What changed in Path of Exile in 2026

Introducing The Draugur’s Lantern, a new unique item for players who specialize in setting things alight.

Iterative changes to improve Abyss encounters regarding rewards and combat density.

Golden Lanterns will grant increased Quantity of items dropped by slain monsters.

Ducat crafting will be unlocked earlier, requiring three upgrades instead of five.

Fix for Mana Infused Staff not interacting correctly with Ignite.

Fix for Legion breaking out early without all monsters or chests tagged.

Currency, Scarab, Stacked Deck, and Map chests will be more common in Charts and Voyages.

Vesper strongboxes will now spawn by default above area level 67 without needing upgrade pieces.

Ability to open the Voyage board for ongoing Voyages to check progress and modifiers.

Dead End and Straight Line charts will be made less common to ease Voyage construction.

Adjustments to the damage penalty for permanent Mercenaries to improve their effectiveness.

Infamous Mercenaries will now spawn more commonly, increasing rewards for players.

Fix for Caster Mastery opening league mechanic chests without intended buffs.

Investigating reports of Deadlock crashes and preparing fixes.

Crab nests will be made far less common in Charts and Voyages.

Added a new notable to the Atlas Passive Tree to enhance allied Mercenaries' damage.

20-40% more scattered lootable objects for Lanterns to point to in Charts and Voyages.

Enabling missing currencies like Ancient Orbs and Orbs of Chance for Allflame crafting.

Mercenary skills will more frequently have additional support gems in Maps.

Fix for Chart storage not behaving consistently with the Map Stash Tab.

Fix for Allflame guidance arrows pointing to already opened chests.

Various adjustments to loot mechanics in Charts and Voyages to enhance rewards.

Fix for automatic placement of Allflame Lanterns in awkward terrain.

Fix for Mercenary minimap icons not being removed as intended.

A new chest, Sunken Opulence, will be added to Charts and Voyages in the next restart patch.

Players can now launch Charts directly from the Bathysphere without speaking to Valerie.

Reviewing how Mercenary deaths interact with mapping to reduce punishment for players.

A new mystery box with 56 unique microtransactions and no duplicates.

Guidelines for streamers on how to enable Twitch Drops for their viewers.

Mirage Supporter Packs will be removed from the Path of Exile 1 & 2 stores after July 24th PDT.

Receive the Oceanic Weapon Effect after completing 12 challenges.

Details on how to redeem Twitch Drops rewards from Twitch Inventory.

New exclusive cosmetic effects will be introduced with the launch of the Curse of the Allflame expansion.

Cosmetics from the Twitch Drops campaign will eventually be available in the Microtransactions Store.

A week of Twitch Drops starting from July 24th, rewarding players with the Nautical Explorer Back Attachment.

Receive the Captain’s Wheel Back Attachment after completing 32 challenges.

Receive the Oceanic Portal Effect after completing 36 challenges.

Path of Exile: Curse of the Allflame will be available for free on PC and Consoles.

Receive the Allflame Crafting Bench by purchasing or gifting 2 Twitch subscriptions during the promotional period.

In Ruthless, receive microtransactions at 2, 4, 6, and 8 challenges completed.

All cosmetics from the Twitch Drops promotion will be usable in Path of Exile 2 in the future.

Path of Exile 3.29 will launch on July 24 at 1 PM PDT.

Earn the Nautical Explorer Back Attachment after 3 hours of accumulated watch time on Path of Exile 1 streams.

Earn four new cosmetic rewards by completing 40 new challenges in the Curse of the Allflame league.

Receive the Fangtooth Moray Pet after completing 24 challenges.

The Curse of the Allflame expansion for Path of Exile 1 launches on July 24th PDT.

Completing challenges grants pieces of the Allflame Challenger Trophy Hideout Decoration.

Instructions provided for linking Path of Exile account with Twitch to receive Drops.

Several new Pact Gems have been introduced in Path of Exile 1: Curse of the Allflame.

Existing Skill and Support Gems have undergone changes in the latest update.

Various items have been renamed, including 'Dark Pact' to 'Dark Bargain'.

