From 6-Act Campaign Completion to Massive Endgame Rework

Grinding Gear Games (GGG) has confirmed the official launch date for 'Path of Exile 2' as December 11 (PST). Transitioning to version 1.0 following a lengthy Early Access period, the official release will make the game free-to-play for everyone.

GGG unveiled its launch plans and key content during the 'ExileCon 2026' keynote held in Auckland, New Zealand, on November 7. Game Director Jonathan Rogers introduced the completed campaign, new classes, a new league, and an endgame overhaul during the presentation. Re-organizing the overall game, which had expanded through separate updates over time, in preparation for official live service forms the core of version 1.0.

Campaign Completed Across 6 Acts

Returning to 'Oriath', the Starting Point of the Series

The biggest change coming with the full release is the completion of the campaign. While only select acts were playable during Early Access, version 1.0 adds Acts 5 and 6 to complete a six-act storyline. These two acts feature 24 new areas, 18 unique bosses, and over 20 named rare encounters. GGG has also added new rare monsters to existing acts to bolster combat experiences throughout the campaign.

Act 5 takes place in 'Oriath', a cornerstone location of the series. In a city ruined by multiple cataclysms, players embark on an operation to thwart the 'Twilight Order' and 'The Beast'. Because the city's harbor is blocked by massive chains, a direct attack from the sea is impossible. Players must land on the far side of the island, fight through the city center, and lower the chains from within to clear a path for allied forces.

The new zones range from desolate slums to wealthy estates, temple districts, and massive arenas. GGG explained that each area features distinct enemy compositions and combat situations in addition to visual differentiation. ExileCon also hosted a hands-on demo area featuring Act 5, allowing attendees to experience the campaign ahead of full launch.

Boss battles serve as another pillar of the new campaign. A total of 18 new unique bosses are added, including a giant Rat King in the sewers, corrupt priests of the Twilight Order, and plague-themed foes. These bosses feature multi-phase combat shifts and utilize diverse attack patterns. GGG emphasized that the new act bosses represent some of the most complex and challenging encounters they have ever designed.

The role of standard rare monsters has also been expanded. Select powerful rare monsters in the new acts are designed almost like mini-bosses with distinct visual models and skill sets, rather than merely differing in stats and modifiers. This change maintains combat density even in segments without major boss encounters, expanding campaign scale while ensuring enemy variety throughout progression.

The Shadow, and The Knight

The Shadow's 'Stealth' Mechanics, The Knight's Chariot Charge

A new playable class, the 'Shadow', will also launch with version 1.0. The Shadow relies on daggers and traps, building combat around the newly introduced 'Stealth' system. In Stealth, players can evade enemy vision within a certain radius; initiating an attack quickly closes the distance to deliver a backstab ambush. Skills executed from Stealth also receive empowered secondary effects.

Combat with the Shadow accelerates with every kill. Although Stealth has a cooldown, killing an enemy resets it. This allows players to strike down a target with an ambush and immediately leap to the next. For instance, executing 'Viper Strike' from Stealth coats the blade in poison, causing follow-up strikes to trigger toxic explosions.

The trap system has also been redesigned compared to its predecessor. While traps in the original 'Path of Exile' functioned more like instant-trigger spells thrown at an enemy's feet, PoE 2 emphasizes ambush warfare by pre-laying traps to lure targets in. Traps set during Stealth do not detonate until Stealth breaks, activating in the exact order they were laid. Examples include embedding fragments into foes with a Shrapnel Trap and exploiting them with a Freezing Trap, or dispersing poison gas before detonating it with fire.

The Shadow also utilizes a class resource called 'Darkness'. Inflicting Darkness on enemies and harvesting it increases damage output upon exiting Stealth, while summoning a 'Shade'—a shadow clone—draws enemy attacks or joins in ambushes. Entering the Shadow Realm via specific skills causes all attacks to be treated as if delivered from Stealth, weaving abilities into a unified combat loop. At launch, two Ascendancies will be available: 'Assassin' and 'Infiltrator'.

The previously teased new Ascendancy for the 'Duelist', 'The Knight', was also detailed. The Knight commands a 'Squire' companion, allowing players to directly equip the Squire with items and skill gems to tailor its combat role. Players can also plant a 'War Banner' to boost attack speed and damage for both themselves and their Squire, with Ascendancy nodes expanding the banner's powers. Skills emphasizing commander and cavalry themes were shown, including 'Mounted Charge', which rushes across the battlefield in a chariot to knock enemies aside.

From Stronghold Construction to Large-Scale Warfare

New League 'Conquerors of Wraeclast'

Launching alongside version 1.0 is the new Challenge League, 'Conquerors of Wraeclast'. Featuring content where players recruit mercenaries, form armies, and assault fortresses, players directly command their forces while taking part in combat themselves. It goes beyond simply summoning companions to handle fights: players must assess enemy positioning and place units before battle, joining the front lines once combat begins.

