Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt Launches Next Week with New Class and Abundant Content

Grinding Gear Games has announced the arrival of Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, an extensive free expansion for its renowned action RPG, currently in early access. This expansion brings a wealth of new features, including the game’s first new class since its early access launch.

Introducing the Huntress

The central highlight of Dawn of the Hunt is the introduction of the Huntress, a spear-wielding warrior hailing from a culture steeped in tradition. After defending herself with her powers, she was exiled from her homeland. The Huntress is adept in both ranged and melee combat, able to dart into battles and retreat swiftly. Her unique spears offer an extended range alongside a short dash feature, and remarkably, unlike conventional melee weapons, they can be thrown. To create a fun and engaging hybrid combat experience, the developers designed skills that facilitate smooth transitions between melee and ranged attacks. Players will first encounter the Whirling Slash skill.

Combat Mechanics of the Huntress

The Whirling Slash skill is distinctive; it damages enemies in a circle around the player while also generating a whirlwind that temporarily blinds foes. Upon exiting the whirlwind, it detonates, with damage increasing with each use. Following this, the Huntress can unleash a ranged attack; she can skillfully whip her spear to send twisters racing toward enemies, bouncing off walls and causing multiple impacts. Furthermore, twisters can be thrust into the whirlwind, resulting in additional damaging tornadoes.

In her off-hand, she wields a buckler which enables her to perform parries. While parrying, the Huntress can counterattack any nearby threats, stunning them and inflicting enhanced damage on her subsequent attack. Notably, some class skills are synergized to follow a successful parry.

Another of her essential skills, Disengage, allows the Huntress to swiftly retreat while dealing damage to enemies ahead. This skill can interrupt other actions like dodge rolls, and when executed against a parried foe, it triggers an explosive result, granting a frenzy charge. However, players must exercise caution, as excessive parrying may leave the Huntress vulnerable to counterattacks.

Elemental Versatility

The Huntress also boasts various elemental spear throw attacks, such as Lightning Spear, which unleashes arcs of electricity among enemies, and Explosive Spears, which can be embedded in the ground to create a devastating explosion after a delay. Utilizing frenzy charges empowers these abilities, with charged Explosive Spears leading to larger explosions and fiery ground effects. Combining fire and whirlwind mechanics can lead to explosive fire tornadoes, enabling intricate combo gameplay.

Blood Loss Mechanic

A core gameplay element for the Huntress involves exhausting enemies through blood loss. Skills like Rake allow her to dash towards foes, inflicting grievous wounds, which can be followed up by Disengage to observe bleeding foes pull closer. Health bars now visually reflect the blood loss status. Additionally, the Huntress has skills such as Blood Hunt, which causes a bloody explosion proportional to the level of blood loss inflicted on adversaries. The Thunderous Leap enables explosive interactions with spears, intensifying combat dynamics.

Taming Beasts

Beyond hunting, the Huntress possesses the unique ability to tame beasts during battles, gaining a temporary companion which retains any mods previously possessed. Finding rare beasts with beneficial mods can significantly enhance her combat strategy. The Huntress features a total of 22 new skills, affirming her versatility.

New Ascension Classes and Skills

The expansion also introduces new Ascendancy classes:

Lich (Witch): A master of undeath, capable of using her own life essence to unleash chaotic curses.
Smith of Kitava (Warrior): A weaponsmith whose abilities resonate with the dark forces of Kitava.
Tactician (Mercenary): A mercenary skilled in brutal strategies, blending formidable combat with profitable outcomes.

Additionally, two exciting new skills are included:

Raise Spectre: This powerful skill allows summoning the souls of defeated foes, creating a diverse undead army.
Summon Rhoa Mount: This ability calls forth a Rhoa for combat support or as a mount for speedy traversal, though caution is advised to avoid being unseated during battles.

Expanding Character Development and Crafting

This expansion significantly enhances character development with the addition of over 100 new Support Gems, bolstering build diversity. For example, Haemocrystals transform bleed effects into explosive Vaal crystals, while Caltrops litter the battlefield with hazards that hinder enemy movement.

There is a strong emphasis on enriching the endgame experience with the introduction of over 100 new unique items, ensuring players have ample compelling content to pursue. Notable crafting enhancements include:

More than 20 new runes for gear modification, with runes now capable of scaling across multiple tiers.
An expanded crafting framework featuring specialized socketable mods set to debut in a forthcoming content update.

Engaging New Challenges and Mechanics

The so-called Azmeri Spirit has emerged in Wraeclast. When players interact with these ethereal wisps, they will flee, but monsters that come into contact will gain increased power. Wisps may also possess Rare or Unique monsters, enhancing their capabilities and yielding valuable rewards.

The expansion introduces eight fresh Maps filled with challenging new encounters, requiring players to engage in combat with mirrored Rare monsters or navigate the mystical Ezomyte Forests, where rune-carved stones radiate energy. Surviving these trials earns players exclusive rewards and further enhances gameplay depth.

Unique Strongboxes and Enhanced Essences

Players can also look forward to four new Unique Strongboxes, each presenting unique challenges and rewards:

Ogham’s Legacy: Revives defeated creatures, escalating in difficulty and reward with each resurrection.
Ixchel’s Torment: Deploys Chaos-empowered guardians defending a powerful artifact, promising unique loot for victorious players.

Essences have undergone significant enhancements, introducing four new Corrupted Essences—Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity—each offering new combat mechanics and promising powerful crafting results, such as guaranteed double Enchantments with Vaal Orbs on belts.

Corruption Mechanics

The expansion highlighted the persistence of Corruption within Wraeclast, expanding its presence into larger zones. Defeated bosses will lead to the cleansing of remaining areas within the corrupted zone, which now host additional enemies and unique encounters with modified rewards.

Introducing Rogue Exiles

Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt also introduces Rogue Exiles, hostile NPCs sharing the player’s exile experience. These foes possess elusive capabilities, strategically dodging player attacks and employing their own skills and gear intelligently. Upon defeating them, players can claim any unique items they wield.

Endgame Rebalance and Improvements

A crucial aspect of this update is the comprehensive rebalancing of endgame mechanics. Although the number of towers has been reduced, their power has significantly increased, and Tablets now impact multiple areas, streamlining player experience and enhancing the overall gameplay.

Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt is set to release on Friday, April 4, offering players an expansive array of content that promises to elevate the gaming experience to new heights.

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