At long last, Path of Exile II has a release date for its early access phase. All the way back in 2019, Grinding Gear Games announced that it was working on a sequel to Path of Exile. Originally, PoE II was planned to be a new addition to the original PoE, but as it grew in scale, Grinding Gear Games revealed that it would instead be released as a separate product. Now, for those who have patiently been waiting waiting for roughly five years, the initial launch of Path of Exile II is known to be right around the corner.
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Revealed during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live broadcast, Path of Exile II was confirmed to release on November 15th. At that time, the game will be playable across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC for both Steam and the Epic Games Store. Currently, Grinding Gear Games hasn’t outlined how long PoE II will potentially be in early access before reaching its 1.0 phase, but those details will likely emerge soon.
You can watch the new trailer for Path of Exile II for yourself right here:
If you’re unfamiliar with Path of Exile II, it’s an action RPG that is heavily influenced by Blizzard’s Diablo series. The original game in the series has been hugely popular for over a decade and has continued to receive frequent updates and expansions. For Grinding Gear Games to finally be releasing a sequel is a huge deal and will surely end up being one of the biggest releases in the back half of 2024.
To learn more about what Path of Exile II will have in store, you can check out an extensive breakdown of its features below.
- Freedom. Power. Revenge. – Path of Exile is an online Action RPG designed around a strong online item economy and deep character customisation. Path of Exile is set in the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. Scarred by mysterious catastrophes of the past and inhabited by creatures of nightmare, the very environment challenges exiles who dare explore it. You play as the Duelist, Witch, Ranger, Templar, Marauder, Shadow or the Scion class. From forsaken shores through to the city of Oriath, explore Wraeclast and uncover the ancient secrets waiting for you.
- Unlimited Character Customization – Create and customise hundreds of unique skill combinations from tradable itemised gems and our gigantic Passive Skill Tree. Combine skill gems, support gems and trigger gems to create your own unique combination of power, defence and destruction. All of Path of Exile’s character classes share its vast Passive Skill Tree. Starting at one of seven distinct locations dictated by their chosen class, players can focus on the core specialities of their class or travel across the tree to build complex combinations of skills from various disciplines. Scattered across the tree are Keystone passives, Masteries and Jewel Sockets that drastically alter the way a character is played.
- Armed to Kill – Path of Exile is completely designed around items. Our flasks are persistent items that have mods. Our endgame areas can be found as Map items that have mods altering their challenges and rewards. We’ve gone as far as removing gold as a currency and basing our trade economy around orbs that can randomly reroll the properties of other items. We have carefully constructed our item system for veterans of the best Action RPGs.
- Explore the Atlas of Worlds – The Atlas of Worlds is a series of more than a hundred high-level maps that truly test the limits of your build. As you explore the Atlas, you will eventually unveil its dark secrets and face the most dangerous bosses that Wraeclast has ever seen. In the true Path of Exile way, the Atlas of Worlds has its own Passive Skill Tree. Earn skill points for the Tree by completing maps on the Atlas and create your own unique endgame experience.
- Deadly Missions – In your journey through Wraeclast, you will meet fellow Exiles who seek your help. Capture wild beasts for Einhar, delve into the depths of the Azurite Mine with Niko, explore the secrets of the Temple of Atzoatl with Alva or investigate a mysterious Immortal Syndicate with Jun. Once received, these missions can be completed at any time in the endgame. This optional content in Path of Exile will reward you with valuable currency, powerful tradeable items and new ways of crafting.
- Customise Your Hideout – In your extensive travels throughout the Acts and the Atlas of Worlds, you will discover secret locations swarmed with dangerous monsters. Defeat them, claim the Hideout for yourself and create your own personalised town. Use your Hideout as a quiet place to trade with other Exiles, craft after battle, or expand it and use it as a personalised Guild Hall with hundreds of decorations.
- Be Ruthless – Ruthless is an optional game mode which offers a more challenging way to play Path of Exile. Ruthless players can expect extreme item scarcity, limited crafting and many other changes such as support gems being drop-only. Ruthless is a mode about friction, tension and anticipation. It’s much more difficult, but overcoming that difficulty feels highly rewarding. In a world where your items are far below par, every item drop has the potential to be the breakthrough one you need.
- Fair-To-Play. Never Pay-To-Win. – We’re committed to creating a fair playing field for all players. All Microtransactions in Path of Exile are purely cosmetic and do not affect gameplay.
