Proposed Solution to Elementalist Nerfs in 3.26

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You misread my post

Oh, my apologies!

Unfortunately, I don't see a path. Just stacking minion dmg, or exploiting some niche mechanic, or whathaveyou will also just result in an inferior alternative of zombie/spectre/AG builds.

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I didn't check your profile to know whether you are new to the game or not....but deleting builds off the face of Wraeclast is GGG's specialty: always was, always will be.

Hell, its not even the first time for Elementalist Golemancers lol.

On again, off again player for 4-5 years.

& true about Elementalist Golemancers. Hence the reason I had to create a whole new build from scratch after the last round of nerfs. But it was still possible, now I don't see a feasible path.

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Draíocht#0144 wrote:

Hence the reason I had to create a whole new build from scratch after the last round of nerfs. But it was still possible, now I don't see a feasible path.

You need to assess other ascendancies dude. Guardian is one. You can go full defensive and use your new defensive passive freedom to buff minions even more through clusters. There are many other possibilities I'm sure can be found. I have seen poison pathfinder golemancers

But you haven't even tried. You have ONLY scratched the surface. And stayed on the surface.


The primary limiter was less the ascendancy and more the golems themselves: this patch is attempting to change that.



And get comparing it to other minion builds completely out of your head....golems have NEVER, EVER been the same as other minion builds. EVER EVER EVER. This is coming from someone who made golemancers back in the day when carrion golems didn't even exist. Ice golemancers were all the rage, and even fire golemancers (what was that, like 8 years ago?!) They don't need to be "better than zombies". If you want to build golems, you build golems. If you want the BEST BUILD, that's another story.

Get over the shock, and now start the FUN: explore brand new ways to make your favorite build shine! If you've never done that before, you've never "played" PoE. You've merely been operating an automatic simulator.

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But you haven't even tried. You have ONLY scratched the surface. And stayed on the surface.

I'm not sure if I should be offended, or thankful for the new perspective. I'm also not sure that is a fair point, or a misleading red hering.

On this game pretty much anything can be done, if you want it badly enough and pour enough currency into it. But that doesn't mean it is neccessarily viable for a normal player and normal content.

Witches have always had certain undeniable advantages with golems. +2 max golems is a flat +% to DPS that no other class has access to. Auto re-summoning is absolutely vital with minions that regularly die even at gem lvl 32-35 & heavy minion life investment. +350% golem buff effect, also witch exclusive, was always what took golems to the next level.

I'd argue that it isn't true that golems have never ever been the same as other minion builds. Back in, what was it, 2021? There was a golem meta and IIRC it was either heist league, or the one after? when golemancers occupied a good chunk of meta leaderboards. But this is all a bit pedantic I suppose.

In the end, I don't think scratching, or even plunging headlong into the surface if going to change the calculus in a meaningful way here.

The core issue is that what made golems good in the first place, the phys dmg reduction, the stackable defensive golem buff effects, is gone. This patch definitely makes having a golem pet more viable & useful as a self-cast build. But it guts the very core of a golem-focused build.

Maybe with mirrors of investment, you'll be running T16s safely & in reasonable time frames with a Guardian golemancer. But I would think about it like this:

There is a meta; this is what people who want the BEST BUILD play.

There is an off-meta; this is for people who don't neccessarily need to be meta, but want a build that can realistically make it to endgame, ubers, & T17s on attainable budgets.

Then there is off-off-meta; this is for people who either intentionally try to make something work that doesn't, or people who are willing to sacrifice convenience for freedom.

I tend to shy away from the first, and the last, the middle is my home. Up through 3.26, my golemancer wasn't topping any leaderboards, or deleting ubers in 5 seconds. But I could do basically all juiced content reasonably safely, clear T17s in about 5-10 mins, and defeat ubers on a ~300 div budget. And do it all with a relaxed, easygoing playstyle. That isn't happening anymore with golems. Maybe Guardian build could be as tanky, but would lack clear. Maybe necro could achieve similar clear, but will not have the same tankiness, especially vs. ubers.

I'm not screaming into the wind here, though. If you have a solution, I'm not unwilling to hear it. I just don't see a path, and telling me to dig deeper only opens a path if one is actually there.


