PoE Items and Gear You Should Avoid in 3.19

Path of Exile’s 3.19 Lake of Kalandra update introduced significant balance changes that transformed previously reliable items into potential progression traps. Understanding these mechanical shifts is crucial for optimizing your league start strategy and avoiding frustrating gameplay experiences that could derail your seasonal journey.

Sunblast – Cloth Belt

At first glance, Sunblast appears to be an exceptional choice for trap-based builds, granting the ability to deploy two additional traps with each skill activation. This appears ideal for assassin characters utilizing hit-and-run tactics where you lay traps while evading enemy attacks. However, the recent balance adjustment fundamentally altered its functionality by implementing a mandatory one-second delay before traps activate. This change, combined with the removal of proximity triggering mechanics, renders the belt nearly useless against swift-moving adversaries commonly encountered in endgame scenarios.

The core issue emerges during high-level content where constant movement and rapid engagement are essential for survival. Waiting for delayed trap detonations creates dangerous positioning requirements and disrupts combat flow, making it particularly problematic for hardcore players where reaction time is critical. The delayed activation pattern forces players into predictable movement patterns that experienced bosses can easily exploit.

Required Level – 16

Main Stat – Increased Stun and Block Recover by 15-25%

Additional Skills:

You throw two additional traps with a skill cast, which throws a trap.

The traps will land within a particular area where you have targeted the skill.

Enemies walking over the traps will not trigger the trap.

Increased Fire Resistance

Reduced trap duration

Light radius increased

Vendor Price – 8 Chaos Orbs

Item Type – Belt and Unique

How to Acquire the Item? – It can drop anywhere

Recipes

The Wretched – Need 6 and gives you Random Belt.

The Dungeon Master – Need 7 and can give a random double-influenced belt.

The Cache – Need 6 and can drop you a random jewelry.

Prejudice – Need 7 and can drop you a random influenced item.

Costly Curio – Need 6, and you can get a loot of a random double-influenced item.

Arrogance of the Vaal – Requires 8 and bags you a random two-implicit corrupted item

Jack in the Box – Requires 4 and gives a random item

Singular Incubator – Needs only 1 and gives a random item

The Void – Need only 1 and gives you a random divination card set that you can easily exchange.

Lightning Conduit – Skill Gem

Lightning Conduit represents one of the new skill gems introduced specifically for the 3.19 Lake of Kalandra expansion, aligning with the lightning-themed focus of this challenge league. While the gem demonstrates impressive damage potential in optimized setups, its fundamental design creates significant usability issues during early league progression that can hamper your mapping efficiency and combat fluidity.

Many players initially compare this skill to Detonate Dead, but the comparison proves misleading. Unlike Detonate Dead’s predictable corpse targeting, Lightning Conduit demands a two-step casting sequence: first applying Shock to enemies through another ability, then activating Lightning Conduit to capitalize on the debuff. This dual-cast requirement introduces mechanical clunkiness that becomes particularly noticeable during fast-paced combat encounters.

The primary limitation stems from the necessity to execute two separate skill activations to achieve maximum damage output. This proves especially problematic for players experiencing network latency, as the timing-dependent nature of the skill combination becomes increasingly unreliable. For optimal performance, consider reserving this gem for endgame specialization when you’ve acquired sufficient cast speed and can manage the rotational complexity.

Let’s look at the details of the item.

Required Level – 28

Max Level – 20

Mana Cost – 6 to 16 depending on the gem level

Crit Change – 6%

Casting Time – 0.5 seconds

Skill Description – After you have shocked enemies from another skill or item, lighting automatically strikes shocked enemies around any target location. Lighting strikes with a damage range of 43-1548 remove Shock from the enemies. This gem isn’t supported by any spell that cascades or unleash mechanic.

Stats of the Gem

This Gem deals from 43-516 up to 130-1548 lightning-based damage.

The damage from this gem cannot inflict Shock on enemies.

The damage is increased by 10-20% for each 5% shocked enemy.

Increased damage based on quality up to 20%

Recipes

The Cataclysm – Need 13 and drops a random corrupted gem that is a spell at level 21.

The Fox – Though need 6 but can easily drop you a level 20 random gem.

Dying Anguish – Requires 8 but can give you a random 19-level gem with a 19% chance of alternative quality as a loot drop.

