In this article, we will delve into the intricacies of building around the impending doom support gem in Path of Exile, specifically focusing on the POE currency changes in patch 3.23. We will explore the popular curse overwrite technique and how it interacted with the spell Cascade, the subsequent nerfs, and alternative methods for maintaining the effectiveness of impending doom builds.

The Rise and Fall of Curse Overwriting
Impending doom gained prominence with the changes to the old Doom mechanic in patch 3.20. Players utilized curse overwriting, creating multiple overlaps with spell Cascade to trigger Doom blast at its cooldown rate with minimal character investment. This strategy became widespread in patch 3.21 and 3.22, thanks to a Pathfinder build guide by Crouching Tuna. However, unannounced changes in 3.22 disrupted key interactions, resulting in a 50% decrease in DPS and an inability to trigger Doom blast reliably.

Although the changes were reverted for the Ancestors League, Grinding Gear Games (GGG) announced that the fix would return in 3.23. This sparked concerns among players, leading many to believe that impending doom builds were no longer viable. In this article, we'll explore how to adapt to the changes and maintain a playstyle similar to the nerfed impending doom.

Understanding Impending Doom Mechanics
Impending doom is a support gem that triggers a chaos explosion (Doom blast) when a linked hex skill ends. Prior to 3.22, players commonly used curse overwriting by linking their curse skill to both impending doom support and spell Cascade support. Spell Cascade caused linked skills to affect areas both in front and behind the player, creating multiple overlaps.

Adapting to Spell Cascade Nerfs
The undocumented change to spell Cascade in 3.22 altered the overlapping areas, making it challenging to reliably trigger Doom blast on the first cast. GGG acknowledged this as a bug fix, intending to enhance the skill's consistency. However, this change affected impending doom builds negatively.

In 3.23 and beyond, curse overwrite with spell Cascade will no longer automatically trigger Doom blast multiple times per cast without precise aiming. This makes the build archetype less reliable for single-target damage.

Alternative Methods for Impending Doom Builds
To overcome the challenges posed by the spell Cascade nerfs, players need to explore alternative methods for triggering Doom blast. Three methods for ending a curse and triggering Doom blast were identified: allowing curses to expire, applying additional curses to reach the limit, and using cursed ground support.

While cursed ground support is an option, it requires an extra support gem, limiting the high-end capability of the build. The more viable options involve letting curses expire and stacking sources of reduced duration. The key to this approach lies in the alternate quality of impending doom, which grants reduced duration per quality percentage.

Building Around Reduced Duration
To achieve instant curse expiration, players can stack quality on impending doom through various methods. One option is the Dialis Malif Faction body armor, which grants 30% quality to any gem in green sockets. Another option is Zerphi's Disfavour, providing 30% quality to socketed supports.

However, the recommended method involves using the Cane of Kulec, a unique War staff that drops from Katarina, the final boss of the Immortal Syndicate. This staff can be veiled to grant gem levels and quality to socketed support skills. The cane of Kulec provides three gem levels to impending doom and can be crafted to offer up to 15% quality, significantly reducing curse duration.

The Best Way Forward: Cane of Kulec
Despite the drawbacks, using the Cane of Kulec is considered the most effective method for building around impending doom in 3.23 and beyond. It not only solves the curse duration problem but also adds gem levels and quality to impending doom. The cane becomes a central piece, providing damage scaling, cast speed, and quality, though it limits offensive scaling options like dual-wielding.

In conclusion, impending doom builds may have faced setbacks due to the changes in 3.22 and the impending return of spell Cascade nerfs in 3.23. However, adapting to  cheap POE divine orbs alternative methods, particularly through the use of the Cane of Kulec, allows players to maintain the viability of these builds. While the character investment may increase, the end result can be comparable to the previous curse overwrite technique. As the Path of Exile landscape evolves, creativity and adaptability remain key in crafting powerful and resilient builds.