Path of Exile 2: The Hunt Awakens – First major update arrives in April.

Starting April 4th, a new hunt begins in Path of Exile 2 , bringing a new era of carnage to the title. The Hunt's Awakening game's first , available in Early Access .

• Defeat your prey with the Huntress , a skilled spear and buckler wielder who specializes in hybrid close- and long-range combat.
• Master the forces or explore five new Ascendant Classes: Ritualist, Amazon, Kitava Smith, Strategist, and Lich.
• Face new enemies in the endgame and enjoy significant gameplay
• Discover over 100 new unique items, plus expanded crafting options that will enhance your skills.

Destroy your enemies with short- and long-range attacks using the Huntress.

Take control of the Huntress, a fierce and skilled spear-wielding warrior. Banished from her homeland, she now hunts her prey with a mix of close-quarters and long-range combat. Her brutal arsenal is designed to make combat a relentless chase, always on the move, moving in and out of melee range at any moment.

The Huntress can also defend against and counter enemy attacks, stunning them with each blocked hit. Equip the Retreat skill gem to perform a quick backward leap, gaining a Frenzy charge, and then unleash your spear with added force.

Hunt down your prey with a series of elemental spear attacks that allow the Huntress to utilize some of the longest combos we've ever created with any class in Path of Exile 2.

Create chaos with five new Ascendant Classes in Path of Exile 2.

With five new Ascendant Classes , Path of Exile 2: The Hunt's Awakens introduces new ways to expand your character building options.

• Ritualist (Hunter) – The Ritualist sacrifices flesh and blood, unleashing corrupted life force upon her enemies. She delves into the forbidden depths of Azmeri traditions, using blood sacrifice and plagues as weapons.
• Amazon (Hunter) – An unparalleled hunter, she thrives on precision and elemental fury. The Amazon ancestry transforms warriors into elite hunters, sworn to protect the Elders of Azmeri with lethal accuracy.
• Lich (Witch) – A Lich tears open her own soul, becoming a master of the dead and chaos. A Lich is a master of chaos and curses who can use her own life to enhance her Energy.
• Kitava Blacksmith (Warrior) – The Kitava Blacksmith forges weapons of destruction with fire and suffering. Embrace the power and take weapon-making skills to even greater heights by becoming one with the insatiable Kitava.
• Strategist (Mercenary) – The Strategist Mercenary brings brutality to the battlefield. As a former elite guard, the Strategist is able to defeat the monsters of Wraeclast while earning a good monetary income.

Enhance your arsenal with new support gems and abilities.

In addition to 20 new spear abilities designed for the Huntress, we have two other highly anticipated abilities in Path of Exile 2.

• Raise Specter – This ability allows you to imprison and summon the souls of almost every monster available in the game. With hundreds of monster variants in Path of Exile 2, expect endless experimentation to find the perfect undead army.
• Summon the mount Rhoa – Summon a Rhoa to fight alongside you or serve as a mount to move at high speed while attacking. But be careful: taking too much damage while using Rhoa can knock you down, leaving you in a vulnerable state.

This expansion also brings a major change to character development, adding over 100 new options to improve the diversity of character builds . Support gems add a variety of interesting effects to your existing skills, modifying them in various ways.

For example, Hemocrystals cause bleeding effects to become explosive crystals, and Stranglers fill the battlefield with slowing hazards.

Unlock even greater potential with over 100 new unique items.

Path of Exile 2: The Hunt's Awakens offers an even greater focus on unique mid- and end-game items, ensuring that high-level characters have even more exciting rewards to pursue.

Unlimited power with new item creation tools in Path of Exile 2.

New tools for the crafting system have been introduced as rewards in various areas of the game:

• Over 20 new runes have been added, allowing you to create new modifications for your equipment.
• Runes can now have multiple tiers, allowing for even more powerful modifications that remain viable in the endgame.
• We will be expanding crafting options even further by introducing more specialized modifications, with the first modifications arriving in a future content update. 

Darkness awaits.

The Azmeri Spirits have emerged in Wraeclast. When you get close to them, the spirits flee, and any monster touched by them becomes more powerful. The Spirits will also find and possess Rare and Unique monsters, granting them powerful new abilities and rewards. There are 12 distinct types of spirits, each with its own mechanics and rewards.

New Maps

Path of Exile 2: The Hunt Awakens adds eight new maps, offering additional challenges and rewards. Each map will offer new and interesting challenges for players.

Be forced to fight against mirrored versions of Rare monsters in the Fractured Lake, or be thrown into the wild Ezomite Forest located in the Phaaryl Megaliths where rune-laden stones are overflowing with energy. Survive the wave of deadly bosses and you will be rewarded with exclusive rewards and runes.

Unique Safes

Discover four new and unique Vaults, each possessing deadly mechanics and valuable rewards.

• The Legacy of Ogham features a rune-carved stone and a dead creature that, when activated, revives as a powerful rare monster. Each defeat triggers another resurrection with added modifiers, making the fight progressively more difficult and rewarding.
• The Torment of Ixchel utilizes ancient Vaal thaumaturgy, unleashing guardians empowered by Chaos to protect a powerful artifact. Winners will be rewarded with a unique item bearing a specific Corrupted result. 

Corrupted Essences

Essences receive major improvements with four new Corrupted Essences – Hysteria, Delirium, Horror, and Insanity – offering powerful new crafting possibilities, such as guaranteeing double Enchantments on Belts with Vaal Orbs.

Purify the Corruption

Corruption continues to spread throughout Wraeclast, forming ever-larger zones. At the center of each zone lies a Corrupted Nexus, home to three terrifying new bosses, all embodied by Corruption itself.

By defeating these bosses, any remaining area within the Corruption zone is purified. Purified Maps contain additional monsters, new bosses, and their own set of modifiers and rewards.

Duel with Renegade Exiles

During their travels in Path of Exile 2, players may encounter Renegade Exiles – others like themselves, who have been exiled and are hostile. They will challenge you to duels to the death. These Exiles can dodge, use clever guidance, and much more. Renegade Exiles can utilize the same abilities available to players and even the same items. They not only equip these items, but they also know how to use them to their advantage.

If you manage to defeat them, you can acquire these items for yourself!

Dynamic improvements to the endgame system.

Path of Exile 2: The Hunt's Awakening significantly adjusts the endgame balance. Towers have been simplified to a third of their previous quantity, but are now much more powerful. Planks affect twice as many areas, and participating in high-tier maps in Towers increases this number even further. Additionally, each Tower can now consume up to three Planks at once.

These significant changes reduce endgame bureaucracy and make using these resources simpler. Furthermore, Towers can now spawn with all their mechanics and have their own bosses.

Prepare for the hunt in “Path of Exile 2: The Hunt Awakens”

Stand out as a hunter, or become the hunted on April 4th. The Path of Exile 2: The Hunt's Awakening update will also be available in existing Early Access leagues for those who wish to play with their already created characters. Starting from scratch is recommended to take advantage of the new economy and the full experience of The Hunt's Awakening leagues.

Join the chaos and get Path of Exile 2: The Hunt Awakens on PC , Steam , PlayStation , Xbox , and the Epic Games Store . The Hunt Awakens update will launch simultaneously on all platforms on April 4th.