U4GM What PoE 2 Patch 0.4.0 Builds Still Rule Now Patch 0.4.0 for Path of Exile 2 has been out long enough that people aren't guessing anymore—they've tested, bricked characters, and rerolled. If you're still hanging onto your pre-patch plan, you'll feel it fast, especially once you start spending PoE 2 Currency trying to "fix" a build that just doesn't scale the same way now. The weird part is how many of the changes don't look dramatic on paper. In-game, though, they bite hard. 1) Hollow Palm falls apart Hollow Palm is easily the roughest story of the patch. It used to be simple: stack speed, ride the multipliers, and everything felt snappy even on a budget. Now the whole engine's misfiring. The big hit is Charge Regulation losing that "more" attack speed angle, which was doing heavy lifting whether you noticed it or not. Add the stricter rune limits and the fact that the core gem leans on "increased" instead of a clean multiplier, and the build ends up feeling sluggish. You can still swing, sure, but you'll notice the gaps—between attacks, between clears, between phases on bosses. It's the kind of slowdown that makes you log off and stare at your passive tree for ten minutes. 2) Life stacking and movement melee get clipped Next up, the life stacking Blood Leech setups. A lot of players were basically abusing extra life scaling and walking around like they had cheat codes. That's gone. The 40% cap on the life stacking talent changes the whole math, and the regeneration rework doesn't just "nerf" the build—it breaks the rhythm that made it comfy. Rathpith synergies don't carry like they used to, and you end up needing actual defenses again. At the same time, mobile melee got kneecapped in a way you feel instantly. Whirlwind and similar builds used to erase movement penalties with boot runes and chest affixes. With those tools weakened or removed, you're not zooming anymore. You're dragging. 3) Deadeye and other speed builds lose their edge Deadeye Bow is still playable, but it's not the old "press button, screen disappears" experience. Tailwind got reworked into tiny skill speed gains that don't really change how the build feels, and losing the damage reduction effect makes the class feel paper-thin. You'll pop more often, even when you think you're positioned right. Crossbow Multishot and Twister Rolling builds run into the same problem from a different angle: global attack speed nerfs. The rotation stops feeling smooth, and once a build loses flow, it loses fun. 4) Bleed stagnates, Invoker loses burst Bleed didn't get deleted, but it's falling behind because the patch pushed elemental and crit setups forward. You can invest and make it work, yet it feels like paying more for less. Minion Invoker sits in a similar spot: mapping is fine, sometimes even relaxing, but the Unbound Avatar nerf hurts where it matters. Bossing takes longer, and longer fights mean more chances to mess up. If you're gearing up again, it's worth thinking about what you actually want to farm, and how far your budget goes—sometimes grabbing poe2 cheap divine orbs early is the difference between "this is okay" and "why did I roll this."Welcome to U4GM—your no-faff hub for PoE 2 season prep, fresh meta takes, and the little shortcuts that keep mapping fun. Patch 0.4.0 shook things up: Hollow Palm, Frenzy bows, and mobile melee feel slower, while Infusion staff setups and Witchhunter Sorcery Ward are looking seriously tasty. If you're respeccing or gearing for endgame, grab what you need at https://www.u4gm.com/path-of-exile-2/currency and keep the pace up with less grind and more wins. Trusted service, quick delivery, and you're back in the action.