Carefully plot your route and explore a series of sea-floor locations where every decision shapes the rewards.

Introduced new enshrouded items including gloves, boots, helmet, shield, and body armour.

Added new map fragments including Trarthan Scarab and Zorath's Eye.

Introduced new divination cards including Pearls Before Swine and Energy Sword.

Introduced new support gems including Coursing Current Support and Crystalfall Support.

Added new keyword 'Vestigial' with values True/False.

Introduced a variety of new amulets including Pearlescent Amulet and various Talisman types.

Added new charts including Sandy Seabed Chart and Coral Forest Chart.

Added new skill gems such as Mana-Infused Staff and various Pacts.

Assemble a collection of Charts that determine the encounters, rewards and challenges in Voyages.

Set sail on perilous Voyages beneath the frozen seas of Wraeclast in search of bounty.

Added new one hand sword 'Ghostflame Blade'.

Introduced new stackable currency items including Scrying Orb and various Enshrouding Crystals.

A large number of items have been removed from the game, including various Talisman types and Incubators.

Existing Black Baryas will be usable, but there will be no way to obtain more of them.

Players will now receive protection while channeling Verisium Ore.

Core Atlas Content introduced in Mirage League such as Astrolabes and Exceptional Support gems will remain.

Transfusion Support will not be obtainable from Divination Cards after the league ends.

Improvements made to the inventory management of the Animate Guardian.

The Mirage Challenge League will end on July 20th, 3PM PDT.

Maps with Empowered Mirages that cover the entire Map will not be openable in Standard.

The Mirage Challenge League will end on July 20 at 3 PM PDT.

A Crafting Bench will now be accessible in every town.

The Mirage league ends on July 20th PDT, sealing away current items in Kirac’s Vault Pass.

New Unique Items available in Path of Exile 1: Curse of the Allflame, including Abyssal Jewels and spellcasting crabs.

Abyssal cracks now influence nearby enemies and spawn Abyssal hordes.

Over one hundred spells rebalanced to enhance differentiation among damage types.

Players can duel and recruit Mercenaries for assistance in combat.

Earn the Abyssal Soul Shatter Rare Finisher Effect by watching Path of Exile streams for 45 minutes during the event.

New Skill Gems available from Beyond bosses and Lycia that empower spells at a cost.

New or reworked notables for Assassin, Inquisitor, and Occultist supporting Casters.

A new skill for spellcasters using staves to manage mana.

The new expansion introduces a challenge league, new Ascendancy class, and an endgame system.

The Scion receives a new Ascendancy class allowing permanent Mercenary allies with customizable equipment.

New anomalies can appear on the Atlas after completing Maps affected by a Voidstone.

New currency and mechanics for creating Vestigial Unique Items in Legion.

GGG Live will take place on July 16 at 1 PM PDT.

GGG Live will provide insights into the 3.29 expansion and a Q&A session.

Socket colors no longer restrict gem placement, allowing any gem to be socketed.

A new Twitch Drops reward will be enabled for the livestream event.

The Abyssal Soul Shatter Rare Finisher Effect will be available for purchase from the store at a later date.

Introduction of two new Transfigured Skills in the upcoming expansion.

Players must create a new character to participate in the Return of the Ancestors event.

The Reliquarian Ascendancy does not have a Phrecian counterpart and is disabled in this event.

The Trial of the Ancestors mechanics return in a three-week event starting June 25, featuring Phrecian Ascendancy classes and new Tattoos.

Introducing a new variety of Tattoos exclusive to the Return of the Ancestors event that can be applied to Ascendancy Classes.

All regular Ascendancy classes replaced with 19 Phrecian Ascendancy classes, with balance remaining the same as in the previous Phrecia event.

Killing Kitava in Act Ten grants a guaranteed Return of the Ancients Mystery Box, available once per account per event.

A special event will be hosted before the launch of 3.29, with more details to come.

The Class Gauntlet event will start on April 8th PDT, featuring challenging conditions and dynamic modifiers.

Bosses drop 4 fragments, with increased unique monster life and damage.

