Today, we're diving into the blue man himself: Harbingers. Is it based, or is it cringe? There's been a lot of debate about this, but we're here to investigate for ourselves.
Setting Up for Harbinger Farming
To start, Harbinger farming actually takes 27 points on the Atlas skill tree to allocate all the Harbinger nodes. As always, I filled out the tree with map modifiers, quant, and beyond modifiers because we're going to be killing a bunch of mobs on top of each other. I added some scarabs too, just to keep things consistent with my other farming strategies. You can mix this with Delirium, more Scarab chances, or even Expedition, Harvest, or Essence. But for today, we're focusing solely on Harbingers.
Scarabs and Map Setup
I'm using one of each Harbinger Scarab: Skirmish, Insight, Ambush, and Reinforcement. This adds up to 7.3 Harbingers per map: seven guaranteed from the tree and scarabs, and a 30% chance for an additional one. If you add another small Scarab, you can push this to 10.3 per map, but then you miss out on duplications, which are essential for maximizing profit.
These scarabs are relatively inexpensive, around 1-1.5 chaos each, totaling about 5 chaos per map. I'm running maps with basic quantity rolls and nothing too fancy. Harbingers aren't affected by quantity modifiers, so it's all about the raw reward tiles they drop. For map choices, I stick to nice, easy layouts like Jungle Valley, Dunes, Canyon, Shore, and Primordial Pool. These are all about efficiency and maximizing the number of Harbingers you encounter.
The Test: 50 Maps of Harbinger Farming
Let's see how we fare. We're aiming to fish for Fracturing Orbs and maybe even a Mirror, though it's unlikely within just 50 maps. But hey, anything can happen.
Map 1: I start the map and almost immediately find a Harbinger. First up, I get an Ambush Scarab. Not bad! This is worth around 60 chaos, which already pays for 10 maps. Off to a good start!
Progressing Through the Maps: As I continue, I find a mix of currencies and items. Notably, I get some tainted currency from Beyond mobs, which seems to be working well in tandem with Harbingers.
Big Drop: Midway through, I hit the jackpot with a Divine Orb drop. It's been a while since I've seen one, so this feels like a huge win. Harbingers also drop a Divination Scarab, which is worth a substantial 9 Divines. Harbingers are looking pretty good right now.
Analyzing the Loot
After completing the 50 maps, it's time to assess the haul. Here's the breakdown:
• Maps: We sustained almost all our maps, ending with 43 Dunes out of the 50 maps run. That's a minor loss but nothing too significant.
•Currency and Scarabs: A notable portion of our loot includes random currencies and valuable scarabs. Specifically, we found five Tainted Fusings worth around 200 chaos combined.
•Profit: After deducting the initial investment of 250 chaos in scarabs and 300 chaos in map crafting, we're left with a net profit.
Detailed Financial Breakdown
1. Initial Investment:
•Scarabs: 5 chaos per map x 50 maps = 250 chaos
•Map Crafting: 6 chaos per map x 50 maps = 300 chaos
•Total Investment: 550 chaos
2. Revenue:
•Total Divines and valuable items converted to chaos = 6110 chaos
•Net Profit: 6110 chaos - 550 chaos = 5560 chaos
3. Per Map Profit:
•Total profit divided by 50 maps = 111.2 chaos per map
•Equivalent to approximately 0.89 Divines per map
Hourly Rate and Efficiency
Running 10 maps took approximately 26 minutes, so completing all 50 maps took about 2.16 hours. This translates to a profit rate of 20.6 Divines per hour. Even considering a more conservative estimate without significant drops, you're looking at around 12.2 Divines per hour, which is still impressive.
Conclusion: Is Harbinger Farming Based or Cringe?
So, is Harbinger farming based or cringe? Based on our results, it's definitely based. The strategy yields consistent profits with the potential for huge, lottery-like rewards. Even without hitting the rarest drops, the baseline profits are solid. The blue man proves to be a reliable source of income, and if you're lucky, you might just hit the jackpot.
Harbinger farming might not be for everyone, especially if you prefer more varied gameplay. But if you enjoy the thrill of potentially big rewards and don't mind a bit of repetition, this strategy is for you. So gear up, allocate those skill points, and may the blue man bless your maps!
Tag:
Path of ExileHarbinger
