MLB The Show 25 Pitching Guide – How to Master Every Pitch and Dominate the Mound

When it comes to MLB The Show 25, few skills separate good players from great ones like pitching. Whether you’re grinding through Road to the Show, leading your franchise to a World Series, or facing off against human hitters in Diamond Dynasty, your ability to locate, mix, and adapt on  MLB The Show 25 Stubs the mound defines your success. This MLB The Show 25 Pitching Guide breaks down every major mechanic, key strategies, and tips to help you become a true ace.

Understanding Pitching Mechanics in MLB The Show 25

MLB The Show 25 continues to refine its pitching systems, offering multiple interfaces that cater to different playstyles and skill levels. Each pitching mode impacts your control, timing, and realism.

Pinpoint Pitching – The most precise but also the most demanding interface. It requires mimicking the motion of each pitch using your analog stick, rewarding perfect timing with pinpoint accuracy. This is the go-to option for advanced players seeking realism and total command.

Meter Pitching – A more traditional style that balances precision and ease of use. You start the pitch, stop the meter at the right spot for power, and then stop again for accuracy. Timing is everything here — mistime the release, and expect your fastball to miss the strike zone.

Pulse Pitching – A rhythm-based option that uses a pulsing circle to represent accuracy. Hit your release when the pulse is smallest for the best results. It’s simple but leaves more to chance compared to other methods.

Classic Pitching – Ideal for newcomers or players who prefer a relaxed experience. You simply select a pitch and aim, leaving the rest to your pitcher’s ratings. However, you sacrifice manual control and precision.

Pro Tip: For competitive play or Diamond Dynasty, Pinpoint Pitching reigns supreme. It gives you total control over  buy MLB Stubs pitch break, velocity, and location — critical in high-stakes matchups.
 

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Path of Exile 2: Best Budget Builds to Try in Last of the Druids

Path of Exile 2 offers a wide variety of builds, but most players tend to categorize them as either expensive or  Path of Exile 2 Currency budget-friendly. Expensive builds often require dozens of Divine Orbs to min-max damage and survivability, which can be a major grind-something the average player may not have time for. Fortunately, you don't need top-tier gear to enjoy the game or tackle the endgame.

In this guide, we'll highlight six budget builds in Path of Exile 2 that can perform exceptionally well without requiring expensive gear. Keep in mind that even budget builds may require around 10 to 20 Divine Orbs, depending on how optimized you want them to be.

1. Hollow Palm Monk

The Hollow Palm Monk is one of the most accessible and cost-effective builds in Path of Exile 2. The standout feature of this build is that it doesn't require a weapon to function. Players have demonstrated that Hollow Palm Monk can even defeat pinnacle bosses without gear.

The most popular skill combination involves Tempest Flurry paired with Falling Thunder or Whirling Assault. Following the buffs in Patch 0.4, Falling Thunder has become one of the best AoE clearing abilities, allowing for high burst damage. The build relies on critical hits and combo scaling to one-shot bosses, but removing the need for an expensive weapon makes it extremely accessible for budget players.

2. Minion Druid

Minion builds have found new viability with the Druid's Shaman Ascendancy. By using the Sacred Flow passive, players can gain up to 120 additional spirit. Combined with reservation efficiency nodes, this allows for a massive minion army, perfect for both clearing maps and tackling bosses.

Most minion builds utilize Raise Spectre, converting powerful enemies into loyal minions. Patch 0.4 removed the ability to use Frozen Mandibles, but alternatives like Gargantuan Wasps or Ants are viable substitutes, obtainable during Interlude 3. Spectres revive after dying, providing reliable damage over time, while a few regular minions act as offerings to empower your main minion army. Minion builds remain a strong budget option for players looking to farm safely and effectively.

Budget players can farm these minions easily or accelerate progression by buying POE2 Items to supplement their build, making Minion Druid both accessible and effective.

3. CoC Comet Sorceress

The Cast on Critical (CoC) Comet Sorceress is often associated with expensive gear, but it can perform well on a budget-friendly setup. This build works well for solo play or small squads of two to three players.

