User:Magnanimous2/Sacrifice of the Vaal

Sacrifice of the Vaal is the first "mini expansion" to Path of Exile, released on March 5th 2014. For the full patch notes, see Version 1.1.0.

Queen Atziri. The most beautiful woman the Vaal civilisation had ever seen. A monarch who ruled from a throne room of mirrors, holding court as naked as the day she was born. Hers was a sovereignty of seduction. Of Grace.

The Grace of skin and flesh, of poise and dance, of attraction and manipulation. And when Atziri dreamed, she dreamed of Grace made eternal. She wished to paint her people in shades of immortal beauty. Instead, she drowned them in blood.

Now Atziri rises once more. A warped reflection from a mirror cracked two thousand years ago. She wants her beauty back and Wraeclast will give it to her.

Fueled by the sacrifice of her people, Atziri's power is spreading throughout Wraeclast. The Vaal influence has corrupted equipment, skill gems, maps and even areas of Wraeclast itself. Power-hungry exiles must risk everything to harness the Vaal corruption for their own gain. The new climactic final encounter poses one question: How much will you sacrifice to defeat Atziri?

Teaser screenshots: Corrupted item Unset Ring Corrupted area and item Ambush Strongbox Invading monsters

Queen Atziri and the Vaal

The Vaal civilisation is the oldest in Wraeclast, existing until about two thousand years before the game setting. They were the first to use skill gems, known as "Tears of Maji", and the power of these gems was central to Vaal culture.

Atziri was the last queen of the Vaal and was defined by her vanity. Atziri sought immortality and eternal youth, inspired by the Vaalish noble and serial killer Zerphi who lived 168 years. To accomplish this, she sent large number of human sacrifices to her thaumaturgist Doryani to be "processed".

The Vaal were destroyed by some event called the Cataclysm, implied to have been caused by a communion led by Doryani. Three thousand refugees fled to the Azmeri civilisation, which would become the Eternal Empire 400 years later.

Atziri's Corruption

Entrances are marked by a glowing, beating heart and swirling ribbons of blood.

Normal areas will sometimes contain entrances to secret Corrupted Areas, which can have modifiers to increase difficulty like maps. A boss monster inside guards a chest that is guaranteed to drop a Vaal Skill Gem or Vaal Fragment. End-game maps do not contain secret corrupted areas.

Vaal Fragments are used to access the Apex of Sacrifice and fight Queen Atziri. Some new Vaal-themed unique items can only drop from Atziri.

The Vaal OrbVaal OrbStack Size: 10Corrupts an item, modifying it unpredictablyRight click this item then left click an item to corrupt it. Corrupted items cannot be modified again.
Shift click to unstack. is a new currency item. It "corrupts" equipment, currency, and skill gems, which modifies them unpredictably but means currency will no longer affect them. Eternal OrbEternal OrbStack Size: 10Creates an imprint of an item for later restorationRight click this item then left click on an item to create an imprint. This imprint can later be used to restore this specific item to that imprinted state.
Shift click to unstack.s cannot uncorrupt items.

Major Gameplay Changes

See Version 1.1.0 for other changes.

A new type of ring can drop in the challenge leagues: Module Error: Item link: No results found for search parameter "Unset Ring".. It has no implicit bonuses but can socket a skill gem.
Eight new quivers can drop in the challenge leagues, replacing the previous quivers.
Shrines and Nemesis modifiers from the previous two challenge leagues (Domination and Nemesis) now appear in all leagues, with some changes made for balance.
Added a new monster to Act One and Act Three: Soulless Watcher. It uses a charged up attack that blinds you if you're facing it.
Free-for all pvp is now available in the Sarn Arena, accessed from the Sarn Encampment.

Passive Skill Tree

There are significant changes to the structure of the skill tree. The Marauder starting area has been reworked, along with the area between Duelist and Marauder. The wheels of primary defenses (life, energy shield, evasion) around the Scion were also changed to allow faster lateral progress across the tree. See poe:passive for the updated tree.

Due to substantial balance changes, every existing character has been granted an optional full passive reset. To use this, click the "Reset all Passives" button on the passive skill screen. Note that you must use this before allocating or refunding any other points otherwise the option will go away.

