Path of Exile 3.30 removes a rule that a developer says dates back a decade and a half: rare and unique monsters, bosses included, had 80% less chance to drop currency, Scarabs and divination cards, and magic monsters had 50% less. Grinding Gear Games’ Path of Exile 1 leads Mark, Andrew and Octavian revealed the change in the ExileCon 2026 Path of Exile 1 Q&A on day two of the event, hosted by ZiggyD, and it was one of many details that did not fit in the keynote.
“It was 80% less on rares and uniques and 50% less on magics,” a developer said, calling it a constant from “a decade and a half ago” that “has been there since before I started.” The developer does not know who added it. The verdict: “Nuke it all.” GGG gave no number for how many more Divine Orbs bosses will drop. Asked about 400% more, the answer on stage was “It will be higher than that, I’m sure,” followed by “I don’t know the numbers.”
The 3.30 patch notes are not out yet. As of November 8, the newest entry in GGG’s patch notes forum is 3.29.3c. “Patch notes on Wednesday, New Zealand time,” a developer said in the Q&A, which is November 11 there and Tuesday, November 10, for most of North America. No hour was given.
Covens of Umbra launches Friday, November 13. GGG’s written posts give only the date, but the live countdown on its Covens of Umbra page ends at 11am PST, which is 2pm Eastern, 1pm Central and 7pm UTC. The current league, Curse of the Allflame, ends at 1pm PST on November 9. GGG says it tunes balance numbers until “the last possible minute,” so anything below can still change in the notes.
Tile loot and Essences now scale with map difficulty
The vast majority of what GGG calls item templates, and players call tile loot, now scales with the map you are in. If you kill a monster with a currency icon in an eight or nine mod map, “you can expect more currency to drop than if you were in a white map.” GGG’s stated target is the loop of running zero-challenge maps, popping Legion currency rewards and leaving. These templates are also affected by the rarity of the monster they are attached to.
Essences get the same treatment. The higher a map’s new quantity stat, the higher the tier of the Essences in it. A developer added, “I think we’ve also got rid of” Weeping and Wailing Essences from the very high tier maps, so treat that one as likely until the patch notes confirm it. This builds on the tiered item and rarity rework shown in the keynote.
Four or five Threads is the value sweet spot, GGG says
The Threads of Creation that replace Scarabs follow a curve that favors moderate spending. The chance of extra modifiers climbs faster from one to five Threads than from five to eight, while monster toughness ramps up most from seven to eight. For the average player, “somewhere around four or five threads is going to be the sweet spot for value for money,” a developer said.
- There were about 80 Thread mods at last count, with a minimum of five per primary mechanic and a target of around eight for each at launch.
- Each mod rolls independently, so a single Thread can hit the most valuable ones. If none rolls, one is picked for you: “You’ll never spend a thread and get nothing.”
- The mods are not listed in the tab menu, because GGG does not want players entering a map, checking for a jackpot and leaving. Every mod has to show itself in the map instead, through a new button, a mini boss or a big effect. A keyword lists the possible outcomes but not the odds.
- The 10 primary league mechanics no longer appear at random. They show up only in a shaped region or if you spend a Thread, so there is nothing to block on the Atlas tree. Secondary content such as strongboxes and Essences can still spawn at random.
- A new keystone limits you to one Thread type and severely cuts how many Threads drop in your map, but adds two to your Thread count, the value GGG says it is going with, for a reach of 10.
- Threads are “relatively common,” and shaped regions give free ones. Scarabs in Standard should automatically convert to Threads, a developer said.
Harvest becomes a secondary mechanic with five or six per map
Harvest could not interact with other league mechanics while it lived in its own sub-area, so GGG moved it into the secondary group with strongboxes and shrines. It now spawns in the map itself, and a full investment on the Atlas tree can yield five or six per map. You can roll modifiers on it like a strongbox, and it borrows Wildwood wisps, which affect a fixed number of monsters. GGG says it gives “the exact same rewards as before.”
Fate rewards are not tied to the card you draw
On Fate cards, rewards roll independently of the card, so a Fate called Rot can carry anything. Icons show what you will get, for example that all boots dropped by the empowered monster will have a speed modifier. That Fate also guarantees a few boots, marks every affected item with a tag on its name, and pulls the guaranteed modifier from a high tier.
Order matters when you combine two copies of a Fate into a tier three version: the first card’s rewards are tripled and the second card’s rewards are discarded. You can take the cards back and replay them in a different order.
Mirage map mods only roll on rare maps, so no Alteration spam
The new “area contains a Mirage” map mod displays in a different color and rolls only on rare maps, so Alteration spam is out and Chaos Orbs are the way to fish for it. GGG has also added powerful map enchantments from certain sources: the monstrous treasure Scarab effect is now one, rarely granted through the Atlas passive tree.
Asked whether the mod weighting changed on the Screams of the Desiccated belt, a developer did not give specifics but said “all of the shrines that were on the belt before are still on the belt, so you can still get the most insane belt in the game.” Saresh is a much harder fight, which GGG’s Covens page also warns.
The Atlas tree now has about 150 points, with fewer travel nodes and no points needed for chance to spawn primary mechanics. Special Maven invitations grant two points instead of one.
Fireball of Radiation and Arcane Link are 3.30’s two new skills
GGG says 3.30 carries only light character balance, no new ascendancy and no new skill package, because the endgame took the time. Fireball of Radiation is an alt gem for Fireball that was slated for last patch, and it is going in because the programmer assigned to it said, “I really like the skill. I’m just going to make it.” Arcane Link is very similar to Flame Link and “grants the link target added lightning damage based on your maximum mana,” as part of changes to the Luminary.
Bigger balance work is aimed at 3.31, with no specific promises: a developer called it “something I’d really like to focus more on.” GGG also wants both games back on a schedule of a release every four months, two months apart.
Allflame crafting and Death Recap will not make 3.30
Allflame crafting is not going core in 3.30, though its designer would like it back eventually. The league’s exclusive uniques and support rewards are also sitting out. A few pieces do carry over, including a currency item that corrupts an Abyss jewel and adds an extra modifier, dropped by a Templar who can appear with mercenaries near Abyssal pits.
Death Recap stays exclusive to Path of Exile 2 for now because the two games share an engine but not gameplay code. GGG says it will come, without a date. One quality of life change that did make it: the word “nearby” is gone from stat descriptions, replaced by an exact distance in meters. Hovering over it to see the radius did not make it in time, and GGG hopes to add that soon.
