Return of the Ancients Makes PoE 2’s Campaign More Readable

Mark Roberts Announces a Smoother Campaign

Mark Roberts, Game Director at Grinding Gear Games, opens the video with a direct statement: Path of Exile 2 is changing. Return of the Ancients, launching May 29, marks the start of concrete changes to streamline the campaign.

GGG has listened to player feedback about the time required to replay the campaign. The goal of Return of the Ancients is clear: make progression faster and less repetitive. Roberts explains that the video presents specific examples of the changes coming with patch 0.5 scheduled for May 29.

Act 1: The Grelwood River and the Tree of Souls

In Act 1 as revisited by Return of the Ancients, if you cross the Grelwood and come across a river, follow it upstream. It always leads to Red Vale, without exception. To find the Tree of Souls, look for the magical glowing roots scattered throughout the area. They point you in the right direction.

In that same area, if you spot mushrooms, stay alert. The entrance to the Grim Tangle is nearby. These visual cues are reliable landmarks, not random generation quirks.

Act 1: Hunting Grounds, Trails and Ritual Chains

The Hunting Grounds is a particularly large area, and navigating it could quickly become tedious. With Return of the Ancients, GGG adds clear visual landmarks to the environment: a signpost at the center of the path points directly toward the Ogham Farmlands. No more scanning the mini map to find the entrance.

A second, more macabre guidance system leads to boss Crowbell: a pecked bovine lies on the ground, forming a grim trail that leads straight to its butcher’s territory. The breadcrumb trail is unintentionally effective. Once the area’s Ritual is completed, a trail of locusts appears and points directly toward Freythorn.

This chaining doesn’t stop there. In Freythorn, each completed Ritual in turn generates a trail toward the next nearest Ritual. The system cascades until the zone is exhausted. And this behavior has been extended to the reworked endgame, with an extra perk for players who chain Rituals without getting lost.

Act 2: Traitor’s Passage and Titan Valley Redesigned

Still in Return of the Ancients, Traitor’s Passage now features a guaranteed intersection: one path always leads to Balbala, the other to the exit. To know which one to take, simply follow the Maraketh parchment, the same one used to bind the Djinns. That’s surely going to lead to Djinn Balbala, right? This wink from Mark Roberts says everything about the level’s logic: the clue is there, visible, and it makes sense within the lore. No more wandering corridors without knowing whether you’re moving forward or doubling back.

Titan Valley receives an even cleaner overhaul. From the entrance, the colossal Titan heads make the objective unmistakably clear: each one hides the entrance to a linear canyon. You traverse the canyon, activate the seal at the far end, and portals immediately appear to take you back to the starting point to witness the activation’s effect. The round-trip path is built into the very structure of the zone. The result: objectives readable at first glance, a frictionless progression pace.

Act 3: Jungle, Explorers and Shortcuts to the Waterways

In Return of the Ancients, the camps of explorers in Act 3 take on a new role. They already served as merchants. They now play an additional part: speaking to them reveals the direction of the next zone to reach. The destination also appears directly on the mini map. No more fumbling through the jungle to find what comes next.

Several zone relocations simplify progression in early Act 3. The entrance to the Waterways is now found in the Jungle Ruins rather than in the Infested Barrens. An alternative exit has been added to the Venom Crypts, allowing players to cut through the jungle without backtracking through already-explored zones. Azak Bog has also been relocated: it is now part of the Waterways, avoiding a detour into the sparse jungle to reach it.

These adjustments represent only a portion of the changes coming to the game as a whole. GGG confirms it will continue refining the experience over time. Return of the Ancients launches May 29.

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