PoE 2, which launched in early December as an early access version, is a huge change from the original. While not all of the changes have been praised and well received by players, some interesting new gameplay and features have been introduced.
For example, new Huntress class, Ascendancies, and spear skills in Dawn of the Hunt have attracted many players and caused a huge sensation. This Patch 0.2.0 has an extremely good class, but there are also shortcomings behind the excellence.
Many of new Ascendancies in the game will be very powerful in the later stages, which may make some new builds a reality, just like Lich class with Energy Shield and Life interaction, and Huntress's Amazon Ascendancy and OP Lightning Spear skill are also one of the most powerful classes when paired.
Similarly, Ritualist is more suitable for some fully equipped characters to builds, and getting a full range of gear may consume your PoE 2 Currency and time. But some players have found that the super popular Smith of Kitava Ascendancy for Warrior is full of features and very powerful, but it has a big flaw in the key point of build diversity.
Powerful Strength Of Smith Of Kitava Ascendancy
Smith of Kitava Ascendancy in Dawn of Hunt allows us to make its bulletproof vests in various ways, which brings the playability of the game to a new level. This is thanks to Smith's Masterwork Ascendancy node, at which we can get Smith's Masterwork for free without spending any points.
At the next few nodes, we can also spend Ascendancy points at will, but only up to eight. Then, one disadvantage of Smith's Masterwork is that we can only use bulletproof vests of Normal rarity when activating this node.
However, since Smith's Masterwork has so many great options, it's worth picking up some of its subsequent nodes even if you can only use regular body armor, which are:
- Support Straps - Gain 20% increased Strength
- Molten Symbol - Take 25% of Physical damage as Fire damage
- Leather Bindings - Regenerate 5% of maximum Life per second
- Tantalum Alloy - Gain +75% Fire Resistance
- Flowing Metal - +5% Maximum Fire Resistance
- Kitavan Engraving - Gain 15% increased maximum Life
We can make these nodes stronger by picking up Coal Stoker and Forged in Flame. Coal Stoker grants 50% Fire Resistance, which applies to Cold and Lightning Resistances. Forged in Flame allows us to apply Maximum Fire Resistance to Maximum Cold and Lightning Resistances.
As a result, Smith of Kitava is tanky with minimal investment, allowing players to play around with the damage nodes in Passive Skill Tree while still having the option to choose the defense nodes they need to improve survivability.
Why Smith Of Kitava Lacks Build Diversity?
Because Coal Stoker and Forged in Flame are so powerful and synergize with Smith's Masterwork nodes, it's hard to find other nodes that Ascendancy class offers in the game. These traits all lack any ability beyond their specific uses.
For example, Anvil can be a speed bump in your gameplay, using Living Weapon to its full potential requires a certain Minion build, and Heat of the Forge requires a mix of melee and spells.
Smith of Kitava is basically stuck with the same build, and this lack of choice is a testament to Ascendancy's strength while also revealing its limited build diversity.
