Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0 Hotfix 13 Explained | How Did It Destroy Temple Farming And How Can Players Fix It?

Category: Path Of Exile 2 Posted: Jan 04, 2026 Views: 1790

Posted: Jan 04, 2026

Source: IGGM

In Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0, Fate of the Vaal League, Temples were introduced as an endgame feature, allowing players to build their own dungeons and challenge the corrupted Vaal Queen Atziri.

However, initially, its rewards were low, so players didn't like this new mechanic. It wasn't until the developers buffed it and players discovered a bug that the mechanic became more appealing.

However, hotfixes on January 3rd destroyed everything again, weakening the mechanic once more and generating huge complaints from the player community. So what specific impact did this change have, and what effective farming strategy should players choose now?

Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0 Hotfix 13 Explained | How Did It Destroy Temple Farming And How Can Players Fix It?

Temple Serpent Chains

Before explaining why Hotfix 13 is so disruptive, we need to look at the mainstream method players used to build temples, and it is this method that was greatly affected by this patch.

If you play Temple mechanic conventionally, you might build rooms in a straight line, connecting them with roads, eventually challenging the boss. However, after defeating the boss, about half of the rooms are removed. This approach is not very profitable, and the temple struggles to grow because progress is constantly reset.

Therefore, the player community developed a more efficient strategy: the snake chain. You need to build a long, interconnected chain of rooms, like a winding snake. Rooms on this chain are only connected to each other, forming an independent loop.

This is achieved by alternating between rooms like Armory, Guardhouse, and Spymaster. These rooms lock the higher-value rooms, preventing them from being removed when the temple resets. Players extend this chain step by step in this way, eventually building a large, stable, and highly productive permanent Temple farm.

Hotfix Content

Hotfix 13 includes two major changes to the current Temple farming strategy.

Reducing The Rewards of Duplicate Rooms

This change aims to reduce the extra rewards players receive when repeatedly building the same type of room. The strength, quantity, and rarity of monsters will be reduced. For top-tier temples employing the aforementioned serpent chain strategy and heavily repetitive use of specific rooms, the rewards will be significantly reduced. For example, a temple that previously produced 100 Divine Orbs might now only produce 40.

This change is actually reasonable. It helps to bring the rewards of temple gameplay back to the same level as other endgame strategies, a balancing adjustment that is relatively fair to all players.

Juatalotli's Medallion

The changes to Juatalotli's Medallion are the core issue that caused the uproar. This change means that players can only use the badge to lock level 3 rooms, and can no longer lock level 1 or 2 rooms.

This change greatly impacts new players and those who haven't yet completed their temple serpent chains. Because in the early stages of building a room chain, players have low-level rooms, and Acquiring Juatalotli's Medallions is extremely unpredictable.

Now, even if you obtain one, you cannot use it to lock low-tier core rooms. Once the temple resets, these low-level rooms are removed, causing connected rooms to drop in level, creating a chain reaction that significantly slows down a player's temple progress.

This change doesn't affect players who had already built a complete serpentine chain before the fix. Their temple ends were often already level 3 rooms, easily locked to maintain farm operations and continuously acquire large amounts of PoE 2 currency.

This prevents unfinished players from steadily building their planned serpent chains from low-tier rooms. And they are forced to passively place rooms haphazardly and pray for a temple reset. Do not remove key rooms, and the construction process is highly random.

Hotfix 14

Player complaints stemmed primarily from the fact that this hotfix disrupted their plans, rendering their previous efforts futile. Players who had already benefited from this strategy were not only less affected but also further widened the gap with ordinary players.

Perhaps in response to the negative feedback from Hotfix 13, the developers quickly released Hotfix 14. This adjustment reduced the number of unstable rooms when the temple was closed by 30%, aiming to make the temple more stable at around 60 rooms instead of the previous 40.

However, this adjustment still failed to address the core issue. The key problem is that players have no control over the type of randomly generated rooms. Without Juatalotli's Medallion, it's nearly impossible to precisely construct the ideal temple with 60 rooms for specific functions.

How Should Temples Be Constructed after Hotfix 13?

While the situation seems bleak, you can still try to find solutions. The key is to address two newly emerging issues: acquiring more Juatalotli's Medallions and quickly establishing lockable Tier 3 rooms.

Not all Tier 3 rooms are equally secure. If a Tier 3 room depends on another room for its tier level, it will be downgraded when the connected room is removed. Therefore, you need to find or create rooms that can reach Tier 3 independently without relying on connections.

