Dawn of the Hunt: All New Classes, Mechanics and Endgame in Path of Exile 2
Updated: 3 days ago
Dawn of the Hunt:
All New Classes, Mechanics and Endgame in Path of Exile 2
Path of Exile 2 is about to receive its first major expansion since entering Early Access: Dawn of the Hunt, launching on April 4th. This update introduces the Huntress, a brand new class, along with five new Ascendancy classes, unique items, support gems, and major endgame improvements.
PoE Builds is here to help you navigate every detail of this epic new content.
The Huntress: Hybrid Spear Combat
The Huntress is a spear wielding Azmeri warrior, skilled in both melee and ranged combat. With extended reach and the ability to throw spears, her combat style is fast and fluid. Her first skill, Whirling Slash, creates a blinding whirlwind that explodes on exit. Many of her abilities combine melee attacks with elemental effects and area control.
She can parry incoming attacks, counter enemies, and use combos like Disengage for explosive mobility. Spear throws become more powerful with Frenzy Charges, activating combos like fiery tornadoes and elemental explosions.
22 Skills and Beast Companions
The Huntress has 22 new skills available, ranging from spirit animal summons to devastating spear abilities. You can tame beasts during combat to aid you, with rare ones providing unique modifiers. This makes the Huntress one of the most versatile and dynamic characters in the game.
Ascendancy Options for the Huntress
The Huntress can ascend into multiple classes:
● The Ritualist uses dark Azmeri traditions, sacrificing monsters or herself, for powerful effects. Mystic Attunement boosts all jewelry stats, while Ritual Sacrifice lets you absorb modifiers from slain rare enemies.
● The Amazon is a traditionalist warrior trained for elite defense. Skills like Elemental Infusion make your projectiles explode, and Predator’s Instinct exposes enemy weak points for massive damage. These Ascendancies make the Huntress adaptable to many playstyles, and PoE Builds will explore optimal paths for each.
New Ascendancy Classes for Other Characters
Three additional Ascendancy classes are introduced for other characters:
● Smith of Kitava: A warrior Ascendancy that forges their own gear, enhancing weapons and armor with destructive power.
● Tactician: A support oriented crossbow user with skills like Whoever Pays Best, enabling multiple banners and off screen archer commands like Unleash Hell.
● Lich: A dark necromancer that explodes cursed enemies with Chaos damage, drains life, and enhances cursed minions with unholy powers.
Unique Items and Support Gems
Over 100 new unique items are being added, including mid and endgame focused gear.
Examples include:
● Chernobog’s Pillar: Fire damage based on Block Chance.
● The Coming Calamity: Grants all three Elemental Heralds at zero cost.
● Saitha’s Spear: Combines Bleed and Fire damage for brutal ignite builds.
There are also new unique flasks, bucklers, and crafting materials. Over 100 new support gems are also coming, such as:
● Haemocrystals: Turn bleed damage into Vaal crystal explosions.
● Alignment: Enhances bow skills with positional bonuses.
Azmerian Wisps and New Endgame Maps
Azmerian Wisps are spirit entities encountered throughout the game. Each Wisp influences nearby enemies with special traits and mechanics, such as extra Cold damage or summoning tornadoes. Wisps can lead to rare monsters and major rewards. A new endgame map, Azmeri Ranges, features multiple Wisps and a unique boss encounter.
● New Maps and Boss Encounters
Eight new maps are being added, including:
○ The Megalith of Phaaryl: Activate stones to trigger stormy boss fights.
○ The Fractured Lake: Mirror terrain creates duplicate rare monsters.
○ Essence Cavern: Fight a boss by stacking Rare monsters and Essences.
Rogue Exiles and Unique Strongboxes
Twelve new Rogue Exiles roam maps with PvP style behavior and unique gear. They’re fast, smart, and dangerous, but they drop their loot if defeated. Unique Strongboxes now have modifiers like resurrection loops or Vaal infused bosses.
Corrupted Nexus and Cleansed Maps
Corruption spreads from slain monsters toward a Corrupted Nexus. Defeating the Nexus boss purifies the zone, turning surrounding maps into Cleansed Maps with new bosses and loot, including Fracturing Orbs used in high end crafting.
Tower Changes and Waystone System
Towers now appear less often but are more powerful. Each Tower uses up to three Tablets and applies more modifiers to surrounding maps. New boss encounters and loot systems make Towers more exciting and efficient.
Waystone penalties have also been rebalanced. Players can now respawn multiple times during maps and bosses, especially in groups. Death no longer results in XP loss for the most difficult endgame content.
Recombination Returns
Recombination allows you to combine two items into one, merging their modifiers. This long awaited system is now available for Expedition content and opens up new crafting possibilities.
Conclusion:
Dawn of the Hunt is shaping up to be one of the most ambitious updates in Path of Exile 2 so far. With the introduction of the Huntress, five new Ascendancy classes, deep crafting systems, and a redesigned endgame full of surprises, there’s something exciting for every kind of player. Whether you’re into brutal spear combat, tactical crossbows, or chaotic necromancy, this league is packed with ways to create your perfect build.
Stay tuned to PoE Builds for the best guides, build tips, and updates as we dive into this thrilling new chapter.