The effects of a number of passives were also rebalanced:

Passive Skill	Change
Vaal Pact	Life recovery from flasks is no longer blocked, but leech is reduced by 60%
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Vaal Gems

17 skill gems now have a powerful Vaal Skill Gem version with radically different effects. Vaal gems charge by killing monsters, similar to flasks. More vaal gems will be added later.

Skill	Effect
Vaal ArcVaal ArcVaal, Spell, Chaining, Lightning, Duration Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 25 Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec Cast Time: 0.80 sec Critical Strike Chance: 5.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 180%Requires Level 12A shocking arc of lightning stretches from the caster to a targeted enemy and chains to other nearby enemies. Each time the beam chains it will also chain simultaneously to a second enemy, but no enemy can be hit twice by the beams. Also grants a buff making you lucky when damaging enemies with Arc for a short duration.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1.5% increased Duration of Lightning AilmentsBase duration is 4 seconds Deals (38-924) to (64-1539) Lightning Damage 100% chance to Shock enemies Chains +(5-9) Times 100% increased Effect of Lightning Ailments 100% increased Duration of Lightning Ailments 15% more Damage for each remaining Chain Modifiers to Buff Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Burning ArrowVaal Burning ArrowVaal, Attack, Projectile, AoE, Fire, Bow, Duration Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 20 Can Store 3 Use(s) Attack Damage: (160-198)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (160-198)% Projectile Speed: 3260Fires an arrow that explodes, dealing fire damage to its target and other nearby enemies, with an increased chance of igniting them.Per 1% Quality:1Superior+0.5% to Fire Damage over Time MultiplierDeals (160-198)% of Base Attack Damage 50% chance to Ignite enemies (150-188)% more Damage with Ignite 100% of Physical Damage Converted to Fire Damage Projectiles Pierce 3 additional Targets Can't be Evaded CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Cold SnapVaal Cold SnapVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Cold Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 35 Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec Cast Time: 0.85 sec Critical Strike Chance: 6.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 200%Requires Level 16Creates a sudden burst of cold around you, damaging enemies. This also creates a chilling area around you which expands and deals cold damage over time to surrounding enemies in addition to chilling them. Enemies that die while in the area grant Frenzy Charges, and you will passively gain Frenzy Charges while there are enemies in the area.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (35-1002) to (53-1502) Cold Damage Base duration is 4 seconds Always Freezes enemies Gain a Frenzy Charge when an Enemy Dies while in this Skill's Area Every second, gain a Frenzy Charge if an Enemy is in this Skill's Area Deals (29.4-1495.5) Base Cold Damage per second Modifiers to Spell Damage apply to this Skill's Damage Over Time effect Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention (0-19)% increased Effect of Chill CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal CycloneVaal CycloneVaal, Attack, AoE, Duration, Melee, Movement, Channelling, Physical Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 35 Can Store 1 Use(s) Attack Speed: 400% of base Attack Damage: (50-61)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (50-61)%Requires Level 28Spin and attack in place, damaging nearby enemies and pulling others towards you. While using this skill, you cannot be stunned or knocked back. Cannot be supported by Ruthless.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (50-61.4)% of Base Attack Damage Base duration is 5 seconds (5-28) to (8-42) Added Attack Physical Damage 8% increased Area of Effect per 1 additional Melee Strike Range Can't be Evaded Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Detonate DeadVaal Detonate DeadVaal, Spell, AoE, Fire Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 30 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: 0.60 sec Critical Strike Chance: 5.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 200%Targets a corpse, and deals spell damage to enemies around the corpse, as well as causing the corpse to explode, dealing fire damage. The explosion is not affected by modifiers to spell damage and cannot be reflected. This will continue to target other corpses in the area, with an increasing delay between each one, until it runs out of corpses or has destroyed 22 corpses.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Area DamageExplosion deals base Fire Damage equal to 9% of the corpse's Maximum Life Deals (23-1395) to (33-2092) Fire Damage +(0-4) to radius CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Double StrikeVaal Double StrikeVaal, Attack, Melee, Strike, Duration, Physical Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 30 Can Store 2 Use(s) Attack Damage: (28-33)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (28-33)%Performs two fast strikes with a melee weapon, each of which summons a double of you for a duration to continuously attack monsters in this fashion.