Four months on from its Early Access release last December, Grinding Gear Games’ action role-playing game (RPG) Path of Exile 2 is getting its first major content update, Dawn of the Hunt, bringing new main and subclasses alongside an expanded endgame on 4 April 2025.
Headlining the content drop is the new Huntress class, a hybrid ranged and melee character who wields a spear in combat. As a flexible combatant focused on speed, the Huntress weaves in and out of melee range to make encounters feel like a relentless dance, utilising a variety of elemental spear attacks to form some of the longest combo chains in the game to date.
The Huntress also possesses a unique parry mechanic, one uncommonly seen in this particular game genre. With skillful timing, she can not only avoid attacks from foes but also stun them for a follow-up strike with various counterattacks such as “Disengage”, which flings her back at the attacking enemy, gaining a Frenzy charge and providing the opportunity to follow through with one of the 20 new abilities designed for the character.
Alongside the Huntress class, five Ascendancy Classes – evolutions of base classes – will also be added to the game, which consist of:
- Ritualist (Huntress): A build based around blood sacrifice to unleash corrupted lifeforce upon foes.
- Amazon (Huntress): A build focused on precision and elemental attacks.
- Lich (Witch): A master of undeath and chaos that sacrifices life force to enhance energy.
- Smith of Kitava (Warrior): A smithing-based build with a focus on forging weapons and sheer power.
- Tactician (Mercenary): A trained Blackguard Elite that decimates foes with military-grade brutality.
Dawn of the Hunt will also expand upon general gameplay with the addition of two new abilities: “Raise Spectre”, which allows players to trap and summon souls of almost any monster in the game to create an undead army, and “Summon Rhoa Mount”, which calls forth a bipedal bird-like creature to mount and attack simultaneously.
In addition, the character development will also be overhauled with over 100 new support gems to enhance build diversity, as well as 100 unique items focused on Mid and Endgame, 20 runes and more specialized socketable mods to expand crafting options.
The world of Path of Exile 2 will also see a similar enhancement with Dawn of the Hunt, including eight new Maps like “The Fractured Lake” and “The Phaaryl Megaliths” with new challenges and rewards, four new Strongboxes with powerful loot, four Corrupted Essences and two new world encounters: “Corruption”, large zones culminating in a fight with one of three new boss enemies, and “Rogue Exiles”, challenging enemies roaming the world which possesses the same skills as the player, including a dodge roll and the ability to use items.
Lastly, the endgame will also see a significant rebalance to make it more streamlined while still being engaging. The number of Towers spread across the map has been drastically reduced, but they are much more powerful in return, with Tablets now affecting twice as many areas and increasing this number further depending on the Map tier chosen. Furthermore, Towers will now be able to consume up to three Tablets at once and will spawn with new mechanics and bosses.
Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt will launch on 4 April 2025, with players in existing Early Access leagues able to experience the new content with their current characters. The game is now available via early access on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Kevin is a reformed PC Master Race gamer with a penchant for franchise “duds” like Darksiders III and Dead Space 3. He has made it his life-long mission to play every single major game release – lest his wallet dies trying.