The first method is to use Quipolotl's Medallion. You need to find rooms where this badge drops and incorporate it into your temple construction plan. Using this badge will instantly upgrade a room to level three.

Another method is to manually upgrade core rooms. For core rooms like Spymaster, you can manually upgrade them to level three by repeatedly running and placing a second identical room.

Once you have a safe level three room, you can surround it with other rooms to lock it in place, which at least ensures the temple will generate some revenue.

These methods should be used only as a last resort. If you cannot accept this change, you either have to abandon the temple or pray that the developers will roll back the changes to Juatalotli's Medallion in the next hotfix.

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Path of Exile 2 The Last of the Druids Race Dates, Rules, and Rewards Revealed | Only the Absolute Fastest Will Survive
Path of Exile 3.28 brought some great news, and PoE 2 isn't entirely silent either, with the official announcement of a race event for Fate of the Vaal League.

However, The Last of the Druids race event won't be coming so soon. Since PoE 3.28 will be released in early March, PoE 2 race event has been scheduled for the end of March to allow players to experience the new content.

Dates

This race event, like previous ones, will consist of three races, each one week apart. The first race will be held on March 29th, with the following detailed schedule:
- Race 1: Mar 29, 2026 2:00 PM (CDT) / 8:00 PM UK / 9:00 PM Europe / 12:00 PM Pacific / 2:00 PM Central / 3:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 PM West / 6:00 AM AEDT (Mar 30)
- Race 2: Apr 05, 2026 3:00 PM (CDT) / 9:00 PM UK / 10:00 PM Europe / 1:00 PM Pacific / 3:00 PM Central / 4:00 PM Eastern / 1:00 PM West / 7:00 AM AEDT (Apr 6)
- Race 3: Apr 12, 2026 3:00 PM (CDT) / 9:00 PM UK / 10:00 PM Europe / 1:00 PM Pacific / 3:00 PM Central / 4:00 PM Eastern / 1:00 PM West / 7:00 AM AEDT (Apr 13)
The event time is the same for players from different time zones, so it's recommended to join early to gain an advantage.

Competition Rules

Platforms

This event still allows players on both PC and console platforms to participate. The prize pools are not separate, so the competition is fierce.

Eligibility

This race event is free and open to any player, as long as you are not an official employee.

League

To participate, you need to create a new character and then join the corresponding competition league (characters from standard leagues cannot participate). The competition league is Solo Self-Found, meaning you cannot trade with other players and must rely on yourself to collect PoE 2 currency and items.

Furthermore, this is not a hardcore league, so even if your character is killed, you will not lose your eligibility, but there is a severe death penalty. Your character will be unable to move for 2.5 minutes, which can be fatally disadvantageous in a race where every second counts.

Limitations

A notable limitation of this event is that Incinerate and Flame Breath cannot be selected in Gemcutting interface due to bugs. Therefore, if your build requires these skills, it's best to consider alternatives.

Victory Conditions

This race doesn't require you to reach the endgame, and simply defeating Tavakai in Act 4 completes the challenge. This means the best builds aren't necessarily the powerful endgame builds, and instead, upgraded builds might be more advantageous in this event.

Rewards

Demigod's Virtues

The reward for the race is the familiar Demigod's Virtues, which increase the drop rate of rare items. The fastest player in each class will receive one Demigod's Virtues. With the addition of Druids, this event will give away eight Demigod's Virtues:
- Ranger
- Sorceress
- Witch
- Monk
- Warrior
- Mercenary
- Hunress
- Druid
Rewards are only based on ranking, so if you rank first in multiple classes in a race, you'll earn multiple Demigod's Virtues. More race events will be held later, and these rewards will all be components of Demigod's Virtues—yes, a complete set. It would be pretty cool if your character wore a full set of Demigod's Virtues.

Path of Exile 2 Displates

Additionally, the fastest player in each class in each race will receive one Path of Exile 2 Displate. You can choose one yourself. The fastest player in all three races will also receive a Divination Card design.

Which Builds Are Good for Race Events?

In Race Events, builds that don't rely on gear and have high damage or high movement speed will have an advantage. While dying won't disqualify you, it's best to avoid dying if you want to be more competitive.

Level Up Tips

Another fundamental mechanic in Path of Exile is that you gain less experience from monsters lower level than you. This means that as your level increases, not only will you need more experience points per level, but you'll also gain less experience from killing the same monsters. Therefore, you should actively challenge higher-level areas (no more than 5 levels higher) instead of staying in lower-level areas to level up, as that will only slow you down.