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Attack SpeedDeals (28-33)% of Base Attack Damage Base duration is 6 seconds Adds (3-113) to (5-169) Physical Damage against Bleeding Enemies 25% chance to cause Bleeding Can't be Evaded Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention Doubles have (0-57)% increased Movement Speed +(0-2) to Melee Strike Range CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal FireballVaal FireballVaal, Projectile, Spell, AoE, Fire Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 30 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: 0.75 sec Critical Strike Chance: 6.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 240%Launches a series of fireballs in a spiral around the caster.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Projectile SpeedDeals (9-1095) to (14-1643) Fire Damage Fires 32 Projectiles in a spiral (20-39)% chance to Ignite enemies (50-88)% more Damage with Ignite Projectiles gain Radius as they travel farther, up to +(0-9) Radius CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Ground SlamVaal Ground SlamVaal, Attack, AoE, Slam, Melee Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 15 Can Store 4 Use(s) Attack Speed: 90% of base Attack Damage: (190-300)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (190-300)%Slams the ground in front of you, creating a wave that travels in all directions that damages and stuns enemies. The wave deals more damage to closer enemies. Requires an Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Staff or Unarmed.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Stun Duration on enemies 0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (250-400)% of Base Attack Damage 200% increased Stun Duration on enemies Deals up to (40-49)% more Damage to closer targets Stuns Enemies Can't be Evaded +(0-9) to radius CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Ice NovaVaal Ice NovaVaal, Spell, AoE, Cold, Nova Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 25 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: 0.80 sec Critical Strike Chance: 6.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 70%Requires Level 12A chilling circle of ice expands from the caster, repeating from every enemy it hits. If the caster targets near one of their Frostbolt projectiles, it will expand from the projectile instead.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (11-274) to (17-428) Cold Damage Causes smaller novas up to 5 times on enemies hit 20% reduced Area of Effect each repeat CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Immortal CallVaal Immortal CallVaal, Spell, Duration, Guard Level: (1-20) Cooldown Time: 3.00 sec Can Store 1 Use(s) Souls Per Use: 100 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: InstantRequires Level 34Discharges Endurance Charges, making the character unable to die or gain Vaal souls for a short time, proportional to how many endurance charges were expended.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 0.4 seconds (100-157)% increased Buff Duration per Endurance Charge removed Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention Buff expiry rate cannot be modified CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Lightning StrikeVaal Lightning StrikeVaal, Attack, Melee, Strike, Duration, Lightning, Projectile Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 20 Can Store 1 Use(s) Attack Damage: (105-163)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (105-163)%Requires Level 12Infuses your melee weapon with electrical energies as you swing. In addition to converting some of your physical damage to lightning damage, the stored energy becomes an orb attached to the enemy you hit, or the ground if you don't hit an enemy. The orb will periodically fire projectiles at other nearby enemies for a duration, which will also damage the enemy the orb is attached to.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Damage 1% increased Projectile SpeedDeals (105-163)% of Base Attack Damage 50% of Physical Damage Converted to Lightning Damage Base duration is 6 seconds Fires (4-8) additional Projectiles (1-9) to (13-179) Added Lightning Damage Can't be Evaded Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Lightning WarpVaal Lightning WarpVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Lightning, Movement, Travel Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 20 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: 1.00 sec Critical Strike Chance: 5.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 50%Requires Level 10Casts a delayed teleport for nearby enemies to a target destination. When the teleport occurs, lightning damage is dealt to the enemies both before and after they teleport.