There are a lot of noteworthy new items introduced in Path of Exile 3.25, so don’t miss out on them before they are nerfed to dust. One of the key items is Svalinn Girded Tower Shield, which is also one of the most noteworthy unique items in Settlers of Kalguur League.
In this guide, we will talk about this Svalinn unique shield and analyze how to maximize its potential on your build.
Pros And Cons
First, let’s talk about the pros and cons of this shield.
The best part about Svalinn is that it makes your blocks essentially roll twice, and you can then choose the best result from them. The problem is, however, that both Evasion and Blocks only provide damage avoidance, and they do nothing to add a layer of damage mitigation. In other words, it provides no additional damage reduction, even if the damage over time is passed through these preventative measures.
However, the shield has another unique feature, which is that it can trigger Guard Skills like Molten Shell or Arcane Cloak on blocks. But unlike Automation or Cast when Damage Taken Support, you have to hit something in order to cast the skill itself. This means it’s not ideal for facing tanky Uber Shaper Slams or Valdo’s Map bosses.
Also, unlike Shaper Shield with recovery on a block, this item doesn’t have a mod with Life gain on Block. Technically, you can slot a skill with Life Gain on Hit, or a notable passive skill like Testudo, but they’re nowhere near as good as a Life gain on Block modifier. Therefore, Mapping and Simulacrum are usually perfect locations for builds that use this feature.
Is Svalinn Just Bait?
But as usual, these builds tend to be easily deceptive in practice. So we’ll explain from different angles how to avoid being baited before you start using a Svalinn build.
EHP
Obviously, this isn’t a realistic measure when you find something with infinite EHP. This is a bug you can notice by looking at Max Hit values alone.
Next, we’ll grab a random Lightning Strike Slayer from POE Ninja and see if this Svalinn shield is just a decoy.
First, before looking at the build itself, you should remove Svalinn from your gear and check the stats without it. No Svalinn means a big drop in EHP values. But we’re interested in something else.
Max Physical, Elemental and Chaos Hit values are basically what the build can withstand if the hits go through all the precautions. Since most builds use Guard Skills that aren’t always active, this is what it really looks like if we take damage while Guard Skills aren’t active.
If the build doesn’t have Infinite Flask upkeep, they may also be disabled considering you’re not running a juiced up map. But Mageblood build is an exception.
Because these numbers only give you data about what happens when the build takes a full hit, it has nothing to do with how good the build is. These values even take Spell Suppression into account, so this is likely a build that can take every hit, even from random white monsters off screen.
If the build lacks other sources of defense, it definitely won’t survive a juiced up 100% Delirious Tier 16 Map. That’s why we have the next set of data to analyze the build.
If the build lacks EHP, it probably won’t be able to face tanky Uber Shaper Slams. But it can still map T17s well as long as you’re willing to invest more POE Currency to upgrade its Evasion and Blocks. It’s the first tier of defense.
Spell Block
Spell Block can replace Spell Suppression, but they provide completely different functionality. Some Svalinn builds don’t invest in Block, so these values are important. Block Chance in the game is usually much lower than 89% because this value is calculated in POB based on a lucky modifier. But something like this is enough to completely replace Evasion, especially considering it has 89% of the maximum elemental resistance.
This build has 16k Evasion, which can be converted to armor with Iron Reflexes. But beware, don’t go for Iron Reflexes if you don’t have Block or your max hit value for all damage types is too high.
Damage Recovery
Finally, the most important part is looking for Damage Recovery values, which come in the form of Regen, Leech, or Recovery. Mitigations like Progenesis and Petrified Blood are already counted in EHP numbers, they are not Recovery types.
In some builds, you may see Negative Life Recovery, which may be because of things like Blood Rage or Righteous Fire Degens. In this case, there must be some form of Recovery, such as Regen, Leech, Life Gain on Hit, or Life Flask itself.
If you are playing a super tank build that runs with Permanent Degen, you don’t have to worry either. The fix is to use Pathfinder’s Master Surgeon Life Flask.
In fact, these builds are usually run with the old Flask Macro, which is basically an auto-click with a timer. If you see a build like this on POE Ninja, they won’t even tell you what’s going on. Because there are a lot of regular players using builds like this who wouldn’t know to use this kind of thing, and you have no one to ask what’s going on or how to fix it, so be extra careful when choosing a build.
Conclusion
In the end, Divine Orbs we spent were negligible compared to the time we spent, but also much more valuable. And, depending on the build you play, some require a lot of defensive layers, and some don’t. For example, Totem builds are the easiest new player friendly builds in POE. You actually just put them on the ground and hit the target without looking at where the target is.
So, this means that these are things that numbers can’t tell. But a lot of people may still be stupid enough to believe something with deceptive numbers instead of something that is just a matter of basic skills. Anyway, hopefully this guide can help you understand how to better play to the advantages of Svalinn Build and avoid being lured!
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