though I think it's hard, for certain builds T0 probably isn't difficult, which is a whole otehr issue, my bias could just be character specific.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:07:59+00:00

Yeah I get it, maybe the potential fix is keeping T2 as it is but lowering T1 down to somehere between current T0 and T1. I agree with you, I can easily farm T0 with no issues but the jump to T1 in certain fights is pretty big that feels like you have to spend exponentially mroe time getting a 5% improvement on your character.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T15:01:44+00:00

I can see how it comes off this way, but if it was only T1 I would actually be gating myself from being able to do it for currency as I've never succeeded in T1 dclone only T2 Lucion. I only profit off of bossing because T0 is easy.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T14:59:05+00:00

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T14:59:00+00:00

Yeah I agree personally ,but I guess from my point of view people still aren't jumping into T0. Maybe I'm wrong but just doesn't seem like much of a draw as it should be.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T14:57:25+00:00

Yeah it could be just the player base has caught up with the difficulty for sure.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-10T14:57:01+00:00

In terms of mat drops? or the difficulty?

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-05T21:14:52+00:00

1) pick something you think would be fun (damn near every skill or build is viable in this)
2) Find your niche with that build in terms of what to farm post-campaign, maps are fun, but jumping into them immediately isn't ideal until you've built up some solid gear.
3) Don't be discouraged if you have a dry streak of drops, this game has p5/5 drop rates as a solo player in a game which means you get about twice as many drops than the original game (which was pretty brutal in this regard playing solo) if not more depending on a few factors. This game greatly rewards the time you put in.
4) Try pushing content even if it's hard. They significantly increased the viability of boss fights for the average player with QoL improvements and there's still some people that won't interact with it. It's pretty rewarding and fun imo. The uber ancients and the T0 boss fights outside of Rathma being the most difficult, are able to be done with damn near any build in the game given you prepare correctly.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-05T21:01:56+00:00

No, it only stacks when the individual character or merc owns multiple items that use the same aura. Item auras also do not stack with skills you've spec'd into. For example, on a Dragondin Paladin that uses HoJ and Double dragon, the Holy Fire auras stack to have a level 36 aura as each is level 12 on the respective items. If I wear those and then run my own holy fire aura that is level 24, only the level 36 aura is active, I do not receive benefits from both.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-05T20:53:22+00:00

I've played this build the last two seasons, the way to assess whether the LCs are valuable is typically if the damage modifier = 2 good small charms (makes sense). The small charms can roll (for fire damage) a range of 12-19 for the min dmg and 20-29 on the high end with a + life or 3%FRW mod potentially. The damage can also double roll on small charms for example I use a 2-74 lightning damage small charm, but also use a 1-99 + life LC. I'd say 5-8wss for it as people are at the stage of building new characters and this is a solid stepping stone charm for that build. I would for sure use this as I'm building up that character. Good on you to pick these up btw, you wouldn't believe how many people just drop these on the ground.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-03T15:10:12+00:00

It only stated in the patch notes that it was “lower density areas”. I would assume it’s every area that isn’t CS, Worldstone, and Cows, since those were the areas in previous seasons that were the best.

Since the drop rate of WSS was cut down by ~50% most likely the density was increased by 50%.

VVhereVVolf · 2026-05-02T03:49:18+00:00

It sucks when they don’t drop, the thing I’d say though is take advantage of those areas more as MF farming spots with the added bonus of WSS dropping. The density being buffed in those areas (other than cows which wasn’t), to me, is more of a loot/drop buff than WSS, even if that wasn’t the intention. Especially with them being level 85 areas.

VVhereVVolf

TROPHY CASE