The core idea is to stack Critical Hit Chance to trigger CoC and launch Comets automatically. You can use Spark or Frostbolt as triggers-Spark adds Shock for extra damage, while Frostbolt can freeze enemies. Early-stage mana management can be tricky, so focus on items like Mana Remnants or rings with mana regeneration to smooth out casting. With the right setup, CoC Comet Sorceress delivers consistent damage without the need for high-end gear.

4. Crossbow Mercenary

Crossbows are often overlooked in Path of Exile 2, primarily because they are off-meta, but they remain a solid choice for budget players. Paired with Culling Strike, which is easy to obtain as a Witchhunter, Crossbow builds can be highly effective.

You can play either a grenade-based build using Explosive/Cluster Grenades or a projectile-based build with Fragmentation Rounds/Permafrost Bolts. Grenade builds excel at clearing groups, though visual clutter can obscure damage-over-time effects. Projectile builds provide high single-target damage and control via freeze mechanics. The Witchhunter's Sorcery Ward, recently buffed, offers additional defensive layers over Life and Energy Shield, making the build both safe and effective for budget players.

5. Machine Gun Warrior

While Warriors are traditionally Strength-based melee fighters, the Machine Gun Warrior uses Intelligence and the Titan Ascendancy to fire rapid skills like Ember Fusillade. By stacking nodes that reduce skill effect duration and combining them with Hulking Form, players can unleash a continuous barrage of projectiles almost instantly.

Adding cast speed and Time of Need allows near-constant healing and debuff removal, making this build hard to kill. Machine Gun Warrior proves that even traditionally melee classes can become budget-friendly ranged damage dealers, with impressive soloing potential in endgame content.

6. Plant Druid

Finally, the Plant Druid, utilizing the Oracle Ascendancy, is an affordable and fun build. It relies on Entangle and Thrashing Vines for both mobbing and bossing. With Physical and Spell damage mixed, you can spec passives more freely, optimizing both survivability and DPS.

Entangle slows enemies, and when paired with Bushwhack's unique boots, enemies are pinned, allowing Thrashing Vines to fully apply their AoE damage. For extra DPS, use Thunderstorm to water plants, triggering explosive effects. Combined with Oracle's Unseen Path, Plant Druid is ideal for new characters, capable of clearing content quickly while remaining budget-friendly.

Conclusion

Path of Exile 2 allows players to enjoy high-level content without breaking the bank. While expensive builds have their appeal, budget builds like Hollow Palm Monk, Minion Druid, CoC Comet Sorceress, Crossbow Mercenary, Machine Gun Warrior, and Plant Druid prove that fun, effective, and solo-capable setups are accessible to everyone.

For those who want to save time or access rare components quickly, you can buy POE2 Items or buy POE2 Currency, providing an easier route to fully optimized builds without sacrificing gameplay enjoyment. Whether farming maps or tackling bosses, budget builds in Path of Exile 2 offer high-value returns with  cheap POE 2 Currency minimal investment, making them perfect for casual and dedicated players alike.

 

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Consumables and Supply Costs

Even if you avoid repairable gear, consumables like food, potions, and  OSRS gold runes represent a major recurring expense. These items are essential for survival and damage output, but their cumulative cost can quickly outweigh your profits—especially in lower-tier combat or inefficient farming runs.

Most Common Gold Drains in Supplies

Food: Sharks, Anglerfish, and Manta Rays are standard for high-level PvM but cost thousands of coins each.

Potions: Prayer potions, Super restores, and Saradomin brews are vital for bossing and raids. Prices spike after major updates or events.

Runes: Magic users burn through tens of thousands of runes in extended slayer or raid sessions.

Ammunition: Ranging setups using Dragon arrows or Broad bolts can rack up hundreds of thousands in costs per session.

Example: A single 2-hour run at Theatre of Blood can cost a player 500k–1M GP in consumables, depending on their setup.

The Psychological Trap of “Profit Over Time”

Many players focus only on gross profit—how much gold they earn from drops or loot. But net profit (after expenses) is what truly matters.

For instance:

You might make 2 million GP from a Slayer session.

But if you spend 700k GP on food, prayer potions, and armor repair, your actual profit is only 1.3 million GP.

Ignoring this reality can make players overestimate their progress and fall into a constant cycle of spending just to  RuneScape gold for sale maintain the same gold level.
 

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