Path of Exile 2's new update outright removes one of its strongest Buff Skills (for the time being)

Path of Exile 2’s upcoming 0.2.0 patch is going to nerf quite a few things, but one particular Buff Skill is also going to be completely removed from the game. An ability that I, among many other players expected to be nerfed, apparently couldn’t be balanced properly just yet, so the skill was nuked out of existence in the upcoming patch, and gems players already own with it were disabled.

It’s not all bad news, though. Though yes, Grim Feast is the Buff Skill completely removed from the game, it will come back to Path of Exile 2 eventually — we hope, anyway. Here’s what we know, and what it did before.

---

Unfortunately, Grim Feast is gone from Path of Exile 2, as of patch 0.2.0 — for now

Grim Feast was arguably one of the strongest Buff Skills in Path of Exile 2, and when the 0.2.0 patch hits the game, it’s getting removed completely. In a show of good faith, the Grim Feast gems players created will stick around but will be disabled, making them unusable. Many players, myself certainly included, were expecting it to be overwhelmingly nerfed.

Sorry, Grim Feast fans, but it's going away for a while (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Grim Feast recovered 10-242 Energy Shield by feeding on corpses. Essentially, you kill enemies and pick up little sprites that add to your Energy Shield. These items, Grim Remnants, had a 50% chance to spawn anytime an enemy dies, or a reviving minion dies in your Presence.

This made any build that used Raging Spirits feel almost invincible. You’re constantly casting minions that perish in a few seconds, and thus, could just keep stacking your Energy Shield until you had double your max Energy Shield in Path of Exile 2. I don’t mind saying it was completely bonkers.

It made even the most weakly-equipped spellcaster more durable than a Warrior clad in plate mail. It appears a solution wasn’t found to balance the powerful Buff Skill in Path of Exile 2, Grim Feast is just gone for the time being. Until they figure out a way to make this skill a bit more balanced, you simply cannot use it.

Perhaps they can lower the overflow, or even remove it. Even if you completely removed the Energy Shield overflow it provides, it would still be a remarkably powerful skill. Perhaps not completely game-shattering, but it would still give casters a way to stay safe in the most dire of situations. We will simply have to see what the developers do to fix this going forward.

---

Check out our other guides and features for this game

• Path of Exile 2: A Quick Summary of what’s new in Dawn of the Hunt
• Path of Exile 2’s upcoming patch will make Weapon Set-swapping far more viable
• All new Ascendancies in Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt (0.2.0)