Chapter 4 & First League: Details of Global Patch 0.3.0 for Path of Exile 2

The major August update will include:

Act Four — heroes will venture to the Ngamakanui archipelago in search of pieces of the Third Edict artifact, the only weapon powerful enough to defeat the Beast. The Ngamakanui archipelago is home to the Karui tribes. Players can expect diverse locations ranging from the pristine beaches of Whakapanu Island to the volcanic shores of Roa Island. The developers have prepared eight islands, each with their own dangers. Act Four is non-linear, meaning players are free to explore the islands in any order they choose.

Over a dozen new bosses and more than a hundred new monster types, all scattered across the islands of Ngamakanui.

Three new mini-acts:

• The Curse of Haulten — In Ogham, players must help Renly rebuild the village and overcome corruption
• The Stolen Baran — In the Vastiri Desert, players help Asala fulfill her sacred duty
• Doryani's Contingency — Players climb a high mountain searching for lost Vaal descendants

The first full challenge league — "Breach Awakening" league has heroes battling Breach creatures that emerge from rifts across Wraeclast. Created by forbidden blood magic and necromancy during the Age of the Vaal, these dangerous beings obey their General's will. As players progress, the rifts become larger, more powerful, and diverse. Closing them rewards players with valuable items.

Well of Souls — artifacts can be infused with the magic of the Breach itself, unlocking the "Corrupted" modifier with three transformation variants. The Well of Souls can also affect Waystone stones, adding two new modifiers while raising difficulty and rewards to new heights.

New high-level content — beyond closing surface rifts, players can descend into the Breach itself, where legions of restless spirits and valuable rewards await. Breach commanders and the most challenging bosses, including the Vessel of Kulemak, pose particular threats.

New movement feature — rejoice, players who needed more speed! Heroes can now sprint by simply holding the dodge roll button. Sprint is available to all classes without stamina limitations.

Completely reworked support gem system — players can now use as many copies of the same support gem on their character as desired. Additionally, each gem now has multiple ranks, allowing for upgrades as players progress.

Crafting expansion:

• Added high-tier variants of all basic currency types. Greater and Perfect currency varieties add properties with guaranteed minimum tiers, enabling better crafting results
• New exemplar items with additional sockets or above-maximum quality can now be found in highest-level areas
• Essences now upgrade magic items to rare, adding specific properties. Essence ranks have been introduced, with Perfect Essences replacing random item properties with specified ones
• Added a complete set of new omens, while removing the least useful ones
• Introduced new currency: Hinekora's Thread. Blessed with foresight, it can predict the outcome of the next crafting use when applied to an item

25 new high-level maps in new environments, featuring new monsters and bosses from Act Four and the three interludes.

New high-level Atlas events — including magic-powered sandstorms, path-blocking vortexes, Vaal hideouts leading to elite enemies and valuable rewards, and more. Each event features uber versions of Act Four bosses and interlude finale bosses.

Asynchronous trading — the long-awaited feature allowing players to buy items from each other without intermediaries.

New skills, items, support gems, and global rebalancing of everything.

Path of Exile 2 early access is available on PC (Steam, Epic Games Store, official website), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series. The game will become free-to-play upon full release.