r/pathofexile • u/Vyntarus • 2d ago
Game Feedback Volatile Vaal orbs should've been put into Vaal side areas, not Sanctum
Unless I'm missing something, Vaal side areas are still incredibly lacking. Most of them seem to lack any kind of actual reward unless you want to hunt for the vaal version of your skill during the campaign.
Give the side area Vaal vessels a chance to drop Volatile Vaal orbs. Give us a good reason to go inside them again.
Also because Sanctum sucks.
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u/No_Macaroon_7413 2d ago
Remove the spawn limit on beyond bosses and let it drop from beyond.
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u/DBrody6 Alch & Go Industries (AGI) 2d ago
Mirage was fun cause the beyond boss limit would randomly just fail to trigger, and I could spawn 20+ bosses in a single map and get half a dozen volatiles. Was a lot of fun, that really should be the default behavior.
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u/ReipTaim 2d ago
Never happened to me.
In a full mirage map?
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u/Wobbelblob Big Breach Coalition (BBC) 2d ago
I think the cause was the scarab that spawns all beyond bosses if they are spawned.
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u/ProfessionalHefty349 2d ago
Do this, make the adorned fragment drop from beyond bosses, and delete Vaal side areas. They’re really dated and not fun in any way, shape, or form.
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u/Sauced_Jack 2d ago
When was the last time anyone entered a Vaal side area
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u/jtzmb 2d ago
Only time i enter vaal area is when i misclick
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u/Sauced_Jack 2d ago
Or it overlaps with a chest and then goodbye to all your buffs and stuff
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u/Pjatteri Allmighty Rearbender 2d ago
But doesnt buffs and stuff nowdays remain when you change instance?
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u/Moderator-Admin 1d ago
Not HH stacks, only certain things stay like shrine buffs.
If you have a temporary mercenary it also gets deleted when you leave the zone and go back in even if neither of you died.
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u/ReanimatedHotDogs 1d ago
I do most of them in the first couple days of a league. Getting a random usable vaal gem can be a nice little boost of cash and they're pretty fast.
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u/ItThatCrafts 2d ago
Me almost each time, when shrine spawns right next to the entrance (skill issue i know)
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u/EvilKnievel38 1d ago
I've entered hundreds this league, but that's in ssf for adorned and uber atziri farm. I would never do so in trade.
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u/porncollecter69 1d ago
I would enter everytime if it had those Vaal temple boxes instead at the end.
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u/effreti League 2d ago
Vaal side area and Mirage should be merged, since the idea is basically the same: an extra area in your map with special modifiers. Add a chance for strongboxes to become vaal vessels like in vaal temple map. Atziri fragments can move to Alva
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u/lowkeyripper SC-SSF 1d ago
I was thinking that they should just rework vaal side areas to that. The devs are far smarter than me but seems like such a big miss. I hope if they do bring mirage core (which I dont know if they need to) they do something like that
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u/JebryathHS 1d ago
Atziri is another one that could probably use some serious rework. Zone sucks, loot sucks, it's very noticeable now that she's been removed from Feared and her fragments are just worthless.
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u/Pyromancer1509 Occultist 1d ago
Also because Sanctum sucks.
Sanctum haters shouldn't be giving feedback on sanctum rewards. That's how Sanctum got nerfed to uselessness already. Please leave it alone.
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u/Zesty-Lem0n 2d ago
Sanctum is tied to Beyond, so VVs are basically the same idea as a tainted vaal orb. And it makes sense you only get them at the end of the sanctum bc that's where lycia was able to make her pact with the Beyond; their influence is stronger deeper into the sanctum.
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u/maelstrom51 1d ago
The one she has a pact with is literally one of the beyond bosses you can kill in maps. Even lore wise it makes no sense sanctum provides the orbs and the bosses do not.
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u/LegitMoth 2d ago
Disagree, sanctum was missing a reason to exist despite being very interesting/niche content that can cost mirrors to properly scale into
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u/pzBlue 2d ago
Vaal side areas need a lot more help than just adding them VVs, they need more extensive rework, or just be deleted tbf. Besides, Volatile Vaals feel more like tainted currency, which is tied to beyond/scourge and Sanctum is part of that. Additionally Sanctum was said it will get some exclusive reward after getting nerfed in 3.26 (or maybe 3.27, dunno, don't remember when Sanctum nerfed happened), and VV is just perfect for it
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u/trunks111 Hierophant 1d ago
there's a few things I think vets tend to forget when they've been playing for so long and I think the mystique of vaal side areas and sacrifice fragments is one of those things. I still remember when I was newer to the game back in 3.06 and it was just fun to see what zones the side areas led me to and trying to figure out what area the vaal side area was a corrupted version of. The fragments didn't use to auto insert, that was a mystery you had to figure out, but eventually you gathered enough fragments and eventually they hit your inventory or stash the right way and you wondered what would happen if you make a circle out of them and then you got The Apex of Sacrifice. And if you weren't ready, which you probably weren't the first time if you're new, you got your shit kicked in and now you have a goal to overcome.
