Next up on the design docket is a mmogo
 

Next up on the design docket is a discussion of poe currency the design and advancement of Gems. Most notably, the thought process behind the most recently-introduced gems is researched. As you may recall, nine new jewels were added "including four Skill gems that concentrated on Necromancy", one of the trademark characteristics in War for the Atlas. Senior Game Designer Rory discusses moving from a general discussion of abilities that would be inserted and how stone could fit into that design matrix. For example, taking the base skill of Detonate Dead and changing it with the addition of a gem was something that the team. Obviously, some abilities worked better than many others in this respect, however, as Rory says, all of this is a part and parcel of game development. .

We had prototyped a skill codenamed "Infernal Sweep" which was a fiery area of effect sweep assault that exploded nearby corpses. Early testing revealed it felt awful to use, having to swing two to kill some enemies then again to detonate their bodies to get bigger area damage. The skill was visually spectacular, but did not play well unless it had been boosted in the beginning area and harm to the point at which it invalidated the functions of Sweep and Infernal Blow. This ability went back to the drawing board and we'll likely see it in future with added mechanics or without the reliance on corpses.

The article further goes into details about Support Stone and how design iterates from concept to completed project. You can test it all out here.

Elder Uniques

Comparable to gems, a number of "elder uniques" were added in War for the Atlas that can only drop from The Elder himself. Game Designer Hrishi took some time to discuss the Cyclopean Coil, Blasphemer's Grasp, Nebuloch, Hopeshredder, Shimmeron, Impresence and Watcher's Eye. Each has its own distinct niche in Path of Exile, both in terms of its unique appearance, but also in terms of what it increases the overall player experience through characteristic focus, ailment attention and a whole lot more.

[T]he special items necessary to be created in such a way that made them generally helpful for a vast array of builds, and to create a reason to keep fighting with the Elder many occasions, or the items would feel as though they had no value.

The overall design of a good deal of elder uniques is they are meant for a big assortment of builds. As a result of this, the focus on these layouts are attributes, ailments, charges, curses and auras.