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ExileCon Brings Path of Exile Announcements

by Alex Fuller · Published July 31, 2023 · Updated July 31, 2023

Developer Grinding Gear Games held its ExileCon event in Auckland, New Zealand this weekend, during which it provided announcements for both Path of Exile and the upcoming Path of Exile 2. The reveals included the latest expansion for Path of Exile, as well as new launch plans and information about Path of Exile 2, both of which are free-to-play action RPGs.

Previously hoped to release this year, Grinding Gear Games revealed that Path of Exile 2 is now planned to launch in 2024 for PC, Mac, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, with a closed beta to begin on June 7, 2024. The developer also revealed that the game is now set to be completely separate from Path of Exile, with the games previously planned to share the same game client and endgame content. All cosmetic purchases made on either game will be shared between them, however.

Path of Exile 2 will feature a brand new six-act main storyline, said to include 100 distinct environments, 600 monsters, and 100 bosses. It will feature twelve starting character classes — two classes for each possible combination of Strength, Dexterity, and Intelligence — though players will be able to freely adjust their character build and utilise skills from other classes. There will also be thirty-six Ascendancy class specialisations. The game will also include a revamped Skill Gem system, with players having access to over 240 Skill Gems and 200 Support Gems with which to customise their build, while Support Gems can be socked directly into Skill Gems.

The iconic Path of Exile Passive Skill Tree will be returning, with Path of Exile 2′s version allowing players to dual specialise. This lets players place skill point into two different sets of skills, which will automatically become active when different weapons or skill types are used, such as daggers versus traps or ice versus fire. There will also be 700 base equipment types, each with its own unique item, including new weapon types such as spears, crossbows, and flails. The new endgame will feature over 100 maps, each with its own boss fight and modifiers that can enabled revamped versions of past Path of Exile leagues.

Meanwhile, the latest expansion and Challenge League for Path of Exile is titled Trial of the Ancestors. It will release for PC and Mac on August 18, 2023, and for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 23, 2023. It will see players visit the Karui afterlife and assembling their own team of warriors to take on the fallen chieftains of ten tribes in a series of tournaments. Each match lets players select to tribe to compete against and the rewards offered. Players then strategically place their warrior of the battlefield before engaging their opponents and trying to destroy their totems.

Players begin with a team of three warriors but can use favour they gain with the tribes from competing in the tournaments to recruit new warriors as well as field items and equipment for them. Each tribe’s warriors have their own specialities, which players can mix and match as they wish. Exclusive new rewards in Trial of the Ancestors include Passive Tree Tattoos. These are engraved on the player character’s soul and allow them to change what the attribute skills on the Passive Skill Tree do. There is also a new type of item called Omens. These can be stored until a certain condition is met, after which it is consumed and the effect applies. Only one Omen can be consumed in each battle area. Each tribe also has its own unique item that can be claimed, while Hinekora, the Goddess of Death, has four other unique items that will be granted to tournament winners.

Other changes coming with the release of Trial of the Ancestors includes the return of the Forbidden Sanctum expansion content. Sanctum items can be found in endgame maps after meeting Divinia in act ten, which each represent a floor of the Sanctum. Upon completing one of these, the next floor is generated as a new tradeable item with any Boons, Afflications, and Resolve states built in. The Sanctum content has also been rebalanced to provide more variety in both mechanics and monsters. Trial of the Ancestors also brings sixteen new keystone passives for the Atlas Skill Tree plus fourteen new Support Gems, as well as reworks of the Guardian and Chieftain Ascendancy classes.