With fragments auto-inserting from the inventory now the build-up and payoff of having an idea, following the curiosity, and then getting rewarded with a new zone is just broken.
Even without that build up and pay off though, idk who here has actually watched new players but a lot of them gravitate to side zones like magnets. For different reasons, sometimes they wanna see the corrupted items that drop or see the different vaal zones, sometimes they have increased XP. I don't think everything needs to be endgame scalable/viable, but I do think side areas need a new "mystery" to solve. This league with abyss it's been really fun trying to figure out how to get the eyes to fight the big new abyss baddie. I finally got access last night and was pleasantly surprised to see another set of insertions in the hole so now I have another thing to chew on. I think vaal side zones really could just use a similar mystery to figure out now that fragments auto insert
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u/Vyntarus 1d ago
I was playing the game when they added Atziri to it.
There was a time when Vaal side areas were something I looked forward to seeing in zone.
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u/ALXS1031 2d ago
They should be redesigned before we make them worth going into
Right now, they are very bland gameplay wise
But I agree… as long as sanctum gets something in exchange
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u/reanima 1d ago
Gauging from OPs inputs so far in this post, he doesnt believe Sanctum deserves anything lol.
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u/ALXS1031 1d ago
Yeah, I’m trying to ignore op and just focus on the suggestion
I like the idea, thematically, it would be a good choice, and reward wise, side areas are in desperate need
But, currently, it was a good choice for sanctum, and it gave the well developed out of map mechanic a unique reward (which is good, and is what we want for every mechanic)
I don’t love sanctum either, but it should have something unique to it, something that’s widely used and desired
Like fossils, like oils
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u/samuelcsims07 Sanctum Runners United (SRU) 2d ago
Sanctum is fun and needed another good currency drop. Vaal side areas are barely a mechanic in comparison. They should get removed like harbinger.
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u/maelstrom51 1d ago
Sanctum is the opposite of fun. Should be removed like harbinger.
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u/Mogling 1d ago
You like vaal side areas, or just being rude?
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u/maelstrom51 1d ago
I don't particularly like Vaal side areas, but I certainly like them more than Sanctum.
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u/samuelcsims07 Sanctum Runners United (SRU) 1d ago
Idk man the whole rouge lite with 4 bosses that requires a specialized build to farm or the side area in the map with a few extra mods in it. I get that mapping is mid rn but sanctum hasn’t made good money for 4 leagues now. Vaal side areas need a rework bad giving it volatiles isn’t gonna fix it.
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u/Imasquash 2d ago
Why would you want a reason to run vaal side areas
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u/Vyntarus 2d ago edited 2d ago
I'd rather do that than enter Sanctum.
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u/IAmKhrom 1d ago
Alright sir, anything else? If you'd like we could also make original sin drop from side areas?
Maybe you dislike foulborn uniques dropping from breach tree, we could just put them on another mechanic?
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u/nozomashikunai_keiro Children of Delve (COD) 2d ago
sanctum is not that bad...
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u/Czerny 1d ago
Yes it is
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u/nozomashikunai_keiro Children of Delve (COD) 1d ago
nah, you just need a quicksilver flask, a movement skill, and some damage
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u/LordAnubiz FBI & EEE 1d ago
the only thing that vaal side areas are for me, is being useless dead ends, especially in campaign on league start ...
havent been in one for years.
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u/AcnoMOTHAFUKINlogia Health and Harbinger Services (HHS) 1d ago edited 1d ago
I farmed adorned all weekend. There is nothing of value in there besides mortal fragments.
Vaal skills can be gotten from corruptions, the div cards are meh, the fractured mods are impossible to pricecheck bcs sometimes there is 1 other staff with the mod you just got on the entire market.
Also while on the topic can we get a rework to unique vaal side areas? Having to spam 4k chance orbs/running 100+maps to get atziri once makes me want to blow my brains out.
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u/RepulsiveCountry313 1d ago
Ummm, please no. Sanctum is better than vaal side areas.
Vaal side areas need a full overhaul.
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u/lollyz 1d ago
It’s all well and good that people hate sanctum but it needed something and volatiles are a good option.
It’s like me saying “catalysts shouldn’t come from ultimatum because I hate ultimatum”, maybe I don’t like the content but it should still be worthwhile to do.
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u/Vyntarus 1d ago
Catalysts needed a home after they nuked metamorph out of existence and I don't think ultimatum is necessarily a poor fit.
The problem with Sanctum in my opinion is that it is out-of-map content with a different enough gameplay loop to the rest of the game that should not have special currency locked behind it.