If you want to try this event, you can refer to the best start builds in Patch 0.4.0.

Comet Crit Blood Mage

This build boasts amazing map clearing speed and single-target damage, making bosses seem easy targets. If you only look at the health, you might think it's a glass cannon, but that's not the case. Blood Mage has instant life steal and a very high health pool, making you actually quite tanky.

Poison Pathfinder

Poison Pathfinder is easy to play. All you need is a bow with decent physical damage affixes to easily complete the entire story.

Primal Strikes Deadeye/Amazon

Primal Strikes boasts top-tier map clearing and single-target damage capabilities. It was already strong in Patch 0.3.0 and was even buffed in Fate of the Vaal League.

Explosive Shot Grenade Deadeye

This build is even simpler to play. Its damage is considerable, and it can basically clear maps with just one key. However, its survivability is somewhat lower.

That concludes the information for PoE 2 The Last of the Druids speedrun event on March 29th. We hope you can stand out from the other players and win the rewards.
Is Path of Exile 2 Ritual Still Worth Your Time in Patch 0.4.0? Rewards and Boss King in the Mists Problem Analysis
While the full version is still a long way off, Path of Exile 2's league update frequency is becoming increasingly stable, and the gameplay is becoming richer with each patch adding new content.

As a result, gameplay modes that existed at the beginning of Early Access, such as Breach, Delirium, Ritual, and Expedition, are seeing their space shrink. After all, your energy is limited, and it's difficult to utilize all endgame mechanics.

However, after the novelty wears off, the key to evaluating whether a gameplay mode is worth playing is whether it can bring you enough benefits, not just fun.

Based on this, we will take Ritual as an example to analyze its playability during the current Patch 0.4.0.

What is Ritual?

As one of the core endgame mechanics of PoE 2, Ritual gameplay is map-based. When a Ritual event is triggered, special circles will appear on the map. Defeating enemies within these circles fills the progress bar of the altars on the map.

Once the progress bar is full, the altar will activate, resurrecting all monsters you killed. Killing these enemies again earns tribute, which can then be exchanged for rewards in the designated Favors shop window.

Typically, each clearable map will have 3-4 altars. Tributes must be used during Ritual; they will expire if used outside of time and area limits.

Favors shop typically sells common currencies such as Divine Orbs or Exalted Orbs. You can also exchange for gear or Omens as needed. Omens are exclusive loot for Ritual events, providing powerful onetime effects.

It's worth noting that if a reward you like is available for sale in Favors shop window, but you don't have enough tribute, you can consume 15% to reserve it, ensuring the item reappears later for a 10% discount.

If the current shop doesn't have the loot you want, you can consume tribute to refresh the shop, but it's best not to do it too frequently.

The pinnacle boss is the most valuable

Besides the basic gameplay mentioned above, you'll encounter the exclusive pinnacle boss, King in the Mists, during a Ritual's activation. Defeating him will directly grant various rewards, even Omens - no additional exchange required!

However, to unlock this boss, you need to continuously farm Ritual until you encounter An Audience with the King in Favor window. Then, place this item in Realmgate located in the center of Atlas map to open the portal to the boss.

Therefore, if you've been a loyal Path of Exile 2 player, the more accurate standard for evaluating the value of a Ritual at this stage is mainly whether the rewards from King in the Mists are sufficiently abundant.

Boss battle status

As a boss that exists from the early stages of the game, while King in the Mists might have initially given you a headache, it shouldn't be as challenging now.

With proficient use of builds boasting strong single-target damage, completing a King in the Mists encounter during patch 0.4.0 takes only a few minutes. The only time-consuming aspect is the pre-unlocking process, unless you acquire Petition Splinters directly through trade.

Now, after the battle, various items, including Beetlebite Velour Shoes, almost always drop. Their only value is being sold, but even then, they don't fetch much currency, making them practically worthless.

Other common loot includes Ingenuity unique belt, Omens, and some Divine Orbs. We generally recommend keeping Omens of Greater Exaltation and Omens of Bartering as aids for continuing to challenge Ritual.

Additionally, you might sometimes obtain a Ritualistic Reliquary Key. It can be used to unlock Reliquary Vault you acquire, after which you may receive one of the following items:
- Burden of Shadows Chiming Staff
- Beetlebite Velour Shoes
- Ingenuity Utility Belt
- Pragmatism Explorer Armour
- From Nothing Diamond
Many of these overlap with the rewards dropped by King in the Mists. Getting a belt or a diamond is usually considered lucky. But regardless of the specific item, their current purpose is simply to be sold for various orbs.

