Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt Expansion Unleashes April 4th
Grinding Gear Games has announced a massive, free expansion for Path of Exile 2's early access. "Dawn of the Hunt" arrives next week, April 4th. This significant update introduces a new class, endgame content, and extensive gameplay additions.
Introducing the Huntress: Spear Combat and Beast Taming
The Huntress is the first new class since Path of Exile 2's early access launch. This spear-wielding warrior excels in hybrid combat, blending melee and ranged attacks. Engage enemies with powerful spear techniques, then reposition strategically.
- Hybrid Combat: Spears offer melee reach and can be thrown for ranged engagements.
- Signature Skills: Whirling Slash creates detonating vortexes. Twister attacks ricochet or empower within whirlwinds.
- Parry Mechanic: Parry attacks with a buckler to stun foes, enabling follow-up attacks. Disengage, a backward leap, gains power after a successful Parry.
- Elemental Throws: Lightning Spears chain foes. Explosive Spears scorch the earth. Frenzy charges enhance throws and create combos.
- Blood Loss & Exploitation: Rake inflicts bleed. Blood Hunt causes explosions scaled to blood loss.
- Beast Taming: Tame a single beast companion with its unique modifiers.
The Huntress features 22 new skills, emphasizing agility, tactical play, and power.
New Ascendancy Classes Expand Character Options
"Dawn of the Hunt" introduces new Ascendancy classes for the Huntress and other classes:
For the Huntress:
- Ritualist: Sacrifices beasts, uses plagues, corrupts enemies, and gains power from magical trinkets, rewarding extra rings.
- Amazon: Excels in warfare, exposes vulnerabilities, and adds elemental damage on critical strikes.
For Other Classes:
- Lich (Witch): Masters undeath and chaos, bolstering force shields with life force.
- Smith of Kitava (Warrior): Imbues weapons with blood and flames, empowered by Kitava.
- Tactician (Mercenary): A Blackguard Elite tactician with military precision and brutality.
Expanded Skills, Power, and Loot Await
Beyond classes, the expansion broadens gameplay with:
- General Skills: Raise Spectre summons monster souls for undead armies. Summon Rhoa Mount provides attack-capable fast travel.
- Support Gems Revolution: Over 100 new Support Gems alter skill function, enabling build diversity. Examples include bleeds becoming crystal explosions or skills deploying caltrops.
- Endgame Overhaul: Improved endgame with 100+ unique items, tiered Runes for crafting, and socketable mods coming soon.
Wraeclast Grows Wilder with New Challenges
The game world evolves with:
- Azmeri Wisps: Spirits enhance monsters, increasing durability and rewards with unique mechanics.
- New Maps & Encounters: Eight new endgame Maps, including Fractured Lake and Phaaryl Megaliths, feature new bosses and rewards.
- Unique Strongboxes: Four new types like Ogham's Legacy (resurrecting stronger creatures) and Ixchel's Torment (Chaos Guardians with corrupted items).
- Essence Introduction: New Essence tier (Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, Insanity) uses combat mechanics for crafting outcomes.
- Corrupted Nexus Bosses: Bosses merge into amalgams. Defeating them cleanses map areas, revealing content.
- Rogue Exiles: Hostile NPCs use player skills and items. Defeat them for their gear.
- Towers and Tablets: Fewer but stronger Towers, Tablets cover larger areas, Towers gain all mechanics and new bosses, emphasizing strategic depth.
Prepare for “Dawn of the Hunt” on April 4th. It dramatically revises and expands the Path of Exile 2 experience.
