Every new League mechanic in Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt (0.2.0)

The upcoming Dawn of the Hunt update aims to completely revamp the endgame of Path of Exile 2, and the changes being introduced are both substantial and completely meta-defining. These changes include everything from introducing new endgame mechanics, integrating campaign-related changes into the endgame, modifying existing mechanics to increase meaningful pursuit, and more.

According to Mark Roberts, Game Director of Path of Exile 2, the developers finalized on two distinct philosophies while cooking up the Dawn of the Hunt update. First, introducing new endgame activities while increasing the frequency of existing ones, and secondly, smoothing out the kinks in endgame progression and reducing useless bloat.

All new Endgame mechanics coming to Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt

Quite a few new endgame mechanics are coming to Path of Exile 2 with the Dawn of the Hunt update, and one mechanic is jumping the digital divide between Path of Exile and the sequel. To compensate for the influx of new mechanics, the developers have added 10 extra Atlas Passive Points to help with experimentation and juicing.

Rogue Exiles

Your shenanigans in Wraeclast have caught up to you (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Let's rip the band-aid off and welcome the most exciting enemy type to enter Path of Exile's halls of fame, Rogue Exiles. Rogue Exiles are what would happen if you went mad trying to run through endless Waystones in search of that one Divine Orb or a particularly powerful Unique gloves.

Rogue Exiles use the same skills and items as players do; they can dodge-roll, and according to the developers, they employ advanced pathing and enemy-targeting mechanics. Safe to say, we're cooked if they can use Temporalis or even Hands of Wisdom and Action. On the flipside, defeating Rogue Exiles will drop these Unique items for you, so that's a good option to chase them down.

At launch, there will be 12 Rogue Exiles, each with different item combinations and unique encounters, such as congratulating you on a good fight or lambasting you for dying against them.

Azmerian Wisps

The Wildwood Wisps from Path of Exile have joined the sequel, now being called Azmerian Wisps. These small sprites pack a massive punch and will be encountered in the campaign as early as Grelwood in Act 1. The Wisps will also be encountered in the endgame, so let's dive into it, shall we?

Wisps are encountered randomly in zones and inside Waystones and infuse monsters with additional power, improving their lethality and increasing the amount of loot dropped. The Wisps move faster as you close in, influence normal monsters as they move through the zone, and can possess rare or unique monsters to grant them additional skills, such as summoning a spectral animal to attack.

Some of these Wisps and their intricacies are detailed below:

Wisp of the Great Bear - A part of the Wild Wisp family grants monsters increased life and stun rating. Causes a spectral bear to slam down when possessing a rare or unique enemy.
Wisp of the Winter Owl - As a Primal Wisp family member, these Wisps grant enemies additional cold damage and extra energy shield and cause slain enemies to turn into vortices. Possessed monsters can call down large tornadoes that will chase players.
Wisp of Wild Cat - Part of the Vivid Wisp category that causes affected monsters to deal more critical strikes and become evasive, while possessed rare and unique monsters can summon a horde of feline spirits that will hunt you.
Sacred Wisps - These are special types of Wisps, such as the Wisp of the Cunning Fox, which turns normal mobs to magic, magic mobs to rares, and finally, rares to bosses.

Azmerian Wisps drop craftable Talismans as exclusive rewards. These Talismans can be slotted in various items to grant various effects, such as the Rabbit Talisman, slottable in the Body Armour, granting the "Corrupted Blood cannot be inflicted on you" modifier.

As a part of the endgame systems, Azmerian Wisps will have their Precursor Tablets and exclusive Atlas Passive nodes.

Also Read — When will Path of Exile 2 release fully?

Corrupted Nexus and Cleansed Waystones

The Corrupted Nexus: the centerpiece of your life's troubles (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Previously, on Path of Exile 2, Corrupted Waystones were all over the place, and more often than not, the extra monsters didn't add anything substantial. Grinding Gear Games has changed its philosophy regarding Corrupted Waystones and has revamped the system entirely. Players will now encounter Corrupted Nexus points on their Atlas, which will form the basis of a new system.

Corrupted Nexus, as the name suggests, acts as a focal point of the Beast's corruption and spreads out onto neighbouring Waystone nodes. Upon reaching the Nexus and running the Waystone, you will be instructed to clear every rare monster in the zone. Completing this task will spawn one of three Scourge bosses. Defeating the boss will summon Doryani to cleanse the Nexus and consume the boss's power to grant you Atlas passives for your troubles.

Interestingly, the mechanic only opens up from that point on. Cleaning the Nexus turns the surrounding Corrupted Waystones into Cleansed Waystones instead. These Waystones have new monster types, modifiers, and rewards, such as Fracturing Orbs and a boss called Phanos, Last Disciple of Auria.