If these rewards are too little for your future character development, there's a great opportunity to get free orbs now: participate in PoE 2 currency free giveaways at IGGM Discord!

Is Ritual worth playing now?

Compared to other classic endgame event bosses, such as Expedition and Breach, King in the Mists is easier to unlock, and defeating him isn't difficult for veteran players now. However, in terms of actual rewards, it's not really worth it.

Therefore, if you want to obtain more currency or valuable loot within a limited time, newer mechanics are more worthwhile, such as Abyss mechanic inherited from Patch 0.3.0, and Atziri Temple gameplay offered by the current Fate of the Vaal league.

However, it must be pointed out that early mechanics like Ritual and Breach have always been an important part of Path of Exile series. While the introduction of new mechanics is important, developers shouldn't neglect their "old partners."

Therefore, in future patches like 0.5.0 and subsequent ones, we hope PoE 2 development team will dedicate resources to improving the playability and loot rewards of core endgame events, preventing an imbalance in game development.

That concludes our introduction and analysis. Patch 0.5.0 is expected to be released in late April or early May. Until then, please continue completing the remaining tasks in your current league!
Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.4.0 Bone Blast Build Is a Perfect Way to Kill Time | Stop Sleeping on Oracle!
According to the development team's recent statement, Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0 should be released around late April this year. While slightly later than expected, the difference is negligible and well within the acceptable range for players.

This means there are still about two months until the release of the new league. If you don't plan to play the upcoming PoE 3.28 or other popular ARPGs, you'll need to focus on in-depth exploration of Patch 0.4.0 for a considerable period.

While PoE 2 boasts a rich mechanic, Druid and its Ascendancies, as newly added content, naturally offer even greater exploration value and possibilities. Next, we'll introduce Bone Blast Build of Oracle, one of Druid Ascendancies.

Bone Blast Oracle Build overview

Compared to the more exciting and visually striking Shaman, the more difficult Oracle didn't receive much attention in the early stages of Patch 0.4.0. However, as exploration progressed, more and more players discovered the unique aspects of this class.

Based on this, Bone Blast Oracle Build's crafting strategy revolves around spell Bone Blast, creating and unleashing tornadoes primarily composed of fire, frost, and lightning to quickly eliminate enemies, including some high-tier bosses.

This build is not complicated to craft or use; in fact, it's designed to make acquiring loot easier. By following the guide step-by step, you can quickly master the usage tips.

Gem selection

Gems include skill gems and support gems. The latter further enhances the former's effects and improves the synergy between various skills.

Bone Blast

The most important skill is undoubtedly Bone Blast, which can be upgraded to level 20. Note that this skill can only be obtained through Bone Wand.

Ideally, you should max out your Bone Blast after entering the endgame phase to maximize damage and unlock the fifth support gem slot. Afterward, you can add the following support gems to enhance the skill:
- Physical Mastery: Grants +1 skill level.
- Burning Inscription: Adds a fiery ground-igniting effect to Bone Blast.
- Rapid Casting: Increases casting speed.
- Mobility and Spell Cascade: Provide area-of-effect damage.
Generally, the above setup is sufficient, but for boss fights, it's recommended to replace some support gems with Heft and Concentrated Area for a significant damage boost.

While this will reduce the skill's area of effect, it has minimal impact on boss battles.

Tornado

When using Bone Blast, you can continuously deal physical damage by frequently casting Tornado. If it absorbs elemental ground effects, the damage will be further increased. To enhance Tornado's effectiveness, the following support gem is essential:
- Dialla's Desire: Increases its damage by +1 skill level.
- Swift Affliction: Increases non-abnormal status damage over time by 30%.
- Overabundance: Breaks the limitations, allowing you to place two tornadoes on the field simultaneously, dealing massive damage. If you find yourself short on energy, you can use Energy Retention instead.
- Boundless Energy: Increases energy gain, as critical strike casting requires energy to accumulate.
- Mana Remnants: Provides a stable source of mana regeneration.
- Amanamu's Tithe: Gives you the chance to acquire Abyss affix, improving survivability and damage output.
Additionally, to trigger the elemental ground effect, you need to use Cast on Minion Death to trigger the frost ground generation skill. For this, you need to use Frost Bomb.

When Frost Bomb is cast, it leaves an ice remnant on the ground. Picking up the remnant will generate frozen ground the next time Ice Nova is cast.

This effect passively triggers every few seconds, so frozen ground will continuously generate in the surrounding area. If you want to make this effect even more powerful, you can also add Magnified Effect and Encroaching Ground.

