Grinding Gear Games did a big livestream unveiling the details for the massively anticipated Path of Exile 2. There’s so much information in the livestream that I wouldn’t even know where to start talking about it. I’ll just say that most of it revolves around the Atlas map endgame and everything there is to do after beating the campaign. The Early Access campaign will only be three acts, with three more to be added later (and if you know anything about Grinding Gear Games, they won’t stop at six). The six classes will be:

  • Warrior
  • Witch
  • Mercenary
  • Monk
  • Ranger
  • Sorceress

Not to mention the Ascension sub-classes – and of course, the classes are accompanied with another colossal skill tree just like the first Path of Exile.

For those unfamiliar with Path of Exile, it’s the biggest and, at this point, the most popular action-RPG in the world. It’s a free-to-play game that originally launched back in 2013 that developer Grinding Gear Games has been steadily adding content and improvements to for years. It’s now a massive behemoth of a game that is insanely deep and complex that you can put hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into. Think Diablo II on about a hundred gallons of steroids. Path of Exile 2 is, obviously, the sequel, and will be launching into Early Access on December 6, 2024. Check out the videos below, if you dare:

Path of Exile 2 is a next generation free-to-play Action RPG from Grinding Gear Games, featuring co-op for up to six players. Path of Exile 2 takes place in the land of Wraeclast, a dark continent populated by unique cultures, ancient secrets, and monstrous dangers. A sinister threat, long thought destroyed, has begun creeping back on the edge of civilisation, driving people mad and sickening the land with Corruption.

Path of Exile 2 features a brand new campaign with six acts, 100 distinct environments, 600 monsters and 100 bosses.

Key Features

  • Twelve Character Classes Path of Exile 2 features twelve character classes, two for every combination of Strength, Dexterity and Intelligence. While each of the class variants focuses on a different playstyle, they’re just a starting point. You can combine skills from many classes together to create your ideal character build.Each of the twelve character classes has its own three Ascendancy specialisations, resulting in a total of 36 Ascendancy Classes to pick between.
  • New Skill Gem System Path of Exile 2 features 240 Skill Gems that grant devastating active skills and 200 Support Gems that modify their behaviour. Combine these together to create your perfect build.This is the next generation of Path of Exile’s famous skill system. Support Gems are now socketed directly into Skill Gems, removing many of the frustrations present in the old system while maintaining all the previous depth. It’s now possible to six-link every skill your character uses.
  • Dual-specialise your Passive Skill Tree Path of Exile’s iconic Passive Skill Tree has made a return, with 1,500 skills that allow you to completely customise your gameplay experience. It now features Dual Specialisation, the ability to allocate some passive skill points to two different sets of skills. They engage whenever the appropriate weapon or skill type is used. For example, you can have some points allocated to both daggers and traps, or ice and lightning, and as you swap between attacks, the appropriate skill points will apply. This lets you specialise in multiple areas without opportunity cost.
  • Uncover All-new Items Path of Exile 2 features 700 equipment base types and every single one has its own unique item you can find. You can augment your arsenal with new weapons such as Spears, Crossbows and Flails, as well as supplementary items like Focuses, Traps and redesigned Sceptres.
  • Encounter Unique Bosses In Path of Exile 2, every area of the Campaign contains a boss encounter. There’s over a hundred bosses to fight as you make your way through the Acts and they all have unique mechanics to learn.
  • Explore a New Endgame At the conclusion of Path of Exile 2’s six-act campaign, you’ll gain access to its endgame. Each of the more than 100 endgame maps has its own boss fight and modifiers that enable revamped versions of many of Path of Exile’s past leagues. We’ll reveal more details of the surprises that await you in Path of Exile 2’s endgame in the leadup to release.
  • Fair-To-Play. Never Pay-To-Win. Path of Exile 2 is a separate game to the original Path of Exile. We will continue to offer expansions for both games going forward. They are completely free-to-play and will never be “pay to win”. Purchases are shared between the two games.

[Steam]