The highly anticipated Dawn of the Hunt update promises to completely transform the endgame experience in Path of Exile 2. These forthcoming changes are not only significant but also expected to redefine the game’s overall meta.
Mark Roberts, the Game Director for Path of Exile 2, shared insights into the development process for the Dawn of the Hunt update. The team is focused on two guiding principles: firstly, to introduce new endgame activities while enhancing the frequency of existing ones; and secondly, to fine-tune the endgame progression by eliminating excessive clutter.
Introducing Exciting New Endgame Mechanics
This update brings a wealth of new mechanics to the endgame of Path of Exile 2. Among them, players can expect the return of familiar features, along with the addition of ten new Atlas Passive Points designed to encourage experimentation and creativity in gameplay.
Rogue Exiles
Among the most thrilling new adversaries are the Rogue Exiles. These formidable foes possess player-like abilities, including the capacity to dodge rolls and utilize an array of skills and items. With their advanced behavior patterns, players will face a genuine challenge as Rogue Exiles harness powerful tools like Temporalis and Hands of Wisdom and Action.
Defeating these challenging opponents yields rewards, including Unique items. At launch, 12 different Rogue Exiles will feature distinct item combinations and varied encounter styles, ranging from congratulatory remarks after a tough fight to playful taunts upon your defeat.
Azmerian Wisps
The familiar Wildwood Wisps make a return under the new name, Azmerian Wisps. These energetic entities will be present in the campaign, starting from Grelwood in Act 1, as well as in the endgame. It’s time to dive deeper into their mechanics.
Wisps will manifest randomly in various zones and within Waystones, imbuing nearby monsters with increased power and enhancing loot drops. As players approach, the Wisps speed up their movement, influencing normal monsters and even granting additional skills to rare or unique ones, such as summoning spectral animals for assistance.
Notable varieties of Azmerian Wisps include:
- Wisp of the Great Bear: Enhances the life and stun rating of monsters and can cause a spectral bear to attack when possessing rare or unique enemies.
- Wisp of the Winter Owl: Grants monsters additional cold damage and energy shield, with the ability to transform slain enemies into chasing vortices.
- Wisp of Wild Cat: Increases critical strike potential and evasion, while possessing specific monsters can summon a pack of aggressive feline spirits.
- Sacred Wisps: Unique Wisps like the Wisp of the Cunning Fox can elevate ordinary mobs to magical status, escalating magical mobs to rares, and eventually turning rares into formidable bosses.
Players will find craftable Talismans among the rewards for defeating Azmerian Wisps, providing various beneficial effects, such as the Rabbit Talisman that grants immunity to Corrupted Blood when slotted into Body Armour.
Corrupted Nexus and Cleansed Waystones
In a bid to revitalize the experience with Corrupted Waystones, the developers have made significant changes. Players can now expect to encounter Corrupted Nexus points on their Atlas, which serve as focal points of corruption within the game world.
Once players reach the Nexus and activate a Waystone, they must clear every rare monster in the zone. Completing this objective will summon one of three Scourge bosses. Afterward, defeating the boss allows Doryani to cleanse the Nexus, enabling players to earn valuable Atlas passives.
The cleansing process also converts adjacent Corrupted Waystones into Cleansed Waystones, which come with novel monster types and modifiers—this includes rewarding loot like Fracturing Orbs and the formidable boss Phanos, Last Disciple of Auria.
Towers
Incorporating player feedback from the Early Access phase, Grinding Gear Games is implementing numerous adjustments to the Tower mechanics. Notably, the total number of Towers will be reduced to ensure a more streamlined experience.
The dimensions of each Tower’s offerings have been creatively expanded as the Dawn of the Hunt update rolls out. Precursor Tablets will now grant additional mechanics, and higher-tier Waystones can further amplify the available mechanics.
Each Tower will be more distinctive, featuring its unique maps like Alpine Ridge, where players must contend with two elemental witches, or the Sinking Spire, hosting a Vaal boss with lightning-based attacks that activate surrounding constructs.
Revamping Existing Endgame Mechanics
The Dawn of the Hunt update also seeks to refine existing systems, enhancing elements such as Strongboxes and Essence mechanics.
Strongboxes
Four unique Strongboxes will join the existing endgame content, each designed around specific factions or lore themes. For instance, Ogham’s Legacy Large Strongbox will unleash a resurrected rare monster, where the resurrection’s modifiers increase with each revival.
Another exciting addition is the Exchel’s Torment Blacksmith’s Strongbox, which draws challenges from the Trial of Chaos. Overcoming these summons rewards players with corrupted Unique items, amplifying the attraction for loot hunters.
Essences
Essences are set to become significantly more perilous yet lucrative. Players can now corrupt Essences with Vaal orbs, leading to various results, including increasing the number of Essences on a monster or even upgrading them to Greater Essences.
The most intriguing aspect is the introduction of Corrupted Essences. By using a Vaal Orb on a Greater Essence, players can obtain one of four new Corrupted Essences: Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity, each bringing unique abilities to enemies, compelling players to innovate their strategies.
Other Enhancements
Further adjustments aim to ease the transition between the campaign and endgame, ensuring that first-time players entering the Atlas are met with a more balanced experience. New Waystone portals now correlate with the difficulty level of a Waystone, providing ample opportunities to engage without an overwhelming challenge.
Additionally, players engaging in Pinnacle encounters will no longer face experience penalties upon defeat, allowing for a better gameplay experience.
Players can look forward to experiencing these extensive endgame changes in Path of Exile 2 with the Dawn of the Hunt update arriving on April 4, 2025. Stay tuned for more detailed patch notes and updates as the release approaches.