Summary
Patch 3.29.1 has arrived with numerous updates, but the most critical change is the return of experience penalties on death in Charts and Voyages—a bug that previously prevented XP loss has now been fixed, meaning you will once again suffer standard penalties based on area level, making death consequential in these activities and requiring more careful play. To mitigate the risk of losing progress, consider upgrading your defenses and gear; if you're short on resources, you can buy POE currency to speed up your gearing and reduce the chances of costly setbacks.
Allflame League Improvements
Ukatoa's Ducat and Eldritch Depths
A new Chart variant, the Eldritch Depths, has been added. This appears to be the drop location for a new item: Ukatoa's Ducat.
Ukatoa's Ducat replaces the implicit modifier of a non-unique amulet with an Eldritch implicit, offering options such as:
Chance to suppress spell damage (Eater of Worlds implicit)
Conditional lightning damage based on pinnacle boss presence
Increased cold damage
Increased maximum energy shield
These are particularly useful for amulets with good stats but poor implicit modifiers—such as a Coral Amulet from Rog with desirable affixes but a suboptimal implicit.
New Chests and Blessing Changes
Two new chest types can now appear in Charts and Voyages: Sunken Opulence and Sunken Gems. Sunken Opulence may prove quite valuable—historically, similar chests (Hidden Opulence) behind fractured walls in Delve dropped Divine Orbs at a high rate.
Blessings granted by Offerings to the Deep Altars now:
Provide chances for certain common currency to be converted to rarer currency
Apply the blessing to all players in the area (previously only applied to the individual player)
This group-wide blessing change is substantial when running Voyages in parties, as you accumulate significant borrowed power—bonuses such as 120% increased damage, excessive overcapped cold resistance, and +2 projectiles may apply to all party members.
Dredged Currency Quality of Life
Dredged currency items can now be used on Strongboxes and Essences. This is a major quality-of-life improvement—you no longer need to carry a separate stack of Alchemy Orbs for these interactions.
Allflame Lantern Changes
Allflame Lanterns no longer point at Shrines or Crab Nests. Previously, these lanterns would direct you toward points of interest that often turned out to be unremarkable. This change removes false signals, making the Allflame Lantern guidance more reliable and useful.
Other League Changes
Allflame crafting with Ancient Orbs and Orbs of Chance is now possible, though the sulfur costs likely make this impractical except possibly in Solo Self-Found
Chart gold fees on the trade market have been greatly lowered
Brinecrack Crabs spend less time underground and have less total life
A new Chart modifier replaces the non-functional "minus maximum resistances" mod with monsters applying Grasping Vines on Hit
Mercenary Improvements
Damage Penalty Tapering
The less damage penalty for permanent Mercenaries compared to temporary ones now tapers in gradually throughout the game:
No penalty before level 45
Maximum penalty reached at level 83
This is a buff for Luminaries at all levels below 83; your Mercenary will be stronger than before throughout progression.
Attack Mercenary Scaling
Attack-damage Mercenaries have had their damage scaling adjusted, making them relatively more effective compared to spellcaster Mercenaries at lower levels. Many players have found attack Mercenaries to be generally stronger, and this change brings them online earlier.
Revive and Rejoin
Permanently hired Mercenaries that have been revived can now rejoin an area they previously retreated from. This occurs when the player re-enters the area themselves. In Maps, this requires using a Map Device portal—essentially costing you one portal to bring your Mercenary back to life.
Mercenary Spawn Rates
Infamous Mercenaries are now 50% more common in tier 1 Maps, scaling to approximately twice as common in tier 16 Maps
Mercenaries, on average, have slightly more supports on their skills in Maps—making them more dangerous as enemy combatants
New Atlas Notable
A new Atlas tree notable has been added: Contract Killers, which grants "Allied Mercenaries in your Maps deal 100% more Damage against Mercenaries and Rogue Exiles". This is specifically for Luminaries upgrading their Mercenary—particularly useful when trying to progress from a level 75 Mercenary to a level 83 one.
Golden Lantern Buffs
Permanently hired Mercenaries accompanying players now gain quantity and rarity buffs from Golden Lanterns in Charts and Voyages. Previously only player kills received these bonuses.
Guaranteed Mercenary Spawn
A Mercenary now always spawns in the Control Blocks in Act 10—even if you are overleveled for the area. This provides a reliable source for fishing for a specific starter Mercenary before you have access to Triathon scarabs or Atlas tree points.
General Improvements and Fixes
Abyss Changes
The Abyss mechanic receives significant updates:
Abyssal Bloodline class has been enabled.
Abyssal Depths Lich bosses have been reworked:
No more immunity phases requiring you to defeat Stygian Spires in side rooms
Boss life increased by 25% to compensate for the shorter fight
New arena mechanic: crystal spires periodically fire beams toward each other
Three chests now spawn after killing an Abyssal Depths boss, granting various rewards.
Abyss chest rewards have been improved:
Reduced variance in number of drops
Increased quality and quantity of rewards, particularly for Currency and Scarabs
Greater Abyssal Chests now have a larger difference in rarity/quantity compared to non-Greater versions
Note: Abyss monster drop quantity appears unchanged. The loot focus has shifted from monsters to chests.
New Atlas Anomaly
A new Atlas Anomaly has been added: the Gambling District.
Controller Improvements
Discard completed charts by pressing Y/Triangle on the chart then X/Square
Inspect mode now available with controller—navigate popup keywords using R3 + D-Pad Down
Voyage Planning UI lock-up fixed
Skill and Support Gem Changes
Coursing Current Support can now support Minions and their Skills
Hydrosphere stats now display correctly on its skill hover
Bug Fixes
High priority fixes:
Fixed experience loss on death bug (covered above)
Fixed Velka not dropping Coursing Current
Fixed Strongbox and Essence upgrades from Vesper quest items not applying properly
Fixed Genesis Tree Unique Item subtree having 2 fewer passive points than intended (retroactively applied)
Fixed Forbidden Flame/Flesh jewels changing notables when changing areas
Minor fixes:
Fixed monster effects invisible in Charts and Voyages
Fixed chests in Allflame encounters not granting buffs when opened via caster mastery
Fixed Alone in the Darkness divination card no longer dropping from intended sources
Fixed various Act area spawning issues
Fixed Cadiro in his Atlas Anomaly
Fixed client and instance crashes
Key Takeaways
Experience penalty on death is back in Charts and Voyages—play carefully
Mercenaries are significantly improved—tapered damage penalty, better scaling, and revive-and-rejoin mechanics
Abyss chest loot has been buffed, but monster drops appear unchanged
Dredged currency on Strongboxes and Essences is a major quality-of-life win
Allflame Lanterns no longer point to shrines or crab nests—now more useful for navigation
Genesis Tree bug fixed—check your passive points; you may have 2 extra
Controller support improved with several quality-of-life additions
The extent of Abyss improvements remains to be fully evaluated through testing. While chest rewards have been improved, concerns about monster loot persist. Further hotfixes may address outstanding issues as the patch settles. In the meantime, if you need to stock up on resources quickly while the economy adjusts, check for POE currency for sale at MMOEXP—they offer reliable service and competitive rates to help you stay ahead without the grin
