Path of Exile 3.22: Comparison And Thoughts On Chieftain & Guardian Ascendancies Rework

Today we will be discussing Chieftain and Guardian Ascendancies in POE 3.22. Because those two classes were reworked and came back in this Trial of the Ancestors league.

When these reworks were first announced, a lot of things changed. For example, they actually updated some Chieftain nodes before this tournament launch. Of course, now we know about Guardian’s minions. So how do these Ascendancies fare in the new league? Without further ado, let’s get started.

Ascendancy Popularity

First, let’s look at the difference in popularity between these two Ascendancies. Each league has its own most popular Ascendancy class. But I think Guardian’s popularity is somewhat to be expected. Because both the new Chieftain and the new Guardian provide power from Ascendancy. But that power doesn’t really depend on powerful POE Items.

With Guardian, you have extremely powerful minions that provide a lot of free damage aura. Sentinel of Radiance not only means players can take a lot of damage but also be able to kill garbage mobs and harvest massive POE Currency throughout the campaign.

On the premise of having good equipment, of course, the damage output can be improved to the greatest extent. But even without incredible gear, with passive trees and abilities like Purity of Fire, these Ascendancy nodes are useful.

Ruthless Leagues

For these reasons, you can see how popular this Ascendancy reworks are in Ruthless game mode. Guardians are at the top of every Ruthless League, which is unbelievable, but Chieftain is in it too. Because Guardian can focus on defensive gear and Ascendancy nodes on the tree, it takes so much damage from Ascendancy.

Chieftain is the opposite, gaining a lot of defense from Ascendancy. Mainly because Chieftain’s Ascendancy offers incredible ease of gearing even in brutal environments where gear is scarce. And you can still limit the resistance easily and reliably. So I think those strengths are going to be welcomed in Ruthless Leagues.

Main Leagues

But what about the other core game modes? In these patterns, the differences are more pronounced. We can see that Chieftain is pretty much at the bottom of the game along with Assassin and Gladiator in this Softcore trade. I think this is very understandable.

Because bonuses from Ascendancy are far less impactful. When you’re able to purchase decent resistance gear at any Ascendancy stage of progression to deal with drag and such, you’re left with an empty shell. Meanwhile, Guardian is only slightly more popular in this league.

Also Read: How To Create A Marauder Hinekora Shaman In POE 3.22? - A Ruthless Starter Build

Guardian Builds

When looking at the most popular builds on Guardian, the number one build is SRS. But Necromancer dominates this SRS category in Softcore trade. At least for SRS, most players are playing Necromancer.

I think Guardian will be one of those classes that will take a while to get used to meta. Because the reworked classes are no longer limited to Minion builds and are more open to interpretation. So over time, I can see this Ascendancy gaining popularity in other build areas.

Hardcore & SSF Leagues

You can see a trend here. Work your way through Solo Self-Found Softcore League, then into Hardcore Trade and Hardcore Solo Self-Found.

Chieftain and Guardian Ascendancies gradually become more popular as the difficulty of the league increases. That’s a pretty impressive feat. Chieftain is also doing better in this league, with a 6% usage rate. This again underscores the value of these Ascendancies when more restrictions apply and the difficulty of acquiring gear.

Closing Thoughts

Personally, I don’t have any experience with the new Guardian, but I’ve played a lot of new Chieftains. Overall, I’d say this Ascendancy reworks turned out to be much better than it first seemed. But Chieftain may need to change Ruthless game mode gameplay. Because of its many build options, it’s really hard to get any meaningful value out of Uber Lab.

Anyway, here’s the reworked Chieftain and Guardian Ascendancies in POE 3.22 and how they look in this new league. What do you think of them? I want to know your opinion. Looking forward to seeing you next time.