Edit: Responding to edit

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Get over the shock, and now start the FUN: explore brand new ways to make your favorite build shine! If you've never done that before, you've never "played" PoE. You've merely been operating an automatic simulator.

Hey, I'm right there with you. It is an argument I've made before, too. I wasn't following a guide, or copy-pasting anything. I created the golemancer build I played from scratch, and I spent weeks figuring out the best way to make it shine.

Maybe I do need to get over the shock. But past the shock, there may be hope. Or there may not be. I don't see it right now, and I've not yet heard anything to make me think I'm wrong.

P.S. I was running ice golems in 3.25 =p. They were still awesome.

auto resummoning is a very NEW thing introduced to Elementalist in the grand scheme of the game lol. To say its essential is pretty laughable.

I stand by what I said: you really haven't been playing PoE at all if you think that you should feel "offended" or that its a red herring to have to explore other ascendancies for your builds.

Do you even remotely understand how build guides get created in the first place?

The SURFACE level of PoE is easy: want golems, go with the only ascendancy that literally has golems in it. But that completely shoe-horns you into not thinking about anything. And other options can be WAY more powerful.

There are numerous juggernaut builds that.....have almost nothing to do with the juggernaut's supposed "focus". The same is true of many other ascendancies and builds. INCLUDING minions. Champion had a long run with minions. It might see a resurgence in this new patch too. SRS no-brainer was Necro, but there are extremely powerful variants in pathfinder, occultist, and other ascendancies.

Time to put on the big boy hat and make an effort for the first time in a long time. It might involve......learning and trying new things!


You found one thing that worked, and have been doing it ever since. You never once tried anything else. Now you pay the price / forced to try something new. They always existed.

You are even wrong on what made golems "good in the first place". Phys reduction was powerful, sure....but there are MANY other ways to get the same thing outside of the golem buff, and focus on the golems themselves. Juggernaut is one of them.




If you don't want to think up an idea yourself....wait a week into the new league. I can almost guarantee you there will be many different golem builds, since they saw significant buffs. By people who actually explored beyond matching golem tag to golem tag.

Here's an interesting idea right here:

https://poe.ninja/builds/settlers/character/SchwarzerStorch-3528/VollMetallBlock?i=23&search=skills%3DSummon%2BStone%2BGolem%2Bof%2BHordes

Gravebind bleedsplosion golemancer gladiator. The gearing on this guy is pretty scuffed, but the idea is interesting. That same gravebind pairing can be sent over to chieftain or if you have other sources of explosion to cover your clear complaints.

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Time to put on the big boy hat and make an effort for the first time in a long time. It might involve......learning and trying new things!

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You never once tried anything else. Now you pay the price / forced to try something new. They always existed.

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If you don't want to think up an idea yourself....wait a week into the new league. I can almost guarantee you there will be many different golem builds, since they saw significant buffs. By people who actually explored beyond matching golem tag to golem tag.

Now I know I should be offended, but I also now know that your comments are not coming from a productive or well-intentioned place, but rather a condecending one.

Suggesting that there is a solution and that I'm just to lazy or stupid to find it isn't showing wisdom & experience. It is revealing arrogance & a lack of understanding in how game balance works. Sometimes finding a build is a matter of creativity & innovation. Sometimes it just isn't possible and changes need to be made to allow a build to work.

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Do you even remotely understand how build guides get created in the first place?

Yes, I do. I made one. Have you? Because from the sounds of it you just want to insult me and provide no solution, aside from directing me to the build guides you just got done insinuating only idiots use.

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cowmoo275#3095 wrote:

Here's an interesting idea right here:

https://poe.ninja/builds/settlers/character/SchwarzerStorch-3528/VollMetallBlock?i=23&search=skills%3DSummon%2BStone%2BGolem%2Bof%2BHordes

Gravebind bleedsplosion golemancer gladiator. The gearing on this guy is pretty scuffed, but the idea is interesting. That same gravebind pairing can be sent over to chieftain or if you have other sources of explosion to cover your clear complaints.

Meaning no disrespect to the creative soul who came up with that idea, that is 1/5th my DPS, 1/4th my phys max hit, -25% my EHP, 1/2 my explode chance, and a more expensive set of gear.