Optimal gear choices

If you want more elemental ground effects, such as lightning, you should first equip Wake of Destruction Secured Leggings. This grants you an 8-second lightning ground effect while moving.

Furthermore, if you cast Tornado on the lightning ground, it will absorb lightning damage and convert it into damage over time, significantly increasing your damage output.

Another essential gear is Bone Wand, which is also the only way to obtain Bone Blast. Besides level 20 Bone Blast, you'll need to look for affixes that increase spell rating, physical spell rating, and damage - anything that boosts your damage.

For amulets, prioritize spell rating and spirit, as this build heavily relies on spirit. Of course, spell damage, resistances, and mana are also good.

As for focus, you'll need it to increase spell rating or stack as much energy shield and mana as possible.

Since this build heavily relies on spirit, the spirit stat on armor and amulets is crucial. If you find acquiring spirit too difficult, you can use a scepter instead of focus.

Of course, using a scepter will sacrifice some very important attributes, such as Energy Shield, Mana, and Spell Level, but as compensation, you can acquire Spirit much more easily.

Based on this, you can choose a better specific scepter, Palm of the Dreamer, which is a very powerful off-hand weapon. However, it requires consuming a significant amount of PoE 2 currency to acquire, so it's recommended that you consider your resources.

Mana consumption issues

Bone Blast itself, as a basic skill, does not consume mana, meaning you can use this skill freely. The mana consumption for this build comes from Cast on Minion Death, Critical Strike, Tornado, Frost Bomb, and Ice Nova.

To conserve mana, it's recommended that you use level 2 Frost Bomb and level 2 Ice Nova to reduce the mana consumption of Cast on Minion Death. However, the higher the level of Tornado, the better, as it is one of the main damage-dealing skills.

These are the basic tips for crafting Bone Blast Oracle Build. If you're new to this Ascendancy or simply want to save effort, this build is definitely a good choice!
Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0 Release Window Revealed | But Can It Survive Diablo 4's Biggest Update?

The official release date for PoE 3.28 (March 6th) was announced not long ago, and we expect to see official teasers around February 26th. However, we're discussing something further ahead: news about PoE 2 Patch 0.4.0.

With Chinese New Year approaching, Path of Exile 2 released a celebratory video on Chinese video website Bilibili. Besides sending New Year's greetings to Chinese players, game director Jonathan Rogers also hinted at the timeline for the next major update.

This isn't all the information about Patch 0.5.0. Players have also uncovered significant clues about the new class Ascendancy through data mining. Let's take a look at all the information about Patch 0.5.0 so far.

Path of Exile 2 New Year's Greeting Announcement

In New Year's greeting video released to Chinese players, Jonathan clearly stated that in late April, they will be showcasing a brand new large-scale expansion for Endgame. This includes not only the core Atlas talent tree, but also simultaneous updates to the exclusive talent trees for endgame modes such as Abyss, Breach, Ritual, and Expedition.

Patch 0.5.0 Release Date

Although Jonathan didn't directly give a precise release date for version 0.5 in the video, we can glean a key piece of information from his words: the event is scheduled for late April.

Therefore, there are two possibilities for the actual release date of Patch 0.5.0. Either the update will be released simultaneously with the event, directly at the end of April, or it will be delayed by several weeks after the event, most likely in the first or second week of May.

This release date is generally later than the community's initial predictions. Based on the release of Patch 0.4.0, The Last of the Druids, on December 12th, and Patch 0.2.0, Dawn of the Hunt, on April 4th, 2025, many players speculated that it would be released in early or mid-April.

Game Quality

From a game quality perspective, a longer development time means developers have more time to polish and refine the game. Patch 0.4.0 showed many signs of being rushed, clearly due to insufficient time management.

PoE 3.28

On the other hand, delaying the release is also beneficial for PoE 3.28. If Patch 0.5.0 is released in May, players will have two months to play PoE 3.28, thus bringing both PoE 1 and 2 back to a healthy development cycle.

Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred

Interestingly, Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred is released on April 28th, which is late April. Considering that Patch 0.4.0's release date almost overlaps with Diablo 4 Season 11, if Patch 0.5.0 is also released at the end of April, the two games might face off again.

Diablo 4 Lord of Hatred will bring a lot of content, including a new endgame system and a new class, Warlock. If Patch 0.5.0 only relies on new endgame content, it will likely be difficult to compete with Lord of Hatred.

New Ascendancy Revealed Through Data Mining

Besides the official holiday hype, player data mining has also yielded valuable information. Two brand-new class specialization icons and descriptions have surfaced.

