Path of Exile 2 1.0 Launch Arrives December 11 With Acts 5 and 6, Shadow, and Duelist Classes

Grinding Gear Games has announced that Path of Exile 2 will officially leave Early Access and enter its 1.0 full release on December 11 PST. The launch completes the story campaign, adds brand-new playable classes, reworks key passive skill systems, and introduces a faction-driven challenge league.

Campaign and World Expansion#

Acts 5 and 6: The update finishes the six-Act campaign by adding the final two acts.
New Environments and Bosses: Players will explore 24 new areas, fight 18 unique story bosses, and confront more than 20 new Champion Rare encounters featuring unique fight mechanics.

New Classes and Mechanics#

The Shadow: A stealth-oriented class that relies on daggers, shades, and a new weapon type: Traps. Stealth prevents monsters from detecting the player outside of short distances while empowering dagger abilities. Traps can be placed while hidden and trigger in sequence upon attacking. Launch Ascendancy choices are the Assassin and Infiltrator.
The Duelist: A precision swordsman built around a new Stance system. Using Ready Stance enhances basic sword skills, which can later be upgraded into Sand or Blood Stances. Launch Ascendancy choices are the Knight and Master-at-Arms.

Conquerors of Wraeclast Challenge League#

Campaign & Faction Play: Players join Varek and his mercenary force to stop the awakening of the Blood Lord across a new endgame storyline titled The Blood Lord’s Promise.
Exploration & Reforging: The league features over 70 points of interest for recruiting troops and executing missions. Taking control of enemy castles unlocks treasury rooms containing a new crafting currency designed to reforge equipment.
Endgame Strongholds: High-level players select one of three faction fortress styles, recruit custom units, and use a real-time command system to delegate Atlas progression to officers. Factions can also compete directly across the league to capture opposing player fortresses.

Skill Tree, Support Gems, and Class Reworks#

Passive Tree Remodel: All Jewel Sockets have been relocated into passive skill clusters, requiring players to choose specific clusters rather than pathing across the tree to capture solitary sockets. Hundreds of new stats have also been added to the tree.
Skill & Gem Rebalances: Classes previously lacking skills, including the Warrior and Witch, receive new abilities alongside a comprehensive rebalance of Support Gems.
Class Overhauls: The Mercenary receives a reworked reload system. The Infernalist Ascendancy gains a spell-casting demon minion, up to three Infernal Hounds, and new Covenant skills. The Blood Mage gets updated curses, new skills, and a Corrupted Blood mechanic overhaul. The Acolyte of Chayula can now summon a Quarterstaff-wielding companion and sacrifice health to swap souls with a clone.
Unique Items: The 1.0 launch incorporates over 40 new Unique Items while redesigning more than 70 existing Uniques with updated modifiers, skills, and visuals.

Why it matters#

The full 1.0 launch marks the transition of Path of Exile 2 from Early Access into a fully feature-complete action RPG. Moving Jewel Sockets directly into passive clusters fundamentally shifts how players approach build planning, forcing direct decisions between cluster node power and jewel bonuses.

Additionally, the Conquerors of Wraeclast League introduces strategic real-time elements to the endgame loop. Allowing commanders to handle Atlas progression while players engage in territory control between factions adds a macro-management layer distinct from standard mapping.

What to do next#

Prepare for Launch: Path of Exile 2 will be free to play starting December 11 PST.
Review Build Plans: Account for the Passive Tree overhaul by planning pathing around cluster-bound Jewel Sockets rather than isolated tree nodes.
Choose a Starting Class: Players targeting the new archetypes can prepare builds for the Shadow (Assassin/Infiltrator) or Duelist (Knight/Master-at-Arms), or evaluate overhauled Ascendancies like the Infernalist and Blood Mage ahead of the league start.

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