Content Update 1.3.0 Patch Notes, Deployment Timeline and Official Path of Exile Twitch Channel

We're launching our Twitch channel tomorrow. It's going to stream a variety of community content and some developer content. We'll be scaling it up over time as we learn the ropes of streaming and hosting streamers. If you have any suggestions to improve the channel, please let us know!

Here's the deployment timeline for tomorrow (in NZ time):
11:30: 30 minute countdown starts.
12:00: Realm goes down for two hours (during which time you can patch the client).
13:00: I go live for a one-hour Q&A on the Path of Exile Twitch channel.
14:00: Servers come back up. Torment/Bloodlines challenge leagues start.

For reference, 2pm NZ time is 5pm PST.

By the way, I wanted to write a few words about the balance changes in 1.3.0. When we see changes we want to make that affect people's live characters, we generally save them up to apply between challenge leagues. This is because a lot of the community make new characters and can plan them around the new balance.
I know it sucks to read a big list of changes that sound like they hurt your characters. The changes are generally relatively small adjustments and in aggregate they drastically increase the number of viable PvE character builds. We're very wary that content is gradually drifting to be easier and easier as more skills/options are available to characters, so we occasionally need to adjust it. Some of the changes may not work as you expect - please let us know your feedback after trying out the update.

Common feedback is that we need to buff the weaker skills and also make the game generally more challenging. This is equivalent to applying small nerfs to the strongest skills.

With the new challenge leagues and balance, the game has a slightly different feel to it, but it's a feel that we've really been enjoying and we're hoping you do too. See you tomorrow at the Q&A!

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Chameleon wrote:

So much hate for this patch, hope it changes once they play it.

Ziggy made a good point that there wasnt anything really "positive" in the patch notes like a small buff to a less used skill or something to get people excited about a new build.

This is the danger with describing the key content in advance - that the 8 new gems, 26 new uniques and such are already old news when considering the balance changes. There are plenty of awesome new builds, especially now that there's more parity between them. I'm personally excited to make a level 28 Raging Spirits PvP character and a Static Strike Templar as my regular character. Seems like it'll be two Templars for me this league :P