In December we released the Metamorph League and Conquerors of the Atlas expansion. Both of these updates have been very well received by players, and as such, we've decided that when Metamorph League ends, we will be rolling it into the core game. Today's news post details how exactly that will happen and what you can expect when the next league begins.
We'll be giving Metamorph a 10% chance to affect Map areas. As Metamorph is the only way to get Catalysts, we'll be taking a similar approach to that of Blight league when it was added to the core game. Every Map area that contains Metamorph Monsters will always have a Catalyst reward available, providing consistent access to Catalysts should you so desire.
Metamorph Bosses will continue to drop Itemised Samples provided that you fill the bar. Tane's Laboratory will remain and will be the place to bring your Itemised Samples to, providing you the ability to continue creating unique encounters not ordinarily possible.
We'd like there to be some form of determinism for players that want to engage with Metamorph more often than the base 10% chance. For that reason, we will be adding a set of Scarabs for Metamorph encounters. Here is a preview of these Scarabs.
As you can see, a Rusted Metamorph Scarab will simply add Metamorph monsters to a Map area. The experience will be exactly what you've come to expect in Maps in the current Metamorph league. Polished Metamorph Scarabs will cause Metamorph Bosses which drop an Itemised Sample to drop an additional Itemised Sample. The rewards of the additional Itemised Sample will be rolled independently of the first sample. Finally, a Gilded Metamorph Scarab will cause all Metamorph monsters to have a reward. You'll still be limited to picking one reward per organ type, but you'll have many more rewards to choose from.
To make room for these Scarabs in Betrayal Rewards, we have combined Aisling's Veiled Jewellery rewards with her Veiled Weapon and Armour rewards. This means that you will get the regular amount of Veiled Weapons (or Armour) and in addition, you will get the Veiled Jewellery rewards that Intervention safehouses used to give. Defeating Aisling in Intervention safehouses will give Metamorph Scarabs, with the rank of Scarab (Rusted, Polished or Gilded) being dependent on Aisling's rank.
In addition to Aisling's Intervention rewards, we have also added Metamorph Scarabs to the pool of Scarabs that the Mastermind can drop when defeated. All other sources that give a random Scarab will also be able to give Metamorph Scarabs.
Oh, and yes, we have updated the Fragment Stash Tab to hold these new Metamorph Scarabs.
Finally, we have added a Sextant modifier which will add Metamorph monsters to a Map area. This works just as Metamorph does now. You'll be able to get this modifier by using Awakened Sextants on Watchstones.
Given historical precedence, it is probably a safe bet that you'll end up seeing Metamorph as a Zana modifier in future leagues (though not 3.10.0), providing even more control for those of you that want Metamorph monsters in every single Map that you run.
Hopefully this implementation hits a good balance between random encounters and providing determinism for those that want it. We look forward to seeing how this plays out and can't wait to share more information about what to expect next from Path of Exile very soon!