In Path of Exile patch 3.28, obtaining Harvest is more profitable than ever. Lifeforce will drop from monsters. Since Lifeforce is essential for late-game crafting and item creation, its price is very stable and unaffected by inflation.
Moreover, and importantly, Harvest is not only profitable but also completely hassle-free. Therefore, this guide will detail how to maximize the benefits of farming Harvest. This includes what aspects to focus on in the setup, how to improve efficiency, which Scarabs are worth using, which are not, and how to earn more Currency through Harvest.
Best stat for farm
First, let's understand Path of Exile Mirage Harvest mechanic. For seeds of level 3 and below, the larger the population size, the greater the chance of each seed spawning an additional monster. Once the monster population size reaches 100%, two monsters will definitely spawn. We can consider the 100% monster population size multiplier as a very important milestone to maximize Harvest gains players obtain from each map.
To boost Packsize
If possible, it's recommended to first acquire Originator maps with the highest monster horde size, which can achieve up to 72% monster horde size. Of course, if your budget is very limited and you want to farm Harvest within that budget, I think farming normal mode maps with a monster horde size of around 46% is the best option.
However, to maximize currency gains, it's strongly recommended acquiring Originator maps and set the pack size to 62 or higher. With these maps, you'll get 100% monster horde size, with monster numbers always doubled, which is crucial for acquiring more resources.
You can slightly increase your monster numbers by using Cartography Scarabs, which will add two extra Random modifiers to the map. However, if your build is already capable of handling certain map modes, this method is not recommended.
Farming Scarabs
Now let's talk about Scarabs and which Scarabs to use. The choice is obvious: Harvest Scarab of Doubling, which doubles your life points. It's very effective, and many PoE players use it consistently.
Farming Harvest Scarab of Cornucopia is less recommended because it spawns at least one Tier 4 Boss. Boss's appearance slows down the map's respawn rate, so even if you have extremely high damage and can immediately face Boss, sometimes it won't even enter the level, or it might even get stuck between levels.
Therefore, this guide argues that the rewards from Bosses don't justify spending more time completing the map, and since doubling the map size only increases the number of Tier 3 monsters, not the number of bosses, this leads to a situation where the rewards from Bosses decrease as the monster horde grows. I believe that limiting the monster horde size and focusing on Tier 3 plants is the best way to maximize efficiency and hourly currency gain.
You can also try increasing the monster number by influencing Scarab of Hordes, but this isn't necessary; you can also choose to use Sacrifice directly.
Astrolabe
Under normal circumstances, the profits from Astrolabe can cover costs and ensure you have synthesized stability, which will be helpful. You can run the same map until you leave Astrolabe.
Stop crop rotation
Before PoE 3.28, crop rotation heavily relied on Horned Scarab of Awakening, which increased the chance of crops not wilting. However, since its update, it no longer provides these bonuses.
Therefore, I believe the value of crop rotation has been greatly reduced. Thus, during Harvest, I feel it's easier to earn more Path of Exile Currency without crop rotation. Currently, I do not recommend choosing it under any circumstances.
To run maps efficient
City Square Map is an excellent choice. This map itself is very open; you can run directly to Harvest point, harvest, complete Mirage quest, and then leave. You can also choose the equally open Dunes Map, which works similarly - simply go straight to Harvest point and leave.
Regardless of the map, the most important thing is to quickly farm harvest skills. Don't fight bosses, don't clear the map, and don't waste time on anything else. Each map should take about 3 minutes. With additional complexities, such as randomly appearing bosses, the time might be longer, say 3 and a half minutes.
If you spend too much time, your hourly earnings may drop significantly. Another mistake many people make is choosing maps that are too difficult. Therefore, when choosing a map, it's crucial to ensure you don't die on it and that you can progress quickly enough.
If you feel your build isn't strong enough, start with some simple, basic maps. Only attempt higher-level maps when your build is strong enough, and make sure you don't choose too many bad mods, as this will extend your map time.
This concludes this article about POE 3.28. Hopefully, it will help you farm harvest better and begin your gaming journey.
