In Path of Exile 3.24, Harbinger in SSF proves useful for several reasons, particularly for farming currency. It adds numerous monsters to the maps, and acquiring scarabs is relatively straightforward. This strategy is not overly complex to execute, and the investment required is minimal and can effectively complement other strategies.
Strategy Overview
The idea of this strategy is incredibly straightforward: we aim to maximize the number of Harbingers in the map, buff them as much as possible. Despite its simplicity, it's a fun strategy. Harbingers can also spawn as a map modifier, resulting in some completely ludicrous maps filled with blue Harbingers.
They drop many hard-to-get currency orbs like Exalted Orbs, Orb of Annulment, Ancient Orbs, and even Fracturing Orbs, which are incredibly rare. You can use all the Ancient Orbs on unique belts in SSF. On average, you can take 3 to 4 Ancient Orbs per map, plus an Orb of Annulment and maybe an Exalted Orb.
To give you an idea of the loot that is in Tier 16 maps, with perhaps on average 80% map quantity, but that map quantity doesn't actually affect the results. You would maybe think that Harbingers drop the Beachhead map or the Landing Divination Card, which can be traded for the Beachhead.
Harbinger Scarabs
For scarabs, I'm typically using 2 regular Harbinger Scarabs for 6 additional Harbingers, then one Harbinger Scarab of Discernment to increase their currency to be rare and drop one type. This means you either get a ton of the currency that you want or you don't get anything at all. But it saves you a lot of clicking.
The fourth scarab is the Harbinger Scarab of Regency, giving us a 50% chance for a Harbinger boss. The total chance of this is now 75% thanks to the passive tree. Sometimes, you will have enough of the Harbinger Scarab of Warhoards, which doubles the currency that you're getting, which is obviously amazing.
Atlas Tree Setup
Let's talk about the atlas passive tree. First, we definitely choose the Harbinger nodes. First Wave gives a 25% chance for a more powerful Harbinger. Unspeakable Offensive makes them spawn their monsters much faster and speeds up the mechanic. Then you can take Rogues, as they drop tons of loot, and combined with the increased item quantity from Unrelenting Torment.
I’m skipping shrines entirely on this strategy. The Harbinger isn’t all that difficult. It’s a lot easier than Essence monsters or Rogues, so we can do without the shrines and spend those points elsewhere. I recommend running the Searing Exarch influence as it provides a steady stream of currency and scarabs, which is useful in SSF.
Running the league nodes for more corpses, more Allflame, and more buffs and debuffs on the monster packs. These synergize once more because the extra quantity and rarity modifiers are amazing in your maps. But also, we're playing the Necropolis League, and that means you should engage with the league mechanic.
To sustain, scarabs are crucial, so you can prioritize acquiring most scarab nodes on the Atlas tree. However, opt out of certain nodes that enhance map modifier effects. While these nodes don't boost map rewards, they make maps overly challenging and less enjoyable, which is unnecessary.
Final Thought
I found a few pros of this strategy. The scarabs are fairly easy to find, and it works with a lot of combinations of Harbinger scarabs, so you can run this with whatever you want. You’re not really bound to one specific scarab. You can mix and match, and everything will basically just work. The loot is very consistent, and it’s also loot that you otherwise cannot get, like Fracturing Orbs.
However, there are also some cons too. The first is that the maps take quite a long time to complete with the Harbinger. You still have to wait quite a while before all the monsters show up. The second con is that the mechanics don't really interact with many other strategies, as the monsters despawn on death, and seemingly they're not affected at all by the Allflames. And the Harbinger currency isn't affected by item quantity or item rarity, so you have very few ways to juice the rewards.