And for those wondering, yes, the Fracturing Orbs work exactly as they do in Path of Exile, locking one modifier in a rare item onto that very item. The duality of Corruption and Cleansing presents players with an equal opportunity for lucrative loot and directly addresses the issues with a lack of choice in the endgame.

Also Read — Path of Exile 2 Huntress class: Overview, Skills, and Ascendancies

Towers

You can technically call this a witch hunt (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Grinding Gear Games has been hard at work listening to player feedback since the Early Access launch, and the changes to the existing Towers and its corresponding mechanics are a clear sign of the studio reacting positively. For starters, the number of Towers has been reduced to a third of the current number encountered in the live game.

There have been many mechanical changes made to the Towers as well. Come Dawn of the Hunt's launch, Precursor Tablets will add twice as many mechanics inherently. Furthermore, running higher-tier Waystones will only increase the bonus further; for example, a Tier 15 Waystone can have additional mechanics up to four times the normal amount.

Additionally, each Tower can consume three Precursor Tablets at once. However, unlocking additional Tablet slots will require players to clear Waystones with additional modifiers. Running a Waystone with three modifiers will unlock the second Tablet slot, and running a Waystone with six modifiers will unlock the third.

Each Tower map is now a unique one and can spawn with all corresponding mechanics and bosses. These fresh maps include Alpine Ridge, where two elemental witches vie for supremacy as the final boss encounter. The Sinking Spire map contains a Vaal boss armed with lightning attacks; if these attacks hit surrounding constructs, they will become activated and join the fray against you.

Major adjustments to existing endgame mechanics in Path of Exile 2

Aside from new mechanics, existing endgame systems have also received some love and much-needed polish. Let's look at some of these systems, starting with Strongboxes.

Strongbox

The Dawn of the Hunt update is adding four unique Strongboxes to the existing meta. These new Strongboxes are very much a thematic encounter designed around specific factions or acts, such as the Ogham's Legacy Large Strongbox.

This reliquary features a long-dead entity laid out on top of it. Interacting with it revives the entity as a rare monster, which resuscitates itself on death. The modifier on the Strongbox determines how many times the monster can revive itself, with each revive adding a fresh modifier onto the monster.

Another addition is Exchel's Torment Blacksmith's Strongbox, a Vaal-themed trove of treasures. Interacting with it summons monsters from the Trial of Chaos itself, and triumphing over them grants players a corrupted Unique item.

For those chasing the shiny items in the endgame, the update will introduce the new Twilight Order Reliquary Chest, which will contain all manner of Foil Unique items. Note that to obtain Foil versions of Pinnacle content-exclusive Unique items, players must fight against that specific Pinnacle content and obtain its Reliquary Key.

Essence

Yeah, we're not making out of Wraeclast with this one (Image via Grinding Gear Games)

Essences are becoming more dangerous but also more lucrative, a pretty standard affair for Path of Exile mechanics. However, the developers have outdone themselves, as Essences can be corrupted via Vaal orbs. This action can have many random outcomes, such as increasing the number of Essences on a monster and rerolling the Essences entirely. Vaaling can even upgrade normal Essences to Greater Essences.

The most exciting change, however, comes in the form of Corrupted Essences that can be obtained by slamming a Vaal Orb onto a Greater Essence. This action has a chance to turn the Greater ones into one of four new Corrupted Essences: Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity.

These new Essences will grant enemies new moves for players to learn; for example, an Essence of Insanity-affected monster can summon shadow clones (yes, just like Naruto). You must find the real one before you get frozen and killed. Corrupted Essences have unique crafting effects, such as the Essence of Insanity guarantees adding two enchantments with a single Vaal Orb slam.

Also Read: All new Crafting options in Path of Exile 2 Dawn of the Hunt

Additional endgame changes

Additional changes are coming to Path of Exile 2, aimed at sustaining Waystones and keeping the flow active when players enter the Atlas of Worlds for the first time. The developers looked at the difficulty spike between the campaign and the endgame and concluded that the jump from dying occasionally in the campaign to it becoming detrimental in the endgame is too much for players.

To this end, the developers have ensured that Waystone portals are becoming tied to the difficulty of a Waystone. Normal ones will have six portals and allow players to give it multiple attempts. Adding more modifiers to your Waystone will reduce the number of portals and attempts. Party players get the same revives as indicated on the Waystone.

For those who attempt to fight the Arbiter of Ash or other such Pinnacle encounters on the last sliver of their XP bar, fret not, the developers have thought about you. From now on, pinnacle encounters will neither grant you any experience nor take away any, should you fall in battle.

To experience all of the endgame changes coming to Path of Exile 2 and more, you only need to wait for a few days, as the Dawn of the Hunt is slated to arrive on April 4, 2025. The patch notes will be unveiled shortly, so stay tuned for our coverage on that.

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Edited by Sijo Samuel Paul