Path of Exile 2, the long-awaited sequel to a cherished ARPG, is fully underway and players have had the chance to dive head first into its sumptuous content. It is in Early Access, however, so we can expect many updates with new inclusions. That said, Patch 0.2.0, dubbed Dawn of the Hunt, is sure to shake things up with tons of new content.
Along with the brand new Huntress class in Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, there are also three new ascendancies (and two for the Huntress) that will drastically change up how you play. This is what I want to focus on, because outside of additional endgame changes, players are chomping at the bit for new characters to play.
Introducing the Huntress, a spear-wielding range and melee hybrid class that can tame wild beasts and channel elements and spirits to slay her foes. Her signature spear can be used to fight enemies up close, or you can throw it at enemies as a ranged attack.
One of the Huntress’ signature abilities is the Whirling Slash, which sets a whirlwind on the ground that blinds enemies and causes damage. In a press-only preview of this class, we saw her use this ability multiple times to create a larger whirlwind. You can also enhance the whirlwind by using certain elemental attacks, creating fire or lightning-based tornadoes, as an example.
What stuck out to us, however, was the ability to tame beasts. The Huntress can choose a companion from enemy beasts, though we don’t quite know the limitations. What we do know is that it allows players to tame rares — even those with monster-only modifiers — so you’ll want to keep a look out for those with good synergy with your build.
“There is going to be some level of competition for getting the rares,” said which have the best mods, because they come with all the powers they had while they were rare, so you’re probably going to want to keep an eye out…” said Path of Exile 2 Game Director Johnathan Rogers during a press Q&A TechRaptor attended.
Her two ascendancy classes — which are essentially specializations to further improve your character — include Ritualist and Amazon. The former is a “forbidden magic” archetype while the latter is more of your typical spear-wielding warrior focusing on furiously attacking your enemy.
The Witch, Mercenary, and Warrior also get one new ascendancy class each. The Witch can become a Lich, the Mercenary a Tactician, and the Warrior a Smith of Kitava. The Smith of Kitava is a very intriguing take on ascendancy classes — other than being able to improve your weapons mid-battle, you can also drastically alter your armor.
The Smith of Kitava can allocate ascendancy points to disconnected nodes on their skill tree, which essentially adds modifiers to their armor. This would replace the stats on your armor with whatever node you choose, but it allows you to pick modifiers that are much more powerful or even unobtainable from normal loot drops.
“In terms of fulfilling an interesting part of your build, they’re just pretty cool,” said Rogers. “Now the other thing as well, if you want, because you can choose how many other of the ascendancy nodes or how much of the armor crafting nodes you want, you can put all of your mods — like you can put all eight ascendancy points into that, and now you have, that’s a pretty damn powerful armor you have at that point.”
What other Changes Are Coming to Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt?
There are a slew of other changes including a skill gem that gives you a mount to ride on, but to go over each and every change would be a Sisyphean task, so be sure to check Grinding Gear Games’ announcement here. As a quick rundown, players can expect dozens of new skills, new maps, endgame changes, and even rogue exiles.
Rogue exiles are NPCs players can fight that and have the same abilities as other players, including dodge rolling. They are smarter in nature and drop the loot set they’re wearing, meaning there’s a high risk of engaging them, but the reward is worth it.
With Path of Exile 2: Dawn of the Hunt, players can dive back or continue playing with tons of new added content. This particular update launches on April 4th at 3pm EST, so you won’t have to wait long to dive into these new additions.