25% less Damage Taken, 25% Increased Damage, 25% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed.

20% less Damage Taken, 20% Increased Damage, 20% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed.

Players who defeat Hillock will receive a Gauntlet Glove Effect tracking their highest level.

150% Increased Unique Monster Life, 100% Increased Damage, and 40% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed.

20% less Damage Taken, 20% Increased Damage, 10% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed, 2 Additional Projectiles, 20% Elemental Penetration.

Players receive 3 portals to complete their boss in Area Level 85+.

30% less Damage Taken, 30% Increased Damage, 15% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed.

New modifiers include Act Bosses inflicting Ruin and Ultimatum Enemies replacing some monster packs.

30% less Damage Taken, 30% Increased Damage, 30% Increased Attack, Cast and Movement Speed, Monsters Have 100% Increased Area of Effect, 30% Physical Damage as Extra Chaos.

Participants competing for cash or class prizes must have their profile public.

Players completing the campaign will receive a Last of the Druids Mystery Box.

Zizaran's Class Gauntlet starts on April 8th at 3PM PDT and lasts for 7 days.

150% Increased Unique Monster Life, 40% Increased Damage, and Trialmaster Apparitions.

Fixed a client crash on macOS.

Fixed a bug with several wishes that added extra monster packs to the Mirage, where the added packs could be spawned outside the Mirage zone.

Fixed a bug introduced in 3.28, where the array of beams from the mirror in the Nightmare of Uhtred fight no longer had a medium-sized gap in the middle.

Fixed a bug where the last shard fired by Eye of Winter of Transience was in the wrong location.

Fixed a bug where magic monsters around bismuth ore could have duplicate monster mods.

Added extra reminder text to the Transfusion Support to state that it prioritises the closest Minion that isn't already at maximum Souls.

Corrected the error message that displays when trying to use the Divine Font on an Imbued Gem.

Fixed a bug where the Shaper time stop during the Nightmare of Lycia boss could prevent the fight from transitioning to her Storm Call phase.

The Map Device will no longer show the Maven/Eater/Exarch influence buttons for Unique maps that can't be Witnessed.

Certain buff effects now transition with you through combat areas like temporary minions, including Rage, Fortify, most charges, and Shrines (excluding Evolving Shrine).

Fixed the Harvest Craft for +0.1 metres to Weapon Range per 10% Quality having an incorrect description at the Horticrafting Station.

The Misty Reflection skill from the Delirious Bloodline can no longer be repeated, fixing a bug where it would make your character invisible and unusable.

Fixed a bug where the Influencing Scarab of Interference couldn't be used alongside the Horned Scarab of Awakening.

On first moving after entering a Mirage, a powerful shockwave will trigger to stun enemies near the player.

Fixed a bug where the Incarnation of Dread in the Feared Maven Invitation would continue to spawn areas of Chilled Ground after dying.

Fixed a bug where you couldn't get Remembrance charges for Legacy of the Rose staff after entering a boss room.

Fixed 2 client crashes.

While using Chaos Orbs, you can now hold Alt to swap to using an Exalted Orb.

Fixed a UI bug where some Atlas nodes in the far corners of the Atlas were not hoverable when the corresponding Voidstone had been unlocked.

Fixed a bug where players could not toggle Eldritch influence when interacting with Eagon's Map Device using a controller.

Fixed a bug where Serpent Warrior Spectres were not using skills when Defensive.

Fixed a bug where the Incarnation of Dread could rarely leave an invisible donut area of Fire damage over time after dying.

Mirages will no longer spawn in a particular City Square room that made them unable to spread very far.

Fixed an issue where vaal impurities did not apply their buff to you.

Fixed a display bug where Corrupted Maps were not displaying 'Area is Corrupted'.

All uncompleted Unique maps on the Atlas will stop pulsing blue once you have completed any 10 Unique maps.

While viewing the Atlas, hovering or holding a map will cause Atlas nodes of that map tier to highlight with a white glow.

Kirac's Invitation UI will no longer show the Maven/Eater/Exarch influence buttons.