The Hook – Requires 6 of these while bagging you a random corrupted gem of level 21 with at least a 23% chance of making it an alternative quality.

Gemcutter’s Promise – Needs 6 and drops you a random 20% quality gem.

Gemcutter’s Incubator – for 1 of these, you get 1-20% quality random gem.

The Void – Easily get a random divination card set you can exchange for 1 of these.

Defiance Banner – Skill Gem

Defiance Banner has historically ranked among Path of Exile’s most powerful defensive support gems, earning widespread popularity across diverse build archetypes. The primary appeal stems from its multifaceted defensive package: it functions as an aura that simultaneously boosts Armor and Evasion ratings for your character and nearby allies, while reducing critical strike chance of enemies in its radius. Additionally, it provides crowd control through its taunt mechanics.

Naturally, players question why such a potent defensive tool appears on a cautionary list. The explanation lies in the significant numerical adjustments implemented during the 3.19 balance patch. While the gem remains viable for coordinated group play, the magnitude of the nerfs may prove unacceptable for solo players accustomed to its previous power level.

Type of Skill Gem – Spell, AoE, Aura, Spell, Physical

Required Level – 26

Max Level – 20

Reservation – 10% of Your Mana pool

Cool Down – 1 Sec

Casting Time – 1 second

Skill Description – When you cast this skill, it reserves the mana for the ability to carry a banner. As long as you carry the banner, the Evasion and Armor of you and all your allies nearby increases with reduced crit chance from the enemies. The potency of the banner increases with each stage, and we cannot have more than one banner in one team.

Stats of the Gem

You and your allies who are nearby getting an increased Armor and Evasion rating of 15-24% based on your gem level (Reduced in 3.19 from 30-49%).

Enemies have reduced crit chance who are nearby by 30-40% based on the gem level ( Reduced this patch from 20-29%).

The banner gains 1 stage every 0.2 seconds as long as enemies are within range.

As long as the banner is active, you get to taunt enemies within range for 0.15 seconds for each stage of the banner; these enemies will deal significantly less damage, around 15%.

Further stats like area of effect, duration, and aura effect are increased per stage.

The quality of the gem enhances the increased armor and evasion rating per 0.25% in quality (nerfed from per 0.5% quality).

Acquired Location – Can drop anywhere

Recipes

The Wilted Rose – Needs 7 of them and can drop a random level 21 corrupted Aura Gem.

The Cataclysm – Need 13 and drops a random corrupted gem that is a spell at level 21.

The Fox – Though need 6 but can easily drop you a level 20 random gem.

Dying Anguish – Requires 8 but can give you a random 19-level gem with a 19% chance of alternative quality as a loot drop.

The Hook – Requires 6 of these while bagging you a random corrupted gem of level 21 with at least a 23% chance of making it an alternative quality.

Gemcutter’s Promise – Needs 6 and drops you a random 20% quality gem.

Gemcutter’s Incubator – for 1 of these, you get 1-20% quality random gem.

The Void – easily get a random divination card set you can exchange for 1 of these.

The GGG was concerned that this banner was giving players a significant boost in Armor and Evasion ratings, which was becoming a must for Hardcore players and highly sought after by others. This gem was a low-invest but high-reward gem, becoming the only defensive gem most players used. Furthermore, the classes that didn’t have access to defensive stats as much in their skill tree and instead relied on dealing damage were also taking it to boost defense. Its combination with Grace and Determination made this skill a regular part of all the builds.

Conclusion

This comprehensive analysis examined three specific items and skill gems that present significant challenges for Path of Exile 3.19 league start strategies. While these options aren’t fundamentally broken, they introduce mechanical complications and performance limitations that can severely impact your early progression efficiency and currency acquisition potential.

For optimal league start performance, prioritize items that offer consistent, predictable performance without requiring complex activation sequences or suffering from significant balance adjustments. Early league success often depends on selecting gear that provides reliable performance across diverse content types while minimizing mechanical complexity during the critical early mapping phase.

Strategic gear selection during the initial league days can dramatically influence your overall seasonal experience. By avoiding these problematic items initially, you’ll establish a stronger foundation for tackling endgame challenges and optimizing your character’s progression path.

Consider exploring our Class Guide for insights into optimal character development paths that complement your preferred playstyle while maximizing efficiency.

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