Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0 is likely bringing the Gladiator class and new two-hander subtypes in March

Path of Exile 2's first major content update, patch 0.2.0, will most likely arrive in the third week of March 2025. This patch will be the first one to incur an economic reset, which, in a sense, implies a new league, even though no new league mechanics have been confirmed yet. Instead, the economic reset is due to a big balance overhaul, along with the almost certain addition of new classes and weapon types.

With the expected window to Path of Exile 2's full release narrowing, many are also wondering whether this patch will include a new story act. Regardless of whether these speculations hold, patch 0.2.0 is a big moment for the game, being its first major content update available for public early access.

Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0 doesn't have a release date yet, but making a guess is easy

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On February 20, 2025, developer Grinding Gear Games said Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0 would come "in approximately one month." Since this tracks with their prior promises of a big patch in March, we can roughly estimate the launch date to be sometime in the third week of March.

However, there's one other key piece of information we can use to gauge the release date. Three in-game race events have been scheduled to drum up some hype before the patch, with the final one taking place on March 16, 2025. That puts the most likely release window sometime between March 17 and March 20, 2025 (PDT).

GGG's current developmental resources are focused on Path of Exile 2 to the point where it's holding back the next League of the first game. So, even keeping all guesswork aside, the studio would not want to delay the update to April.

What's coming with Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0

Although GGG has not directly showcased the content planned for patch 0.2.0 in Path of Exile 2, they have given us some hints by teasing two upcoming Uniques. From these, we can make a few easy guesses. The first (and most obvious) new feature we can expect is the Gladiator class.

One of thes two teased uniques are a Decorated Helm, The Bringer of Rain. Other than the very obvious visual theme, GGG gave it away by directly alluding to "Gladiatorial fighting spirit" in their X post, which all but confirms that the Gladiator class is coming in patch 0.2.0.

Why Gladiator? Because this is the speculative name for one of the six unreleased classes. If you go to the Path of Exile 2 website right now and scroll down to the Character Class section, the third greyed-out class button has the filename "The Gladiator". Now, it's possible it's a placeholder codename, and the actual class will be called something else.

It's also possible that the class will be Duelist, the same as Path of Exile 1, whereas Gladiator is one of the Ascendancies.

New Weapon Types

Bringer of Rain (other than being a Spartacus Easter egg) is also a returning item from Path of Exile 1 and retains the "no chest armor" gimmick. The new thing in its Path of Exile 2 variant is being able to dual-wield two-handed Axes and two-handed Swords. This gimmick already exists with the Giant Blood keystone passive, but the fact that it is also on this highlighted Unique cannot be a coincidence.

This tells us that we might also get at least one new weapon type to pair it with: Two-handed Axes and/or Two-handed Swords. New weapon types also imply the addition of Skills themed around them, meaning we will also get a number of new Skill Gems to define the playstyle niche of two-handed Axes and Swords.

Gladiator is an Ascendancy in Path of Exile 1, focused on a little block and a lot of blood through bleed-enhancing effects and natural synergy with the Blood Stance. Considering the teased unique paints a similar picture, we may finally get Stance-based shenanigans in Path of Exile 2 in patch 0.2.0.

GGG has stated previously that the Druid and Huntress classes are mostly feature-complete, so Gladiator may come as a package deal with yet more new classes.

New Support Gems

The developers have confirmed "many new Support Gems" are coming with Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0. Thus far, they have revealed: Commiserate, Concoct, Derange, Embitter, and Volcanic Eruption. Here's what each of these five new Support Gems will do.

Lost Tower Changes

With the upcoming update, the developers are improving Lost Towers one more time. This time, it's not just a cosmetic facelift - they are becoming actual maps rather than a run to the Precursor signals. Lost Towers now have Rare mobs you have to hunt down, and they can gain all the League mechanics available for regular maps.

New Bosses

As of right now, only Karash, The Dune Dweller has been revealed as one of the possible upcoming bosses. Alongside new bosses, Act 4 of the campaign is still on the cards as well, but we don't have any breadcrumbs to follow for that yet. We will update this article as we gain more information on Path of Exile 2 patch 0.2.0.

Until then, check out our other guides on the game:

Edited by Arundhoti Palit