A nice attempt to be productive, which I appreciate, but also no solution.

I can see you also have no actual interest in being productive.

What you want is the exact same build you currently have, in all aspects.

Tough luck buddy, that isn't how PoE works.

And as I mentioned, not even how your beloved build worked. Elementalist Golemancer has gone through at least 3, if not 4 total overhauls in the last 5ish years, each time requiring a complete rework of builds to compensate for a major change. And in many situations, it involved switching to other ascendancies. Which you never did.


If you are as experienced as you say, you should know this and now how to adjust. But you don't, so I question your so-called experience and expertise.

So fine, take offense that I'm telling you to learn how to play the game for the first time. Or I guess the second time, cuz you did learn elementalist golemancer at some point. Take offense that there might be some thinking and changing required.

The solution to Elementalist Nerfs as they pertain to Golemancers is not going to be found wallowing in what your CURRENT elementalist is capable of. Nor is it going to be found expecting the build to function in 100% the same way. That's not a PoE solution. And its the most unproductive way to discuss nerfs and solutions possible.



I also bet you calculated the damage wrong in that last build....equating boss dps to clear dps, and not factoring everything in. It's not designed to be a boss killer. Nor is that build the best example (which I literally said, scuffed gear, level 3 empower oof) of what is possible with that build archetype. Better tailored gear and build using the gravebind/explode combo can be a cheap copy/paste onto numerous other ascendancies as a simple solution to clear, allowing you to focus almost entirely on dps in another way. This guy's build didn't really do that at all, but its an IDEA.

A shame we couldn't find a more cordial and productive resolution to our differing perspectives. As this thread still exists, and I hope will continue to be a source of debate & ideas regarding elementalists, I will try to clarify matters for other readers.

I am trying to be productive. That is the whole point of this thread.

Elementalists have ridden the waves of nerfs & buffs, 100%. I've been disappointed to see changes before, no question. But this new change is build-breaking. That hasn't happened before. The path through that existed with all those other nerfs is no longer present.

I did not change ascendancies. Not because I was too stupid, or too stuborn, but because I liked how elementalist played. That didn't change in those overhauls you mentioned. It has in 3.26.

I didn't pretend to be some super meta expert genius. Though I am pretty good about Golemancers & Elementalists. I've played half a dozen to 90+ & endgame content over several leagues.

You can pretend that I'm taking offense at you "telling you to learn how to play the game for the first time", but I'm confident it is a small minority who will read this exchange and find me rude, stubborn, or insulting. I wonder, do you think the same could be said about you?

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The solution to Elementalist Nerfs as they pertain to Golemancers is not going to be found wallowing in what your CURRENT elementalist is capable of. Nor is it going to be found expecting the build to function in 100% the same way. That's not a PoE solution. And its the most unproductive way to discuss nerfs and solutions possible.

Here, I find you are partially correct. Comparing everything to an old build that no longer exists is not productive, but it is a relevant metric.

If an old build functioned, and no longer does, it is indeed productive to state that this is an undesirable change. If a solution exists to make it work again, but that "solution" is 80% less power at 50% more cost, that isn't really a solution, either.



To establish some basline, in 3.25, my key stats were as follows:

5.8m DPS (Guardian/Pinacle setting, or 6.4m w/ max pride aura)
23,750 phys max hit (37,400 w/ molten shell)
72,250 elemental max hit (123,750 w/ molten shell)
CI
4,172 ES
1,380 regen per sec
50% explode chance for 25% life as chaos

Budget: Aprox 300 div (hard to say exactly as much of it was self crafted)

Now, does any new build moving forward need to match those numbers exactly? Of course not. But it is also relevant information, and colours a suggestion towards a 1.2m DPS, 4,500 phys max hit alternative.

Ignore this cowmoo guy. It's obvious he doesn't even know what you were doing. Total "boomer knows everything" vibe.

I agree that the chaos golem nerf really does suck and the shaper of flames change (conditional phys conversion) doesn't even come close to compensating. Here's an example I found pretty quickly that shows how it can be used, with a ton of investment mind you. I suspect you were doing something similar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wF4CpdkgAlg

Prolly stuck with champ or jug now for these immortal shenanigans. Fortify stacking for sure seems interesting at least.