Path of Exile 2 1.0: release date, new classes and league
Path of Exile 2 version 1.0 launches on December 11, 2026 (PST) and the game becomes free to play. The full release finishes the campaign with Acts 5 and 6, adds the Shadow and Duelist classes, and starts a new challenge league, Conquerors of Wraeclast, in which you raise an army and build a castle. Every player starts the 1.0 leagues from zero.
When does Path of Exile 2 1.0 come out?
December 11, 2026, Pacific time. From that day the game is free to play, with no early access pack needed. We will add the launch hour once it is announced.
Will my early access characters carry over?
No, not into the new leagues. The 1.0 leagues start fresh for everyone, with a new economy, so plan to make a new character.
What is new in the campaign?
Acts 5 and 6 complete the campaign. Together they add 24 new areas, 18 new bosses and new rare encounters.
New classes: Shadow and Duelist
- Shadow: a dagger class built around traps and stealth. Its ascendancies are the Assassin and the Infiltrator.
- Duelist: a sword class built around fast slashes and bleeding. One of its ascendancy choices lets you recruit a squire who fights at your side.
Some existing ascendancies are being reworked; the 1.0 patch notes will list which. If you played one of them in early access, expect your build to change.
The Conquerors of Wraeclast league
Conquerors of Wraeclast is a strategy layer on top of the normal game. You follow Varek and his mercenaries, recruit troops and capture fortifications as you level. In the endgame you build a stronghold and fight sieges against rival forces.
Castles also matter for mapping: a castle your faction holds opens up the maps around it.
Crafting and items
- Reforging: Forgemarked modifiers can be reforged at the Reforging Bench into new fractured (locked) modifiers.
- Uniques: more than 40 new Unique Items and more than 70 reworked ones.
- Skills and passives: 60 new active skills, Support Gems that adapt to the skill they support, and changes to the passive tree.
Endgame changes
The Atlas skill tree is reworked, and commanders can be sent out to clear maps, complete Towers or hunt rewards for you.
How to get ready
- Pick a starter now. New classes are exciting, but a reworked or familiar class is a better first character for a brand-new economy.
- Plan your first currency. On day one, everyone needs Exalted Orbs for gear and Jeweller’s Orbs for skill gems. Read our PoE 2 currency guide.
- Use our 1.0 league start checklist.
Get ready for 1.0
Exalted OrbFrom $0.27View item
Divine OrbFrom $0.36View item
Campaign Carry Acts 1-6$9.99View item
Power Leveling 1-90$19.99View item- PoE 2 CurrencyView all
FAQ
December 11, 2026 (PST). It becomes free to play that day.
The Shadow (daggers, traps and stealth, with Assassin and Infiltrator ascendancies) and the Duelist (swords, with an ascendancy that recruits a squire).
Conquerors of Wraeclast, a league about recruiting an army, capturing fortifications and building a castle.
No. The 1.0 leagues start fresh for everyone.
