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Path Of Exile 3.27 Release Date, League Transition, And Preparation Guide

Posted: Oct 09, 2025 Views: 34

Posted: Oct 09, 2025

Source:  IGGM

Views: 34

A month ago, a teaser trailer for Path of Exile 3.27 was released, announcing its October release date. As expected, 3.27 is scheduled to release on October 31st., and Secrets of the Atlas League will conclude on October 27th, leaving players with approximately three weeks to continue polishing their builds.

So, should you relax and enjoy the game during this time, or make a few extra bucks? What happens to your character after the league ends? How should you prepare for the new league?

Path Of Exile 3.27 Release Date, League Transition, And Preparation Guide

How To Prepare For The New League?

PoE 3.26 lasted for almost five months, which naturally brought in a number of new players. Some of these players may not be fully aware of what the league transition represents.

Simply put, it's similar to the season transition in Diablo. When 3.26 transitions to 3.27, all characters, items, PoE currency, experience, and progress in the current challenge league will be transferred to the permanent standard league. When you create a character in a new league, it won't be able to use any gear or currency from the previous league. This means any hard work you put into 3.26 won't carry over to the new league.

If you want to prepare for 3.27, you can pay attention to the official announcements about the new league content and skill adjustments, note your desired build and the best upgrade build, and find a suitable loot filter to save you time searching through junk during gameplay. This will help you prepare early.

Your first build shouldn't be the strongest in the meta, but rather the one you most want to play. Once you successfully reach the endgame with your desired build and accumulate some PoE currency and gear, you can switch to a Meta build, which will allow you to upgrade faster.

Is 3.26 Still Worth Playing?

Secrets of the Atlas League has fewer content updates than other leagues, leading players to call it the worst season.

Judging by Steam online users and views on various streaming platforms, PoE 3.26 has fewer players than previous seasons. This may be due to the period of inactivity leading up to PoE2's release, which caused some players (including veterans who never switch leagues) to skip or join later.

However, despite the decrease in total players, player retention is very high. Even amidst severe server issues (especially on European servers), a large number of players continue to play. So, if you continue playing now, you don't have to worry about finding someone to trade with. You can sell all your PoE currency before the league ends, and you might even make a small profit.

Tier 16.5 Maps

Tier 16.5 maps are one of the best features of 3.26, primarily due to the map layout options. Tier 17 maps have closed corridor layouts, which often restrict player movement, hinder ranged and AOE builds, and make certain activities (such as Breach and Legion) a poor experience.

Tier 16.5 maps allow players to choose their favorite old map layouts, which greatly improves the gameplay experience. Furthermore, better layouts allow for more interesting builds that rely on area-of-effect effects, rather than just targeting specific Tier 17 meta builds.

While Tier 17 maps may offer higher returns per map, Tier 16.5 maps, thanks to their efficient layouts, narrow the payoff per unit time, so even if you don't challenge Tier 17 maps, you won't lose much. Furthermore, farming efficiency on Tier 16.5 maps isn't much lower than Tier 17. Even after the mid-game fix for the bug that guaranteed Tier 17 modifiers with eight affixes, Tier 16.5 maps still offer good returns. Tier 16.5 maps are expected to be carried over to 3.27.

Mercenaries League

Mercenaries are a new mechanic added in 3.26. Mercenaries can serve as powerful support. You can equip them with special equipment to grant you auras or taunt enemies. You can even have them serve as your primary damage dealer, with you supporting them.

When choosing equipment, you need to balance making your mercenaries powerful enough to enhance your own abilities with ensuring their survival. The mercenary system makes many previously unpopular Path of Exile items valuable.

However, mercenaries significantly increase the power of all builds, making 3.26 easier. If this mechanic isn't added to the core game, players in 3.27 might struggle to adapt. If it is, the disruption to game balance caused by mercenaries could be devastating.

Doryani's Prototype is a classic example of a design error. If you put this item, which grants negative lightning resistance, on a nearly indestructible mercenary, it overpowers the lightning build, disrupting the balance. Therefore, 3.27 may only retain a few mercenaries or their corresponding gems, while most mercenary-related content may be removed.

Beyond the content of 3.26, there has been no official preview or announcement regarding 3.27's content. However, it is expected to include new bosses and PoE currency. Another long-awaited feature that will probably launch in 3.27 is Path of Exile 2's current asynchronous trading system. It performed almost flawlessly in 0.3.0, and this feature promises significant improvements to the trading system, making it well worth the wait.


Currently, Path of Exile 3.26's player base isn't at its peak, and with 3.27 still about three weeks away, finding players willing to trade with you might be challenging before the new trading system launches.

However, IGGM will offer trading services from the start of the season until the end, allowing you to buy reliable PoE currency and items to complete your build.

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