Everything revealed in today’s Path of Exile 2 Early Access stream – Destructoid

My hype level for Path of Exile 2 is officially at its maximum. With the Early Access launch of POE2 just a couple of weeks away—it’s set to release on December 6, 2024—I had a few concerns about the amount of content to expect in Early Access. After today’s Early Access reveal livestream, I no longer have those fears, as POE2 will launch in EA with a massive amount of end-game content, six playable classes, and much more. Let’s go over everything revealed in today’s Path of Exile 2 reveal.

Leave it to Path of Exile 2 game director Jonathan Rogers to quickly assure me that this isn’t some half-baked Early Access reveal. According to Jonathan, about five months ago the team realized that it would be important to make sure the game launched with plenty of end-game content. Even though the rest of the campaign, Acts 4-6, is about 80% completed, GGG made the decision to switch focus to fleshing out the end-game content available in Early Access. After all, like the original Path of Exile and most ARPGs, the end-game is what determines the long-term success of the game.

Over the roughly 1.5-hour livestream, Jonathan detailed everything players can expect to explore when the Early Access for Path of Exile 2 goes live on December 6. For the most part, everything revealed in the stream is new, so strap as we deep dive into everything that was revealed.

An increased focus on the story

While Path of Exile certainly has a story, it’s somewhat barebones and more in the background compared to say Diablo 4 which puts the storyline front and throughout its campaign. In Path of Exile 2, the story is more front and center and the storytelling elements have been improved. In fact, the livestream started with a reveal of the intro cinematic for Path of Exile 2 that sets the stage for the events in the sequel.

The story kicks off 20 years after the events of the original POE. Wraeclast has been free from corruption during that time, but the Count of Ogham is looking to harness the power of corruption, causing the dead to rise and monsters to mutate. It’s up to the player to track down the Seed of Corruption which is the source of all the madness, taking down fearsome bosses, meeting new characters, and uncovering lost civilizations along the way.

The story is definitely intriguing, especially at the end of the cinematic in which we see a corruption-tentacle-beast entrapped in a cage. I’m not sure exactly what the twisted eldritch horror is, but I want to know more. What really caught my interest though is the discovery and advanced civilization, the precursors. Several end-game gameplay elements revealed throughout the stream seem based around the precursor civilization, so I’m excited to learn more.

6 Classes now, with 6 more coming later

When Early Access launches, six of the twelve classes will be playable. According to Jonathan, the other six classes are near completion and will be added to POE2 over the course of Early Access. With POE2 a similar league-release cadence to the original, I imagine each new league will add one or two new classes until all twelve are in the game.

Here are the six playable classes in Early Access:

• Monk
  • A fast and furious melee fighter that dashes in and out of combat. Uses a Quarterstaff and has three schools of martial arts: Lightning, Ice, and Wind. Can mix and match the schools to create devastating combos. One unique skill, Tempest Bell, allows you to place a giant resonating bell and then hit it to deal AOE damage to enemies around it. There are 21 active skills for the Quarterstaff.
• Warrior
  • Melee enjoyers rejoice with the slow and methodical hard-hitting mace-wielding Warrior. Alongside slams, warcries, shield skills, and more, using a shield also allows you to raise your shield to block all damage in front of you including spells. However, if your stun meter reaches 100%, your stance will break and you will become vulnerable. Warriors will also get access to totem skills including Ancestral Warrior totems which allow you to use any other slam skill. There are 20 active skills for the Mace.
• Ranger
  • The classic ranged class returns with the bow-wielding ranger. In Path of Exile 2, players can shoot while moving, allowing them to jump around while still being mobile. Bow skills are split into four types: Lightning, Poison, Ice, and physical attacks. There are 21 active skills for the Bow.
• Mercenary
  • Armed with a deadly crossbow, the Mercenary takes advantage of a variety of ammo types while wielding innate versatility, power, and mobility. WASD movement has been added to POE2, which is perfect for the Mercenary class. You can switch between a variety of ammo types to combo your various different crossbow skills including elemental ammo. There are 22 active skills for the Crossbow.
• Witch
  • The deadly Witch class masters the Occult, calling on hordes of undead minions while casting Chaos spells to destroy her foes. More specifically, the Witch is equipped with skeletons and other specialty minions, noxious spells, curses, and even sacrificial magic. There are 25 active skills for the Occult.
• Sorceress
  • Master of the elements, the Sorceress bends them to her will to unleash elemental magic devastation from afar. Each spell is unique and has ways of comboing with others. For example, you can cast a Flame Wall that burns enemies who walk through it, while also causing all projectiles that pass through it to catch fire and deal extra fire damage, such as lightning sparks. There are 25 active skills for Elemental magic.