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Cast SpeedDeals (1-31) to (18-586) Lightning Damage (0-38)% reduced Duration CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Molten ShellVaal Molten ShellVaal, Spell, AoE, Duration, Fire, Physical, Guard Level: (1-20) Cooldown Time: 0.50 sec Can Store 1 Use(s) Souls Per Use: 50 Can Store 1 Use(s) Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec Cast Time: InstantApplies a buff that raises your armour, and takes some of the damage from hits for you before being depleted. Each second, the skill deals reflected damage to surrounding enemies based on the damage taken by the buff in that second. When the buff is removed, the skill deals reflected damage to enemies around you based on the total damage that was taken by the buff. You cannot have the buff at the same time as any other Guard skill.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 9 seconds Buff grants +(25-429) to Armour (30-35)% of Damage from Hits is taken from the Buff before your Life or Energy Shield Buff can take Damage equal to 30% of your Armour, up to a maximum of 30000 Reflects (300-9000)% of Damage taken from Buff as Fire Damage each second, or when Buff expires or is depleted Buff grants (20-29)% more Armour Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Power SiphonVaal Power SiphonVaal, Attack, Projectile Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 15 Can Store 2 Use(s) Attack Damage: (150-184)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (150-184)%Requires Level 12Fires your wand simultaneously at all nearby enemies, culling those close to death and granting you a power charge for each. Cannot be supported by Volley.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased DamageDeals (150-184.2)% of Base Attack Damage Gain a Power Charge when Projectile Hits a Rare or Unique Enemy +10% to Critical Strike Multiplier per Power Charge 20% increased Critical Strike Chance per Power Charge Fires Projectiles at each nearby Enemy Can't be Evaded Culling Strike CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Rain of ArrowsVaal Rain of ArrowsVaal, Attack, AoE, Projectile, Bow Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 20 Can Store 2 Use(s) Attack Damage: (80-100)% of baseRequires Level 12Fires multiple arrows into the air, to land in multiple sequences after a delay, each starting at the targeted location and spreading outwards in all directions. Each arrow deals damage in an area around it. Half of the arrows will land directly on targets if there are targets in their range.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Area of EffectDeals (80-100.1)% of Base Attack Damage Fires (17-21) additional Arrows Fires 3 additional sequences of arrows 150% increased Effect of Maim Maim on Hit Can't be Evaded CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal SparkVaal SparkVaal, Spell, Projectile, Duration, Lightning Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 30 Can Store 1 Use(s) Cast Time: 0.65 sec Critical Strike Chance: 5.00% Effectiveness of Added Damage: 40%Continuously launches unpredictable sparks in all directions that move randomly until they hit an enemy or expire.Per 1% Quality:1Superior1% increased Projectile SpeedDeals (1-24) to (11-454) Lightning Damage Base duration is 2 seconds Fires Projectiles in random directions Modifiers to Skill Effect Duration also apply to this Skill's Soul Gain Prevention (0-19)% increased Projectile Speed CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?
Vaal Spectral ThrowVaal Spectral ThrowVaal, Attack, Projectile Level: (1-20) Souls Per Use: 10 Can Store 3 Use(s) Attack Speed: 110% of base Attack Damage: (91-135)% of base Effectiveness of Added Damage: (91-135)%Throws a spectral copy of your melee weapon. It spirals out in a spinning attack that strikes enemies in its path.Per 1% Quality:1Superior0.5% increased Attack SpeedDeals (91-135.46)% of Base Attack Damage Fires 4 additional Projectiles Fires Projectiles in a circle Can't be Evaded CorruptedPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.	?

60 New Bosses

There are over 60 new boss monsters for secret corrupted areas and the Invasion league. They use complex combinations of skills and can be very dangerous. Higher difficulty versions often use more skills and supports.

Boss	Description
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Ambush and Invasion Leagues

The newest four-month challenge leagues began when the expansion was released and will end on July 5th 2014.

Ambush: Various new types of chests called Strongboxes can be found throughout Wraeclast. These chests are guarded by monsters that ambush the player when they are opened. The ambushing monsters must be slain before the contents of the Strongbox can be claimed. Sometimes you'll encounter magic, rare or unique Strongboxes which have mods like items do. Prefixes affect the difficulty of the ambush by adding more monsters, springing traps or affecting your character. Suffixes improve your rewards from the Strongbox. You can use currency items to reroll these mods. One of the new challenges is to open Strongboxes with each mod.

Invasion: Invasion is a Hardcore league (characters who die are converted to Standard characters). In the Invasion league, areas of Wraeclast have substantially more monster variety, so players will run into unexpected and dangerous invading monsters from other levels or acts. A unique boss monster from an invading monster type is also lurking in each level. Higher difficulty levels contain expanded monster variety and the invading bosses with more abilities. One of the new challenges is to kill each invading Unique monster.