Death penalty in Act 6?

So I recently reached the 6th act with my new duelist in Harbinger League, and since I got killed almost instantly everytime I encountered a group of totem-spawning enemies, and that I was losing something like 5% xp each death, I almost stopped playing.

But then after the recent update I came back, and I don't seem to be losing xp at death anymore. I'm not complaining, but did they change that in the patch, or did I miss something at some point?

It should not have changed, its even explained in the help pages (checked yesterday).
After the apply of the (first) resistance penalty 'after' act 5, the death penalty (should) also kick in, up to the next 'level' after act 10.

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leandrepc wrote:

So I recently reached the 6th act with my new duelist in Harbinger League, and since I got killed almost instantly everytime I encountered a group of totem-spawning enemies, and that I was losing something like 5% xp each death, I almost stopped playing.

But then after the recent update I came back, and I don't seem to be losing xp at death anymore. I'm not complaining, but did they change that in the patch, or did I miss something at some point?

You should still get the EXP penalty. It may be a bug.

For a little tip, if you are dying to the totem spawning enemies this early in the game, then you should check your lightning resist. Resistances in this game are super important, and getting them capped at around act 8 is a must.
Also, if you are melee, dont forget to keep increasing your lifepool as you level up.

Thanks for the replies folks. If it's a bug, I guess it's gonna set itself straight before long.

For the resistances, it's true that I already had crappy elemental defenses before the chapter 6's debuff, so for now I'm using a half-leveled Purity of Elements to counter that weakness. I'm about as annoyed by the totem spammers than I am by the ice archers, but telling me that it's electricity instead of fire for the totems is probably the tip I needed to get an chance of survival.

For the hp pool, I must admit I forgot to improve mine after the beginning of the act 4, so it's likely that it didn't help. I'll see to that ASAP.

I think he was wrong here (even dunno what he may have meant) but the enemy totems in act 6 (coast, mud flats, fortress) are using scorching ray which IS still for them: fire damage. And as you noticed, it indeed hurts a lot if you're not prepared.