Each of the classes in Path of Exile 2 also has three unique Ascendancy Classes to further specialize their playstyle. At the start of Early Access, only two of the three are available for the six playable classes. But by full release, all twelve classes will have three Ascendancy Classes making there 36 total Ascendancies in POE2. Here are the 12 Ascendance Classes at the start of Early Access:

• Monk – Invoker or Acolyte of Chayula
• Warrior – Warbringer or Titan
• Ranger – Deadeye or Pathfinder
• Mercenary – Witchhunter or Gemling Legionnaire
• Witch – Infernalist or Blood Mage
• Sorceress – Stormweaver or Chronomancer

Massive Endgame in Early Access

Now for the fun part. Over the years Path of Exile has had many leagues that have added and built upon the end-game the ARPG has to offer. It’s also received several reworks and revamps to the system as a whole, which in turn has made it so there’s plenty of content to explore once you reach the end-game.

Even though the Early Access for Path of Exile 2 will only have three of the six acts, Grinding Gear Games was sure to include a ton of end-game content for players to explore even during the EA period. The leveling process has been reworked specifically for the EA launch, and is now as such:

• Level 1-45 – Acts 1-3 (Normal)
• Level 45-65 – Acts 1-3 (Cruel)
• Level 65-100 – Endgame

At full release, Acts 4-6 will be where players level from 45-65 before heading into the endgame. Since those acts aren’t ready, players will go through a harder version of Acts 1-3 to get from levels 45-65 with increased difficulty but also increased rewards. Then, the massive endgame begins.

The Atlas and Portal Device from POE returns, but it works a little different. The Atlas itself is massive and infinite. As you progress through maps, you’ll access Waystones that increase the tier and level of monsters you will face in areas in which you use the waystone. Not all maps will have bosses, with only 1 in 4 actually having them. As such, to completely clear the map, you simply need to defeat all powerful Rare and Unique enemies that are in it. Completing the map will allow you to push further through the map into the next area.

However, if you die, the map can no longer be run and will be blocked off, forcing you to find another way around the map. As you progress through the Atlas, you’ll encounter plenty types of end-game content including some returning from the original POE and some brand new to POE 2. There are seven distinct systems for endgame at the start, with more coming over the course of Early Access. Each of the types of content have their own unique Atlas Passive Tree that you can progress through, increasing your potential difficulty and rewards of completing that type of content.

Here are all the endgame content types coming at Early Access launch in Path of Exile 2:

• Breach
  • Breach creates a tear in the fabric of reality, allowing you to take out spawning hordes of demons and otherworldly monsters from a different plane. The more enemies you kill, the longer the Breach remains open, giving you better rewards including Catalysts and Breach Rings. You’ll also obtain Tables that can be used at Precursor Towers which will allow you to add modifiers to the breaches in the area around the tower. Breach also features a pinnacle boss, Xesht, We Who are One.
• Ritual
  • Rituals also make a return from POE and allow players to kill hordes of enemies at sacrificial sites to then resurrect them and kill them again for tribute. Unique Ritual rewards include Omens and there is even a pinnacle boss for Ritual as well, the King in the Mists.
• Delirium
  • The foggy mists of Delirium return which allows you to pass through a Mirror and push deep into the nightmare fighting hordes of Rare and Unique enemies. Alongside Tablets for the Towers, there are also unique Distilled Emotions which allow you to anoint your amulet with a notable from the passive skill tree. It seems like this replaces Oils from Blight for the time being. You’ll also be able to head into a Simulacrum and take on the pinnacle bosses for Delirium.
• Expedition
  • Expeditions have also returned from the original POE, allowing you to plant explosives to dig up ancient artifacts. You’ll receive various artifacts that you can then exchange with Dannig, Rog, Tujen, and Gwennen for useful items. Eventually you’ll receive Logbooks that allow you to enter specialized Expedition maps and coordinate a massive giant dig site for massive rewards and even a pinnacle boss encounter against Olroth, the Ancient Undead Commander of the Knights of the Sun.

Alongside the return of these classic POE mechanics, there are also some new types of content in the endgame for POE2 including the Trial of Sekhemas which allows you to push further into the trial in the end game, acquiring Relics and pushing even further in. The Trial of Chaos also extends into the end-game resulting in an encounter with the Trial master. If that’s not enough, you can also come across a Fortress with a pillar of flame and ash on your atlas that is ancient in origin and home to the ultimate pinnacle boss. Each of the factions vying for power in Wraeclast has their own Uber Act Boss that can be encountered after defeating two of their lieutenants. Once you defeat all the Uber Act Bosses, you will gain access to this fortress and the pinnacle end-game boss of POE2 Early Access.

Bigger than most full releases

Even though it’s technically an Early Access, the massive amount of content in Path of Exile 2 is quite staggering. Most full-release games don’t have this much content. While GGG estimates a first-time run through Acts 1-3 to take about 25 hours, Cruel Mode and then all the end-game content can take hundreds of hours for someone to play through it all and reach the pinnacle end-game boss that awaits.

I’m happy to see that Path of Exile 2 isn’t just launching as a big demo for what the reworked ARPG has to offer, but as a full-fledged game with a trove of content. I can’t wait to jump in when Early Access for Path of Exile 2 begins on December 6. Those interested in checking it out can pickup a Early Access supporter pack for as low as $30 to jump into the EA release when it begins.