The Astral-touched modifier now has special font colouring.

Added more informative error messages when applying Memory Threads to invalid nodes on your Atlas.

Unique Maps will no longer show the 'Bonus Objective' line when viewing the advanced mod descriptions.

Harvest Bosses will transition back into their regular forms 40 seconds after starting a vine phase.

Introduced new Supporter Packs themed around the scholar of the desert with magical scrolls.

Four new microtransactions: Temporal Shock Nova Effect, Temporal Sigil of Power Effect, Torture Mace, and Warden's Weapon Skin.

Skill Effects Sale with discounted items available until Mar 23, 2026.

Data on the opening rates of different Memory Vaults and the most popular maps in their respective regions.

Statistics on player win rates against Saresh, the Searing Exarch, and the Eater of Worlds.

Statistics showing the top ten areas responsible for creating the most Mirages.

Statistics on the usage rates of different types of Maraketh Coins.

Statistics on the pick rates of various Wishes offered by Varashta in the Mirage Area.

Fixed a bug where Inscribed Ultimatums to double the number of Fracturing Orbs were not functional.

Fixed Influencing Scarab of Hordes displaying the wrong increased Pack Size value in Ruthless.

Fixed a bug where the Memory Altar modifier for Breach added additional Clasped Hands.

Added a new Harvest Crafting Option to change a stack of League-Specific Astrolabes.

Fixed a bug where the mortar projectile spell used by the Astral Instrument monster did no damage.

Shrines now have a limit on how many ongoing secondary effects they can attach to the player.

Re-enabled Magus Tome Hip Attachment and Triumphant Liege Helmet Attachment microtransactions.

Fixed Sacrifice Fragments and Mortal Fragments displaying incorrect values in Ruthless.

Empowered Mirage Map items now have special art.

The granted skill to return to the portal in a Mirage is no longer considered a Spell.

Players can now select Unique Maps or Boss Fragments from their inventory in controller mode.

Fixed a bug where Faridun Blight Chests in Mirages were not spawning in Ruthless campaign Blight Encounters.

Hovering a Map or Fragment in your inventory will now highlight the Map Device slots the item can go in.

Fixed a bug where Glyphic Fossils could select mods from Essence of Desolation.

Added 'Currency' stash tab affinity to several new items.

The central chest in Lost Shipments now has a more distinctive label.

All Lost Shipment chests except for the central one are now destructible with damage.

Fixed Greater Chain Support not working correctly with Spectral Shield Throw.

Added Wish for Flame, Tides, and Sands which grant Coins on breaking the Astral Chain.

These Wishes now spawn enemies when breaking the Astral Chain instead of alongside Final Map Bosses.

Shortened the display text for subsequent notifications of Faustus having sold your items.

Fixed a bug where increased Fire, Cold and Lightning Damage Prefix Modifiers could not be rerolled.

Visually adjusted the fog of war on the Atlas for better clarity.

Added 'Essence' stash tab affinity to the Essence of Desolation.

Updated descriptions on some Mirage Wishes in Ruthless Mode.

Fixed a bug where Wish for Rust was twice as common in Ruthless.

Updated the description of the damage penalty on The Sands of Time unique sceptre's Suspend in Time skill.

Fixed 6 client crashes.

Fixed an issue where red beasts spawned in delve could be far from their intended area.

Fixed a bug where Mirages were unable to extend into the Moon Temple boss arena.

The Map Stash now has 6 subtabs available for each of the Conqueror and Elder Guardian map types.

Fixed a PS5 specific client crash.

Vagan's crafting bench now has a more descriptive label for its function.

Fixed a bug where the Maven's Chisel of Divination could drop in Ruthless.

Fixed Reflect mitigation modifiers on the Watcher's Eye Unique Jewel appearing incorrectly.

Fixed a bug preventing the vendor price warning from appearing after closing the vendor window.

Fixed a bug where Labyrinth Hazards from the Originator Map modifier could be revived in Ritual Encounters.

Unstable Breaches with extra time will now display a second progress bar.

Holy Flame Totems now have an enemy targeting range that matches Spell Totems.