It's important to note that while this content has been incorporated into the game, it doesn't guarantee its immediate release in version 0.5. Just as Druid's release was delayed from 0.3 to 0.4 due to development delays, this at least demonstrates that these two Ascendancy instances are nearing completion.

Arcane Archer (Ranger Ascendancy)

The core logic of this Ascendancy is relatively straightforward, and it's expected to use magic infusion as its primary mechanism. It combines traditional physical or projectile attacks with magical energy.

Given PoE series' emphasis on versatility in class design, Arcane Archer is unlikely to be limited to bow-only weapons. It's more likely a general-purpose attack infusion system, allowing players to integrate spell damage or spell effects into their attack skills regardless of weapon type, thus creating unique hybrid magic/physical builds.

Wildspeaker (Huntress Ascendancy)

Wildspeaker is currently the Ascendancy most worthy of in-depth discussion. Based on the leaked icons (stag, bear, owl), it appears to be based on Wisp.

The community widely speculates that this Ascendancy, and its main gameplay revolves around summoning. While the current talent tree contains a few nodes that enhance companions, it largely focuses on buffing oneself through summoned creatures, lacking the damage-building aspects of a true Minion playstyle.

Wildspeaker's talents may employ a dual-track system. One side focuses on enhancing Wisp summons, making them independent combat units; the other side emphasizes Wisp possession, directly integrating Wisp power into Huntress to provide overpowered buffs or transformation abilities.

It's worth noting that the leaked images do not include wisps such as snakes, foxes, or Primates. Perhaps these higher-tier Wisps will require additional unlocking methods.

Will Vaal Temple Be Retained?

Vaal Temple Patch 0.4.0 provided a large amount of PoE 2 currency, even causing inflation at one point. Therefore, some players are wondering if Vaal Temple playstyle will be retained in the PoE 2 patch. Patch 0.5.0 is unlikely to be removed.

While the current version's item drops and affix strength are indeed high, this is a numerical issue, not a mechanics problem. The developers obviously wouldn't cut a complete endgame system at a time when the game content is already scarce.

A reasonable guess is that the acquisition method for Vaal Runes will be moved to Act 3 or the endgame mapping stage. Temple nodes will randomly generate in the endgame map, which players can challenge directly. The rewards will be reduced, but the overall gameplay framework will remain.

In short, Patch 0.4.0 is still about 3 months away. If you're impatient, you can play PoE 3.28 or Diablo 4 Season 12 in the meantime.
Path of Exile 2 Patch 0.5.0 Release Date Speculation | Potential New Content May Related to Version 1.0 Plan
It's been over a year since Path of Exile 2 first launched in early access. With the game stabilizing, three official leagues have been released, and currently, Patch 0.4.0, The Last of the Druids, was released on December 12th.

While indefinitely extending early access is not uncommon, players are still very curious about when Path of Exile 2 will be released, especially after the developers stated a few months ago that it might be in March 2026.

Unfortunately, the game director recently stated that this plan has to be delayed due to various factors, so what you're more interested in now is the release date of Patch 0.5.0.

Below, we'll synthesize information from various sources to speculate on the release date of 0.5.0 and what new changes it might bring to Path of Exile 2.

Release date speculation

Since Patch 0.2.0 was released last April, Path of Exile 2 has maintained a relatively stable update frequency of releasing a new league every four months.

Therefore, logically, Patch 0.5.0 should be released in mid-April. Of course, delays within this month are normal, unless new issues arise during development or more content is planned than expected.

However, if the game is planned for a full release in 2026, then they should try to ensure all new patches are released stably to avoid unnecessary worries.

If 0.5.0 is released as scheduled, there are still about two months until the end of The Last of the Druids, so you don't need to start preparing for the new league now; instead, you should continue to focus on clearing temples.

Potential new content

Judging from the content of the three existing patches, the new content in the early access phase is actually arranged gradually, with each patch bringing a new class or act to lay a foundation for the complete game.

According to a previous interview with the game director, the main obstacles to the official release were the incomplete campaign and endgame content, and the ongoing balance adjustments.

Currently, the campaign is only updated to Act 4, while the planned official release should include six acts. Furthermore, the endgame content must be further enriched through more early access patches until the overall game balance is stable.

To achieve this, the last two acts must be added in subsequent patches, and the differences between classes and skills must be continuously adjusted to make loot acquisition fairer and ensure the stability of the game's economy.

