In Path of Exile's Delirium expansion, there's an exclusive content feature tied to a unique cluster Jewel called Lone Messenger. This Jewel can only be obtained by socketing a specific unique small cluster Jewel into your passive tree. In this guide, we will delve into the Lone Messenger Keystone, its benefits, downsides, and its current relevance in the game.

• Obtaining Lone Messenger
• Keystone Overview
• Downsides and Limitations
• Optimizing Lone Messenger
• Relevance and Future Prospects

↖ Obtaining Lone Messenger

To gain access to the Lone Messenger Keystone, you need to socket the calamitous Vision's unique small cluster Jewel into your passive tree. This Jewel can be obtained by defeating the Delirium boss Omniphobia and Cosis during Delirium Encounters in maps.

↖ Keystone Overview

Lone Messenger offers a variety of modifiers that empower Herald abilities but come with significant trade-offs. Let's take a closer look at its effects:

• Only one Herald can be active: Lone Messenger limits the number of Herald abilities you can have reserved at any given time. This means you can only use a single Herald as your main damage ability.
• Aura skills are disabled: This Keystone completely disables any Aura skills available to you. You cannot activate them under any circumstances, including reserving them against Mana or life.

Lone Messenger provides the following benefits to Herald skills:

• 50% more effect of Herald Buffs on you.
• 100% more damage with hits from Herald skills.
• 50% more damage over time with Herald skills.
• 25% more damage for minions from Herald skills.

↖ Downsides and Limitations

The downsides of Lone Messenger, coupled with the current game meta, explain its limited popularity. Here are the main limitations to consider:

• Limited Herald and Aura Skills: Only one Herald can be active, and all aura skills are disabled. This restricts your options and eliminates access to standard defensive mechanics used by most other builds.
• No Aura Tag Abilities: Abilities with the aura tag, such as Icicle Mine or Summon Skitterbots, are disabled. Additionally, skills granted by items with the aura tag, like the Death Aura from Death's Oath's unique body armor, cannot be used.
• Reduced Skill Synergy: The effectiveness of Lone Messenger heavily depends on the specific Herald skill you choose. Some skills, like Herald of Thunder, may benefit greatly from certain modifiers, while others may not.

↖ Optimizing Lone Messenger

Despite its limitations, Lone Messenger can provide a substantial damage boost for specific Herald-focused builds. Consider the following tips:

• Reserve Non-Aura Skills: Non-aura skills, like Arctic Armor or Tempest Shield, can still be reserved. Additionally, aspect reservation skills from Bestiary unique items or items with Beast crafted affixes can be utilized.
• Use Coming Calamity: The unique body armor, Coming Calamity, reserves 45% of your Mana for Herald skills. This allows you to reserve additional skills alongside your main Herald ability.
• Assess Skill Synergy: Depending on your Herald skill, evaluate which modifiers from Lone Messenger will provide the most significant benefits. Some skills may not benefit equally from all the modifiers.

↖ Relevance and Future Prospects

Lone Messenger's popularity has waned due to changes in the game's meta, making defensive auras more crucial and increasing the cost of investing in Herald abilities as main damage skills. Currently, only a small percentage of players use this Keystone, primarily in Elementalist Herald of Thunder Auto Bomber builds.

However, future updates, such as Herald ability overhauls, unique items, or changes to the Keystone itself, may increase Lone Messenger's viability and popularity once again.

Conclusion:

Lone Messenger, obtained through the unique cluster Jewel Calamitous Visions, empowers Herald abilities with significant damage modifiers. While its downsides and limitations have reduced its popularity, it can still be a viable option for Herald of Thunder Auto Bomber builds. For other builds, the trade-offs may outweigh the benefits.