It's barely January 2026 and the post-league restlessness is already here. You've either finished your challenges or you told yourself 24 was "basically done", and now Standard feels like a museum. I keep checking for hints because once you start planning stash tabs and early crafts, you're already halfway committed, and I've even been browsing buy poe 1 items just to see what people usually prioritise when the economy flips.
Reading GGG's calendar
If you've played long enough, you know the pattern. There's that three-ish month heartbeat, a bit of silence, then suddenly a teaser image lands and everyone loses it. My money's on a late-February launch, with a small chance it slides into early March if they decide one more week saves them a headache. Late January is usually when the first proper signals show up too—someone from GGG appears on a stream, we get a trailer, and the subreddit starts arguing about one line of patch notes for days.
What I actually want from 3.28
New mechanics are fun, sure, but I'm more interested in old systems getting tightened up. You feel it when a mechanic doesn't flow with the Atlas anymore: it slows you down, breaks your rhythm, and makes mapping feel like chores between the good bits. I'd love to see something like Harvest or Delirium made cleaner and more "pick it up and go", without the awkward stops. And yeah, a darker corruption angle would fit the vibe—anything that makes risk feel real again, not just another checkbox.
Starter builds people will cling to
Everyone says they'll "wait for patch notes", then day one arrives and they pick comfort anyway. First, Righteous Fire Juggernaut is still the safe blanket: tanky, cheap, and it turns most maps into a jog. Second, Toxic Rain Pathfinder stays a strong option if you want range and early speed without praying for a perfect weapon. Third, Explosive Arrow Ballista is hard to kill off completely, even when it gets nudged down. Fourth, Boneshatter is still that crunchy melee fix, but you've got to respect the trauma stacks or you'll pop at the worst time.
Skipping the slow start without burning out
Not everyone's got the time to grind like it's a second job, and honestly, league-start poverty isn't charming after you've done it a dozen times. If your goal is to get your build online fast, there's nothing wrong with looking for a shortcut that's practical: a bit of currency to smooth out crafting, or a couple of key upgrades so your map progression doesn't stall. That's why people use u4gm for game currency and items—quick delivery, clear listings, and it lets you spend your limited hours actually playing instead of scraping together chaos in white maps.