The addition of new acts

We initially speculate that patches 0.2.0 and 0.4.0 introduced new classes and Ascendancy, while 0.3.0 added Act 4 to refine the campaign. Therefore, following this pattern, Patch 0.5.0 should introduce new acts.

The question remains: will Acts 5 and 6 be added all at once, or will they be added one by one as before? This depends on the planned release date of the official release.

If a release is confirmed for 2026, the specific timeframe might be August or December (consistent with patch update frequency). Patch 0.5.0 might then add one or two acts based on this.

However, frankly, new campaign content will need to be modified based on player experience and feedback after its release, so August is too rushed. December is more likely if the official release isn't delayed until 2027.

Furthermore, to avoid extending the development time of 0.5.0, adding only one act seems like a better option. Act 6 might then be added to the game through a new patch in August or other means.

Act 4 introduced you to the entirely new Ngamakanui archipelago, so Act 5 might also open up new areas as your base for completing new campaign missions.

New league

Since the stable update, patches 0.3.0 and 0.4.0 have both introduced dedicated leagues, and Abyss mechanic from 0.3.0 has been retained in the main gameplay.

While it's unclear whether Atziri Temple mechanic from 0.4.0 will be retained in patch 0.5.0, a new exclusive league is expected.

Will there be new classes?

Like Act, not all classes have been released yet; including Druid, there are currently only 7 (the final release is planned for 12). Therefore, some players speculate that patch 0.5.0 will introduce new classes.

Following the usual update schedule, PoE 2 is unlikely to release new classes in two consecutive patches. However, if the development team has actually completed the basic development and intends to release the final version as scheduled, it's not impossible.

As for what the new classes will be like, they are expected to be quite different from Huntress and Druid, allowing for entirely new class and build-crafting experiences.

More basic mechanism modifications

These modifications cover many aspects and are almost certain to be implemented in every Path of Exile 2 patch, as this is a crucial measure to ensure game balance. In summary, it should cover the following:
- Additions and removals of gems, and adjustments to the effects of existing gems.
- Optimization of endgame content, such as boss difficulty and drop mechanics.
- More Atlas passive tree changes.
- Optimizations to added classes and Ascendancy.
- Additions and optimizations to items.
- Other overall adjustments.
Is Patch 0.5.0 worth trying?

Based on the current performance of Path of Exile 2, although there are some minor flaws, the overall playability is quite good. The update frequency and the speed of bug response and fixing are also very timely, making it a fully qualified ARPG.

Therefore, even if it remains in early access for several more months, it will not affect the quality of Patch 0.5.0. Moreover, according to the normal plan, the official version is likely to be released by the end of this year.

The above is our prediction of the release date of PoE 2 Patch 0.5.0 and the new content it may bring. We hope it can provide a useful reference for your decision on whether to continue playing the game. Thank you for reading.

Patch 0.4.0 is still ongoing. If you encounter any difficulties while clearing maps or temples, you can immediately obtain PoE 2 currency for sale on IGGM to enhance your gear, boost your combat power, and overcome obstacles!
Path of Exile 2 Spirit Mechanics and Gear Choices | This Is What's Holding Your Build Back
Summoners are a common feature in Path of Exile 2, as leading an army of summoned creatures is a fairly easy gameplay element. However, many players encounter a problem: insufficient Spirit.

Spirit is a unique attribute in Path of Exile 2 (not present in Path of Exile 1), and it has many uses. Besides summoning creatures, some skills also rely on it for sustain. So how can players increase their Spirit?

How Does Spirit Work?

First, let's look at the Spirit mechanics. Spirit is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, above and below Mana bar. It's a completely different resource from Health and Mana. You don't need it, and there's no Spirit regeneration attribute in the game. Any Spirit-related skills will only consume it.

For example, if you have 100 Spirit, summoning a skeleton uses 44 Spirit. After you summon the skeleton, Spirit won't regenerate but will remain at 56 until you dismiss the skeleton, at which point it will return to 100.

The advantage of this is that the system automatically resummons a summoned creature upon its death. However, the downside is that if you don't have many Spirits, this will severely limit your summon cap. Besides summons, Meta Gems and auras also consume Spirit resources.

It's clear that Spirits are a very important resource, but if you've just created a character, you'll observe that your Spirits are zero, meaning you can't use any Spirit-related skills.

How to Improve Spirits?

Currently, the game's passive skill tree itself doesn't provide Spirits; only a few nodes are related to them, but the boost is very small (Froane Commander: Spirit increases by 4%). To increase Spirits, you need to focus on the following three main acquisition methods: campaign, equipment, and Ascendancy talents.