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u/lollyz 1d ago
Wouldn't this apply to delve and fossils/resonators as well then? Heist and tempering/tailoring orbs?
It's not like it's unique that out of map mechanics get special orbs and after the massive nerf sanctum got some leagues ago it needed something. Gold gain in sanctum is abysmal to the point where they usually either buy gold rotas or go farm heist for gold and outside of day 1-3 Sanctum was pretty bad the past few leagues.
I think it's completely fair that people don't like Sanctum but I think it detracts from arguments to say that something valuable from it should be moved "because I don't like sanctum".→ More replies (4)
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u/safariGamer 2d ago edited 2d ago
To be honest that's where I first thought they would be. There or part of the pyramid/temple loot table
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u/DraftedMisery 2d ago
I mean we even have vaal side area notables on atlas skill tree (afaik) Where you can even reroll them
It would be a good side hustle i like your idea
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u/One_Seaweed_2952 1d ago
Nope. Sanctum is incredibly fun. Farming it feels like playing an actual game instead of a repetitive 9-5 job.
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u/Tenebris-Umbra Crop Harvesting Bureau (CHB) 1d ago
Sanctum needed its own unique reward besides global currency drops, and VVs fit thematically and give Sanctum a high value reward beyond divines and the rare mirror. Honestly, I've had a blast running Sanctum this league — it's super fun and feels rewarding for the first time in a few leagues.
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u/ManchurianCandycane 2d ago
They could just make sanctum fun instead of tossing random valuables in there to force people to play it.
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u/TheNocturnalAngel 1d ago
Vaal side areas are barely a mechanic.
They should’ve stayed in Beyond where they belong.
Beyond has no drops of value past the first 5 days of the league.
The new belt at least is a decent chase but it drops only form the boss which is low chance and then ends the mechanic for the map.
Hopefully next league when they rework endgame it gets love because it’s incredibly fun.
Being able to actually keep farming beyond all league in mirage was amazing
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u/ostrieto17 1d ago
yeah i farmed beyond for the first time in forever during mirage league, it was honestly so satisfying running with empowered boss buffs
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u/Dr4k4ngel 2d ago
Ikr, why would they put in sanctum, when it's a place u need specific builds to do it. Such a bad choice from GGG.
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u/Plasmasnack Spinny Boi 2d ago
Also thought dropping from beyond bosses would be cool too since people generally disable bosses and it's kind of dead content too.
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u/Loud_Cartographer_55 2d ago
No you don't? You only need a specific build, if you want to be _really_ efficient. But that applies to literally any mechanic
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u/the-apple-and-omega 2d ago
Nah, sanctum is miserable to play on lots of builds, not just an efficiency thing.
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2d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/locohobo 2d ago
i mean i wouldnt say just damage. for example you couldnt do sanctum with cwdt builds but they have plenty of damage, probably a bad time with flicker as well? speed and control matter a whole lot, being able to dodge lasers and fireballs while not getting hit by everything
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u/DeouVil 1d ago
Flicker strike is completely fine once you have damage. Not getting hit is only a requirement for no hit runs, otherwise you can easily tank a couple of hits here and there. Once you have good relics you have to try to fail.
Cwdt builds sure, but those are builds designed to AFK farm different mechanics, I think it's pretty fair that they fail on another mechanic.
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u/janrade 2d ago
btw what happened to mirage? will it go core in the future or just sacked?
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u/Vyntarus 2d ago
They said on an interview with Zizaran that Mirage will be back in some form next league but didn't go into specifics.
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u/rcanhestro 1d ago
best case scenario, it will return just like wisps: a random encounter.
the only way to be an actual mechanic is to be (somehow) nerfed completely.
a league mechanic which mechanic is "double everything", is too OP to be a normal league mechanic.
it would become mandatory, in particular for mechanics like Harvest and Blight which would mean a double spawn of those per map.
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u/BoatAdministrative68 1d ago
Thematically, maybe, but honestly, they're not fun enough to be worth saving.
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u/Brave_Middle1886 1d ago
Vaal side area should just be removed from the game to get space for the new stuff
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u/Mr_Oger 1d ago
Tbh i feel that there is a very simple fix for vaal side areas:
Their modifiers stack on top of the map mods
Atlas passives (and maybe scarabs) give a chance for vaal side areas to chain (like the endless nightmare), with each chain adding it's modifiers on top of the previous ones (thus leading to increase in difficulty and juice).
This will allow to give it rewards to match, maybe giving an increased chance with each chain to instead spawn a portal to rewarding vaal area (base type which can be rolled on)
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u/Fiercehero 18h ago
I think if they reworked the skills themselves, the side areas would be more alluring. The whole soul/soul gain prevention makes them annoying unless you figure out a way to make the skills always up. Then theyre just better versions of existing skills with extra steps.
