Particle.news
Download on the App Store
13 ARTICLES
·
4w ago

Path of Exile 2 Sets May 29 Release for Final Early-Access Update

Grinding Gear Games ties the full 1.0 launch to player reception of the new endgame after ExileCon.

Promotional art for Path of Exile 2's Return of the Ancients expansion. A winged person holding a halberd stands atop fortress walls with the glare of the sun at their back.
Key art of a new huntress ascendancy in Path of Exile 2's Return of the Ancients expansion. A woman holds a spear and is accompanied by a spirit bear and elk in a forest.
Image
Image: Grinding Gear Games

Overview

  • Grinding Gear Games announced Thursday that Return of the Ancients (patch 0.5.0) arrives May 29 as the last major early-access update before version 1.0.
  • The patch rebuilds the post-campaign endgame into guided quest lines with a central Fortress hub, 15 new bosses including pinnacle fights, and a revamped Atlas endgame map with 300+ passive nodes.
  • Two new Ascendancy subclasses, Spirit Walker for Huntress and Martial Artist for Monk, debut alongside the Runes of Aldur league, which uses runesmithing to craft gear by powering up enemies you must defeat and adds a new defensive resource called Runic Ward.
  • The studio plans to ship 1.0 after ExileCon in November without a firm date and says it will delay the release if players do not accept the new endgame.
  • Some of the 12 planned base classes may arrive after 1.0, and the game will switch from paid early access to free-to-play at full launch.