Fixed a bug where the Shockwave modifier did not apply to Void Shockwave or Gore Shockwave.

Fixed cases of unique item modifiers showing incorrect scaling with mod effect.

Fixed a bug where Frostblink wasn't supportable by Intensify Support.

Additional reminder text noting that Astrolabes cannot drop from Maps affected by Shaped Regions.

Fixed a bug where the Bloodthirsty Body Armour microtransaction's skirt had disappeared.

Call the Pyre now states it requires a Melee Weapon or Unarmed.

Hovering a Volatile Vaal Orb over an item now shows the modified range of individual stat values.

Fixed a bug that could prevent Divine Vessels from being moved into the Map Device.

Fixed a bug preventing running Corrupted Maps with the Twist of Fate Atlas Keystone.

Fixed a bug where the Maraketh Faction in the Act 4 Dried Lake Legion Encounter wasn't generating chest rewards.

Fixed a bug where It that was Tul could fail to reappear during the fight.

Fixed a bug where some Seagulls in Kingsmarch were no longer fleeing from the player.

Fixed a bug where hiveblood would stop updating on the client after a certain amount had been spent.

Ailith can now be interacted with from farther away in the Monastery of the Keepers.

New armour set available as challenge rewards in the Mirage league.

Players will encounter Varashta, a new character in the Mirage league.

Players will meet Saresh, a half-djinn outcast in the Mirage league.

New cosmetics available through Kirac's Vault Pass in the Mirage league.

The Third Edict Mystery Box microtransactions are now available for purchase in both Path of Exile 1 and 2.

New Mirage Supporter Packs are available for players needing more points to complete their The Third Edict collection.

The team is aware of server issues affecting some players and is working to resolve them.

Many instances of the Currency Exchange showing removed items and not showing new ones have been fixed.

Fixed an issue where Memory Thread currency was not dropping from Memory Tears after completing all Memory Lines quests.

Week one Twitch Drops are now active, allowing players to claim rewards by supporting streamers.

Enhancements made to the visibility of maps not yet completed on the Atlas.

Soul of Lunaris' 6% reduced Elemental Damage taken if you have been Hit Recently has been changed from Iceberg Map to Beach Map.

Fixed an issue where users in permanent leagues were unable to progress their Atlas state.

Path of Exile: Mirage has been launched, introducing a new league.

Making many individual improvements to the experience of the new Atlas system.

Enhancements made to the visibility of Caches in Mirages.

Ability to have buffs persist through area transitions from one combat area to another, starting with Shrine Buffs.

Fixed cases where certain UI elements in Delve were not selectable.

The Mirage edition of Kirac's Vault Pass is now available for purchase, featuring a new exclusive armour set and mystery boxes.

Instructions on how to redeem Twitch Drops rewards from your Twitch Inventory.

Microtransactions such as Stormborne & Marionette Weapon Skin and Marionette Character Skin have been adjusted for Path of Exile 1.

Earn the Mirage Quicksilver Flask Effect after 3 hours of accumulated watch time on Path of Exile streams.

Cosmetics from the Twitch Drops campaign will eventually be sold in the Microtransactions Store.

All cosmetics from this promotion will be available in Path of Exile 2, including the Mirage Quicksilver Flask Effect.

Celebrate the launch of Path of Exile: Mirage with a week of Twitch Drops starting March 6th.

The 3.28 expansion will launch on March 6th at 11AM PST.

Earn the Imprisoned Djinn Merchant by purchasing or gifting 2 Twitch subscriptions during the promotional period.

The Last of the Druids Mystery Box is now available in Path of Exile 1 with adjustments to microtransactions.

Instructions for streamers on how to enable Twitch Drops for their viewers.

The Mirage content update is set to launch for Path of Exile on March 6th PST.

Instructions on how to link your Path of Exile account with your Twitch account for Drops.

The Keepers of the Flame Supporter Packs will be leaving both Path of Exile 1 & 2 stores forever after March 6th PST.

New Skill Effect Microtransactions such as Originator’s Holy Skills and Abyssal Holy Skills have been released.