Campaign Section

During the campaign, you will receive a fixed total of 100 base Spirit. Previously, with Cruel difficulty, players needed to complete the campaign twice to obtain 100 Spirit. Now that Cruel difficulty has been removed, you need to defeat the following three bosses to obtain all Spirit.
- Act 1: The King in the Mists (30 Spirit), located in Freythorn.
- Act 3: Ignagduk, the Bog Witch (30 Spirit), located in The Azak Bog.
- Interlude: Lythara, the Wayward Spear (40 Spirit), located in Kriar Village.
Note that defeating them will not directly increase your Spirit. Instead, you will need to use Gembloom Skull, Gemrot Skull, and Gemcrust Skull dropped by them to increase it.

Equipment Sources

Obtaining Spirit from equipment is the primary way to increase its cap. All attributes are prefixes, and each piece of equipment can have a maximum of three prefixes and three suffixes. You can hold down Alt key and hover the mouse over the item to see whether each attribute is a prefix or a suffix, which is crucial for determining if the equipment has room for improvement.

However, for players new to endgame, there's no need to worry too much about this. Acquiring these top-tier Spirit equipment requires time to accumulate PoE 2 currency.

Regular Equipment Affixes

There are three types of equipment that can have Spirit affixes:
- Amulets: Provide up to 50 Spirit. Additionally, Solar Amulets provide an additional 15 Spirit based on their inherent attributes.
- Chestplates: Provide up to 61 Spirit with perfect affixes. Some basic chestplates also provide up to 30 Spirit based on their inherent attributes.
- Sceptres: This is a very special equipment category. All staves inherently provide 100 Spirit, regardless of their specific type or additional effects. Even better, you can use it in your off-hand (but not dual-wield).
Scepters have two Spirit-related prefixes: one directly increases the percentage of Spirit provided by the scepter; the other increases both Spirit and Mana. The good news is that you can have both types of prefixes on a single scepter.

Unique Gear Options

Some unique unique gear also provides Spirit. Here are some outstanding options:

Enfolding Dawn Pilgrim Vestments: One of the best early-game choices, providing 100 Spirit, at the cost of not gaining Mana from Intelligence. This is perfectly acceptable in the early game and unlocks many builds that wouldn't otherwise be viable early on, making leveling smoother.

Alpha's Howl Armoured Cap: Helmets don't usually generate Spirit, but it provides a valuable 100 extra Spirit.

Ventor's Gamble Gold Ring: Increases the rarity of dropped items and also provides Spirit in the ring slot.

Oaksworn Sigil Crest Shield: An early-game, easily obtainable, and practical piece of equipment. As a shield, it provides 50 Spirit and a block, adding a layer of defense to the character.

Jewelry

Theoretically, some jewels can add Spirit-boosting attributes to talent nodes, but these are extremely rare and almost never seen on the market. Therefore, this is not recommended as a viable acquisition method.

Ascendancy Talent Sources

Currently, many Ascendancy talents provide Spirit-related nodes, but not every Classes will utilize these talent points. Let's look at some of the more important ones:

Infernalist Witch

Beidat's Will node in the Infernalist talent tree converts your maximum health into Spirit, at the cost of permanently retaining 25% of your health. Note that this talent is incompatible with Chaos Inoculation passive ability, as the latter will prevent you from gaining any benefit from Beidat's Will.

Invoker Monk

Lead Me Through Grace talent can convert a percentage of your dodge and energy shield values on your chest armor into Spirit, but at the cost of losing Spirit from other equipment.

So, which provides more Spirit through this talent: a pure dodge chest armor, a pure energy shield chest armor, or a hybrid chest armor? Comparing the base dodge and ability interactions of each type of chest armor with the hybrid chest armor, the results show that, except for a slightly lower 2-3 points for pure energy shield, Spirit provided by all three is roughly the same.

The key is that the affixes on the chest armor significantly increase the total amount of Spirit gained. Therefore, beginners shouldn't overthink the type of chest armor; instead, they should first consider the defensive mechanics their character wants to utilize and choose chest armor with corresponding high stats for modification.

Shaman Druid

Shaman's Sacred Flow provides Spirit based on the number of empty Charm Slots, with each slot granting +40 Spirit. This means Shamans can sacrifice some potion and rune functionality for an extremely high Spirit cap, making it a very powerful node.

During the campaign phase, Spirit difference between players is not significant. If you want to raise your Spirit above 450, you'll need to combine it with Ascendancy talents and patiently collect gear affixes, which takes a long time.