Path of Exile 2’s Strongest Skill Disabled in Major 0.2.0 Patch

The first major patch for Path of Exile 2 is set to drop alongside the “Dawn of the Hunt” update, and it’s packed with content: a brand-new class, the Huntress, five new Ascendancy classes, over 100 Unique Items, and a massive balance overhaul. But one change stands out among all the buffs and nerfs — Grim Feast, once considered one of the most powerful Skill Gems in the game, has been completely disabled.

Grim Feast Removed — For Now

In most ARPGs, core gameplay is shaped by builds made from a mix of skills, gear, and support options — and in Path of Exile 2, Skill Gems are a cornerstone of any build. Some skills are simply “nice to have,” while others are near-essential. Grim Feast firmly belonged to the latter, especially for Energy Shield-based builds.

So why remove it? In short: it was too good.

Grim Feast allowed players to gain additional Energy Shield from picking up remnants, effectively doubling their survivability. This was especially broken in builds that used Chaos Inoculation — a Keystone passive that makes a character immune to Chaos Damage but sets their Life to 1, relying solely on Energy Shield. Grim Feast made these builds far too tanky, trivializing encounters and overshadowing other defensive strategies.

To restore balance, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has removed Grim Feast from Gemcutting options in POE 2, rendering all versions of the Gem unusable — at least for now. GGG has made it clear that this isn’t a permanent removal. A rework is planned, but it’s likely that Grim Feast will return in a far less dominant form.

Why Grim Feast Was a Problem

The dominance of Energy Shield as a defensive choice has been well known in Path of Exile 2. Many of the top builds revolve around high-Intelligence characters — often casters — who naturally scale ES. Grim Feast only compounded this by making ES even more reliable and powerful, especially since it also bypassed the need for Chaos Resistance through synergy with Chaos Inoculation.

Balancing Energy Shield as a whole is a complex and time-consuming task, so GGG’s decision to temporarily disable Grim Feast is a practical first step in reducing the dominance of ES-based builds. It may not be the final solution, but it helps diversify viable defensive strategies in the meantime.

What’s Next for POE 2 Builds?

The removal of Grim Feast is just one piece of a broader effort by GGG to rebalance Path of Exile 2. Armour, currently underwhelming compared to Energy Shield, is expected to get major improvements in future patches. The meta is likely to shift significantly as players explore other survivability options.

Grim Feast fans shouldn’t give up hope just yet — with enough changes to defensive systems across the board, a redesigned version of the skill could make a comeback in a healthier, more balanced form.

For now, though, the Energy Shield empire has lost one of its biggest weapons, and players will need to adapt as Path of Exile 2 enters a new era of build diversity.

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