The patch size for the update will be around 12GB on all platforms.

Completing challenges grants you pieces of the Mirage Challenger Trophy Hideout Decoration.

Earn pieces of the Orb Regalia Armour Set by completing 40 new challenges.

New Iron Incarcerator and Curator of Wisdom Supporter Packs are available for purchase.

Path of Exile: Mirage will launch on PC soon with new content and features.

Last chance to purchase Champion of Theopolis and Verdant Magus supporter packs.

Realms will go down at Mar 06, 2026 8:00 AM PST for patching, servers go live at 11:00 AM PST.

Next league will introduce four different cosmetic rewards instead of a single Armour Set.

New items include Refracting Fog, Essence of Desolation, Flesh of Xesht, and more.

New keyword 'Imbued' with values True/False added.

Multiple items renamed, including 'Sweep' to 'Holy Sweep' and various captured souls.

New maps including Tier 1 to Tier 16 and Valdo Map introduced.

New skill gems such as Holy Hammers, Shield of Light, and Divine Blast added.

New divination cards such as The Everlasting and Lucky Bastion introduced.

New corpses such as Imperfect Astral Lich and Perfect Adherent of Zarokh introduced.

New map fragments like Anarchy Scarab of the Exceptional and Ritual Scarab of Corpses introduced.

New items include Cord Belt, Honoured Incubator, Sacred Incubator, and Miraged Incubator.

New support gems including Greater Spell Cascade Support and Vaal Sacrifice Support introduced.

Multiple items removed including Cartographer's Chisel and various map pieces.

Current items in Kirac’s Vault Pass will be sealed away forever after March 3rd PST, replaced with new cosmetic effects.

The Keepers Challenge League will end on March 2nd at 1PM PST.

Currently equipped Grafts, growing wombgifts, and any Implant currencies will be deleted.

Old-school Breaches will be replaced by Unstable and Hive Breach encounters from Act 6 onwards.

Some existing Skill and Support Gems have been modified.

Any stored Graftblood will be lost when the league ends.

Several new Gems including Holly Skills have been introduced.

The Keepers Challenge League will end on March 2nd at 1PM PST.

The Legacy of Phrecia 2.0 event ends next Thursday.

The new expansion introduces a rogue sect of the Faridun and a legendary Maraketh Sekhema.

Map items no longer require a specific map item to access associated map areas.

Defeating Endgame Incarnation bosses will drop new Exceptional Support Gems.

Introducing new Holy Skill Gems that allow players to call down hammers, summon divine armaments, and project solar blasts.

Significant changes to the Atlas and Mapping systems, including new access mechanics.

Players now start at the center of the Atlas, with content accessed physically on the Atlas.

Earn the Mirage Weapon Effect by watching Path of Exile streams for 45 minutes during the event.

Encounter the souls of Djinn and free them from the Afarud's grasp.

Tier 17 Maps are now called Nightmare Maps and are rebalanced to align with their original design.

Legacy of Phrecia cosmetic bundles, including full armor sets and extra cosmetic effects, are back at a larger discount.

Idols are making a comeback with new modifiers for the Settlers League and Atlas Memories.

The Legacy of Phrecia event starts on January 29th PST and features 19 alternate Ascendancy classes.

Campaign bosses and some Pinnacles will have new mechanics, and all unique monsters will enrage on low life.

The Legacy of Phrecia event will start, allowing players to complete Keepers of the Flame Challenges.

Areas will have a random number of map modifiers that scale with area level, and many modifiers that brick builds have been removed.

All 19 Ascendancy classes will be replaced with new ones for the event.

Players will receive a Third Edict Mystery Box upon reaching levels 50 and 90.

A sale on character slots is currently running, offering them at a discounted price.

The Path of Exile Talent Competition has returned, themed around the latest expansions for both games.

Submissions must be posted on the Path of Exile forum and should not exceed five minutes in length.

Top three winners will receive various prizes including signed posters, T-shirts, and more.

The competition runs until Feb 11, 2026, and submissions must be original works created after the competition's launch.