Next upon the plan docket is poe trade a discussion of the design and development of Gems. Most notably, the thought process behind the most recently-introduced stone is researched. As you might recall, nine new jewels were inserted "including four wrought stone that focused on Necromancy", one of the signature features in War for the Atlas. Senior Game Designer Rory discusses moving from an overall discussion of abilities that would be added and how stone could fit in that design structure. For instance, carrying the foundation skill of Detonate Dead and changing it with the addition of a stone was something that the team. Of course, some skills worked better than many others in this respect, however, as Rory states, all of that is a part and parcel of game development. .
We had prototyped a ability codenamed "Infernal Sweep" that was a fiery area of effect sweep assault that burst nearby corpses. Early testing revealed it felt bad to use, needing to swing two to kill several enemies then again to detonate their bodies for larger area harm. The skill was spectacular, but didn't play well unless it was boosted in the beginning place and damage to the point at which it both invalidated the cheap poe currency roles of Sweep and Infernal Blow. This ability went back to the drawing board and we'll probably see it in future with added mechanisms or without the reliance on corpses.
The article further goes into details about Support Stone and how layout iterates from concept to completed project. You can check it all out here.
Elder Uniques
Similar to stone, a range of "elder uniques" were inserted in War for the Atlas that can simply fall 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 unique niche in Path of Exile, both in terms of its unique appearance, but also with regard to what it adds to the overall player experience through characteristic focus, ailment focus and a whole lot more.
http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/2087746