The league story opens with rescuing defected mercenaries captured by enemy forces. Mercenary leader 'Varek' subsequently assists players with army management. Mercenaries are hired using gold, while expeditions require gathering supplies to maintain troop forces. Tactical choices based on unit types are crucial, such as positioning shield units on the front lines to absorb incoming arrow fire.

Over 70 points of interest related to the new league are distributed across the campaign. Players can recruit troops or engage in combat at these locations, with 23 standalone battles featured in the campaign alone. Combat scenarios range from village defense to fortress assaults and gate breaches. Victory yields gold, supplies, and special crafting materials used for Reforging, which lets players select specific modifiers on equipment, subject to constraints such as fracturing changed options.

In the endgame, players can construct and expand their own strongholds. Strongholds can be built in one of three architectural styles—Ezomyte, Maraketh, or Karui—each featuring over 20 buildings and upgrades. Developing a stronghold expands available troop capacity and unlocks features to support Atlas exploration through commanders.

In particular, the new 'Commander' system is set to reshape endgame progression. Supplying commanders with troops and Waystones allows assigning them to clear Atlas maps on the player's behalf. Map runs require time based on map difficulty and distance, after which players claim the collected loot. Multiple maps can be queued, and up to three commanders can be operated in the endgame. However, whether map clearing continues offline was not confirmed in the announcement alone.

One of the primary goals of the league is controlling 100 strongholds located along the outer edge of the Atlas. These strongholds are placed on a shared Atlas where multiple factions compete for territory. Capturing a stronghold grants an item rarity bonus to the owner while providing faction-wide perks. Players can also access special hunting areas around captured strongholds or use them as forward bases for exploration, blending faction-based objectives into the traditionally single-player endgame.

Atlas Compression, New Skills, Unique Items, and Jewel Reworks

Unfinished Content to Be Addressed Post-Launch

Alongside new league content, major overhauls are arriving across the entire game. For Unique Items, around 70 existing items are being reworked in stats, effects, and visual appearance, while over 40 new Unique Items are being introduced. GGG explained that combined, this provides a fresh Unique Item experience spanning roughly 110 items. More than 200 base item types have also been added, allowing for greater item diversity across the new acts and endgame.

The passive skill tree is undergoing structural changes as well. While 18 Jewel Slots were previously positioned along major pathing routes, the revamp redistributes roughly 60 Jewel Slots into individual passive clusters. Pathing between clusters has also been altered to offer new build-crafting routes. Support Gems are undergoing a complete redesign to align with attack and spell properties, accompanied by balance adjustments to existing class skills and Ascendancies.

The endgame Atlas Passive Tree is being significantly streamlined. Rather than a sprawling web of options, it has been compressed into 70 nodes, with individual node effects amplified to make choices more impactful. GGG explained that players focusing on primary objectives through Atlas progression will accumulate around 50 points by the time they defeat pinnacle bosses. Streamlined navigation to endgame areas and 25 new endgame maps are also included.

Technical optimizations have also been implemented. According to GGG, CPU processing performance has improved roughly threefold compared to early Early Access version 0.1.0. Looking strictly at the 1.0 update, CPU performance saw an additional ~25% gain alongside a reduction in memory footprint by several hundred megabytes. While optimizing existing game data saved over 30 GB of storage, roughly 40 GB of new content is being added simultaneously, meaning net installation size will not decrease by that amount.

Meanwhile, Director Jonathan Rogers directly addressed items that could not be finished in time for full release. Of the 12 promised playable classes, 10 will be included in version 1.0, with the remaining two arriving in subsequent updates. The migration of microtransactions purchased in the original game for use in 'Path of Exile 2' will also be only over halfway complete at launch. Rogers apologized for these delays, reassuring fans that development on these features will continue post-launch.

'Path of Exile 2' officially launches on December 11 (PST). As a full launch, the update packs a completed six-act campaign, new classes, the military-themed 'Conquerors of Wraeclast' league, and a sweeping endgame overhaul into a single release. It marks a major milestone consolidating content built throughout Early Access. However, not everything is fully complete. Director Jonathan Rogers concluded the announcement by acknowledging that unfinished elements will continue to be added post-launch, leaving a few goals to be fulfilled after release.

ExileCon 2026Coverage Round-up{{Subtitle}}

[POE2]Official Launch Dec. 11... From Complete 6-Act Campaign to Massive Endgame Overhaul›

[POE2]A Look at Full Release New Classes, 'Shadow' & 'The Knight'›

[POE2]'Conquerors of Wraeclast' Brings Large-Scale Siege Warfare›

[POE1]Preview of New League 'Covens of Umbra'›

[Interview]Singer, Entertainer, Tech YouTuber, and Gamer... Meeting 'Shindong'›

Originally written in Korean, this article was translated with AI assistance and edited by a native English-speaking editor. Every translation is reviewed by our editorial team before publication. [Read Original]

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Jaihoon "Laffa" Jeong

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