Hey folks, Today, we're unraveling the mystery of why everyone seems obsessed with two particular body armours in PoE 3.23. You've probably seen players, especially the streamers, rocking items like Lightning Coil or sporting those nifty damage shifting crafts. Let's break down why this trend is more than just a fad and actually a clever gameplay tactic.

 

• Damage Shifting Concept
• Armor: The Misunderstood Mechanic
• The Magic of Lightning Coil
• Why Pathfinder Excels?
• Layering Your Defenses
• Build 1: The Tanky Pathfinder
• Build 2: The Chaos Resilient
• Layering Defenses
• Molten Shell and Vaal Molten Shell

 

↖ Damage Shifting Concept

• Damage Shifting: It's about converting a portion of incoming physical damage into another type (like elemental).
• Why It's Cool: This mechanic can dramatically reduce the damage you take from hefty hits, which armor alone might not handle well.

 

↖ Armor: The Misunderstood Mechanic

• Common Misconception: High armor equals high physical damage reduction. Not quite true!
• Reality Check: Armor is more effective against smaller hits. For massive boss slams, armor doesn't cut it.

 

↖ The Magic of Lightning Coil

• Scenario Without Coil: Facing a shaper slam? Good luck with just armor.
• With Lightning Coil: Suddenly, those big hits become more manageable. This is damage shifting in action!

 

↖ Why Pathfinder Excels?

• 100% Damage Shift: Pathfinder can become almost immune to physical damage. Talk about overpowered!
• Flask Effect Bonus: With increased flask effectiveness, items like Taste of Hate become even more potent.

 

↖ Layering Your Defenses

• Critical Strategy: When building your character, consider crits and how to survive the worst-case scenarios.
• Life vs. Shift: While having a high life pool is important, damage shifting can make a massive difference in survivability.

 

↖ Build 1: The Tanky Pathfinder

• Key Items: Lightning Coil, Taste of Hate
• Strategy: Utilize damage shifting to minimize physical damage, bolstered by Pathfinder's flask effectiveness.

 

↖ Build 2: The Chaos Resilient

• Key Items: The Formless Inferno (Armor also applies to chaos damage taken)
• Strategy: Combine with Glorious Vanity of Zibiqua for a strong defense against both elemental and chaos damage.

 

↖ Layering Defenses

• Spell Suppression: Halves damage from spells, including physical and chaos hits.
• Combining Resistances and Armor: For maximized damage reduction, layer different types of mitigation.

 

↖ Molten Shell and Vaal Molten Shell

• Usage: Ideal for absorbing damage over time or handling multiple hits in quick succession.
• Tip: Use Molten Shell effectively by understanding your character's survivability against different types of hits.

 

In summaary, understanding and effectively using damage shifting can be a game-changer. Whether you're a budding Pathfinder mastering flask effectiveness or a chaos-resistant behemoth, the right body armour can mean the difference between triumph and a frustrating respawn.