Path of Exile 2 1.0 league start checklist

To get ready for the Path of Exile 2 1.0 launch on December 11, 2026, pick your starter build in advance, plan where your first Exalted and Jeweller’s Orbs go, know the campaign route through all six acts, and set a goal for your first weekend. Every player starts the 1.0 leagues with nothing. A plan matters more than usual.

1. Choose your league before launch day

The 1.0 launch league is Conquerors of Wraeclast, a challenge league about building an army and a castle. You can also play the permanent Standard league, or the Hardcore and Solo Self-Found versions. Most players pick the challenge league, because that is where the fresh economy and the new mechanics are.

2. Pick a starter you can play without trading

Choose a build that works with self-found gear for the whole campaign. On day one there is nothing to buy, and trade prices are wild for the first hours. Good rules of thumb:

• A class you already know beats a brand-new one for your first character.
• Avoid builds that need one specific unique to work.
• If you want to try the Shadow or Duelist, make it your second character, after the patch notes are out and the first builds have settled.
• If your early access character used an ascendancy that is being reworked, read the 1.0 patch notes first.

3. Learn the new campaign route

1.0 adds Acts 5 and 6, with 24 new areas and 18 unique bosses, so the campaign is longer than in early access. Watch one route video after launch, and skip optional areas that do not give a permanent reward. Write down which areas give passive points and ascendancy trials so you never miss one.

4. Plan your first currency

• Exalted Orbs: your first ones go into filling empty modifiers on weapons and armour, or into trades for better gear.
• Jeweller’s Orbs: give your main skill more support sockets as soon as you can. It is one of the biggest power jumps in the campaign.
• Regal and Augmentation Orbs: keep them for upgrading good magic items you find while levelling.
• Divine Orbs: do not use them early. Their trade value is usually highest in the first days, so they are often better spent on gear.

Our PoE 2 currency guide explains what every orb does.

5. Use the league mechanic for loot

In Conquerors of Wraeclast you recruit troops and capture fortifications as you level, and later build a stronghold of your own. Capturing fortifications as you level is part of the league, so do it when it is on your way rather than skipping it.

6. Get your ascendancy early

Your ascendancy is the biggest power boost in the campaign. Do the trials as soon as your character can handle them, and plan your first two ascendancy points before launch.

7. Set a first-weekend goal

Decide what “done” looks like for the first weekend: finishing the campaign, reaching your first maps, or a level. A clear goal stops you wasting hours on side content, and it tells you when to switch from levelling to farming currency.

Short on time?

If you want to start mapping on day one, a campaign carry or power leveling gets your own character through the acts.

Get the items

• Exalted OrbFrom $0.27View item
• Regal OrbFrom $0.20View item
• Campaign Carry Acts 1-6$9.99View item
• Power Leveling 1-90$19.99View item
• Trial of Sekhemas Carry$4.99View item
• PoE 2 CurrencyView all

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