ExileCon 2026: Everything GGG Announced for Path of Exile 2

On December 11, 2026, Pacific time, Path of Exile 2 leaves Early Access and becomes free to play. The date had been known since late August. The content of this 1.0 version, though, was revealed on Friday evening, during the ExileCon 2026 keynote that Grinding Gear Games (GGG) streamed from Auckland at 10:00 p.m. Paris time. Here is everything announced at ExileCon 2026, theme by theme. Each theme will get its own detailed article over the coming days.

Key dates, in Paris time

Primary sources are GGG’s Steam announcement and the official page in French. In November, Paris is nine hours ahead of the US West Coast.

Date	Event	Time
Friday, November 6	ExileCon keynote (1:00 p.m. PST)	10:00 p.m. Paris time
Monday, November 9	End of the Curse of the Allflame league (Path of Exile 1)	10:00 p.m. Paris time
Friday, November 13	Expansion 3.30 “Covens of Umbra” (Path of Exile 1), free	Not published
Friday, December 11	Path of Exile 2, version 1.0, free to play (Pacific time)	Not published

Developer talks from ExileCon 2026 will go online “sometime after ExileCon”, with no date given. The keynote can be rewatched on the official Twitch and YouTube channels.

Six acts, two classes, one launch league

The campaign grows to six acts. Acts 5 and 6 take the player back to Oriath, ravaged by countless disasters, to destroy the Twilight Order and the Beast. They hold 24 zones, 18 new unique bosses and more than 20 Champion Rare encounters. GGG showed Act 5 gameplay on video.

Two classes arrive, with two weapon types. The Shadow wields daggers and Traps. It relies on Stealth, a mechanic new to the game: while you are Stealthed, monsters only see you from very close. Its two ascendancies are the Assassin and the Infiltrator.

The Duelist wields the sword and fights through Stances. Sand Stance triggers by stunning, Blood Stance by parrying. Its two ascendancies, the Knight and the Master-at-Arms, are both available at 1.0. According to Output Lag, the Knight was played in the demo, with a Squire fighting at its side. The Master-at-Arms was only shown through a description.

The launch league is called Conquerors of Wraeclast. In it you join Varek and his mercenaries to stop the Blood Lord from awakening, recruit troops, take forts and build a Stronghold. It has more than 70 points of interest and more than 20 missions. The endgame offers three factions, up to three commanders who send their army to clear maps, and more than 100 castles to besiege. A crafting material from the treasure rooms replaces unwanted modifiers with random fractured modifiers, which stay locked through other crafting operations. No direct combat between players has been announced: castles are contested between factions, and each player fights alongside everyone in their faction.

Reworked Uniques, Gems and Passive Skill Tree

At ExileCon 2026, GGG announces more than 40 new Unique Items, more than 70 reworked Uniques, and a rebuilt Passive Skill Tree with hundreds of new stats. All Jewel Sockets move into the tree’s skill groups. According to Output Lag and Maxroll, there would be about 60 of them, against 18 today. Support Gems get a deep rebalance, and the official forum announcement more broadly promises “massive balance changes”. No figures accompany that phrase.

A few classes gain new skills, including the Warrior and the Witch. Several classes and ascendancies are reworked, and GGG cites four as examples. The Mercenary reloads in the background while firing other ammunition. The Infernalist gets a demonic minion that casts whatever spells you give it. The Blood Mage receives new skills and curses. The Acolyte of Chayula gains a companion that uses any Quarterstaff skill. Maxroll also counts more than 60 new active skills, a figure GGG did not give itself.

Supporter Packs and Path of Exile 1 in parallel

Five new Supporter Packs replace those that are leaving the store. The highest tiers include merchandise, a Path of Exile 2 figurine and the chance to see your hideout appear as an Atlas zone. Free registration before December 11 remains the way to the launch cosmetic effects, with no purchase: two tiers were already reached on October 20.

On the Path of Exile 1 side, the 3.30 Covens of Umbra expansion comes out on November 13, four weeks before 1.0, according to GGG’s Steam announcement. It removes Scarabs in favor of Threads of Creation and rebuilds the Atlas tree.

What ExileCon 2026 answered, and what is missing

Before the event, our article on expectations set three priorities: the launch league, the fate of characters and currency from Forbidden Rites, and the length of Acts 5 and 6. Only the first received a complete answer. The other two remain open: GGG said nothing about Early Access characters, and for Acts 5 and 6 it gave only zones and bosses. The Duelist ascendancies and the date of Path of Exile 1 3.30, expected without any promise, did arrive.

Other things are missing too: the exact time of 1.0, the end date of the current Forbidden Rites league, and the values of passive tree and ascendancy nodes. According to Maxroll, the full patch notes would appear about a week before launch. The developer talks, which could fill some of the gaps, have no release date. PCGamesN’s report on the keynote (Ken Allsop) adds two practical details: a new screen that explains what killed you, and an install size that barely moves, with 30 GB removed and 40 GB added.