Introduction
Hello and welcome to the Path of Exile expansion 3.9.0 Metamorph guide. In this guide I will explain the new changes and introductions made to POE with the release of Metamorph, I will also cover some new strategies than can be useful in making the most from this expansion, for example gaining experience in more optimal ways, earning rewards and utilising the new currency, alongside other topics.
This brief synopsis from the official Path of Exile website should give you a good idea of what this expansion is all about: “Take a clean knife and cut a sample of flesh. Repeat. Four times. Mix the five samples in aquathaumatic solution. Heat. Stand back. Intrinsic darkness will make itself known. Observe its anger, its aggression. Observe exchanging form, never comfortable to stay in one shape for long. It will try to kill you... Best not let it. Plunge the green knife repeatedly... Hum. Try more heat. More ! Perfect. Only every living creatures to go. In Metamorph, you'll meet Tane Octavius, a master alchemist who studied in Oriath. Exiled to Wraeclast for killing his teacher, Tane searches for what makes the "self", by using his learned alchemical knowledge to assemble monster essences. He hopes to find a cure, or perhaps just the source, for what he calls "the intrinsic darkness" that led to his unforgivable violence.”
Like all new expansions/ leagues in Path of Exile, whether you engage in the content or not will not hinder you in any excessive way, it is just new and interesting content for you play if you wish. And just like previously, all characters will move back to the standard league on completion.
About the Expansion
The Metamorph expansion, just like previous expansions works in the form of a temporary challenge league. It was released on December 13th 2019 and is apart of the wider patch known as “Conquerors of the Atlas”. The patch focuses on changes and improvements to the core POE gameplay, the Metamorph expansion focusses mainly on the content content with bosses and the end-game. The unique gameplay addition of Metamorph involves collecting samples from specific monsters in order to build their own monster. There are many rewards and as is common in POE, the greater the challenge, the greater the reward.
Just like in previous expansions and temporary leagues, Metamorph has a new NPC to meet, his name is Tane Octavius and can be met in every instance. He will give you information and instructions on how to assemble the create as well as help you bring it to life when you need to. A new currency item is also introduced, which are known as “catalysts”, these are jewellery item modifiers, that enhance them with a predetermined set of modifiers. I will cover catalysts in more depth later on in this guide.
The greatest bosses and challenges, thus giving the best rewards are from the end-game map bosses. Taking samples from these bosses and combining them will allow the Metamorph to harness multiple end-game boss combat mechanics. Certain combinations should be with care though, as you can end up with incredibly dangerous Metamorphs.
How to Create Metamorphs
There are distinctions in the type of metamorph you can create, the first you one will likely create as you make your way through the campaign in the league are made from samples of standard enemies dropped in an instance. Tane Octavius will collect these samples from you and create a boss that you can engage. To create any metamorph you will need the following organ samples: liver, lungs, heart, eyes and brain. Depending on the enemies you took the samples from will effect the affixes in the created Metamorph, for example, result in them having increased life or damage. Familiarity with Path of Exile's mapping system will help you to add affixes, which in turn will add on loot to your creation.
New (and hardcore players in particular) should take care when building Metamorphs because, as is usually the case with most league mechanics, things will be more challenging early on. When you become more powerful and build your core item collection, you will find it easier to scale your Metamorphs alongside your character. You can slowly build up the level of affixes on the Metamorph until a comfortable level is reached. It could also be considered not worth engaging in the league mechanics at all until you reach the mapping level towards the end of the game, as this will probably result in the highest experience rates overall, although of course not everything is about gaining the fastest experience so this should a personal decision.
The second type of Metamorph, as you may have realised, is made from a combination of boss samples. Boss sample drops are much rarer compared to those of standard enemies. These samples can be combined in your laboratory zone (which can be entered from your waypoint) to create a powerful boss Metamorph. Whilst previously Bosses had limited organ type sample drops, you can see in the patch 3.9.1 release the following note which corrects this: "Every Map Boss can now be chosen for all organ types for Metamorph League. This will result in an even distribution of the different organs to use in Tane's Laboratory."
I shall now give a few tips regarding samples and the creation of Metamorphs. Firstly, you must use samples in the zone they are discovered, any unused samples will dissapear when changing zones, however unique organs will persist and you can take these to Tane Octavius' laboratory to create and fight completely new bosses. You have a Tane button in the bottom right of your display, this will light up when you have collected a full set of organs letting you know when you are able to create a Metamorph. It should be known that samples from unique monsters have their own unique pool of samples and modifiers and samples from unique monsters have an increase in rarity of the item drop modifier.
Regarding the New Currency “Catalysts”
As mentioned earlier, as well as a new league, the “Metamporph” release also introduces a new currency called “catalysts”, catalysts will improve the items of jewellery you possess. The difference with this, in comparison to say, the quality boosts for armour and weaponry, is the quality on jewellery directly boosts affixes for the items that align with the catalysts currently in use. Because of this players should expect a greater level of control over their area of focus when using this jewellery. This can be considered particularly useful for players in solo self-found leagues (ssf).
Because of the unique nature of catalysts, you will only be able to enhance the effects of one piece of jewellery per type catalyst. It is probably best to focus on one type rather than diversifying your choices too much. Currently there are 7 catalyst types in game, here is the list of them with the effect they will give: turbulet catalyst – elemental damage, tempering catalist – physical affixes, intrinsic catalyst – primary attributes, imbued catalyst – life and mana and finally prismatic catalyst which gives an elemental resistances effect.
Thanks for reading this introduction and guide to the Metamorph league for Path of Exile, I hope it is have given you an idea of what this league is about, and some of the things you can expect to do in it. There are 40 varied challenges to complete, offering many rewards, so go and enjoy this new content! And if you want to buy poe currency easy & safe, go to MMOEXP.com, have a good time, thank you.