So, the altar gives you permanent pools of reflection. It has just dawned on me (I’m a bit slow LOL!)…
What if say, with character A, I have clicked on pools of reflection, but character B I haven’t. Will character B still get the pools XP bonus too, or nothing, since it hasn’t clicked on any pools? i.e. does the pools XP carry across all classes/builds played in a season, irrespective of whether or not they have clicked on any pools. edit: as long as 1 single character has clicked on said pools…
No. After unlocking the Mirror Seal each Character you create must click on their first Pool of Reflection to activate it. Only then will it become permanent for that Character. (Until the Season ends).
Once you’ve unlocked the particular altar node, you need to click on a pool of reflection for each character to retain it permanently. Easiest way I found is to click one while levelling: and even easier if you self-level via a cowstick (two guaranteed pools).
Damn! That means I played the entirety of s32 with my TO DN build without any extra XP LOL!
Got it.
Now, onto my next question. On the PC version of the game, after unlocking the permanent pools node, and clicking on a XP pool, does it show permanently active for you when viewing active effects for the character?
For my console character, it is not showing as permanently active. When I’ve clicked on a pool, it still gives me the usual pools cooldown period, suggesting that there is a bug with the altar on the console port of the game.
If my suspicions are correct, what is the best way to check/test this theory? Can say, someone confirm what the XP is for a GR120 and say, GR130 on the PC port of the game, with the permanent pools buff enabled via the altar please?
I’m not sure what you mean by “viewing active effects”.
For me, I look at the Experience Bar, at the top of the Action Bar. With the Reflection Pool active, my XP Bar is yellow and an orange Bullet is locked at the far right. It stays this way for the rest of the Season. It doesn’t matter if I Leave Game and restart or Exit Diablo III. When I come back, the Reflection Pool is still active.
For example, I just started a game to grab this screenshot. As soon as I entered the starting town you can see the Reflection Pool is active and the remaining bonus (orange bullet) is still locked in the far right position.
As per the thread you linked, even when I level up, the Experience Bar remains as you see it in the image above. Except the XP Bar will be empty and ready to fill up again. But, the orange Bullet is still in the far right, indicating the Bonus is still active.
I cannot answer your other questions. Sorry. I never was one to study game mechanics. What little I know is only from years of playing.
A Pool of Reflection adds 10% of the XP needed for a player’s current Level. It also increases all sources of XP by 25%. (But, that is not what you asked).
Maybe this chart has the answer you’re looking for. (Check the Experience column. Add 10% to those amounts to see the total XP you receive with the Pools Bonus active).
If your experience bar is orange like in Perusoe’s screen shot, then you have a pool active. No orange, no pool.
I don’t play this game on console but that doesn’t surprise me. The console version has tons of dumb unintended stuff going on for it. On the plus side though, console’s Staff of Herding is easier to acquire due to fewer parts being needed for it.
That post was from 2023 and it makes no mention if that was console or PC. Regardless, what technically actually happens is that the game has a basic IF statement in there, checking for the Altar node when the pool expires. Like, let’s say for the sake of example a Pool has 100 max bonus experience in its pool, and you’re about to bring that remaining total to 0 or less. In pseudo code this might look like:
IF (Bonus_Experience_Pool) <= (0) AND (Altar_Node_Active) == (TRUE) THEN { Bonus_Experience_Pool = 100;}
ENDIF;
When you have the node, you just perpetually get the pool refreshed whenever it runs out. There could be a bug where it “forgets” to refresh, I suppose. I’ve never noticed that happen in at least a year of playing on PC, but as they say, “never say never and always be wary of always.”
On console, I can view active effects (skills and buffs that are currently active on my character).
I will check that (I think that bullet is Purple on the console port).
I have concerns that even if it is showing active, no additional XP bonus is being granted.
At the moment, at p1250, I get 2 paragon points per GR120 clear. 3 for a GR130. Does that sound right?
Yup. Limited stash vs PC, NG mechanic, more difficult to level up due to XP debuffs, poor UI (for example, I can’t mass upgrade gems, I have to do them 1 by 1).
That is my concern. It’s a pity no One at Blizzard can answer such simple questions and refer it to a dev to check…their too busy attacking people reporting cheaters…
If you want to test this you should check how much XP you have before you open the Greater Rift. (Or how much you need to gain the next Paragon Level). Then, check it again after you talk to Orek.
If you went into GR120 just after leveling up, you may only get 2 Paragon Points. If you went into GR130 with enough XP that you gained 1 Paragon Point when you killed the Guardian and 2 when you talked to Orek. That would be the 3 you got for GR130.
Same on mine on PC. It gives the amount of experience I have left in the buff, but it won’t go away though. Test it on console, get like 2-3 paragon levels. If the pools are still there, everything is fine. If they get used up, it’s broken.
So each rift varies a bit in how much XP it gives you due to what mobs are in the rift. But the close is always the same, and you can use that to test this.
Run a GR, but before you close, write down how much XP, then close and check exactly how much XP you got.
Run another GR and do the same, but before you close, go and get some pineapple juice.
If it’s permanently active, then (1) and (2) should yield identical results. If it’s not, then getting the pool in (2) will give you more XP than (1).