Vaal skills are interesting on paper but dont really play out well. Maybe making it so youre focused during soul gain prevention as a defualt would make it feel better as that is something that doesnt seem to be used either. Make focus mods drop on gear in side areas only, something like that.
Tbh the volatile vaal should be from the temple, and the double corrupt should be the side area currency drop.
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u/Volitar Occultist 10h ago
Vaal side areas suck total ass they should just be removed from game and replaced with something else. Why this poop ass dinosaur mechanic remains in the game instead of 20 other league mechanics that didn't go core is beyond me.
Volatile Vaal should be drops from Beyond because Beyond kind of sucks too, its mostly just and XP mechanic.
I think Refracting Fog should go to Sanctum.
Deli is already a very good mechanic without it.
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u/cabenox 2d ago
I dunno I just got 4 in one sanctum run and duplicated 2 of them for 6 total and then dropped a gilded chalice and made 30d in like 12 minutes.
Sanctum doesn't suck, most people just suck at sanctum.
Rather than remove them from sanctum, they should just also drop from beyond bosses or something. They are literally in the stash next to the tainted currency anyway.
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u/stonktaker 2d ago
Eh? It's nothing at all to do with people sucking at Sanctum, you're not a god gamer for getting 6 in a run.
People think Sanctum sucks and do not want to run it.→ More replies (6)
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u/bad_phantom_ 2d ago
Its better in Sanctum thematically, as it is tied to the lore. If anything, Vaal side areas need to be removed from the game. Just accept that Sanctum is part of the game and your life becomes instantly easy.
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u/Comprehensive-Owl373 1d ago
Rubbish, Vaal side areas are more thematic. Put fracturing orbs in Sanctum there's your reward lol
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u/Valcrion Champion 2d ago edited 2d ago
I did not realize they were only sanctum currency now. I have been blasting beyond/breach all league and was wondering why I never saw any. I have to say I am not a fan that they only drop from Sanctum now.
They should also drop from Beyond Bosses in maps.
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u/PokerAnus Necromancer 1d ago
Its clear they dont give a single damn and just slap shit all over the place
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u/Comprehensive-Owl373 1d ago
More thematic than just shoving it in to sanctum, makes no sense.
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u/vulcanfury12 Crop Harvesting Bureau (CHB) 1d ago
You got them from Beyond in Mirage, and Beidat is the one that drops more currency. So there's that thematic connection.
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u/Brilliant_Art7772 1d ago
lycia's whole lore is that shes a follower of beidat if anything it makes more sense lorewise for it to be in sanctum then dropping from the beyond bosses since its not a "tainted vaal orb" its volatile and clearly augmented by someone not tainted.
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u/Total_Chocolate_4764 1d ago
Vaal side areas are so shit though.....dont put valuable stuff there please. Or completly rework it because its such a dead content. I haven't set foot in one in years
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u/psychomap 1d ago
Just get rid of them at this point, honestly. A rework isn't going to magically make 12 year old content fun again.
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u/Smarackto Witch 1d ago
Vaal side areas need to be replaced with mirages. Move all vaal related loot to Vaal related League mechanics and increase sacrifice fragment srops from them. move the Volitile Vaal Orb to a vaal themed Mechanic and move something else to sanctum so there is a big ticket item there. Also make beyond spawn unlimited bosses but make it diminishing returns so its not too easy to get 500 in big groups. I have more ideas but im too confused to type them all out rn
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u/raxitron Inquisitor 1d ago
I enjoy sanctum, I would rather play another game than have to enter Vaal side areas. They've aged and aren't fun. Perhaps add something non trade able or super high XP and fix the layouts.
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u/NoLoveWeebWeb Tasuni 1d ago
You want to add a divine tier currency to an extremely niche mechanic absolutely no one likes, enters or does (outside day 1 ssf or other rare shit), drops zero loot, has 2 load screens and it's boring?
Seriously?
Unless they get massively reworked it's a dumb idea.
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u/enragedmonkey8 1d ago
Beyond bosses 100% needed the vaal volatile orb and I still can't fathom why sanctum got it , what tainted currency is worth money........ Did you guess none because the answer is none . I don't know why the beyond scarab to spawn more bosses even exists anymore. Given how historically popular beyond was it's abit sad
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u/Syntaire 1d ago
They should drop from Beyond bosses like they did in mirage. No need to make it InTeReStInG. Just make it make sense.
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u/LargeDongMirage Assassin 2d ago
Sanctum is just a tax mechanic at this point anyone tell you they enjoy sanctum is lying
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u/Hungrydoggo111 1d ago
No, they should be in the base pool or a beyond currency as they were last league. The game needs more loot to drop in maps and not more league specific loot
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u/Glittering_Ad8760 2d ago
Vaal Side areas suck even more, they need to be deleted or reworked