Reduce Energy Shield (High Tier Mods Only)

For Content Patch 0.3.0, I urge GGG to reduce the higher-tier modifiers for Energy Shield on items as players are achieving colossal values of Energy Shield as compared to other defensive mechanics.

The lower-tier modifiers don't need to change. This change would reduce the power of Energy Shield at endgame, without undermining it in the early game.

There’s a reason why Energy Shield (ES) tends to be high. Many ES builds deal self-damage, take double chaos damage, and often sacrifice other forms of defense entirely—so the extra ES is meant to compensate. But if you don’t invest heavily into ES recharge and you’re taking constant hits, it’s not as strong as it looks. Its main advantage is simply being able to absorb bigger single hits.

What you’re asking for isn’t a good change, because:

1. When Druid is added, we’ll likely see an Arrogance support gem to reserve life, which will synergize with armor and ES.

2. When Vermilion Rings arrive, maximum life will increase—bringing more life regeneration with it. I am not sure how they will balance blood mage, if this makes it from PoE 1 to PoE 2, though.

3. Hybrid ES/Evasion defenses will take a huge hit, as they rely on avoiding hits to recover ES and stay alive.

4. Non-ES builds, especially fighter archetypes, already have extremely strong offense, so heavy defensive layers like ES aren’t as necessary for them.

5. I don't know, man... Should I even go on?

In short, your proposed change would seriously hurt Hardcore, Hardcore SSF, most league starters, and boss practice builds—all for a relatively small and short-sighted gain.

While I understand the frustration some players feel toward ES, I think it’s currently in a very good spot—not perfect, but solid. Other defensive archetypes simply don’t yet have all the tools they need. Imagine if we also had a Moonstone Ring option—that would shift the balance even further.

I just hope the developers don’t repeat Path of Exile 1’s mistake with Ephemeral Edge (more damage for more ES) or Diablo IV’s with Fortify and Overpower, both of which were heavily nerfed after becoming overpowered.

I’m not in favor of bugged, broken, or wildly overpowered mechanics, but I do believe ES is healthy right now. The focus should be on slightly tuning other defenses and expanding itemization and the passive tree to better support players who want to invest in defense—without heavily compromising offense, utility, speed, or resources.

Thanks for reading! Cheers!