Path of Exile Explores the Lake of Kalandra
Developer Grinding Gear Games held a new presentation showing its latest expansion content for free-to-play action RPG Path of Exile. Hosted by Chris Wilson, the video introduces Lake of Kalandra, which releases for free on PC and Mac on August 19, 2022, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 24, 2022.
Before getting into the expansion’s content, Chris Wilson revealed that the ExileCon convention, which previously ran in 2019, will return in 2023. ExileCon 2023 will take place in Auckland, New Zealand on July 29-30, 2023. The event is planned to include the announcement of the beta start date for Path of Exile 2, as well as the reveal of numerous other details about the game. The first tickets will go on sale on August 25, 2022.
The main new content in Lake of Kalandra is the Kalandra Challenge League. Its story delves into the character of Kalandra, who players have previously come across through her mirror that duplicates items. The league takes players to the mirrored lake where Kalandra gained her powers and which reflects encounters from across Wraeclast on players, including those of other expansions and leagues.
Throughout the league, players will encounter columns with a mirrored tablet on top. This lets players create their own set of encounters by selecting and placing a choice of encounters in whatever layout they choose. Once every location is filled, players can open a portal to the Lake of Kalandra, where they run through the series reflections. As players advance from their starting spot, each encounter gets more difficult, which in turn increases the reward. Players can find ways to change the starting location, reflections, and tiles on the tablet to help generate greater challenges and rewards. Once players reach the end-game maps content, players will be able to itemise their tablets, letting them be stored for later use or traded with other players.
There are numerous rewards from the Lake of Kalandra content. Any encounter that is generated from a past league will grant the rewards from that league but with extra bonuses. Certain encounters also grant new exclusive rare items through reflecting mist. These generate a rare ring or amulet with unusual mods — some positive, some negative — as well as a duplicate version with the opposite positive and negative mods. Players can only pick one of the two options to keep. In addition, the most difficult encounters will let players use their own ring or amulet in the process, creating distorted and reflected versions that will scale up or negate certain mods.
The expansion will also include some changes to Path of Exile’s end-game content in the form of Atlas Memories, which will be part of the core game. A rare Memory item can be found in map content, representing memories of particular Path of Exile NPCs during their map explorations. Players can use these memories to take part in those encounters themselves. Examples include Kirac coming across a staging ground for a Harbinger invasion or Niko finding a set of maps consumed by Breaches.
Memory items can be applies to any completed map on the Atlas, which marks out a series of maps covering the memory. Talking to that NPC will unlock the memory, with them giving the player the appropriate map item in the sequence for free. These maps can be modified like other maps, but are not affected by the player’s Atlas tree. Each map in the sequence gets progressive harder with higher rewards. Lake of Kalandra will also include a new unique map that features the return of the Ultimatum expansion’s The Trialmaster.
Finally, Lake of Kalandra will see another batch of new items and balance adjustments. The expansion will add fourteen new items, as well as three new skill gems and a new support gem. It will also include a rebalance of over 100 of the current game’s 700+ unique items, with a general reduction in drop rate but increase in power. The expansion will also feature reworks of three past expansion content: Archnemesis, Beyond, and Harvest.
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